The Bulls selected point guard Marquis Teague with the 29th pick in the NBA draft Thursday night.

Teague, 19, averaged 10.0 points and 4.8 assists per game last season for a Kentucky squad which won the NCAA championship in April. Obviously, the Bulls are looking for point guard help with Derrick Rose expected to miss roughly half of the 2012-13 season as he recovers from major knee surgery.

Here's the problem with this pick: Teague isn't NBA-ready in any way, shape or form. He played only one year of college, and he doesn't have even one skill that makes you think he'll be able to contribute immediately. He can't shoot, having made only 32.5 percent of his threes last season. Worse, he made only 28 percent of his shots from a spot-up position. This is a guy opposing defenses aren't going to guard on the perimeter. Teague's turnover count (3.3 per 40 minutes) was high at the college level, and most scouts will tell you he has a tendency to force the issue. Like a lot of 19-year-olds, he doesn't play with enough control.

That said, this isn't a horrible pick at No. 29. That late in the first round, your chances of getting a player who can make an immediate impact are slim and none. You want to find a guy with upside that you can develop. It's quite possible Teague fits that profile. He has great speed and athleticism. At 6-foot-2, he has good size for a point guard, and he is fast with the ball in his hands. He ran a pick-and-roll style offense in college, and that will serve him well in Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau's system. He just has a lot to learn about how to run a team -- the difference between a good shot and a bad shot, when to attack the rim, when to pull up and when to pass, etc. These are things that come with experience, and that's something Teague just doesn't have.

Simply put, this is one of those picks where fans must curb their enthusiasm. Teague might very well become a useful backup to Rose somewhere down the road. But if anyone thinks he can be the Bulls starting point guard while Rose recovers, they are fooling themselves. I'm cool with this pick as long as everyone understands exactly what Teague is -- a long-term project.

Let's have a little recap of Will Ohman's afternoon Wednesday in Minnesota. The erstwhile veteran lefty entered the fray with the White Sox leading the Twins 12-2 in the bottom of the eighth inning. Ohman did not blow the 10-run lead, but it wasn't for lack of trying. Honestly, it's a miracle the Twins only scored three runs the last two innings. Here's how it all went down:

Eighth inning
1. Ohman walks the fearsome Brian Dozier to start the outing.
2. He falls behind the fearsome Jamey Carroll 2-0 before getting a fly out to left field.
3. The count goes 3-1 on the fearsome Darin Mastroianni, causing Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski to chuck the ball back to the mound at about 100 mph in frustration. Too bad he didn't take Ohman's head off with that toss.
4. Ohman lays a 3-1 fastball right down the pipe to Mastroianni, who hits his first career home run to make the score 12-4.
5. Ben Revere hits a screaming liner to shortstop, which fortunately lands in the glove of Alexei Ramirez.
6. Joe Mauer grounds out to second on a 3-2 pitch. Inning over.

Ninth inning
1. Ohman hangs a slider to .177-hitting Chris Parmelee. Base hit to right field.
2. Miracle of all miracles, Ohman strikes out Justin Morneau. Proof positive Morneau is not the slugger he used to be.
3. Ohman hits Trevor Plouffe in the foot with an 0-2 slider.
4. Ohman beans Ryan Doumit on the very next pitch to load the bases.
5. The fearsome Dozier nearly knocks Sox third baseman Eduardo Escobar over with a vicious ground ball. Fortunately, Escobar hangs in there, gloves it and gets a force at third as a run scores.
6. Carroll hits into a fielder's choice, and the Sox "escape" with a harrowing 12-5 victory.

Final line on Ohman: 2 IP, 2 H, 3 runs, they were earned, 1 K, 1 walk, two hit batsmen, 46 pitches, only 24 strikes, half a million antacid tablets consumed by Sox fans. Ohman's ERA for the season is now 6.41.

And there his ERA will stay because the Sox will designate Ohman for assignment Thursday.

Praise. The. Lord.

Cubs fans are rejoicing today because team management has finally called up first baseman and presumptive savior Anthony Rizzo from Triple-A Iowa.

I am also rejoicing today -- because I don't have to read or hear anymore breathless daily updates from media idiots about Rizzo's performance in the minor leagues. Now, if people want to know what Rizzo is doing they can simply turn on the game.

Rizzo actually had a solid Cubs debut Tuesday night, going 2-for-4 with an RBI double in the North Siders' 5-3 win over the New York Mets. For his own sake, I hope the kid doesn't get caught up in the hype. It's borderline absurd how much the Cubs and the media members who follow them talk up these assorted prospects.

