The ChicagoBulls themed documentary called “The Last Dance” premiered last night and the insight was crazy. Especially involving former GM Jerry Krause.
Before we get going, it is fair to say that ESPN hit a home run with their documentary called “The Last Dance”. The Chicago Bulls team that won its sixth title in an eight-year span is being highlighted over five weeks with two episodes coming out every Sunday for the duration of those five weeks. The first two episodes premiered and were very cool. There were so many likable people associated with that team.
One man who was not very likable, from the way the documentary made it seem, was Jerry Krause. He was the general manager of the Chicago Bulls during the entire dynasty. Now, before the criticism comes in, it has to be noted that he was the man responsible for putting together one of the greatest teams in the history of American professional athletics. That 90’s Bull’s run of dominance was amazing and something we will likely never see again from any of our teams.
With that said, Krause ruined it. He signed Phil Jackson, the Bulls legendary coach, to a one year deal for the 1997-98 season but made it clear that it would be his last year no matter what. He claimed that they could go 82-0 and Phil would still not be back. That makes it seem clear that there was drama but it sounds like Krause was over the Bulls dynasty before it was even over. It was also never something handled by Bulls’ owner Jerry Reinsdorf which is annoying as a fan.
There is also the notion that he seemed to want to rebuild the team in the middle of a dynasty. All of this friction made it where the 1998 championship would be the last one that the Bulls ever came close to winning. If Krause didn’t think he needed either Michael Jordan or Scottie Pippen to win titles, he was big wrong.
“The Last Dance” documentary wasted no time getting into Krause’s antics. The show got right into the apparent friction that he had with many people involved in the organization. It really makes you wonder what it was that happened to make Krause so willing to blow it up besides maybe not being able to take a joke. It was definitely interesting to hear, however, how things started to fall apart before they even won their last title.
ATLANTA, GA – DECEMBER 22: Leonard Fournette #27 of the Jacksonville Jaguars rushes during the first half of a game against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on December 22, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
ChicagoBears (Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images)
The Chicago Bears could use some of their capital to add an elite running back like Leonard Fournette to help out their poor offense.
The Chicago Bears had no offense worth speaking of in 2019. Their defense was still really good but the lack of help from the offense clearly wore them out. They were on the field way too much thanks to the offense’s inability to move the ball enough. They need help with that otherwise they are going to have more of the same in 2020.
The 2020 Draft is coming up this week so naturally, there are some trade rumors swirling around the National Football league. One of the latest ones that might have some steam behind it is that of Leonard Fournette being traded away from the Jacksonville Jaguars. There have been people saying that it is a possibility and that the Bears could be a landing spot.
Well, the Bears could use anything to help them with their offense. It was so bad in 2019 that they should be looking to do anything to help it. They already made a trade with the Jaguars this offseason when they acquired Nick Foles. Foles is going to come in and compete with Mitchell Trubisky for the starting job but either one would need some help.
Fournette is one of the best backs in the NFL who probably wants a chance to play on a good football team. He had 1125 yards on 265 attempts in 2019 with a bad Jacksonville offense. He could come in and be a part of a good trio of running backs with Tarik Cohen and David Montgomery. Even if they traded one of those two in exchange for Fournette, it would form a formidable duo. These are three packages that could get the deal done between the Bears and Jaguars:
The ChicagoBlackhawks need some help on the blue line and an old friend just became available. Could Dustin Byfuglien be an option for them?
The Chicago Blackhawks lost some important players after their run to the Stanley Cup in 2010. The biggest was Dustin Byfuglien. He ended up signing with the Atlanta Thrashers ahead of the 2010-11 season as a defending champion. Atlanta moved to become the Winnipeg Jets one year later where he would really become a superstar. He was great with Chicago and Winnipeg throughout his somewhat strange career.
Aside from being forced out of Chicago to go to a team that would relocate, there is another thing that made his career a little unique. In his transition to another team, he completely switched to a different position. It isn’t like he switched from center to wing either, he moved from forward to defensemen. He was a good forward but he became a great defenseman. He was so good that he had Norris Trophy votes six times throughout his career, although he never ended up winning it.
Well, last week the Winnipeg Jets and the National Hockey League made an announcement. Right before the season, Byfuglien took a personal leave of absence because he needed a break from the game. He was granted that leave by the Winnipeg Jets but after a while, they had to formally suspend him for the good of their hockey team. The NHL and NHL Players Association mutually agreed to terminate Byfuglien’s contract. He is a free agent.
Now that begs the big question. Is he going to continue playing or is he going to retire? He is 35 years old and had played in the National Hockey League for 14 years before taking this year off. He has won the Stanley Cup so needing to get that done is checked off his list. A lot of people want to know if the Hawks should bring him back for one little farewell tour with his old team.
