Twelve days later, many Chicago sports fans still don't know what to be mad at in regard to how their football season ended. The bad news is that the Bears still lost, the rival Packers will still be playing for the Lombardi Trophy and Jay Cutler still seems oblivious to everyone taking shots at his heart and love of the game now that they can no longer question his injured knee. With that said, Derrick Rose, Carlos Boozer, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews will emerge as winter's saviors. No, they won't plow the roads you need to get to work in the morning. But the quartet of Chicago sports …

The invention of the Internet and Google alone could keep us from being ignorant. Instead, it has fueled the flames of idiocy in regard to Cutlergate. When video breakdowns on the Internet suggested Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler played nearly the entire second quarter with the torn MCL, the debate about his toughness should have ended. It should have been tossed into the stratosphere and never mentioned again. On Monday, the facts were finally laid out by team beat writers and reporters for everyone who had piled on Cutler only one day earlier. It should have provided enough time for …

Jay Cutler's bandwagon isn't filling up as quickly as it probably should. But if you're not on board by Sunday, things might get crowded when the NFC Championship Game rolls around. Cutler will make his first playoff start Sunday when the No. 2-seeded Chicago Bears host the Seattle Seahawks in a rematch of what was one of the Bears' five losses this season. Much has changed since that Week 6 misstep. Chicago fields the healthiest roster of any team still in the playoffs. Mike Martz's offense has shown improvement in all facets, thanks in part to a balanced playbook and the gradual development…

The further Lee Smith slides down Major League Baseball's all-time saves list, the farther he moves from a Hall of Fame induction. Not to take anything away from Burt Blyleven, whose longevity and productivity in the MLB should have put him in a long time ago, or Roberto Alomar, who can make a case for being the best second baseman in baseball history, but Cooperstown induction announcement day is about who got left out as much as who will be put in. Smith spent eight years with the Cubs. And from 1980 to 1987, he was able to convert 180 saves. It was just the start of an 18-year career that …

Let the record show that the Chicago Cubs were the only sports team within city limits to finish with a record below .500 in 2010. However, it doesn't mean the Cubs were without their headline making moments. Still, the Northsiders have a lot of catching up to do as the Blackhawks, Bears White Sox and Bulls highlighted an action-packed sports calendar. Here is our top-10 Chicago sports stories of the year (feel free to criticize where needed):  1. Blackhawks Win Stanley Cup The 2009-10 Chicago Blackhawks captured the hearts of Chicago sports fans as if each member of the championship team …

If the Chicago Cubs' activity during the offseason elicits nothing more than a shrug of the shoulders, you're not alone. Retaining Mike Quade as manager and removing the interim label was savvy, but not sexy. Avoiding arbitration with Jeff Baker so the Cubs could have a competent lefty mashing platoon partner for whoever starts at second base was a smart by-the-numbers move, but does nothing more than make Cubs fans yearn for the days of Ryne Sandberg. Adding Carlos Pena gives the team its first legitimate left-handed hitting power hitter since Fred McGriff—even if it comes with a .196 …

Close your eyes and imagine Chicago White Sox General Manager Kenny Williams sitting at a poker table. Strong hand. Intentions hidden behind a pair of dark sunglasses. Cooler than the other side of the pillow's super-cool cousin. Now, imagine him saying: "All in." You don't have to imagine such a scenario, for Williams took advantage of a bit of extra spending money from owner Jerry Reinsdorf to turn the White Sox from a fringe American League Central Division contender, to a probable favorite. The only thing keeping the term probable in front of favorite is the old adage that suggests you …

Their flaws are as evident as wrinkles on an aged beauty. White Sox general manager Kenny Williams has a penchant for trading away young, cost-controlled talent for aging veterans with a confined  skill-set. Jim Hendry, Williams' crosstown counterpart, has his own set of issues with the Chicago Cubs. Hendry hasn't met a player not deserving of double their market value, nor is he shy with handing out no-trade clauses to any player willing to ask. Yet, both GMs are right for the job at hand as Chicago's baseball fans gather around the Hot Stove League this offseason, which has proved that …

