Are you a scarecrow? Do you like to play with fire? Then by all means, please, take the Bears as three point favorites to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. Of course, to expect that to pan out is to forget a) Vegas oddsmakers know people are suckers and b) the Bears defense is still "beary, beary bad." Yes, the Bears held Cleveland to six points and forced five turnovers but let's also remember that Cleveland is a terrible team and mired in utter disrepair; and that prior to the battering they dispensed to the Browns, the Bears defense had been roundly abused by the capable offense of Cincinnati. Which brings us to this Sunday. Hey, the Bears are facing another capable offense in the Arizona Cardinals with, arguably, an even better defense than the Bengals, so let's cut to the chase and say, "No, the Bears won't be winning this game."
Granted, Chicago's good for at least one win per year against a much better team (see, the Week One win last year against Indianapolis) but that win already happened this season, Week Two against the Steelers.
Some NFL players collect cars. Others collect guns (hello, Tank Johnson). Still others seem to collect celebrity girlfriends.
The Bears' Lance Briggs? Comic books.
Don't laugh (at least to his face). Briggs is a pretty big comic book geek it turns out, actually hosting his own blog on the subject and creating a series of YouTube videos documenting his love of the superhero genre. Below is an example of him in fullblown fanboy mode.
On a day when the Bears were sporting their "Halloween" jerseys, with the spirit and memories of "Sweetness" buzzing throughout Soldier Field, the Bears defense took charge of the game and brutalized an awful Cleveland offense, forcing five turnovers on the day and scoring one touchdown. Granted, the Browns are not an NFL-caliber team this season [I'm thinking middle-of-pack Big Ten team --Ed.] still, the win still counts and for the Bears it was a step in the right direction after dropping two rather resounding decisions to the Falcons and Bengals.
If only the Bears could play a team like the Browns every Sunday. The Bears defense was forcing turnovers and pressuring Derek Anderson all game long (though they only managed one sack). On the other side of the ball, Jay Cutler found five different receivers against the hapless Browns secondary, while Matt Forte and Garret Wolfe, whilst channeling their inner-Walter Payton, got serious about this "run game" against one of the league's most rush friendly defenses.
Happy Halloweekend to all of you out in Internetvania. Your hometown Chicago Bears are clashing with the laughingstock of the AFC North, the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. And I just wanted to get a few things out of the way before we dive into the Footballic Ramblings "Trick or Treats" report. First off: The Browns run defense is absolutely awful, if the Bears (I'm looking at you: Forte!) can't get their ground game going this week cross yourself, fans, cuz the rest of the season's gonna be bumpy. Secondly: The Browns passing defense isn't much better than their run defense, so expect Jay-Bot 5000 and his motley crew of receivers to pick apart the Browns and find the endzone . . . mmm, let's say . . . 2 times? Derek Anderson is the starting "quarterback" for the Browns and the Browns passing game is averaging 143.6 yards per game and has already given up 18!!! sacks this season. So yeah, Bears have no excuses in not dismembering the living dead that collectively the Browns are, on Dia de Los Muertos!
Onward to Tricks and Treats of the NFL season thus far!
TRICKS!
Tennessee Titans
Wow! Spooky, eerie things are occurring in Nashville, how else do you explain a team that went 13-3 last season stumbling to an 0-6 start and the promotion of that wacky Vince Young to starting QB? No matter the cause or reason (let's face it, the Titans weren't going to win 13 games this year, but this?) an 0-6 start and an absolutely atrocious defense is a trick for fans and haters alike.
This past April, the Bears and the Denver Broncos consummated the biggest trade of the off-season by shipping the talented and discontented Jay Cutler east to Chicago for Bears qb/neck beard sporting/whiskey drankin', Kyle Orton, and a first round pick in the 2009 and 2010 drafts. At the time Footballic Ramblings wholly endorsed the move, six months later and halfway thru the 2009 NFL season? We still stand by that notion, oh, but there are caveats. Lord, are there caveats! Onward!
When the trade went down most of Chicago's pundits, journos, bloggers (and yes, we're lumping ourselves in this pile of Cutler-love), tweeters, men on the street, were sporting orange and blue-shaded glasses, lauding the trade and stamping the Bears ticket for, at the very least, the playoffs, blissfully ignoring the fact that Chicago's NFL team still had major issues. Issues such as: a very old defense, a piecemeal-ed offensive line, no clear-cut "star" receiver and, oh yes, an enfeebled defensive secondary. Conversely, the Broncos were a team that for the first 3/4 of the 2008 NFL season had looked like a potential darkhorse Super Bowl contender out of the wooly and wild AFC West.
The stench still lingers, like a skunk in the middle of the road after losing a battle with a semi. A day after their embarrassing 45-10 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, the Bears may still be trying to wash the stench of this one out of their clothes.
Post-game reports might have you believe that this debacle was primarily the work of the grudge-holding running back Cedric Benson and, true, the former Bears back with the substantial chip on his shoulder did his share of damage to the Bears, rushing for 189 yards and a touchdown. And other accounts will point to name-chameleon Chad Ochocinqo, who looked as if he were playing a game of catch with quarterback Carson Palmer en route to 118 yards receiving and two touchdowns.
But in truth, the blame for this game belonged squarely on the shoulders of the Bears, who failed at every aspect of the game. They couldn't seem to be bothered to cover a receiver or make a tackle on defense, or block and separate themselves from the Bengal secondary on offense.
And the coaching staff, who created that dog of a gameplan? Said head coach Lovie Smith: "I didn't have my team ready to go this week." Words to be fired by.
The Bears face the Cleveland Browns next Sunday at Soldier Field. If they don't want to go 0-for-Ohio, they'll come up with a better plan of attack that the one they utilized this past Sunday. Sometimes that smell is difficult to get rid of. (Chicago Tribune Photo)
Cedric Benson, the justifiably maligned former Bears running back, is back in a big way this season. Currently the heretofore crap-tacular Bears bust is second in the AFC and third in all of the NFL in rushing behind only Chris Johnson of Tennessee --quite literally the only bright spot for the Titans following the 59-0 bloodening they suffered at the hands of a now functioning and operational New England offense-- and the indomitable Adrian Peterson of Minnesota --heads up, Mr All Day has a dinged up ankle, just sayin' fantasy owners. But we digress. Benson is third in the NFL in rushing, I'm sorry, but does Hell have icicles now, too? Have pigs sprouted wings and now passenger jets need to worry about swines in the jet turbines? [Hamburgers are now eating people? -Ed.] Benson being good at professional football, the mind, it boggles and folds under the own pressures and illogical forces it's struggling to comprehend.
Want some good news, Bears fans? Pisa Tinoisamoa, you know, the guy who forced a fumble against Atlanta on Sunday night and had four tackles? His knee a'sploded in the game last night and . . .gulp. . . might have significant cartilage damage in that crucial joint known as the knee. From the Trib's Bears blog "Huddle Up":
Tinoisamoa left the game with 10 minutes, 6 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 21-14 loss to the Falcons. He was scheduled to undergo an MRI Monday afternoon after having severe swelling and soreness in the knee.
Great, just great! The Bears triage is filling up faster every week and rumors out of Halas Hall have Lovie and crew checking out scout videos of Air Bud. (rimshot!)
Congrats, Bears! I don't know how you did it, but you've somehow managed to crap the bed in successive seasons, against the same team, in the same stadium, yet in utterly disparate ways. This sort of artistic expression in the name of losing is commendable if not misguided, to wit:
(starting around the 2:18 mark:) "The plain-faced existential anguish is so evident in this second fumble in as many plays at the goal line. It's reminiscent of Munch's finer works while not being derivative, my hat off to the artiste, Matt Forte."
Throw in Forte's anemic 1.5 yards per carry average and his 60 yards of total offense and you truly have a "piece de resistance" of offensive ineptitude. Yet, Monsieur Forte was not alone in his creative expression of failure. No, even the mighty Jay-Bot 5000 got in the on the arts and crafts at football's expense extravaganza, too. [He is a competitor, after all-Ed.] Cutler, seeing Forte's ineptitude in the running game, decided to raise his running back a pair of interceptions (two beautiful and hand-crafted dying quails that the Atlanta secondary just had to have).
Meanwhile, the post-Modern secondary of the Bears continued their assault on good taste and bourgeois notions of "defending the other team's receivers" by affording the willing Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez to score touchdowns of 40 and 10 yards, respectively.
Tampa Bay defensive end Gaines Adams was traded to the Chicago Bears tonight for a second-round draft choice in next spring's NFL draft. It was not immediately clear if Adams would start on Sunday night in Atlanta, however the Bears will have to waive someone from the 53 man roster to make room for the 6'5" Clemson product.
Chicago, charitably, has been struck with the injury bug [Injury hammer? -Ed.] this season and have been inserting different lineman in jury-rigged alignments to compensate for their depleted ranks. For the Bears, who have been connected all week to rumors that would send Terrell Owens to the Second City, the move is almost necessity considering the triage-esque state their d-line is in: Israel Idonije, Anthony Adams and Tommie Harris are all questionable for Sunday's game (knee injuries), while Alex Brown was nursing a wonky and sprained ankle earlier this season.
Sunday night the Bears and Falcons collide in the marquee matchup of Week 6 in the NFL. Both teams come into the collision with matching 3-1 records and a "solid" second place standing in their divisions. Footballic Ramblings has already gone over their offensive similarities . Today, let's study how each defense will slow down the very capable offenses that the 2009 editions of the Bears and Falcons are sporting:
When the ATL has the ball...
Expect the laser-guided Matt Ryan to supply the flame for the Bears reliably "burny, hot, fire-ready" secondary with steady deep passes to the big target, Michael Jenkins, the BIG target, Tony Gonzalez and speedster/"embarasserer" of your secondary, Roddy White who is coming off a 210 yard, 2 TD explosion against the 49ers last weekend.
We know the Bears' secondary is as stable as a ceasefire between warring tribes of goatherders in Afghanistatn and about as safe a bet as: your life in a game of Russian Roulette. So, really, the best-case scenario? The Bears front seven brings the ruckus in a big way and disrupts the unflappable Ryan and slows Michael Turner on running plays, forcing Ryan into errant throws that the safeties and cornerbacks of Chicago can bat down like a kitten with a moth.
They've got one of the hottest quarterbacks around in Jay Cutler and are sitting very nicely in the NFC North with a 3-1 record. But there's nothing that says the Bears can use a little of that Blackhawks mojo.
Aligning themselves with the young up-and-coming Hawks, the Bears have cut a series of commercials with the city's NHL franchise designed to boost the profile of both teams. In the sports, expected to air in a few weeks, five Bears players (Cutler, Devin Hester, Greg Olsen, Robbie Gouls and Lance Briggs are paired, respectively, with Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Brian Campbell, Patrick Sharp and Brent Seabrook (Ed. Note: Surprisingly, they somehow manged to leave off our favorite and most animated Hawk, Adam Burish though his being out of action for about six months may have something to do with it).
Actually, it was the Blackhawks who approached the Bears with the idea of the commercial collaboration to raise their profile, even though the Blackhawks are probably garnering more magazine covers and video game boxes than the Bears. At least for right now.
The Bears may have been off last week but Jerry Azumah was busy dissecting their bye week and looking ahead to this Sunday's game with the Atlanta Falcons. You can hear the former Bears cornerback observations on Vocalo, the listener-content-fueled radio station. They also discuss the lack of Bears cheerleaders on the sidelines. Like we said, it was a bye week.
Football's equivalent to crystal meth* ["Not even once" is the anti-meth slogan for a reason-Ed.], T.O. is rumored to be potentially heading to the Second City for the remainder of the season for too much money and not enough performance. Now, for the sheer sake of entertainment value, do I want this to happen? Hell and Yeah! However, if you're a fan of the Bears: NO, NO, NO, NO. Lions, Packers, Vikings fans? YES, YES, YES!
No T.O. Because ...drumroll please...
Bears Do Not Need Dramz: Johnny Knox, Devin Hester, Greg Olsen, Jay Cutler, et al, all have such a nice working rapport. Cutler throws the ball to them and they catch it. Do you really want a prima donna, 36!!! year-old wideout, whose best years were five seasons ago?
That's Right T.O. is 36 and still behaves like he's 15: Honestly, the Bills signed him this season to what? sell tickets? catch touchdowns? improve the team? Who really knows. Buffalo fired their offensive coordinator days before the season started and their offense is offensive [Zing! -Ed.]; Trent Edwards is a shell-shocked husk of a man begging for death's sweet release, the o-line is in shambles and they scored all of 3 points in a 6-3 loss to a Cleveland in a game so awful that 70% of the viewers stabbed their own eyes out** last weekend.