A lot of people think that is a good idea but the honest answer is that it probably isn’t a good idea. At 35 years old, he really doesn’t fit the direction that the Hawks should be going in. He is still a very good defenseman but this Hawks blue line is about to get a lot younger. Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook are both on the older side now and Calvin de Haan will be 29 in a few weeks. Outside of them, Adam Boqvist, Ian Mitchell, and Connor Murphy are much younger and that is the direction that they seem to be going in.
Byfuglien might be able to help in the short term but it is probably better in the long term for some of the young kids to continue getting minutes to grow their game. Byfuglien will be able to find a home if he wants to resume playing hockey in 2020-21 but the Blackhawks probably aren’t the best fit for him anymore.
Louisville’s Bobby Miller presents an intriguing option for the ChicagoCubs in the first round as a potential starter or high-leverage reliever.
Ranked as the 28th best prospect in this draft class by Baseball America, Louisville’s Bobby Miller has the size of a prototypical starting pitcher and could be targeted by the Chicago Cubs with the 16th overall pick. He’s a local guy and went to McHenry High School, so he wouldn’t have to go far.
As a true freshman, he made 17 appearances – including nine starts – and struck out 55 batters in 66.2 innings while limiting opponents to a .198 average. He walked 21 batters, which equates to 2.8 batters over nine innings. Miller was named a Freshman All-American by three media outlets and participated in the Cape Cod League that summer.
He appeared in four games – including one start – and struck out ten batters in 16.0 innings. He also walked seven batters.
The following year on campus, Miller made 20 appearances – including 12 starts – and struck out 86 batters in 80.0 innings. His walk rate increased to 4.3 BB/9, but he limited batters to a .204 average.
Transitioning into Louisville’s rotation, Miller made four starts this year before the shutdown. In 23.1 innings, he struck out 34 batters and walked nine batters (3.5 BB/9) and limited batters to a .181 average. At 6-foot-5, 220 pounds, has the body of a starting pitcher, but he needs to harness the command of his pitches, obviously.
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Per BA, his fastball touches the upper 90s with late tailing action, and he complements that with an 85-mph changeup and an above-average slider. He has shown flashes of utter dominance, as demonstrated in his eight innings of no-hit ball to help Louisville advance to the College World Series last June.
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In terms of delivery, Miller has a long throwing motion that eventually releases from the 3/4 arm slot. There’s a considerable difference in his delivery from the stretch with his leg kick almost non-existent versus with no one on base.
CHICAGO, IL – FEBRUARY 15: Former players Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen of the Chicago Bulls watch a game between the Bulls and the Charlotte Bobcats at the United Center on February 15, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois. The Bulls defeated the Bobcats 106-94. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
The ChicagoBulls had a run of dominance in the 90s. “The Last Dance” makes it seem that Scottie Pippen was under-appreciated.
The Chicago Bulls themed documentary on ESPN called “The Last Dance” came out on Sunday night. There were two episodes that streamed and not everything about that year was pretty. Of course, Michael Jordan was the engine of that team en route to being the greatest basketball player who ever lived. With that said, Scottie Pippen was an all-world future Hall of Fame player and it seemed like he was a bit disrespected at times.
The first thing that we can point to is money. We all know the value of the NBA and how much players make in the year 2020. Well, they weren’t quite as rich in the 1990s but they still were handsomely paid. If your name was Scottie Pippen, however, you weren’t getting paid your value. He played during those glory days with the Bulls on a seven-year, 18 million dollar contract. As a top-five player in the league, he wasn’t even one of the 100 highest-paid players in the league.
The show also made it seem that there were times that the management group was thinking about trading him. He made it clear that even in modern times, he feels like he was disrespected during his Bulls tenure. There were times that he didn’t even want to wear that Bulls jersey anymore.
Scottie was, however, well-compensated once he finally left the Bulls after winning that 1998 championship with the Bulls. How could he not be? He was a seven-time all-star, six-time NBA Champion, and ten-time all-defensive player of the year. He went into the Hall of Fame with ease so it is good to know that he was well compensated when he joined the Houston Rockets and the Portland Trail Blazers.
The entire second episode seemed to revolve around Pippen’s role on the team. He will probably go down as the greatest number two player who ever lived. Jordan is the greatest ever, but there is a reason that once Pippen showed up, they started winning all of these championships. This second episode really gave us a deeper dive into Scottie’s fallout with the Bulls. There is still more to see with Scottie in upcoming episodes.
