Holmes' Morning After Blog: Local Economic Impact Of NFL Lockout
By Laurence W. Holmes
CHICAGO (WSCR) I did some checking over the last couple of days and there could be some serious collateral damage if the NFL labor situation doesn't get resolved by the time training camp rolls around. According to my sources, the Bradley-Bourbonnais area would stand to lose $2 million if a full camp isn't held.
Here's how one of the business owners down there explained it to me:
"The impact would be really big. Events have changed weekends to stay away from Bears camp in the past. Everything will be dead. A lot of those businesses count on that money to get them through the year. The Bears are really the last big event. A lot of jobs are at risk too. There's no reason to hire kids (in the community) if the extra demand isn't there.
"Volunteer groups like the Boy Scouts make a lot of money from all of the Bears fans who come down to visit. Businesses will be hurt, but have the means to recover. The volunteer groups will have a harder time making that money back."
As for the infrastructure of Olivet-Nazarene, I'm told that it would take the University less than a day to get the campus ready for the Bears to practice. The logistics of getting fans involved would take more time. Perhaps a few days. If the labor strife goes into late July or early August, the Bears will be left with a decision on whether it would be worth it to travel down to Bourbonnais or hold their camp at their own facility in Lake Forest.
It's not just "Millionaires vs. Billionaires." The trickle down effect of what the Lockout could mean financially, for a place like Bradley-Bourbonnais and training camp communities around the country, could be devastating.
-Things are bad for the Bulls right now, but not as bad as you think. Miami's dominance in Game 2 and Game 3 had the feel of elimination, but that's hardly the case. The Bulls can turn this whole series around with a win Tuesday night. Just like the Heat in Game 2, the Bulls can walk away with a "Mission Accomplished" banner just by beating the Heat Tuesday night. A win gets the series even, but more importantly swings home-court advantage back the Bulls way. So how can the Bulls do it?
1. Get off to a fast start. The Bulls scored 15 points in the first quarter of Game 3, they shot 25 percent. Carlos Boozer missed all five shots that he took. Joakim Noah picked up two early fouls and didn't have an offensive rebound. So the Bulls starting "four" and "five" combined for zero points. Derrick Rose settled for jump shots and went 2-for-8 from the floor.
2. Stay on your feet defensively. The Heat were very successful with shot-fakes. Bulls defenders weren't very disciplined. They left their feet plenty and it led to easy buckets for Miami. The worst part was watching Bulls players jump to the right hand of Chris Bosh (who's left handed). As Stacy King would say: KYP (know your personnel).
3. Make better passes. The Heat did a great job of rotating and closing out on Bulls shooters. It made it hard to get shots off. That can be made easier if shooters get the ball in the rhythm of their shooting motion. When the ball is delivered to the left or the right of the shooter, it gives Miami a chance to recover. Kyle Korver could really benefit from this. It's not as easy as it sounds because the Heat's traps on Derrick Rose are forcing him making passes going backwards or while he's up in the air. The Heat assisted on 58 percent of their baskets while the Bulls only assisted on 47 percent.
4. Keep attacking. Joel Anthony did a great job of protecting the paint and setting the tone early with five blocks. They Bulls are at their best when D-Rose is going forward. The Heat have made him more lateral and when he does get inside, he's not on his sweet spot to finish layups. He can't shy away. Can't settle. If Rose can get penetration and cash in on some of those shots, it opens up the entire Bulls offense.
-Watching John Danks pitch well enough to win and still lose is getting painful. Sure he gave up four runs in eight innings of work, but that still works out to the ERA of a quality start: 4.50. The individual wins don't matter, but the team is 1-9 in his 10 starts and it's not indicative of how he's pitched.
-Ya just knew things were gonna go bad when two guys come off the DL (Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz) and go yard.
-Adam Dunn is 0-for-30 vs lefties this year. Perhaps he should take a seat the next time one is on the bump.
