Is Ozzie Guillen's Job Safe?

The worst record in the major leagues belongs to the Chicago White Sox (11-21), so it is only natural that Ozzie Guillen's name may surface as a candidate to be the first manager fired.

The outspoken Guillen seemed to fanning the flames Wednesday when reporters asked him if he had spoken to chairman Jerry Reinsdorf about his immediate future. "At this point, I don't trust anyone," Guillen said "You think Jerry [would] come to me and say, 'We might fire you?'"

Looking to calm the waters, general manager Ken Williams told Joe Cowley of the Sun-Times there are no plans to remove the manager or any coaches.

While Guillen's contract option was picked up through 2012, the members of the coaching staff are all without deals after this season, fueling speculation that a coach could end up as a sacrificial lamb.

Mike Brey Talking Long Term Extension with Notre Dame

Notre Dame officials are reportedly looking into signing head coach Mike Brey to an extension, a move no doubt accelerated by the suddenly vacant Maryland job.

As Brian Hamilton of the Baltimore Sun pointed out Thursday, Brey has deep ties to the Maryland area:

"He was born in Bethesda, Md., and his father was a high school athletics director in Maryland, Hamilton wrote. "Brey attended DeMatha High School in Hyattsville, Md., graduated from George Washington and eventually returned to DeMatha as an assistant coach for five seasons under the legendary Morgan Wootten."

In addition, Brey was the head coach at nearby Delaware and, Hamilton notes, still owns a vacation home there.

Look for Notre Dame to go to great lengths to keep Brey in South Bend, and for a contract extension to possibly be announced shortly.

Brian Shaw to Replace Phil Jackson?

Brian Shaw is drawing interest from the Rockets, but he won't talk to them about the head coach vacancy until a later date.

Most expect Shaw to be the top choice to replace Phil Jackson as the next head since the players and Jackson are backing Shaw to get the job.

"If they want the continuity of this offense and everything else going forward, he's the guy that knows it and understands it," Jackson told NBA.com. "That's a given, I think. If they're looking to change how this team is going and the direction and the personnel and all the other stuff that goes along with it, then they have something else in mind and I don't have anything to do with that. That's their business."

Jackson has continued to say that he will retire after the season.

Blackhawks Off-season Wish List

Following their exit from the 2010-11 playoffs, the Chicago Blackhawks are stuck looking forward to next season. Fortunately, the vision isn't an ugly one -- especially compared to last year's post Cup-winning salary dump.

With their core players locked up, the Blackhawks should have enough cap space to accommodate new contracts for free agents such as Corey Crawford, Troy Brouwer, Viktor Stalberg, Michael Frolik and Chris Campoli -- as outlined by Spector's Hockey.

The only real "need" the 'Hawks have is for a reliable, yet inexpensive, backup for Crawford. Happily, there will be plenty of unrestricted free agents to fill that void come July.