Ready To Go

Hello all three of my loyal readers! I'm back, but I can't say I'm 100% back since things are still pretty hectic with the new addition. Consequently, you may notice bigger gaps between posting but I'll do my best to keep firing away when time and opportunity permit themselves.

Since I've been gone, the Bears won another game, and in semi-impressive fashion might I add, against the Dallas Cowboys. What made the victory particularly impressive was the play of the offense, specifically the play calling of Mike Martz, the adjustments in protection by the offensive line, plus the execution by Jay Cutler and the wide receivers. I won't go as far as to say the Bears are a finished product in terms of being a playoff team at this point, but they are definitely better than I thought.

The Bears couldn't ask for a better opportunity to prove that they are for real, than the upcoming game this Monday Night against the Packers. Both teams are 2-0, and thus it's already a pivotal game in terms of determining who will be in the drivers seat in the NFC North this season. Also, (once again), the Bears have a chance to win an important game in front of a national TV audience.

As a side bonus, it allows me to embrace my inner Bears Meatball by conjuring up all those old feelings of animosity and disgust for those retarded chimps that call themselves Packer Fans. I'm old enough to remember all the games played during the Mike Ditka-Forrest Gregg Rivalry era, and thanks to youtube, we can conjure up those memories of why I hate the Packers going back to my childhood (click on the pictures to see what I mean).

So officially label me "Pumped Up" for the upcoming tilt this Monday Night. I'm still not really buying this team yet, but if the Bears win this game, I might have to pull out my wallet...

Bear Down!

I Shall Return Again...

As many of you know, I've taken a break for a while to attend to some family business (the best kind there is to attend to incidentally). I'll be back soon with plenty of nonsensical rants and commentary on regurgitated rumors Post haste.

Thanks for understanding!

Getting Warmer

As I'm sure you are aware, the NFL is at the crossroads of an epidemic. It's not an epidemic in the traditional sense as say Staph Infections, or Astroturf causing an increase in ACL blowouts or other permanent knee damage. The epidemic the league faces is much scarier than that, simply because it's striking very closely to the center of what the game of football stands for. The epidemic is permanent brain damage compounded with early death, and it's an even more serious a threat to the NFL than the upcoming lockout in 2011.

At the forefront of this epidemic is Chris Nowinski. If you're not familiar with the Arlington Heights, IL native, you can learn more about his involvement (Part I, Part II, Part III) as a Concussion Expert in this HBO Real Sports special that aired earlier this year. While he was initially rebuffed by the NFL three years ago when he first tried to bring this problem to their attention, the NFL is certainly listening to him now, and taking action. Thanks in large part to his brain studies, nobody is able to deny that there is a definitive link with depression, early onset of Alzheimer's, and other brain damage due to the amount of concussions and general hits to the head a typical NFL player endures throughout their career. As such, many active players have agreed to not only spread awareness of Concussions but also donate their brains to the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy at Boston University in order to further their pursuits to combat this epidemic.

Even more important than those actions, is the NFL and it's teams have dramatically increased their awareness and treatment of players who may have suffered a concussion. The days of "rub some dirt on it" are no longer prevalent when it comes to players complaining of "dizziness", nor will they dismiss big hits as "getting his bell rung". Teams take no chances with possible concussion cases anymore...which leads me to Hunter Hillenmeyer.

Hillenmeyer was put on Injured Reserve today by the Chicago Bears ending his season. This is an interesting situation because Hillenmeyer is the Bears Union Player Rep, who has been very active regarding the awareness of Concussions throughout the league. Hunter is also one of those active players that has volunteered his brain to be donated for study when he passes away. Yet when you read his statements, it's pretty obvious that placing him on injured reserve due to complications arising from Concussions, was not Hillenmeyer's idea. As far as the idea of the Bears doing this to him in order to secure a better negotiating position for the upcoming lockout...I'm not going to indulge that conspiracy theory just yet, mainly because the Bears ownership is not one of the franchises that's leading the Owners cause. Also, the Bears could have just forced him to retire, but by placing him on injured reserve, they are able to pay out his contract for the entire year versus giving him nothing if he retires.