"O, we've got trouble, right here in River City, with a capital-T that stands for Terrell": Owens is officially a pariah of Marburyian levels. He's left locker rooms across the NFL (San Francisco, Philly, Dallas, Buffalo) with Geiger readings off-the-charts, he's that radioactive. Asbestos causes fewer cases of cancer in the locker room than T.O. Bears fans, you do not want T.O.
*Because he makes you grind your teeth to the point that you resemble a meth head and you feel the urge to take everything apart to avoid watching his "alligator arms"during a game; the euphoric energy and sensation of invulnerability, not so much.
Your 3-1 Chicago Bears are headed down that lonely road into the land of chicken-fried steak, cheese grits and Ludacris this weekend for a Sunday night tilt with the, thus far, impressive Atlanta Falcons. Both squads are sitting pretty with 3-1 records and in second place in their respective divisions behind regional kingpins, Minnesota and N'awlins; and both teams will likely be there at the end spitting and grappling (along with the Philadelphia Eagles) for a wildcard bid. To say that winning this game is important is, yes, hyperbolic, but also damn true and something of an understatement.
Last season the Bears went down to ATL and duked it out with the Dirty Birds for a full 59+ minutes as Kyle Orton orchestrated a brilliant 2-minute drill to put the Bears up 20-19 with 11 seconds left in the game, only to have the Falcons kick the game-winning field goal after a pooched kick gave the Birds a terribly short field to work with. You guys remember, I'm sure:
Redneck language check, NSFW so make sure the headphones are on!
Occasionally Tailgate takes a look at the Chicago Bears plethora of tweeters and the ridiculous, inane, humorous and weird things they say, this week: Alex Brown eats lunch with his wife, Matt Forte has an awesome looking puppy, Jay Cutler goes to Nashville and more...
Starting things off this week is Bears defensive lineman and Tailgate favorite, Alex Brown. Dude loves his wife and according to his tweets grabs lunch or dinner with her just about every day [cue "awwww" from studio-audience-Ed.]
Brown's tweet of the week is modestly LOLish:
"Headed home from work. Meeting up with my wide for lunch but not sure where to go."
...and the update to that, thanks to a few hawk-eyed followers...
"Headed home from work now and meeting up with my "wife" for lunch! Thanks for letting me know lol that could have been really bad."
With the Bears holed up in their own Fortress of Solitude (Halas Hall, natch) until their tilt in the ATL with the Falcons, Footballic Ramblings decided to have a looksie at some other goings on in the NFL and its Internet-spawned stepchild, Fantasy Football. Walk with us...
So Who's Good So Far?
Both the New York Giants and Jets appear to be more gully, but you knew that already.
The Jets? Yes, the Jets! Two mild shockers: the defense (which for the past few years has been extremely pedestrian) is most like a nature documentary where the Jets are a rock python and [insert team] is a baby gazelle; particularly against the pass but especially against the run. The other surprise? Mark Sanchez the rookie from Southern Cal has surpassed all expectations in leading the offense, however, time will tell if young Jedi can keep cool or if he'll spaz out (see, the New Orleans game) in pressure situations.
The Giants have been a juggernaut inside the trenches on both sides of the ball the past few seasons and that's no different this year. Additionally, Eli Manning is packing a full bag of steady and breezy fresh with his receivers, consistently taking his time in the pocket (thanks to the O-line), finding the open receiver and then delivering a perfect pass to the receiver's waiting hands. And the whole "missing Plaxico Burress" thing? Not so much, Plax may have had a freak's capabilities and height, but, the Giants appear to have an entire fleet of receivers capable of running great routes and beating their man. Meanwhile, the running game keeps on chewing up yardage to a humming yards-per-carry of 4.2 and an average of 145 yards per game. The Giants at this point are rolling along like a Panzer tank through the Polish calvary. [A W.W.II reference? Really? -Ed.]
"Welcome to the party, Matt Forte. It took you a while to get here but I'm glad to see you were finally able to figure it out. Were the directions too complicated? No matter, I'm glad to see you finally joined the 2009 NFL regular season."
121 yards on 12 carries, along with one touchdown goes a long way in helping fans of the Bears forget about Forte's cringe-worthy opening three weeks. Consider the mere fact that Forte's longest run of the day --a 61 yard gallop to set up a Jay Cutler touchdown-- was a higher rushing output than he had total in games against Green Bay (55 yards), Pittsburgh (29) and merely five yards short of his rushing total against Seattle (66). Suffice it to say, Forte's performance against the Lions was a welcome return to form for the sophomore running back. Throw in another ridiculously efficient day by Jay-Bot 5000 (2 TDs on 18/28, 141 yards passing and a rushing TD) along with a defense that forced the Lions into five punting situations along with picking off an errant Matt Stafford pass and pouncing on a Stafford fumble and special teams that gave the Bears a distinct advantage in field position throughout the day and you've got a complete team effort, ladies and gents!
Aw, c'mon, wipe away those Olympic-sized tears. So we didn't get the Ganes, Man up (or woman up) and let's get back to what matters most right now: Bears football.
It's Jay Cutler and the boys taking on the Detroit Lions this Sunday at Soldier Field and you can start the party early at the taping of the next installment of "The Chicago Huddle", the weekly Bears pre-game show taping today (and every Friday of the season) at 4 p.m. at ESPN Zone, 43 E. Ohio St. This week, host Ryan Chiaverini and co-host Desmond Clark will be joined by Bears wide receiver Earl Bennett. Live music from Chicago's Lee DeWyze Band and analysis by ESPN 1000 Bears reporter Jeff Dickerson highlight the free taping of the show, which will air on ABC-7 Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m.
It's one thing to talk about Bears football with former standout Jerry Azumah. After all, he did play for the team so you figure he knows a thing or two about the inner workings of the 2-1 Bears. But all that and fashion too? In one of the more unusual combinations, Azumah talks Bears and fashion on Vocalo, the "YouTube for radio" endeavor that broadcasts online and at 89.5 FM.
With MegaTron and the rest of the suddenly "hot*" Detroit Lions rolling into Chicago this weekend for what is very much a "must-win" scenario for the Bears, I thought it'd be a good time to step back and look at how Chicago has gotten to its 2-1 record. Why is it already a must-win game for the Bears, you ask? Believe me, I'd love to say it's to avoid the cheap punchline of losing a game to Detroit [Wokka-wokka! -Ed.] but with Minnesota's Adrian Peterson manhandling entire defensive units and the Vikings winning games even when AP is help in check; the Vikes are shaping up to be the cream of the NFC North crop. Meanwhile, the Packers are tied with Chicago in the standings and essentially have a one game lead on the Bears thanks to Green Bay's Week One victory. So, there you go, Chicago needs to beat Detroit to keep up with their divisional Joneses.
Don't look now, Chicago, but Jay-Bot 5000 has now led two fourth quarter comebacks in consecutive weeks against A) the defending Super Bowl champs and for the encore B) leading the game-winning drive in one of the NFL's most hostile environs. Cutler put up excellent numbers against the Day-Glo alternate-uniformed Seahawks, posting: three touchdowns and 247 yards, on a markedly efficient , "ho-hum, another day at the office" 21-of-27, while getting five receivers in on the action. Included in the Cutler-sponsored Pass-a-palooza? One Matt Forte who went over the century mark in all-purpose yardage for the first time this season and was the perfect quick-pass, safety valve receiver off the play-action calls. The running game was still not quite there, Forte led the way with 66 yards on 21 carries, which is really rather "meh," but, hey, in this new era of the "forward" "pass" that the Bears have discovered, Forte and the ground game won't need to carry the burden...
Will he or won't he? President Obama may go pitch Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympics afterall (with Arne Duncan in tow). But, as everyone knows, Oprah has the last word.
Whither goest thou, White Sox? Kenny Williams is trying to figure that out.
Cubs fans disillusioned by the outcome of this season can take a look back at the 1984 team. Not that the outcome then was any better, but still...
Seattle's T.J. Houshmandzadeh says he has something to prove when the Seahawks meet the Bears this Sunday. Meanwhile, the Bears seek to establish the running game. But if wide receiver Johnny Knox continues his ascent, we can wait a little while.
Mixed martial arts star Fedor Emelianenko is coming to Chicago in November. Take appropriate action.
And you find yourself...riding a bike down Michigan Ave. Musician David Byrne talks about his cycling fixation and cruising around Chicago.
Boxer David Diaz brings it back home this Saturday.
If you're participating in the sixth annual Salmon Classic this Sunday at Northerly Island, use this as inspiration.
The Chicago Fire prepare to honor another Chicago soccer team who weren't too shabby themselves in their day.
Late Chicago Olympian Willye White has a new park named in her honor.
The Big Ten football season kicks off this Saturday and while other teams discuss strategy for their upcoming opponents, Northwestern's gridiron gang has different concerns on their mind.
The Chicago Outfit close out their 2009 season this Saturday at the Windy City Fieldhouse. Get pumped up for the contest by checking out the cool video below.
Not technically "winless" mind you, but Chicago has only won one game ever in the Emerald City and that was waaaay back in the Seahawks' inaugural season (1976) and yes, da Bears are "da Winless" since Qwest Field has opened. Which isn't to say Chicago hasn't had it's success against the 'Hawks it's just come at Soldier Field. In any case, the Bears look to reverse 30+ years of misfortune in the Pacific Northwest as they prepare for a Seattle squad that's amazingly even more dinged up than the Bears. Peep the MASH unit list of starters that won't be playing the Bears on Sunday and for the first time in your life, Bears fans, pity your opponent. Starting QB, Matt Hasselbeck, is a huge ? (I'm saying he's not gonna play a down), while TJ Houshmandzadeh is out, along with approximately the entire defensive and offensive lines. Oddly enough this isn't even the first time the Oceanbirds have been cursed with an injury bug in the past five years, if you'll recall: the Great Seattle Owie Outbreak of 2008 [cue evil and mysterious music.] I'd say it's all a voodoo curse.
Gaper's Block knows that our fair readers need to know all they can know (knowing is half the battle, after all) about their Chicago Bears. With that in mind, GB presents "Know Your Bears" a quasi-weekly feature spotlighting the Monsters of the Midway. This week: Alex Brown gets his Twitter on.
Name: Alex Brown
Handle on Twitter: (the uninspired but accurate) alexbrown96
Profile Pic Assessment: "Meh." This is a disappointing picture that practically screams, "I'm not taking the time to find an awesome picture of me that imparts on my tweeps my hugeness." Seriously, Alex, stop having your publicist's intern select the picture. Interestingly enough, Brown's background pic is of him in, what?, a practice uni? and pads at ... is that a beach house? Props to dude for wearing his work clothes even when he's chill-laxin' at the crib.
Notable Feat(s): Sacked Ben Roethlisberger twice in the Bears victory over the defending champs. Tied with Brian Urlacher for team leader in sacks (37.5) and is sixth all-time on Bears list of sacks.
Notable Tweet(s): "Just watching House right now. TiVo is such a great invention. House may be one of the better shows on television! I love this show!"
"Icing down the ankle again! And watching spongebob! Lol my lil girl runs the television!"
And speaking of Alex Brown and icing down the ankle and watching SpongeBob, the disruptive force should be ready to go in Seattle coming off a mild ankle sprain against the Steelers. From both legit sources, reporters, coaches, et al and Brown himself, the prognosis for the ankle is treatment, treatment, treatment, treatment and more treatment but that he should be OK for a Sunday romp in the Pacific Northwest.
Meanwhile, for the Ursas opponent, the Seahawks, the prognosis is not so sunny for quarterback, Matt Hasselback, at least according to Jay-Bot 500.
Jay Cutler after suffering the slings and arrows of ridiculous bad-timing, re: "having the worst statistical game of your career occur at the hands of your arch-rival," decided to take care of business on Sunday like his name was Randy Bachman. Cutler, as Footballic Ramblings predicted 1) completely got back on track and was the reliable, cannon-armed Cutler and not the "Rex in Jay's Clothing" we all saw at Lambeau last weekend; and 2) was unfazed when staring down the many-fanged and blood-craving Steelers defense. Jay-Bot 5000 completed dagger after dagger to a multitude of receivers (in all, seven different receivers hooked up with Cutler) as he steadily dissected the Steelers defense and at the same time got his inner-Gore-Tex on (see, he was weather-proof against the slogging mud and rain at Soldier Field).
Profile Pic Assessment: "I'm pretty serene, seeing as how I just got out of the shower and, well, I could be more serene if I weren't outta sandalwood-scented candles."
Notable Feat: As a rookie made fans occasionally forget how bad Kyle Orton/Rex Grossman actually were.
