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Self-Proclaimed Trubisky Fan Colin Cowherd Just Proved He’s a Liar

By
Erik Lambert
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colin cowherd

Don’t be fooled. Most sports analysts, particularly in the realm of radio and televisions aren’t locked into their loyalties. It’s a cutthroat business and the most important thing to them is saying the thing that will get them the right kind of attention. Widespread support is good. Colin Cowherd is a perfect example. He’s a smart guy. He knows when to say things that are a bit controversial but also when to settle back and do what everyone else does.

One need not look any further than his stance on Mitch Trubisky. More than a few times Cowherd has made it known he’s a fan of the young Chicago Bears quarterback. He believes Trubisky has the makings of a future star presuming the team can get the right pieces around him.

Here’s the thing though. Cowherd is a liar. That’s not a slight at the man. It’s just the simple truth. He lies because it’s easy and he knows a lot of people have short attention spans and won’t remember prior comments that might negate his supposed stance. Trubisky, as stated before, is a prime example.

Colin Cowherd has flipflopped on Trubisky for over a year

There’s even some proof. It actually started way back right after the 2017 draft. Cowherd, during one of his shows, was set to pick who his winners of the draft were. During his opening monologue, he openly praised the San Francisco 49ers for their decision to move down in the first round and was also quoted as saying “it’s not a good quarterback draft.”

Months later he was declaring Trubisky as a future MVP as the tweet above proved. Now here we are again. Cowherd was preparing for the upcoming 2018 season like everybody else. If he’s a Trubisky fan as he claims, then one would think he’d have reasonably high expectations for the Bears this year, right?

Apparently not if his NFC North predictions are any indication.

Cowherd explained his reasoning for the record as a lack of great vibes from the situation. A new coach, new offensive coordinator and a tough first seven games of the schedule. Even so, to have them finish with the exact same record as last year when one of his favorite young quarterbacks is under center?

It’s merely proof that Cowherd has no consistency in his stances. He moves to areas of opinion that suit his situation best. Optimism is low on the Bears right now because they’re in a tough division and haven’t made the playoffs since 2010. Did he dare to stand by his belief in Trubisky and predict improvement?

Nope. He went the same direction almost everyone else has because that’s where the popular wind is blowing.

Two New Trade Rumors Make No Sense Unless The Cubs Are Planning On Making Some Big Moves

By
Aldo Soto
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All right, so Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the Chicago Cubs have talked about acquiring a veteran leader for the clubhouse, basically another David Ross and then Jon Heyman is linking the Cubs to outfielder Derek Dietrich.

What?

Here’s Rosenthal’s scoop on the Cubs in The Athletic, as the team has apparently shown some degree of interest in outfielders Adam Jones and Curtis Granderson, among others.

Via The Athletic.

The Chicago Cubs have held internal discussions about acquiring a veteran leader such as the Orioles’ Adam Jones or Toronto Blue Jays’ Curtis Granderson and also reached out to other clubs about the possibility, sources tell me and The Athletic’s Jayson Stark.

Yet, Rosenthal immediately follows that up by saying a move such as that is unlikely to happen.

Then, Heyman reported the Cubs might have interest in Miami Marlins outfielder Derek Dietrich.

Dietrich doesn’t fit the veteran mold, as he’s 28-years-old and here’s the thing, the Cubs already have that leadership in the clubhouse with Anthony Rizzo, Jason Heyward, Ben Zobrist and Jon Lester.

So, that angle of getting an older guy just doesn’t make any sense. Also, consider that Kris Bryant will be back with the team in the next couple days, meaning the bench will have Zobrist, Ian Happ, Tommy La Stella and the backup catcher. The bullpen has eight pitchers and it doesn’t look like the Cubs will change that any time soon.

Adding another position player, unless it’s a veteran catcher, just doesn’t fit with the Cubs right now.

Unless…unless the Cubs are planning on making several deals and maybe even a big move?

Let’s play the what if game. What if the real reason they’re reportedly looking at outfielders is because they’re setting up a trade of one of their own position players for a pitcher and need that extra bat for backup on the bench.

I’m reaching here. I have no clue what to make of these rumors.

I mean, maybe the second one about Dietrich is just to drive up the price if the Brewers are actually interested?

Anyway, going back to the first one about Jones and Granderson, hard hard hard pass on Jones. At least Granderson has an .804 OPS in 211 at-bats with the Toronto Blue Jays and is only making $5 million this year.

Hmmm, the Blue Jays huh? Maybe there is something there with J.A. Happ too?

The Cubs Should Definitely Do This Trade For J.A. Happ

Or you know, this is all bullshit. It’s that time of the year.