The way I see it, this is a good thing for both the Bears, Hunter, and the NFL. For the NFL it is another step in spreading awareness of this Concussion Epidemic. For the Bears, they are not only protecting themselves by placing him on injured reserve, but they are preventing Hillenmeyer from his most dangerous enemy at this point....his own desire to play no matter what the risks entail.

Not Fooled

As far as Chicago Bears season openers, this one is a bit weird and misshapen. It's certainly not as humiliating as the 1997 Monday Night loss against the Packers 38-24, nor the 49-7 castration by the 49ers in 2003. It also certainly isn't as fun as the 26-0 shutout of the Packers in 2006, or the 29-13 pasting of the Colts in 2008. This one had a lot of expected bad AND some surprising good results to choose from. Before I get into it however, let's get the obvious out of the way and make sure we use the correct adjective of  "LUCKY" to describe the outcome. All Calvin Johnson had to do - according to the rule - was get up with the ball in his hand the whole time, and we're talking about a much different outcome. Let's Begin:

The Good :

• Jay Cutler played pretty well (23-35 372yds 2 TD, 1 INT).  More importantly, he appeared to be more controlled and disciplined, without looking like he was trying to do too much. That was especially evident late in the 4th quarter when he threw his second TD pass to Forte in the corner of the North End Zone. He made two mistakes that I can recall off the top of my head, the obvious one being the pass that lead to his first INT of the season. Still, he gave some hope that he can run, and do well, in the Martz version of Air Coryell.
• Matt Forte appears fully recovered from the injury he didn't tell anyone about last season. The screen pass he turned into an 89 yard TD pass really showed that he does have breakaway speed. Also, as mentioned previously, he hauled in what turned out to be the game winning TD pass, although he also left room for improvement. More on that in a minute. 
• The Defense : Julius Peppers earned his money today with plenty of QB Hurries and a sack (should have had 2) that knocked Matthew Stafford out of the game - and a forced fumble. That's exactly how the Bears want him to play in the Tampa 2 scheme. Brian Urlacher...welcome back and thank you for reminding Bear Fans that you are a borderline hall of fame player when healthy, and vital cog to this defense en route to giving up a paltry 168 total yards.

The Bad :

• Fumbles. Forte had 2 (1 lost), Cutler had 1, and Greg Olsen (yes they still are trying to trade you) had a vital 1 in the red zone. Fumbles are something that is never excusable in the NFL, and cost the Bears a lot of points today. Ball security is also something teams spend their training camps on. The Bears obviously have not spent enough time on it, and it will need to improve drastically before they go to Dallas next week.
• Offensive Line : While this unit performed better than I thought they would, they still couldn't get any push up front whatsoever as they had a total of 101 rushing yards, 22 of which belong to Cutler scrambles. Throw in 4 sacks allowed, plus some numerous false start and holding penalties, and it's safe to say the unit left plenty of room for improvement. SPECIFICALLY AT THE GOAL LINE....
• LOVIE SMITH : You sir, continue to mystify and frustrate The Beard with your non-sensible decision making. You went for it on 4th down in the 4th quarter at the 1 yard line....WHEN YOU'RE DOWN 2 POINTS! Not to mention when you DO decide to go for it, you use the SAME FORMATION for the 4th time after watching it fail 3 times previously! I really don't know what the hell you were thinking, or if you are capable of thought at all at that moment. Despite the win today, you are FAR from out of the doghouse of non football retarded Bears fans.

Overall, I'm still not buying this team. While I want to be encouraged that this team might actually have talent, and that the schemes they are running on both sides of the ball can still be effective for them despite being outdated, they are still pretty far from a finished product. Playoff teams don't fumble the ball 4 times. Playoff teams don't have 9 penalties in a game. Playoff teams have offensive lines that can get 1 yard at the goal line.

With all that said however, I'll give the Bears some credit for not being the Football Dead team I had them pegged to be. Could that change in a week from now? Absolutely.

Enjoy It While It Lasts Kids...

With the upcoming 2010-11 NFL Season scheduled to kick off tomorrow, I felt it appropriate to share this wonderful piece written by Michael Silver of Yahoo Sports. It's a startling reminder, as well as a FAQ guide for the casual NFL fan, of the impending lockout next season. It gives tremendous insight into all five major questions of Who, What, Where, When, and most importantly the Why, this lockout is bound to happen after 23 years of NFL Labor Peace.