Notable Tweet: "I dint really eat 4 chilli dogs! But I did have a lit box of matches in my stomach ! Lol"
The Bears welcome the Pittsburgh Steelers to Soldier Field on Sunday afternoon and if the question marks from the "Lambeau Let-down:" "Will the real Cutler please show up and perform?"; "What now for the depeleted linebacker corp?"; "Must the secondary be so bad?"; wasn't enough for the Bears, hosting the Super Bowl champs to avoid going 0-2 surely will be. ["I am serious, and don't call me "Shirley." "Airplane!" Also, that's an amazing run-on sentence-Ed.]
The Steelers have been the apex predator in the food chain that is the AFC North for the better part of this decade and have made numerous runs deep into the playoffs including two Super Bowl victories with two different head coaches (half-chin, half-man, all-awesome, Bill Cowher and relative n00b, Mike Tomlin). The interesting aspect about Pittsburgh's success is how it has come in a variety of ways. Under Cowher the Steelers were a classically-styled, "3 yards and a cloud of dust" offense, led by the bruising Jerome Bettis and Ben Roethlisberger serving as a "game manager" of a quarterback; while their brutal defense slowly strangled the life out of even the most robust offenses. Currently with Tomlin at the helm, the defense has remained just as vicious but now sports more sophisticated blitz packages and their various schemes are much more effectively masked. The offense has evolved too, gone are the days of "rush on 1st down, rush on 2nd down, rush on 3rd down," the Steelers offense has become very opportunistic and will happily go vertical or run it down your throat depending on what the defense gives them.
Statistically Speaking is Tailgate's new weekly and numeric breakdown of the Bears authored by an abject and utter numbers idiot.
The Number:4!
As in: Rex Grossman threw four interceptions while wearing Jay Cutler's uniform on Sunday night against the Packers, dude tossed three picks in the first half alone, leading us to our next number...
184
As in: Green Bay's Aaron Rogers "only" threw for 184 yards in an efficient display of field general-ing and overall game management. But, hey, when your counterpart on the other sideline is tossing picks like it's going outta style and your defense consistently provides you with a short field to work with, you're only going to get 184 yards, a touchdown, no interceptions and a QB ranking of 92*. Note too, the fact that 50 of Rogers' yards came on the game-cinching, play-action, touchdown pass to Greg Jennings late in the fourth quarter...
You lost the season-opening game to your haterd rival, your star quarterback throws four picks and the defensive leader of your team is out for the season. "Other than that, how was the play, Bears fans?" An auspicious start to the season it ain't; but hey, at least Bears fans can still rely on a the given variables/QED-type proofs of Bears fandom, like, y'know: rooting for a below-average QB who throws more picks than TDs and counting on the always char-tacular secondary to give up a long touchdown, "Hey, this one was with less than two minutes left, neat!"
Fortunately, that last touchdown pass that Rogers connected to Jennings on should be the last action Nate Vasher gets for a long, long, time this season. Vasher who, empirical evidence now suggests, must've been possessed by the soul of Deion Sanders in his Pro Bowl seasons has been nothing but one big nagging injury and excuse-ridden, pitch-soaked torch in the Bears secondary in recent years and should be getting familiar with his next defensive assignment: guarding the bench.
They haven't even finished licking their wounds from their embarassing loss to the Green Bay Packers last night (more on that later) when the Bears received even MORE bad news: Brian Urlacher is out for the season with a dislocated wrist. You can argue that Urlacher isn't nearly the player he was a few years ago, but the impact his absence will have on the Bear defense is hard to deny.
Unless you've recently cancelled your newspaper and cable TV subscription, you know that Bears season kicks off this weekend. Sure, you can try and pace yourself to make it to Sunday night, but that jones for intense Bears talk should be kicking in just about...now.
So make the most of it at a special taping of the new season of The Chicago Huddle, WLS-TV/Ch. 7's weekly Bears show, today, 4 p.m. at ESPN Zone, 43 E. Ohio St. Bears tight end Desmond Clark and rookie receiver Johnny Knox will be the season's first guests on the show, taped before a live audience (um, that means you). Regular host Ryan Chiaverini will be joined by a rotating slate of Bears co-hosts including Clark, defensive tackle Anthony Adams and fullback Jason McKie.
The taping will feature live music from Chicago's Lee DeWyze Band, analysis by ESPN 1000 Bears reporter Jeff Dickerson and a local female audience liaison, selected after a month-long talent competition. Catch yourself in the studio audience when the show airs Sundays on ABC 7 at 10:30 a.m.
Start playing before you read to get your blood pumping! If @ work: headphones, natch!
Alright, NFL fans, we're a scant and approximate 10 hours away from the first, actual, live football snaps that will have mattered since February and I hope you have your iPods loaded with Jock Jams: Vols. 1-6. The game tonight should be an absolute skull-crushing collision of two very sophisticated troglodytic defenses that love doing what they do best, which is bruising and abusing the opposition's offense. A few things to keep an eye out for:
Tennessee's Offensive "be evolvin', yo!":
Kerry Collins is still under center and Vince Young is still trying to find his way. Meanwhile the other skill positions have all improved from last year.
Alright, that whole "Mile-High Showdown" went waaaay better than some people were predicting for fans of the Ursas and Cutler backers. Cutler showed steely poise while utterly "pwning" the Broncos tissue-soft secondary. Particularly on the 2-minute drill to cap the first half. Good stuff, Jay-Bot 5000, that's what the management expected when they traded away some draft picks and Kyle "Owie on My Finger" Orton back in April. Cutler was routinely connecting with former Terminator and current Bear tight end, Greg Olsen, who was practically camping out in the flat on play after play. Matt Forte was, predictably, awesome in limited action and Devin Hester decided to play like it was 2006 again. A good game and a good night to be a Bears fan.
...However...
There are some foreboding clouds approaching from the horizon. Issues about the offensive line (and yes, Orlando Pace, I'm talking about you) and also the Bears secondary is still oh-so-flammable.
He hasn't even played his first official game here, but already Bears quarterback Jay Cutler is getting the star treatment even when he's not wearing the shoulderpads and helmet. Michigan Avenue Magazine features a Q-and-A with JC accompanied by photos of him all gussied up in designer threads. The interview discloses that, among other things, he claims to not have had a girlfriend since college. Hmmm. Really?
Something tells me they're still booing in Denver, but now it's directed at someone other than Jay Cutler. When the prodigal quarterback returns to the home of his former team, wearing a Bears uniform no less, Broncos fans let him know loud and long that they didn't cotton to his various transgressions, from having the audacity to let himself be traded to dissing them on a Chicago radio station.
Somewhere around the third quarter, they were still booing but probably at a different target: Denver ownership and coaching for letting Cutler get away.
The home for spurious gridiron scuttlebutt and uninformed opinion returns! This week, the Ramblings discusses some alphabetical themes and concepts the casual fan should become familiar with prior to the NFL kicking off on Thursday, September 10: Tennessee v Pittsburgh.
A: As in "At long last our nationwide nightmare of no-NFL-on-TV is nearly at end!" Alternately, Detroit Lions fan may think: "Alas, our region-wide nightmare of losing many a NFL game is nigh!"
B: As in (and with the "Mile-High Showdown" approaching) "Boy, the Bears offense blitzkrieged the Broncos' baffled and bleary-eyed secondary all game long." Alternately, B is for Sabbath, Black as in the legendarily hard rocking Brits who composed this NFL audiofuel:
I dare you to listen to "Paranoid" while watching a game and not wanna hit something.
C: As in "Can Cutler cut the mustard?" Comparatively speaking (and by comparatively we mean by looking back at who the Bears had behind center for the past decade): YES! JayBot 5000 seems to be working through the mainframe glitches and targeting ticks that befall any programmed and artillery-capable cyborg.
The Cubs' Milton Bradley is not happy. So what else is new? Besides, he's now the Ricketts family's problem.
The White Sox have lost four in a row and five of their last six. The Bleacher Reporter ask if they're heading in the wrong direction. Hmmm...let me think about that one.
Don't let Jay Cutler's cool demeanor fool you. According to ESPN he's a little jittery about returning to Denver as a member of the Bears this Sunday. Elsewhere on the Bear beat, Matt Forte is looking for balance and Dusty Dvoracek is looking at a doctor this Friday.
As if running a triathlon (like the Chicago Triathlon this weekend) wasn't difficult, try throwing cold, rainy weather into the mix. Here at some tips for coping with that.
While the state debates video poker, the real thing is going on in a tournament in Arlington Heights tonight. Wanna play? Ante up here.
The Chicago Sky host a benefit this Friday to promote breast cancer awareness.
In their ongoing series on "Why Your Team Sucks", Deadspin turns its considerable wit to...your beloved Chicago Bears. Granted, they do this with every team, but still...ouch.
It may not mean much to first-year Denver Broncos coach Josh McDaniels, but you can bet there will be more than a few boos when new Bears quarterback savior Jay Cutler returns to the Mile High City for a preseason game this Sunday night.
Of course, McDaniels could be playing it close to the vest. His arrival to the Denver front office is one of the reason Cutler is now wearing the blue-and-orange of the Monsters of the Midway. The two didn't exactly see eye to eye and made no secret of it. Then there's the little matter of Cutler's trashing of the Denver fans.
The Bears' Desmond Clark, himself a former Bronco, thinks Cutler won't have any problems during this homecoming of sorts. Denver outside linebacker Mario Haggan would beg to differ. And so would this kid:
Boy, you have one inter-team spat... Even though the Bears are denying any rift between Brian Urlacher and new QB Jay Cutler, USA Today has concluded that the team is the new Dallas Cowboys.
Can we leave the poor guy alone? A documentary is being planned on Steve Bartman and the "incident".
Speaking of the Cubs, the middle of their lineup (Alfonso Soriano, Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez and Milton Bradley) are heating up at just the right time.
If the Illini make it to the Rose Bowl again, they can thank... Donovan McNabb?
If you join up with the Fork In The Road biking and dining group, will you be having a well-rounded meal?
The Chicago Huddle, a weekly Bears preview and recap show, is looking for a spokesperson to open each program. Looking at the photo on the front of the video, I can't for the life of me figure out what they're looking for.
The Chicago Women In Baseball League and the Chicago Gems baseball club will take their skills to a bigger audience when they conduct and exhibition prior to the start of a Schaumburg Flyers game during Women In Baseball Day
Bears training camp kicks off this week and Brian Urlacher will likely be having an entirely comfortable and reasonable discussion with Jay Cutler pertaining to what the Bears linebacker, allegedly, called the wunderkind qb. From the mouth of the washed up, former-Bear, Bobby Wade, Urlacher referred to Cutler as a "[redacted*]." You stay classy, Brian!
Tomorrow marks the official opening of the Bears training camp and with it, the kickoff of the Jay Cutler Watch, an intensive, potentially season-long dissection of the first Bears quarterback in decades to arrive in these parts not as a shell of his former greatness or a package of potential but an actual, functioning Big Time Quarterback.
Without even throwing a pass while wearing the blue and orange jersey yet, Cutler has excited local football fans like no other Bears quarterback since... well, since this guy...
This week a minor kerfuffle has surfaced south of the Mason-Dixon, in the state of Georgia to be precise, over a minor incident last fall involving Chicago's shiny, new quarterback, Jay "Better Than Rex Before I Take a Snap" Cutler. Seems that with Jay's then team the Denver Broncos rolling into the ATL for a November 16 matchup with the Falcons; Jay handed off (zing?) four $40 tickets to then active Georgia Bulldog quarterback and future NFL overall number one draft pick, Matt Stafford along with three other Bulldogs. The incident has raised very few hairs and even the typically Draconian NCAA has given the players and the University of Georgia a slap on the wrist, content to say, "Boys will be boys and wanna watch pro football games for free." True that!
(Editor's Note: With the beginning of the NFL's 2009 season only a short field goal away - training camps are scheduled to open in mid-July - our Marco Scola takes an early look at the people who will make the difference in the NFC North this season. Needless to say a certain new Bear quarterback will figure prominently - KG)
OFFENSE
QB Jay Cutler, Chicago
Cutler could be the missing piece of Chicago's offense that has failed to get a playoff birth since Super Bowl XLI.
RB Adrian Peterson, Minnesota
In Peterson's two years in the NFL, he's already established himself as the NFL's most dynamic running back, if not the NFL's best player.
FB Jason McKie, Chicago
McKie enters his 8th season, making him the most experienced fullback in the NFC North. He's protected Kyle Orton, Rex Grossman, Jim Miller, and played in Super Bowl XLI.
WR Calvin Johnson, Detroit
Last season, Johnson tied Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald for the most touchdowns (12) in only his second season in the NFL.