SOUTH BEND, IN – OCTOBER 12: Julian Okwara #42 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in action on defense during a game against the USC Trojans at Notre Dame Stadium on October 12, 2019 in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame defeated USC 30-27. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
With the 2020 NFL Draft just days away, what are five prospects the Chicago Bears should avoid with the 50th overall pick?
Here’s the deal: We still don’t have an idea of what the Chicago Bears will do in the NFL Draft. April in the NFL is just another word for lying season, meaning that whatever you see on social media and in the news may or may not be true.
Thus, we’re all forced to make our own opinions about who the Bears like as 2020 NFL Draft prospects and who they could avoid based on things we hear throughout the predraft process. This year, despite everything being online, things are no different.
When the Chicago Bears are on the clock at 50th overall on Friday April 24th, there’s no knowing what they’ll do. They could trade down and accumulate more draft picks or they could select a player.
Let’s just say they decide to do the latter and select a player. With this selection, the goal should be to add an impact player, someone who can come in and help the team immediately. It shouldn’t be someone that’s a project and will need some time to develop.
General manager Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy are going into a season where they don’t have “time” to allow draft prospects to develop. With the two in win-now mode, it’s important to find finished products rather than project players.
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As the 2020 NFL Draft gets closer, what are five players the Bears need to avoid with the 50th overall pick? Let’s examine some names and find out why the Bears should be avoiding each of these players.
Finding The Miracle Child’s Grave Site in the Chicago land area.
With the way things are happening with the health of individuals or their loved ones, Easter Saturday I decided to go film this video for those seeking a healing miracle.
Not only have I and those I know been blessed with healing miracles, others have also and reason why the location is visited often by many.
This short video I drive you too and bring you right to The Chicago Miracle Child Mary Alice Quinn grave site, the location of many prayers for Healing Miracles that were delivered.
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Read the letter from the Mother of Mary Alice Quinn,The Chicago Miracle Child. Letter from mother.
My experience with The Chicago Miracle Child, Mary Alice Quinn.
In 2002 I walked the grounds of Holy Sepulcher Cemetery in Chicago Ridge, IL, seeking out her site and approached it with my head down, humble and my heart crying out for a miracle for one of God’s littlest angels.
I believed deep in my heart in the possibility of miracles, and I was not looking for something on the paranormal side, but looking for a spiritual miracle, from the Spiritual World.
The miracle requested was delivered as something Medical Specialist actually called a miracle. My story has been documented in the book ‘Voices From The Chicago Graves’ along with newspapers, told on WGN radio.
I write more about it in my books, about this grave site and my going there and what medically happened for a child very close to my heart.
Blessings to all. Be safe and smart.
Edward Shanahan.
Visit Edward Shanahan’s Psychic Medium website and awarded Best Chicago Psychic at: Edward Shanahan’s website. Phone Readings, Private Readings, House Party/Gatherings, Spirit Communications information at the website.
Spiritual Observer – Psychic Reader – Paranormal Host. Edward Shanahan has been written about in four paranormal books. Providing Chicago Paranormal Nights to explore and experience the paranormal at haunted historic locations.
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Mine was great! Went to a Michelin restaurant on Friday, then to a gala at the Hilton Towers Saturday and Sunday went to see the newest Avengers movie.
Then I woke up, and realized I wasn’t doing shit this weekend, and neither are you, so read this.
It occurred to me today that given my blog is called “Health Care Mythologies”, maybe I should sit my ass down and a address a few of the Covid-19 myths.
Let me begin by saying I do not intend on regurgitating the 10 million news articles dealing with this, rather I’ll point you to a couple here and here.
Rather, I’d like to just focus on how and why myths about disease are so prevalent, so easily swallowed by people (even those I would not have considered uneducated or naïve) and why they simply cannot not be put to rest.
The first reason is that in dealing with something unknown (hence the moniker “novel” Corona virus), people flock towards any explanation, regardless of how ludicrous. In fact, I sometimes think the more ludicrous it is, the more people believe it.
A simple example is the myth that 5G wireless signals propagate the virus. This is pure unmitigated bullshit, and anyone with even the most rudimentary knowledge of physics and biology would immediately see that. Yet, the theory persists, because some people like the “technology is killing us” concept.
Kind of like HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey. If you haven’t seen it, may as well do it now.
Another is the conspiracy theory myth about this being created in a lab with the intent of killing us all.
Clearly, the visual is of a “Mad Scientist” wanting revenge for how she was treated in medical school.
(That’s right, I said “she”. I am tired of the old derogatory stereotype that only men can be crazy scientists. I firmly believe that women can be too!)
