Bulls season ended, offseason hoopla begins

Thursday, May 6, 2010 11:16 AM Chronicle
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Salvador Galvan
Staff Writer 

          The Chicago Bulls 2009-2010 regular and off-season have officially come to a close.

The Bulls made the playoffs for the second straight year since drafting Derrick Rose, and hoped to make another great impression on the league and by defeating the NBA’s best, the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The last time the Bulls and Cavaliers met in the playoffs, Michael Jordan was playing for Chicago. Jordan hit a game winning shot in 1993, similar to 1989.

This time the Cavaliers have a number 23 set to take the Cavaliers where they have never been before.

            The Cavaliers had the best record in the NBA, 61-21, and were ready to take on the eighth seeded Chicago Bulls, who finished the year with 41wins, 41 loses.

The last time the Bulls and Cavaliers met, it was the regular season and LeBron James was out and resting for the playoffs. The Bulls won the game.

This time, King James and his squad were back to full strength and with new faces including Shaquille O’Neal, and Antwan Jamison, to help them on their quest to the NBA Championship. Both Shaq and Jamison could take some of the load off of James.

In game one of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals, the Cavs played very well. LeBron had 24 points, along with three other players who scored in double figures. The Bulls weren’t getting it done on the boards and were out rebounded by the Cavs 50-38. They were dominated in the paint and were out scored 42-26.

In the third quarter the Bulls found themselves down by 22 points and it seemed as if the Cavs would cruise to a 1-0 series lead.

But the Bulls didn’t stop fighting. They eventually brought it back within seven points, but that was as close as they would get to the lead. James took over and helped put the Cavs ahead for good, winning the game 83-96. The Bulls saw Derrick Rose blossom again in the playoffs. He finished with a double-double, 28 points and 10 assists.

            Game two was more competitive and personal for the Cavaliers and the city of Cleveland.

Joakim Noah had some choice words for the city of Cleveland. He isn’t fond of the nightlife and expressed his dislike publicly. Adding fuel to the fire and trash talking while still in Cleveland probably wasn’t the smartest move, but it is the playoffs and anything goes.

The Cavs came out strong and were determined to take a two game lead into Chicago and inch closer to the NBA Finals. Noah was booed every time he got the ball, which was expected, but he did end up with a great night. He finished with 25 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Bulls, but was no match for James who scored 40 points, 15 coming in the final quarter. The final score was 112-102. The wins weren’t blow outs, which many people expected from the Cavs. The Bulls needed to come home and get some wins in order to keep the series going.

            With a few days off to prepare for the Cavs at the United Center, the Bulls knew it was a must win game if they had any chance to get back into the series. The Bulls came out strong on both sides of the court.

            They played well on defense, despite some foul trouble, and were magnificent on the offensive side thanks to Rose’s 31 points, Kirk Hinrich’s 27 points, and Loul Deng’s 20 points. Noah once again had a double-double with 10 points and 15 rebounds.

            They would take the lead into halftime and going into the third quarter, the Bulls clicked and pulled ahead by 21 points. Over the course of the third and fourth quarter the Bulls slowly saw the lead diminish to a one point deficit near the end of the game.

            The Bulls depended on free throw shooting to win the game for them, but they missed many. The Cavs would hit some big time three’s to cut a seven point deficit to a one point lead with less than five seconds remaining in regulation.

            Loul Deng took a pair of free throws and only made one, with three seconds left, giving the Cavs one last shot to pull off the impressive comeback.

            The Cavs’ Anthony Parker would launch a half court shot only to have it hit the side of the rim and give the Bulls the 108-106 win over the Cavs.

            The Bulls evened up the series, after escaping a game three loss, to give fans another memorable playoff series, as they did last year against the Celtics.

            LeBron’s 39 point effort wouldn’t be enough to defeat the Bulls this time around, but he would be back.

            Spirits up and positive attitudes, the Bulls looked to even up the series at two games when they hosted the Cavs on Sunday. However, James had no intentions of letting it happen.

             The Bulls were outplayed and dropped game four by a score of 121-98. Though history was made, thanks to Joakim Noah’s 21 points and 20 rebounds, making him the first Chicago Bull in history to ever record a 20 point, 20 rebound game, the Cavs would steal the show.

            Rose also added 21 points, but he could only watch James get a triple-double with 37 points, 11 assist, and 12 rebounds. Mo Williams scored 19, and Jamison 24.

            Halfway through the second quarter, the Bulls had a small four-point lead, but it was erased quickly and stayed that way.