What Re-Signing Zach LaVine Means For The Bulls

By
Patrick Mooney
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After months of speculation, the Zach LaVine free agency saga has come to an end with him remaining in Chicago.

The cost to keep him ended up being $19.5M a year over the next four seasons, which is roughly $2-3M more than they were reportedly hoping to spend.

It’s a steep price, but it could have been worse, and letting LaVine walk would’ve stripped the Bulls of one of their four best assets with nothing in return.

The positives of bringing him back?

  • Still only 23
  • He’s recovered smoothly from his knee injury
  • His floor as an offensive player could very well be what he was in his last season with the Timberwolves, when he averaged 19ppg while shooting nearly 40% from 3, and had an eFG% 10 points higher than he did in his inaugural Bulls seasons.
  • He’s shown flashes of being able to take over a game offensively:

The negatives? Kelly Scalleta of Bleacher Report summed them up pretty well.

Scalleta ranks the LaVine contract as the worst of the offseason, citing the young guard’s defense as the primary reason why.

Even if LaVine evolves into the playmaker and scorer they hope he can be (he averaged 18.9 points per game on 57.6 percent true shooting in 2016-17 before he tore his ACL), he still has major issues on the other end. His DRPM ranked 490th.

That isn’t just a statistic, either. The eye test backs it up. His inability to stay in front of ball-handlers is rivaled only by his failure to pay attention when he’s not the point of attack. Remember, these are problems even Tom Thibodeau couldn’t fix while LaVine was with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

It’s hard to argue with Scalleta here. There’s certainly enough time for LaVine to show improved effort on the defensive end, but at some point you are what you are, and he’s never been a good defender. He’ll have to become a 20+ a game scorer, and an efficient one at that, to cover up for the liability he is on the other end of the floor.

At the end of the day, the money the Bulls spent to retain LaVine has an “eh, it could’ve been worse” feel. He’s been a pretty average player thus far, and even if he evolves into a good-not-great player, is that type of production worth $78M? Will that money prevent the Bulls from adding someone better in the long run?

The situation that led to the Bulls paying LaVine what they paid him was a tricky one and they probably made the right call. Things could be worse. But, like most things regarding the Bulls, they could be a lot better.

Kris Bryant Homers In First Game Back In Nearly 3 Weeks

By
Aldo Soto
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Kris Bryant should be back with the Chicago Cubs and maybe as soon as Wednesday’s series finale against the San Francisco Giants. He played for the Tennessee Smokies Monday night and homered in his first game since June 22.

Bryant also drove in a run with an RBI-single, as his shoulder appears to be feeling pretty good after going on the disabled list with a shoulder issue that popped up after a head-first slide earlier in the season.

Just a heads up, you might want to lower the volume in the second video.

After the game Bryant said his shoulder felt good, which is really the most important news after his two-hit night at Double-A.

Via MLB.com.

“It bothered me when swinging and my follow-through because I’ve always had a big, long follow-through, and with big, long levers, sometimes things wear down, and that’s just kind of what it was,” Bryant said. “I’m glad that I said something when I did because if I just kept playing through it, it could have been a lot worse.”

“It’s responded great. I think we’ve really strengthened it and gotten it to where it needs to be,” Bryant said. “… Taking two weeks off is tough. It’s hard to get thrown right back into the fire like that. I thought coming down here and taking some at-bats in a no-pressure environment — obviously, I would love to help the team win — but for me, I just want to get that timing back.”

The plan is to have him re-join the Cubs out on the west coast if Bryant still feels good after his second rehab game Tuesday night.

Despite Monday’s 2-1 loss in 11 innings to the Giants, the Cubs have been able to go on a solid run even without Bryant, but his return certainly can’t come soon enough.

Get Ready for The Dumbest Jordan Howard Trade Idea Yet

By
Erik Lambert
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jordan howard trade

The Jordan Howard trade rumors were like a pesky weed that wouldn’t go away all offseason. They first sprouted up shortly after Matt Nagy was hired as head coach. The prevailing belief was that Howard’s lack of precision as a receiver out of the backfield made him one-dimensional. Given how much Nagy loved throwing to the backs in his offense in Kansas City, that presented a problem.

The flames were further fanned when John Mullin of NBC Sports Chicago hinted that the Miami Dolphins might be sniffing around a potential deal. Then Howard himself removed all Bears-related photographs from his Instagram (or at least the front page). People started panicking. There’s no way the Bears would actually do this, right? They wouldn’t give up their best offensive player just because he’s not a perfect fit for the scheme.

