After providing summaries of the local Olympians a few weeks ago, The Daily Herald also printed a recap of how everyone did. They even included a few athletes they missed the first time. Feel free to check out that article here.

Here are the final results for the locals at the 2002 Winter Olympics at Salt Lake City:

Chicagoland Winter Olympians

Darrin Steele of Sherrard, U.S. 2-man Bobsled
Steele and partner Brian Shimer finished 9th in competition on February 16th and 17th.

Dan Steele of Rock Island, U.S. 4-man Bobsled
Steele won the bronze medal in competition on February 22nd and 23rd.

Garrett Hines of Chicago, U.S. 2-man and 4-man Bobsled
Hines and partners Todd Hays, Randy Jones, and Bill Schuffenhauer won the silver medal in competition on February 22nd and 23rd.

Hines and partner Hays finished 4th in competition on February 16th and 17th.

John-Andrew Kambanis of Chicago, Greek Bobsled
Ioannis (John) Livaditis of Chicago, Greek Bobsled

The only Greek Bobsled team finished 31st in competition on February 16th.

Added: Chia-Chan (Steven) Lee of Lake Forest, China-Taiwan four-man Bobsled alternate
Attended the games but did not compete. His team finished 29th in competition on February 22nd and 23rd.

Ann Swisshelm of Chicago, U.S. Women's Curling
Stacy Liapis of Chicago, U.S. Women's Curling
Joni Cotten of Mount Prospect, U.S. Women's Curling (alternate)
After making the semi-finals, we lost to Switzerland on February 20th, and then Canada beat us 9-5 for the bronze medal on February 21st.

Timothy Goebel of Rolling Meadows, U.S. Men's Figure Skating
Goebel won the bronze medal, although we felt that he performed better on both nights than the Russian silver medallist, Evgeni Plushenko.

Cammi Granato of Downers Grove, U.S. Women's Hockey
Sarah Tueting of Winnetka, U.S. Women's Hockey
While Granato and Tueting played great hockey during the Olympics, we finished a very disappointing 2nd, losing to Canada 3-2 in the final on February 21st. We brought home a consolation silver medal.

Chris Thorpe of Waukegan, U.S. Men's Luge Doubles
Thorpe and partner Clay Ives won the bronze medal on February 15th.

Becky Wilczak of Berwyn, U.S. Women's Luge
She finished finished 5th overall in competition on February 12th and 13th.

Courtney Zablocki of Naperville, U.S. Women's Luge
She competed on February 12th and 13th and finished 13th overall.

Added: Shannon Dunn of Arlington Heights, U.S. Women's Half-pipe Snowboarding
Finished 5th in competition on February 10th.

Added: Chris Klug of Lake Zurich, U.S. Men's Parallel Giant Slalom Snowboarding
Klug won a bronze medal in competition on February 14th and 15th.

Shani Davis of Chicago, U.S. Men's 5000m Relay Short Track Speedskating alternate
Davis left Utah last weekend after he wasn't needed to compete.

Becky Sundstrom of Glen Ellyn, U.S. Ladies 500m Speedskating
She finished 20th in competition on February 14th.

We'd like to congratulate local medalists Dan Steele, Garrett Hines, Timothy Goebel, Cammi Granato, Sarah Tueting, Chris Thorpe, and Chris Klug. Of course, all of our locals represented both the area and country admirably, although no one features a list of countries with the most non-medaling athletes.

Additionally, we'd like to take this opportunity to congratulate all the U.S. gold medal winners for almost giving us as many Winter Olympics gold medals(10) as our highest previous total medal count(13): Ross Powers, Kelly Clark, Casey FitzRandolph, Chris Witty, Derek Parra, Jill Bakken & Vonetta Flowers, Jim Shea, Jr., Tristan Gale, Apolo Anton Ohno, and of course, Sarah Hughes.

As before, men's hockey results are posted under our Blackhawks' section.

Chicago Bears

I suppose we should be happy that the unfortunately named "Dick Jauron Hostage Crisis" has ended. Angelo announced last week that the deal was completed, and Jauron receives a new deal that replaces the final 2002 season of the old one. He'll be paid 7 million over the next three years, with a $2M salary in 2002 and $2.5M in each of the latter two years. All of his assistants except Offensive Coordinator John Shoop have signed similar deals, and even Shoop expects a new deal within the next few weeks.

