Incredible Feat Hands Northwestern Defeat

Sunday smorgasbord: Normally, this space does not have a college athletics event as the first item mentioned. Well, Northwestern University’s football game at Nebraska was anything but normal Saturday. More specifically, the final play of the game with the Wildcats leading by three points. Meaning the Huskers needed a miracle to negotiate the 49 yards between them and the NU end zone. And that is precisely what the Cornhuskers reeceived. OK, so it was more a deflection than a miracle that Jordan Westerkamp — a Chicago-area player who had been offered a scholarship to Nothwestern — caught the ball in the end zone for a 27-24 victory. The change in fortune left NU coach Pat Fitzgerald close to speechless. The good news for the Wildcats (4-5 overall, 0-5 in Big Ten) is their next two games are at home. The bad news is they are against Michigan and Michigan State. The grand consolation prize? Perhaps NU’s season finale Nov. 30 at Illinois (3-5, 0-4). Just a guess (uneducated, of course) that if Chicago had a say in the matter, it wouldn’t claim NU or the Illini as “Chicago’s Big Ten team.”

* Meanwhile, back to normal (as if anything around here is — OK, actually meaning pro sports), Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose appears that he is far from normal. Three games into the NBA season, he is struggling on offense. He did have 13 points and six assists. But he also had eight turnovers — five in the last 7:58 of a 107-104 loss in Philadelphia. And he shot 4-of-14 from the field. He is shooting 29 percent from the field this season. The only bright spot? He will improve. When? Your guess is as good as anyone else’s.

* Rose did play superbly in the preseason. For what that’s worth. Which, apparently, is not much. In case anyone was wondering whether the preseason and regular season have any relationship. Just a wild case that the answer is no.

Happy birthday to one of our favorites, April Rose.

* Speaking of the Bulls, well, they do have the same record as the two-time defending NBA champion Miami Heat. Something says that each team’s 1-2 start is not an indication of where they will finish.

* Speaking of losing games, former Bulls great Michael Jordan — owner of the Charlotte Bobcats — says his team will not tank games so that it can have a high draft pick. Commendable. Of course, something says the Bobcats still will end up with a high draft pick the old-fashioned way by simply being bad.

* Happy birthday to one of the most favorite people around here (or anywhere), April Rose. For those who believe this mere mention is nothing more than a transparent attempt to run her photo, let me assure you nothing in the photo is transparent. Also, one of the nice things about having this site is being able to be your own boss and make whatever managerial decisions you want.

* Speaking of managerial decisions, Brad Ausmus apparently is going to become the Detroit Tigers manager. The Chicago Cubs had considered the former big-league catcher but did not make an offer. There is little doubt that Ausmus — who has no previous experience as a manager — will be successful. Mainly because he is going to ballclub that almost reached the World Series in 2013. And a reminder to Cubs fans lamenting the fact that the Cubs did not snag him: Ausmus’ success will be predicated primarily on talent, something the Tigers have a substantial amount of and something the Cubs do not.

* Speaking of timely decisions, here’s hoping folks living in the United States turned their clocks back one hour for Daylight Saving Time. Akthough I must admit my cellphone and computer did it automatically. Meaning, of course, that hour that I was going to save disappered before I could take advantage.

* Still speaking of timely decisions, the polls remain open for voting for your favorite sports podcast. OK, my favorite sports podcast. And David Spada’s, too. Namely “Sports & Torts,” which airs Thursdays at noon Central time on Talkzone.com. The program — coincidentally co-hosted by David Spada and Elliott Harris in the top 10 final for best sports podcast. We are asking for your support. All you have to do is go to podcastawards.com and vote. After you vote you will receive an email confirming your vote. Your vote will not count unless you respond to the email. If you don’t see the voting verification email, check out your spam or junk email folder (that’s where mine went — trying to send me a subliminal message?).

And thank you in advance for your vote or votes. As with any election involving anything Chicago-related, you are encouraged to vote early and often. The main difference between this and an actual Chicago election is multiple votes from a person (presumably still living) is permitted for the Podcast Awards. You are allowed to vote once a day. To vote, click here. Among our competition are sites from ESPN and CBS, so we need to battle the behemoths and we feel good about doing so. Stay tuned. Voting continues through Nov. 15. And thank you once again.

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