telander
Rick Telander biography
Rick Telander has been the lead sports columnist at the Sun-Times since April, 1995. He previously was a senior writer for Sports Illustrated and ESPN, …
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Telander: New documentary ‘‘Head Games” is a football horror film
‘Head Games’’ is coming to town. And what a proper title that is. While we the public fret about bad NFL replacement officials and why our favorite college team is/isn’t playing up to snuff and how the Friday night lights are looking (if you have …Read More
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Oh, to ’do what Chicago AP sportswriter Joe Mooshil could ’do
Everybody needs role models. Without them, we would have no blueprint or even a vague dotted line to help us move into adulthood. Charles Barkley can say he’s no role model. But he is one, regardless. It’s just what kind of role model he is. …Read More
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Telander: Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall excel in chemistry, not math
It all starts with math, right? So when Jay Cutler was asked Tuesday if he could continue to throw passes to wideout Brandon Marshall at the rate he did Sunday against the Colts —that is 15 times a game, multiplied by 16 games, which equals …Read More
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Brandon Marshall pays immediate dividend
When before have we seen a wide receiver like this for the Bears? I could be wrong, but I’m thinking never. Brandon Marshall is as big as defensive ends were way back in the day. He’s 6-4, 230. And he’s lean. And fast. And has …
Brandon McCarthy’s injury exposes insanity of unprotected pitching
Oakland Athletics pitcher Brandon McCarthy had to have emergency brain surgery after a line drive off the bat of Angels batter Erick Aybar hit him in the head and fractured his skull during a game Wednesday. In my opinion, being a pitcher and following through …
Telander: Let’s hope Brian Urlacher’s career doesn’t end like Dick Butkus’
If he’s back, let’s just rejoice. I know there are a lot of Brian Urlacher dislikers out there. Doubters, too. I was a doubter myself. I didn’t doubt the Bears middle linebacker’s talent, drive or credentials — Hall of Fame, first vote, guaranteed. (Save your …
Pro football needs real refs; Lance Armstrong needs to get real
Happy Labor Day weekend, laborers! And that includes all you resting NFL officials. The way I see it is you’re like seasonal hedge-trimmers. If the hedge looks bad enough, or somebody falls in and gets thorns stuck in him everywhere because of bad trim work …
Darwin Barney almost second to none at second base
Darwin Barney came to bat in the second inning, two men on, two out, Brewers up 3-0. Crack, he hit a fly ball to right fielder Norichika Aoki. Three outs. But hitting is not why people are watching Barney. That is, if they’re watching anything …
Telander: While the Cubs have pinned their hopes on Theo Epstein, the Red Sox are erasing his legacy
The Cubs and the Boston Red Sox are linked in a circular universe. They don’t care much about each other; they don’t think much about each other; they’re in different leagues, different cities with different pasts, futures, accents. But they pass each other in orbit, …
Cutting Brian Urlacher a real option for Bears
RICK TELANDER: He didn’t play. And the question is: Can he play? Brian Urlacher may be the heart of the Bears, but if the pump in the middle of the machine is busted, you either fix it or get a new one.
Thought of Cubs minor league move a total bummer
Peoria is a unique place — a small city midway between Chicago and St. Louis that is its own universe, its own vortex. Largely uninfluenced by the big metropolises to the north and south — or Indianapolis to the east or Kansas City to the …
Telander’s Sunday stew: Read ’em and weep
It takes awhile to get your American brain in order after 19 days in London, but here we go: ◆ News that former Penn State defensive coordinator and current prisoner Jerry Sandusky is writing his second book has me reaching for that now-vanished intercontinental airline …
Paralympics can be called ‘Oscars’
There are three reasons the 2012 Paralympics, which begin Aug. 29 in the same London location where the Olympics just finished, are on their way — astonishingly — to selling out for the first time: † Britain has gone mad with Olympic good cheer, fueled …
Telander: Cue the usual host-Games celebration in London
HEADING HOME FROM LONDON — No bomb went off, no terrorists did anything (that we know of), no missiles were fired, no mass arrests were made. Any Olympics that pulls that off automatically starts with a grade of B. But such is the anxiety and …
Team USA tops Spain for men’s basketball gold
RICK TELANDER: You can’t blame the United States for winning the gold medal in men’s basketball. It was basically a given it would happen with this team, which includes Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Kevin Love, Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony.
What price will London pay for Olympics?
TELANDER: Local businesses suffered terribly, theater saw a mere portion of the traffic it normally would, museums were almost deserted, and taxi drivers cruised the streets begging for customers. Which was sweet for us journalists — and how about those Olympic Traffic Lanes for our buses! — but not so good for the home of Big Ben.
Rick Telander’s greatest Olympian ever: Michael Phelps
LONDON — I’ll try to be civil because the young man I’m debating (now seasoned with an Olympic-salt-and-pepper beard) also is named Rick. It’s a good name. Pity some Ricks need logic help. To wit, Michael Phelps is the greatest Olympian. Ever. Shall we start …
Distance swimmer Alex Meyer takes 10th, leads race for safer water
LONDON — It was hot and sunny here for a change, but would anyone want to take a dip in the Hyde Park lagoon? Two dozen world-class distance swimmers did, competing in the Olympic 10-kilometer men’s swimming marathon, won by a fellow from Tunisia, Oussama …Read More
Usain Bolt begins celebration in 200 before race is over
LONDON — Think of it, because I guarantee you he is: Usain Bolt spent exactly 28.95 seconds in the Olympics spotlight, and he owns the world. Bolt won the 100 meters three days ago, and if you blinked, you missed it. His time: an Olympic …Read More
Clarissa Chun’s bronze ends U.S. medal drought in wrestling
LONDON — This is not horseplay in the backyard with your older sister. This is lock up and look out. Yeah, they have their hair in ponytails, but there’s nothing feminine, graceful or fun about women’s wrestling. Unless you win. Maroi Mezien of Tunisia was …Read More
