The Las Vegas Raiders made an interesting move at the quarterback position on the first day of free agency. Some thought the Raiders would be interested in trading the Chicago Bears for Justin Fields. The Raiders bypassed Fields and signed Gardner Minshew to a two year deal worth 25 million dollars. Minshew has been one of the best back-up quarterbacks in the NFL the last few years. Minshew made his first Pro-Bowl with the Colts last year and his new deal means he will get 15 million guaranteed. The Raiders liked what they saw in their rookie quarterback, Aidan O’Connell, last year who had ten starts. The Raiders are expected to have an open competition for the starting job with Minshew and O’Connell.

Gardner Minshew was originally drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 6th round in the 2019 NFL draft. In 2019 his rookie season, Minshew made 12 starts and went 6-6 behind center. In Minshew’s second season, he made 8 starts and went 1-7 behind center. After two seasons in Jacksonville, he was traded to Philadelphia where he spent two seasons as he backed Jalen Hurts. He managed to get 4 starts winning one of them. Last year he signed with the Colts to be the back-up quarterback for rookie Anthony Richardson. Richardson got hurt, so Minshew took over & started 13 games behind center and went 7-6 his first ever winning season in the NFL. He almost had the Colts back to post-season but a dropped ball or perhaps Minshew threw a bad pass on a potential game winning drive which cost Indianapolis a chance to win the division. Minshew completed 62.2% of his passes for 3,305 yards while throwing 15 touchdown passes to only 9 interceptions. In 5 seasons, he is 15-22 as a starter in the NFL. His completion percentage is 62.6% and he has tallied up 9,937 passing yards while throwing 59 touchdown passes to only 24 interceptions.

The Raiders drafted Aidan O’Connell in the 4th round of the NFL draft last season as he was 135th overall out of Purdue University. Originally Jimmy Garoppolo was the starting quarterback for the Raiders under head coach Josh McDaniels last season. It was a disaster. McDaniels was fired and the interim head coach Antonio Pierce, who now has the permanent gig in Vegas. He benched Jimmy G in favor of the rookie O’Connell. Aidan had ten starts for the Raiders last year and went 5-5 behind center. His completion percentage was 62.1% as he tallied 2,218 passing yards while throwing 12 touchdown passes to only 7 interceptions. O’Connell’s numbers are similar to Gardner Minshew’s last year. O’Connell is 25 years old with one season in the NFL while Minshew is 27 and has 5 years of experience at the pro level.

So far this off-season, the Raiders have been loading up on the defensive side of the ball in the free agent market. Which makes sense to stop Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert who are two elite quarterbacks in the division. The Raiders have two 1st round picks in the draft and could use one of them on a quarterback of the future. I like that the Raiders are having an open competition with Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew. Both quarterbacks will push each other to get better. If O’Connell wins the competition, the Raiders have a hell of a back-up in place. Then if they draft a rookie, he can stand on the sidelines, soak it all in, and learn the NFL game instead of being thrown to the wolves like most rookie quarterbacks. Many of them never rebound. If O’Connell struggles, then Minshew can take the team on his shoulders. If I was a Raiders fan, I would be rooting for Minshew to take the starting job as you know he’s coming in wanting to be a full time starter in this league. I like Minshew as a leader. Minshew has the stronger arm to throw the ball down field. With a solid defense, Minshew can just let it rip down field. The Raiders have some nice weapons in place and could add to the arsenal through free agency or the draft. The way things run under Antonio Pierce, this Raiders team is a sleeper to be reckoned with for this upcoming season. Minshew just sounds like a Raider name. He looks the part. The quarterback room has improved in Vegas from O’Connell getting a taste last year and now with Minshew on board, they did not have to give up any draft capital for Fields. They did not have to pay the ridiculous Kirk Cousins money like the Falcons did. The team can also find the gem of the draft at the quarterback position. It’s not always that easy as Caleb Williams may be the top choice right now. Will he be the best out of all the QB’s in the draft when the season starts? The Chiefs took Mahomes after Mitch Trubisky and Deshaun Watson in 2017. Mahomes played one game his first season. Now he has two Superbowl rings. Trubisky is now a career back-up. Watson would probably rape your mother. The Raiders may finally just win baby like old times for the silver and black.

