WBEZ 91.5 Chicago

The dog days of summer don’t have to be all bad. This weekend is a sports fanatic's heaven.

Once or twice a year the Major League Baseball schedule has both the Cubs and White Sox home at the same time. If you want to try it, you can see two games in person the same day. Friday afternoon the Cubs host the Cincinnati Reds at 1:20 at Wrigley. True, the Cubs are having a bad season and they traded away several key veterans; but now you have the opportunity to look at the future. First baseman Anthony Rizzo, second baseman Darwin Barney and shortstop Starlin Castro have already made good impressions on the field in a short time. Now with the elevation from the minors of Brett Jackson and Josh Vitters, could they be part of future plans for the Cubs President Theo Epstein and General Manager Jed Hoyer? Jackson will get plenty of playing time in centerfield and Vitters will have to prove that he can defensively play third if he is to stay with the parent club.

After the Cubs play Dusty Baker's Reds, you can hop on the “L” and head down to U.S.

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It’s not the regular season, but Bears fans have been clamoring for game action, and tomorrow the first preseason game will give them a taste.

Denver will be here, and the Broncos will garner plenty of attention as it will be the first time in over a year that quarterback Peyton Manning returns to action with a new team. However, don’t expect to see him get much playing time (if he gets any at all). 

After mini camps, OTAs and a few weeks of training camp, finally the Bears will show some of their starting units even if it is just a glimpse. You will see Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall get on the field, and they most certainly will be the crowd pleaser. Maybe Lance Briggs and Julius Peppers will play a bit, but Brian Urlacher is not expected to play, he’s still recovering from his knee injury and has missed several practices.

What to watch on offense:

It seems the offensive line starting unit is almost set at left tackle. J’Marcus Webb appears to have a hold of that spot. Webb has had issues jumping offside and it will be imperative for him to correct that problem, or he will be watching from the sidelines. Chris Williams, a former first round draft pick, has worked out at both tackles and appears to be the back-up at tackle.

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There's one athlete competing in the Olympics who embodies more than one Olympic ring: Luol Deng. Three of the five rings representing the participating continents have meaning to Deng. He was born in Sudan, immigrated to London and plays NBA basketball right here in Chicago.

Chicago Bulls fans can't understand why Deng, who has played this season with an injured left wrist, participated in the Olympics on behalf of England. Most people in the sports world have judged Deng harshly on this decision, arguing that he wasted his time playing for a country that had no chance of winning.

But the criticism doesn't faze Deng, who said he appreciates all that has been given to him and his family.

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If you are watching the Olympics you have plenty of company, including pro-athletes. Some like viewing new sports, some are watching people they know, some have interest for their kids and others are just sports junkies.

Even with all the trade talk in baseball this week there were some televisions carrying live Olympic coverage. Cubs pitcher James Russell was excited to talk about how cool field hockey was — it was his first experience watching the sport. Meanwhile teammate Tony Campana keeps his eyes glued to the gymnastics—his mom trains gymnasts.

Down in Bourbonnais at Chicago Bears training camp, players are trying to keep an eye on the Summer Games between practices and meetings. Several don’t have televisions and are using their iPads or checking Twitter. There are players gathering with their teammates to catch the events at night.

Bears tight end Matt Spaeth has a personal interest in the games since he knows some participants. “A kid I went to high school with is an Olympic wrestler,” he said.

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As the dust settles from all the wheeling and dealing by the Cubs, the team is now moving forward with a different pitching rotation. One player the team’s front office wanted to remain part of the fold is 27-year-old Jeff Samardzija.  

Reaching the big leagues, mostly out of the bullpen, had been a difficult task for Samardzija. This season he remained with the parent club after proving himself as a solid starter that still has some room to grow. He did endure a personal six-game losing streak in June but has settled down, last week throwing a one-hit pitching gem against Pittsburgh, and had a no-decision on Saturday versus the Cardinals.

At 6’5” Samardzija has a commanding presence on the pitching mound and continues to work on his large assortment of pitches. When he first joined the Cubs he relied on his fast ball and splitter and thought he could get away with it. He's learned that's not the case. “Eventually things catch up with you in the scouting reports and you have to evolve as a pitcher and learn to get better,” he said.

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The Summer Olympics has always been a “must-watch” TV event – now it’s a “must watch” event online and on Twitter, too. If you have more than 3,000 hours to spare in the next two weeks or so, there will be plenty of sports to choose from – but it may be a challenge to figure out what events are playing when and how to prioritize. Here are some suggestions.

Swimming

NBC will dictate what they want to highlight, of course, and most likely it will be highly decorated swimmer Michael Phelps. He’s won 16 Olympic medals – 14 gold – and rightly he should be spotlighted. Phelps has an opportunity to smash the record for most medals won by an Olympian, plus this is his final games. Who doesn’t love watching someone make history?

Phelps’ success is reminiscent of another great U.S. swimmer; Mark Spitz had an amazing Olympics in 1972 in Munich, winning seven gold medals.

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This past year the Bulls finished with the best record in a locked-out shortened season; then, everything changed. With a blink of an eye and a tear of an ACL on Derrick Rose’s left knee, the Bulls were vanquished, gone in the first playoff round. And, with Rose involved in a lengthy rehab, many other members of the team are also gone: The Bulls broke up the Bench Mob.

The friendly group of back-up and role players included Derrick’s back up, C.J. Watson (credited with coming up with the nickname) who has moved onto the Brooklyn Nets. He made a poor decision in the final playoff game by not dribbling the ball to run out the clock. The Bulls dealt Kyle Korver, their three-point specialist, to Atlanta, and versatile Ronnie Brewer left as a free agent to the New York Knicks. The other back-up point guard, John Lucas III, remains a free agent.

Omer Asik, the big center from Turkey, was a restricted free-agent and received a surprising contract offer from Houston: a three-year deal totaling $20 million. The tough part was the $15 million the final year of the contract.

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