Remember when Hee Seop Choi was the Korean Babe Ruth? That didn't work out so well. Remember when Cubs fans used to taunt White Sox fans because they had Bobby Hill, the great All-Star second baseman of the future?

Corey Patterson, anyone? How about Felix Pie? Juan Cruz was going to be the "next Pedro Martinez." What the hell ever happened to Ty Griffin anyway?

Rizzo is walking down a road that many players have walked down before. He's being asked to play the savior for a franchise that has stunk for over 100 years. It's a lot of pressure, and there's no doubt this guy is going to be receiving a lot more media attention than your average rookie. The game of baseball is hard enough to play when you don't have to answer a dozen stupid questions every single time you go 0-for-4.

The scrutiny will be a huge test for Rizzo as he tries to establish himself as a major-league hitter. How he handles himself both on the field and off is one of the few interesting storylines to follow in this miserable season of Cubs baseball.

I wish I could say Kevin Youkilis did something exciting in his White Sox debut Monday night. Instead, he looked pretty average, going 1-for-4 with a single during a lackluster 4-1 loss to the last place Minnesota Twins.

Come to think of it, "pretty average" is a big upgrade when we're talking about third basemen on the South Side of Chicago here in 2012. Through Sunday's action, Sox third sackers were batting a combined .168 with one home run for the season.

General manager Ken Williams acted this weekend, acquiring the declining Youkilis from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for pitcher Zach Stewart and utility player Brent Lillibridge.

I must say I'm not a Youkilis fan. He did have a pretty good run from 2008-10, posting a .958 OPS or better in each of those seasons. His best year came in 2008 when he batted .312 with 29 home runs and 115 RBI. Unfortunately, that's not the player the Sox are getting. They are getting a broken-down version of Youkilis. He's been slowed by a back injury this season, and he joins the Sox with a ordinary looking .233 average. The power numbers are down, too -- only four homers, seven doubles and 14 RBI.

That said, there really isn't a downside to this trade for Williams. First off, he gave up next to nothing. Stewart is not a major-league caliber pitcher. In 30 innings with the Sox this year, Stewart gave up a whopping 10 home runs and had an ERA of 6.00. He received a long overdue demotion to Triple-A Charlotte after the Cubs shelled him June 18 at U.S. Cellular Field. Stewart will not be missed, and I'd be stunned if he ever becomes anything more than a spot starter or long reliever in Boston.

Lillibridge is a versatile guy. He can play seven different positions and he can run. He just can't hit. He's a lifetime .215 hitter who was batting .175 with no homers and two RBI at the time of the trade. It's looking more and more like Lillibridge's 2011 season (.258 avg., 13 HRs, 29 RBI) was a career year -- if not a complete fluke. He's a pretty easy to guy to replace.

As for Youkilis, he doesn't have to do much of anything to be better than what the Sox had at third base previously. In fact, even if he continues to bat .233 for the rest of the season, he is a huge upgrade over the combination of Brent Morel and Orlando Hudson. Further, there is no long-term financial commitment involved for the Sox. Youkilis has a $13 million option with a $1 million buyout for the 2013 season. Come season's end, the Sox will almost certainly buy Youkilis out and find somebody younger to play third base next offseason.

Until then, the Sox have a reasonable veteran stopgap to play third base for the rest of the year. Even though I don't like Youkilis and don't think he's that good, I can't find any fault with Williams' decision to make this move. The only other option was sticking with Hudson, and honestly, that's really not an option at all.

While I was on vacation, ChiSoxGirl and I had a rare opportunity to visit with White Sox manager Robin Ventura during batting practice before Saturday night's game against the Milwaukee Brewers. To be honest, I look like a doofus in this photo, but no one has ever accused me of being photogenic.

In any case, ChiSoxGirl took this photo of Ventura at SoxFest in 1994.

She's been trying to get it signed for awhile now, and thanks to Sox VP of Marketing Brooks Boyer and Ventura, we were able to arrange for that to happen. Ventura got a good laugh out of seeing the photo. His reaction was along the lines of, "No way, that isn't me!"

Ventura graciously signed the picture and spent a few moments talking with us and taking some pictures. I thanked him for his time, especially since he was willing to step away from batting practice during a period where most of his hitters are struggling. In his typical self-depricating manner, Ventura deadpanned, "These guys don't listen to me anyway."

