Throwing It All Away...

I was meaning to get to this as soon as it came out, but I got a little sidetracked. Plus, I kind of hoped it would kind of go away but alas, it hasn't gone away, and actually it's been parodied a couple times, so I figure I might as well quickly give my two cents on the LeBron "What Should I Do?" commercial.

Many people think this was a very good or creative or ground breaking commercial. To me, it's a large window into just how disconnected LeBron James really is with reality. Point of fact, LeBron should have been asking himself this question years ago. James should have realized the totality of his decision to leave Cleveland to be a second banana on someone else's team, and he should have been surprised by zero of the backlash he's received.

Instead the opposite has happened. James is so hurt by the backlash that he actually admitted to having an "Enemies List" of people who spoke negatively about his decision. An Enemies List?! Really?! Pathetic LBJ. LeBron really didn't fully understand what he would be opening himself up to by doing what he did. Whether that's the fault of Maverick Carter or anyone else that surrounded him is immaterial. James should have been plenty self-aware to know that people's perception of him was going to be drastically changed.

This commercial is proof that he wasn't self-aware enough. This commercial is nothing more than "You People Aren't Kissing My Ass The Way I Thought You Were Going To, So I'm Going To Try To Make You Feel Bad About It". Nothing More.

What should you do LeBron? Well...you don't want to hear the answer because even if you win a championship, the answer is still the same. That answer is, what you SHOULD do, can no longer be done....

That Was Um.....Better?

Only the Chicago Bears can make winning feel really complicated and conflicted. We hear the mantra all the time from Lovie Smith, "Anytime you win in the National Football League, it's a good thing". Obviously he's got a lot of truth on his side in that statement. I suppose the most realistic way to look at it, is while winning is always the goal, it does not erase ongoing issues/problems. With that in mind, here are my observations:

Offense : You heard that they would be more balance with the play calling, and they followed through with it. The Bears ran 31 times, and passed 30 times. It should not go unnoticed that Cutler was the Bears second leading rusher with 39 yards today. As for the rest of Cutler's play, it was better. He's still double clutching some throws, throwing off his back foot, and making questionable decisions, but overall Jay did what he needed to do with 2 TD's and ZERO picks. The offensive line still didn't look like a competent unit, let alone a playoff unit. They couldn't blow the worst run defense in the league in your Buffalo Bills off the ball. 105 running yards as a team with a 3.4 yards per carry, isn't exactly impressive. They did protect Cutler enough though. Whether that continues next week remains to be seen. For the record the Bears finally figured out that Chester Taylor is a better back near the goal line as they ended both the 0 for 10 streak at the 1 yard line, and the scoreless 3rd quarter streak with a rushing TD in the third quarter.

Defense : The unit played like a mixed bag. Some good things, some bad things, some weird things, and some not bad but not good enough things. Good things included a sack from Izzy Idonije, a forced fumble by (who else) Charles Tillman and allowing only 46 rushing yards. Bad things included, not enough pressure from the front four, Ryan Fitzpatrick picking the Tampa 2 apart, and being woefully inept on third down as the Bills converted 10-16 third downs. Some weird things included a key interception from Tim Jennings late in the 4th on an under thrown pass by Ryan Fitzpatrick. That play turned the game around for the Bears so kudos to Jennings for taking advantage. As for the rest it all comes down to scheme. I tell anyone who wants to listen, that in order for the Tampa 2 to work, you need pressure from the front four. If you don't get pressure, a competent QB like Fitzpatrick knows exactly where the holes in the zone are and will pick you apart as he did.

Special Teams : Really a non-factor. Maynard was Maynard, Gould was 0 for 1 from a very makeable range, and the Hester only fielded two punts.

Where do we go from here : Hard to say really. The Bears won a game that they should win and needed to win. They didn't exactly dominate, or really play like they were in control of the game since they were down in the 4th quarter. The offense, while hardly Martz-ian despite playing in a dome on turf, looked better especially in the redzone, and got the points they needed to get when it mattered most.

Can they beat the Vikings next Sunday? I actually believe they can but I have no idea if they will? The Bears strong run defense will be put the test as Adrian Peterson with his career numbers against the Bears (5.27 yards per carry, 122.2 average yards a game and 11 career rushing touchdowns in 6 games) coming to town.

With all that said though, in this version of the NFL, anything is realistic. Whether the playoffs expectaions for the Bears are still realistic will take more than just smoke and mirrors...

Thank You San Francisco Giants

I'm a little late but I'd like to take this opportunity to acknowledge that the San Francisco Giants have completed a remarkable World Series Championship run this week, by beating the Texas Rangers 4 games to 1. This Giant team was hardly a favorite going into the regular season, let alone the postseason, for any multitude of reasons. "They don't have a slugger", "They don't have a leadoff hitter", "Zito and Rowand are killing the ballclub", etc.