The current Bears' regime will either triumph or fail together as Angelo's contract also runs out after 2004. While he might be given the opportunity to hire his own head coach by then, we suspect that the Bears will have to make the playoffs in two of the next three years and make one Super Bowl for everyone to keep their jobs. As this seems mildly unreasonable given the luck of last season and the current talent level of the roster, we're going to hold off on any more predictions or analysis until free agents start signing on Friday.

Chicago Blackhawks

Tony Amonte of the Blackhawks, U.S.
Phil Housley of the Blackhawks, U.S.
Chris Chelios of Chicago, U.S.
We beat Germany 5-0 in the February 20th quarterfinals and triumphed over Russia 3-2 on February 22nd, the 22nd anniversary of the Miracle on Ice, before losing 5-2 to Canada in the gold medal game on February 24th. Both our women's and men's hockey teams brought home the silver.

Alex Zhamnov of the Blackhawks, Russia
Boris Mironov of the Blackhawks, Russia
Russia beat the Czech Republic 1-0 in the February 20th quarterfinals before losing 3-2 to the U.S. on February 22nd. They followed up the loss with a 7-2 blistering of Belarus to claim the bronze medal.

Zhamnov was also injured and missed the first game back last night, a 5-4 loss in Philadelphia.

Michael Nylander of the Blackhawks, Sweden
Belarus beat Sweden 4-3 in the February 20th quarterfinals, a shocking loss for a team favored for a medal game. We've seen articles from Swedish newspapers calling the performance a national disgrace, and the TV commentator almost called it the biggest upset in Olympic hockey history...before catching himself and adding "since the current format was introduced in 1998".

Jaroslav Spacek of the Blackhawks, Czech Republic
Czech Republic lost to Russia by a score of 1-0 in the February 20th quarterfinals.

Pasi Nurminen of the Chicago Wolves, Finland
Finland lost to Canada, 2-1, in the February 20th quarterfinals.

We were almost correct in our predictions, although like everyone else we missed Belarus over Sweden. Unfortunately for the U.S. team, we nailed the winner of the other seven games(Russia, U.S., and Canada in the quarters, U.S. and Canada in the semi-finals, Russia for bronze and Canada for gold).

Next week we'll see if the Blackhawks might actually add players instead of dealing someone like Almonte. Yesterday we heard word that all Blackhawks' playoff home games will be televised. Our prediction: not only will the UC be full, the TV ratings will be huge, at least huge for the Blackhawks and hockey. We should have all home games on TV no later than next season after the Wirtzes realize that televising games will only convert more Hawks' fans and bring more people into games.

Chicago Bulls

Everyone should know that Jalen Rose isn't the second coming of Michael Jordan. Even if the Bulls now have won three games in a row for the first time since His Airness was in town (and when he was young and healthy, Wizardinos).

Reality returned last night as the Bulls lost to Orlando by a score of 112-97. Rose led the team again with 24 points, but the most surprising development of the last week has been the emergence of Marcus Fizer as an offensive force.

Fizer, a 6-9 forward chosen with the 4th overall pick two years ago, has averaged 23 points in the last three games, first on the team and three baskets ahead of Rose's 17. Many people expected Fizer to be the next one sent packing, but with Charles Oakley, Eddie Robinson, and Greg Anthony unable to play but still on the active roster, the Bulls need someone at Forward when Chandler or Rose is on the bench.

As Fizer is also under contract for at least the next year or two, he's fairly likely to stay an integral part of the current rotation. After last week's trade, we briefly discussed the future Bulls' roster. Here's another look at it in consideration of Fizer's sudden scoring barrage.

(A quick reminder: 5-Center; 4-Power Forward; 3-Small Forward; 2-Shooting Guard; 1-Point Guard.)

Eddy Curry can play either the 5 or 4, and Chandler can handle the 4 or 3; both of them will be starting for the foreseeable future. Jalen Rose will be starting somewhere between the 3 to the 1 depending on the configuration of the rest of the team.