WR Greg Jennings, Green Bay
Jennings hauled in 9 touchdowns and 1,292 receiving yards last season, and that was his first season without Favre. Imagine what he can do with Rodgers, who now has experience.
TE Greg Olsen, Chicago
Little by little, Olsen is returning to his dominant form we haven't seen since he was a Miami Hurricane. This is the "decisive" year for Olsen, (3rd NFL Season) so he will be proving himself.
OL Chicago Bears
Chicago's locked and loaded to give Cutler the best protection Chicago has seen since the Super Bowl Season. They've signed Pro Bowler Orlando Pace, cut the dead weight of John St. Claire, and re-signed Roberto Garza and center Olin Kruetz.
While the percentages of male fans may not be all that surprising, there are some unexpected stats in there -- which team's fans are the best paid and most educated, for instance.
On the other side of town, the Cubs' top pick says he was hoping they would select him all along because he admires their history...
...which, as a Tribune article states, has been well documented on film.
A golf foursome with Ben Roethlisberger, Justin Timberlake and Michael Jordan? Somebody pinch former Chicago cop Larry Giebelhausen, because he must be dreaming.
Chicago's long history of heavyweight boxing add another chapter as Frez Oquendo takes on Gonzalo Basile in a June 26 bout.
Fire fan favorite C.J. Brown looks back on 12 years with the team.
Finally, meet the man who motivated Michael Jordan to greatness (by beating him out for the last spot on their high school basketball team): Leroy Smith. (If he looks a little like Charlie Murphy, that's purely coincidental, we're sure.)
So when Tony Dungy said signing Jay Cutler was risky for the Bears, did he stop to consider who the previous three or four Bears quarterbacks were?
Author Sarah Paretsky takes time off from documenting the exploits to private investigator V.I. Warshawski to discuss another dark subject: the Cubs. She compared Cubs fans to "tired women living with alcoholic men." Ouch.
If the news that Matt Hagan will trade the Shelor.com Funny Car body for a FRAM Tough Guard design on the Dodge Charger, you probably want to be at Route 66 Raceway this weekend.
Wipe your tears, Hawks fans. According to USA Today, the young team's gotta wear shades ('80s music reference).
Not only are Derrick Rose's academic endeavors at Memphis under scrutiny, but it looks like the grade hanky-panky extends back to high school.
So does this SAT probe mean anything for the next batch of NBA hopefuls, many of whom will be here in Chicago for the annual pre-draft camp?
Answering the cries of many Cubs fans, GM Jim Hendry says the trading of Mark De Rosa isn't the problem. Meanwhile, The Bleacher Reports thinks moving Alfonso Soriano to second is one of the answers. And if the sale of the team to the Ricketts family doesn't go through, Sam Zell says "don't worry".
So who's the most important Bear on the team right now? If you think the answer is obvious, think again.
Even with deep dish pizza and Italian beef sandwiches all over the place, Chicago is pretty average when it comes to fitness. We're 25th out of 50.
Someone found the Tampa Bay Rays 2008 AL Championship trophy in a thrift shop in Chicago. Well, not the ACTUAL trophy...
The Chicago Fire's Gonzalo Segares gets the "up-close-and-personal" treatment from Goal.com.
It sounds like a sweeps week "special report": Are playgrounds endangering our children? Watch "Not Just Fun and Games", a special investigative report...
If you were looking for the results of today's Cubs-Astros game, forget it. Rain washed it out.
For his uncharacteristic helmet-throwing incident, the White Sox' Jermaine Dye gets suspended and fined, meaning he's going to miss most of their series against Toronto.
Speaking of Chicago vs. Toronto, the Fire travel to the Great White North to take on Toronto FC this weekend. Other Fire news: the team has qualified for the 2009 SuperLiga tournament and kick off their annual Community Soccer Series net week.
Meanwhile, Chicago's other pro soccer team, the Red Stars have a budding star with the free-spirited midfielder Megan Rapinoe. Elsewhere, ESPN shows the Red Stars some by singing out goaltender Caroline Jonsson as one of the standouts in the Women's Professional Soccer League's inaugural season.
Vancouver is still trying to hold its collective heads up high after being bounced by the Blackhawks. But at least they don't welch on a bet.
If you had a brand-new boat (and really, in this economy, who doesn't?), the Chicago Park District has given you two new harbors.
Yahoo! Sports has the Bears finishing 11-5 this season. Hmmm...what changed?
As long as the Arena Football League is gathering mothballs, former Rush coach Mike Hohensee figures he's better earn a buck somewhere else.
Tired of movie dates, candlelit dinners and walks along the beach? Try antigravity yoga (among other alternative and physical date ideas).
New video game upstart retail outlet Play N Trade opens a new store in the Chicago area.
Seeking to assert their masculine superiority, the baseball-playing Schaumburg Flyers will take on the Chicago Bandits, the 2008 National Pro Fastpitch champions, in a fastpitch softball game. Why am I temped to bet the house on the Bandits?
While most of the city was busy appreciating the uhh, mercurial weather this weekend the Bears braintrust was buried deep within their secret lair miles beneath Halas Hall, throwing darts at boards; consulting seethers; busting out the voodoo priest they keep around for fun; all in the name of trying to figure out what players would best fit with the Bears system.
Thanks to the Cutler trade the management need not worry about those pesky first and second round draft selections*, and instead they prepared and studied the Zodiac charts for the 68th overall pick who turned out to be third rounder, Jarron Gilbert out of San Jose State. Gilbert, who checks in at a freakish 6'5", 290 lbs., and a 4.87!! 40 dash. Also, there's this little gem of youtubeage, granted, NFL paychecks aren't handed out for jumping out of swimming pool, but, cool! His dad is a former player with the Saints so the lineage is there and the athletic talent is definitely there for this former WAC Defensive Player of the Year.
Potential For Rookie Eruption: 6.9
Dude could really provide a huge amount of stability along the D-line and cause some major disruption* in opponent's backfields if he stays healthy, learns the Bears systems and gets better at keeping opposing offensive lines from beating him to the block.
Some think he's on his way to becoming the Joe Namath of Chicago. Others think it's just harmless hijinks. Either way, Jay Cutler is making a name for himself in the city before throwing his first touchdown. Satirical sports website Deadspin weights in on the latest addition to the growing Cutler legend. And lest you think he's a total party boy, there is his charitable foundation, although the website is still under construction. Maybe the bars were open late that day...
It might be well-nigh impossible to think about --what with the MLB season just getting started and both the Bulls and Blackhawks in the NBA and NHL playoffs, respectively-- but the all-consuming juggernaut of American sports, the NFL, announced its 2009 schedule today, and the Chicago Bears made out like bandits.
Not only are the Bears featured in no fewer than five primetime nationally televised games, but! they're also facing eight teams that finished with sub .500 records a year ago.
The Great Dewayne Wise Experiment is over. Ozzie's going with Chris Getz in the leadoff spot for tonight's game. Getz says he's ready for the change.
Bears tracks: Orlando Pace says he came here to play with a winner; Will Cutler fit in with the Bears, and if so, will he be throwing to this guy?
ESPN's much-ballyhooed (never thought I'd write that word) Chicagocentric website debuts Monday.
If you like your sports bloody and brutal (other than badminton, I mean), you probably already have your tickets to the upcoming World Extreme Cagefighting match at Allstate Arena
The Chicago area just missed out on another championship as the Chicago Mission lost in the title game of the USA Hockey Nationals.
The first-year Red Stars are looking to succeed where other Chicago soccer franchises have failed and their victory over St. Louis puts then on the right path. You can see for yourself at their home debut on April 19.
The Chicago Force kick off their 2009 season this Saturday, April 11, in Iowa vs. the Crush, before returing to North Park University for their home opener April 18 against the Wisconsin Warriors. You can hear head coach John Konecki discuss the upcoming season this Friday on AM 1240 (11 a.m.) and on WJJG-AM 1530 at 4:15 p.m.
Bears GM Jerry Angelo shocked the football world yesterday by acquiring Denver Broncos Quarterback Jay Cutler--Pro Bowl QB Jay Cutler that is-- The Bears filled a huge need with this move and it begs the question, who made this deal and what have you done with the real Chicago Bears?
Angelo never makes deals of this magnitude. On top of that, they signed free agent offensive tackle Orlando Pace. Another smart move made by the Bears. Instead of wasting a draft pick on such an important position they went out and got a decent player in Pace.
For probably the first time ever, the Chicago Bears have an all-Universe style quarterback! That's right blighted and abused Bears fans, it's time to put away the razor blades and for once, rejoice! Finally, after years and years of inattention the Bears management has gone out, grown a pair and made an earth-shattering trade. Granted, Kyle Orton is gone, and the Bears will be sacrificing first round picks in this draft and the 2010 draft, but, c'mon, the Bears have that all too rare commodity known as a "franchise quarterback" to accompany the burgeoning yard-consuming tank/running back/badger-man hybrid, Matt Forte, in the backfield. Thanks to some backroom shenanigans that the Denver Broncos high-ups tried to pull on missile launcher/delicate flower/Vanderbilt graduate, Jay Cutler, in their diabolical efforts to attain the relatively unproven quarterback, Matt Cassel, from New England; they completely jilted Cutler and drove him to that most prima donna of moves: the trade demand.
There may not be a casino in Chicago (yet), but there is definitely some gambling going on. The city is now on the hook for $500 million to host the Olympics, part of the state's $750 million guarantee.
The Cubs want a new spring training facility in Mesa, or else they're walking. And Cubs fans want to end 100 years of misery or...they'll be back next year.
They may have been so-so as a team last season, but as humanitarians, the Bears might belong in the Super Bowl.
Two coaches from the Chicago Force are probably glad the temperatures are going to be a bit warmer this weekend. They're getting their heads shaved for charity tomorrow. Meanwhile, the women'd pro full contact football team released their 2009 schedule.
The Windy City Rollers' home teams throw elbows in their next match this Saturday night at the UIC Pavillion.
Meanwhile, if you're up for a road trip, Chicago's other roller derby queens, The Outfit, have a bout-on-wheels near Grand Rapid, MIchigan.
Now that Terrell Owens has been released by the Cowboys, would he be a good fit for the Bears? And how long before he brings Kyle Orton to tears?
Speaking of Bears quarterbacks, a Sporting News blog says that Rex Grossman's eminent departure is bad news for Chicago. And while he is visiting Cincinnati, Dallas seems more than eager to welcome him there.
Sure Blackhawks defenseman James Wisniewski was as fan favorite, but Daily Herald sports blogger Tim Sassone says give his replacement, Sami Pahlsson, a chance.
Thornton High School rules the top spot in the Tribune's final boys high school basketball rankings. The highest Chicago school, De La Salle, finished third.
NBA.com writer David Aldridge gives props to Norm Van Lier and Red Kerr.
To paraphrase Douglas MacArthur, displace cheerleaders never die, they just hook up with other sports teams.
Registation may be closed, but there's still plenty of action to be had on and off the course as the annual Chiditarod runs this Saturday. Shopping carts have never seen this much action.
Good-night sweet prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest. Or at least a city who will better appreciate your, uhhh, unique skill set behind center. Ladies and gentlemen, Rex Grossman, the ham-fisted, turnover-prone, undersized and cannon-armed Chicago Bear quarterback is a Bear no more. Only the second Bears QB to lead the team to a Super Bowl, Grossman, never was warmly received by the fans, media or, seemingly, the organization and it showed in Rex's uneven performances throughout the years. For the Bears this an obvious and strong statement in making it clear (as if him starting all season long wasn't enough) that the Kyle Orton era is sooo on, so, get ready NFC North, or something like that. Meanwhile, for Rex the pursuit begins for him to find a roster spot as a starter: Helllloooo, Tampa, San Francisco. Or as an adequate second-stringer: Houston, Philly, I'm looking at you.
Clothing designer Novem has created the ultimate Chicago sports fan t-shirt.
Designed by Paul Deters, it features the mascots of every major league team in Chicago: a totem pole of White Sox, Cubs, Bulls, Bears and Blackhawks, with the Fire behind and Sky above.
It's available for $29 online or in their studio store at 1104 N. Ashland.
No matter how this thing with John Paxson and the Bulls shakes out, he may not be to blame for their current state. Might it be this guy?
For years now, Cubs fans have been making an Iraq-like surge and turning Milwaukee's Miller Park into "Wrigley Field North". Now the Brew Crew and Amtrak are looking to return the favor.
One blogger sees something sinister in the fact that the Cubs' pitchers and catchers report for spring training today and the calendar reads "Friday the 13th".
Is Carlos Quentin really Floyd Robinson, V 2.0? The two San Diego natives and White Sox outfield stars, separated by 40 years, recently met and compared notes.