The amazing thing about Silver's column is that it presented scenarios that I wasn't even sure were possibilities, namely that the locked out players could join the UFL as a way to stay in shape. Sure the obvious questions of rookie salary caps, percentage of revenue shared, number of regular season games, and potential replacement players were logical topics that should be addressed during the negotiations, but I certainly didn't consider the prospect of no drug testing during the lockout - and the residual effects that it would cause the players! Just a whole bunch of late night pizzas, nightclub shootings, drunk driving arrests, or in Ben Roethisberger's case - more public bathrooms to have non-consensual sex in!

I'd like to believe that the owners will come to their senses and realize that while it may be cheaper to lock the players out and just take the TV profits, it's not worth the risk of rocking one on the steadiest and bankable boats in the history of sports/business which is the NFL.

Labor Peace however, is ONE thing the NFL doesn't want you to bet on...

Hey VINCE....Your 2005 Heisman Trophy Is On It's Way To You...

So it turns out that Reggie Bush WILL have to vacate his 2005 Heisman Trophy after all! Score! This will be the first time ever in the 75 year history of the award that it will be taken away from the winner, and I couldn't be happier. While nothing "official" has been done as of today, it looks pretty much like a done deal.

Now look, I understand that Bush is certainly not the first guy to take things that were against the rules, and he won't be the last by a long shot. I get that. I also understand that if we're really interested in being accurate, we could if we wanted to, take back a whole lot more Heisman Trophy's that were given to guys that took money and gifts over the decades of college football. That's another argument for another time.

The fact of the matter is, Bush and USC got caught. They got caught for one reason only, and that's arrogance. They really didn't believe all of the money and gifts would come back to haunt them. They really thought nobody would rat them out. Nobody would cry foul. Nobody would care. Well guess what? When certain people like Lloyd Lake get ripped off, they tend to seek vengeance their own way, and they also tend to tape record incriminating phone conversations, as well as hang onto paper trail evidence. If people like Lake are going to go down, they'll take everyone with them.

Had Bush and his shady family had simply paid off their debt to Lloyd, we wouldn't have found out about any of this.

This Is Ridiculous

"Listen, and understand. That terminator is out there. It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead."


I'm beginning to believe that classic line from the 1984 sci-fi classic The Terminator should apply to the Minnesota Twins. I particularly believe the moniker applies to the Twins simply because despite another historic White Sox 7 game winning streak on the road (even though The Hardball Times would call it "some run") in which they swept the Red Sox in Boston for the first time since 1991, and have only a gain of one game in the loss column to show for it! In the past week the Twins have won games anywhere from 2-1 victories against the Tigers, to 12-4 victories against Texas, not to mention getting the benefit of a very weird call from a third base umpire in their game against the Rangers on Sunday. The Twins just don't seem to care what is happening around them. They play with a supreme confidence that they know they're going to be playing in October.
 
As for the White Sox....well...I honestly don't know what they could improve right now? Manny Ramirez has done everything the Sox expected him to do. He's strictly a singles hitter at this point in his career, and he's had a whole bunch of them this past week. He's been a really good addition for them as he's now hitting at a .438 clip. The pitching, particularly with the Bullpen (Yes YOU TOO Bobby Jenks) has held down the fort so to speak, and now has Thornton back with Putz on his way back. I won't even mention how wonderful Chris Sale has been as well as his continued improvement is on display every time he takes the mound.
 
Realistically for the White Sox to have a chance to overtake the Twins, they will need to be 1.5 games out by the time the Twins roll into The Cell next week. Obviously they will need to continue this run but also receive some help from some unlikely sources in the Royals and Indians during the time before their head to head series.
 
Can the White Sox pull it off? I can't say for sure really, but one thing that's for sure is that this White Sox bunch is redefining the word "Resilient" for me on a game to game basis.

Even More Smoke...

Let's discuss the 2009 Chicago Bears draft shall we? Obviously the first name that would and should come to mind right away is Johnny Knox - a 5th round pick from Abilene Christian who has emerged as one of the top Wide Receivers on the team. I won't get into how much being one of the top receivers on the Bears is very much in the discussion of the Tallest Midget Award as that's another argument for another time. Instead I'd like to focus on the Bears selections and where they are today with the release of the 53 man roster.