If you are a Minnesota Vikings fan today, you probably should be more happy than sad seeing Kirk Cousins flying south to Atlanta. Cousins will be the man behind center for the Atlanta Falcons next season. Cousins leaves Minnesota after six seasons as Captain of the Vikings ship. Cousins at 35 years old gets a 4 year deal with the Vikings for 180 million of which the 12 year veteran of the NFL will get 50 million signing bonus to soar with the Falcons. The Falcons may now be the team in the worst division of the NFL, the NFC South that has the best quarterback.

Last year, Kirk Cousins managed to play 8 games in his final year in Minnesota as he tore his achilles in week 8. Cousins had the Vikings at 4-4 at the time and was having a fine season after the poor start out of the gate. Cousins was completing 69.5% of his passes & had 18 touchdown passes with only 5 interceptions. Cousins’ career started with the Washington Redskins where he played his first six seasons in the nation’s capital. He arrived in Minnesota in the 2018 season and played six seasons. Behind center for the Vikings, Cousins’ record was 50-37-1. Cousins only managed to get the Vikings to 3 playoff games won and he went 1-2 in the post-season in a Vikings uniform. Cousins is 1-4 in his career in the post-season where he lost his first two playoff games in a Redskins uniform. Cousins’ career record as a starter is 76-67-2 and has thrown 270 career touchdown passes with 110 interceptions. He is a 4-x Pro Bowler.

The Atlanta Falcons last playoff appearance came in 2017 where they lost in the division round. The Falcons offense was very one-dimensional last year with Desmond Ridder taking most of the snaps. The Falcons were still in the mix of things in the crappy division that features the Saints, Buccaneers, and the Panthers. The Falcons had a strong running game with a pretty good defense that kept them in the thick of things most of the year. The Falcons tried to save their season inserting another X-Washington quarterback Taylor Heinicke down the stretch to help juice up the passing game, but the Buccaneers prevailed as the South champs. The team fired their head coach Arthur Smith this off-season. They replaced him with the LA Rams defensive coach Raheem Morris. Morris a few seasons back was the interim head coach of the Falcons when they fired Dan Quinn. Morris went 4-7 as the Falcons played well for him. In the end, he did not get the head coaching job until this off-season as he comes back to Atlanta. Obviously Morris and the front office wanted to fix the quarterback situation as their first priority. Cousins is their answer.

Kirk Cousins in Minnesota had the best receiver in the NFC in Justin Jefferson the last few seasons. Some will say Jefferson may be the best receiver in the game. Cousins had a top tight end in TJ Hockenson and a nice season from rookie wide receiver in Jordan Addison. Now Cousins will have a better back field in hot Atlanta with Bijan Robinson lining up in the back field. The Falcons wide receiver second year man Drake London put up great numbers with a bad quarterback play as he had 69 catches for 905 yards with two touchdowns. Kyle Pitts is no slouch at the tight end position for the Falcons as his numbers will surge with Cousins behind center. Cousins is a middle of the road quarterback in the NFL. You could say that about Matthew Stafford as he was inserted into the Rams quarterback position which resulted in a Superbowl ring. Cousins is like that great fantasy quarterback that can get you a ton of points because his teams can play from behind and have to pass the ball. How will he respond after his injury he suffered last year? Is he better than Bryce Young of the Panthers. Yes. I think I’d rather Cousins than Derek Carr of the Saints. I may give Baker Mayfield the edge in Tampa Bay over Cousins. Obviously the Falcons can add more pieces around Cousins. Where will Cousins get you a first round loss or a Superbowl? I think Vikings fans want something more than a one and done in the playoffs. Other teams like Atlanta may like to get to the post-season. The age of 35 scares me. Sure Joe Flacco played well in regular season for the Browns and he’s older than Cousins. Flacco did not play well in the playoff game in the loss to the Texans. If you are a wide receiver in Atlanta, you’re loving this move bringing in Cousins. Would Atlanta have been better off with a guy like Justin Fields? A younger guy with a young Falcons team? We will see how this will unfold when the season starts. We know one of the biggest dominoes in the free agent market at the quarterback position comes off the board.

