The Ken Burns documentary, “Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise & Fall of Jack Johnson” is a great representation of the legendary boxer.

Before Joe Lewis and Jackie Robinson , Jack Johnson, the first African American Heavyweight champion of the world, was a beacon of hope for a struggling race. He was fighting with Ida B. Wells and Fredrick Douglas and against Booker T. Washington. Wells and Douglas wanted equal rights and no segregation, Washington was content with segregation for the foreseeable future.

Johnson’s first fight against a white man, Joe Choynski, they both were arrested. They spent 23 days together in jail. Choynski taught Johnson the ins-and-outs of boxing while in jail. Johnson became unbeatable after his stay in jail.  

Johnson was brash, cocky and vociferous in the early 1900s when an average 150 African Americans were lynched a year, the race didn’t become loud and proud until the 1960s.

He was Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson, Terrell Owens and Dieon Sanders all wrapped into one. Johnson also loved white women and white women loved him, white men hated him. I’m surprised, the whites didn’t lynch Johnson. He was fearless, unbeatable and awesome.

Johnson would travel openly with white women. He spent nearly every dollar he made instantly. Jack Johnson gave the middle finger to all white people by being too good and too famous, he would beat up
white men and take the white man‘s woman, the ultimate rebel.

Jack Johnson is voiced over by Samuel L. Jackson, the man who seems to find his way into anything good.

Rating: B
This documentary is really good but terribly long, the running time is over three and a half hours.

7. Rodney Harrison (1994-2008)

2× Pro Bowl selections
4× All-Pro selections
2× Super Bowl champion
4× AFC champion
San Diego Chargers 50th Anniversary Team
New England Patriots 50th Anniversary Team

5. John Lynch
9× Pro Bowl selection
4× All-Pro selection
Super Bowl champion

10. Ken Norton Jr. (1988-2000)
3× Pro Bowl selection
2× All-Pro selection
3× Super Bowl Champion

9. George Musso (1933-1944)
2x All-NFL
4x NFL champion
Member of Pro Football Hall of Fame

8. Bryant Young
4× Pro Bowl selection
4× All-Pro selection
Super Bowl champion
NFL 1990s All-Decade Team
NFL Rookie of the Year
NFL Comeback Player of the Year

7. George Connor (1948-1955)
4× Pro Bowl selection
4× All-Pro selection
NFL 1940s All-Decade Team
Member of Pro Football Hall of Fame

6. Rodney Harrison
2× Pro Bowl selection
4× All-Pro selection
2× Super Bowl champion
4× AFC champion
San Diego Chargers 50th Anniversary Team
New England Patriots 50th Anniversary Team

5. Sterling Sharpe
5× Pro Bowl selection
5× All-Pro selection
3x NFL receptions leader
2x NFL receiving TDs leaders
Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame

4. Donovan McNabb (1999-2011)
6× Pro Bowl selection
NFC Offensive Player of the Year
NFC Champion
Philadelphia Eagles 75th Anniversary Team

3. Ray Nitschke (1958-1972)
3× First-team All-Pro selection
4× Second-team All-Pro selection
2x Super Bowl Champion
1x Pro Bowl selection
MVP of 1962 NFL Championship Game
NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team
Green Bay Packers #66 Retired
Member of Pro Football Hall of Fame

2. Shannon Sharpe (1990-2003)
8× Pro Bowl selection4× First-team All-Pro selection
1× Second-team All-Pro selection
3× Super Bowl champion
NFL 1990s All-Decade Team
Member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame

Arguably the best tight end ever, Sharpe can't be denied a high ranking with eight Pro Bowls and three Super Bowls.

1. Dick Butkus (1965-1973)Member of the NFL 1960s All-Decade Team
Member of the NFL 1970s All-Decade TeamMember of Pro Football Hall of Fame
2x Defensive Player of the Year
6x All-Pro teams
2x All-Pro seconds teams
Elected to the Pro Bowl eight times
Chicago Bears #51 retired

Butkus was one of the greatest and meanest linebackers ever. He was so good Butkus made two All-Decade teams, but the Bears were so bad winning only 48 games in his nine seasons.

Chicago is 3-1 and frontrunners in the NFC North, however the offense leads critics to doubt the Bears' Super Bowl aspirations. “The Monsters of the Midway” barely crack most people’s top 10 power rankings although the defense is playing impactful football.

The defense is ranked fifth in points-per-game with 17, third in sacks with 15 and first in takeaways with 14. It's still early but this Bears defense could be better than the 2005 Super Bowl team.