            As the third quarter came to a close, James dribbled the ball up court to shoot a half court shot over Derrick Rose, just as time expired and drained it. Cleveland hit their shots and contained the Bulls the way they had been expected to.

            The Cavs looked to put away the Bulls in Cleveland for game five with a 3-1 series lead over the Bulls, and get ready to face the Boston Celtics, who already advanced by beating the Miami Heat in five games.

            It was win or go home for the Bulls and they did everything they could to keep the series alive. The Bulls were in foul trouble throughout the game, though some calls were questionable. Both Brad Miller and Taj Gibson fouled out and Noah had five.

            LeBron and Shaq were dominant the whole game and having them both drive into the lane, they would get fouled. James used it to his advantage and had a couple of add-on plays to pile on more points.

            LeBron finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists. He would have one of the most decisive plays down the stretch. Rose had just hit a tear drop over O’Neal and appeared to have been fouled but wasn’t called, LeBron then ran it back the other way and scooped  it in with a foul being called giving him the 3-point play.

            The Bulls were close until the final minutes, only trailing by four, but eventually lost by two points, 96-94.

            The most important story of game five was LeBron’s right arm, which appeared to have been injured on an earlier play. It was evident in his last three throw attempts, he shot the first one right handed and hit the shot to put the Cavs up by four, making it a two possession game with four seconds left.

            The second one he planted his left foot on the line and shot it lefty but held his right elbow after releasing the shot. The Bulls would get the miss and call a timeout, and James walked off the court with a look of discomfort on his face, holding his elbow. When asked whether he would be ready to play the Celtics, he assured everyone he would be fine and ready to go.

            Now that the Bulls season is over many questions remain: Will Vinny Del Negro still be the Bulls head coach next year? His job status has been questioned since reports leaked that he was involved in an altercation between himself and Bulls president of operations John Paxson.

            Who will the Bulls pick up in the 2010 free agency? Could it be hometown native Dwyane Wade? Reining MVP LeBron James? Chris Bosh?  Joe Johnson? Dirk Nowitzki, Carmelo Anthony, or Amare Stoudemire if they chose to opt-out of their final year under contract? Or even take a gamble and sign Tracy McGrady? No one is sure, but the list goes on for All-Stars who will hit the free agency this summer and the Bulls will be a much stronger team with the addition of another All-Star to join Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah.

            The Bulls have the third most spending money this year. If money is what the top free agents want, then you could see a Wade, Rose, and Noah line up or a James, Rose, Noah line up, either one would instantly make the Bulls a legitimate contender. With a few players to help out on the bench, Chicago could very well have a seventh NBA Championship banner hanging in the United Center. 

CLC sports have talent, lack fan support

11:11 AM Chronicle
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Amber Kuehl
Sports Editor

            When you think of college sports football and basketball are most frequently mentioned because they are popular sports for tournaments and playoffs. Fans can engage themselves in the sport. Four year schools, like Northwestern and University of Illinois, have sports teams where students and general sports fans actively participate in games and cheer on their teams.

            At CLC, where there is plenty of talent among all teams, there is very little support from the average student.

            To an extent, this makes sense. CLC is a community college where students usually go to move on to a four year school. Students here have jobs and other non-school activities that affect their schedules, making it difficult to spend extra time at school for sports.

            However, there are students who have the time, but do not want, or don’t know, about sports at CLC. If students are bored, they should check out what sporting events are happening. It is also the duty of the athletic department to get more students interested in watching games. Coaches and players should encourage students to find out about CLC’s teams.

            “The only reason I don’t go to games is because they don’t advertise,” freshman Nick Hefner said. “I never know who’s playing when or where.”

There is a lot of talent and many reasons to watch sports at CLC. The question is why more people don’t watch. There is no clear cut way to get more people involved. If students are busy, they’re not going to watch. Teams could advertise game times and tournaments, or they could simply mention it to their friends and classmates. Any attention given to the teams will be welcome.

            Baseball is America’s past time, and CLC has a good team with a lot of talent. The team is among the nation’s best with 27 wins and 13 losses so far this season. And there are still several home games left before season’s end.

            Women’s softball still has games left, and they aren’t doing badly either. They have 15 wins and 15 losses this season. They have several high ranked players, especially pitchers, among the nation.

            CLC has talent, they just need others to recognize it. 