The White Sox organization doesn't do everything right. In fact, they've been under siege for the poor attendance at U.S. Cellular Field this season. But this was one case where they went out of their way to do something nice for us, and we greatly appreciate it.

If you happened to pick up our print product at any point over the last few days, you probably noticed we are finally getting around to running our all-area teams for spring sports.

Our congratulations go out to those who were chosen, in particular our players of the year.

Aurora Christian senior pitcher Bobby Kuntzendorf (pictured) was named Baseball Player of the Year for the second consecutive spring. It sounds like Kuntzendorf is still disappointed about his lone loss of the season, which came in the Class 2A Sectional against Herscher. Nevertheless, a 10-1 record is nothing to sneeze at, especially when it's combined with a 1.44 ERA, a 0.77 WHIP, 117 strikeouts and a pair of no-hitters.

There are several others who had good seasons around in the Fox Valley, and you can see the rest of our all-area baseball team by clicking here.

Waubonsie Valley junior shortstop Amanda Minahan was chosen as our Softball Player of the Year. Minahan's batting average actually went down this year. After hitting .523 as a sophomore, she hit "only" .403 this season. But her power numbers were way up. She set a single-season school record for both home runs (9) and RBI (51). The previous school record for RBI had been 26. Minahan nearly doubled that figure. She owns the school record in all the triple crown categories now, as that .523 batting average from last year is also the best in Waubonsie history.

You can see the rest of our all-area softball team by clicking here.

Finally, Geneva senior Catherine Allon has been named our Girls Soccer Player of the Year. Allon is a two-time captain for a Vikings' squad that has done a lot of winning the last three years -- three conference titles and three regional titles. She was the team's leading scorer this year with 20 goals and eight assists. Among those 20 goals, five were match-winners.

Have a look at our other girls soccer honorees by clicking here.

The release of the spring all-area teams concludes our coverage of the 2011-12 athletic year. Accordingly, it's time for me to take a little break. I'm going on vacation starting Tuesday. I'll be back at work on Monday, June 25 -- hopefully with a refreshed mind and body. I'll talk to everyone then.

We are back from our brief road trip to St. Louis, where we saw the White Sox beat the Cardinals 6-1 on Tuesday night at Busch Stadium. Thought I would share some photos that ChiSoxGirl took while we were down south.

I was impressed with the new stadium they have in St. Louis. The new Busch beats the old Busch by a wide margin. They did it right down there. One of the things I liked most was being able to see the Arch and the skyline of the city from the seating area. That's something the Sox really screwed up when they built U.S. Cellular Field. I think we can all agree the ballpark on the South Side of Chicago would be better if fans had a view of the skyline -- as opposed to the housing projects, a highway and some railroad tracks. Here's how it looks from inside the ballpark in St. Louis:

We were standing behind the Sox dugout during batting practice when another Chicago fan graciously agreed to take this photo of ChiSoxGirl and I:

Here's another thing that was cool about St. Louis: It only cost me $5 to park my car in a garage about three blocks away from the stadium. Good luck getting that kind of deal in Chicago any time. As we all know, parking rates range from $23-$25 at U.S. Cellular Field. I will say, though, that the food value inside the park is better in Chicago than it is in St. Louis. You might think $5.25 is expensive for a Kosher hot dog, but I paid $9.25 for a hot dog on a stale bun with some french fries at Busch Stadium.

For parking, advantage St. Louis. For food, advantage Chicago.

One thing Busch Stadium has in common with U.S. Cellular Field is a bunch of statues of former players. Here I am standing next to the statue of Hall of Fame shortstop Ozzie Smith:

In St. Louis, they really do not like the Cubs. One stadium usher told us it was nice to see Chicago fans wearing some other color besides blue. The street vendors outside were selling shirts like these:

It was good to see our beloved hometown mascot, Southpaw, entertaining the St. Louis crowd of over 40,000. Due to the crappy attendance we have here, Southpaw rarely gets an opportunity to show what he can do in front of that many people:

I do think Southpaw should have been wearing a road gray uniform. I wonder if he has one.

I guess we did pick the right game to attend out of the three-game set. The Sox looked good. They got home runs from Adam Dunn and A.J. Pierzynski. Pitcher Jose Quintana worked out of several jams to earn his second big-league win. The Sox bullpen fired 4 2/3 innings of shutout ball.

Unfortunately, the Sox lost Wednesday and Thursday and dropped two out of three. Maybe we were the good luck charm on Tuesday. Certainly, the team started sucking as soon as we left St. Louis and headed for home.

