First Round Draft Justifications

So team owners had two days to write a paragraph defending their pick. If they didn't get back to me, then I get to make fun of their pick. Fair enough, right? Justifications are in italics, my thoughts are in normal font. (Go here for the full list of results)

Will- Michael Jordan

It's surprisingly easy to attack this pick: For the last year Jordan has been doing everything in his power to prevent me from watching the number 2 pick in this draft play basketball, and he almost succeeded. This is completely unacceptable. If the lockout had cancelled the whole year, and MJ was a major reason behind it, I think that would have put a major dent in MJ's legacy in Chicago.

Gomez- Derrick Rose

Despite the fact that I'm supposed to be making fun of these picks, I have nothing bad to say about Derrick, so I won't.

Sidenote: How much must it suck to be the person who rear-ended Derrick on the Kennedy? Imagine you rear end someone, you're already feeling bad about it, you see it's a Bentley, so it's worse, then you see the most beloved athlete in Chicago? I think I'd feel maybe 2 steps below Bartman.

Ron- Walter Payton

See: Rose, Derrick

Conall- Scottie Pippen

All Scottie Pippen has done since retirement is sit courtside with that smug, entitled rich boy, talk smack about the Bulls guards, and completely screw up the chemistry in the booth on CSN.

BJ- Ryne Sandberg

Best Cub of my lifetime, maybe could have picked Ernie here but I never saw him play. Also, Sandberg was my first and second (and possibly third) jersey. I learned to read and do basic math from Cubs box scores, I cried as a little kid when the Cubs lost, and when I grew up I wanted to play 2nd base for the Chicago Cubs, get it yet? I'm still mad I hesitated when this pick came up but I'm chalking it up to fantasy draft rust.

Sam- Bobby Hull

Having the sixth spot in the draft, I felt it was pretty easy to decide to take Bobby Hull with my first pick. After Jordan, Pippen, Rose and Payton, there are only a handful of players that really personify Chicago sports. Hull, who spent 15 seasons with the Blackhawks, led them to a Stanley Cup win in 1961 and held many scoring titles over his long career. He has been in the NHL hall of fame for over two decades and recently had a statue erected for him outside the United Center. Other than the modern day Blackhawks (who are arguably more visible given the internet and increased broadcasting of Blackhawks games), Hull is the icon of Blackhawks hockey, an example of hard work and tough play. To me he was the clear choice,...and part of me wanted to mess with Conall.

Ethan- Kenny Lofton

I'll actually defend this pick, because I know Ethan didn't completely understand the criteria, but I still think Kenny Lofton is a defensible choice. The point is to pick beloved players, and while Kenny wasn't in Chicago long (at least on the north side), he absolutely raked for half the year in 03, and we wouldn't have had the success we had that year without him. If wasn't for stupid Corey Patterson (who I regret not banishing), it's most likely Kenny would have cooled off the next year and wouldn't be remembered as fondly right now.

Katz- Stan Mikita

Pleasantly surprised to have gotten Mikita when talking about Chicago Sports Legends. He only played for the Blackhawks where he won a championship in '61 and holds the records for seasons, games, assists, points and is second in goals. In '67 and '68 he was the MVP (Hart Memorial), leading NHL scorer (Art Ross, 4 total) and won the award for "Best Sportsmanship" (Lady Byng) and is the only player in NHL history to win all three in the same year. Immortalized as a statue outside the United Center. You can say more, but this guy was Mr. Blackhawk.

Tristan- Ernie Banks

I can't believe Mr. Cub fell to me at 9. I went in to the draft intending to stick mostly with players I remember, but when you have a chance to get a guy who hit 512 home runs on the north side, many of them while playing shortstop, you have to do it. It's a shame Ernie didn't have the teams around him to truly compete until it was too late, but I'll address the lack of a championship pedigree later in the draft.

Side Note #2: As I'm writing this, part way through the second quarter of the Bulls-Heat game, it's worth noting that Taj Gibson in the 8th round might be the steal of the draft. D-Wade wants no part of him anymore.

Look for round 2 tomorrow.

Thanks for the Memories, Greg?

One thing I always appreciated about the Cubs growing up was that, as an organization, they didn't shove their history down your throat. Sure, I knew about the billy goat, the sign in right field, and every year an uninspired sportswriter or two would brush off an article about curses and whatnot, but I feel like the Cubs themselves mainly focused on who was on the field.

I think one of the places where I appreciated this the most was in the fact that a 100-year old organization had only retired 2 numbers. I remember asking my dad about Ernie Banks and Billy Williams when I was young, thinking they must have been pretty special players if they were the only ones deemed worthy to have their numbers hanging from the foul poles. I also remember being confused when the Cubs were on the road and I saw other teams with upwards of a dozen numbers retired. I was kind of happy that the teams I root for (the Bulls as well, who only had 2 at the time,) were the kind of teams that don't retire numbers willy-nilly (coughMiamiHeatcough)

I was happy both times when Ron Santo and Ryne Sandberg joined them. I'm completely fine with Santo getting bonus points for his work in the booth. Both players had great careers that will forever be associated with Chicago Cubs baseball.

Which is where I have a problem with Maddux. I get that both Maddux and Fergie wore 31, which was at least part of the impetus for retiring their number at the same time. I was a little skeptical at first that 4 players from a team that pulled off one of the most notable collapses of all time needed their numbers retired (I know Ernie was on the very downside of his career then, but still.) But after checking Fergie's baseball reference page, I have to admit he has some stats that jump out at you, like a consistent ERA+ over 120 and a few years leading the league in BB/9 and WHIP.

But then you look at Maddux's page. Fergie's best year was below average for Maddux. Greg has back-to-back ERA+ years of 271 and 262! He led the majors in BB/9 pretty much every year in the 90s. You could make the argument that Greg Maddux is the best player to ever put on a Cubs uniform.

So why am I against his number being retired? 5 years from now Maddux is going into the hall of fame. It should be unanimous, or at least any writer who leaves him off should have his or her voting rights examined. But he's going in with an A on his cap, not a C. Maddux gave his best years to the Atlanta Braves because the Cubs were too stingy to pay him what he deserved (in fact, probably less than he deserved, considering his salaries in those mid-90s years were in the 6 million range.) You can't go back now and pretend those years didn't happen. Greg started just as many playoff games against the Cubs (1) as he did for them. I know Fergie pitched for other teams, too, but he will be remembered as a Cub, and for good reason. While we love Maddux, let's face it: he's a Brave.

Fergie- 167 wins as a Cub
117- other teams

Greg- 133 as a Cub
222- other teams (mostly Atlanta) (PS- did you know he was at 16 wins in 94 when the season was shut down?)

It's not quite the Heat retiring friggin Dan Marino's number, but it still didn't sit well with me.

Future posts:
1. Rick Telander, Ryan Theriot, and steroids
2. If you could go back to the last regular season Bulls game against Toronto and have them win, setting up a series with Orlando, would you?