Thankfully logic and reason prevailed. The Bears insisted Howard was never on the table and the rumors were a wild goose chase. Yet that hasn’t stopped others from continuing to fan them and cooking up ever dumber ideas for how it could happen.

Latest Jordan Howard trade idea finds a way past rock bottom

Brad Gagnon of Bleacher Report decided to offer potential trades that could happen before the upcoming 2018 season. Deals that could solve a number of issues for current contenders. The fact he had the San Francisco 49ers on that list already made it difficult not to eye-roll. Then he uncorked who they should go after and even more absurd the price they could likely get him for.

“The Niners signed Jerick McKinnon to a four-year, $30 million deal to replace Hyde, but the 26-year-old doesn’t have the same type of track record. He has never carried the ball 160 times in a season, and he averaged only 3.6 yards per carry during his final two seasons with the Minnesota Vikings.

Might the Chicago Bears be willing to offer San Francisco a workhorse to team up with McKinnon? Third-year running back Jordan Howard’s rookie contract is half done, and the 2016 Pro Bowler was the subject of trade buzz earlier this offseason, according to John Mullin of NBC Sports Chicago, after Tarik Cohen shined as his rookie backup in 2017.

Potential deal: The Bears trade Howard to the 49ers for a second-round pick“

…………………………………………………………………………………*cough**cough*. Sorry, I just woke up after a brief faint spell from laughing too hard. Let’s get this straight. This guy thinks the 49ers would be able to land a Pro Bowl-caliber running back who is still just 23-years old coming off back-to-back seasons of over 1,000 yards for…wait for it…a second round pick?

Forget “Seven things you can’t say on television.”

That might be the best joke ever told. Now look I don’t want to make this seem like a constant snipe at Mr. Gagnon. He was likely trying to fill a list and this one seemed (to him) like a fairly solid possibility. Except no. It’s not. Not at all. Never mind the Trubisky trade with San Francisco. Sending Howard to that team for a second round pick would be the real fleecing.

Jon Lester Has To Confirm His All-Star Status With The MLB

By
Gus
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Cubs ace Jon Lester isn’t new to the All-Star game like his fellow Cubs teammates Javier Baez and Willson Contreras. Lester was selected to the All-Star team for the fifth time in his career while Baez and Contreras will both be making their All-Star debuts next Tuesday in Washington, D.C.

You can tell it isn’t Lester’s first rodeo when you compare the reactions of each player after they found out they were selected to represent the National League in this year’s mid-summer classic.

Here are the two first timer’s reactions.

Hugs, high fives, pictures and some goddamn tears. You could almost feel the emotion watching those two celebrate a truly historic feat in their career.

Here’s Lester’s reaction.

A quick thank you and then giving his teammates all the praise like the consummate professional Jon Lester is. When he was asked what it meant to be an All-Star following yesterday’s win against the Reds, he gave maybe the biggest Jon Lester answer ever.

“All-Star games are great. They are definitely kind of a self-gratifying thing. But at the end of the day, I pitch for the Cubs, I’m not pitching for All-Star games.”

However, Lester must have somewhat cared that he’d be pitching in this year’s game because as he was trying to online shop for his 2018 All-Star jersey this afternoon, he couldn’t find it anywhere.

What was the solution?

Jokingly tweeting at the MLB to confirm his All-Star status.

The MLB apparently listened to him because now they have plenty of Jon Lester All-Star jersey’s available on MLB.com.

Get yours here.

 

Don’t Look Now But Yoan Moncada’s Bat Has Really Been Heating Up

By
Emmet McClain
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The biggest story line for the White Sox coming into 2018 was Yoan Moncada’s development. Fans overall have been pretty upset with him as he is only batting .233/.296/.411 this season. He started the year off decent, then got really hot before going on the DL with a hamstring injury. Since coming back, he has been pretty awful. Any fan would be foolish to say otherwise. However, it finally seems like he is starting to turn the corner.

In Moncada’s last 7 games, he is slashing .344/.364/.563 with a .927 OPS. He has at least one hit in each of those 7 games, and even went 1-3 batting from the right handed side (his weaker side) against former Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel the other day.

Putting Moncada’s 2018 Season In Perspective

When people look at Moncada’s stats, they will tend to focus on his disappointing average and eye-widening strikeout rate. Before I go more in depth with those two areas, let’s remember here that Yoan has played in 144 career MLB games. Not even a full season’s worth. Now when it comes to average, people need to realize that that is a grossly misleading stat. Some of the best at driving in runs bat anywhere from .240-.250. If Moncada didn’t have the power that he has, then I’d be concerned (more on that later).

Now about the strikeouts. Unfortunately, they will probably always be a part of his game. He should still learn to drastically cut them down from his K rate this year (34.7%), but overall it’s just a part of his game that fans are going to have to accept.

