Dipsy-doo and Peek-a-boo from Kris Versteeg

Coming in at No. 4 is Blackhawks Kris Versteeg. 

He played with good hustle and smart play, when he arrived back with the team in mid-season last year.  But he tanked in the playoffs, and was in and out of Joel Quenneville's doghouse.  It was more than a surprise to see him back this season, but as we learned over the summer, he was not fully recovered from a knee injury.  So with the Blackhawks earlier than expected exit from the playoffs, losing by a mere puck deflection in OT in the deciding 7th Game of the Western Conference Finals, he and his mates had a full summer of rest and recovery. 

In any case, the dude is playing with speed and energy this season, and in one of the top plays tonight, with skill:  Versteeg totally breaks Senators Erik Karlsson's ankles (basketball terminology) and unabashedly undresses Craig Anderson (boudoir terminology).  It was so Jonathan Toews-que.  Dipsy-doo, then peek-a-boo, and boom clap! 

Cubs Rick Renteria Looks One-and-Done

Rick Renteria had the Cubs front office's support after wrapping up his first season as manager

It looks like Rick Renteria is one-and-done as the ill-fated manager of the Cubs is concerned.  Theo Epstein just finished his third year as President of Baseball Operations, and more pointedly the third year of a five-year overhaul of the long-suffering, hapless team.  I was hoping the Cubs would finish close to a .500 record, but 73-89 ain't too bad.  Some talented youngsters came up, and caught drew a bit of my attention away from football and the Bears.

Make no mistake, this will not be easy on the Cubs front office. Replacing a man they’ve stated publicly is coming back and by most accounts did a decent job in his first year isn’t the most ethical thing to do -- even if it’s the right thing. Tom Ricketts, Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer can look at themselves in the mirror and sleep at night believing two things: It makes them better to have Maddon in the organization and whatever “pain” they inflict on Renteria is nowhere near the pain they’ve inflicted on Cubs fans since taking over the the team -- let alone the 106 years of pain the city has felt. And Renteria will get paid not to manage. Many of us would take that same “pain” and deal with it appropriately. Renteria will be disappointed but will show class in the face of adversity -- if it happens. Again, that’s no sure thing.

Reference: Baseball executive on potential Maddon hiring: 'There is no script for this'.

Still I very much agree with what ESPN writer Jesse Rogers says here.  It's a rightful business choice, no doubt, to go with the more celebrated, accomplished manager Joe Maddon, but it would be a choice over ethics.  Maybe Epstein already had the Maddon in mind, when he gushed that the Cubs would contend for the pennant next year.  Sounds exciting, but let's see.

I have to think, though, that anytime a manager or head coach gets an unexpected show of support from the front office, he must not be so gullible as to believe it wholeheartedly.  Indeed for Renteria, the operative word in the caption above is had.

ESPN Sports Science: The Torque on Tiger

In the post marital shenanigans era, Tiger Woods has been nothing like his former self on the golf course.  Sure, he's regained the number one spot in the PGA, and he's still the highest earning golfer around.  But without a major since 2008, there is increasing doubt that he will ever break Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 wins.  His oeuvre is arrested at 14 wins.  Moreover, he has suffered assorted injuries in this span, including a serious back injury, for which he had surgery in March and which recurred when he returned to play over the summer, clearly too soon for his own good.

In terms of physics, John Brenkus gives us the lowdown on the amount of stress Woods has subjected his body to, simply by playing the dominant game he's played over several years.  Like many athletes, he is evidently reluctant to acknowledge the impact of this stress and to do what he needs to do to recover from his injury: namely, take more time to rest and heal, ease back into the game, and probably most difficult of all adjust his game accordingly. 

In a related vein, Chicago Bulls Derrick Rose has had two season-ending injuries to one knee, then the other knee, and really hasn't play much basketball over the last three seasons.  The season before he tore his ACL, in particular, he suffered various injuries and missed about a third of the games.  There is every indication, then, that at such a young age, just in his mid-20s, his body is wearing down.  Talk from him, his teammates, the Bulls front office, the media and fans is to see if he can recover the old Derrick Rose.

But as a Google+ friend said of Woods, I think Rose also harbors a suspect psyche.  There is no athlete who is invincible or omnipotent.  They're stronger, more agile, and more flexible than the average person, but they are still very much human.  If they don't adapt their game to their aging bodies, then Father Time will inevitably win over their bodies sooner than later.  Woods and his handlers may or may not have seen this Brenkus episode of Sports Science, but if I were he, I'd take serious note and work diligently at adjusting the force and mechanics of his swing.

As for Rose, let's see how he weathers a new NBA season and what adjustments (if any) he makes to his game.

ESPN Sports Science: The Catch

Willie Mays was the man, and little did he know it, when he made this fateful catch in Game 1 of the World Series on September 29th 1954.  It was top of the 8th inning, and the New York Giants and Cleveland Indians were knotted up at 2-2.  Had Mays not made The Catch, the Indians would've taken the lead and perhaps won the ballgame.  As it were, the Giants beat them in the 10th inning, en route to a championship sweep.  Had Mays not made that catch, the complexion of the series may have altogether gone in favor of the Indians.  John Brenkus and his Sports Science pals draw on sophisticated technology and cool graphics to show us how truly remarkable Mays' catch was.  They show us what a uniquely gifted athlete can do that the vast majority of us non-athletes probably cannot do.