July 1st marks the 182nd day of the year 2009. For you math wizards out there, that means we just completed the first half of 2009. So far this year for me, as I am sure the rest of you as well, has flown by. And looking back, it’s been a crazy year for Chicago-area sports. We’ve seen trades, epic playoff series, shake ups, losing streaks, winning streaks, you name it. Let’s take a look at the Top 8 biggest stories of the first half of 2009.
1. Bears Trade for Jay Cutler
I’m still giddy. On April 2nd, the Bears made the most impactful trade in the long history of the organization, trading Kyle Orton and two first round picks for the services of one Jay Cutler. Cutler, who many say has the strongest arm in the league, will be likely the first ‘Franchise Quarterback” in my lifetime, and probably yours too. He may not have the best receiver set in the world, but look at his career numbers and receivers in his five season in Denver. I think it will translate to Chicago... it has to, right?
2. Blackhawks Make Western Conference Finals
As I’ve stated before, I’m not the biggest hockey fan. No disrespect to the sport, just has never been my cup of tea, probably because I hadn’t had anyone to root for. Now, the Blackhawks are the team to root for. They’ve got a young core, a big free agent, and a bright future to boot. The ‘Hawks were in fourth place in the Western Conference with a week left in the season, but ultimately played their way into the Western Conference Finals, falling to the Detroit Red Wings. The perennial-losing team ended up not just 2 wins shy of the Stanley Cup Finals, but they ended up reviving what was once a great hockey town in Chicago. Here’s to hoping that hockey catches on in the region.
3. Bulls- Celetics Playoff Series
After seven games, six overtimes, and the coming-out party of Chicago’s next great superstar (Derrick Rose), the Bulls-Celtics playoff series proved to be epic. Rose carried an overmatched Bulls team, a seventh seed, against he defending champion Boston Celtics. The series provided a couple of shootouts between two streaky sharpshooters in Ben Gordon and Ray Allen, Paul Pierce demonstrating why he will be a Hall of Famer, and Joakim Noah finally showing why the Bulls selected him ninth overall. The series was great and will ultimately be remembered as the greatest first round series ever.
4. Cubs Trade Mark DeRosa, Sign Milton Bradley
To be honest, this trade happened on December 31, 2008, so it technically doesn’t belong on this list, but since its ramifications last to this day, it goes at #3. In the most clear example of “”if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, Cubs’ manager Lou Pinella and GM Jim Hendry decided that, to improve the Cubs’ first-in-the-majors offense, they would need to obtain a left-handed hitter who gets on base. On paper, it makes sense. In practice… not so much. The Cubs traded DeRosa, a productive and well-loved player, in order to make financial room for Bradley, a switch-hitter who was extremely productive for the Texas Rangers last season. The result so far has been dismal, where DeRosa has thrived as a Cleveland Indian (and now, a St. Louis Cardinal), and Bradley has struggled, to say the least, 3 months in to his Cubs’ tenure. I have nightmares of one of those old-style movies with the newspaper spinning on a black screen with the headline “Cubs Trade DeRosa”. Ugh.
5. Purdue Makes a Sweet Sixteen Run
Purdue was named as the “Team to Watch” this past season. They had previously made some strides in the freshman seasons of Robbie Hummel, Scott Martin, JaJuan Johnson, and E’Twuan Moore. In their respective sophomore seasons, though, Martin transferred to Notre Dame and Hummel had broke his back. Despite these setbacks, the Baby Boilers rallied at the end of the year. Purdue won the Big Ten Tournament for the first time in the school’s history and earned a fifth seed in the NCAA Tournament. They beat Northern Iowa in the first round and upset fourth-ranked Washington 76-74 in the second. Purdue ultimately fell to UConn (who made it to the Final Four) in the Sweet Sixteen run. Watch out for the Boilermakers in the 2009-2010 season, as they are in most preseason Top 10 rankings.
6. Harangody Returns to Notre Dame
Although I originally disagreed with the wisdom behind this decision, I can say that I respect the decision to go back to school. The Region will be well represented next year on the Fighting Irish, with Valparaiso’s Scott Martin teaming with Harangody. Between Notre Dame, Purdue, Butler, and IU’s impending resurgence, look for the state of Indiana to be at the forefront of the college basketball scene this year.
7. Valparaiso University Inducts their Best Team Ever into the Hall of Fame
I’m sure many of you who were around and paying attention to sports in the late 90’s remember the Bryce Drew-led Crusader team. I sure did-- he Shot, The Sweet Sixteen, and all of the hullabaloo that came with it. I will admit that I don’t know VU’s Hall of Fame rules, but it surprised me that it took 11 years to get this squad in to the Hall of Fame.
8. The Jake Peavy Debacle(s)
Another subject I’ve written about, but it’s not all that often where you can get a superstar player that angers two teams in one city. Karma, one could argue, played a role in this situation, as Peavy ended up being injured soon after the Chicago situations. In brief, Peavy was the apple of the Cubs’ eye since last summer, but ownership issues have not allowed the team to add any payroll (except for Bradley, apparently). Weeks and weeks of “Peavy to the Cubs Almost Complete” tantalized the fan base, but nothing happened. Then a month or so later, Peavy declined a trade to the White Sox. Angering one fan base wasn’t any fault of Peavy’s, but another was.