The Greatest show on Grass?

Is this what we are gonna be calling the bears offense soon? Maybe if the last two weeks were an indication of what the Martz offense can do for the bears. Look, it was a great win yesterday against the Jets and the bears did it by leaning on the offense something that is entirely foreign to us Bears fans. The bears are in the driver's seat for a first round bye and have won 7 out of their last 8. Shaping up to be a great season. Positive, negatives and thoughts on yesterday's game below.

The Good

1. O-line. The much maligned O-line looked like studs vs. the Jets. Cutler had all day to complete throws and we saw what happens then with 3 tds in the 3rd quarter. Plus, Forte was the first 100 yd rusher against the Jets this year. A lot of that credit goes to the O-line for blocking up people. If the line can play like this then sky is the limit for this offense.

2. Matt Forte. As mentioned above, Forte is the 1st back to go over 100 yards against the Jets D this year. And only the 2nd back to do it in the last 2 years. Forte had some excellent blocking but he picked up a ton of yards after 1st contact and he looks like the back he was in his rookie year. He is the most dangerous weapon on the bears offense.

3. Jay Cutler/Devin Hester. Ask Jay how easy it is too look good when you usually only have to go half the field for a TD and you have a running game. The bears offense was clicking on all cylinders and Jay showed why he was brought into be the franchise QB. And not enough can be said about Hester and the advantage he gives the bears. The bears have the best average starting field position in the NFL and it is because of #23. Also, he has caught TDs in 2 consecutive games. Can he get the MVP?

The Bad

1. D-line. Did the bears D-line actually play yesterday? It was pretty hard to tell because im pretty sure Mark Dirty Sanchez was pretty much untouched besides some LB blitzes. I dont want to hear that this D-line has problem with their "get-off" on the soldier field grass. Arent there pills for that? Anyway, the bears know they play on turf and that they play in the cold so this just cant be an excuse for no pash rush. I was having flash backs to last season's defense. Not good.

2. Defensive play calling. Alright, I by now understand that Lovie's system doesnt work when you have to rush more than 4. But does that mean the defense just has to give up when its not working? In the 2nd quarter and really until the 4th quarter, it looked like the bears had no idea what to do when their front 4 couldnt get pressure. Finally, in the 4th, we saw urlacher and briggs coming on blitzes which were somewhat effective. Can I ask why it took till then for the blitz to become an option? That adjustment needed to be made a lot earlier given the way Sanchez was carving up the bears.

Random Bear Thoughts

Peanut Tillman has to be winding down his days as a cornerback. I mean we have all seen his inability to cover fast WRs anymore and he has pretty much become a liability in most man to man coverage situations. I personally love Peanut and proudly display his autograph in my room but I think realistically if he is still with the bears his future will be at safety. I mean he says on the field because of his ability to punch out fumbles and putting him at safety would mean he is around the ball more and he can use his size and strength against TEs and backs. It could re-invent his career much the way it did for rod woodson and charles woodson. Either way CB must be an offseason priority for the bears.

Why is the packers game important? Because if the packers win, it would likely mean that the bears get the #3 seed and would play the #6 seed who would be........the Packers. As great it would be to see a Bears-Pack playoff game, they will probably be the most dangerous NFC team in the playoffs.

Some thoughts on the Bulls trouncing of the 76ers

Good day kind sirs. I'm sure you've heard, but the shorthanded Bulls decimated the 76ers last night by a final score of 111-76. Here's some random post-game thoughts:

Kudos to Kurt Thomas for his 12 pts, 8 rebs, and 5 blks (five blocks!), all of which were either flat-footed or "2 to 3 inches off the ground" footed.

Brian "the human victory cigar" Scalabrine was able to get some run in this game as well (but only fter the Bulls had stretched their lead to 49 pts with 5:41 left in the game (Were you that sure the lead was safe Tibbs?) Once inserted, the entire focus of the crowd shifted to him. Jackie Moon responded by producing what can only be described as THE basketball highlight of 21st century (I know we've got about 90 years left, but I don't think we'll see something that tops this, unless Robo-Blake Griffin III is able to recreate this dunk). Honestly though, the two biggest crowd reactions of the night were after Scal's floater, and when the Bulls passed the free Big-Mac threshold earlier that quarter.

Omer Asik got some mop up minutes as well, finishing with 8 pts, 6 rebs, 2 blks, and this beauty of a dropstep/spin move. In regards to Omer, he is a walking contradiction. By that I mean his high effort/generally spirited defense would seem to indicate he wants as much court time as possible, whereas his in-game facial expressions generally range from mildly pained to "get me out of this jersey and as far away as fucking possible from this hardwood surface, fucking ASAP"

Case in point:
















Example #2 from last night:
























So either dunking hurts him like a bitch, or he was coincidentally being attacked by a swarm of imaginary bees mid-throw down. Maybe he's seen My Girl (RIP Thomas J.) one too many times.....idk.


Not to be overlooked is big Luol's 22 points on 10-14 shooting, proving these two things:

1. He's clearly comfortable/best suited for his role as the Bulls' third scoring option behind Rose and Mustard-Man.

2. He is the preeminent member of the (Sudanese) basketball hall of fame, towering (metaphorically) over the late great Manute Bol (the taller one), and this other Deng guy (Deng Gai......lol!!!!)


Also, Doug Collins is old and Evan Turner sucks.


SOTFD --- Song of the Fucking Day:



Happy Holidayz

Bears v. Vikes - Division clincher?

First off, I have said nothing about last week's debacale vs. the pats because really there is nothing good or constructive to take from the game. Just forget about it and move on. But, tonight with a win the bears have a chance to clinch the NFC North. As impossible as that would have sounded at the beginning of the year, its true.

Key Matchups:

1. Julius Peppers v. Bryant McKinnie. McKinnie used to be a premier LT in the league but he has lost it. He has problems with speed rushers and can be beaten right away off the snap. Pep needs a big game and the bears need to put constant pressure in the backfield on what might be a sloppy night.

2. Matt Forte v. Chad Greenway. Greenway is the vikes leading tackler and will probably be in charge of covering forte in pass coverage. Call me crazy Mike Martz but Forte has been your most explosive weapon on offense all year so get him the ball in space. I like that the bears are running the ball more but Forte showed earlier in the season that he is an excellent and elusive runner on those swing pass and screens. With the weather probably being a factor tonight about we see some more of those and Forte running past Greenway.

Bear's Key:

1. Ability to play in bear football. As this is posting, the forecast in MN is for 20s and snow. Last week the bears looked like a team that plays in dome. The pass rushers didnt know how to deal with the ground and weather and the offensive line was revealed (again) to be a finesse group that couldnt blow people off the line. As it sets up now, it looks like there will be atleast 1 home game in january at Soldier's Field. It might help to figure out how to play outdoors in cold weather before then.

2. Contain the purple jesus. Or Adrian Peterson as most people call him. With the vikings playing their 3rd string QB, we are gonna see a whole lot of AP. I'm not sure the bears can stop but just contain him. Without any big runs by him, it will be very hard for the vikings to move the ball and we will see them punt the ball a whole lot.

Hero of the Day:

Lance Briggs. This is the type of game that Lance can change with his play. The weather will be sloppy and if lance can get a pick or force a fumble that could spell doom for the vikes. Look for him to be all over the place and in on most of the tackles and cause at least 1 turnover on the night.

Prediction

Bears 24, Vikes 14.

Even though the vikes are playing with their 3rd string QB, this is still a division game and these teams dont like each other. It will be a physical game with a lot of punts and defense will probably rule the night. Still, the night will end up with the bears being NFC North winners!

