Looking for Heroes? Look Beyond Sports

October 30, 2012 @ admin → No Comments

Random thoughts while wondering what baseball commissioner Bud Selig would have done if the New York Yankees were in the World Series this season and there was to have been a Game 5 (something says the Fall Classic would have ended up being played at Milwaukee’s Miller Park, as happened to two Houston Astros games vs. the Chicago Cubs in 2008 when Hurricane Ike hit).

Soccer standouts Alex Morgan and Sydney Leroux do their best impersonations of U.S. Olympic gymnasts Gabby Douglas and McKayla Maroney.

* Heroes? Sports pales compared to the nurses, fire, police and others who are dealing with the effects of Hurricane Sandy that hit the Northeast on Monday (Oct. 29).

* Here’s a hair-raising note: Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler said he will grow a moustache in conjunction with a “Mowevember” campaign Nov. 12-30 to raise funds to battle cancer and diabetes. This is what passes for news on a slow day.

* Former Chicago Bulls center Eddy Curry just might merit comeback player of the year consideration. And the NBA hasn’t started regular-season games yet. Dallas claimed him off waivers on Friday; he likely will start Tuesday (Oct. 30) in the season opener against the Los Angeles Lakers because of an injury to starter Chris Kaman. Of course, to win any honors, Curry needs to play with slightly greater frequency than he has recently. He has played 24 games in the last four seasons. Maybe he can win comeback player of the week.

* Speaking of basketball, for those intrigued by the Chicago Desire of the Bikini Basketball Association, the team’s members will be at XSport Fitness on Tuesday in Downers Grove from 4-7 p.m. If things go according to plan (and in this case, every effort will be made to see that they actually do), there will be video of the event on this site Wednesday.

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From the NFL’s department of information (or whatever it’s called) comes these notes from Sunday’s games:

Paige

* The New England Patriots had 473 total net yards in their 45-7 victory vs. St. Louis in the NFL’s International Series game in London. The Patriots have posted at least 350 total net yards in 17 consecutive games, surpassing the Rams (1999-2000) for the longest such streak in NFL history.

* Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan passed for 262 yards and three touchdowns in the Falcons’ 30-17 victory vs. Philadelphia. It was Ryan’s 50th regular-season triumph as a starter and tied Ben Roethlisberger for the second-fewest starts (69) to reach the milestone among active players. New England’s Tom Brady reached 50 in 65 starts.

* Ryan is 15-0 in his career (4-0 in 2012) when he throws at least three touchdown passes in a game. Only Daryle Lamonica (19-0) has a better record in games with at least three TD passes. Ryan, who had a 137.4 passer rating, is 28-0 in his career (5-0 in 2012) in games with a 100.0+ rating.

* Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw two touchdown passes in the Packers’ 24-15 victory vs. Jacksonville. Rodgers has 21 TD passes in eight games. Rodgers, who totaled 24 TD passes through eight games in 2011, is the first quarterback ever to have 20+ touchdown passes through his team’s first eight games in consecutive seasons.

* New England quarterback Tom Brady passed for 304 yards and four touchdowns. He joins Brett Favre (72), Peyton Manning (67) and Dan Marino (62) as players with 50 games with at least three TD passes in NFL history.

Jen

* Chicago cornerback Tim Jennings had a 25-yard interception-return touchdown in the Bears’ 23-22 victory vs. Carolina. The Bears, who have six interception-return touchdowns this season, are the first team in NFL history to return six interceptions for touchdowns through the first seven games of a season.

* Indianapolis rookie quarterback Andrew Luck passed for 297 yards and a touchdown in the Colts’ 19-13 overtime victory at Tennessee. Luck, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, has led the Colts to a 4-3 record, the highest winning percentage (.571) by a rookie quarterback who was a No. 1 overall pick through Week 8 in NFL history.

Colleen

Ashley

***As promised, it is time for video of the Ice Girls from the “Champs for Charity” hockey exhibition Oct. 26, 2012, at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill. Participating in the shoveling while skating portion of the program were former Chicago Blackhawks Ice Crew members Ashley, Colleen, Jen and Paige.

The lovely ladies showed that hadn’t lost any of their skills since the days when they last performed during the 2009-10 Stanley Cup championship season.

Other, less exciting (at least from this perspective) video from the “Champs for Charity” event that benefitted Ronald McDonald House Charities for Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana: