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As I perused the wire Thursday night while putting together our baseball section, I figured fans of our local MLB teams had probably had enough of the playoffs. Don’t worry. They’re over. You can now turn your attention to 2010 — if you hadn’t already — with free agency, the winter meetings and surely a handful of significant moves from the Cubs, Cardinals and White Sox coming.

There was a flurry of moves on Thursday from around the majors — MLB makes it clear it doesn’t want anything taking away from the luster of the World Series. The news that San Francisco’s Tim Lincecum (my guess for this year’s NL Cy Young award) is facing misdemeanor marijuana charges from an Oct. 30 traffic stop even managed to get overlooked for a few days.

But there hasn’t been much word out of Chicago or St. Louis as of yet. Here’s the list of potential free agents for each team. Players have 15 days (Nov. 19) after the World Series to file for free agency. It’s likely most of these guys will do just that. One notable exception here is the White Sox’s Jermaine Dye, who has a mutual option for next year.

CHICAGO CUBS (5) — Chad Fox, rhp; John Grabow, lhp; Kevin Gregg, rhp; Rich Harden, rhp; Reed Johnson, of.
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS (9) — Rick Ankiel, of; Mark DeRosa, 3b; Troy Glaus, 3b; Khalil Greene, ss; Matt Holliday, of; Jason LaRue, c; Joel Pineiro, rhp; John Smoltz, rhp; Todd Wellemeyer, rhp.
CHICAGO WHITE SOX (4) — Ramon Castro, c; Octavio Dotel, rhp; Jermaine Dye, of; Scott Podsednik of.

The Cardinals have the most decisions to make. Ankiel’s probably gone, and Glaus and Greene likely are, too. But the big question is Holliday, and how much St. Louis is willing to pay to retain him. He won’t have any problems finding suitors with deep pockets. Was the addition of Mark McGwire as hitting coach a play to keep their cleanup hitter in red? And if so, will it work?

The Cubs have some work to do, with key players Gregg, Grabow and Harden out there. Harden is injured so often, it’s hard to imagine giving him a long-term contract. But would he accept a shorter one? Chicago’s focus is more likely on getting rid of Milton Bradley, the big-contract addition last offseason that was a negative-value player on the field and in the locker room. One name that’s come up in Web trade rumors is Toronto’s Vernon Wells, a guy who’s slumped since signing his big contract and just had wrist surgery. I know there’s every reason to want Bradley out of town, but the Cubs shouldn’t hurt themselves by taking a player owed even more money (5 years, $98.5 million).

Dye might be the biggest decision for the White Sox. It’s unlikely, at his age, 35, he’ll turn down the $12 million. But Chicago might be leery of the price, especially after adding Alex Rios’ big contract after the trading deadline. The Sox would owe Dye a $1 million buyout if they decline the deal.

So put on your GM cap. What moves should your team make? How do you keep Holliday in St. Louis? How do you turn the Cubs into a deep playoff contender? (Good luck on that one.) – John Kraft

Editor’s note: H&R Sports Copy Editors John Kraft and Robbie Sgro will now be posting to The Sports Desk blog. Look for future entries about national topics in the coming weeks.

Part of it is because of the two weeks of hype. Part of it is because of the commercials stuck in between.
And a lot of it is because so many parties are built around the game.
But it has all come together to make Super Bowl Sunday the biggest day is sports. That’s now indisputable as gazillions of people around the world will gather around the TV for parts of the game even though many of them have no idea what a Steeler might be.

I know some people who really get into the Super Bowl. I know others who count the hours until baseball’s opening day. There are even some who feel there’s nothing better than the NFL draft.
For me, the Super Bowl is not bad. But mostly, like my version of Groundhogs Day, it signals that the real fun is six more weeks away.

Here’s my list of favorite sports days. And I’m betting it matches no one’s.

1. Selection Sunday. It’s not event a sporting event, but there is nothing like the unwrapping of the NCAA tournament field and the brackets. There’s all the analysis and guessing of what will come next. And it officially starts the anticpation of the road to the Final Four. It’s better than Christmas.
2. First day of the men’s NCAA basketball tournament. There are 16 games stretching through 13 non-stop hours. The best in the sport, the Cinderella teams, players you haven’t had the chance to see before. Do it right and you can see all 16 games. It’s heaven.
3. Opening day of the British Open. It’s another look at another great course. It’s a chance to see how that course is playing and how an entire field tries to solve it. And it sets the tone for the next few days. Too often on the final day you just get to see a handful chase Tiger Woods.
4. Opening day of The Masters. Same reasons except this is on a prettier course. On Day One, everyone still has a chance to win.
5. Friday of the IHSA boys big school state basketball tournaments. Eight of the state’s best going at it means a chance to see the next college stars or NBA draft picks. Saturday is good but those third-place games can be dreadful.