MLB.com profiles the "father of black baseball", Negro League founder and Chicago American Giants owner Rube Foster.
It might be grabbing at straws, but a Tribune reporter says Favre's (possible) retirement will hurt the Bears. Yeah... that's it... that's what's hurting the Bears.
ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. sees the Bears going after Florida WR Percy Harvin... if they know what's good for them.
No Decepticons were in sight, but a Transformer IS making an appearance at the Chicago auto show.
Whitney Young, the top high school basketball team in the state, continues its quest for the city title with a quarterfinal game Sunday against CVS at the Pavilion.
Chicago vs. Tokyo in the battle for the Olympics: Might TV have the final word? If not, maybe a mural will sway the Olympic Committee.
If the Bears actually signed everyone who reportedly has expressed an interest in playing for them, think of the team! For now, throw T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Simeon Rice on the pile.
Are the Orioles fleecing the Cubs? One blogger seems to think so.
There's a movie being made about the Cubs (and no, it's not a disaster flick) and you can be in it.
While Dewayne Wise fights for a roster spot with the White Sox, the coaching staff will be watching closely.
Meanwhile, Sox PR chief Brooks Boyer explains the Obama Effect on the team's merchandising.
First, there was Barack Obama in the White House. Now there's Pat Quinn in the State House. Politically speaking, White Sox Nation just keeps getting bigger.
Speaking of the Sox, as SoxFest kicks off this weekend, Ozzie Guillen says the team will try "small ball"... again. And will Joe Crede join former Sox teammate Juan Uribe in Frisco? His potential replacement, Josh Fields, is wasting no time just in case he does.
Detroit WR Mike Furrey...free agent QB Chris Simms (son of Phil)...Super Bowl starter Kurt Warner...all rumored to be on the Bears radar. Really?
Does Richard Dent REALLY need someone to go to the NFL Hall of Fame committee and plead his case?
This is THE weekend for the Windy City Rollers, as they make their UIC Pavilion debut.
But don't forget to show some love to the city's other roller derby queens, The Outfit, as they host a benefit party tonight.
You'd think getting punched in the face and crotch, sometimes at the same time, would be high on the pain scale for a UFC star. But for one Hammond, Ind., there's something more painful: being a Cubs fan.
A Cubs fan still can't get over the loss of Mark DeRosa.
The 35th Street Review gives you 10 things to watch for in Chicago baseball, 2009. Meanwhile, the Sox Machine is looking for good relievers on the cheap.
Da Bears Blog lists the only three good things about this season's team.
Bear legend Dick Butkus (not to be confused with bupkes) announces the winners of his annual national college lineman award next Tuesday.
The local high school basketball playoff picture begins to take shape, the Derek Rose Shootout brings the best in city prep hoops under one roof and one local school hopes to derail the top team in the country.
Bulls legend Michael Jordan talks about his shoes. Well, not exactly his shoes, but THE shoe.
No matter how you feel about the Bears' prospects for advancing in the playoffs (should they make it), you have to be impressed by the way good fortune falls into their laps no matter how "meh" they've played this year.
On Sunday, everything they needed to happen to keep them in contention for a playoff spot, be it as the division winner or a wild card hopeful, happened. But before you send out Christmas thank-you cards to the Minnesota Vikings, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Philadelphia Eagles, there's a little matter of the Green Bay Packers tonight at Soldier Field with which to contend.
Of course, the Bears have the revenge factor on their mind, after the Packers pretty much embarrassed the Bears the last time they met. And they must win this game tonight (and the one next week against Houston as well) to remain in the playoff hunt. But an even better reason might be to pimpslap the Vikings, who are openly mocking the Bears' chances for victory. It may just be a psyche-out move on the part of the Vikes, but throwing it back in their face, no matter what happens in the playoffs afterwards, would still be sweet.
In any event, the football god are smiling on the Bears. This is no time for a "meh" in return.
When they last met, the Packers beat the Bears 37-3. While the Green Bay tries to figure out how to do it again, the Bears are working on how to avoid a repeat this Monday night.
The Bleacher Report asks: What if Terrell Owens was a Bear? We answer: All hell would break loose.
The Sporting News' reaction to the Wrigley Field hockey spectacular: meh.
Meanwhile, the Hawks' Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews are first and sixth, respectively, among forwards in NHL All-Star Western Conference balloting. Brian "Soup" Campbell is third in balloting for defensemen.
Bollingbrook and Whitney Young are at 10 and 15, respectively, in the rankings of the top 50 girls high school basketball teams. And on the boys side? De La Salle manages to squeak in at No. 44.
The Green Bay Packers roll into the Second City for what is sure to be a frigid season-finale for Monday Night Football that gridiron purists will be gushing over with hyperbolic talk of "majestic brutes colliding on the icy steppe of Soldier Field*," et cetera. And to a point, I can really see where these overblown notions come from, after all, we are talking about two of the most-storied and winningest teams in the annals of NFL history. To be certain a lot of the luster has been knocked off this matchup following Green Bay's midseason collapse --GB has dropped four straight since shellacking da Bears @ Lambeau. And Chicago still has less-than-a-snowball's-chance of making the playoffs. But, c'mon!, we're talking about the Packers and the Bears here, not the abomination against the forward pass that is Cleveland v Cincinnati.**
With the regular season rapidly coming to a close and with the Bears ever-fading playoff hopes looking dimmer and dimmer. For the record, the Bears need to win their remaining games and then pray that Dallas, Atlanta, Tampa Bay and Philadelphia all lose their remaining games for Chicago to have a chance at returning to the postseason for the first time since their Super Bowl run in 2006. But all is not lost as with the end of the season, come plenty of off-season plaudits (MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, et cetera) and amid those shiny baubles sits the Rookie of the Year award, a trophy that Chicago's very own rookie running back/generator of ALL* of the Bears offense Matt Forte could end up winning.
A Chicago consulting firm looks at how avatars might help in winning at online poker.
In local soccer new, the Fire's Soccer Development Academy plays in three matches while the Storm slate their own holiday appearances in the coming days.
Soup's on...and it's paying dividends for the Blackhawks
A French newspaper seems to think that the election of Barack Obama means softball will be back in the Olympics. Huh?
Are Thursday NFL games a "recipe for disaster"? Depending on when you read this, you may already have the answer.
In yet another seemingly meaningless game in the Bears end-of-season march to nowhere, the Monsters of the Midway duke it out tonight with the New Orleans Saints. Both teams are 7-6, both teams are on the outside looking in towards the playoffs and both squads will be relying on the wheel of fate to lead them to any possible playoff scenarios.
Anyway, the Saints offense is a mismatch nightmare for the Bears, uhh, less-than-stellar defense, to wit:
Blur-fast running back with deceptive power? Check. (Reggie Bush)
Blur-fast running back who also can line up as a wideout? Check. (Reggie, again)
Laser-guided ICBM accurate (and deadly) quarterback? Check. (Drew "I lead the NFL in yards" Brees)
Huzzah to the Chicago Bears for winning a game they should've won; now, where were these victories at the beginning of the season, when, y'know, the Bears controlled their own destiny (and path to the playoffs). Barring a miraculous quadfecta of events occurring --namely, Minnesota's entire starting lineup getting devoured by a starved pack of wolves, the Cowboys losing their next three games, the Buccaneers losing their next three games and, oh yeah! Chicago winning its next three games-- the Bears, in spite of Sunday's win, will be watching the playoffs from their couches. Coming up on Thursday night the Bears host New Orleans who at 7-6 (the Bears record, btw) are mired in last place in the hyper-competitive NFC South. I'll be back later in the week with a full preview of N'awlins v Second City.
You could read this and naively believe that the Bears have more than a snowball's chance in Hell at making the playoffs, of course, only to lose in the first-round; or you could resign yourself to the fact that the Bears suck and the Jacksonville Jaguars suck even more and that this game is nothing more than an exercise in futilely getting thru to the end of another season for both teams. As an abject realist --and no fan of the Bears-- Footballic Ramblings, staunchly supports the latter notion, yet the games must be played and someone has to preview them. Onward we trudge. Seriously, the Jaguars are pathetic this season, everyone with a few scattered brain cells knew that J-ville qb, David Garrard, would come back to Earth after his celestial 2007 campaign (18 TDs to 3 INTs) but this has been worse than even cynics expected.
Thanksgiving, that cherised, consumption-frenzied holiday of gorging on Butterball brand turkey, lamenting relatives and drinking to forget said relatives, comes with a veritable bounty of leftovers that slowly, but surely, find their way out of your fridge and into your arteries (as you slowly reach for another heaping portion of mashed potatoes). And of course, the NFL, that most all-American of the Big Four pro sports leagues, would never want to miss out on the opportunity to further saturate your sports-addled mind with more footballic fodder to cram out any thought of another league -- Derrick Rose? NB-whatta? Granted, most of the games this past weekend, especially, the Thanksgiving triumvirate of crap, were turkeys. [zing!-Ed.] But, much like your Aunt Mae who brings the same terrible and over-sugared sweet potatoes and marshmallow casserole, that you thought you liked that one time; the NFL means well, and with that in mind (and to get Bears fans' minds off the fact that they won't make the playoffs) Footballic Ramblings is happy to go to the NFL's kitchen and ransack their fridge with the leftover players and teams that have made this season better...or worse. [Eyes Detroit Lions warily.]
Lovie Smith is sort of like the Bluto Blutarsky of the NFL. Nothing is over until HE says it's over.
Nevermind that the Bears are a very weak 6-6 in the NFC North and have been thumped once again by Minnesota Vikings, this time getting punked 34-14 on national television. Nevermind that as impressive as their running game has been this season (thanks mostly to the emergence of Matt Forte), it will always be choked to death by confounding play-calling. Nevermind that when faced with teams who aren't the Detroit Lions or the St. Louis Rams, the Bears look like, well, the Detroit Lions or the St. Louis Rams. Nope, despite all of that, Lovie Blutarsky thinks the Bears still have a shot, even if that shot is a chance to look like crap in the playoffs and execute a quick one-and-done.
Fantasy Stud: Matt Cassel
The Patriots were on the verge of cutting young Matt Cassel. Now there is serious talk about the Pats franchise tagging him. Sure, he threw something like six hundred yards against the Jets, but anyone driving a bull dozer can still knock over a building. I promise you, Matt Cassel will be this decade's Scott Mitchell. He may be hot stuff now, but he will fail his next team.
Fantasy Dud: Lee Evans
Dick Jauron is constantly praising his young quarterback protégé, Trent Edwards. While Edwards may have lost some confidence during the Bills' recent, it is in the young man's best interests to try to connect to the best deep threat outside of Boston.
I heard people all Monday afternoon saying how they were going to win this week if Lee Evans scores .43 points or some impossibly low number. No one could foresee Lee to pull in zero catches against a marshmallow soft Browns D.
Real Life Stud: Ryan Grant
Mike Brown rocked him a handful of times. The kinds of hits that makes Grant's mother wince and eyes well up with tears. Grant was hard to get up, but still trounced us for a buck forty five and a touchdown.
Yes, the same Ryan Grant that we all dubbed as fantasy bust of the season. I recommend him as a second half trade option. He will have more good games. Grant does have one more game against the Bears, after all.
Real Life Dud: Terrell Owens
Romo is back and TO still looks tired at best. Is Owens' time as a dominant receiver over? Will his bark end up being much bigger than his bite? Do we cue the sad music from the Hulk as TO walks towards the sunset?
I'll remember his prime, dubbed over with some awful Lil' Wayne song
And the Cubs post-season post-mortem examination continues, with Lou Pinella blaming that old standby, the media, while Ryan Dempster says the team flatout wasn't ready. Hey guys, sorry, no do-overs.
Meanwhile, the White Sox, who seems to have come to grips with their playoff loss, work on keeping Bobby Jenks around. But did Nick Swisher phone it in for much of the season?
Four area college soccer teams have made it to the NCAA tournament.
It was bound to happen after that embarrassing loss to the Packers: The "Fire Lovie" talks are heating up. Here is one blogs' 10 reasons why he deserves the ax. Meanwhile, Fanhouse questions Lovie's assessment that the Bears receivers are "pretty good".
The Bulls' Derrick Rose sits atop most Sports Illustrated NBA writers' list of early top rookies. Naturally.
It's not the major draw it used to be, but prep football is still a big deal in Chicago. The Catholic League is gearing up for its title game, pitting Loyola Academy against De La Salle.
A disabled cyclist bikes 1,064 miles from Jacksonville, Fla. to Chicago. His final destination? Where else: Oprah.
The Chicagoland Bicycle Federation gets a new name.