None of it seemed to matter. As I was often quick to remind my friends who are Giants fans, you can NEVER have enough pitching in October. True to form, the Giants pitching rotation and bullpen lead the way, in conjunction with a lineup littered with castoffs, has-beens, and misshapen Pandas that got hot at the right time. As Assistant GM Tony Siegle said after winning Game 5 "So much for Moneyball".

The San Francisco Giants as a franchise have had many players since moving to San Francisco in 1958. Some of them remarkable, but most of them forgettable. This Giant team now closes the chapter on those greats that came before that made fans say "what if" and washes away the bad taste out the many ass-clowns that wore Giants uniforms at various points. Thank you 2010 Giants for allowing us to forget the following names :

Stu Miller, Matty Alou, Felipe Alou, Jesus Alou, Orlando Cepeda, Willie Mays, Gaylord Perry, Garry Maddox, Dave Kingman, Jack Clark, Kevin Mitchell, Steve Stone, Chris Speier, Bobby Murcer, Dan Gladden, Dave Lapoint, Bob Brenly, Will Clark, Robby Thompson, Willie McGee, Bill Swift, Jeff Brantly, Rod Beck, John Burkett, Royce Clayton, Dusty Baker, Jeff Kent, Barry Bonds, or any of the other infamous, colorful, never wills, bad guys, fan favorites, and notable players in Giants History.

We now say to you "FEAR THE BEARD". Congratulations.

Outrage (Update)

So it seems that I'm not the Lone Wolf in the "Notre Dame/Brian Kelly Killed Declan Sullivan" camp. Here are some other people who agree with me:

• Jason Whitlock eloquently asks where the outrage towards Kelly and ND is at foxsports.com .
• Dan Bernstein of WSCR 670 AM Asks the same question Whitlock asks here, and did half his show dedicated to how completely cold and heartless Kelly and ND have been post Declan's untimely death.
• David Jones of pennlive.com also agrees with me here as well.

Throw in the fact that Jim Tressel wouldn't even take the field a day before because of the wind conditions and former coaches like Gerry DiNardo stating that the coach is 100% responsible for everything that happens on a practice field and it becomes even MORE untenable.

With each passing day Notre Dame continues to look worse. With Kelly's flippant, "productive practice" attitude whenever this subject is brought up, makes it all the more clear that Kelly doesn't understand what it means to be a coach, and should be removed immediately.

Outrage!

Anyone who knows me knows my disdain and vitriol for the University of Notre Dame, and Notre Dame Football over the years. I've always maintained a level of contempt for that arrogant "We're Notre Dame, and we're awesome because we're Notre DAME" philosophy that exudes from nearly every alum and overall fan (see Rudy) of Notre Dame I've encountered in my lifetime, and 99 times out of 100 they always seem to justify my feelings and prove my point with their overall conceit, holier than thou attitude, and general schmuckiness even though they haven't done a damn thing since 1988.

Over the years, there have been many adjectives I've chosen to describe my personal feelings and general conflicts with Notre Dame and her defenders. "Spirited", "Contentious", "Mind-Boggling", "Angry", and "Cute", just to name a few. Overall though, it never got beyond any level of seriousness. That has now changed this week with the news of the death of 20 year old Declan Sullivan.  Now my feelings of disdain and vitriol for Notre Dame have been replaced with "DISGUST"!

Let me quickly summarize for those who haven't heard what happened. Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly likes to practice outside and hates practicing indoors. The Midwest has had very strong winds lately up to 60 MPH. Declan Sullivan was a Notre Dame student who filmed the teams practices from on top of the Scissors Lift towers, as part of his job. Those scissor lifts are not to be used in winds over 25 MPH. The winds were too strong that day (53 MPH according to many readings), and obviously Declan knew it judging by picture of his Tweets featured above which were posted about an hour before the tower fell and lead to his death.

Declan is now dead, and Notre Dame and Brian Kelly, have Declan's blood on their hands because they put him in harms way. Whether they knew how dangerous it was to put Declan on the Lift during high winds is irrelevant! Ignorance is NEVER an excuse. Kelly's and Notre Dame's negligence now has a body count behind it, PERIOD. Fortunately for us, there are many courts in this country that would call this situation "Wrongful Death" and it will be only a matter of time before Notre Dame opens up their checkbook to Declan's family.

No amount of that money will ease the pain for Declan and his family however. No amount of painted gold helmets or praying to Touchdown Jesus will wash the blood stains from your hands when they hit your Play Like A Champion sign.

In short Notre Dame, you have now crossed the line from Hateful Play-Thing, to the Embodiment of Negligence and Wrecklessness.

Let that little thought keep you warm at night you hypocritical bastards...