Some of the others that just missed the cut:
* The Final Four. The semifinals would be ahead of the actual championship because it’s twice as many games. Duh.
* The Super Bowl. I do like those commercials.
* The Indianapolis 500. I’ve been to three auto races in my life — all the Indy 500. There’s a reason for that.
* The Kentucky Derby. The television hoopla is nonsense. But those two minutes … wow.
* The NFL on Thanksgiving Day. I don’t watch much of the games, but it does mean that warm turkey and all that other good food is just hours away.

Those are my thoughts. Now bring on your top five lists.

Whether your team is winning or losing, or even if you don’t care much for sports, there are more than enough characters that you can’t help but pay attention.

John Daly provided us yet another instance in Australia when he smashed a fan’s camera.

And that, along with other interesting moments in the sports world this week, will instigate a new regular segment on the Sports Deck Blog – Bonehead of the Week. Nominate your picks for bonehead of the week and share why you think so. Feel free to take on anyone in the sports world except local high school athletes.

As for Daley, even if the fan got too close and no matter how much I wish I could see video of the moment, the behavior was boneheaded. With his checkered past, Daly may not be allowed in Australia again.

Earlier in the week, the Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Rose claimed to have jumped onto a knife that was in his bed as he was eating apples. He didn’t miss a game and surprisingly few have questioned his action, but 10 stitches will remind him what a boneheaded move that was.

And bonehead and New York Yankees often go hand-in-hand. But they did it again when the Yankees signed CC Sabathia to a 7-year, $160 million deal. As if that’s not bad enough, it’s at the same time they are begging for money to finish the new stadium and they’ll undoubtedly pass along the cost to fans who are looking for a few moments to forget about the possibility of losing their jobs.

Of course they could be the Cleveland Indians, who have to be nominated for signing Kerry Wood at anything over minimum wage.

The list could go on and on. And feel free to add any that left you scratching your head.

I’ll finish with Clinton Portis, the Washington Redskins running back who picked his weekly radio show to take on coach Jim Zorn.
Getting less and less playing time, Portis had a long list of critiques.
Among them, he sarcastically called Zorn a genius and implied that Zorn’s offense might be too complex — not making much of a case for him getting more playing time.
“We got 25 protections, so maybe that’s why the o-line’s sometime confused,” Portis said. “Maybe that’s why I don’t understand what’s going on — since I don’t understand what’s going on.”

Bonehead.

It’s been quite a week for local baseball fans.

On Tuesday night, Albert Pujols went down in a heap and had to be carried off the field with a calf injury.

A day later, a fastball finds Alfonso Soriano’s left hand and breaks it.

In a matter of hours, two of the National League’s top bats were silenced and area fans were hushed with fear.

Turns out Pujols may be out three weeks. Soriano may be gone six weeks.

On Thursday, the Cubs went with Eric Peterson to fill Soriano’s spot. Micah Hoffpauir was called up from AAA to help. The Cardinals went with Chris Duncan, who also had been called up from the minors.

Who will be missed more as both teams looked like playoff contenders? (I know the Cubs have the best record in baseball, but it’s still June. Until they have it in September, they are still contenders).

Do you buy the notion that it will only make the teams stronger since both Pujols and Soriano will be back in plenty of time for the stretch run?

Or does this make you nervous? Especially since it’s the second time Pujols has gone down with a bad calf?

It’s going to make for an interesting June.

Do you believe Bobby Knight that he resigned becasue he was too tired to continue?
That was the top reason the long-time feisty basketball coach gave for stepping down at Texas Tech.
I guess he really didn’t say was what he was tired of. Dealing with people? Dealing with recruiting? Dealing with the uncertainty if his son Pat would get a fair shake at the school? Dealing with waiting until the next time he could get his guns out?
The notion he quit on the team doesn’t seem likely. He was maniacal about his work ethic for so many years. And he has a big enough ego to not be bothered by critics or losing.
It does make sense though to give Pat a 10-game running head start into next season. It also allows Pat to lean on Bobby for a little bit.
But it matters little to many who just are glad to see him go.
It has been fun watching clips of Knight, listening to his rantings. The one I will never forget and was fortunate to have a front-row seat for was the “Classic Bully” routine with Lou Henson.
Anyone figure Henson sent Knight a note or set up a golf date? But watch out Lou if he offers to take you on a hunting trip.

