Finfer: Crazy Sports Weekend Recap
By Ben Finfer-
(CBS) Sundays are supposed to be quiet. It's the whole point. After a week of a torrid stretch of news cycles, the weekend exists to allow everyone a chance to recover. Supreme Court decisions, celebrity divorces, decriminalized marijuana...it's all so overwhelming.
However, this past Sunday gave us no rest. Especially not in the Chicago sports department. There was one breaking story after another. Twitter was working overtime. It was the sort of chaotic day that even decriminalized marijuana couldn't fix.
Here were the major headlines:
White Sox split
The weekend began with two consecutive wins in the Bronx. It ended with two losses. A .500 winning percentage is all you're looking for on the road, but it's not quite as satisfying after what happened Thursday and Friday. On the bright side, they're still in first place. On the not so bright side...Gavin Floyd.
Jake Peavy and AJ Pierzynski snubbed
Chris Sale, Paul Konerko and Adam Dunn are going to the All Star Game. Peavy will join them if he can win the final vote. It shouldn't have even come to that. There is no question he has been among the league's best pitchers this season. As far as Pierzysnki, his omission is quite simple. His performance in the first-half was All Star caliber. It's just that nobody likes him.
Cubs sweep
The weekend wins themselves don't mean anything. It's the way they won them. Anthony Rizzo had two more game-winning RBIs, including his first home run in a Cubs uniform. Plus they received quality pitching from Theo Epstein guys--Paul Maholm and Travis Wood. Even Carlos Marmol didn't suck. More importantly they're still in line for the top pick in next year's draft. So all is well in Cubs land. Grading on a scale of course.
Starlin Castro and Bryan LaHair are All Stars
Castro is no surprise. It was basically a lock that he would be the Cubs representative. LaHair, on the other hand, was a little shocking. At least until you examined the other first basemen in the National League. Only Joey Votto and Paul Goldschmidt have a higher OPS than LaHair. (Little-known fact: I went to Hebrew school with three different guys named Paul Goldschmidt.)
Blackhawks free agency begins
Sheldon Brookbank is now a Blackhawk. He was Stan Bowman's first signing after free agency began Sunday. Hopefully there will be more. The Hawks general manager is rumored to be in on defenseman Ryan Suter and goalie Martin Brodeur. Either would fill a significant need on the roster and would probably be asked to play some second-line center, too. You know, because they don't need a real one.
Bulls free agency begins
This is not Lebron-mania. Or a Tracy McGrady-fest. It's an Omer Asik-athon. That's about as exciting as it will get for the Bulls this offseason. Unless you're nostalgic about Kirk Hinrich or blindly optimistic about Brandon Roy. There isn't a lot of money left to hand out big contracts right now. So it comes down to whether or not GarPax wants to match the substantial offer made to the Turkish center. If not, it will be "merhaba Houston" for Asik.
So much for the quiet. It was a lot to digest in one Sunday. Thank goodness for the shortened holiday week. And decriminalized marijuana.
Ben Finfer is the executive producer of The McNeil and Spiegel Show, heard Monday-Friday from 9am-1pm on 670 The Score and 670TheScore.com You can follow him on Twitter @BenFinfer.