The Thrill Is Gone

I am out of carrots...I am out of sticks...I'm out of excuses...but most importantly, I am out of faith in Jay Cutler, and it's very painful and disappointing.
In light of Sunday's debacle of a game against the Redskins, my foundation of Cutler belief has been shaken to the point of instability. In a game that NEITHER team was good enough, let alone deserved, to win the Redskins ended up with the victory all thanks to Cutler and his 4 inexcusable picks thrown to DeAngelo Hall who in case you were wondering - has been beaten by more receivers than any other cornerback in the league this year.

Yeah I know Ryan Torain had 125 yards, yeah I know Jay has a Swiss Cheese Offensive Line that I wouldn't trust against a bunch of 8th graders, and yeah I know Jay doesn't have legit receivers but rather kick returners disguised as receivers...but that's just the same old song that I've been signing for two years that's prevented me from realizing the truth, and that truth is Jay is not a franchise QB like Peyton Manning or Tom Brady or hell you could argue Aaron Rodgers if you wanted to.
At this point in his career Cutler has shown some flashes of brilliance. Officially he has 11 fourth quarter comebacks and Game Winning Drives under his belt. Cutler also made the Pro Bowl in 2008. Cutler has one of the strongest arms of any QB in the NFL. Despite all of those accomplishments however, the fact of the matter is Cutler simply hasn't gotten any better or improved. If anything, he's gotten worse. His mechanics continue to betray him at key moments, as evidence by at least one of Hall's four picks on the day - which in case you were wondering, Jay still has the swagger enough to say he'd continue to throw at Hall no matter what. Ballsy? Yes. Foolish? Probably.

Is there any hope for Cutler? Well I can't say I've become a full fledged Cutler Atheist...I'm more of Cutler Agnostic. With that in mind, I do reserve the right to hope against hope that he improves. I will allow the possibility that he works on his mechanics - particularly in the red zone - to the point where he becomes way more efficient at it.

Plus if we really want to reach...it's important to remember that may of the same things we're saying about Cutler were said about John Elway at various points in his career. For many years Elway was considered a loser, or a choke artist even though he put together "The Drive" by his fourth season. Those perceptions changed dramatically when he got the right coach, with the right system, with the right running back, for Elway and the Broncos to put it all together for back to back Super Bowl wins. So I guess it technically can happen.

Bottom line though, I'm tired of waiting for good things to happen TO Jay. It's time for Jay to start MAKING good things happen all by himself.

Ready Or Not

When I first saw the picture above, my first reaction was "I'm glad Mr. Strickland (the principal from Back To The Future) found some steady work". After quickly realizing that wasn't him, I realized something else, and that is The Mike Quade Era is upon us...even though it kind of already has been since August 23...but whatever. The Beard says, it's the right move for the Cubs, and I'll give you my reasons.

You're going to read a variety of takes from other opinion-makers ranging from "Why wouldn't they wait for Joe Girardi to become available" to "How could they turn their back on Sandberg", and any and all thoughts and emotions in between. That's fine if they want to go that direction.

To the first question, my response would be to point out that Girardi was already interested in being the Cubs manager before the 2007 season, and they turned him down. He wasn't about to put his neck out there again at this time, especially when the current state of the Cubs is not the most optimum to say the least. The Yankees on the other hand, are in a much better position to contend in 2011.

With regard to the second question...well that answer isn't as cut and dried. Did Ryno do everything that the Cubs asked him to do? Yes. Did Sandberg appear to take his job seriously? He was named Pacific Coast League Manager Of The Year this past summer, so yes. Do the Cubs really have anything to lose by hiring him? Not really. The only one with anything to lose is Sandberg, and that would be his reputation. Still, it didn't seem like Sandberg cared too much about that possibility. So why isn't Sandberg being named Cubs Manager today? For the same reason Quade is being named manager, and the same reason the Cubs are in this pickle they're in: Jim Hendry.

Jim Hendry has become the Matt Millen of Baseball General Managers. This is now Jim Hendry's third managerial hire during his tenure. He has spent an obscene amount of money that has resulted in absolutely nothing (Even though some readers are still waiting for the parades to start for the 2007-2008 Division Championships) in terms of satisfying the only expectation that matters in the minds of serious Cub fans which is winning the World Series. The money spent by Hendry has completely mortgaged the future of Cubs contention until 2014. Despite all of it, Hendry managed to snowball the Ricketts into keeping his job, and since he never wanted Sandberg to be Cubs manager in the first place...well it's pretty academic as to why Quade is manager, and Ryno is not.

As for Quade, it's a real low risk hire for the Cubs, and a nothing to lose move for Quade. A two year deal is nothing. If you think about it long enough, it's almost laughable. I mean can you imagine the Yankees or Red Sox giving a manager a two year contract? I don't. Quade, for his part, certainly doesn't seem to care as he's been nothing but affable and direct about his enthusiasm for the job.

Whether he can continue the good baseball the Cubs seem to play under his tenure this past season (24-13 record in case you were wondering) remains to be seen. One thing's is for sure...he'll need to start off hot next season to avoid chants of "We Want Ryno" in April.