Thursday night ramblings

A busy Thursday in the world of sports, here's a look...

- I start tonight with the stupidity of Bears WR Sam Hurd. Hurd was arrested and remains in jail tonight after he allegedly attempted to buy over half a million dollars in cocaine and marijuana from a supplier in North Texas. Words can't even start to explain how dumb you would have to be to do that, if Hurd did. Any pro athlete who would pull something like that needs an one-way ticket out of the league.
- I move on now to the world of IndyCar where the accident that killed Dan Wheldon to end last season was a "perfect storm". Wheldon hit his head on a pole that held the fencing up around the track. A very sad story and a great example of why race car driving is always a dangerous thing to do.
- A concussion has once again ended a season early for a NHL player as Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger will sit out the rest of the season with post-concussion symptoms. Hockey is a violent sport in its nature and big-time hits are a part of the game but when a lot of your major names are sitting on the bench, it hurts the game. I've talked about Sidney Crosby in the past, don't know what to fix but something has to.
- A commentary on Los Angeles pro basketball and things that may be happening. Rumors are swirling now that Kobe Bryant is upset over recent events with the Lakers and may want out. The Clippers have got a lot better with Chris Paul but are still not a dominant team with just two stars. Will the battles at the Staples Center be better? Yes but I don't think Kobe has anything to worry about.
- With the recent warmer weather in the country, thoughts head toward baseball and that spring training is only 2 months away. It appears one team is trying real hard to get their fans back on board. The Cubs put in a claim on Yu Darvish and reports state they are about to go hard after Prince Fielder. If both happen, I don't see any reason why the North Siders don't win the NL Central.
- Last a reminder that college bowl season starts this Saturday with three games. I will have predictions the day of each game for you if you want to use them for your bowl pool in your office or wherever you are playing at.

That's it for tonight, more in the morning.....

Friday morning report

We begin the weekend with these thoughts....

- On the heels of the Chris Paul trade being nixed by the league, Dwight Howard is now angling to get traded to the Nets and this trade appears to be actually going down. We are heading down a road of superteams where only 6-8 teams have a chance at a title and no one else can survive. Not good for balance but good for ratings.
- Also in the NBA, it appears Brandon Roy is going to have to retire because of his knees. That's a real shame for a player that had a very bright future ahead of him and could have had a Hall of Fame career. Good luck to him.
- We move on to college football where Kansas has hired former Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis. Weis has a few good years in South Bend but was an epic failure in terms of Irish coaches. The move is sound but we will see if it is actually successful.
- A very smart move by IndyCar, deciding to bypass going to Las Vegas after the death of Dan Wheldon last year. Those cars move way too fast for that kind of track and it was a bad idea in the first place. There are reports they won't return there again and that would be for the best.
- NFL Week 14 started last night with a clunker of a win by the Steelers over the Browns. That's Pittsburgh's game though with their defense and getting that 10th win continued their chase toward the AFC North title and the top seed in the conference.

Enjoy your Friday, more tonight....