Next Stop, South Beach

It really couldn't have happened any other way. Sure, Irish fans, and their collective nerves, hoped that the Irish could waltz into the Coliseum, blow away USC in a no contest victory, and finally put to rest the hate that the team has faced from the talking head pundits all year. But after watching this team all year, wouldn't the moment that a National Championship appearance was clinched have to come in something like a goal line stand? And not any ordinary goal line stand. No, this was one that withstood two defensive pass interference calls with potential National Championship hopes on the line. To me, it was a microcosm of the entire season, and the culmination of Brian Kelly's rebuilding project.

Irish One Win Away from National Championship Game

Beat SC. That refrain, which has been an annual tradition for the Fighting Irish for decades, now has a new meaning this year. After the crazy losses last night from Kansas State and Oregon, a win over USC is all that stands between presumptive #1 ND and an improbable berth in the national championship game. For a program that believed in itself from the start, this comes as no surprise and is merely the following through of a mantra that has been hammered home since Brian Kelly became coach. For the Irish faithful, one look at the toughest schedule in the country prior to the season had even the most ardent supporters wondering where the Irish would land. But you see, that's the best part of being a fan. We've endured two decades of Notre Dame futility, some of the worst years in the program's history. It's been a rough road, one that we all stuck to even as the clamoring of how Notre Dame will never succeed again, how they're irrelevant, and all other cries like that emerged. But that's what makes this so special. As a fan of the Fighting Irish, peering over the precipice to a potential national championship berth, realizing what we've been through as a program and a fanbase makes this all the more sweeter.

Was the Bears' Loss an Aberration?

We've seen a lot from the Bears this season. There's been the turnovers, both on offense and defense. There's been the defensive touchdowns, which have practically given the Bears a second offense the entire season. There's also been the revelation of each position group on offense, from the brilliance of the secondary to the dominance of the defensive line. Included in this has been the emergence - at least to those outside Chicago - of Charles Tillman and the resurgence of Tim Jennings. Then there's been the offense. We've seen the Jay Cutler to Brandon Marshall connection play out like we wanted to. We've seen spurts of excellence. But at the same time, we've seen woeful stretches of inadequacy and an underutilization of Matt Forte. All of this begs the question - will the offense's inconsistencies prevent a potential Bears' championship?

2012 Illinois Basketball: What to Watch For

Tonight, a new era of Illinois basketball begins. Hopefully gone are the seasons of underwhelming results with overrated teams. Now, in this new era, square talent isn't being forced into a round hole. Under John Groce, the Illini should transition to a basketball program that recruits, signs, and develops talented basketball players that fill whatever role Groce feels is most appropriate, rather than plugging them into a system that does not fit their style.

Irish Continue to Fight as they Stay Undefeated

Some call it a team of destiny. Others call it a distorted version of that ole Irish luck. Still others, those of a more pragmatic nature, claim that it's a result of discipline, hard work, and adherence to fundamentals. The ESPN talking heads, the rest of the pundits around college football, and all of the college football fans who chomp at the bit to claim that this 9-0 team isn't worthy of any praise, of any lofty rankings, or even a place in the National Championship conversation, can bark all they want. After all that is over, after the Irish toyed with their own fans emotions on a dreary Saturday in South Bend, the end result is the same. Because as Julius Campbell so eloquently put it, the team has won every single game they have played until now. This team is still perfect.

Bulls Opening Win a Sign of Things to Come?

Flash back to April 28th, 2012. Bulls fans held their collective breath as Derrick Rose lay writhing on the ground holding his knee. Everyone feared the worst, hoped for the best, and probably figured somewhere in between. I mean, this was Derrick Rose after all. We've seen him crash hard in the lane only to be toppled over. His grimacing, slowly rising routine was one that had become familiar with Bulls fans. After news trickled in that Rose had torn his ACL, we watched as the Bulls tried to grind out a slow, defensive-minded series battle against a young upstart Philly team.

Irish Rout Over Sooners Should Quiet the Critics

The Irish certainly have reason to celebrate

Navy. Purdue. Michigan State. Michigan. Miami. Stanford. BYU. And now, Oklahoma. With a rousing victory over the Sooners in Oklahoma last night, the Fighting Irish appear to have finally quieted all of those critics. Where are you now, Mark May, with your prognostications that Notre Dame is overrated? Where are you now, Rick Reilly, with your ridiculous notion that Notre Dame is irrelevant? And where are the rest of the rank and file college football pundits with their belief that Oklahoma, favored by double digits even though ND was ranked higher, would put Notre Dame in their "rightful place" by relegating them to the back of the pack with a foregone conclusion that the Irish would be thrashed by the Sooners?

Illini Hit Rock Bottom in Loss To Indiana

Homecoming. Every alumnus looks forward to the weekend, as it means reuniting with friends from college, spending time on a campus that you enjoyed some of the best years of your life on, pretending you're a college student again, and generally making a fool out of yourself at every turn. It's usually a blast, starting with the tailgate before the football game and continuing on through the day. When the football team is bad, though, the tailgating usually just turns into a party the rest of the day and the game  is ignored. This is the status of our program right now, as from the looks of it yesterday with a half-empty stadium, droves of alumni decided to continue tailgating rather than watch the nightmare that is Illinois football.

One Year Ago Today

Today is the one year anniversary of the start of this blog. I understand that really, in the grand scheme of things, a single year of writing a sports blog isn't high in the pecking order. But for me, it's been great  to watch this process evolve. I've been pushed for years to try and articulate my thoughts in some way shape or form, and I finally took the plunge a year ago today. Since then, I've had the pleasure of hearing feedback from friends, family, and even strangers.

It's just one thing I love about our society and modern technology - everyone has a voice if they so choose. Whether it's facebook, twitter, blogging, or anything else, we've all been afforded the opportunity to voice our opinions so that everyone can see it. It has a way of bringing us all together, and if I can be just a tiny, microscopic portion of that in the Chicago sports world then that makes me happy.

I just wanted to thank all of you who read any of my posts, whether it was one or all of them, for taking the time to do so. It means the world to me. If you ever have any ideas for improving this blog, or want to leave any feedback whatsoever, it is all more than welcomed. I started this blog because of my love for Chicago sports and the near constant discussions I had regarding it with those around me. If anything, writing on those same subjects for the past year has only reinforced my love for these same things, and hopefully brought some of the same to some of you.

Thanks again for reading this past year. It has been a great ride for me, and I look forward to continuing to do.

Our First Glance at the New Look Bulls

Our image from last season

It hurts to think about where we left off with the Bulls last season. Derrick Rose had blown out his knee, Joakim Noah was suffering through a bad ankle injury, and the beloved Bulls bench mob had coughed up a Game 6 in the final minute to lose to the 8th seeded Philadelphia 76ers. From there we entered an off season that saw the jettisoning of several players, including CJ Watson, Kyle Korver, Omer Asik, and Ronnie Brewer. When some of the faces that were brought in to not only supplement the loss of Rose for the majority of the year, but also replace those key figures of the bench mob, were, how should I say this, rather unfulfilling, reports of the Bulls' demise this upcoming season dominated the reports of Bulls beat writers and the Bulls blogosphere.