SPORTS From the Bleachers

COLUMN BY KURT MARGGRAF IN CHICAGO

When Lovie Smith coached the Houston Texans to a victory over the Indianapolis Colts in the final game of the regular season, it allowed the Chicago Bears to sneak under them for the worst record in the league and gave the Bears the first choice in the upcoming college football draft.

For Lovies troubles, he was fired the next day and in Chicago, fans seemed to love him more than they ever did when he coached the Bears.

The moment of truth will come to be in the near future when the Texans, Colts, or some other team, decide that they need the draft pick the Bears have, and decide to give the Bears an offer they can’t refuse.

When you end up with the worst record in the league, you obviously don’t have a lot of star players, so if the Bears can parlay their pick into a few more picks over the next couple of years, the Bears can be on their way to start contending for championships.

As of right this moment, I’d say the Bears could have 10-15 new starters next season. Even if they can’t pull off a trade for the first choice, there are a couple of defensive linemen who are potential superstars, so whatever the outcome, the Bears should be vastly improved this coming season.

I think they will be fighting for a playoff spot next season, and the following season they can be championship contenders.

The Bears surely do need a lot of help. Defensively, they appear to be set at both safety positions and both cornerback spots and possibly one linebacker.

That leave six positions, at least, to replace.

Fortunately, the Bears have a lot of space under the salary cap to acquire free agents and they also have a full compliment of draft choices.

On offense, the Bears seem set at quarterback, running back, tight end, one receiver, and one lineman. That leaves at least six spots open on offense for a total of twelve. During this upcoming season the old saying, you can’t tell the players without a scorecard, will be particularly appropriate.

The Blackhawks are rebuilding so the talk of trading Patrick Kane isn’t preposterous.

He’s been a great player for the Hawks, so trading him to a contender is a nice gesture by the team for the individual. It looks like the New York Rangers will be the recipients and I hope that every time Kane comes back to Chicago he is given a standing ovation.

Jonathan Toews is ill and his career may be coming to an end. Hopefully, one of the youngsters will fill the leadership void that will be created by the absence of these two great players. Finally, the Bulls picked up a veteran that grew up in Chicago, Patrick Beverley. In the two games Beverley has participated in, both victories, the Bulls have out scored their opponents by a combined 64 points. Let’s hope the inspired play continues.

Hugh C. Cameron said, “Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people.” Be kind. Talk to you next week. Peace, love, and happiness.