The Chicago Outfit wants YOU... well, that is, if you're a female and don't mind getting knocked around a little. There's a recruitment Q&A tonight at 9:30
If you haven't had enough of cornhole, and really who has (OK, put your hands down), there's a Thanksgiving tournament coming up called the "Turkeyhole Classic" coming up here in Chicago. No, really.
As the few flurries this week and the piles of dead leaves showing up on the side streets of Chicago indicate fall is slowly bleeding into winter and with those indicators of the mercury, indeed, dropping for the season; inexorably, the divisional title chases are heating up in the NFL. In no division is this season of chase more competitive than in the Bears home division of the NFC North, the Bears and Vikings are tied for first, while the Green Bay Packers are a mere game behind in the win column. And lo! if those same green and yellow clad 'Sconnies aren't hosting your Chicago Bears this weekend in a must-win for the Pack and a "should-win" for the Bears. According to fans on both sides, Packers v Bears is more than a mere clash of divisional foes, both squads are in the top 5 in all-time victories, more often than not the winner of the twice-a-season clash claims the crown. Granted, over the course of the past decade the rivalry has lost some luster with the Packers being dominant as the Bears struggled and vice-versa; and yet, here we sit in Week 11 of the NFL season and this weekend's clash at Lambeau Field will have a direct impact on the chase for the division title and the coveted playoff berth. The Packers, after dropping to Minnesota last weekend, simply must win this game to keep up with their neighbors. For the Monsters of the Midway, winning this game is another step towards reclaiming the NFC North crown and getting back to where they were in 2006, ie: a deep playoff run.
The Bears and Green Bay Packers have met 176 times in their 85-year history together and very rarely (if ever) have the Packer fans been accused of being witty, clever or insightful. As they prepare to meet again this Sunday in Wisconsin, this editorial cartoon from the Green Bay Press Gazette shows that opinion isn't going to change anytime soon. Seriously, this is the best they could come up with?
Say what you will about being 0-9, in complete disarray and basically sucking to high heave, at least you know who you are, to paraphrase Dennis Green). There's no quibbling about potential and inconsistent play and whether Player A should be starting over Player B or what kind of impact the loss of Player C will have. You suck and that's that.
Which brings us to the Bears and their maddeningly frustrating mediocrity.
Sunday, November 2, 2008, is the date that I started caring about the Chicago Bears season, why? A simple answer really [cue up "Sexy Back" by Justin Timberlake] because on that fateful day we fans of the NFL were privileged to view the return of Rex Grossman to starting quarterback for the Chicago Bears! Grossman, aka: Sexy Rexy, aka: Sex Cannon and with his return brings the tightrope-wire-act sense of drama that I, as a NFL fan, demand. I want to witness the taut unease Bears fans will have every time Rex takes a snap, "Will he throw an interception?" "Will his baby-sized hands fumble away another snap?" I want to bear [Hey! a pun-Ed.] down and stare at Bears fans as they pray for Grossman to be injured or that he simply complete a pass. This, friends, is human drama and this is why I watch the Bears. So, please, Kyle Orton, take your time healing up that bum ankle, okay, buddy?
Fantasy Stud of the Week: Donald Driver
Basic Bears fandom dictates that I should never put a Packer here, but Driver put in a valiant effort against the undefeated Titans. He caught nine balls for 136 yards and a touchdown. I've always respected Driver's game and his low low prices on a new Buick.
Fantasy Dud of the Week: Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor
Despite being fully aware of their offensive line injuries, this once feared tandem couldn't muster 50 combined yards against the bumbling Bengals. They have been iffy every week and are slipping to third and fourth running back spots on fantasy teams
Putting up a total of 45 rushing yards? That's bad.
Being out-rushed 104 to 45 by Cedric Benson? That's embarrassing.
Real Life Stud of the Week: Tyler Thigpen
I know wacky formations (et al Wildcat) are all the rage in the NFL now, but Thigpen had one of the more memorable plays of the 2008 season. He almost lead the lowly Chiefs to a win against Tampa.
Ok, now you can ask "Who the hell is Tyler Thigpen anyway?" like I know you want to. He's the Chiefs starting QB. Kinda like the white Tavaris Jackson.
Real Life Dud of the Week: Brian Urlacher
The Lions deserved to beat us, they out played us for the majority of the game. Thankfully, we played well in crunch time and sealed the win, but it was with no help from Urlacher. His three tackles and poor patrolling of mid field did little to help us. It's no wonder that everyone refers to Mike Brown as the emotional leader of the defense.
Shocking stat: Corey Graham (a back up corner back) has the same number of tackles this year as Urlacher. For shame, Brian.
Losing Kyle Orton is like having your car break down. The issue isn't with you not having you car, it's dealing with having to ride your bike to work. The unreliable contingency plan can make any one uneasy.
Sometimes, you catch good luck. There's little traffic, the weather is good and you seem to get to work in great time. Sometimes, perhaps like next Sunday, you might have to ride through a snowstorm traffic jam. Enter said snowstorm traffic jam.
Any of us Bears fans can rant all week about this horrifying development, but it's exhausting. The close games this season alone have taken too much of a toll on me to start complaining about this new predicament. That's not to say I'm feeling good after we were doled out this bad hand, losing our potential savior in Orton.
The same arguments against Rex we've been using for five years still ring true. I don't need to reiterate those painfully familiar points. It's funny how a simple ankle sprain may have knocked us out of the playoffs. That's not pessimism, that's being realistic. Rex's body of work has taught us to be nothing but cautious and worried.
I'll be sitting around next Sunday afternoon watching the biggest game of the Bears season coming up against the undefeated Titans. I actually think that we have a realistic chance of beating the undefeated Titans (pending our defensive execution, but that's another story all together). Thanks to Rex, come Sunday, I'm certain I'll be sighing excessively. It is, as of yet, indeterminable if those will be sighs of relief or disappointment.
At the risk of having to admit I was wrong, with regards to Bears quarterback Kyle Orton, well, I was wrong.
There. I've said it. Never though I would, but there you have it.
It takes a big man to admit that he is wrong, and at 6-3, 226, I figured it was about time. See, there's this thing I wrote here a while back, that was typed out with such conviction that I figured there was no way it wouldn't come to pass (no pun intended). I mean Kyle Orton? Starting NFL quarterback? Fifth in the NFC in passer rating (91.4), better than Eli Manning, Jake Delhomme and Marc Bulger? Averaging 238 yards per game? Fifth in the conference in touchdowns with 10 and only four interceptions? That's Kyle Orton? Seriously?
Yeah, seriously, which makes my "prediction" not worth the paper it's not printed on. (Note to Gapers Block editors/webmasters: Consider deleting all postings a week after they've gone up to save, you know, space or something).
At the midway point of this NFL season the Bears are tied for first in the knuckle-dragging, Cro-Magnon-styled NFC North; the Brady-less Patriots are still a force in the AFC; and the hapless, comically-terrible, Lions and Bengals are both in last place, in their respective divisions, with a combined 15 losses and NO wins between the two of them. So without further ado, Footballic Ramblings is pleased to hand out the good, bad and ugly of the first half of the 2008 season.
First and foremost*, the one and only NeckBeard Orton has been sensational for the heretofore sluggish, predictable and inept, Bears offense. Orton has been beyond capable in leading the Ursas to their 4-3 records.
Not a big fan of the ultimate fighting myself (Saturday nights in Wrigleyville about 10 years ago... Been there, done that). But for those who are, this is a big weekend in UFC-land, including a weight-in and Q&A open to the fans on Friday at the Chicago Theater. The main event, of course, is Saturday at the Allstate Arena.
If you think you want to give it a shot yourself, there are tryouts on Monday. Note: There will be blood.
Not to be outdone, UFC's bastard cousin, pro wrestling, has a bunch of events lined up in the coming days as well on the local level.
USA Today is as surprised at Kyle Orton as we are.
A Chicago woman is at the center of a controversy on how marathons are timed. The recent Chicago Marathon also has a mini-controversy base on the timing system.
The Windy City Rollers crack the seal on their new home, the UIC Pavilion, with a match against the Carolina Rollergirls. Oh, and there's supposed to be free beer!
The bye-week Bears talk about their scariest Halloween costumes. Probably not as scary as their game against Atlanta, but still...
The Minnesota Vikings' Bernard Berrianexpects boos when he returns to this old stomping grounds at Soldier Field this Sunday. C'mon Bears fans, don't let him down.
If his contract doesn't discourage the White Sox from resigning him, Ken Griffey Jr.'s recent knee surgery might.
Evanston remembers one of his favorite sons, former MLB pitcher Kevin Foster.
Speaking of favorite sons, new Wolves head coach Don Granato is happy to be back home as he prepared for the team's home opener Saturday night.
Remember the Cubs' "fan" who tried to auction off his loyalty on eBay? He may have found a buyer and a kindred spirit in the Boston Red Sox.
In the battle of sports radio on Chicago (well, it's actually just a two-horse race), WSCR-AM has taken the lead.
De La Salle's Mike Shaw is being touted by ESPN as the "next big thing" in Chicago high school basketball.
Even if you're not entered in this weekend Urbanathlon, you can still go down and enjoy the party.
The Windy City Rollers are holding tryouts. If you think you have what it takes (and can come up with a clever alias like "Val Capone" or "Lucy Furr"), come to a scrimmage preview on Monday. Incidentially, the WCR All-Stars made it to the national finals in Portland, Oregon.
It doesn't help that the economy is currently in or headed directly for the proverbial crapper, but the price of tickets to sporting events show no sign of coming down to meet the slightly thinner pockets of the buying public, according to an article on "Medill Reports".
Currently, the average ticket to a Cubs' game rose to $42.49 in 2008, according to the report, a 42 percent increase from 2004. And that two-parents-two-kids-at-the-game measuring stick they're always using in the yearly reports on how much a day at the ballgame will cost (officially known as the Fan Cost Index)? This season it was $251.96 for a Cubs game. And it doesn't appear likely to come down even with the "occurances" of this past season.
The Bears were the most expensive ticket in town at an average price of $88.33. The White Sox were a better baseball bargain with an average ticket price of $30.28 and an FCI of $214.61. The Blackhawks were the city's best professional sports value at $34.88, although that could change next year if the team makes the progress everyone expects.
Yesterday I started an amazing, sprawling and insightful analysis of the Bears, the NFL, and various theorems about the laws of space and time. Then I went to my internship, paid a HUGE cell phone bill, had a generally sh*tty day and decided to get trashed on vodka, whiskey and beer, all the while pumping this tune on the juke: ">
Suddenly!, it's Thursday evening I've got a screaming headache and I'm wondering to myself, "What the Hell Happened?" Which is a sentiment far too many Bears fans are feeling this week after the debacle in Atlanta this past Sunday.
I never was a Rivers fan, but he is saving my season and setting secondaries ablaze. Who would have figured he would have thrown 306 and 3 tuddies (with no INTs) against the New England defense? It's not like the absence of that handsome scamp Tom Brady should have made the defense that much worse.
There are Chargers and there are Super Chargers. Super Chargers are the types of warriors that songs are written about. Rivers is of the latter.
Fantasy Dud of the Week: Eli Manning
Eli reaffirmed his position as the lesser of the brothers Manning by tossing away a gimme win on Monday night. His three interceptions cost the reigning champs a win over the struggling Browns. What's embarrassing is he threw those three interceptions to players you have probably never heard of. More embarrassing yet, I started Eli over Philip Rivers.
Real Life Stud of the Week: Mario Williams
Mario Williams is not just showing the world that he was worth that first pick overall and all that money, but is slowly convincing pundits that he is the best end in football. He had two sacks and fumble forced and helped his Texans get their first win. Mario Williams eats good quarterbacks and craps out David Carrs.
Real Life Dud of the Week: Cedric Benson
Yeah, I said "Cedric Benson"! He rushed for a paltry six yards against a painfully so-so Jets defense. His team really could have used a spark from the running game and he disappointed in typical Benson fashion. His eternal rival, Thomas Jones, helped the Jets destroy Benson's Bengals with three touchdowns.
And yes, I will continue to beat this dead horse until there is no horse left
As if the Bears' now-you-see-it-now-you-don't victoryloss (a new word coined just for Lovie Smith's boys) to the Atlanta Falcons weren't enough of a bummer, guard Terrance Metcalf has been suspended for four games for violating the league's steroid policy. Metcalf, who had won the starting guard job and appeared in every game so far this season, denies he used anabolic steroids, while Smith says, "When you make a mistake like that, there are consequences that go with it," indicating there seems to be a difference of opinion on whether Metcalf broke the rule intentionally or not. In his defense, Metcalf didn't test positive for steroids, only a diuretic which is often used to hide steroids.