Eddie Robinson could start at the 3, although he'll likely be used as a secondary back-up at both the 4 and 2. Fizer can handle the 4 and even the 3 to some extent. Dalibor Bagaric, still considered a future All-Star by the Jerrys, will return as a back-up center.

Former 1st rounder Jamal Crawford should be fully recovered by next season, returning as a potential starter at either the 2 or 1. A.J. Guyton will remain a back-up guard, as will Fred Hoiberg, both able to cover the 2 or 1.

2001 2nd rounder Trenton Hassel, a competent shooter on a team full of players still learning the fundamentals, will return as a back-up for the 3 and 2, and potentially even the 4 if desperate due to injuries.

Travis Best, a 1 acquired in last week's deal, might not necessarily re-sign here this off-season. He's one of the better free agents in a very weak class, and while he'll get an opportunity to occasionally start on the Bulls, his return would also clog the roster to some extent and likely prevent us from keeping the second round pick.

With Charles Oakley and Greg Anthony both nearly certain to depart, thereby clearing some cap room, we will have room to potentially add one or two players. One of them will certainly be either a Top 5 draft pick or a starter acquired for that pick, and the other will come from a group including Best, a potential 2nd rounder, and the extended group of second tier free agents.

Since we've already equaled last year's victory total and the young players all appear to respect Bill Cartwright as head coach, we might even be looking at 7th or 6th place in what should remain a relatively weak division in the 2002-2003 season. I doubt we can make the playoffs for another two years barring the acquisition of another potential star, although even making it out of last will be seen as a great accomplishment considering the depths to which this team had sunk.

Chicago Cubs

Spring Training Preview

Here's our rundown on the players in Cubs' camp and their likely 2002 destinations, ordered by position.

Catchers on the 40-man roster:
Todd Hundley, probable starting catcher, batting 6th
Joe Girardi, probable back-up catcher
Robert Machado, potential back-up catcher, but more likely to be traded or waived

Non-roster catchers mainly brought in to catch all the extra pitchers:
Ryan Jorgensen, Cubs' top catching prospect, likely destined for AA West Tennessee for most of the season.
Mike Mahoney, likely AAA Iowa starter
Adam Melhuse, might make the roster as a utility 25th man, but also might start around the diamond at AAA

First Basemen on the 40-man roster:
Fred McGriff, starting 1B, batting 4th
Julio Zuleta, probably headed to Japan in the next few days; otherwise he'll probably be waived by the end of camp
Hee Seop Choi, probable starting 1B in 2003; he'll return to AAA for a full season

Non-roster first basemen in camp:
Seung-Yeop Lee, Korean star, will work out with the team for the next two weeks or so before returning to fulfill the remaining two years of his contract overseas

Second Basemen on the 40-man roster:
Delino DeShields, probable starter at least against RHP, batting 1st; otherwise a utility guy at 2B, 3B, LF, CF, and maybe even 1B
Chris Stynes, probable back-up at 2B, 3B, and LF; might also start against LHP and lead-off

Non-roster second basemen in camp:
Bobby Hill, probable starter at AAA until the All-Star break, but might break camp with the team, starting at 2B and leading off

Third Basemen on the 40-man roster:
Bill Mueller, starting 3B, batting 2nd
Mark Bellhorn, potential IF back-up considering we traded solid IF prospect Adam Morissey for him back in November; Bellhorn also might be waived for someone like Hill if he doesn't make the team, or he could even slip through waivers and wind up starting at Iowa at 2B, 3B, or SS
Dave Kelton, probable starting 3B in 2003 after the acquisition of Alou, he'll need a full year at AAA to work on both his offense and defense

Non-roster third basemen in camp:
Kevin Orie, the former "next Ron Santo" returns to Chicago with a solid chance of making the team as a back-up; his 2001 numbers suggest he might even be a passable starter at times, and Baylor should certainly give him a long look, especially if he can back-up 1B

Shortstops on the 40-man roster:
Alex Gonzalez, starting SS, batting 7th or 8th
Augie Ojeda, probable back-up IF, although he could return to AAA Iowa considering the competition in camp like Bellhorn and
Ivanon Coffie, probable AAA IF back-up, although we did trade a PTBNL to acquire him in December
Nate Frese, the worst position player on the 40-man roster also may be the best defensive player on the roster, although he really should return to starting at AA at best for another season