What fans should really be focusing on are his pace projections covering his entire 2018 season. I did some research after the 4th of July game against the Reds and was literally shocked at what I saw.

These stats go back to what I was saying earlier about his power. He has A TON of pop in his bat. Once he gets a better idea on how pitchers are going to attack him he will learn which pitches he can drive. Not only will we see this increase his power numbers, but his average as well.

To Recap

There is a very good chance that this season is the WORST we will see of Moncada. And if him at his worst is putting up 36 doubles, 80+ RBI, and 20+ home runs, then sign me up.

At his absolute peak I think he can slash .280/.360/.490 with 30 home runs, 40 doubles and 30 steals. That is an All-Star right there, and potentially an MVP.

So let’s recap: stop worrying about what his average is, and instead look at what he is doing when he hits the ball. His hard hit rate is still one of the tops in the entire MLB. Stop worrying about his strikeout numbers, because they’ll always be there (though hopefully not at the rate they are at now). And remember that he will get better and better with more experience. Just look at Javy Baez and Avisail Garcia as two examples of that.

Yoan Moncada has all the talent needed to not only succeed, but dominate the MLB. The only thing we can do now is wait and see just how much potential he can tap into.

 

 

 

The Cubs Should Definitely Do This Trade For J.A. Happ

By
Aldo Soto
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Everyone is paying way too much attention to David Bote being one of the three players that the Toronto Blue Jays have been looking at. The Chicago Cubs aren’t trading Bote away for J.A. Happ, but if the price is outfielder Mark Zagunis and pitcher Jen-Ho Tseng, then they shouldn’t think twice about making the deal.

In case you missed it, the Cubs have reportedly shown interest in Toronto’s only all-star this year, J.A. Happ.

You know the story by now, the Cubs want pitching depth as much as any competing team in the league.

Naturally fans try to come up with a trade package, but really all we’re doing is guessing. However, Iowa Cubs beat reporter Tommy Birch provided us with this little nugget.

It turns out that the Blue Jays have been looking at a few Cubs players, so this Happ link could be serious. Anyway, those three players are David Bote, Mark Zagunis and Jen-Ho Tseng.

Again, the Cubs are not trading Bote. He’s the perfect replacement for Ben Zobrist after his contract is up.

Anyway, Zagunis is a 25-year-old outfielder who was drafted in the third round by the Cubs in 2014. He made his MLB debut in 2017, playing in seven games for the Cubs and was briefly up this year too. He’s a great OBP guy, up to .391 at Triple-A this season in 75 games, but the Cubs are loaded in the outfield.

If he’s who the Blue Jays want, do it. Just can’t deal with another Tyler Chatwood start at this point.

And hey, if the Cubs want to sweeten the pot, add Tseng. He’s been brutal in 2018, but he’s coming off a season in which he won the Cubs minor league pitcher of the year award.

Again, if it’s Bote, you pass, and I know that sounds ridiculous for a guy who’s played in 17 games for the Cubs this season, primarily as a backup, but he’s showing everyone something. His game plays at this level and the Cubs certainly won’t be giving him up for a rental like Happ.

But the other two guys? Make that deal every day of the week.

Of course, this is assuming the Blue Jays really like Zagunis and Tseng.

Nothing to Do? Here’s More Damning Evidence Dowell Loggains Was a Hack

By
Erik Lambert
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dowell loggains

Do Chicago Bears fans truly grasp how lucky they are to be done with the Dowell Loggains era at offensive coordinator? A good way to liken it is being stuck in a humid, moist, stink-infested sewer for two years and then suddenly emerging back into the outside world. John Fox made plenty of mistakes during his time as head coach.

By far his biggest though was promoting Loggains to offensive coordinator rather than seeking a more qualified replacement for Adam Gase. As a result, the offense went from scoring 335 points in 2015 under Gase to 279 in 2016 and 264 in 2017 under Loggains. People tried to make excuses about personnel and the like.

The reality is he had virtually the same weapons in 2016 and the offense took a nosedive anyway. People think his greatest drawback was a lack of imagination. While this criticism is true, his biggest issues instead was a lack of common sense. This was hammered home by Warren Sharp of SharpFootballAnalysis.com along with Evan Silva of Rotoworld during a 2018 season preview.

Dowell Loggains committed a cardinal sin for NFL coaches

Former longtime head coach Marty Schottenheimer had a great saying about how he coached. It was, “Find out what your team does best and do that.” It may sound overly simple, but it’s true. The idea is basic but so important. Understand what your players do well and what they don’t do so well. Then work the scheme around their strengths and find a way to hide their weaknesses.