Bears v. Tom Brady

I mean really can anyone name someone else on the patriots? They really have Tom Brady and a bunch of role players around him. When you look at their statistics they are just an average team but here they are at 9-2. Their offense is 13th in yards, 11th in passing, 13th in rushing but somehow they rank as the #1 scoring offense in the NFL at 31.6 pt/game. Their defense is average too ranking 19th in the NFL. So, this should be an easy win for the bears right?

Key Matchups

1. Jerod Mayo v. Jay Cutler. Cutler's improved play is really the reason for the offensive improvement since the bye week and I expect him to only be better against the Patriots. The Pats are ranked 31st against the pass and i think we may see the bears call more deep routes this game than the last 4 combined. But, I have the suspicion that Mayo, the Pats best LB, may be doing some spying/shadowing of Jay Culter given Jay's nimble feet of late. Mayo is really the one that drives the Pats defense and if Cutler can recognize what he where is on the field, it can negate his impact and make the Pats defense look pedestrian.

2. Urlacher v. Pats TEs. The Pats have two excellent rookie TEs in Hernandez and Gronkowski and the majority of their plays will involve both TEs. They love to run vertical down the seam and have the speed and hands to do so. Brady will spread the ball around but he definitely look to these guys for big plays down the center of the field. I suspect the bears will be playing a whole lot of cover 2 so Urlacher will have to get a good drop down the middle of the field in order to be in position to break up pass to these TEs.

3. Patriots v. Soldier Field turf. Hey, so the turf is crappy but what do I can when it neutralizes the opponents speed? It certainly worked against the eagles, maybe the fastest NFL team. And now we can hope it hurts the Patriots. Their offense is based around YAC or run after the catch so heres hoping on sunday its just falling after the catch.

Keys for the Bears

1. Tackling. Unfortunately this is probable the worst matchup for the bears defense in the NFL. The Pats are a patient, short passing team which absolutely kills cover 2 defenses. Maybe we will see some more blitzes and man 2 man from the bears but I heavily doubt it. So, in order for the bear's cover 2 to beat brady & co., they must tackle extremely well as the Pats are all about YAC, as stated above. The first guy must stop the ball carrier or at least slow him down.

2. DT pressure. Tom Brady is awesome in the pocket. He isnt very mobile but he slides/moves extremely well in the pocket. This allows him to side step a lot of pressure and step up on any pressure from the outsides. If the DTs can get pressure up the middle then Brady has no where to step up and we could see him take some sacks and it disrupt their passing game.

3. Big plays keep coming. The offense has been great the last couple weeks but not exactly what we expected from them. It has been consistently driving the ball and every once a while a big play will pop. But from the Martz offense, I was expecting a lot more big plays and quick scoring. I think this game will be higher scoring than most because the problems the Pats will present for our defense. With that said and the Pats D not having much of a pass rush, i think its time to start going deep early and often. Yep, this could turn into a disaster of inceptions and turnovers but this offense needs to show that it has that capability in order to be a playoff threat and probably to win this game.

Hero of the Day

Jay Cutler. Its the first time this year I have chosen Jay to have a big game. This probably as big of game in his career that he has played and he really needs to come out and show that he can perform against a good team. I think either he goes off for 3 or 4 tds and probably a int or he throws a real stinker and we start wondering if he can handle the big games/stage.

Prediction

I really want to take the bears. I know im that big of a homer but I just cant bring myself to do it. I wanted to take the Bears 31 to 27 on a last second season defining TD drive by Culter. But, i just cant. I think it will be a close game but Brady in the 4th quarter will hurt the bears and they will fall. Pats 27, Bears 24.

Bears v. Lions, Part Deux

Well, the bears have won 4 straight. Yep thats not a typo and pretty much could be classified as the hottest team in the NFC. Still not a typo. The get the banged up lions team this week and really this game shouldnt be close. But here is what to watch for anyway. Oh, and a shutout to Ryan Coe, who i hear is a big fan.

Key Matchups:

1. Chris Williams v. Ndamukong Suh - Suh has had a phenomenal rookie season and probably will be the defensive rookie of the year if not the overall rookie of the year. Williams is getting better at guard but still is pretty rough and doesnt handle the power rush from a DT very well. Well, I have to suspect that Suh will be lining up over Williams and trying to create havoc. If Williams can hang with Suh on his own that should mean big holes in the run game and a big day for Forte.

2. Megatron(Calvin Johnson) v. Bears corners. I mean Johnson is virtually unstoppable. He is pretty much a freak of nature and arguably the best WR in the NFL even though he has had journeymen QBs throwing to him most of his career. If the bears can just contain him in the redzone, it would be a victory for them. Also, did i mention he is pretty much the Lions only offensive weapon.

Keys for the Bears

1. Work the play action. If you remember back to week 1 of the season, the lions pass rush got to Cutler quite a bit and I dont want to see Jay get hit by Suh more than necessary. By working the play action, it can slow down the pass rush and give Cutler some more time in the pocket. Mostly, the bears have to worried about slowing the push up the middle of the Lions DTs and play action should make them worried about the run first.

2. Don't let up. So, this is a classic trap game for the bears. They have the Patriots next weekend and the Lions are 2-9. But, i think the Lions have played much better than their 2-9 record and will come out for blood after "the catch" in week 1. The bears have to withstand what the lions throw at them in the 1st quarter and then pull away before half. They cant come out flat. I dont think they will but it has be a concern for most fans.

Hero of the Day

Johnny Knox - Johnny has had some big games here in this 4 game winning but I think this week against a weak lions secondary he will have a break out game. Look for atleast a TD and 100+ yards.

Prediction

Bears 31, Lions 13. The bears just keep getting better and better and look for the defense to join the scoring with their 2nd defensive TD of the year. There should be a lot of 3 and out from the lions and I expect this game to be over by halftime. Go Bear!

The Cubs have lost a Giant

I think that pretty much says it all. Ron Santo died last night at the age of 70. He will be sorely missed and Cubs broadcasts will probably never be the same. I grew to listening to Ronnie on the Radio and while it could be brutal at times, there was no question to his passion for the Cubs. He will always be remembered as a Cubs fan and player and probably the best 3B ever to play for the cubs. Goodbye #10

On many occasions, when Santo was upset with the way things were going for the team, a simple grunt or moan sufficed.

"I'm a fan," he explained last summer. "I can't plan what I do. I get embarrassed sometimes when I hear what I said, like, 'Oh, no, what's going on?' But it's an emotion.

"This is being a Cub fan."

Wood once made a case for Santo's election to the Hall of Game in an article in ESPN the Magazine, writing: "When it happens, and if the schedule lets us, I'm going to be there for the ceremony. He's the epitome of Chicago baseball. He's still part of the team. He lives and dies with it. In fact, I think we've put him in the hospital a few times. He should get in just for that."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/chi-ron-santo-chicago-cubs-obit,0,1699814.story

Impressed yet, Bears' Fans?

Count me in the impressed column. I'm not sure I have words to describe how impressed I am by the bears play yesterday. Although the game ended with the bears only winning by 5, the game really wasnt close in the 2nd half. Here's some thoughts and ramblings on the game.

The Good

1. JAY CUTLER. Well, he threw 4 tds. No picks or turnovers. and only had 1 "what the shit are you doing" pass. Plus he continued to move well in and out of the pocket and avoid the rush when possible. And i will count his great little shovel pass to Matt Forte, but only because it worked. This is probably the best game Jay has played as a bear really. He was 8 of 10 against the Eagles blitz and was so effective that they just stopped blitzing. Also, he hit his WRs in stride and made throws that only he is capable of making. Basically, he was a Franchise QB.

2. Matt "Big Play" Forte. Doesn't it just look like every hand off to Forte that he might break it for 20+ yards? Or is it just me being a homer cause he is on my fantasy team? Either way, Forte had a great game. He broke big runs and had over 100 yds against an Eagle defense that had not allowed a 100 yd rusher. If the bears continue to be able to run the ball, we see how the passing game opens up and the points get on the board.