Last season, the Chicago Bears struck fast in the free agency market delivering a ton of defensive needs. The Bears first move for the 2024 season is landing a number 1 running back. Last season, the Bears ran the ball by committee with Khalil Herbert and a rookie out of the University of Texas, Roschon Johnson. The Bears let David Montgomery walk out the door as he signed with the Lions and had a monster year. Newly hired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron wants a number one option at the running back position and they sign D’Andre Swift to a 3 year commitment for 24 million. The 25 year old Swift had his best season of his career with the Eagles last year, his lone season in Philadelphia, and he’s a former Lions running back.

D’Andre Swift made his first ever pro bowl, as a guy drafted by Detroit in 2020 out of Georgia University. He was selected in the 2nd round 35th overall. His rookie season in Detroit he had a knack for finding the end zone with 13 rushing touchdowns. Last year with the Eagles, he had his best year running the football as he tallied over 1,000 rushing yards with (1,049). He averaged 4.6 a carry and scored 5 rushing touchdowns. He also added 39 catches out of the back field for 214 yards and 1 touchdown reception. In the last three seasons, he averaged 5 rushing touchdowns as he he has 23 total in his 4 year career.

Last year the Bears leading rusher was Khalil Herbert who played in 12 games and tallied (611) rushing yards. The 3rd year back out of Virginia Tech averaged 4.6 yards a carry and found the end zone twice. Then the rookie Roschon Johnson had 81 touches for 352 yards with 2 rushing touchdowns. He averaged 4.3 yards a touch. Johnson caught 34 balls out of the back field while Herbert caught 20 balls. The veteran D’Onta Foreman chipped in with 4 rushing touchdowns. If the Bears stayed the course with David Mongomery, he had 219 touches for over 1,000 yards as he tallied (1,015) and he found the end zone 13 times. He averaged 4.6 yards a touch. D’Andre Swift looks like an upgrade over Johnson and Herbert. If the Bears would have kept Mongomery, Swift would not be needed for this upcoming season. Anyone can now play Monday morning quarterback as Swift would now be the featured back in Chicago’s offense.

The Chicago Bears have not revealed what they are going to do with the number one pick. Will Justin Fields still be the guy behind center next season or would the Bears draft Caleb Williams out of USC? Williams is predicted to be the best quarterback in the upcoming draft. Whatever move the Bears do at the quarterback position, it will be good to have a solid running back in the back field. Bringing in D’Andre Swift gives the team a bruising style back that can wear down opposing defenses. It would give the Bears offense another weapon at Fields’ disposal. It would certainly help a rookie quarterback in Williams as well. Both Fields and Williams are duel threat quarterbacks and can make things happen by running the football if needed. With a number one threat as a running back, it keeps the defenses guessing about who’s going to to run the ball on certain plays. The Bears have two back up options in last years guys in Khalil Herbert and Rochon Johnson. One of them can be a third down option for this offense next year as well. Shane Waldron’s offense last year in Seattle had a feature back. The Seahawks had two backs that thrived in his system. It opened up play action passes for Geno Smith. I still like to see the Bears add another offensive line piece as we know Fields holds on to the ball too long at times. Another piece to the offensive line gives these backs bigger holes for Swift and others to exploit for big chunks of yardage.

Looks like the circus is back in town on July 20th in Texas. The main event features the baddest man to ever walk the Earth, 57 year old Mike Tyson, versus former MMA fighter now boxer, You-Tuber Jake Paul who is 27 years old. Tyson will be 58 years old when this fight takes place this summer at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Paul was part of the under card fight when Tyson fought last in November of 2020 when Iron Mike squared off against Roy Jones Jr, a guy in the same ballpark as Tyson’s age. Paul that night fought former NBA basketball star turned boxer Nate Robinson who he knocked out in round two in his second professional bout. It has not been ruled an exhibition or professional bout. Can Tyson give this kid a beat down like he deserves while approaching the age of 60? This fight will score more You Tube followers for Paul who has already has 20 million followers. We know it comes down to money being streamed on Netflix.

