The Fire Pit » Sports

Bradford signs for $78 million

T.F.P. — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 04:36:33 +0000

Holy crap, the NFL rookie contract situation is out of control. Sam Bradford, this year’s top draft pick, just inked a six-year, $78-million deal with the St. Louis Rams. The QB out of Oklahoma will receive $50 million in guaranteed money — which means he’ll bank at least that much even if he sucks, gets injured, etc.

I can’t believe the size of these contracts. Tom Brady and Peyton Manning won’t even make as much as Bradford this year. Don’t the owners see how these massive, UNEARNED contracts alienate fans? We know that we’re the ones who ultimately end up paying these contracts in the form of higher ticket, concession, and merchandise prices.

The next time the owners rework the CBA, they need to address rookie contracts. There needs to be a cap in place to prevent this kind of thing from happening anymore. Last year Stafford got $41 million in guaranteed money, this year Bradford gets $50 million. See a trend? What’s next year’s top pick going to get?? This is fucking insane.

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Roenick inducted in Hall

T.F.P. — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 05:04:12 +0000

Jeremy Roenick, my favorite Blackhawks player when I was a kid, will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame for the class of 2010. I loved Roenick when he was drafted as an 18-year-old kid out of Boston, and pretty much stopped following the Hawks after he was traded to Phoenix in that crappy deal. He turned into kind of a caricature in the later years of his career, but I still have a lot of fond memories of JR in a Chicago sweater. Let’s hope that’s the one he chooses for his bust in the Hall.

World Cup Trophy

T.F.P. — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 11:13:39 +0000

So Spain won the World Cup in what I thought was a less-than-thrilling 1-0 win over the Netherlands. Then again, I’m not a soccer fan, so I wouldn’t know thrilling if it hit me in the face. Anyway, I saw the trophy presentation — and was once again disappointed. That little thing is what you get for being the best soccer team in the world? Seriously?! Give me a break. I have a whole house water filter bigger than that! Is it at least solid gold? If so, then that changes things a little.

Oh, well, at least the tournament is over now and soccer can go back into hibernation in the States for another four years.

Hawks losing players

T.F.P. — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 13:02:30 +0000

It was expected, of course, but I don’t think any fans realized to what extent the 2010-11 Chicago Blackhawks would differ from the 2009-10 championship version. We knew the salary cap would wreak havoc with the team, so we were expecting to lose some key guys. But this is getting ridiculous. Byfuglien, Ladd, Versteeg, Eager, Burish, and Fraser are gone. Hjalmarsson just signed an offer sheet with the Sharks, and if the Hawks don’t match, he’ll be gone. If the Hawks do match the offer, Niemi is likely gone. Wow… just wow.

Hawks GM Stan Bowman was supposed to have all of this under control. After the Steeger trade, he said they didn’t have to make any more moves. But then Ladd was shipped off. And now there’s a chance we’ll lose Hjalmarsson? I don’t get it. Why wasn’t he signed a long time ago???

I know the Hawks were saddled with some bad contracts and a few bonus situations that came into play because of the Stanley Cup run. I’m not expecting Bowman to turn into Superman and be able to leap steel buildings in a single bound or stop a speeding train. What I did expect was that he wouldn’t allow the team to get picked apart like this. Man, what a debacle this off-season is turning out to be.

I don’t know… I am just not looking forward to October. The Hawks will be soooo different from the team that took the ice last October and carried them all the way to the holy grail. I’m glad they won last month, because things are looking goddamn bleak right about now.

LeBron James Decision Day

T.F.P. — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 11:32:26 +0000

I don’t watch the NBA at all, but it’s kind of hard to miss the LeBron James hoopla that’s been going on all summer long. But hopefully that will end tonight, as James has promised to reveal which team he will sign with for next season and beyond.

Of course, since he’s the “King” and all that, he can’t just call a regular news conference to make his announcement. No, instead he has to buy an hour on ESPN and show a documentary or some such about himself as well. Wow, some ego there, huh?

Anyway, since Chicago is in the running, it wouldn’t surprise me if the Bulls set up a bunch of tv stands outside the UC so fans can gather round and watch the proceedings. If you ask me, though, I’d have to say James is staying put in Cleveland. It doesn’t really make sense for him to go anywhere else.

Big Z is a Big D

T.F.P. — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 11:41:07 +0000

Carlos Zambrano has to be the biggest d-bag in Chicago sports right now. I have never liked this guy, didn’t think he was worth the $91 million contract he signed a couple years ago, and am not surprised that he hasn’t delivered results. And after yesterday’s incident, where he completely lost his mind and went toe to toe with Derek Lee in the Cubs’ dugout, I’m writing him off for good. This guy needs to be dealt ASAP — if there’s any other team willing to take on his problems and his contract. Right now Zambrano is suspended indefinitely. I hope he never puts on a Cubs uniform again. Bye bye, idiot.

U.S. Open 2010

T.F.P. — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 22:19:47 +0000

I haven’t been paying much attention to the U.S. Open this year, mostly because there were a couple of “unknowns” (to me, a very, very casual golf fan) at the top of the leaderboard. But after the third round, I noticed that both Phil and Tiger are in a position to challenge for the win today.

Dustin Johnson came into the final round as the leader with an overall score of -6. But he is +5 through the first three holes, on his way to a massive choke job. Tiger isn’t faring much better, though. he’s +2 through 3 and is tied for 6th.

Graeme McDowell is actually in the lead, having played an even round through the first three. Ernie Els and Gregory Havret are hot on his heels, with Phil sitting in 5th at even par.

Should be a wild finish to this one!

(Donald Miralle/Getty Images)