First, we found this in other species, and second, you can usually identify humanmade (NOT Manmade) creations. Again, it brings a strange degree of comfort thinking this is not natural, because, if it is (and it is), well, then it could happen again.
Yep, that’s right. And it most assuredly will.
Finally, this is a wonderful opportunity for all the whackos with their home made elixir recipes to climb out of the woodwork.
“Why I had eye of newt, and toe of frog, and I NEVER got sick!”, the hags of Macbeth will all brag.
But you know the next step in the recipe?
“Wool of bat, and tongue of dog.” Yep, the bat, where this most likely originated. Damned hags.
So, in the end, I sincerely beg of everyone to set aside the panicked reactions and listen to the scientific community. Not that they won’t make mistakes or be wrong, but, overall, less so than anyone else on the news and in politics.
The ultimate solution will be a vaccine (and I CANNOT WAIT for the anti-vaxxers to turn that one down), or spread through enough of us, that it’s essentially run its course.
Until it mutates and kills us all.
Ha, just kidding!
And, if anyone else comes up with some bat-shit crazy myth, just remember-Stay Skeptical!
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Trained at the Joint Center for Radiation Oncology, Harvard Medical School. Past President of the Illinois Division of the American Cancer Society. Past President of the Medical Staff, Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital. Fellow of the American College of Radiology. Have been in practice 32 years, specializing in the treatment of breast cancer
They marched in Michigan. They marched in Ohio. They marched in Minnesota. They marched in Kentucky. They marched in North Carolina.
And more marches are coming.
They marched to supposedly “liberate” their states from oppressive government control in implementing stay-at-home orders to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
Yet, even as they carried themselves with bluster and defiance…they marched in fear.
They marched against common sense. They marched in support of ignorance. They marched not as the rebels they believe themselves to be, but as puppets to a propaganda machine.
Don’t get me wrong – there is a lot to be afraid of right now, and the terrible toll stay-at-home orders are having on the economy is certainly high among them. Even under best-case scenarios, it will take years to come back from the economic hits the nation and the world are taking…and many in the margins, living paycheck-to-paycheck or worse, will be permanent victims of those hits.
But the panicked push to end those orders is not only callous of the significantly larger number of lives lost if we “reopen America” too soon, they are ignorant of the far greater impact on the economy if we go back to “business as usual” before the spread of the virus is greatly diminished and we have widespread monitoring available. (A vaccine, of course, will be the closest thing to an “all clear,” but even optimistic predictions suggest one won’t be available until 2021.)
Yes, “liberators,” as bad as the economy is now and may remain for some time, it could become so very much worse. We’ve seen how quickly this virus spreads, and a major second or third wave of COVID-19 could shutter stores again; make a large number of people wary of ever returning to restaurants, bars, theaters and other public venues; and put even more small businesses at risk. And, coldhearted as it is to think about death rates in this regard, if we call off stay-at-home and social distancing measures too soon, it will mean the loss of millions of consumers…who also happen to be our fellow human beings.
The death toll due to COVID-19 is already a worldwide tragedy (165,000-plus victims globally at this writing), but if we aren’t vigilant about best practices to diminish its spread, it could become historically catastrophic. Even if one takes the shallow “America first” view, we are leading the world by vast numbers in both confirmed cases and deaths, with over 40,000 U.S. fatalities as of this writing.
When 2,996 people died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks, we were told life could no longer be the same and we needed to be forever vigilant. That’s true. Even if the military response to 9/11 was misguided, ineffective and tremendously costly in both lives and money, there is no doubt 9/11 made us realize how vulnerable we could be from an attack. But somehow, with a death toll already 13 times higher than inflicted by those terrorist attacks and sure to rise significantly more, some believe the best response is to shrug it off and get back to business.
Of course, state and municipal governments need to do everything they can to expedite getting more businesses up and running, limiting stay-at-home rules and refining social distancing guidelines as they can. Some cities and states will be able to do this sooner than others and, if monitoring can be enacted widely, even badly affected areas may be able to do that as confirmed cases remain high. But the economic recovery from COVID-19 needs to be done in step with the health crisis, not apart from it. And that means prioritizing the health emergency first.
But the “liberate” movement – spurred by a president who, failing miserably at leadership in his biggest test, has decided to rally the troops of #TrumpCult by appealing to the spirit of “I want mine and I want it now” – does not recognize that the toll on the economy is also hitting people who support stay-at-home strategies. (By the way, polls show the vast majority of Americans do support the measures.)
For some in this so-called liberation movement, it may simply be a matter of not taking the longer view – not understanding that this is our moment of sacrifice, as rationing was for the American public in World War II.