Who is Jake Paul? Paul is a social media genius making money off his videos. Besides You tube subscribers, Paul has 5.7 followers on Face book. On Twitter/X 4.6 followers, Instagram 25.9 million subscribers, Tik Tok 17.3 million followers. It started with his MMA career & now he’s taking full advantage of the money from the bout and the videos. Paul so far is 9-1 for his boxing career. His only loss came from Tommy Fury. He is the brother of heavy weight champion Tyson Fury.

Jake Paul was paid 3.2 million for that bout versus Fury. All together he might have made 30 million in that fight with all the social media followers. The fight he beat up on Nate Robinson in, earned him 1.2 million and who knows what he earned from that on You Tube. He’s coming off back to back wins over two club level boxers, not killers, that resulted in 2 first round knock outs. He dispatched Andre August and Ryan Bourland. Paul is nicknamed the problem child. His face tattoo is a dragon. He once chomped down on raw cow testicle for kicks. May have resulted in banking a brinks truck taking a bite out of cow. His sketchy past includes criminal trespassing which charges were dropped. Oh my.

Iron Mike Tyson was a symbol of the sport of boxing back in the 1980’s and 90’s. Tyson was bat shit crazy in the ring as we remember him chomping part of Evander Holyfield’s ear off in a championship bout. Tyson was the vilian back then. He was the heavy weight champion of the world and had 58 total fights as he won 50 and suffered 6 losses. Tyson had 44 knockouts in those 50 wins. In 2020, he looked sharp in the Fight with Roy Jones Jr. which was an exhibition match. His last official match for Tyson came in a loss to Kevin McBride on June 11th 2005. His last win came in 2003 when he beat up on Clifford Etienne, a fight that lasted 49 seconds. Tyson was an animal that went to prison for rape and served 6 years for that crime. His face tattoo is a warrior. His story goes back growing up on the tough streets of New York. How he got screwed by boxing promoter Don King. After retiring, you see Mike in a whole new light as he played himself in one of the greatest comedies in the movie The Hangover. It seems like the Hollywood scene has given us a calmer version of the guy that was out for blood and punishment. A guy that may have the all-time most powerful punch in the boxing ring.

I feel if Mike Tyson was 27 years old, he would turn Jake Paul into Glass Joe of Mike’s old Nintendo game. Tyson will be 58 years when this fight takes place. Paul is 30 years younger than Mike. I think this match-up will be better than the celebrity boxing match between Screech Powers of Saved by the Bell and Arnold Horshack from Welcome Back Kotter. Look up that bout on YouTube.

Mike Tyson is always must-see television. I’m sure Netflix will have an additional charge to watch this all unfold. I remember the friend we all hung around with always purchased pay-per-view when it came to Tyson back in the day. Even if you open up the can of beer and the fight is suddenly over, something interesting will occur. Obviously Jake Paul is using Mike Tyson to pad his banking account, and a win could set him up his family for a few life times. I’m sure Tyson will get a big payday. Maybe he is in need of money. Maybe he is bored with life and still needs something to prove. Back then I would have rooted against Iron Mike. Now I hope he makes mince meat out of Jake Paul and teaches him something about the sport of boxing. If one of Paul’s ears are bitten, who would profit more on that situation? Maybe after the bout, Tyson can show Paul how to really chomp down on a cow testicle. Some would call that a burrito.

Russell Wilson is done in Denver as the writing was all over the walls at the end of last season. Head Coach Sean Payton was done dealing with Wilson and elected to go with Jarrett Stidham to conclude the season. The Denver Broncos will flat out release Wilson and take on the consequences like an NFL record of 85 million in dead cap. The Broncos will eat 39 million to be done with Wilson after only two seasons in the Rocky Mountain state. Wilson signed a 245 million dollar extension with the Broncos before taking a single snap. The Broncos gave up the world for Wilson’s talents in a deal with his former team, the Seahawks. Now the former Superbowl champion at 35 years of age is impossible to trade. The Broncos will avoid a 37 million guaranteed money in 2025 by getting rid of the cancer that Wilson was in the Denver locker room.