Chicago sports fans settling in after nabbing a Black Friday deal or cuddling up to a pillow because of a turkey-induced coma have another thing to be thankful for this holiday season. Derrick Rose. The Chicago Bulls' point guard is the one player on the Bulls who can manufacture his own shot, averages 26.3 points per game—third in the NBA—and is largely responsible for the Bulls' success this so far this season. Rose brings a new definition in regard to being the lone Chicago starter that can create his own shot—13 games into his third professional season, Rose is taking and making the kind …

Of all the things the Miami Dolphins offense brought to South Beach on Thursday night, an offensive playbook wasn't one of them. Miami ran 48 plays, gained a total of 187 yards and posted a gigantic goose egg as the Chicago Bears pitched their first shutout since 2006 and regained control of the NFC North with a 16-0 win Thursday night. Twenty-five years after the 1985 Bears were tormented by Dan Marino and the Dolphins, Chicago's defense returned the favor by roughing up Miami's third-string quarterback, Tyler Thigpen. It's unlikely Thigpen, who was sacked six times, will do anything without…

Like laws in old Western movies featuring John Wayne, conservative playbooks will be ignored Sunday at Soldier Field when Jay Cutler and Brett Favre square off. Sunday's game between the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings is headlined by a pair of quarterbacks who are strong-armed and hard-headed. It might not be pretty. In fact, it will likely turn ugly if Cutler and Favre exchange interceptions at a high rate. But no one watches Westerns for the plot; we're all watching to see who has the quickest draw and to confirm our hero is the last man standing. Favre has made a career of improvising…

 I want to live in the same world as the Chicago Bears coaching staff. Not because Lovie Smith still has a year and a half remaining on a four-year contract worth in excess of $20 million. Mike Martz probably could walk into a fine St. Louis eatery and get a free steak and a cold brew if he flashed his Super Bowl ring under the Arch. But that's not why I want to live in their world, either. I want to live in their alternate universe because, in their world, all of my problems really aren't problems. It's a place where there is more stock put in a moral victory than in a demoralizing loss. …

"Repeat" isn't exactly the right word to use when describing what the Chicago Blackhawks are trying to do this season. The term "repeat" usually is reserved for when the gang gets back together for one more trip to the mountaintop. But with Antti Niemi, Dustin Byfuglien, Kris Versteeg, Andrew Ladd, Ben Eager and Brent Sopel gone, using the term "repeat" makes me feel a bit dirty. It was an offseason salary purge that would make baseball's Florida Marlins jealous. What could have been the next great hockey dynasty was dismantled in a matter of days, shortly after the Blackhawks hoisted the …

In 2008, fans of both Chicago baseball teams had plenty to cheer about as the Cubs and White Sox made the playoffs. This October, Wrigley Field and U.S. Cellular Field are empty, a constant reminder that both teams failed to make the playoffs. Yet, fans of both teams still can find reasons to enjoy the postseason play. And fans of both squads can find solace in one simple fact: At least it's not us suffering some of these postseason blunders. Being on the outside looking in has its downsides — but it certainly has its perks, too. Watching Philadelphia Phillies ace Roy Halladay toss a no-…

When former Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella announced he would retire at season's end back  in July, I put the wheels in motion to send off  the skipper off with style with a column in his honor. But when Sweet Lou abruptly called it quits on Aug. 22, it threw plans for that proper send-off through a loop. Piniella deserved better than to finish his career with a 51-74 mark and having to write a line-up card that starts with Darwin Barney at the top. While Piniella will be remembered as another Cub manager who failed to erase the haunted memories of a billy goat and a black cat, that's not …

The Chicago White Sox's run at an American League Central Division title was commendable — a true testament to hard work. But there is no reason why a team with Juan Pierre and his weak .330-ish on-base percentage in the leadoff spot, an aging Omar Vizquel given regular playing time at third base and a tag team of designated hitters with batting averages hovering around the low-.200s should be within striking distance of the Minnesota Twins. They just aren't good enough to compete with the Twins. And alas, the White Sox went down without a whimper Tuesday night in Oakland. Somewhere in …