The much-anticipated Mitchell Report is out now. And there’s been a lot of talk about baseball and the “evils” going through the game.
There’s been names of all levels mentioned. There’s been accusations of all kinds made.
But what does it mean now?
Are there any real surprises here?
Is it right that it was recommended that no punishment be doled out?
And if there are no punishments, was there any real reason for the two-year report?
Or would it be fair if commissioner Bud Selig decided to punish some of those and not others?
Let us know if this changes your view of Major League Baseball, if you are disppointed in the players whose named popped up and if you are any less likely to be a fan of the game.

HELP!

The new year is coming up fast and that means the Herald & Review has to dole out its annual Athlete of the Year awards. And a quick quiz of the sports staffers hardly led to a consensus of frontrunners.

It’s not that we had a hard time coming up with lists of candidates. We have a good start on those. Among them:

John Wienke starred in football and made state in track.
Kyle Dooley was a terror in wrestling, football and baseball.
Shannon Babb could not be slowed on the race track at the national level.
Lindsay Ippel re-wrote the Millikin record book and led the nation in scoring.
Raisa Taylor continued her excellence in basketball and track.
Hillary King did a little bit of everything and did it all well.

The hard part will be narrowing down our lists.

We open the field for these awards to athletes of all ages, sizes and sports. The H&R has named swimmers, bowlers, weightlifters, golfers, etc. We’ll look at badminton studs and curling studdettes.

We’ll also open up the nominations. Know anyone who has really been spectacular during the past 12 months? Let us know. And let us know soon. The H&R will name the top male and top female right during the first week of January.

So nominate someone right here, right now, or send us some info on him/her to hrsports@herald-review.com.

It’s that time of year again.

While teams are in the stretch run to see what kind of hardware they may end up with, we are trying to stay a step ahead and have been starting to toss around names for award time.

Volleyball letters have already gone out to coaches and some have been right on the ball on getting those back. We appreciate it because we really need the help.

Football may be even tougher. Naming county player and coach of the year hasn’t been this tough in a while. The area awards are hardly gimmes either.

Those letters will go out to football coaches this week. But before they get their chance, you get first crack.

Build a case for your choices of top players and top coaches. We’ll toss at nights over our choices for a few weeks and introduce the winners after the state championships.

It’s been a consistent subject of talk radio in St. Louis for weeks.
But now that the season is officially over for most teams (Cardinals included), it’s perhaps a better time to get the topic heated up.
Actually, Tony La Russa’s future has been discussed over the last few years by a quiet minority — no doubt driven so batty by his antics that regular success no longer was enough.
Even last year, when the Cardinals were on their way to a World Series ring, some wanted his head.
This year, that minority may have quite a bit of company.
True, the Cardinals had some misfortune — the death of a player, injuries to key others. Some would argue he was never given the tools to succeed this year no matter.
But, for whatever reason, the Cardinals lacked the fire almost from spring training. And all those oddities that worked for La Russa in the past just fizzled in 2007.
The Cardinals management has said it would like La Russa another year.
La Russa is unsure but wants to make a decision soon.
Talk radio callers seem to have a clear idea. Do you think the fact that the Cubs are still playing just adds to the discontent?

It’s already been an exceptional baseball season. One that seems unlike any other.
And that has nothing to do with the fact the Cubs are making the kind of noise they are.
It does have everything to do with the noise that is defeaning because of its absence.
The biggest milestone in sports fell this summer when Barry Bonds passed the home run record of Hank Aaron. People paid some attention, mostly just long enough to take their shot at Bonds.
This weekend, Jim Thome reached 500 career home runs. Yet few outside of Peoria and Comiskey Park perked up.
Frank Thomas and Alex Rodriguez got in the club earlier this year. Manny Ramirez had a shot.
Sammy Sosa went past 60 home runs.
Joining the 300-win club was Tom Glavine. A healthy Randy Johnson would have gotten there.
Reaching 3,000 career hits was Craig Biggio. Bonds will soon.
Heck, Alex Rodriguez has a chance at 60 home runs this year and no one has blinked.
It’s been a year of one special accomplishment after another.
Yet, nothing.
These used to be moments when you recalled where you were when it happened. Now it has become, “Oh really? When did that happen?”
Is it because these clubs are becoming bigger that the specialness is wearing off?
Did Barry Bonds and the question of steroid use put a pall over all milestones?
Or has baseball completely lost it’s hold on the public?