3. Defensive Line. Give these guys the game ball. Vick is one of the best athletes in the NFL and was contained and harassed by the DL all day. The best sacked him 4 times on the day and had numerous more hits on Vick. Peppers had a great game and did anyone really think Idonije could be this good? He was almost unblockable yesterday. These guys won the game for the bears and made the defensive game plan of dropping into coverage possible.

The Bad

1. Chester Taylor - Maybe i'm being nit picky here but Chester hasnt looked good the last 2 games. He has 7 yards on 17 carries in the last 2 games and had -3 yards yesterday. Chester is still reliable in the passing game and a good blocker but I was expecting more explosion from him. He is more of a cut back runner than Forte and behind this line it may be hard to find daylight anywhere else than the designed hole. I know he is just the backup but the bears billed him as helping to create a 2 headed monster in the backfield. That just isnt the case right now.

2. Kick coverage. I could have picked Brandon Manumaleuna trying to juke a defensive back instead of just running over him (you're 300 lbs for pete's sake) or the offensive line completely blowing blitzes on a couple of plays. But, I was very disappointed in the special teams coverage. I know that the eagles have a good return team but the bears still gave up too many large returns and it hurt field position. Plus there was a penalty on a kickoff return which negated a big Danieal Manning return.

The Stunning

8-3. Thats the bears record and represents a tie for the 2nd best record in the NFC with the saints. The bears have beaten the eagles and packers who are right behind them in the NFC with 7-4 records. The bears have to be in the conversation for who is the best team in the NFC and have a legit shot at not only winning the division but also getting home field advantage in the playoffs. No one would have predicted this and lets just hope it keeps getting better. Up next week - the Lions.

Review of the Circus trips

So the road trips for the blackhawks and the bulls have come to an end and finally a game will be played before 9 pm our time. I watched most of the games and and saw great things from these two teams.

The Bulls

Besides wondering why the hell John Lucus III would be in at the end of a game when he was on the street the day before , the bulls answered pretty much all the questions i have about this team. The bulls went 4-3 and it should have been 5-2 if they hadnt given away the nuggets. Derrick Rose legitimately is playing like the MVP of the league averaging over 30 pts and 7 assists for the trip. It is quite evident that no one can cover/stop Rose and if you need examples, you can ask Tyreke Evens. Ronnie Brewer after a slow start has really impressed me with his defense and explosiveness. I mean his shot is still uglier than mine but we knew that coming in. Korver isnt shooting as well as I expected and still plays white man defense. But he is still a threat from 3 and fills a role for the bulls. Noah also is better than I think even the bulls would have expected. You can mark him down for a double-double every night and him and rose are pretty awesome together. Plus, this was the first team that the bulls had a winning record on the Circus trips since #23 was playing for them. All in all, this was a better road trip than I could have hoped and the bulls have cemented themselves as one of the best teams in the East. Now that Boozer is expected to play this week for the first time, we can really see how good this team might be.

The Hawks

The Hawks finished the trip 4-2 and got 8 pts out of the trip which makes for a great trip. This team really starts to be coming together and figuring out how to play in the system. Their defense has really improved and they are controlling the puck. The shots against most games has been down in the twenties and the shot differential has been at +10 in the hawks favor at times. When you outshoot your opponent by that much, you are gonna win most games. Patrick Sharp is hot again scoring goals in 5 out of 6 games on the trip and Seabrook/Keith are shutting down opponents top lines. But maybe the most encouraging sign was the fact that the Hawks seem to really have come together as a team. The last 2 games opponents took runs/shots at blackhawks players and teammates stood up. That edge/camaraderie was present last year and until this trip was lacking this year. Bottom line is the hawks are starting to accept their roles and play like the team of last year. Oh and watch John Scott just destroy a man, maybe the best part of the trip.

All this trip previews what should be a great winter of chicago sports.

Shoutout to the Garbage Men

Yo-Yo what it do, the Bulls may have lost last night's game against the defending champeen Lakers, but they hung tough throughout most of it, even leading the game at one point in the 4th quarter. Unfortunately, they had no answer for a late-game barrage of threes from the likes of Steve Blake, Shannon Brown, and Matt Barnes (wha ha happened?). Luckily, the Bullies have a chance to right things tonight against the Phoenix Steve Nashes Suns. One of the bright spots from last night's loss was the play of Joakim Noah, especially his defense against Pau Gasol, who was held to 12 points on 3-10 shooting. This leads me (closer) to the topic of today's post.....

If you haven't been following the goings on down in South Beach, the Pat Riley Chemical Feast are off to a blistering(ly pedestrian) 8-6 start, and one of their most glaring holes is their utter lack of a dirty work player, i.e. one whose scoring is generally inessential to their actual impact on the court.

Let's recap a brief and very incomplete list of some of the NBAs great (recent) past and present garbage men, describing the strengths they harnessed to offset their lack of traditional basketball skills, and rating them on the standard 5-point junkyard dog (JYD) scale. In no particular order:


Dennis Rodman:

This pic pretty much says it all. There wasn't a single loose ball that the Worm saw and didn't yearn for with the burning passion of a thousand dying suns. He led the league in RPG seven times, averaging 15+ a game in six separate seasons (twice over 18). Perhaps no other stat confirms his otherworldly rebounding prowess than his all-time leading career mark for rebound rate. At 23.4%, this means he grabbed nearly a fourth of all the caroms available throughout the course of his career. He couldn't shoot or post-up worth a damn, but Guy. Got. Ball. Oh, and he spent the great majority of his career playing against guys at least twice this size.

4.5 out of 5 JYD:









Bruce Bowen:

Not your prototypical JYD, but a JYD nonetheless. While he always had a very limited offensive repertoire, he never really hit true JYD status until his long and fruitful tenure with the Spurs. Through eight seasons, three of which resulted in a championship, he averaged just a shade over 30 minutes a game, with a paltry 6.5 PPG over that span. He also established himself as one of the premier defenders in the NBA, generally focusing in on defending the opposition's top offensive wing player. While he also got criticized (justifiably) for his at-times dirty defensive tactics, you can't argue with the results or his indelible contributions to those perennially championship contending Spurs teams.

4 out of 5 JYD for BB:









Ben Wallace:

The original Big Ben (excluding this one, of course), who is known primarily for his boss-as-hell afro, all-time poor FT shooting, and prodigous defensive and rebounding skillz. Undrafted out of college, he's been in the league going on a decade and a half now. He's won defensive player of the year four times in his career, and made four all-star teams in that span as well. All this despite the fact that he'd still likely miss the first bucket given this opportunity: It's a fucking gimme, mang!

Also, he was featured in one of the all-time great NBA video game commercials:


For all of the above and not much else, Benny the (one-time) Bull gets a 4.5 JYD:









Joakim Noah:

A JYD for the twitter-age, if there ever was one. Since being drafted out Florida with the 9th pick in 2007, Joakim has gone from a being a poor-man's Andy Varaejo into an elite-level beast on the glass and defensive end in general. Joakim has improved so much in this time, that he's actually starting to play himself out of JYD status. He's currently averaging a cool 15 pts and 13 rebs, which means he's actually got more offensive game than a JYD has any right to have. But to be fair, he's certainly ugly as hell, which any true JYD should be.

3.5 out of 5 JYD (if only because he can actually put the ball in the basket on a semi-regular basis)









Honorable Mention, Jerome Williams:

After all, he's the namesake for this post's terribly dumb scoring system, so I'd be remiss to exclude him from the definitive (ask anyone) list of JYDs. With career averages of 6.6 pts and 6.4 rebs/game, he clearly was never a focal point on the teams he played for. But through sheer hustle and determination, the true JYD was able to hang in the league for nearly a full decade. Praise be to Jerome for maximizing his uber-limited skillset.