Typical Bears, the offense is unreliable and can’t take care of the ball. Jay "Condescending" Cutler was good in the Cowboys game with two TDs and no INTs, but the rest of the season he has been OK. The cocky QB reincarnated, Cutler can’t make mistakes like he used to.

He is running out of excuses: Mike Martz is gone, the Bears have receivers and Cutler can audible now. The glaring excuse Cutler still has in his pocket is the offensive line that is at best shaky. The o-line has given up 13 sacks, the fourth most in the NFL.
The line shouldn’t be an excuse for Cutler, Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers never had great protection but still won Super Bowls. It is time for Cutler to put up or shut up.

This win in Dallas could be a turning for the offense. After limited playing time last week against the Cowboys expect superstar running back Matt Forte to improve this offense against the second worst rush defense in Jacksonville.

With an easy win against Jacksonville and a bye week coming up, the offense should be in good shape by the time Detroit comes to town on October 22. Weeks 7-11 the Bears face four playoff teams in five weeks but three of the four are in Chicago: vs. Detroit, vs. Carolina, vs. Houston and at San Francisco.

Chicago should be between 7-1 or 5-3 by the time they have to play the undefeated Houston Texans on Sunday Night Football on November 11.

1st Quarter Grades
Quarterback
Grade: CCutler just isn’t as productive as he should be.

Running Backs
Grade: B-The absence of Forte has really hurt the 1-2 punch of Michael Bush and Forte, but Bush does look to be a reliable backup.

Wide Receivers
Grade: B-The receivers were great against the Colts and Cowboys, but they disappeared against the Rams and Packers.

Tight Ends
Grade: C-
Kellen Davis has made some plays but his inconsistencies have made him a liability.

Offensive Line
Grade: DOnly two sacks against DeMarcus Ware, maybe the line is taking the next step after giving up 11 in three games.

Defensive Line
Grade: A+
The defense is on pace for 60 sacks and three double digit sackers: Julius Peppers, Israel Idonije and Henry Melton.

Linebackers
Grade: B+
The old backers played well despite Brian Urlacher playing into shape. Is Lance Briggs better than Urlacher?

Defensive Backs
Grade: A- Charles “Peanut” Tillman, Tim Jennings and Major Wright combine for nine of the Bears 14 takeaways. They still give up too many passing yards, but that is the product of Lovie Smith’s “bend, don’t break” defense.

Special Teams
Grade: C+The punt and kick coverage teams haven’t given up a TD and Robbie Gould hasn’t missed a field goal. The rest of the special teams are alright. Hester hasn’t scored a TD and the fake field goal in the Green Bay game killed us. The Bears also had to burn two timeouts in the St. Louis game due to special team problems.

One Bulls Question

Can the Bulls recover from 2012 in 2013?
Answer: No
The 2012 season was the most devastating year in Bulls history. Chicago's top two players, Derrick Rose and Luol Deng, will miss a good portion of the 2013 season due to injury.

With the loss of Deng and Rose, 2013 seems to be a lost season. The Bulls still have a good enough team to make the playoffs but that's it. They lose over 40 points-per-game without Deng and Rose, and it would be tough for Rose to come back as the same player next season.

The back court will have two new starters at the beginning of the season. C.J. Watson and Ronnie Brewer will most likely replace Rose and Deng. The absence of the two stars will make the best bench in the NBA far worse.

The Bulls' front court is going to be one of the best, but none of the players are elite. Carlos Boozer will have to be the number one scorer on the team, which he hasn't accomplished in five years. Joakim Noah is good at everything except offense, he needs to step his game a bit.

Last season could be the peak for this Bulls team. By the time Rose and Deng are back the season might lost. If the Bulls don't make the playoffs in 2013, Boozer, Noah and Tom Thibodeau will take the brunt of the criticism.

Bears Mid-Offseason Review

Coming:Brandon Marshall WR Dolphins
Michael Bush RB Raiders
Jason Campbell QB Raiders
Blake Costanzo LB 49ers
Devin Thomas WR NY Giants
Eric Weems WR FalconsJonathan Wilhite CB Broncos
Kelvin Hayden CB Falcons
Going:Anthony Adams DT Free Agent
Zack Bowman CB Vikings
Corey Graham CB Ravens
Caleb Hanie QB Broncos
Chris Massey LS Free Agent
Brandon Meriweather S Redskins
Amobi Okoye DT Buccaneers
Frank Omiyale OT Seahawks
Roy Williams WR Free Agent
Marion Barber RB Retired

Staying Put
Matt Forte RB Bears
Kellen Davis TE Bears
Israel Idonije DE Bears
Tim Jennings CB Bears
Josh McCown QB Bears
Craig Steltz S Bears
Kahlil Bell RB Bears

In Phil Emery's first offseason as Chicago’s general manager, he has completed some huge deals that have made the Bears a Super Bowl contender. Chicago is having the best offseason in years by adding depth and acquiring a superstar athlete for cheap.