New rule regulates dirty hits in NHL

11:08 AM Chronicle
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Amber Kuehl
Sports Editor

            Mention hockey in any conversation, and people automatically think of fights. Fighting and physical contact is what hockey has always been known for, and fans love it.

            However, Senior Vice President and Director of Hockey Operations for the NHL Colin Campbell, along with coaches, players and others in the NHL, have some concerns.

            While most players say fighting and checking are part of the game, those in charge say it’s too dangerous and needs to be eliminated, especially headshots.

            The 2009-2010 regular season has seen a progression of penalties for headshots and dirty hits.

            In early March, Boston Bruins player Marc Savard was hit by Pittsburgh Penguins’ Matt Cooke. Cooke blindsided Savard from behind, yet Cooke did not get penalized on the ice, nor by the NHL for the dangerous hit. Though Savard has yet to skate in a game since the hit, the Bruins are in the playoffs and advanced to the second round, and he has been cleared to play as of April 27.

            On March 14, Washington Capital star Alex Ovechkin knocked Chicago Blackhawk defenseman Brian Campbell into the boards after Campbell got rid of the puck. Campbell broke his clavicle, but returned to the Hawks April 22 after six weeks of recovery. Ovie was given a five minute boarding penalty and was tossed from the game. He was also suspended for two games by the NHL.

            Three days later, during a game against the Anaheim Ducks, Hawks defenseman Brent Seabrook was charged by Ducks defenseman James Wisniewski. Wisniewski elbowed Seabrook in the face and Seabrook’s head hit the glass. He was unconscious before he hit the ice.

            On March 24, during a playoff game against the Nashville Predators, Blackhawk Marian Hossa crashed Preds’ player Dan Hamhuis into the boards from the side. Many compared this hit to Ovechkin’s on Campbell. However, Hossa’s hit was less severe as both players were racing for the puck.

            Colin Campbell said Hossa did not receive a suspension because he doesn’t have a history of violent hits and both players were reaching for the puck. The hit was still dangerous, as Hamhuis went into the boards, and Hossa was given a five minute penalty during the game.

Hits are dangerous in hockey. Hitting someone from behind could severely injure them.

In Feb. of 2004, Todd Bertuzzi, then of the Vancouver Canucks, punched Steve Moore of the Colorado Avalanche from behind, driving him headfirst into the ice. Moore suffered deep cuts to his face and two broken vertebrae. Thankfully, his spinal cord wasn’t damaged.

Bertuzzi was suspended until the 2005-2006 season, because of the 2004-2005 NHL lockout. He lost $850,000 in endorsements and salary.

These shots are dangerous. Players must wear helmets, padding, some even have visors on their helmets, but the hits keep coming. The NHL has implemented these regulations in an attempt to make the game safer, but they don’t protect players from hard hits, or hits in vulnerable spots like the neck and back, which may still cause damage. In the hockey rule book, there were no penalties based on the location of hits until this year.

On March 23, the NHL unanimously approved a new rule that will prohibit dangerous knocks to the head.  Players now have to take extra caution, for fear of in-game penalties, or postgame penalties, that impose suspensions or fines, for hits the league considers dangerous.

This is good news for all players. This should help lessen the fear of dangerous hits so players can concentrate on winning games.

That said, players who cannot handle a few knocks should never have become involved in such a physical sport.

Hits and fights are part of the game and should not be completely eliminated. It’s exciting when players get in their opponents face to defend a teammate or make a statement. It boosts the team’s morale and gets the fans revved up. The NHL should be aware that, while the hits can be dangerous, if they are clean and regulated, they are a boost to the game. 

CLC baseball ready for playoffs with top hitters

11:05 AM Chronicle
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Brett Starkopf
Features Editor

            The regular season is nearing its conclusion with the Lancers hoping for a better finish than last year. Every team in their conference makes the playoffs so the only remaining question is if the team is consistent enough to improve from their last year semifinal knockout.

            Though the playoffs are still two weeks away, the team is looking forward to redeeming their upsetting finish last year.

             “Our goals are always win the regional, win the sectional, make it to nationals,” Sophomore Kevin Miller said. “We’ve been talking about that since day one. I think the whole regular season is just preparing us for the postseason, which is something we’ve been looking forward to the whole time.”
    
            However, if CLC advances far into the post season, they will most likely have to face defending champion Kankakee Community College. KCC is currently ranked seventh in the nation and is absolutely pulverizing their adversaries. The Lancers will have to rely on their defense as well as their offense if they want to win the championship. But that doesn't intimidate them.