5 out of a possible 5 JYDs:









Finally, here's a timeless and G-funked-the-hell-out cut from the Above the Rim soundtrack, starring TuPac, one of the dudes from Cool Runnings, some other guy, and Marlon Wayans:




HAPPY THANKGIVING EVERYONE!!!!!

Save And Share :

The Bulls are better than what we thought they were

The Bulls beat the Mavs with some Taj-tastic heroics on Friday (17 pts, 18 rebs and his first career 3-pointer) The Bulls face the Lakers Tuesday night in what should be a game of basketball.


The difference between this year and last year, summed up neatly (and pictorially).

2010-2011 Bulls:
















2009-2010 Bulls:

























But don't feel too bad for VDN. He found another head coaching gig with those lovable Clippers.....(okay, actually feel free to feel very bad for Mr. The Black). On the bright side, at least this allows him front row seats to the Blake Griffin yearlong dunk-a-thon in addition to potentially the most losingest lose-diculous loss-filled season in the history of the NBA. If my math is correct (it ain't), the Clip-show are on pace for negative 3 wins this year, which would put them about 45-50 games out of the Western conference playoff picture.

Bears-Dolphins mini recap:

The Chicago football Bears beat up on the Miami also football Dolphins 16-0 in a somewhat ugly game devoid of any truly awesome highlights. This is more or less how it all went down. Recap ovah.

This puts the Bears at 7-3 going into their matchup against the potentially Super Bowl bound Eagles. A huge game with devastatingly sexy playoff implications.


Random thoughts:
Shoutout to my boy Jules P. on that tip that led to the Tillman interception. Wyld Stallyns!

As my fellow blogger in crime said in his pre-game post on Wednesday -- Go Bear!

Bulls Scribbles

Los Bulls (shouldn't it say 'Los Toros', I mean hola?) are 6-4, coming off a tough road loss against the Spurs in which their 3rd quarter issues resurfaced yet again. Tonight, they face the Mavs who are coming off a tough road loss against the surprising Nawlins Hornets. Tonight's game caps their Texas Triangle stretch of the circus trip, and winning 2 of these 3 games is about as good as you can hope for from the still-Boozerless squad (Put down those babies and pick up a fucking basketball, mang).


Now I'm going to write about a kid who doesn't get much pub, and offer some analysis that isn't redundant at all, not in the slightest, nary a bit.......

Derrick Rose - Superstar......?

Yes, he is 100% awesomeness, but there are still a few things keeping him from truly standing side to side with the elite PGs in the association. (For the record, I consider the PG elite to consist of these men, who seem to share an affinity for matching dress pants with untucked t-shirt/sweater hybrid tops)

Anyways, here's me critiquing Rose in basically the same manner as every other sports scribe

Getting to the foul line
- Rose is taking 5.2 freebies a game this season, currently third on his own team behind Noah (6.1) and Deng (6.3). For an elite scorer that drives to the basket as much as Rose does, I would expect something more along the lines of 8+ attempts a game.

Rose's problem seems to be that he is too quick and too good at controlling his body in the air. If he hasn't already left his defender(s) completely in the dust, he is able to avoid contact against teams' frontline players (mid-air, mind you) due to his impeccable body control - See Exhibit A and see xzibit w/ a hat. Plays like these are crazy fucking sick, but I'd like to see him seek out the contact when appropriate to create more and-one opportunities. Also, his jumper is consistent enough at this point that I think he could draw a few more fouls a game with the ol' pump fake trick, which Paul Pierce will gladly demonstrate for us here.

The good thing is that his FT attempts have increased every season he's been in the league, so at least he's on the right track. I just think he's got all the tools to be going to the line 10+ times a game on at least a semi-regular basis. He's still a beast and improving more rapidly than I would have imagined just a few months ago, so maybe it's time I lay off the cat and let him handle his business, skinny tie/biker jacket style.


Fun thing you absolutely have to do before you die:

Play this song in conjunction with this video and try not to cry tears of joy.


- Thom

Hello, My Name is Scrambled Eggs.....is the title of a book you've most likely never read, or consumed as a second grader and completely forgotten about (cop it for the holidays). The book has nothing to do with sports, Chicago, this post, or this picture -- but it will have to do in serving as my overly long and obtuse introduction to the ranks of the blogeratti. I hope to one day amass a readership in the low-to-mid single digits, and with a little bit of luck (and a lot of links like dis one), I don't see why that can't happen.


To give you a better idea of the literary style I'm striving for, I would describe it as one part THIS (how the hell did Todd McCullouch and his royally fucked up feetsies stumble their way into that photoshoot?) and two parts THAT.

Long story long, be prepared for much more of the following:

-- Obscure references about obscure athletes
-- Obsolete vernacular
-- Cock Shots
-- Hyperlinks (<---not a hyperlink)
-- Pussy jokes (<------very much a hyperlink)


Quote of the day: "Pussy ain't got no face."
Who I would like to randomly (and falsely) attribute the aforementioned quote to: This guy.


More posts, links, lulz, and needlessly articulate culminations to sentences to come.

- Tom

Bears v. Fins - Can Urlacher finally win in Miami?

Well a short week for the bears and it couldnt come as a worse time for the dolphins. They lost 2 starting QBs to injury last week and it appears they will be playing with Tyler Thigpen, their #3 QB this week. It goes without saying the that Bears need to keep winning games but especially this game as it is shaping up as the most winnable game on the bears 2nd half schedule.

Key Matchups:

1. Bears LBs v. Wildcat - Like I said above the dolphins have some problems at QB, although Thigpen has proven to be a decent QB, so the bears will be seeing a lot of the wildcat. The key will be for the bears LBs to make the correct reads. The LBs have to try and delay their breaks on the ball for as long as possible to confuse whoever is running the wildcat option. If the LBs are too apparent with their breaks, the person running the wildcat has an easy read on the defense and choose the best run from the wildcat. The dolphins' game plan is pound the ball anyway and they will only do it more this week.

2. Omiyale v. Cameron Wake. Omiyale has actually played pretty well as a LT but has had some problems with speed rushers. Wake has been one of the surprises of the NFL season. He is a 2nd year undrafted free agent and has 8.5 sacks. He is thriving in Miami's system as playing the rush LB position. If Frank can control him somewhat Culter should have time to thow because the dolphins dont have a pass rushing threat besides Wake.

Keys for the Bears:

1. Pound the ball. Yes the bears werent that effective with the run against the vikings but their commitment to the run had a huge impact on the game. They had over 35 mins in time of possession and Cutler was 7 for 7 on play action throws. The dolphins try to make it a grinding game so the bears are gonna have to control the clock and keep running the ball.

2. Defensive Penetration. The one thing that can kill the wildcat is penetration by the defensive line. It can disrupt the play before it even starts and can frustrate the motion and confusion the wildcat is trying to create. Pressure this week is probably more important in the run game than it is on passing downs.

3. Field position. The dolphins play tight games and try to grind it out. They are a field position team just like the bears. This game will be about defense and special teams both phases where both teams excel. The bears need to win the field position battle in order to score some points and win this game.

Hero of the Day:

Matt Forte. I think the bears are gonna run the ball a good amount and i really look for screens and flat passes to Forte to try and control the clock. Also, look for Martz to call the wheel route for him a couple times out of the backfield because against the dolphins 3-4, it will probably get him matched up against a LB which should be a recipe for a big play. I'm looking for some big plays out of him and think he will get them in the pass or run game.