Non-roster shortstops in camp:
Luis Ordaz, potential AAA starting SS, has also bounced around the league as an infield back-up for a few years; he has a small chance of making the team in lieu of someone like Ojeda, although he's also behind Stynes, Bellhorn, and Coffie

Left fielders on the 40-man roster:
Moises Alou, starting LF, batting 5th
Roosevelt Brown, back-up OF worthy of a starting job on several teams in baseball; he'll be at least a competent replacement when Alou's injured

Non-roster left fielders in camp:
Jayson Bass, probable starting OF at AAA, he's the least likely of any outfielder currently in Mesa to break camp with the team

Centerfielders on the 40-man roster:
Corey Patterson, starting CF, batting 7th or 8th
Darren Lewis, back-up OF, LF defensive replacement, and potential starter against tough lefties

Non-roster centerfielders in camp:
Kimera Bartee, probable AAA starting CF, and probable injury replacement should any of the major leaguers hit the DL

Right fielders on the 40-man roster:
Sammy Sosa, starting RF, batting 3rd

Non-roster right fielders in camp:
Angel Echevarria, probable starting OF at AAA, might also make the team as a back-up LF/RF/1B; outside of Zuleta and Choi, he's probably the best 1B in camp

Right-handed Starting Pitchers on the 40-man roster:
Jon Lieber, Opening Day starter
Kerry Wood, #2 starter and future ace
Jason Bere, #3 starter but potential July trade bait as he's a free agent at the end of the year
Juan Cruz, now officially 23, the #4 starter and #3 by the end of the year
Julian Tavarez, likely stuck in long relief unless he has a great camp, he also wants a trade if he's not starting; Baltimore might oblige
Carlos Zambrano, the most impressive pitcher in camp thus far, has at least a 50% chance of making the team in some capacity, although he's more likely to be kept in the bullpen consider Baylor's wish for a lefty starter
Mark Prior, the other future ace, might open the year at A+ Daytona in the Florida State League since its warmer than AA West Tenn, although he'll move up the ladder quickly and likely be in the majors by September
Mike Meyers, not to be confused with the Arizona lefty, Canadian comedian, or fictional villain of similar names, will likely return to AAA, possibly even in relief considering the starting depth at all levels, although he's a top candidate as an injury replacement
Ben "Felon" Christensen will likely begin the year with AA although he'll probably spend most of 2002 at AAA; we continue to hope he'll be traded at the first opportunity for someone with less capacity to "accidentally" almost kill someone
Jose Cueto should spend nearly the entire season in the AA rotation barring surprising success or failure
Francis Beltran, probably the worst player on the 40-man roster, will likely spend the year as a AA starter although his future is probably in the bullpen; he has some potential but we don't understand why the Cubs needed to protect this player over Chad Meyers

Non-roster right-handed starting pitchers in camp:
Alan Benes, Andy's younger brother, has a solid chance of breaking camp with the team as either a fifth starter or long reliever, although he's more likely to spend at least a couple of months at AAA before an injury or trade-related promotion
Joe Borowski, despite an excellent AAA season in 2001, failed to impress in his one start of 1.2 IP, but the Cubs re-signed him as a minor league free agent; a respectable spot starter if needed, he's more likely to spend the year as a AAAA swingman

Left-handed Starting Pitchers on the 40-man roster:
Jesus Sanchez, probable 5th starter although he might spend the year as the second reliever in the bullpen
Steve Smyth should return strong from injury and spend the year as a AAA starter

Non-roster left-handed starters in camp:
Donovan Osborne, the former Cardinals' ace, returns to baseball after a 2-year sabbatical to rest his worn arm and head; he looks very impressive and will see time in the majors this year barring injury, and he could even break camp as the 5th starter

Right-handed relievers on the 40-man roster:
Tom Gordon, closer, could rack 40 saves if he stays healthy, although he's also a trade candidate considering his impending free agency and injury history
Kyle Farnsworth, the probable closer-of-the-future, and the future will begin as soon as Gordon is injured or traded
Courtney Duncan, the forgotten man in the pen, should reclaim his middle relief spot after posting an excellent 10.3 K/9 in the majors last year
Scott Chiasson, the other closer-of-the-future, should spend most of the year as the AAA closer before likely joining the pen following the Gordon trade or injury