            “I think we match up with anybody in the region or, really, in the country,” Miller said. “We have just as much talent as any team around here. It’s just we have to be focused and we have to come with the right mentality. We just have to play our game.”

            Their game is hard-nosed, fast paced, baseball. And they have the stats to prove it. They have currently put up double-digit tallies in their past four wins, and 18 of their total 27 wins. Of the games, they beat their opponents by 10 or more runs, beating two teams by 23. In their first win on Thursday, they managed to tie their season record with 25 runs scored. They have six hitters who are hitting better than .400, and every player who has an official at-bat has a hit.

            The Lancers are bringing their super charged offense to Sauk Valley Community College for the regional playoffs. Lead by Sophomore Marcos Penaloza and Freshman Steven Torres, the Lancers prove to be a force to be reckoned with. Penaloza and Torres are both batting an astonishing .544, which is good enough to lead the nation is batting average.

            Keeping up with them are Sophomore Chris Stewart, who is batting .477 (18th in the nation), and Freshmen Jay Mueller hitting .475 (20th in the nation), and Tomas Catala’s .468 is good enough to round out the top 25 leaders.

            Their offense is good enough to get the W’s in the regular season but in order to advance in the postseason, they’re pitching and defense is going to play a major role.

            Sophomore aces Ben Ehgoetz and Rob Wilson need to assume their roles if the Lancers want to advance. Ehgoetz is throwing the ball well with a 3.42 ERA in 23 2-3 innings pitched. He has a team leading 22 punch-outs and a 3-0 record. Wilson is still sidelined with an arm injury and hasn’t thrown since April 10. Fellow Sophomore Jeff Baird is pitching lights out minus a little hiccup he had against Highland Community College, Thursday. He surrendered 13 runs (12 earned) in 2 1-3 innings of work. However, the Lancers still won 25-13.

            The team’s one Achilles heel, which has remained constant throughout the season, has been their inability to stay focused for all seven innings of the game. Many of their losses can be attributed to this.

            “We sort of have a bad habit of coming out and losing focus,” Miller said. “We don’t have the right mentality.”

             “But when we do have the right mentality, when we do have the focus, we really play within our own and we can really be anyone. That’s why we’re so optimistic for the playoffs coming up,” he added.

            The Lancers are looking forward to a rematch with Oakton Community College. On April 20, Oakton shut out CLC twice by final scores of 9-0. This was the only time they were held without a run.

            “(Playing Oakton is) something we’re really looking forward to. We want to get Oakton back again,” Miller said.

            Hopefully this time around, their big bats can come alive and the Lancers have a trip to the DII World Series in Oklahoma to show for it.

Women play strong in conference, break records

11:01 AM Chronicle
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Salvador Galvan

Staff Writer


The women’s softball team is back to its winning ways and has broken their season-high win streak of five games.

On April 17, the Lancers started the weekend by playing South Suburban College on the road. The Lancers lost the first game of the two-game set by a slim margin with a final score of 7-6.

Looking to rebound from the loss, the Lancers came out strong in the second game. Both their offense and defense played well. The pitching and defense held South Suburban to two runs, while the offense came out swinging, putting up 11 runs to win the game 11-2.
 
With make-up games against Oakton on the 19, the Lancers looked to build off that win and string together more. The Lancers picked up the two wins against Oakton by forfeit. Adding those two wins, the Lancers had three wins in a row.

The Lancers wanted to earn every win by playing and were ready to host Moraine Valley Community College.

The first game was a low scoring affair, but the Lancers came out with the 2-1 win in game one. The second game was higher scoring and the Lancers edged out Moraine Valley and won 8-5, sweeping the two-game set against their conference rival and extending the streak to five games, tying the season-high win streak.

Looking to keep the wins coming, namely conference games, the Lancers hosted Waubonsee Community College for their next two games. The first game the Lancers won 8-5, and pushed the winning streak to six games, setting a new season-high win streak.

In the second game, they went on an offensive tear and won their seventh straight game with a score of 12-4.

The win also marked the sixth straight home win and, more impressively, their eight straight conference game win.

Since the start of April, the Lancers have won 11 out of their 12 conference games, a goal Coach Garcia had for her team. She wanted the Lancers to play well against conference opponents and finish with a good record to have a high seed once the playoffs start.

The Lancers have 15 wins and 15 losses and still have a few games left before the season comes to a close. As long as they keep playing hard and giving 100 percent, they’ll be ready for the post season where they could finish where Coach Garcia hoped they’d finish--first place and winning state. 

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