Prediction:

I've said above this game is not gonna be pretty. In fact, I think the # of punts could be greater than the teams final scores. With that said, the bears strength on defense and special teams and the dolphins injuries at QB should add up to a win for DA BEAR. This is probably the easiest game the bears have left and 7-3 would look pretty awesome. Go Bear!

Bears 17-Dolphins 13

Wins are good no matter what

http://bullbearsock.blogspot.com/2010/10/wins-are-very-good.html

run down of the bears for the last 2 weeks

I hate that I have to listen to Berman say "The G-Men" all sunday night

Here we go folks. Another primetime game for the bears. They have traditionally struggled in nationally televised games although Devin Hester hasnt. But, Tom Coughlin as saying that there is no way the Giants will kick to Hester. Boring. The Giants have had a very disappointing season and i dont see that changing this week. The Giants are actually the favorite in the game though. I think this is gonna be the bear's easiest game of all year which isnt saying much i guess because all their games have been within a TD.

Matchups:

1. Antrel Rolle v. Greg Olsen. The bears wanted Rolle in the offseason but couldnt afford him after their free agency binge. He has been a very good free safety in the past and someone who can cover almost as well as a corner. He has had a tough season so far by running his mouth to the media and drawing an personal foul last game (but who on the giants didnt?). He will have his hands full with the juggernut that is Greg Olsen. Olsen is clearly Culter's security blanket and in each game he has put up better numbers. Cutler just throws the ball up and lets Greg and his blonde locks jump up and grab the ball. Not a bad idea when he has safeties lined up on him. I expect to see Rolle covering Olsen about 50% of the time. If that is the case, look for Culter to hit Olsen with a jump ball down the seam.

2. Ahmad Bradshaw v. Bears' over pursuing defense. The bears have the best run defense in the NFL and the Giants' run game has been not existant so you wouldnt think this would be a problem. But, the problem is that the bears are all about pursuing to the ball on defense and Bradshaw is maybe the best back in football besides CJ & AP at cutting off the backside. If the bears on defense dont maintain their gap assignments, Bradshaw will have some great opportunities to cutback on a run play or on screen/swing passes and hit a home run. Discipline has to be a key for the bears defense.

Keys for the Bears

1. Stop the YAC. I mean we know the Giants will throw for 300+ yards, who hasnt?. But with no offense to the packers' and cowboys' WRs, i think the giants' WRs are the best group the bears will have seen. Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham are legit deep threats who are big run after the catch guys too. Bradshaw excels at picking big yards on little swing passes and Steve Smith and Kevin Boss catch balls across the middle better than anyone. All these guys can be dangerous with the ball in their hands so the bears need to rally up and tackle quickly to stop big plays.

2. Survive the first quarter. I think the Giants are ripe for disaster. Their season is on the brink and they are gonna come out with a ton of energy with the crowd behind them. But if the bears can keep it close or even have a lead going into the 2nd quarter, the giants and the crowd could fall apart. Just dont turn the ball over and give the Giants hope. Play them even in the 1st quarter and watch'em fold like they did last week.

3. The deep ball. I think this goes along with key #2 but if the bears complete a couple deep throws, watch the giants defense totally deflate. I'm the defense will come out with blitzes and try to hit Cutler and force turnovers. If the bears hit on a couple of deep routes in the 1st half watch the middle of the field open up and the defense become less aggressive and maybe the bears can control the clock.

Hero of the Day: Matt Toeaina, DT

I wanted to pick someone on the D-line not named Peppers because I really expect 4 sacks from the Bears in this game. I think the Giants will be 1 dimensional and be throwing the entire game. Plus, their line hasnt played well this year and Eli really isnt that mobile of a QB. So, sacks can be had on the Giants. Toeaina has played the best of any of the other D-linemen and he has steadily seen move snaps. Look for him to have a sack and a forced fumble and constant pressure all night.

Final Score:

Bears 31, Giants 17. I think the bears will jump out to a huge lead and the Giants will have to be throwing for the rest of the game and then look for a couple of picks off Eli. This should be the easiest bears win of the year. 4-0 here we come!

I dont like Packers but this is a pretty good gesture.

Rodgers picked up the tab for some bears players at a restaurant sunday night. pretty classy move.

http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/bears/post/_/id/4666510/rodgers-makes-good-on-restaurants-slight

And the only undefeated team in the NFC is....

week 3 bears review

http://bullbearsock.blogspot.com/2010/09/the-only-undeated-team-in-nfc-is.html

Hello, D.J. Moore!

week 2 review......

http://bullbearsock.blogspot.com/2010/09/hello-dj-moore.html

Week 2 v. the team america hates

Alright so i dont know if America hates the cowboys. But, they should and I sure do. They are right behind the Packers and Vikings on my hate scale. The Cowboys are coming off a pretty embarrassing loss to the Redskins. They were heavy favorites in the game and their supposedly high power offense did nothing and looked terrible doing it. They might have more questions on the offensive line then the bears do. So, here are the matchups to watch, the keys to the bears success and my hero of the day.

Matchups:

1. Chris Williams v. DeMarcus Ware. All Ware has done is record 11+ sacks in the past 4 years including 20 in '08. All Chris Williams has done is look like shit all preseason and in the first game when going against good pass rushers. No team can block Ware 1 on 1 and hope their QB lives through the game. The bears will double team, cut block and chip with backs and TEs all day but occasionally Ware will be 1 on 1 with Williams. Can Williams do enough to not get Cutler killed?

2. Tommie Harris & Anthony Adams v. the guards of the Cowboys. There is no question that Peppers will provide pressure from the outside he. He is that good that you can count on it every game. But will the huge man that is Leonard Davis, listed at 370, and the rest of the Cowboys huge interior line consume the bears' DTs? If the bears cant get penetration up the middle then the cowboys will run all over the place and with their dynamic passing attack be pretty much unstoppable for the bears D.

3. Devin Hester v. Terrence Newman. This isn't because hester has gotten so much attention this week for only catching 1 catch last week. Its because it seems that other teams deem Hester the bears #1 WR and put their best corner on him. The cowboys bring a lot of pressure and a lot of blitzing with their front 7 so Newman is constantly left 1 on 1 with the other teams top WR. If Hester can beat Newman a couple of times in the game, it will make the cowboys dial down the blitzes and give Cutler more time.

Keys for the Bears:

1. Get off the bus running. The bears ran the ball 31 times last week but only for a 3.3 yd avg. That needs to improve and they need to be able to pick up chucks of yardage on the ground against the 'boys. It will prevent hits on cutler and it will slow down the pass rush. The line must figure out how to run block against a 3-4 defense.

2. Contain Jason Witten. There was no question that last year the bears were vulnerable down the middle and to good TEs. Witten is about as good as they come at TE and he is questioned Romo's favorite target. Urlacher, Briggs and the safeties must locate Witten and not allow him to pick up big chunks of yardage down the middle of the field. Nothing is more disheartening to a defense.

3. Special teams be "special". For years the bears have had one of the best special teams units in the NFL but in week 1, they looked average. I think for the bears to win this game the special teams must come up with a big, momentum changing play, be it a long return or kick block or forced fumble. This is one area where the bears probably have more talent than the cowboys and it needs to show up.

Hero of the day: Johnny Knox. As i said above the cowboys bring a lot of guys on the blitz and leave their corners 1 on 1 with WRs. Knox and Cutler should have a few shots at deep balls in man coverage and Knox can out run any of the 'boys secondary. Look for a big shot over the defense's head and for Knox dancing in the endzone if Cutler can recognize the coverage/blitz and have time to put it up.

Final Score: I think this will be a very close game. A lot closer than the nine points that the cowboys are favored by. In the end, i think it will come down to a score in the 4th quarter to pull ahead and i have no idea which team that will be. I'll take the cowboys just because i think they have too much talent on the offensive side of the ball even though they didnt show it last week.