Wide receiver, cornerback, running back and quarterback were all upgraded. Chicago added three receivers with the departure of Roy Williams and Johnny Knox’s maybe career-ending injury. The biggest move was trading two third round picks for the Dolphins’ Brandon Marshall, he is probable the best receiver to ever put on a Bears jersey.

Adding Marshall brings stability to the receivers by creating clear roles for each player. Marshall is the big target Chicago needs to go along with Earl Bennett's possession skills and Devin Hester's speed.

The Bears also added depth at the CB position by adding Kelvin Hayden and Jonathan Wilhite to replace Zach Bowman and Corey Graham. Chicago can avoid drafting a cornerback or wide receiver in the first two rounds.

Emery has even bolstered the special teams with the signings of two stud specialists Blake Costanzo and Eric Weems.

Chicago has settled its contract dispute with star linebacker Lance Briggs, but star running back Matt Forte's contract dispute goes unresolved. Although the Bears have to settle Forte's situation, the signing of Michael Bush is an insurance policy just in case Forte holds out.

Marshall and Bush will definitely be the most impactful additions, unless Jay Cutler gets hurt then you can include Jason Campbell.

Besides the Forte situation, Emery has had a very good offseason.

An Entertaining 'Goon'

The hockey movie "Goon" is a well done "Slap Shot" type flick that creates laughter and hockey love.

The 2012 film is based on the book "Goon: The True Story of an Unlikely Journey into Minor League Hockey" about Doug "The Hammer" Smith.

Seann William Scott is fantastic as the anti-Stifler, Doug Glatt who is based on the enforcer Smith. The film follows Glatt as he takes "an Unlikely Journey into Minor League Hockey." The story is unbelievable and it is well supported by humor.

Liev Schreiber is good as Glatt's respectful rival. Jay Baruchel compliments the cast well as the comedic relief. Baruchel also co-wrote the screenplay.

Rating: B

This comedy is unexpectedly good, it is one of the best hockey movies.

Sports Don't Belong at a Liberal Arts School

Columbia College Chicago's sports has been a running joke at the school, although the attitude is changing.

Some students think that sports should be improved at the school, but it would cause the school to change its business approach. Columbia would have waste money on a sports program that will not create revenue for some time.

Thus a more costly sports program would take money away from the students' education that is already overpriced.

Caddying at a PGA Event

During the Northern Trust Open Pro-Am at Riviera Country Club, Windy City Critic was able to caddy with the eventual event winner Bill Haas. Yet the PGA competition wasn't the only highlight of the week.

Rich Hyland was asked by Northern Trust to participate in the exclusive event, he then asked Windy City Critic to carry his bag. How could I turn it down? A free trip to Cali to rub elbows with the upper class for just carrying a bag, I’m in.

The experience started off with a practice round at Malibu Country Club with Hyland, WCC, Rich Eidson and Mark Hyland. Rich and Rich played well, Hyland lost $300 on the last hole after many rollovers. Mark and WCC weren’t betting and it was a good thing because they were spraying the ball all over the course.

Despite the poor play, former Cub Derrek Lee and ESPN’s Roger Cossack were in the two groups playing behind us. We did get to speak with them due to slow play as a result of many groups of women on the course.

For our evening entertainment, we attended a Northern Trust event where Freddie Couples and Hunter Mahan spoke. It was interesting, but they talked about Tiger Woods way too much.

After the discussion with Couples and Mahan, the pairings for the Pro-Am were announced. We were paired with Haas, the man who hit an $11 million shot out of the water at the Tour Championship last year.
The next morning we left at 6:00 AM for our 7:40 tee time. We had a quick breakfast and headed to the tee. While waiting for our time, we just watched the PGA stars. It was amazing to walk in places that even the media couldn’t go.

The time had come to tee off for the best ball match, which takes the best score of the foursome on each hole. The group paired with us consisted of Giancarlo Turano of Turano Bread, Jim Bridgeman of Northern Trust and Haas. The amateurs just tried to hit it past the ladies tees and avoid embarrassment. They all hit it past although they weren’t all straight.

After the first hole jitters the group relaxed. The foursome had good chemistry probably because the three amateurs are Chicagoans. Another commonality, Haas had a family member on his bag, Jay Haas. Bill’s older brother has recently started caddying for him and wants to play against his sibling someday.