I'll be heading down to St. Louis for a couple days this week. We're going to the White Sox game Tuesday night against the Cardinals.

I'm confident the St. Louis people will roll out the red carpet for us. (Ha ha!)

I'll be back in the office Thursday and will report on the experience.

UPDATE: I've just learned that Southpaw will also be making the trip down I-55 this week! Maybe he'll smack Fredbird in the head with a bat before the game.

White Sox designated hitter Adam Dunn hit a grand slam in the bottom of the eighth inning Saturday as the South Siders routed the Houston Astros, 10-1. For Dunn, it was his 19th home run of the season.

Meanwhile, in Minnesota, Trevor Plouffe and the Twins put an 11-3 whooping on the Cubs. The loss drops the North Siders to a MLB-worst 19-40 on the year.

So, just to recap:
Adam Dunn's home runs: 19
Cubs wins: 19

It seems preposterous that Adam Dunn could finish the season with more home runs than the Cubs have wins. But hey, we're in June now. It's not early anymore, and Dunn is in a dead heat with the Cubs.

If The Big Donkey can get hot, he might be able to pull this off...

Orlando Hudson delivered a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning Thursday that lifted the White Sox to a 4-3 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. It was the first walk-off win of the season for the South Siders.

If it seems like these sorts of wins are rare for the Sox, that's because they are. I looked up the numbers, and since Opening Day of 2009, the Sox have had only 15 walk-off victories. By way of comparison, Sox opponents have collected 27 walk-off wins. Here is the breakdown by year:

2009: 6-9
2010: 3-7
2011: 5-9
2012: 1-2
Total: 15-27

The Sox are now 1 1/2 games ahead of the Cleveland Indians in the American League Central Division race. Earlier Thursday, Kaneland High School graduate Casey Crosby picked up his first major league victory as the Detroit Tigers defeated the Tribe 7-5 in the Motor City.

Our congratulations go out to Crosby. It's always nice to see someone from our little corner of the world have success in pro sports.

Back in 2009, Matt Milroy was named The Beacon-News Baseball Player of the Year for the second straight season as a senior at Marmion Academy. He was drafted out of high school in the 35th round by the Boston Red Sox.

Milroy decided not to sign and has attended the University of Illinois for the past three years. On Tuesday, Milroy was drafted again -- this time in the 11th round by the Miami Marlins.

"It feels great," Milroy said on fightingillini.com. "It's something that I've been working toward for three years at Illinois. I want to thank all my coaches; everybody who helped me along the way. I needed to grow up mentally and harness the talent that I knew I had, but the (Illinois) coaches always stuck with me and helped me get where I am. I think I matured more into a leader and my mental game really got a lot better this year. That helped my physical side get even better."

Milroy appeared in 20 games this season for the Illini -- 18 out of the bullpen. He went 2-6 with a 3.88 ERA, which was second-best on the team. No doubt, the right-hander was drafted because of his ability to miss bats. He struck out a team-best 65 hitters in only 53 1/3 innings. He led the Big Ten by holding opposing batters to a .207 average. Right-handed hitters batted just .191 off Milroy.

Moving forward, Milroy will have to improve his control. Walks have been his biggest problem -- 44 of them in those 53 1/3 innings. Milroy also hit 10 batters and uncorked 10 wild pitches this season. As he joins the professional ranks, we'll see whether Milroy can take that next step from "effectively wild" to just plain old "effective."

UPDATE: The Beacon-News was able to reach Milroy Wednesday for his reaction. Here is the story.

The last time Courtney Hawkins (pictured above) was seen in Chicago, he was participating in the 2011 Double Duty Classic at U.S. Cellular Field. A few years down the road, perhaps he'll be playing on the South Side as a professional player.

The White Sox selected Hawkins with the 13th overall pick in the MLB First-Year Player Draft on Monday. Hawkins is a 6-foot-2, 210-pound outfielder out of Carroll High School in Corpus Christi, Texas. This is an interesting choice because it's been 11 years since the Sox last selected a high school player with their first pick. (Pitcher Kris Honel in 2001 was the last.) Over the years, the Sox have "played it safe" and used their top picks to take college guys with lower ceilings and higher floors.

This time, they are taking a younger player with a higher upside than maybe some of the other guys we've seen selected through the years. Hawkins is playing center field for his high school team, but I think you'll see him move to a corner outfield spot as a professional. He's hitting .437 with 11 home runs this spring, and scouts describe him as having more power potential than any other high school player in this year's draft.