Cowboys 24, Bears 21

It sure doesn't feel like a win...

http://bullbearsock.blogspot.com/2010/09/it-sure-doesnt-feel-like-win.html

link to my game 1 review

Bears Season Preview

http://bullbearsock.blogspot.com/2010/09/bears-season-preview_10.html

link to my season preview.

Game 3 review

http://bullbearsock.blogspot.com/2010/08/robbie-gould-missed-2-fgs-i-dont.html

What to watch for

What to look for on saturday night's bears' game

http://bullbearsock.blogspot.com/2010/08/what-to-watch-for.html

Bears sign Collins

The bears yesterday signed 38 year old Todd Collins to a 1 year contract and gave him a $100,000 signing bonus. I cant really figure out what this signing means. I know the bears really like Caleb Hanie and he will for sure be on the roster. Does this mean that they think they need Todd Collins as a #3 quarterback throughout the year? Or is he an insurance policy if Hanie is unable to be healthy by week 1? I think Collins, if he makes the regular season roster, will be on it for no more than 4 weeks depending on injuries. Either way, if we see Collins playing in the regular season for the bears the season is lost so it probably doesnt matter.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/ct-spt-0824-bears-collins-chicago--20100823,0,4890813.story

Back again

Alright, its great to be back. This summer was super busy for me but now with the return of school and football, I promise to be back blogging. I'm writing for a friend's blog about the bears so you will probably see a lot of posts/links to those posts. But dont worry i will be back chiming in on the cubs/bulls/hawks and the rest of sports.

without further ado, here is a link to my post about the bears performance in their 2nd preseason game:

http://bullbearsock.blogspot.com/2010/08/week-2-cutlers-sos.html

Is TMac available???

Yep the worse has happened for the bulls. They have reported missed out on signing the big 3 in free agency. No Bosh, No Wade, and No LeBron (well, this is an assumption). But the bulls have signed Carlos Boozer. It doesnt matter that i actually think the bulls can be a better team with boozer and solid role players around rose and noah. It matters that the Bulls got shut out of the summer of 2010. Once again, the bulls organization fell flat and whiffed at free agents. I mean they basically threw last season so that they could sign a huge free agent this summer and now nada. It is just embarrassing that an organization acted the way they did and came up empty. Like i said its doesnt matter that i think the bulls will now be with the addition of a couple good role players legit contenders for the conference title. The summer of 2010 is still a disappointment for the bulls. TMac is a free agent, maybe we can sign him 10 years after wooing him as a free agent and coming up empty. That will make up for missing on the big 3 right?

And im sticking to my prediction that Bron will stay a Cav.

Also, this link is to a great coverage about free agency and how good boozer makes the bulls.

http://espn.go.com/nba/dailydime/_/page/dime-freeagency-100707/lebron-set-join-wade-bosh

The free agent carousel

There are 10 big free agents (Bosh, LeBron, Wade, Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce, Nowitzki, Amare, Boozer, Ray Allen and David Lee) on the market tonight at 12:01 am. All these guys will command probably atleast 13 million a year contracts. No one can sign till July 8 so there will be 8 crazy days of rumors and uncertainty. I have a feeling that most of the guys will declare where they will sign before July 8 and all of these 10 will sign somewhere on July 8th. Without further ado, here go my predictions (please excuse my bulls homerism):

Lebron: Bron is obviously the prize of this summer but he can only end up one place. I think Bron will be back in a Cavs uni next year. He will talk to all the teams and im sure he will even entertain signing somewhere else with bosh or wade. But at the end of the day, someone made the best argument and most convincing argument on why Bron will stay. The greats are the greats (Jordan, Kobe, Magic, Bird, etc) because they won with their team. Doesn't everyone have a lesser view of Shaq because he jumped to so many different teams? He is not included with those greats because he did move around. Lebron wants to be included with the Jordans and Kobes and the only way he will be is if he wins multiple championships with the Cavs. He is staying where he is.

Wade: I actually think there is a 50% chance that Dwade will leave Miami which is higher than i have seen other people say. Once he figures out that Bron will not be coming to South Beach, the question will be can he lure someone else. I think he will end up staying but he will have to listen to other teams pitches because it becomes questionable with Bron in cleveland if the heat can beat the Cavs. He will listen to offers but stay in South Beach.

Bosh: Bosh is for sure out of Toronto. He doesnt get enough publicity for how good he is and he doesnt make the ad money that he would make in a big US city. The big question is whether he is tied to Bron or not? I dont think he although im not sure he wants to be the clear #1 on a team. Bosh has exactly the type of game that compliments Noah. The bulls would be the best place for him because he gets to play along a center that plays defense and does the dirty work. Plus, while Bosh is certainly really good, he will only be better with a good PG getting him the ball like Rose. I believe his decision will come down to the Bulls and Knicks. I calling him a bull on July 8th.

Joe Johnson: He is a very good player but he isnt a franchise player like the above 3 guys. He can be a great #2 guy on a good team and i think he knows that. A post presence will only make him better. I think he will only sign after he sees where the power forwards go. But he is known to like the big city and i think his decision will come down to the bulls or knicks. Call him a bull on July 8th to form a great team of rose, him, deng, bosh, and noah.

Dirk Nowitzki: Dirk may listen to offers but he isnt leaving the Mavs. He just opted out so he can get more money and a longer contract. He might listen to offers but he will say with the mavs. Not much to talk about here.

Amare: He is an interesting case because he is pretty much on the same par as Boozer. Both of those guys will probably not sign until after bosh makes up his mind. Amare is a very talented offensive player and will sell some seats. I'm not sure winning is his main concern as much as money is. I think there is a good chance he could go to the highest bidder (he can actually make more money than Bron/Bosh/Wade because he had a higher salary last year). I can see him in New York, New Jersey or in Miami. Let's call it NY because his old coach is there and they are willing to pay to get some stars.

Boozer: I think he wants to come to the bulls or the heat. He wants to win and will be ok with being a #2 player on a team. He has a good post up game but isnt a great defender so playing next to a center who will do the dirty work would definitely be a plus for carlos. Depending on what bosh does, i think the boozer is the bulls' backup plan and will sign with them if bosh doesnt. Otherwise i believe he is in Miami with Dwade.

Paul Pierce: I think he might be the most interesting free agent on the market because i dont think the celtics will give him a max contract. He is old and probably only has 2 to 3 seasons left as a main scoring option on a team. So, will some team like the knicks, nets, or clippers give him 4 or 5 years to get him in the door to improve their team in the near future? I could definitely see it happening. I think he is gone from the celtics and will end up in New York because he will win you games in the near future and they love to give long term contracts.

Ray Allen: His departure will really signal the end of the Celtics run. I think it will take him a while to sign with a team because im not sure what he wants. Does he want money and years or does he want a chance to win? I could see him going for the money and going to the Nets or Knicks or he could be a backup option for teams that whiff on Joe Johnson like the Hawks. I think he will be Hawk at the end of the day.

David Lee: If i was this guy, i would go with whoever bids the highest. He is a good player but playing in D'Antoni's system and on a terrible team has really inflated his numbers. I think he either stays with the Knicks or jumps ship to the Nets. The Nets need players and Lee would look good along side Brook Lopez. Show him the money new jersey.

Also, Rudy Gay is a free agent and i think he will end up with the Twolves who actually have some talent but desperately need a wing scorer.

What this means is that im predicting bosh and joe johnson to the bulls. If not bosh, then definitely boozer. I hope im right.

More Free agents.....

