WBEZ 91.5 Chicago

It was oh-so close for the only Illinois men’s team in the NCAA tourney last night. The #7 Fighting Illini was eliminated by #2 University of Miami 63-59 in their NCAA tournament game Sunday night. With a 55-54 Illinois lead with 1:24 left, Hurricane guard Shane Larkin, hit a three pointer that gave Miami the lead for good. Larkin, son of baseball Hall of Famer Barry Larkin, originally committed to DePaul. Illini senior guard Brandon Paul finished his career with a team-high 18 points.

It was one and done for DePaul’s women in the NCAA tournament last night. The 10^th seed Lady Demons lost 73-56 to #7 Oklahoma State in Durham, North Carolina.

Every time you feel like writing the Bulls off, especially with all the injuries, they make a comeback. It almost has the feel of a boxer on its last legs, bloodied and tired but not going down. On Saturday, they took down the Eastern Conference #2 seed Indiana 87-84 at the United Center. It was the Bulls first win against the Pacers this year. Besides Derrick Rose and Richard Hamilton sitting out Joakim Noah was missing this weekend with his sore foot.

On Sunday, the Bulls beat the Wolves in Minnesota 104-97, Marco Bellini joined the injured group with a strained abdomen.  Jimmy Butler got the start for Bellini against the Wolves  

How the Bulls were able to come out ahead with all the injuries is a testament to their dogged efforts to try to stay relevant.

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Rosemont Cubbies.

It doesn't roll off the tongue very well. 

But it has to be a consideration as Rosemont Mayor Brad Stephens is making a generous offer to the Cubs and its owner, Tom Ricketts, to acquire 25 acres of land.

The team should at the very least feign interest. Because it may bolster ongoing negotiations for Wrigley Field and the rooftop owners.

It is all politics. And all the fans can do is sit back and watch it unfold. It would not be the first time a Chicago team has tried and to some extent succeeded in using the suburbs and other locations to move.

Thirty-eight years ago, Bears owner, George Halas – unhappy with Soldier Field – allegedly had serious talks with Arlington Heights to move the team to the northwest suburbs.

The location near Arlington Park race track was more than appealing. With a train station and Route 53 at the doorstep, it was an idle location.  A couple of obstacles killed the effort (high bond rate was one).

There was also the famous rant from Mayor Richard J. Daley, telling Halas the name Chicago would not be allowed for the Bears if they left the city.

It would be curious if the name topic has come up at City Hall about the Cubs.

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There should be no surprise that the Bears and Brian Urlacher parted ways, it is unfortunate that it had to come about this way.  The Bears released the news Wednesday evening; the decision was made by General Manager Phil Emery.

“We were unable to reach an agreement with Brian and both sides have decided to move forward,” Bears General Manager Phil Emery said. “Brian has been an elite player in our league for over a decade. He showed great leadership and helped develop a winning culture over his time with the Bears. We appreciate all he has given our team, on and off the field. Brian will always be welcome as a member of the Bears.”

Urlacher was the Bears number one draft pick in 2000. (9th overall) He was a safety from the University of New Mexico, but his conversion to middle linebacker put him on a path to become an eight-time Pro-Bowler and a future Hall of Famer. He flourished under former Bear head coach Lovie Smith’s Tampa-2, utilizing his speed and quickness. Urlacher was a leader on and off the field for the Bears. His play-calling on defense was credited for the team’s success during his thirteen years in Chicago.

Urlacher sustained a severe knee injury during the final game of the 2011 season. This past season he missed all of training camp, though he was able to start the first 12 games of the season.

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There will be an untold number of electronic devices tuned into the NCAA men's basketball tournament and stealing from a productive work environment starting Thursday. The champion will be crowned April 8 in Atlanta. Across the country people are investing time, labor or luck filling out their brackets for the The Big Dance.  Some money will be won and a lot more will be lost. It is one of the most emotionally charged sports events of the year.

There seem to be three categories for doing the brackets:

Who wants to buy one of the NCAA teams for a couple of bucks? (the popular one)

Some offices have set up pools for co-workers to buy a random team instead of filling out a bracket. Your selection is for the tournament’s duration and if you are lucky, the final outcome of the championship earns the cash. Of course, when you are doing a blind draw, pulling a Number 1 seed (Louisville, Kansas, Gonzaga, and Indiana) or Number 2 seed (Miami, Duke, Georgetown and Ohio State)  makes you feel confident for a winner in the NCAA title game.  If you get a 16th seed team, you can forget about it.

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While colleges across the country celebrate getting into the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, there is no madness in Chicago. It has been years since Chicago had a spotlight on it for its men's college basketball prowess. This is difficult to understand with the quality of the players who excel on the high school courts of Chicago. Particularly since the Big Ten Conference (arguably the best in the country) just held court at the United Center for its tournament. It’s tough to see local teams in such a rut. It’s hard to watch the best talent from Chicago not play here on the NCAA Division I level.

Fifty years ago, the Loyola Ramblers celebrated the last time a time from Chicago won a national title. DePaul during the 70s and 80s was a nationally renowned team under Head Coach Ray Meyer. During the Blue Demons hey day, they were the basketball team in Chicago (not the Bulls). This of course was pre-Michael Jordan and six NBA titles.

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The Bulls season is like watching the Titanic sink at this point. What a nightmare for the Bulls going on this West coast trip. Losing to the Lakers is one thing. Getting drubbed by the Kings in Sacramento was downright bad.

After the 42 point loss to the Kings, Coach Tom Thibodeau said he didn’t do his job and he had to have them “play harder.” There is no way you can say this team has quit on Thibodeau. It appears they just haven’t the capability to sustain energy right now.

All the minutes that have piled up for Luol Deng (avg. 39) and Joakim Noah (avg. 38) has taken a toll on the two All-Stars. As the days go by and the calendar shows only 18 games remaining, it just feels like they have hit the wall.

On this road trip, Derrick Rose told the media he still does not feel good enough to play in games.

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It's over. After years of sweating or freezing watching a multitude of games in various sports, my career as a sports (mostly soccer) mom is over. I’m being forced into retirement, no longer sitting on wonderful bleacher seats to watch the only player who mattered to me: my son.

As a sports reporter, I've seen thousands of professional games. You analyze and question all the different nuances of the game as you watch. You go to practices, pre-game warm-ups, stay through the game and then go the post-game to get players and coach’s reactions. You are not a fan during that time.

This is not a complaint, but a matter-of-fact element of the job. You absorb, question and process the sport.

When you are a mom, it is simpler but more emotional. And at the younger ages, it's very pure.  We let our son try a variety of sports: baseball, basketball, tennis, volleyball, golf and soccer. He did reach his black belt level in taekwondo, a shared accomplishment with his dad.

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