Chicago Sports Stuff's Historic Anniversary: 100 Posts and Counting
Thousands of words. Hundreds of graphics. Dozens of YouTube links. Countless mediocre Bears and Bulls jokes. Ladies and gentlemen, your Chicago Sports Stuff!
LET’S TAKE A TRIP back to February of 2024.
Mark Knopfler's guitar collection was auctioned off for $11.27 million. The brightest known object in the universe was identified as a quasar, 500 trillion times brighter than the sun. And in Chicago, a handsome sportswriter by the name of Alan Goldsher debuted a sports-centric Substack page that now has 1,471,996 subscribers.
Okay, Chicago Sports Stuff doesn’t have anywhere near 1,471,996 subscribers. But we’re getting there.
Anyhoobs, here we are, six months after launch, celebrating our 100th post. Throughout this journey, we’ve gone heavy on the Bulls and the Bears (NBA and NFL are my jam), mildly heavy on the Sky (that Angel Reese is pretty darn intriguing), kinda light on the Cubs (man, they’re disappointing), medium on fantasy sports (we’ll go heavy once the NFL season kicks off), and very light on the White Sox, the Blackhawks, and the Fire (save for Connor Bedard, they’re all horrid, they’re all boring, and their articles get, like, six clicks each.)
To celebrate this milestone — a milestone that I couldn’t have imagined hitting when I concocted this thing — here are excerpts from five of the most popular pieces that CSS published over the spring and summer:
May 23, 2024: Chicago Bears Fantasy Fallout II: Let's Argue About ADP
HEAD VS. HEART. The eternal fantasy football battle.
The heart says, “We’re from Denver, so we’re gonna snatch up Bo Nix in the second round of our fantasy draft, because at season’s end, dude’s gonna be the NFL’s QB3. League winner!”
The head says, “We’re from Denver, but you couldn’t pay us to pick Bo Nix, because at season’s end, dude’s gonna be the NFL’s QB28. Waiver wire!”
The head is almost always right in these situations, but that doesn’t stop us from heeding the advice of our atria and ventricles. Last season, I listened to my heart, not only grabbing Chicago Bears WR1 D.J. Moore way too early — in two leagues! — but naming both squads, “Last Night a D.J. Moore Saved My Life.” (FWIW, I won one of the leagues. The other, not so much.)
This season, when it comes to Moore, I’m again listening to my Chicago Bears-lovin’ ticker. Same deal with Caleb Williams, Keenan Allen, possibly Cole Kmet, and maybe, just maybe D’Andre Swift. Because as of right now, the Bears’ offensive options — aside from the fella who’ll be under center — are being severely undervalued by a whole lot of fantasy smarty-pantses.
I plan to take advantage.
Sure, it’s May, and between now and draft season, the Average Draft Position (ADP) of everybody not named Christian McCaffrey will rise and fall and rise and fall, in some instances, quite significantly. But as I write this, those fantasy smarty-pantses are like, “Bears. Meh.”
To that end, let’s see what ESPN and Fantasy Pros had to say about the Bears’ value in the fantasy world…and what I have to say about what they had to say.
Click here to for the full article.
May 28, 2024: Remember When the Chicago White Sox Didn't Stink? Because I Do.
MY FATHER WORKED at NBC in Chicago for almost 40 years, the majority of which were spent as an engineer for their radio affiliate, WMAQ. For several years in the 1980s, ‘MAQ was the radio home of White Sox, and Dad was tabbed to produce their games.
Early in the 1985 season, I was tabbed to be his unpaid intern.
Now you’d think that would be a dream gig for a lifelong baseball nerd and periodic Sox fan. (Confession: When it comes to Chicago baseball, I’m a total frontrunner. As I write this on May 28, 2024, the Cubs sit in second place in the NL Central with a record of 27-27, while the Sox’ 15 W’s and 40 L’s put them in the AL Central cellar and on track to compiling the worst record in MLB history. Thus, right now, I’m all Wrigleyville, all the time.)
I could tell my friends I worked for a professional baseball team! I’d watch every home game from the radio broadcast booth! I’d go on the field before and after the contest! I’d break bread with Tom Seaver!
But the whole intern deal wasn’t nearly as much fun as it sounds. Not even close.
Click here for the full article.
June 2, 2024: 5 Little-Known Facts About Michael Jordan
IN 1989, Chicago sports fans couldn’t get enough of their high-flying hero. Recognizing that any M.J. face time was good face time, WLS, the local ABC affiliate, launched a show called Michael Jordan’s Airwaves. (Get it? Air Jordan? Airwaves? Get it? Get it?)
Michael Jordan’s Airwaves was really, really lousy. Thanks to the YouTubes, we can watch every cringeworthy moment from the first episode anytime we darn well please.
Click here for the full article.
June 4, 2024: Are You Destined To Be an NFL Quarterback?
BRAD PITT was meant to be a leading man.
Not due to his looks, which are undeniably fantastic. And not because of his talent, of which he has oodles.
It’s because of his name.
Think about it. “Brad” conjures up broad shoulders, sinewy muscle definition, piercing eyes, and a commanding voice. (The name “Bradley,” however, doesn’t conjure much of anything, but Bradley Cooper overcame this evidently surmountable obstacle, so props to him.) As for the surname “Pitt,” that’s both the written and verbal manifestation of a high-five.
Brad Pitt. Actor. Boom. It was meant to be.
In no profession is the cool-name-to-massive-success correlation more pronounced than that of NFL quarterback. If your parents bestowed upon you a first name that conjures up leadership, confidence, and athleticism — and if you’re lucky enough to have a family name that does the same — you could well be on your way to a 5,000-yard season, a Super Bowl MVP, or even the Hall of Fame.
Conversely, if the name on your birth certificate leads to derogatory catcalls that lead to schoolyard fisticuffs, your chances of succeeding at football’s highest level are potentially diminished.
To that end, here are 44 semi-randomly-chosen quarterbacks, some of whom have strong, evocative names that might well have helped bring them on-field transcendence, some of whom overcame iffy names to find success, and some of whom are saddled with names that keep them on the practice squad.
Click here for the full article.
July 7, 2024: Welcome to Tanktown, Population: Chicago Bulls
LAST NIGHT, Chicago fan fave DeMar DeRozan was signed-and-traded to the Sacramento Kings. In return, the Bulls received fourth-year guard shooting Chris Duarte, a pair of second round picks, and cash considerations. (Bulls ownership loves themselves some cash considerations.)
DeRozan’s departure is a drag — dude’s the kind of guy you want on your roster, in your locker room, and in the community — but it had to happen, as noted by me:
“The future Hall of Famer’s departure from Chicago was both inevitable and necessary: Inevitable because he’s 35, and there aren’t too many 35-year-old NBA players willing to endure a rebuild; and necessary because there aren’t too many NBA franchises willing to keep a thirtysomething around for a rebuild.”
I agree with me.
This all begs the question, could Chicago have gotten a better return from the deal? Knowing how horrible Chicago Executive VP of Basketball Ops Artūras “Artie” Karnišovas is at the art of negotiation, the answer is likely yes.
Sure, none of us were in the Bulls’ war room when this all went down, but I think we all feel confident that if Artie knew how trading worked, he’d have been able to walk away with a starter and/or a first rounder, rather than an eighth- or ninth-man and couple of seconds that’ll likely amount to nada.
On the other hand, the meager return might’ve been the plan all along. It’s possible that Artie’s thinking went along the lines of, I don’t need a future first. I don’t need any prior NBA experience. I need Cooper Flagg.
If that’s the thought process, I’m in.
Click here for the full article.