With 11 seconds remaining on the game clock, the bar I work at in Logan Square was erupting with high fives, shouts of "F*ck yeah, Bears!," and more high fives. 11 seconds later, the bar was a sea of despair and bitterness directed at Jason Elam (ATL's kicker who nailed the game-winner as time expired) and the Bears coaching staff for calling such a stupid plan as a squib kick. Seriously? a squib kick? That's how you ice a game in the NFL? The Bears coaching staff gave away a sure-victory after one of NeckBeard's most impressive and heroic drives of his young career. Orton directed an amazing and controlled two-minute drill culminating in a touchdown pass to Rashied Davis with 11 seconds and then -- coaching staff meeting -- "What if we just squib kick it? That'll force the defense to show us that they really want it." "Yeah!" "Great Idea!" "The defense hasn't been trying hard enough! Slackers!" Squib kick, long Matt Ryan completion, field goal. Game. Set. Match. Gnash your teeth, Bears fans. Now is the spring of your discontent.
Oh, sure, since they're in first place in the NFC North and Kyle Orton has proven to be a little less than sucky, everybody is fighting for Bears tickets. But what happens when the bloom is off the neckbeard, er, rose? Hopefully, it won't happen this Sunday when they take on the Atlanta Falcons.
The weekend fast approaches and the Bears have another test against the startlingly proficient Atlanta Falcons. The Dirty Birds -- who were supposed to be dwelling in the basement of the NFC South -- have been relying on a power-running game led by, previous LaDainian Tomlinson-backup/jackhammer-human dynamo hybrid, Michael Turner, to claw [talon? they're birds? okay, doesn't matter-Ed.] their way to second in the NFC South behind front-runner Carolina. Not everything has been sunshine and lollipops in the ATL as the Falcons have been wracked with inconsistent line play leading their offensive horse (uhh, Turner) to stutter in and out of first gear at times. To wit: when Michael Turner rushes for over 100 yards the Falcons win! When Turner manages fewer than 100 yards --and this is where your ears should be perking up Bears fans-- the Falcons lose. In their two losses, to Tampa and Carolina, the Turner Machine was held to 42 and 56 yards respectively.
Fantasy Stud of the Week: DeAngelo Williams
While there wasn't a monster performance this week, but perennial waiver pick up DeAngelo Williams sealed a victory for the Panthers against the lowly Chiefs. His three total touchdowns helped a small minority of fantasy owners brave enough to start him. That start was almost as brave as picking your nose while in a live studio audience. You know despite how much you want to, you will end up on You Tube.
Fantasy Dud of the Week: Ryan Grant
In what should have been a gimme 100 yard game against the Falcons. Instead, he rushes for 84 pitiful yards and has yet to eclipse 20 fantasy points. He is definitely looking like this year's Michael Clayton: amazing rookie year, horrible second year that ruins my fantasy team and, thusly, contributes to me losing my precious pool buy in.
Real Life Stud of the Week: Kyle Orton
I really don't need to point out what he did on the field. I won't discredit him picking apart the Lions like vultures would a man with no legs crawling through the desert. I'm more shocked that I am actually giving Orton this much credit, going as far as calling him a "stud". I never thought I would see the day. Our drunkunkempt little boy is becoming a man before our eyes.
Real Life Dud of the Week: Sage Rosenfels
The Texans were in cruise control in the fourth quarter. They were up by two possessions on division rival Indianapolis. Sage tried boldly to create a first down by dramatically driving into Colts defenders, but got beaten up badly just like a guy named Sage would. He fumbled again, allowing the Colts to tie and then threw an interception to hand the Colts the easiest victory they've had since Superbowl XLI. Sigh...
A month into the season and the Monsters of The Midway are standing all alone in first in, the admittedly, weaker-than-anticipated NFC North. The Vikings quarterback situation is a joke, the Packers offensive line, defensive line and running attack are, respectively, discombobulated, cobbled together with spare parts and non-existent. Meanwhile, the Bears latest victim, Detroit, isn't even in the same calling area as a regular NFL team. So who should emerge from this scrum of mediocrity but the Chicago Bears, the opportunistic Sons of the Second City, who have won their 3 games in a plethora of fashions already, see: special teams/defense against Indy; "effort" and that most mythic concept called luck against Philly; and bludgeoning a vastly inferior opponent with defense and newly rebuilt NeckBeard Orton who has no problem gunning for 334 yards! Seriously, Orton, welcome to the NFL, please, do this against a better "team" than Detroit. In the meantime, get your drank on, baller. You earned it for at least one week.
So dry your moist eyes and let the Bears mend your broken baseball-hearts, Chicago sports fans. The Bears have a most winnable and most excellent [Bill and Ted, really? -Ed.] chunk of the season ahead of them with mercurial, but mostly crappy Atlanta coming up this week; followed by QB-less Minnesota at home, the always "dangerous" bye week and than another tilt with featherweight Detroit. The Bears could very easily run their record to 6-2 by Election Day.
Fantasy Stud of the Week: Brett Favre
It turns out Favre is still nimble enough exploit the worst secondary in the NFL for six touchdowns. While his feat did look effortless, I'm surprised that someone who has played during five (six coming soon) presidential terms has not had one six touchdown game yet.
I could have sworn even Steve Buerlein threw six in a game.
Fantasy Dud of the Week: Michael Turner
Turner looks like a dynamo everyday starter then ends up stinking up the joint every other week. When Turner has at least 20 rushes, the Falcons win and Turner rushes for an 8.0 yard average.
When it's under 20, the Falcons lose and he doesn't crack 3.1 ypc. I'm no mathematician, but maybe Coach Mike Smith should check his work and change his game plan.
Real Life Stud of the Week: Larry Johnson
I'm surprised that my co-Week 2 Fantasy Dud of the Week actually performed as well has he did this last week. Larry rushed for 198 yards on a so-so 49ers defense, giving his Chiefs their first win.
He helped take the wind out of division rival Denver's sails. I'm surprised this happened as I pegged Larry Johnson to be on the Shaun Alexander "washed up by age 29" program.
Real Life Dud of the Week: Kurt Warner
While the old timer did keep the game close against the Favre-led Jets with 472 yards passing, he single handedly lost the game with three lost fumbles and three interceptions.
That is what we here in Chicago call a Grossman-esque performance.
Definite Start: Marshawn Lynch
The Rams are in complete turmoil. Marc Bulger has been benched, offensive leaders are fed up and the defense is in disarray.
This is a perfect opportunity for Beast Mode to steal away a few tuddies while the Rams aren't looking. It's like stealing candy from a baby who is too busy arguing with other babies.
Avoid like a fantasy football leper: Any Bears player
I was very wrong last week about who to sit, so I'm playing it safe this week. Considering how scary the Eagles defense looked and how pedestrian Kyle Orton was, I would take a pass on any Bear. That includes Matt Forte. I know you're inkling to use him now before Lovie overuses him and grinds him into dust. Next few weeks will be better, I promise.
Proceed with caution: Adrian Peterson
This "proceed with caution" designation I put on Peterson is in, no way, a knock on his abilities. I'm just wary that with the nicks and scratches he already has will slow him down against, possibly, the best defense in the NFL in the Titans.
I'm sure Peterson will read this and seek to personally prove me wrong by having an amazing game. In fact, I'm fairly certain I will be wrong. Just like I was wrong about how that girl in accounts payable liked me.
Sleeper of the week: J.T. O'Sullivan
While J.T. is breathing new life into the Niners, this could be the game where he ascends to Kurt Warner-esque legend. He is playing against the incredibly soft Saints secondary and may be poised to establish himself as the newest rags to riches quarterback.
Somewhere in a dark room, Mike Martz is laughing maniacally as his plan is coming to fruition. Lord knows what he'd do with
Fantasy Stud of the Week: Ronnie Brown
The Dolphins pseudo-starting running back is unquestionably Week Three's top performer. He rushed for four touchdowns and threw one more in a Tomlinson-esque performance.
Sadly, it appears that only 22 percent of Ronnie Brown owners (in Yahoo leagues) started him. You missed possibly the best fantasy performance of the season because you preferred to start Selvin Young. Good pick, pal.
Fantasy Dud of the Week: Vernon Davis
In three games, Vernon Davis has caught four balls, including one miserable catch against the abysmal Lions' D. I think it's high time we've labeled the 2006 6th overall pick a bust. It's Mike Mamula all over again.
Real Life Stud of the Week: Brian Griese
As much as it pains every fiber of my die-hard Bears fan body, I will give credit where it is due. I'm surprised his arm didn't fall off after tossing 67 passes. He marched downfield, systematically picking apart the Chicago defense.
However, it doesn't hurt that Jeremy Trueblood threw a few punches that instigated a fracas for which the Bears were penalized. Trueblood says he retaliated when his genitals were grabbed by a Bears player. Tommie Harris denied it happened, but provided this gem of a quote.
''Yeah, the same way my junk got grabbed during the game. That happens, so guard your junk.''
You can't make that up.
Real Life Dud of the Week: The Steelers O-Line
The Eagles had their way with Ben Roethlisberger. They belittled Big Ben with seven sacks (not including one on Byron Leftwich) and constant pressure. When you have $102 million invested in a franchise quarterback, I might recommend throwing some blocks to protect him, even if they're holds. It's like the President was protected by blind Secret Service agents.
The luster of the Bears week one throttling of the Indianapolis Colts is finally beginning to wear off after two straight weeks of "come-from-ahead" losses to the Panthers and Buccaneers. And Bears fans must be asking themselves, "How can we preserve a double-digit lead in the second half?" For me the answer is simple: "Durr, play better on offense.*" Instead of running conservative plays and formations that defensive coordinators and linebackers alike get giddy at the mere sight of; mix it up a little (okay, a LOT). On Sunday's loss to Tampa there was a string of possessions at the end of the fourth quarter and in overtime where the Bears rushed 7/10 times. Granted, the team was having success with the run and Matt Forte is a beast-in development, but c'mon! the crowd I was slinging beers to all day long knew exactly what was coming and so did the defense. Meanwhile, the rote play-calling led (for the second straight week) to Chicago's aging --BUT! still talented-- defense to being on the field for far too many snaps. When Tampa went to a no-huddle in the middle of the fourth it was because the Bucs coaching staff saw exactly how winded the Bears defense was after every snap.
For the second straight game the Bears took a double-digit, second half lead and managed to squander it thanks to an old culprit: unimaginative offensive play-calling, and a new culprit: stupid penalties in overtime. [Hey! We can lose games in all sorts of manners heretofore unthought of! Go US! --ed.] Yes, for the Bears faithful it was a case of deja vu all over again as a dominating run game + TWO! touchdowns from NeckBeard + plenty of turnovers caused by the defense = Defeat? At the hands of Brian Griese?
This time around the Bears had managed to build a 10-point lead with a mere five minutes left in the game and fans across Chicagoland were beginning to breathe easy, when that lurking monster known as foolish game-management reared its ugly head and the Bears offense began to piss away the game. Granted, with a 10 point lead in the fourth quarter your one concern is to merely get the win; but with a stagnant passing game and a predictable running attack you would hope that the offensive "geniuses" on the Bears sideline could come up with a better attack for the final five minutes of regulation and overtime than rushing plays on 9 of 12 snaps. Meanwhile, the Buccaneers went with a no-huddle offense for the majority of the fourth and overtime forcing the Bears winded and rapidly aging(?) defense to continually line up and attempt to stymie the out-of-nowhere heroics of Brian F*cking Griese.
Stay tuned, Bears fans, the season is doesn't get any easier with next week's matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles.
In any case if you're a Bears fan in need of some cheering up after, yet another, lackluster defeat, here's the first video that turns up when you search "Bears" on Youtube:
Yes, the Bucs did perform some chenga tu ursa on Sunday, why do you ask?
Holy Hell! If you don't like the Bears, then please, do yourself a huge favor and completely ignore the early-slate of games on Sunday. I warn you, dear reader, watching too much of any of these games could cause you permanent retinal scarring. More on that later, first, let's talk about your* beloved Chicago Bears.
Chicago Bears return specialist/humiliator-of-would-be-tacklers/wormhole and time travel enthusiast Devin Hester has some minor cartilage damage in his ribs, according to this Tribune blurb. Seriously, though, what did the Bears expect? I mean, Hester is an all-world talent who also happens to bend the rules of space and time to magically avoid all defenders. Time travel is dangerous, people.
When you're talking about football games and what happened and how team A beat team B, there lurks the constant menace of slipping into cliché. However, in the case of the Bears' ugly loss Sunday under the hot, hot, sun of North Carolina, the Bears, indeed, became the rote cliché of the team with an early lead who then grew far too conservative in sitting on said lead.