As for a caddie, I wasn’t too good. My golfer wouldn’t listen, I would say “you should lay up” and he would respond with “gimme the 3 wood.” I couldn’t even hold my laughter when my golfer had two 3-shot bunker outs.

At the turn the group was 7 under in the hunt for the win, but the mood became a bit more serious. The new mood hurt the foursome, through 16 holes they were two behind the leader and only 8 under . The last two holes they turned it up with two birdies, Hyland accounting for the final one. Despite the closing push, the group finished second with a respectable 61.

The day was capped off with a private Tony Bennett concert where I sat next to former Charlotte Bobcats owner and BET owner Bob Johnson. I said nothing to him due to my offensive and rarely thought-out responses.

On Sunday, Haas beat Phil Mickelson in a playoff with a 45-foot putt worth $1.1 million.

The Greatest Sports Rivalry is not in the US

As much as American’s think that they have the most heated rivalries, it’s just not true. Soccer around the world is way more intense.

On occasion a fan gets beat-up at an American game but rarely it results in death. The recent soccer riot in Egypt resulted in  zero deaths.

Sports riots in North America are much different. When Vancouver lost the Stanley Cup in 2011, a riot ensued there was looting, arrests and people injured but there was

Yes, the unrest in the Middle East played a part in the riot, but still a death toll of that size is unreasonable. 73 deaths.

Title IX Opens Doors

Forty years after Title IX was instituted, women are taking advantage of the opportunity.

Howard Schlossberg said that nearly three and a half million women play high school sports and Title IX is partly responsible. The Act caused schools to equally distribute funds throughout their educational programs without sex bias.  

Before Title IX women rarely received athletic scholarships, now over 15,000 student athletes play women’s college basketball according to collegesportsscholarships.com. The 1972 Act doesn’t just allow women to play sports, it gives them the chance to continue their academic career.

Title IX helps women equalize their standing in society by furthering themselves academically. Even in the 1970s women didn’t receive the same rights as a man in the workplace. Now women are seen in authority positions, but it still isn’t level.  In a recent business class, my teacher said that women are expensive to hire and men are better candidates for a company.

So even today women aren’t treated the same as men, but it’s moving in the right direction.  

Trading for Howard Without Losing Deng = Championship

If Chicago could keep Luol Deng and acquire Orlando’s center Dwight Howard, they would be championship favorites this year.

Chicago’s “Big 3” would be better than Miami’s with Derrick Rose, Howard and Deng. Rose and Howard both play an inside game but in different ways. Howard plays from the post and Rose plays with the ball. Unlike Dwayne Wade and Lebron James who both play with the ball in their hands. It will work great, the defense will collapse on one of them in the paint leaving open shooters all day. Deng is perfectly suited for the number three role, he’s a good jump shooter, skilled defender and all-round great player.

On February 8, Howard destroyed the Heat scoring 25 and grabbing 24 boards in a 102-89 victory. How much could he beat the Heat by if Rose and Deng were playing?

“If I could play with Derrick Rose right now and God wanted that to happen, it will happen,” said Howard to the Chicago Sun-Times. So Howard is open to playing for the Bulls but they are not at the top of his list. Consequently if they do acquire him it is uncertain if Howard would stay past 2011. It will be risky, but success could persuade Howard to stay in Chicago. Chicago’s offer could include Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson and C.J. Watson, who are under 27-years-old. The Bulls also could trade their 2011 and 2012 first round picks, and a Charlotte Bobcats first round pick that was acquired in the Tyrus Thomas trade. 

The problem is getting the trade done. ESPN.com’s Rumor Mill has reported these players are on Orlando’s trading block: Howard, Hedo Turkoglu, Chris Duhon and Glenn Davis. It will be tough for the Magic to unload all those players because they’re contracts are worth nearly 40 million dollars just this year, but the team wants to get rid of at least three.

Lakers, Mavericks and Nets are Howard’s top three destinations, the Knicks and the Bulls are on the outside looking in. The Mavs and Nets have the least to offer, and the Knicks are offering two blotted contracts, Tyson Chandler and Amare Stoudemire. It seems the best two deals would come from the Bulls and Lakers.

A trio of players entering their prime and a trio of first round draft picks sounds like the best deal for Orlando. Unless the Lakers are willing to part with Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol subsequently the Bulls would have to add Deng to the mix. There are three trade scenarios that workout financially for both teams. 1. The Bulls trade Noah, Gibson and Watson for Howard and Duhon. 2. Chicago trades Deng, Noah, Gibson and Watson for Howard, Turkoglu and Duhon. 3. The Bulls trade Deng and Noah for Howard and Turkoglu.