Non-roster right-handed relievers in camp:
Pat Mahomes, despite compiling the most relief IP in the AL for Texas last year, is not a good pitcher; the Cubs should be smart enough to send him to AAA for the year, although we fear he'll be up at some point over more deserving youngsters
Will Cunnane, probably the most underrated minor league free agent pitcher in camp, still doesn't deserve a roster slot over all the great young prospects; he should spend the year as AAA filler
Ben Ford, the Yankees' former closer-of-the-future, will likely spend the entire year at AAA and might even be released to accommodate the promotion of AA prospects like Christensen after the June draft

Left-handed relievers on the 40-man roster:
Jeff Fassero, top veteran set-up man and potential back-up closer, the Cubs should really look to deal him before his arm falls off as he approaches 40
Ron Mahay looked very impressive in a brief September showing and he retains the advantage of owning a 40-man roster slot, even if he does have about 10 pitchers challenging him for that 11th spot on the staff
Will Ohman is out for the year after undergoing arm surgery; his move to the 60-day DL will free a 40-man slot for someone like Osborne

Non-roster left-handed relievers in camp:
(Note: At least two of these pitchers will likely be released since there's little room in either AAA or AA, not to mention only one potential slot for any of them in the majors)
Jeff Tabaka has the most experience in this group at age 38, and he'll see some action in the majors at some point in 2002, although I'm not sure that it will be with the Cubs
Mark Watson, a moderately capable lefty, probably has most business making AAA out of the remainder of this group
Steve Sinclair doesn't even really deserve a minor league roster spot
Anthony Shumaker, ditto
Bryan Ward, ditto

So which 25 out of these 61 players will break camp with the team? We'll give you two lists of possibilities:
Who Should Break Camp with the Team
1. Delino DeShields, 2B
2. Bill Mueller, 3B
3. Sammy Sosa, RF
4. Fred McGriff, 1B
5. Moises Alou, LF
6. Todd Hundley, C
7. Corey Patterson, CF
8. Alex Gonzalez, SS

Joe Girardi, back-up catcher
Roosevelt Brown, back-up OF and primary LH pinch-hitter
Darren Lewis, back-up OF
Chris Stynes, back-up infielder
Augie Ojeda, back-up middle infielder
Kevin Orie, back-up 3B/1B and primary RH pinch-hitter

1. Jon Lieber
2. Kerry Wood
3. Jason Bere
4. Juan Cruz
5. Jesus Sanchez

Tom Gordon, closer
Jeff Fassero, set-up
Kyle Farnsworth, set-up
Courtney Duncan, middle relief
Ron Mahay, middle relief
Carlos Zambrano, long relief

Orie can take Ohman's 40-man spot, Mark Bellhorn can bet sent to Baltimore as the PTBNL for Ivanon Coffie, and Julian Tavarez can head to Pittsburgh, in desperate need of a veteran starter, for someone like failed prospect and potential sleeper Warren Morris.

Who Will Break Camp with the Team
1. Delino DeShields, 2B
2. Bill Mueller, 3B
3. Sammy Sosa, RF
4. Fred McGriff, 1B
5. Moises Alou, LF
6. Todd Hundley, C
7. Alex Gonzalez, SS
8. Corey Patterson, CF

Joe Girardi, back-up catcher
Roosevelt Brown, back-up OF and primary LH pinch-hitter
Darren Lewis, back-up OF
Chris Stynes, back-up infielder
Mark Bellhorn, back-up middle infielder
Possibly Orie, but more likely either Machado or Angel Echevarria

1. Jon Lieber
2. Kerry Wood
3. Jason Bere
4. Juan Cruz
5. Donovan Osborne

Tom Gordon, closer
Jeff Fassero, set-up
Kyle Farnsworth, set-up
Ron Mahay, middle relief
Julian Tavarez, long relief
Jesus Sanchez, long relief

Assuming one of the papers cooperates and prints a list of their top 10 prospects according to the Cubs in the next week, we'll discuss the Cubs' top prospects next week.

Chicago White Sox

We'll cover White Sox Spring Training next week while we review their top prospects this week.