Originally the Broncos back in 2022 wanted to trade for Aaron Rodgers as they had his former offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett on board as the new Head Coach. Instead the Broncos settled for plan B and they were fleeced by the Seahawks on what they gave up for Russell Wilson.The Seahawks made out like bandits as they took the cow for some beans in the deal. The Seahawks received a 2022 1st round draft pick, 2022 2nd round draft pick, and a 2022 5th round draft pick. Not quite done yet. They also got a 2023 1st round draft pick, 2023 2nd round draft pick and three players from the Broncos roster. The players were tight end Noah Fant, back up quarterback Drew Lock, and defensive lineman Shelby Harris. The Broncos got Wilson and a 2022 4th round pick. The Broncos then decided to sweeten the pot and give Wilson a contract extension. What are we smoking in Denver? Nobody knew Pete Carol is the devil over there.

The Broncos were dreaming of another Superbowl with the Russell Wilson sugar plums dancing in their mind sets. When the Broncos signed Peyton Manning after he missed a season with a neck injury, it was a risky move. It was worth it. Like changing a light bulb, Manning helped the Broncos win a Superbowl in 2015. Wilson was 33 years old with 9 winning seasons as a quarterback and a Superbowl ring. Should have been two if Seattle would have went beast mode and handed the ball off to Marshawn Lynch in the loss to the Patriots in that Superbowl. It was Wilson’s pass intercepted that sealed the deal for Tom Brady and the Patriots. Wilson had a regular season record of 104-53 as a starting quarterback in Seattle. He threw 292 touchdown passes to only 92 interceptions. He had 37,059 passing yards and was completing 65% of his passes. Maybe the red flag, Wilson had his first losing season of his career in his last year in Seattle. Now he has three losing seasons counting the two he just played in Denver.

Whose fault was this entire scheme of trading everything for Russell Wilson? They should be fired like the guy in charge of the Bud Light advertising should be fired with his wacky scheme. First thing, they hired a head coach with no experience. Nathaniel Hackett did not even last a year and was fired during the season with games left to be played. They give an aging quarterback a Brinks truck coming off a losing season. They give Wilson his own office. What does a football player need with his own office? Now they made the locker room divided. Now wonder if your own players had a bad taste in their mouths as the prima donna got whatever he wanted. Your quarterback needs to be part of the team and go through the grind of training camp and season together. No wonder Sean Payton, the new head coach that came in last season, poked fun at the old regime. Payton was expected to be a miracle worker with Wilson. Wilson did improve from the disaster that was the 2022 season. Wilson was sacked a 100 times in two seasons in Denver. Wilson’s record as a starter in Denver was 11-19 for 6,594 yards as he threw for 42 touchdowns. He threw 19 interceptions as he turned over the ball 26 times in two seasons. Wilson improved with a short passing game like Drew Brees had in New Orleans. Wilson made some deep throws to keep the defensive honest. Over the middle, down the field Wilson was not throwing anything. Wilson can’t escape like he did in Seattle as he was always able to extend plays and make things happen on the fly.

The Broncos started off the season & they were one of the worst teams in the league. Everyone remembers the blow out the Dolphins did to them. Sean Payton was able to turn the Broncos season around as they were in the thick of things for a playoff spot. The wheels on the Broncos bus came off at the end. Frustration between head coach and quarterback was obvious. Is Jarrett Stidham the answer? The Broncos have been searching for their quarterback since Peyton Manning left town and retired. They have tried veterans Case Keenum and Joe Flacco. They have drafted Paxton Lynch who recently struggled in both Spring Football leagues: the XFL and the USFL. Drew Lock got a few chances and he is in Seattle. Brett Rypien did not have any of his uncle’s magic that Mark Rypien had in the 1990’s. How many free agents can the Broncos afford with dead money occupying the salary cap? The Broncos have big decisions to make here. The AFC West means you have to deal with the Kansas City Chiefs still who won back to back Superbowls. The Chargers should be scary with Jim Harbaugh being the head coach and has a stud quarterback in Justin Herbert. The Raiders seem better with Antonio Pierce taking over as the full time head coach. This Wilson trade could set this Bronco franchise back a few seasons. Giving away draft picks can haunt teams for years.