Noah’s contract says he can’t be traded until March 1 and the Magic want to keep Howard until after the All-Star game that is in Orlando on February 26. So expect the Howard deal to go down between March 1 and March 15 at the trade deadline.

Salaries and trade scenarios were provided by the ESPN Trade Machine.  

The Return of the UFC

The UFC’s long-awaited second appearance in Chicago was successful despite a disappointing main event.

The headliner, Rashad Evans vs. Phil Davis, was a stinker, it turned into a boring five round wrestling match that ended in an Evans victory. The rest of the card was pretty damn good.

The highlights were Charles Oliveira's insane knee lock, Cub Swanson's thunderous knockout and the former Chicago cop Mike Russow's victorious return to Chicago. All of those moments were on the early broadcast on Fuel.

The last three fights on Fox weren't as interesting. The Chael Sonnen/Michael Bisping fight was the most competitive of the main fights, but it wasn't great. It resulted in a Sonnen decision victory, all three fights were decisions. Demian Maia vs. Chris Weidman, the first fight on Fox, showed Maia take a beatdown for three rounds.

As a whole, the event that started at 3:30 and ended around 10 was enjoyable for Chicago fight fans. "The whole day was awesome, but Davis and Evan sucked," said Chris Walters, who was at the January 25th event.

MMA fans at home tuned into the fights in bunches.

UFC on Fox 2 is the second highest rated UFC cable event ever, even though there were no titles on the line. The ratings were down from UFC on Fox 1 that an average 6.4 million viewers. It still put up an average 4.7 million viewers, ranking third among Saturday night programming on broadcast television.

Ratings were provided by tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com.

The Best Super Bowl Party I've Been To

It's 2007, I'm in a high rise on Michigan Avenue about to watch Chicago take on Indianapolis in Super Bowl XLI with 20 of the rowdiest Bears fans.

The night starts off with a bang. Devin Hester returns the opening kickoff, the one room apartment explodes with enjoyment. Everyone began screaming, jumping and dancing to the "Super Bowl Shuffle." Led by the owner of the place, people began smashing beer bottles and plates on the floor. It was completely out of control.

The night was all down hill from there. The Bears D and Rex Grossman made costly mistakes, and Chicago lost the Super Bowl 29-17. Everything went wrong, we even ran out of beer.

Since everyone at the party was illegal drinkers, there was limited ways to get beer. While we discussed how to get more, one Bears fan stood up and said he could steal beer from the Jewel on Wabash. So a couple of us made our way to Jewel not expecting him to try it, hoping to find another way to get our precious alcohol.

The whole time we told him it's a sketchy plan, but he assured us it would be fine. Before he went into the store, we asked him one more time "if he really wanted to do it." He put in a fat dip, said "I got this" and confidently walked into Jewel. He had no chance.

After a couple of agonizing minutes, we saw him come out of the store stumbling and fumbling with four cases underneath his arms. He was a hero. For only a few seconds though, right when he got outside a Jewel security guard grabbed him.

The drunk, depressed Bears fan was put in handcuffs and led into the security closet. The man tried to escape by spearing the guard, but he would later find out it's nearly impossible to spear someone at close range while handcuffed. The guard just laid on the Bears fan until help came.

The cops were called and he spent the rest of the Bears Super Bowl night in jail. The whole experience resulted in one Chicago loss, one noise complaint, which eventually became an eviction, and one misdemeanor battery conviction.

Risky Business

Bears risk losing their best offensive threat, Matt Forte, because it is bad business to sign running backs to long-term deals.

Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune suggests that Forte wants a contract similar to DeAngelo Williams' five-year, $43 million deal ($21 million guaranteed).

Forte is a top 10 running back; he runs, catches and blocks well, and rarely fumbles. During his career, the Tulane back has averaged 1,555 all-purpose yards and almost 8 touchdowns a season. But four seasons with over 200 rushing attempts makes Forte a risky investment.

The market for running backs is just as bad as the economy, it will be tough for the Pro Bowler to get a five year contract. Chicago is a tight spender and could franchise tag Forte, which would probably cause him to hold out. On the other hand, the Bears could give him a front loaded contract that would pay Forte less at the end of the agreement when he is less productive.

"NFL contracts aren't completely guaranteed, so there isn't a huge risk like in other sports," said Ricky O'Donnell, editor of SB Nation Chicago.

The offense needs Forte and it would be irresponsible to lose him with the door closing on this team's championship chances. For the best results, the Bears need to sign Forte early and handle him with care the rest of his career. If they lighten Forte's load, he can stay productive throughout his contract.

All stats were provided by pro-football-reference.com.