Reports say Paul Pierce and Dirk Nowitzki have both opted out of their contracts with their respective teams. Add their names to the long list of guys who might/should get max contracts this free agency period. While they may not be on par with the Bron, Bosh, Wade trio, both Pierce and Nowitzki are franchise players and they can add an interesting wrinkle on free agency. More to come soon.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/paul-pierce-to-become-free-agent-opt-out-of-contract-062910

http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/nba/news/story?id=5339661

What a sad story Prior has turned into

He is attempting another comeback. At 29, he is throwing for MLB scouts today in attempt to get a contract. Mark, I wish you the best but i think you need to hang them up. Saddest stat in this little article about him. He won 18 games for the cubs in 2003. He has only won 18 games since. Mark, if you put a hit out on Dusty Baker i think the world would understand.

http://espn.go.com/blog/chicagocubs/post/_/id/1325/report-prior-attempting-another-comeback

Pending the Free Agent Bonzana

Look everyone has been awaiting the summer of 2010 for the last 2 years in the NBA and now its 2 days away. This blog will be following it closely and will be bulls heavy here for the next 10 days or so. So, everyone strap in and enjoy the ride.

There are rumors running wild about what will happen with the big 3, wade, bosh and Lebron. It sounds like wade is staying in Miami and bosh will go wherever bron does. So will it be to the bulls? i dont know. i'd put it at a 33% chance between the bulls and the heat and some other wildcard. There is no question that bosh and bron will be the bulls #1 targets and they are the best talents in free agency. But if the bulls whiff on those 2 which i say there will be 66% chance of that happening, who should the bulls look to next?

According to the link below, the bulls already have scheduled a meeting with carlos boozer. He would be a great fit for the bulls. He would not command the max salary which would save the bulls some money. He gives them a post presence and plays good defense. Also, rose would still be the superstar on the team. The bulls also are reported to have a meeting set up with joe johnson. He also is a great fit with the bulls. He is a shooter/score in the ben gordon mode who spaces the floor for Drose. He also isnt a superstar that would take the ball out of drose's hands. He probably doesnt command a max salary either. Bron and bosh are better players no doubt but boozer and johnson would be better fits for the bulls and allow Drose into the superstar that i think everyone believes he can become. Missing out on bron and bosh may not be the worst thing in the world. We will see what happens in 2 days.

http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/nba/news/story?id=5337879

Time to blow up the cubs!

Yep, after last night i have given up on the team this year. This team just can't win. They are too far back and havent shown that they have the right make up to win. I have given up on getting to the playoffs this year. Its time to decide who can help you win next year and get what you can for people that dont fall into that category. Because i do think this team with some tweaks could win next year.

(Note - I wrote this before Z's blow up this weekend. more to come on that)

1. D-Lee. I love him as a cubs player but he is about the best trade bait you have. Plus, the cubs have guys they could plug in at 1b, be it soriano, vitters or Aram. Lee is a free agent this year and the cubs shouldnt want to lock him up longer term. He has a great glove and a good team leader but his slow starts have killed the cubs in 2 out of the last 3 seasons and he cant carry a team offensively. He is a good player but he is presence in the lineup is not irreplaceable. See what you can get for him and pull the trigger.

2. Fukudome. He has to go. Not only is he overpaid but the cubs have better players that need to play over him. He has this year and next year left on his contract at $12 million. Yes, he is overpaid but he can help a team in contention with defense and OBP. Colvin needs to play everyday and the cubs wont be sitting the 18 million man or byrd.

3. Carlos Silva. Yes he has been the cubs best pitcher which is why he needs to go. No other cubs pitcher has a higher trade value and im not sure anyone believes that Silva can pitch like this past this year(he is signed through next year). Plus if you trade him whatever you get back is just another bonus from trading Milton Bradley. A contender would love a groundball innnings eater like Silva.

4. Small parts - Xavier Nady could be a good pitch hitter/4th outfielder on a contending team. John Grabow could maybe be a lefty arm out of a bullpen. Teams are always looking for lefties.

Ryan Theriot - He is a solid baseball player and my favorite cub but if you can get something for him the cubs have a few middle infielders in the minors. Randy Wells - He is still young but he will never be better than a 4th starter and there are a lot of those guys. If you can get value, pull the trigger.

Guys who shouldnt be traded

Starlin Castro - the future, Ryan Dempster - great cub and man, heart of the team, Geo Soto - his a young catcher who is having a comeback year, hard to find, Alfonso Soriano - who would take his salary?, Marlon Byrd - Hard nosed player who is needed to win, Carlos Marmol - he has the best stuff in the majors not named Stratsburg, Sean Marshall - is there anything situation in which this guy cant pitch?, Ted Lilly - I know he is a free agent but he is a winner and the cubs need to resign him to win next year, Aramis Ramirez - Here's why you keep him and not DLee. He plays a tougher position to find a good player, 3B. He also could be moved to 1B very easily. The cubs also dont have any 3b in the pipeline besides Vitters and he is atleast a year away.

If the cubs can move these guys, they would free up money and hopefully get some value/prospects back. This could set up the cubs for a winning year next year by getting some young guys experience and let them sign some players in the offseason.

Reason 899 to hate Farve and the Vikings.......

So, the vikings were wondering why their best player wasnt at the voluntary offseason workouts last weekend. Well, he wasnt resting his just operated on ankle because their best player isnt named Brett Farve. But that is why Farve wasnt at the offseason workouts and because he "hasnt made up his mind about retiring yet/i just dont want to go to training camp". Their best player, Adrian Peterson, the arguably the best RB in the NFL was at a parade. Yep, his hometown was having a parade and party in the town to celebrate Peterson so he went to that. I mean why would he think that he has to show up to mini-camp?? If brett doesnt, why should he? And what is Brad Childress going to say to AP if he brings that up? Brett plays by rules and they dont apply to you! This is the problem with letting Brett Farve do whatever he wants to. Suddenly, the coach loses all his authority. He says its ok to his team to treat players differently which players will start to take advantage of. I understand that star players get treated different to a certain degree but the Farve treatment is on a whole different level. I think this is very clearly the beginning of unrest on the vikings and the reason why they will be a worst team this year. How can you win with a coach that the player's dont respect his authority. They cant which is great for Bears fans!!!

Interview about Lebron's impact on Chicago

Great interview and great sources. A good watch.

http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=166723

Definitely not Vinny

The bulls have a new coach. His name is Tom Thibodeau. I will take to take to calling him Thbow because he is cooler than tim tebow and his last name is too long. Thbow was the hot coaching candidate of this offseason. He has 30 some years of assistant coaching in basketball, most of it in the NBA. I mean this guy is the anti-Vinny. He doesnt have any head coaching experience but he is known around the nba as a defensive guru and hopefully creative on offense. People know him around the nba and respect him which is more than could be said for Vinny when he came in and probably when he left too. This is a very solid hire and one respected around the league.

I'm happy with the hire because there was no one i really wanted to coach the bulls. There were no big name coaches out there available. No D'Antoi or other proven nba head coaches. Plus unless you have Phil Jackson or someone, in the nba, i dont think a coach makes much of a difference to the players or on the scoreboard. thbow would seem to be a solid coach already who can maybe improve into an elite coach in this league that does make a difference. but still players and talent wins in the nba. thats the bottom line.

so,the big question remains tho: does thbow bring lebron to chicago? The answer is no. i dont think the coach really matters to lebron. i think lebron will go where he thinks he will have the best chance to win a championship. And talent wins championship. If he comes to chicago, its because he believes that the talent of the bulls (rose, noah and crew) can win a championship with him. Thbow wont help bring bron to the bulls and wont stop bron coming either. good start to the offseason, pax and gar. now bring the talent so we can win.

http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/bulls/post/_/id/1003/thibodeau-brings-experience-respect

Trade Winds a blowing...