For Russell Wilson, he was a bust in these last two seasons in Denver. How many teams will want to take a flyer on Wilson this upcoming season? The pros of signing Wilson include he should be cheap. He should have a chip on his shoulder to play well and we know he wants that rebound season. To walk away from his football career will be unsatisfying to any professional athlete. He will look to write his own final chapter of his career that has been incredible. The cons include: What teammates are going to welcome this guy in their locker room? Does he have anything left in the tank is the biggest question. Another con is head coach. What kind of offensive scheme can work for Wilson’s strengths? Wilson did not see eye to eye with Sean Payton who is recognized as one of the best offensive minds in the game. Nathaniel Hackett may just be Aaron Rodgers’ caddy as he now is in New York. Jets had no offense as soon as Rodgers was knocked out of that very first game. Where he will go will be one of the big stories this off-season. The best idea for Wilson may be one season taking a back up job. One season to recharge and reset. Perhaps you get a chance to play if an injury takes place on the starter. However, fools rush in. Some team will think Wilson is the answer to their problem. Just like Denver.

Last Sunday, the Chicago Blackhawks raised Chris Chelios’ number 7 jersey into the rafters of the United Center. It was the 9th jersey retired by the Blackhawks and the first from a player from the 1990’s era. Chelios played 26 seasons in the NHL, and he was a three time cup winner with two franchises. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2013. He was a 7X all-star. He was a 3X Norris Trophy winner, which is for the top defensemen in the league, and he won it with the Blackhawks twice. He’s probably the best, or one of the best, American born players to play the game. He is a home town guy. He played a big part in USA hockey. Why the mixed feelings over his jersey retirement? Can the entire Blackhawks fan base forgive and forget about the Chelios Red Wings years? It seemed on Sunday the fan base had two celebrations going on during the return of Patrick Kane in the enemy uniform of the those hated Red Wings. Then the ceremony of Chelios’ number 7 being hoisted up to the rafters as we remember those pretty good 1990’s teams. All those guys that we loved, were on hand in support of their teammate.

In sports, we as fans have to get over things. We intend to hang on to the dreaded heartbreaking games over the biggest victories. We see childhood heroes get traded away and some return. We never want to know how a hot dog is made. We eat them. The business side of the sports is the same way. The Blackhawks traded away one of their best players at the time, their captain Denis Savard, to the Montreal Canadians for the hometown kid, Chris Chelios. It’s funny how things work out as Chelios won a cup with the Canadians playing there for seven seasons. Savard would win a cup, his only one with Montreal. Chelios played with the Blackhawks from 1990-99 for a total of 9 seasons. In a Blackhawks uniform, he was your Charlie Hustle. That Pete Rose style of player only on the ice. He was a defenseman with high octane motor who scored 92 goals and dished out 395 assists wearing the Indian head. He was an enforcer as well on the ice as he took no shenanigans from opposing teams. He is still number 1 all time in Blackhawks history with 1,495 penalty minutes. Chelios played on that 1990-91 team that made it all the way to the Stanley Cup and eliminated the Red Wings to get there. It was the first time the Blackhawks played in the Cup finals since the 1960-61 season. It was not meant to be as the Penguins shredded the Blackhawks by sweeping them and killing the dream at the same time. During the 1990’s, fans will remember Chelios speaking words about never playing for the Red Wings or that franchise from the rivalry these original six teams had back then.

Then the trade. Chris Chelios was dealt to the archrival Detroit Red Wings. Here’s where things get interesting about this debate. First red flag is why would any ownership of a sports franchise help their arch enemy in anything. We have to remember Bill Wirtz was an ASS. One of the worst owners in sports. Maybe Chelios wanted to play for a franchise with greener pastures. After this trade, the Blackhawks would head to the dark ages. Crickets would be heard chirping at games. As fans, we put our blinders up. We see Chelios winning two cups with the Red Wings. The fans were mad when Chelios returned to Chicago the first time as they booed him. Every time he handled the puck, boos from the crowd. The family owned restaurant, Cheli’s Chili, seemed like the Cleveland Browns franchise moving their operations in the middle of night. The family chili restaurant opened up in Detroit. Chelios would actually play in Detroit longer than he did in Chicago for ten seasons. Fans remember Chelios wearing the Red Wings sweater at the Wrigley Field Classic winter game in 2009 outside. Then to rub salt on the fans, Chelios brought the cup back to Chicago a couple times and showed it off at the Cubs games. Inside the mind set of Blackhawks fans back then, he was a traitor and a turn coat.

