Illini/Arkansas State Preview - Football's Back!

The 2011 Fighting Illini are presenting quite a conundrum to our nation's college football experts.  Some see a team with a soft schedule and a dynamic, dual-threat sophomore QB and expect the Illini to top last year's 7-6 record.  Others see the loss of three key would-be-seniors to the NFL draft and expect the Illini to take a step backwards.  The good news is that we won't have to wait much longer to see who's right, as the 2011 season will kick off on Saturday when the Illini face the Arkansas State Red Wolves at the friendly confines of Memorial Stadium.  I'm excited, because I finally get a chance to write about a real game involving someone other than the craptacular 2011 Chicago Cubs.

The Best and Worst of Jim Hendry

You probably already know that Jim Hendry was fired by the Chicago Cubs on Friday.  Actually, that's not true - he was really fired almost a month ago, but in a baffling move he was allowed to stay on as GM through the July 31 trade deadline (when the Cubs twiddled their thumbs and did nothing).  Which means that, technically, the Cubs allowed an ex-employee to make crucial decisions (or non-decisions) affecting the team's future.  It figures that even when the Cubs do something right, they still do it wrong.

Looking back on Hendry's nearly ten-year tenure running the Cubs, one could make the argument that he's the most successful GM the team has ever had (granted, there's not much competition).  After all, the Cubs won three division titles under his watch, and made back-to-back postseason appearances (in 2007 and 2008) for the first time since Tinker, Evers, and Chance (and Steinfeldt) patrolled the infield at West Side Grounds in the early 20th Century.  But there was always a feeling that, given the Cubs decided financial advantage as the only major-market team in the NL Central, they could have done even better.  For one thing, their three division titles included an 88-win season (2003) and an 85-win season (2007); both times, the Cubs didn't field dominant teams, but instead they barely were able to prevail over weak competitors to finish first.  And Hendry's three division winners were counterbalanced by the last-place, 96-loss clunker of 2006 and the last two lackluster seasons, which left the Cubs' overall record during his time as GM at 749-748 - which is about as mediocre as you can get.

Two Down - Jim Hendry Fired as Cubs GM

Wow, what a great year this is turning out to be!  First, Ron Guenther retired.  Now comes the news that the Cubs have fired GM Jim Hendry.  Since I wasn't expecting this to happen until after the season ended (if ever), it will take a little time for me to put together a longer retrospective on Hendry's tenure as GM.  But for now, it's good to know that three of my four favorite teams are giving me hope for something different (accountability and sustained success) going forward.  And since these things usually happen in threes, if I were Jerry Angelo (and if Angelo were aware of my blog), I'd be getting really nervous.

Golden and Eller: Two ex-Illini

Running back Bud Golden and kicker/punter Matt Eller have apparently decided to leave the Illini football team, both for the same reason - being buried on the depth chart.  Not much of a story here, but it's a chance to say best wishes to both players, as well as a good excuse to give special thanks to Eller for this moment:

End of "Z" Line: A Look at Carlos Zambrano's Chicago Cubs Career

Getting into a dugout (and locker room) fight with his catcher (Michael Barrett) didn't do it.  Engaging in a dugout shouting match with the mild-mannered Derrek Lee didn't do it either.  But cleaning out his locker and walking out of Turner Field in the middle of Friday's game - that may be the act that finally marks the end of Carlos Zambrano's tenure in the Chicago Cubs organization.  The Cubs have placed Zambrano on the disqualified list, essentially banning him (without pay) from the team for 30 days.  Judging by the reactions of his teammates, they won't miss him, even if it means more starts for the likes of Casey Coleman or Ramon Ortiz in Zambrano's absence.

If this is indeed the end for Big Z's time in Chicago, it's a sad reminder of another once-popular Cubs player who walked out of the clubhouse in the middle of a game - Sammy Sosa, who also never played with the Cubs again after committing his transgression.  And as with another hot-headed Cub of recent vintage - Milton Bradley - Jim Hendry (or his successor) will undoubtedly be forced to purge Zambrano from the roster one way or another.  It's not like finding a taker for a slightly-above-average pitcher with an $18 million contract for 2012 would be an easy job under any circumstances, but Zambrano's selfish actions have made getting any kind of value in return a near-impossible task.

Carlos Zambrano won 125 games as a Cub - a total topped by only three other Cubs pitchers since World War II (Fergie Jenkins, Greg Maddux, and Rick Reuschel, who has an awesome nickname).  Only Jenkins recorded more strikeouts as a Cub than Zambrano.  Only eight pitchers in major league history have hit more home runs than Zambrano, who had 23.  And in 2008, he pitched the Cubs' first no-hitter since 1972.  But unfortunately, that's not what fans will remember.  They'll likely remember him the way baseball fans remember players like Dick Allen and Bradley - both of whom had emotional issues that prevented them from reaching their full potential as players and teammates.   Despite the anger management issues, Zambrano is still young enough and healthy enough that someone will probably find a spot for him on a 2012 major league roster.  But it won't be the Chicago Cubs' roster.

So farewell, Big Z.  Thanks for the memories, and best of luck to you getting not only your professional life together, but also getting your personal life together.

"Say Hello to the new Illini AD." "Hello, Mike Thomas!"

Best wishes, Mike Thomas!

Welcome aboard, Mike Thomas!  The former Cincinnati Athletic Director has been named to succeed Ron Guenther as University of Illinois Athletic Director, and I especially liked this quote from his introductory press conference:

"Intercollegiate athletics are a critical element of the campus community, and I understand the importance of student-athletes excelling in both the playing arena and the classroom," Thomas said. "The U of I has the essential pieces--facilities, staff, athletes, alumni and fans--for continued excellence and success, and I'm deeply honored and excited to be able to lead the Fighting Illini."

Since football and basketball are my focus here, I'll note that when Thomas started as Cincinnati AD in 2005, the Bearcats football team was in the middle of a run of mediocrity:  4-7 in 2003, 7-5 in 2004, 5-7 in 2005.  To fix that, he hired Brian Kelly to run the football team, and Kelly quickly brought the Bearcats to national prominence, going 34-6 over the next four seasons, including two BCS bowl game appearances.  Unfortunately, after Kelly left for Notre Dame, Thomas didn't do as well picking a successor (Butch Jones, who led the Bearcats to a 4-8 record last year).  Interestingly, both Kelly and Jones were coaching at Central Michigan when Thomas hired them, so I guess that means we can anticipate Dan Enos being our next head coach whenever Thomas tires of Ron Zook.  Hey, at least Enos was a Big Ten guy.

As for basketball, Thomas had to deal with the aftermath of Bob [t]Huggins's resignation, and his first (and only) hire was Mick Cronin.  The Bearcats were a mess during Cronin's first two years (11-19 and 13-19) due in part to having to completely rebuild the program, and moving from Conference USA to the loaded Big East didn't help those win-loss records.  But by his fifth year (last season), Cronin had the Bearcats back in the NCAA tournament (26-9, 11-7) for the first time since the end of the [t]Huggins regime, where they beat Missouri before losing to eventual champion UConn.  Not a bad clean-up job.

So, to recap:  that's one home-run hire (Kelly), one double off the base of the wall (Cronin), and one foul ball off the end of the bat (Jones).  All in all, not a bad record, especially if Thomas can find another Brian Kelly type to run one (or both) of our major sports programs.  If nothing else, Illini fans finally have some certainty, and we can start hoping for some accountability from the new AD as well.