Loggains heard this idea and basically threw in the trash can. Just look at the Jordan Howard stats from 2017. When he ran from under center formations, he posted 948 yards on 242 attempts with six touchdowns. That’s 3.9 yards per carry. In the shotgun, he posted 174 yards on just 34 attempts with three touchdowns at 5.1 yards per carry.

Put it this way, if those numbers had been reversed then Howard would’ve rushed for 1,366 yards and 22 touchdowns based on the averages. This is why Loggains was clueless. It’s also why people should be thrilled Matt Nagy is in town. In 2017, Kareem Hunt ran the ball 130 times out of 238 total rushes from shotgun.

That’s just shy of half. Meanwhile, Alex Smith threw the ball out of shotgun 85.5% of the time in Nagy’s system. A substantial step up from the 50% Trubisky endured under Loggains. It’s little wonder the young quarterback is so excited about the upcoming season. He must feel like Andy Dufresne after breaking out of Shawshank.

The same goes for Howard. This offense should do so much better not just because of new personnel, but a better grasp of how to put your players in position to accent their strengths.

‘Khem Kong’ Returns Home To Thomas & Mack For NBA Summer League

By
Robby Dougherty
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The kid who once inspired the biggest fan-prop in college basketball known as “Khem Kong,” who was known for his tremendous defense around the hoop and delivering one of his patented ‘Birch-Slaps’ to opponents that went into SDSU’s hostile environment during one of the most anticipated match-ups of the year in the Mountain West Conference and gave their fans and ‘The Show’ a reason to sit down and be humble — that kid has now grown up.

Former UNLV center Khem Birch has returned home to UNLV this week with the Orlando Magic for the NBA Summer League.

Birch transferred to UNLV after his freshman year at Pitt in 2012. Forced to sit out his mandatory one year per NCAA rules, he came in with a bang and immediately made an impact on the fans and the culture around Vegas hoops with his Canadian counterpart and fellow big-man, former first overall draft pick Anthony Bennett. Birch’s likeness became the largest prop in college basketball, which — during the second half of games — is under the home basket.

Then, just like many of the other UNLV basketball players who were given a false sense of draft ranking, he left school early following his junior year with the Rebs.

“I loved playing here at UNLV for (former) Coach [Dave] Rice and with my teammates,” Birch said in a statement. “After talking at length with my family, I have decided to pursue my professional career. It was a tough decision, one that I thought about for a very long time. I will finish my classes this semester and I will be a Runnin’ Rebel for life.”

The story sounds familiar so far: Birch went undrafted in 2014 and struggled to make an NBA roster during the summer league. He did, although, make the 2015 D-League All-Star game before continuing his career overseas in Turkey to search for more playing time, better competition, and a better paycheck (probably).

After opting out of a contract for his Greek team in 2017, Birch was able to sign with the Orlando Magic and appear in 42 NBA games for the big league team in the 2017-2018 season, so it seems like his own personal process is working.  That’s where we find him today, back in the NBA Summer League, back at the home of the Runnin’ Rebels, back to work.

“I thank God that I wasn’t here (in the NBA) earlier in my career because I probably would have made a lot of mistakes,’’ Birch told NBA.com.  “I made a lot of mistakes without even being in the NBA, so if I would have had that (NBA) pressure on me, it might not have gone so well. Now, this is the right time to be here because I’m more mature and my head is humble.

“I’m happy that it’s happened the way that it has.’’

Once again on an Orlando Magic roster, Khem finds himself this summer standing next to first-round big-name prospect Mohamed Bamba. With no clear spot for him, it’s going to take a lot of hard work and effort to force the Magic coaches’ hand in giving him a share of the rotation. Off to a good start already, his first Summer League game was strong, most notably on the defensive side of things.

Last year with the “Big Boy Club,” Birch was playing out of position. Khem could care less, and his work ethic has proved that he’s ready to make the jump into a regular role. This could be the summer that Khem Birch makes himself known, not only to his Magic team, but to the entire basketball world.

Not only is he pushing for (and deserving of) his spot in the NBA, Birch also has plans to play for his native Canadian team for the FIBA World Cup Qualifying Games. With such broad shoulders, the man can carry the weight of all his opportunities easily, in my opinion.

I can only hope to share a Labatt Blue and talk about with the guy as his monstrous mannequin still overlooks us at PKWY Tavern in Summerlin, its new permanent home now that Birch is a Magic, not a Rebel. Who knows? Maybe Khem Kong will return for an Orlando game but, for now, it’ll have to be overlook drunken beer fans in the Red Room at PKWY.

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