Jarron "Jump Out Of The Pool" Gilbert was their first selection in the third round. He is now officially property of the New York Jets. Sure guys like Dan Pompei will argue that he's better served in a 3-4 defense, but the word out of Bear camp was that Gilbert "couldn't play dead", let alone practice with a pulse, which made him all the more expendable. So that's strike one.

Juaquin Iglesias was also taken out to the woodshed as well as he was released on September 4. Iglesias was considered a good value in the third round as well despite running a 4.44 in the Combine. He was deemed too stupid to pick up Ron Turner's offense last year, which pretty much guaranteed no chance of learning Martz's offense, let alone understanding what his purpose in it was. He has been signed to the Bears Practice Squad for now, but unfortunately that won't change the fact that he's really not any good. So that's strike two.

Which leads us to the most stunning cut the Bears made, Al Afalava. Yeah I know he was a 6th round pick, but still. Afalava started 13 games last season, registered 15 tackles (1 sack), but more importantly had 0 picks. I'm not here to argue that Afalava was any good....but the Bears certainly argued that he was. They told anyone who would listen that he could play - to the point where they started him at a position that is VITAL to the Tampa 2's overall effectiveness. The Bears also happen to be very thin at safety even WITH Afalava. So the fact that they would cut him tells me either one of three things : Either Craig Steltz has made leaps and bounds with his play (UNLIKELY), same goes with Major Wright (REALLY UNLIKELY), or that Chris Harris has dirty pictures of Lovie Smith. If either of those three are true, that would be strike 3.

I won't even mention how D.J. Moore, Henry Melton haven't done a damn thing either, and Marcus Freeman is now coaching at Ohio State after retiring due to an Enlarged Heart Condition. Put it all together, unless Lance Louis makes the Hall Of Fame, I don't see how the 2009 Draft was anything but a bad draft. If it wasn't for Knox- a draft pick the Bears wouldn't have even had were it not for the Cutler trade - this draft would have been a total disaster.

Leonard Edward Phunt

So I had a spirited back and forth with someone named Jeffery Gross at TheHardballTimes.com today regarding his blog post of "The White Sox owe their fans an apology". You can read his misleading at best, retarded at most objective, statistical argument as to why a contending ball club needs to "apologize" to their fans here, as well as my comments to him and his rebuttals.

Now obviously we both feel passionately about the debate, and I'll be the first to admit I probably got carried away in my arguments. The reason I got carried away is not because Mr. Gross relied on sabermetrics to prove his point. Quite the contrary. I got carried away because Mr. Gross is (evidently) one of these people who believes sabermetrics is/should be, Baseball Law.

I've recently accepted that Sabermetrics is now reality in terms of extrapolating information, analyzing whether or not players and teams are good in all areas, but also Sabermetrics opens up new ways to appreciate the game for long time baseball fans like myself. I actually enjoy many of the metrics that Sabermetrics has brought us over the years. I also have enjoyed Bill James work over the years and as a result I feel I have a better understanding of the game than I ever did before. My appreciation stops short of accepting Sabermetrics as Baseball Law however, and I tend to view it as more of a useful guide to appreciating the game, rather than Baseball Dogma.

That being said, there is also a smug quality to Sabermetrics. There's an elitist, arrogant, "I know more than you do because" quality to Sabermetrics and Sabermatricians, that's become detrimental to it's own cause. Many of the Sabermatricians I encounter act as if they feel the need to beat people over the head with how Sabermetrics is the ONLY way to appreciate the game, and if Sabermetrics can't definitively prove something about baseball is correct, it HAS to be incorrect in their eyes.

Which leads me to Leonard Edward Phunt. I am truly convinced that if you were to attach a scouting report/baseball stat sheet, that showed a high WAR score, or a high OPS to someone named "Leonard Edward Phunt", Sabermatricians would probably argue with you tooth and nail that Leonard Edward Phunt is a truly great player that deserves recognition and that you're a moron for not agreeing with them.

Never mind that if they actually saw Leonard Edward Phunt play they would realize "L.E. Phunt" has a much more descriptive quality to the player than any Sabermetrics would...