Hawkins -- a right-handed hitter -- also pitches and has a low 90s fastball, but you won't see him on the mound once he joins the Sox organization. Reports indicate he has a right fielder's arm, so there is every reason to believe that will be his position once he signs.

Like a lot of Ken Williams' draft picks, it sounds like Hawkins is going to be a guy who swings and misses a lot. He's got plus athleticism and big power, but his talent is raw. It's going to be a few years before we know whether this pick pans out. Unlike Gordon Beckham and Chris Sale, you're not going to see Hawkins ascend to the majors quickly.

Cubs also take a high school outfielder

The Cubs had the sixth overall pick, and they also selected a high school outfielder -- Albert Almora out of Mater Academy in Hialeah Gardens, Fla.

The right-handed hitting center fielder is batting .603 with six home runs, 34 RBI and 24 steals for his high school team this season. He was named USA Baseball's 2011 athlete of the year and was MVP of the 18-and-under Pan American Championships in November.

The 6-foot-2, 170-pounder is considered an outstanding defensive player with a strong, accurate arm. He has speed, so I wouldn't be surprised if he stays in center field once he signs a pro contract.

I give the Cubs' front office credit because they seem to be sticking with their long-term plan. Despite the awful play we are seeing at the big-league level from the Cubs, they were willing to take a high school kid who they think has a chance to make a big impact down the line. They resisted the temptation to take a guy who is going to get to the big leagues in a hurry. No quick fixes here.

We won't see Almora at Wrigley Field any time soon, but some scouts thought this guy was the most complete player in the draft in terms of tools. As the first pick in the Theo Epstein Era, there's little question the media and fans will place great expectations on Almora. The Cubs know this, and they say part of the reason they like Almora is his mental makeup and belief that he can handle that kind of scrutiny. We shall see.

It's always hard to say whether a baseball team has done a good job or a poor job with its draft picks. I don't follow high school baseball in Texas or Florida, and I've admittedly never seen either of these two kids play a single game. Nothing I say here should be taken as brilliant analysis, that's for damn sure. But from all the things I've read and heard, I can't argue with these picks. You take players with high ceilings in the first round and hope it all works out. It seems like that is what both Chicago teams have done tonight.

Her producer probably makes more money than me, too, although anyone with an IQ over 15 knows NBA games don't end in ties.

No word yet on whether Boston and Miami will have to go to a deciding Game 8.

Even if Kaneland High School graduate Casey Crosby never makes another appearance in the major leagues, he'll always be able to say he struck Alex Rodriguez out twice.

Crosby made his big-league debut for the Detroit Tigers Friday at Comerica Park against the New York Yankees. It was a rough ride for the hard-throwing lefty as he struggled with his control and didn't make it out of the fourth inning. He went 3 1/3 innings, allowing six runs on four hits. He struck out three, walked four and threw just 40 of his 76 pitches for strikes.

The first inning was a strong one for Crosby. After he allowed a leadoff single to Derek Jeter, he retired the next three hitters in succession. Curtis Granderson was his first career strikeout victim. He caught Rodriguez looking to end the frame.

But things snowballed in a bad way for Crosby in the second inning. He walked the bases loaded, then walked in a run when he issued a free pass to Jeter. Finally, Granderson made him pay for his wildness by launching a grand slam into the seats in right field. The Yankees scored five runs on just one hit in the inning.

After Crosby worked a 1-2-3 third inning, former White Sox infielder Jayson Nix doubled off him in the fourth and scored on a single by former White Sox catcher Chris Stewart. The base hit by Stewart ended Crosby's evening.

No idea yet whether the Tigers will give Crosby another start, but it's clear he needs to throw more strikes to stick in the big leagues. Make no mistake, he has the stuff. He has a good fastball that tops out in the mid-90s. He's got a nice curveball, and his changeup is adequate. At Triple-A Toledo this year, Crosby has struck out 10.1 batters per nine innings. That goes to show he has good pitches. However, he's also walked 4.6 batters per nine innings. That's too many, and unfortunately that wildness reared its head in that second inning Friday night.

As of this writing, New York leads Detroit 6-3 in the fifth inning. Crosby is on the hook for the loss if that score holds. We'll update later.

UPDATE: The Yankees win 9-4. Crosby takes the loss.

Cubs designate Bowden for assignment

Crosby wasn't the only pitcher from this area who had a rough day. The Cubs designated Waubonsie Valley High School graduate Michael Bowden for assignment Friday. Bowden has a 7.45 ERA in 10 relief appearances for the Cubs this season.