No, we didn't expect the Bears to beat the Colts last Sunday night either. But if they're going to build on that, there are three things they must do to beat the Carolina Panthers this Sunday.
Even if they don't win the game, the Bears are still scoring touchdowns at the bank.
Arguing over who gets the last drumstick is one thing. But a Cubs-White Sox World Series could drive one family nuts.
REALLY old school White Sox fans will mourn the death of former manager Don Gutteridge.
Current White Sox star Carlos Quentin hopes to be healthy by the playoffs. Question is: will he be playing or watching?
Patrick Kane and Jonathan Towes, the Blackhawks' Teen Titans (OK, they're not really teens but it's not far off) get some more (inter)national publicity.
From Kansas City to Chicago on a bike: Are gas prices THAT high?
The marathon gold-medalist from this year's Olympics, Constantina Tomescu-Dita of Romania has joined the field (pdf) of runners for the 2008 Chicago marathon. Hopefully, we'll have better weather this year.
The Sky take on the New York Liberty in their next-to-last game of their WNBA regular season.
Chicago teams finished third, fourth and fifth in the 2008 North American Gay Amateur Athletic Association Gay Softball World Series.
You're in Lisle. You're riding your bike. You have a hankering to see a play. What are you going to do?
In case you were living in a cave on Mars with your fingers firmly plugged into your ears this weekend; -- or, conversely, you're a Cubs fan simply too wrapped up in what could be a collapse of epic proportions -- the NFL season did start this past weekend and your* Chicago Bears managed to upset AFC alpha-dog Indianapolis in Indy's brand, spankin' new stadium, in front of an national audience. If you neglected to read my, ahem, "must-read," take on da Bears season opening victory, I'll paraphrase it for you and state simply that these Bears have got a ton of work to do and truly received a gift from the Gods of Football to have caught the Colts when they were still a bit rough-around-the-edges. Trust me, the Colts are a very good team that will more than likely advance far into the playoffs. The Bears -- if they make the playoffs at all -- will be the sacrificial lamb of the postseason and will all too mirthfully check out against the power players of the NFC (see: Cowboys, Dallas.)
However, there were some true positives for fans of the Midway Monsters and not least of all was the emergence of rookie Matt Forte as a burgeoning celestial entity in the Bears Universe. Forte dropped 123 yards and a TD in his first career start, allowing all Bears fans to, at least for one night, forget the reign of terror that was the Cedric Benson Era. Additionally, hirsute and hard-drankin'** Kyle Orton made the term "game manager" never sound more sweet as he simply didn't f*ck up in handing the ball off and making easy passes look, well, easy. The season is young, oh, so young! and a lot remains to be seen, but I maintain, that even with the Bears seemingly easy win on Sunday night: Buyer Beware!
For one very pleasant early-fall evening the Chicago Bears turned back the clock and returned to their 2006 "Let's go to the Super Bowl" version, complete with smothering defense and a battering ram of a running game.
The defense, which was so ineffective last season, harried Mr. All-Universe Quarterback, Peyton Manning, into what for Manning was a most pedestrian game. Meanwhile, on the other side of the ball the Bears very own neckbeard aficionado and game management expert, Kyle Orton, was his shrewd and modestly effective self; passing for a "meh" 150 yards, no TDs and -- most importantly -- no interceptions. Instead of trying to single-handedly win the game with his arm ...cough, cough, Grossman, cough... Orton did what he had to through the air and relied on the ground game to run the clock out and to wear down Indy's admittedly depleted defensive line.
However, before the city of Chicago starts buying into this season's Bears team as some slayer of Goliaths, CAVEAT EMPTOR!! The Colts on Sunday night were groggy as all f*ck. With Manning sitting out the entire pre-season thanks to off-season knee surgery; he was not in-sync with his receivers. Additionally, the depleted Indy and offensive and defensive lines were a boon from the football gods for the Chicago squad to embrace and relish. In any case, the old cliche goes that "a win is a win." which is true, but to quote that modern-day sage, Winston Wolfe of Pulp Fiction, "Let's not sucking each other's d%$ks quite yet."
The Chicago Sky go for their fourth win in a row, a franchise record, when they host the Seattle Storm tonight at the UIC Pavilion.
A Los Angeles resident tells about the great time he had seeing the Cubs at Wrigley Field recently. Of course, this was before their recent, ahem, troubles.
Despite their contract differences, a Sporting News writer thinks Ben Gordon and the Bulls are "destined" for each other.
The Bears' Kyle Orton says he's not the same QB he's been in the past. Thank God.
Stories That Will Not Die 1: Mariotti says he's not going to Boston, which leaves only five bazillion other cities for him to tell us where he's not going. Also, the Sun-Times takes a parting shot at their one-time star columnist.
Stories That Will Not Die 2: The Wall Street Journal says Barack Obama isn't the only one down on the Wrigley Field Experience. And Sports Illustrated jumps on the pile, too. But another website turns the other cheek and tries to link White Sox-lovin' Obama with the Cubs.
Stories That Will Not Die 3: Another week, another standing: Now, Chicago is supposedly the front runner for the 2016 Olympics.
The City of Chicago has a plan to make use the most bike-friendly place in the world.
Professional squash fever: Catch it! An international pro squash tournament is headed here.
A lesson in how not to write a press release, this one involving the Bears. My favorite sentence: "The Chicago Bears tickets have many sources of power that let the team to be so."
Among upcoming events at Soldier Field: the Chicago High School Kick Off Classic this weekend.
On the surface, it appears that Kyle Orton has been named the starting quarterback of the Chicago Bears over the anticipated incumbent Rex Grossman, ending the lamest quarterback derby in the history of the NFL.
In the end, it was Orton's ability to not screw up as much that earned him the job over Grossman, according to Lovie Smith. Oh, they called it things like "ball management" and "low turnover ratio", but we know what that means. Orton sucked less.
Neither one lit up the night in their two preseason games against Kansas City and Seattle. Against the Chiefs, neither Grossman nor Orton could sustain a drive longer than 37 yards (and yes, the Swiss cheese offensive line was partly to blame for that). And against Seattle, Orton completed 5 of 9 passes for 43 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. Grossman completed 9 of 15 passes for 74 yards with one important interception. But somehow Orton emerged, neckbeard intact, to become the starting quarterback for one of the most storied franchises in professional football history.
It may not make it to the side of a milk carton, but the Chicago Fire fan club Section 8 is missing their banner.
Some people might have an opinion about who they are, but a new book of photos entitled "We Are Cubs Fans" seeks to define the loyalists visually. The obligatory Ronnie Woo Woo photo is included.
Speaking of the Cubs, Sports Illustrated joins the rest of the country in being amazed that they AND the White Sox are both in first place and may make the playoffs in the same season for the first time since 1906.
And speaking of the Sox, Fox Sports calls the acquisition of Carlos Quinten the steal of the century. OK, they call it the steal of the season. It just LOOKS like the steal of the century.
Tickets for the National Pro Fastpitch softball championships go on sale this Saturday at Judson Sports Complex in Elgin, home of the Chicago Bandits. The Bandits are one of the four teams who will be participating.
Now that the Blackhawks are enjoying a resurgence in popularity, new fans might want to read about one of the team's legends featured in a story from the Sports Illustrated vaults.
If you've been reading Tailgate's own Zach Thomas, you know that bike racing is booming in the Chicago area. The Chicago Tribune plays catch-up.
A South Side group is getting kids as young as eight into the challenging sport of triathlons...
...while elsewhere on the South Side, another group is bringing the sport of rowing to a new, younger crowd.
The Urbanathalon is coming! Yes, it sounds like some B-movie monster, but actually it's a moderately strenuous 10-mile race, obstacle course thingy. Not too late to enter
Bring the pain: The UFC is coming to the Allstate Arena October 25. Top bout on the card is Anderson "The Spider" Silva vs. Patrick "The Predator" Cote. Anyone in UFC nicknamed "The Fluffy Bunny"?
Start saving your betting bucks now. The Arlington Million is this Saturday.
Twenty-five years ago, they installed lights in Wrigley Field. Purists howled. The world survived.
Do we have to do this again? Seriously, are we actually going through this whole audition process again?
It’s getting pretty tiresome having this same conversation every year when it comes to the Bears and their quarterback situation, sort of like being asked “What are you thinking?” by a significant other. You would think by now (injuries aside) the issue would be settled and the question heading into camp would not be “Who?” but “Who else?”
But with training camp only a few weeks away, we once again find ourselves playing Hot Potato with the Bears quarterback position
For most teams, the situation is as cut and dried as beef jerky. The Starter has been established long ago, most likely the same guy who lead the team last season, and it’s the second-stringer’s job to displace him by either stepping up his game or tripping him in the shower room (kidding about that last one… or am I?). Or perhaps the team was so dismal last season that their new stud quarterback obtained in the draft has the job handed to him on a silver platter.
For anyone still interested, single game tickets for the Bears 2008 season go on sale tomorrow at noon. That’s noon as in “high noon”.
While no one doubts that the Bears will sell out every ticket available for the 10 preseason and regular season games (through Ticketmaster phone and internet sales), this season might mark a crucial showdown between fans anxious for some signs of improvement and a Bears administration that has so far shown little of that.
After all, the team has chosen to raise ticket prices ($68 to $350 per game) despite a lifeless 7-9 record last season (good for last place in the NFC Central), including losing three of their last five. It’s a fact that might make a few interested fans think twice about shelling out top dollar for a team with more question marks than Frank Gorshin's Riddler’s outfit.
It's official. The Bears have released Cedric Benson following the latest of his alcohol-related run-ins with Austin, Texas' Finest. According to reports, Benson showed up for practice at Halas Hall this morning but was told to go home - apparently for good.
"Cedric demonstrated a pattern of behavior we will not tolerate," general manager Jerry Angelo, putting down the hammer on Benson a lot faster than he did with Tank Johnson.
As for Benson, he issued his own statement. “I apologize for making the poor decision to drink and drive during the early morning of Saturday, June 7...Though I strongly believe that I am not guilty of any crime. I realize that the public and the Bears organization hold me to higher standard."
Um, Cedric? Not guilty of any crime though you admit drinking and driving? News alert: Drinking and driving IS a crime, even in Texas. Apparently, Benson still doesn't get it.
While a DUI is a weighty subject, considering the body of the off-field issues that have dogged Cedric Benson since he joined the Bears in 2005, perhaps this will be the proverbial straw which broke the camel's back. Benson, already skating on the thinnest of ice with Bears management following an arrest for drunkenly piloting a party boat, will almost assuredly be cut by the Bears following this latest incident. If Tank Williams, a player who actually produced for the team, can't stay in Chicago after a few police run-ins, the lackluster Benson most assuredly will not survive the week.
And in related news, if you feel as if these shenanigans keep things interesting on our mediocre football squad then the future is bright. Methinks that if Angelo ever decides to leave football, many a law firm would love to bring him into the fold to identify potential clients.
For the Bears, the biggest impact player they selected in the draft over the weekend was actually the players they DIDN’T select.
When they passed on selecting a quarterback, they made it quite clear: to quote head coach Lovie Smith, “Rex is our quarterback.”
That’s Rex as in Rex Grossman. Or Kyle Orton (aka “Neckbeard The Pirate”), depending on what day of the week it is or what body part Grossman had mangled the previous Sunday.
Seems like all that hair you ripped out of your head during Bears games last season was for naught. Barring some miraculous leap in playing ability by Orton, Grossman will be back in the pocket as the starter again this year. That was made clear by the crop of linemen, particularly offensive linemen, the Bears selected high in this year’s draft on Saturday and Sunday. It sent a clear signal that in the world of General Manager Jerry Angelo and Smith, Grossman is just a few offensive linemen away from leading the team to the Super Bowl (OK, maybe just the playoffs for now).
The thing that immediately jumps out at you about the Bears' 2008 schedule is that the NFL powers that be actually deemed them worthy of a Monday night national television showcase. Against the Green Bay Packers, no less, the team that swiped the NFC North crown from them last season.
My guess is that with the (alleged) retirement of Brett Favre, the game might represent the best chance the Bears (7-9 in 2007) have to defeat the Packers on Monday night, after having lost five Monday night games in a row to them since 1994. In light of that dubious achievement, a win by the Bears on MNF might actually qualify as national news. In fact, the Bears haven’t won on a Monday night since a 36-33 overtime win over Miami in 1997. Which means a win should at least earn them top billing over any Lindsey Lohan stories that may happen that day.
Clothing designer Novem has created the ultimate Chicago sports fan t-shirt.
![rock python and [insert team] is a baby gazelle](http://www.arkive.org/media/A2/A299AC39-9B4A-4292-9DD5-239E24273EC8/Presentation.Large/photo.jpg){kind=link}