The trib is reporting that the cubs have had talks with the angels about DLee or Nady. The angels have a huge hole at 1B after the Morales disaster (so glad i kept him in my other fantasy league and built my team around him). Both DLee and Nady will be free agents after this year which is exactly the short term solution that the Angels would be looking for at 1b. The question is which one do the cubs trade? The cubs have too many OFs including Nady and he doesnt really take away from their current team. In fact, it might help the team because Colvin could get more playing time. But, the return on Nady is probably minimal. DLee is another story. He has historically gotten hot beginning in June and is a proven slugger in the middle of the lineup. He would bring more in return from the angels as well. But trading DLee would be giving up on this year. The cubs dont have another 1B or more importantly someone who can hit 3rd in their lineup. The fact that DLee is even being discussed is interesting and may signal that the cubs' management thinks this team cant get it done. Watch closely......

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-0603-around-town--20100602,0,803615.column

From the SportsGuy after yesterday's Cubs-Dodgers game:

By the way, I'd like to thank Chicago for single-handedly keeping the following American big-city traditions alive: smoking, drinking during the day, eating terrible food, congeniality and breasts. It's noble work you're doing, Chicago. We're all proud of you. Good luck with the Blackhawks.

Hawks will be hosting Lord Stanley's cup in 6 games

Well, Chicago will have a championship team on wednesday june 8th. Is there anyone not picking them to win this series?? Here are the reasons they will win:

1. Marian Hossa isnt this bad. Hossa has 2 goals. That is good enough to rank 9th on the hawks in the playoffs. Yes, Hossa has 9 assists but the hawks didnt pay him ubber money to rack up assists. Besides his overtime winner (which was obviously was huge), name me another play he has collected a point on? He has to show this series. He is here to score goals. He has 51 shots which is good for 2nd on the team in the playoffs. The goals will go in and he will a force finally in this series.

2. Who hasnt the hawks defense stopped? Sedin twins = non factor. Sharks top line that was the #1 line for the gold winning team canada had to be split up best 2 of the 3 forwards were non-factors. The top forwards of the flyers will be seeing keith and seabrook a whole lot which means the goal light wont be going off for the flyers.

3. 1-2-3-4 score. Yes, the matchup of byfuglien vs. pronger will be a great battle in front. Maybe pronger can stop the hawks 1st line of toews-kane-buff. But, the flyers only really go 4 deep on defense. Im assuming that pronger and his partner will be out there when the hawks 1st line is on the ice and the second pair of flyers dmen will be out there when hossa-sharp-brower step on the ice. Even if the flyers vaunted defense can stop those 2 lines, the hawks will come out on top. The hawks 3rd line of bolland-versteeg-ladd and their 4th line of eager-burish-madden have scored all season and the flyers just simply dont have enough depth on defense to stop all 4 hawks lines. I would look for big scoring from the 3rd and 4th lines in this series. Ane with that I'm picking Kris Versteeg as the Hawks MVP of this series. Not only will he do a great job with the rest of his linemates containing the Flyers' top offensive line but he will have 6+ pts.

Hawks in 6!

Back in action

Alright bloggings fans, after a long month of finals, i ready to get back to blogging and entertaining your eyes. Hopefully, you will join me on what will be an eventful summer for chicago sports starting with maybe Lord Stanley's cup coming back to chicago??? I'll start this summer with a simple link to the awesomeness that is Mark Grace......

http://www.cubworld.com/product/CHIC95/?meta=5.20.10

More to come soon!

Ben's suspension

Alright so im gonna go a little off the topic of chicago sports and talk about Ben Roethlisberger's 6-game nfl suspension handed down last week. First off, I dont like rapist and in no way do i support rape. I think thats a no brainer. But, dont agree with Ben's suspension. Look, i think he probably raped the girl or forced her to have sex with him. I dont like him and think he is a douche bag and deserves a good punch in the nuts. But, with all that said, how can we justify a 6 game suspension??? He wasnt convicted of any crime. He wasnt even charged with any crime! As someone who has studied criminal law, the laws are pretty lenient/easy to charge someone with rape even when its just a he-said/she-said situation. But there are no charges.

He just got suspended for a 1/3 of the season because of allegations against him. In this country, our justice system operates under a presumption of innocence. But not Roger Goodell. He rules the NFL with an iron fist. I'm all for holding players to a high standard but what has that standard become. If Roger has now taken to suspending players for actions that arent criminal, for me that goes too far. If Ben's employer, the Steelers want to suspend him thats great. But for the NFL to step in and suspend a guy for something that happened outside of the game of football and in his personal life and something that he will never been charged or convicted for, that goes too far.

Roger, what type of precedent does this set? Not only are your treating a star player differently which is patently unfair but you have now placed yourself and your judgment above the law. Where the law didn't want to go (not pressing charges), you stepped in and brought down the hammer. Is there a line anymore that Roger wont cross? What about players who have mishaps from college pending coming into the league? I hate what Ben probably did but probably shouldnt get you suspended from any job.

3rd week in april right?

Did i miss the entire summer? where did all the panic come from? Its 3 weeks into the season. The cubs have played 15 games!!!! And the cubs have put their ace in the bullpen???? Has lou gone senile?

Really lets look at what is going on here. Right now, the cubs have 2 starters in silva & gorzelanny who have had 3 good starts. I love that. Thats awesome. Except the list of people that have 3 good starts and then fall off the planet is endless in MLB. Teams play top dollar for guys who you can pencil in for 200 ips a year. Carlos Zambrano is one of those guys. Every year since 2003 he has pitched atleast 188 ips except last year in which he pitched 168. There is almost no question he is the cubs ace pitcher and has the best and most dominant stuff on the staff. And we just put this guy in the bullpen??? Unless this guy pitches every day, i want him to start and give my team the best chance to that day. I want hiim to pitch 6+ ips the game he is in because he has the chance to win the game on his own that day. What if the cubs go 4 days without a close game. What has Zambrano resting in the bullpen won you then. Bullpen pitchers have value and are important to the team but there is a reason they dont make the money that starters do. When they get in the game, some starting pitcher has already determined how the game is gonna go. Very good relief pitchers pitch 70 ips in a season. Starters pitch 200+. Starters get hurt and most wont make 30 starts a year yet we just put one that has made 30+ starts in 7 straight years in the bullpen. He pitches every 5th day and gives you a chance to win that day!!!!

Yes, the cubs bullpen has been bad. yes, it most definitely is better with zambrano in it. the problem is that they are a worse team without him pitching every 5 days and having him pitch less innings.

The desparation shown by Lou is saddening. Arent managers suppose to have the big picture, the whole season viewpoint? Arent they in charge of doing what is best for the team over 162 games? Does this make sense to anyone?

Bob Brenly comes out firing!

Every year i think Bob Brenly gets better as a cubs announcer. He makes listening to cubs games on TV very enjoyable. He also tells it like it is. BB's target today was none other than the cubs' 18 million dollar man and his lack of running on a fly ball. In case you missed it, Soriano hit a ball last night in NY that hit the centerfield wall. After hitting the ball, he trotted his hr trot and watched the ball except that the ball didnt get out and Soriano was only able to get a double and didnt score. Here are some BB quotes on the subject:

discussing Ted Lilly's attempted steal during a rehab start in Peoria. Brenly then interjected: "Wouldn't it be refreshing if we could get our left-fielder to run as hard as Ted Lilly does?"

As for Soriano's comment that the "important thing was I made a very good swing at the ball," Brenly said: "That's all true, but that's a very selfish attitude to take. This is about winning ballgames. It's not about how I can pile up my numbers or how cool I look when I hit a ball hard."

Asked on WSCR if he would've benched Soriano, Brenly said he's not in the clubhouse, but added: "From what I've seen from the press box, I think it should've been done a long time ago."

Thank you BB for saying what has been on every cubs' fan mind since the start of the season.