Kevin Jackman

Two sad bits of Chicago news

The first one comes as a major disappointment for avid fans of the Bears, as they announced today the release of former receiver and pro bowl returner, Johnny Knox. It’s hard to forget the horrific hit he took two years ago that put him on the operating table with a spinal injury. However, despite the Bears severing ties with Knox, according to Pro Football Talks, he still plans on playing in 2013. Knox has held firm the idea of returning to the NFL and has a medical exam coming up in roughly a month that will ultimately determine if he is currently fit to do so. Best of luck to Johnny on his future.

The other bit of “sad” news really isn’t as sad as the Knox story, but it does pertain to Derrick Rose, who today stated that he is “far away” from returning. Those around the league felt that Rose would return shortly following the All-Star break which is set for February 17th. Rose did leave the door open for a return in a few weeks but also included the possibility of skipping this year entirely and coming back next year. Meanwhile, the Bulls have sat in the top four of the Eastern Conference all season long and should continue to do so as long as the Nuggets don’t come to town again anytime soon.

Super Bowl SATURDAY?!?

New York officials in connection to the planning of next year’s Super Bowl came out and said that playing the big game on Saturday is an option if it means beating the weather in NYC. This has Steven A. Smith’s panties in a bunch, but he actually makes a few good points (skip the part of Skip Bayless talking, Smith offers the same points with stronger support… go figure). Despite Smith’s logic, I still don’t have a problem with the Super Bowl being played in a cold weather city and no dome, mainly because I’m foolishly optimistic it can make its way to Chicago.

Jay Williams and the Dope Scandal

Okay, it’s not really a scandal but it’s a funny story considering how irrelevant Jay Williams now is. Williams stated that several (unnamed) players on the 2002-2003 Bulls team would smoke weed prior to games and would commonly ask if other players smelled popcorn during play. I said this with the Curt Schilling comments and I’ll say it again, unless you indict specific people in your claims, you lack substantial validity. If Williams really wants to knock his old teammates, just come out and say who did it, otherwise, shut up and do your desk job with ESPN.

Shaun Livingston’s Knee

If anyone remembers Shaun Livingston and his gag-inducing knee injury, apparently there was a risk of amputation which was chronicled in a new profile noted by Deadspin.com (highly recommend following them on Twitter too).