However, for a sizeable portion of the mobs showing up in these demonstrations, it’s clear that misinformation and wild conspiracy theories are driving their actions. The fringe theories include that Bill Gates was behind COVID-19, it’s all a plan to impose worldwide socialism, and, of course, that the virus was hatched as a plot against Trump.
From Breitbart to Alex Jones to QAnon, there are countless sources of wild fiction masquerading as fact and they spread like wildfire on social media. President Trump (who appeared on Jones’ show as a candidate) has embraced bullshit “journalism” fully. These days, he even finds right-wing messaging favorite Fox News too critical and has taken a shine to OAN (One America News Network) – propping this American Pravda up as a legitimate organization in the circus of the White House COVID-19 press briefings.
In perhaps the most unsettling of Trump’s many disturbing statements during the pandemic, after essentially throwing his arms up and leaving informed response to the nation’s governors, he took to his beloved Twitter to call out to his base: “LIBERATE MINNESOTA!” “LIBERATE MICHIGAN!,” and “LIBERATE VIRGINIA! and save your great 2nd Amendment. It is under siege!”
The Virginia callout was the most troubling. It was a shameless dog whistle to extremists who see gun rights under constant threat, even though we remain a nation with some of the least-restrictive gun laws in the world, even as mass shootings have become expected and quickly forgotten. Trump was trying to position stay-at-home orders with recently passed, sensible gun laws in Virginia, even though the legislation had nothing to do with COVID-19 response. (While gun shops have been deemed essential businesses in some states, there are very good reasons to close them in a crisis like this for those who care to see.)
With a nation more and more divided in what they define as “news,” and opinions overriding facts when it suits people, it’s hard to know how to battle against the glaring lies of a loose-cannon president.
As someone who is lucky enough to have a job right now, I do not want to diminish the concerns of those whose livelihoods are at risk. We should press for the best response by local and federal authorities to alleviate their struggles. But whatever that entails in the short run, the way this crisis impacted our economy in just a matter of weeks should spell out, clear as day (all-caps for the #TrumpCult), that fixing our broken social safety net is the best path to avoiding the worst effects of financial crises – and we are bound to have more.
This pandemic has taught us that national borders mean very little and state borders mean even less. From pandemics to climate change, we need to be citizens of the world before citizens of any nation if we are really to prepare for these kinds of events. And more are coming. Cross-border crises, whether disease or disasters, are simply part of our future.
But the “liberators” prefer to find comfort in conspiracies, rallying against perceived enemies in the statehouses and, astonishingly, seeing a savior in the White House.
It’s understandable why they cling to such madness. COVID-19 has shown how little control they have, how fragile and at the mercy of nature we all are, and how much hard work is needed to reinvent our nation and our world so we might not be in this kind of jeopardy again soon.
My beer cellar had dipped below the 400 bottle mark, so I masked up and walked out to Orange & Brew, my nearest bottle shop, to pick up some new bottles or cans that I can talk about here in the next few days. Along with the fancy local beers, I picked up a crowler of Old Style, since it was $5 and they were earmarking some of the proceeds to an employee relief fund. And on the suggestion of the clerk, I got a can of Pabst Blue Ribbon Hard Coffee.
I’ve already tried an extension of the Pabst line into territories they Should Not Venture: The Pabst American Pale Ale. But at a time when every brewer is putting all their chips onto the Hard Seltzer slot, including Pabst, this is a brand extension that at least tries to be a little different.
First off, the label proclaims its origin at Neenah, WI. Brewpublic already did the legwork on this location, and found the source is Horseshoe Beverage Co., which makes “ready to drink” iced coffees, and already has a few hard coffees under its own brand. Ratebeer, however lists this as a lo-cal Stout with flavors added. In this case, they are quite wrong.
As soon as I poured the stuff, I could see this was no beer. It poured brown and still like any canned latte. Just a little bit of milk foam around the edge of the glass. The smell just had a note of coffee, mostly showing vanilla and cream. So this is not a stout at all. Just a canned latte. But for what it is, it tastes just fine.
I can’t pick up any alcohol in the 12 oz. can. So I couldn’t say whether it would pick me up or make me drowsy. It does make a good mixer with vodka, or a base for a White Russian. It’s also interesting that it is noted as a blend of Arabica or Robusta coffee. Decades of my custom at Starbucks has led me to believe that Robusta is a cheaper, harsher coffee, but further reading reveals its character gives it a good crema in espresso, and a stronger caffeine content. No mistake, it’s pretty tasty as “ready-to-drink” coffees go.
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Mark McDermott
Writer, trivia maven, fan of many things. I thought to learn all there is to know about beer as a way to stay interested in learning. It is my pleasure to bring Chicago’s craft beer scene to you.
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