Upcoming Programming Schedule and Some Random Thoughts

Having 2 weeks off of work means I'm actually going to have the time to write some longer, semi-researched posts. I was thinking of exploring one question I have for each of the franchises I follow (if one of you White Sox-people wants to add one for them, that's fine too.)

Bulls- What would have happened in the 94 and 95 finals if Jordan had been there?
The Bulls are the team I had the toughest time thinking of a question for. In my sports viewing consciousness (1989-present) The Bulls were great, then they sucked, now they're getting good again, and in each case it was always very obvious why. But more than any of the teams the Bulls actually played in the finals, the Hakeem Rockets at their peak would have been a great matchup.

Bears- Why did the core of the 85 Bears only win 1 Super Bowl?
If the Greatest-Show-On-Turf Rams ushered in the age of parity in the NFL, everything before that was the age of dynasties. Almost every team from the 80s and 90s that won a Super Bowl won more than one, or at least made it to another one. And even without Chicago bias, the 85 Bears frequently top the "Greatest teams of all time" list. So what the hell happened? Seriously, like I said above, my viewing window started in 89 (The 49ers destroying the Broncos in Super Bowl XXIV is my earliest football memory) so I honestly don't know. I'm most excited for this one.

Cubs- How much of 2003 should I actually blame on Bartman?
The best baseball book I've read since Moneyball is Are We Winning? by Will Leitch. In it there's a great chapter that made me rethink that play. Leitch revisits it and does a great job viewing the play from Bartman's perspective. I was excited for the 30 for 30 on Bartman, too, but ESPN dropped it from the series for some reason, so I doubt it'll ever actually see the light of day. Anyways, it's 7 years ago now, so maybe the wounds have healed enough that it won't be masochistic to intentionally spend time thinking about that game.

Blackhawks- What did I miss when I wasn't paying attention?
My father passed on a love of the Cubs, Bears, and Bulls to me, but I remember liking the Roenick/Chelios Hawks of the early 90s, too. I think, like a lot of sports fans, the bond with my father was a big part of shaping my sports interest, and since he didn't really care about the Hawks, it was hard for me to, especially during the years when the owner was actively sabotaging the franchise. Another big part of it is probably the fact that I'm pretty good at basketball, baseball, and football, but have never been a very good skater and haven't played a lot of hockey in my life. So I missed from about 93/94 up through the resurgence in 09 (the first playoff run roped me back in.) I want to know what I missed out on in the last 15 years of not being a hockey fan.

Other future posts:
I have one more of the 30 for 30s to watch that I'm interested in (Pony Excess, the SMU one that just aired.) I'll have seen I think 25 of the 30 at that point, and want to make a top 5 list of them.

Also: Liveblogs! I really like the format, and want to make it a more regular part of the viewing experience, not just for big games. Here are the ones I'm targeting:
Sunday, 12/19, Hawks vs. Kings (Pending Conall's participation. I need someone with a little more hockey depth of knowledge involved)
Monday, 12/20, Bears vs. Vikings
Wednesday, 12/22, Bulls vs. Wizards (I know it's random, but there are reasons why I can't do most of the other games over my break, and I don't want to go that long without one.)
Saturday, 1/1, Bulls vs. Cavs (your hangover should be over by then, and we can check in on college football during the commercials)

The Bulls game I'm most excited about between now and the end of my break is Bulls vs. Knicks on Christmas. As Sam will probably strangle me if I even suggest watching that game live (11AM central), it will probably have to be DVR'd. The last DVR liveblog was ok, but I highly doubt we can sync everyone's Christmases up in order to watch that game together, so we might have to comment on that one the old fashioned way.

Another Liveblog I'd love to do is have everyone watch a classic Bulls game and Liveblog it. Leary and I watched the 93 and 98 games on the Bulls Championship DVD this summer and had a blast, it would be fun to do that on a larger scale. I'll take suggestions for games/times to watch in the comments.

Whew, that was longer than I thought it would be. Time for some random thoughts while watching the Bulls dismantle the Raptors (who are, admittedly, pretty bad.)

If Joakim Noah needs surgery, I want it to happen NOW. We need a healthy Joakim for an extended playoff run, but we don't really need him to go above .500 in December and January (look at the schedule). There are a LOT of teams we can beat without Joakim on the schedule coming up, and he'll need time to shake the rust off before the playoffs start. Be smart and do it now, Bulls, or don't do it at all. But if there's a 1% chance it needs to be done, do it. Don't play around with the health of our 2nd franchise player.

It was speculated on in the last liveblog, but JJ must have done something we're not aware of to not be getting playing time. He's played 5 minutes in the last 8 games, with 6 DNP-CDs. The Bulls were in control of this one the entire game, it was the perfect opportunity for JJ to get some game action. I just hope it's not that TT doesn't like him.

I said it this summer when I wasn't blogging so much, so unfortunately there's no real record of it I can stand on, but Boozer really fits in well with the squad we have. The one thing we have needed recently is someone that can make teams without a good defensive big man pay (like the Raptors). Ever since that first debacle against the Magic, Boozer has been looking like the right guy for the job. Mike Wilbon wrote about it today, but I wonder how I'd feel about the Bulls had we signed Lebron instead this summer? (that was my 2nd choice for a Bulls question)

The Blackhawks defense sucks. Seabrook was embarrassing Monday night, and Keith wasn't much better. What the hell is going on back there?