Thanks again to the Daily Herald for running an article yesterday on the "Sox top 10 prospects": "With the help of Bob Fontaine Jr., who replaced Williams as the Sox' farm director, here's a look at the club's Top 10 prospects."

I mention that Fontaine helped with the list to point out that the Sox have no idea how to value relief pitchers or how most prospects should progress in the minors. Here's the list from Fontaine and Sox beat writer Scot Gregor, as printed by the Herald:

Sox' top 10 prospects 1. Joe Borchard, CF.ETA: 2003
2. Jon Rauch, RHP.ETA:2003
3. Joe Crede, 3B.ETA:2003
4. Arnaldo Munoz, LHP.ETA:2002
5. Corwin Mallone, LHP.ETA:2003
6. Willie Harris, 2B/CF.ETA:2002
7. Edwin Almonte, RHP.ETA:2003
8. Matt Guerrier, RHP.ETA:2003
9. Dennis Ulacia, LHP.ETA:2003
10. Tim Hummel, 2B/SS.ETA:2003

Here's Baseball America's White Sox top 20 for comparison:

1. Joe Borchard
2. Jon Rauch
3. Corwin Malone
4. Matt Guerrier
5. Joe Crede
6. Tim Hummel
7. Kris Honel, RHP
8. Miguel Olivo, C
9. Dennis Ulacia
10. Aaron Rowand, OF
11. Edwin Almonte
12. Matt Ginter, RHP
13. Brian West, RHP
14. Casey Rogowski, 1B
15. Wyatt Allen, RHP
16. Jason Stumm, RHP
17. Arnie Munoz
18. Andy Gonzalez, SS
19. Kyle Kane, RHP
20. Mitch Wylie, RHP

Willie Harris was ranked as Baltimore's #8 prospect behind Tim Raines, Jr. Since Raines is considered at best to be close to Aaron Rowand's talent level, we'll rank Harris at 10A for the moment.

The big discrepancies between these two lists: Almonte falls from 7 to 11, and Munoz plummets from 4 to 17.

Why the huge difference?

Almonte is a minor league closer, and very, very few minor league closers ever continue closing in the majors; most are lucky to emerge as dependable relievers at all. He spent 2001 at AA Birmingham, he's already 25, and John Sickels only rated him a C+, saying "Almonte could be a useful middle man".

Munoz doesn't even get rated by Sickles because he was a 19-year-old left-handed reliever at A Kannapolis. We've seen reports of Munoz making the team of out camp as the second lefty after Wunsch, and this simply stupefies us. While Munoz did post a 115:42 K:BB in 80 IP with only 41 H, he should spend this year at AA at best. We'd start him at A+ Winston-Salem in the Carolina league, and he'd still be a year ahead of his class.

Most of the other ETAs looked acceptable, but Harris definitely needs a full year in AA to hone his leadoff (read: on-base) skills, while Ulacia was also only in the Carolina league, so should spend 2002 at AA Birmingham before a promotion to AAA.

If the Sox expect their pitchers to hold to these unreasonable timetables, they'll wind up with many more cases of pitchers spending two years rehabbing from Tommy John surgery before their twenty-fifth birthdays. Someone needs to help them focus on building up arm strength before they throw guys like Garland out there for a potential 200 IP.

Unless the Sox wise up soon and trade some of this depth for a veteran starter or two, any sustained success will rest on the abilities of the offense. They have tremendous potential in these pitching prospects; now they need to wait for the crop to mature.

Phil Rogers, Chicago Tribune National Baseball Columnist

From last Sunday's "Inside Baseball": "This is Toronto GM Pat Gillick's free-agent year and he hasn't committed to returning in 2002."

Phil's certainly right that Gillick is a free agent after this season.

His only problem, and the Trib should be ashamed that no editor caught this, is that Gillick hasn't been Toronto's GM since before the 1996 season.

Gillick joined Baltimore in 1996 for three years, and then ran the USA Pan Am Games' baseball team in 1999 before accepting the General Manager position for the Seattle Mariners prior to the 2000 season.

Toronto's newly-appointed GM is J.P. Ricciardi, formerly of Oakland, who has already established himself as one of the brightest baseball minds in the game.

Until Steve Goodman can rest in peace, these are your Good Chicago Sports.