The ceremony on Sunday had all kinds of people from celebrities to old teammates watching Chris Chelios’ big day unfold. Chelios is a guy anybody would love. He showed up to work and played hard. He went out, painted the town red, and loved the Chicago bars. His partner in crime most of the time in Chicago on defense, Gary Suter, said that Chelios would tell him, “If you drink beer at night you’ve got to sweat it out the next day.”

Everyone has a guy in their group that can light the lantern at night and the next day, no sweat no problem and perform like he had 8 hours night of sleep. We know those guys that can’t handle it and are messed up the next business day. Chelios was like Dennis Rodman. Rodman would work out after the game for hours & then go get a steak after he was done. I’m sure he got his drink on and found some female companionship as well. Chelios did those intense workouts. He was riding a stationary bike in the sauna. In the off-season, he prepare himself with intense training over the summer to get even better for the full tilt NHL schedule. In 26 seasons in the NHL, he scored 185 goals with 763 assists for a grand total of 948 points. He racked up 2,891 penalty minutes. He was playing hockey at 48 years of age. After Detroit he went and played for the Atlanta Thrashers for one season. Their affiliate was the Chicago Wolves. He would return home and play his remainder of his career in the AHL, American Hockey League, in front of his hometown wearing the Wolves jersey.

On Sunday, at 62 years old, Chris Chelios was welcomed back with open arms by the Blackhawks faithful with chants of “Cheli, Cheli” in the air. His family was on hand and the Blackhawks did a fantastic job with the entire celebration. Chelios was a guy that lived in my home town of Evergreen Park, growing up in a south Chicago ‘burb. He grew up watching Chicago sports. He followed all of them and was a fan. He met guys when he played from other sports local teams like Michael Jordan, Dennis Rodman, Paul Konerko, and the baseball brain of the operations that constructed the Cubs World Series team, Theo Epstein. He had all his celebrity friends at the jersey retirement ceremony from living on the west coast, like the beautiful Cindy Crawford.

You can either like a guy or hate a guy who rubs elbows with the rich and famous. He seems like he does not forget about the guys that helped bring him to this level of stardom. He still is a family man. His daughter does pre and post games for the Blackhawks television broadcasts. Then I read in a book called The Grim Reaper about Chris Chelios being a dick head. The book was written by Chelios’ former teammate Stu Grimson who was an enforcer and teammate of those early 1990’s teams. This happened after Grimsom hung up the skates. How Chelios got Grimson fired from his job in the NHL union. I think the ESPN series, The Last Dance, tainted Michael Jordan’s perfect storybook career. I really think the group with Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, Marian Hossa, and Jonathan Toews winning those three cups helps forget the dark days of Blackhawks hockey. Time seems to take the sting out of all the wounds. Patrick Kane scored the winning goal for the Red Wings on that Sunday affair. The United Center cheered on Kane like he is the next messiah legend in Chicago sports when he hangs up the skates. In life, we do some stupid things we regret and would want to change that about ourselves. Why are we seeing Kane and another X Blackhawks guy we loved, Alex DeBrincat, skating for the Red Wings? Sid the Kid Crosby still playing in Pittsburgh his entire career. Sometimes it is the player. Most of times, especially with the history we have in Chicago, it’s the ownership. The Blackhawks ownership that caused us to have to forgive and forget. They caused the problems. They try to push the blame on the players. Chelios did bring us a ton of great memories with those 1990 Blackhawks teams. He is a Hall of Famer. He may still be a guy you may hate but accept. It’s nice having him and the beloved Dick Butkus of the Bears being two guys from the home town having their jersey being retired. I would like a few other guys from the 1990’s Blackhawks teams to get their day. I can now say I can end my grudge on Chelios and move on. He still will not be my favorite player of all time. His work ethic is what you want for all the guys on the teams you follow. It is just a plain fact.