Final Thoughts on Chicago Sports

What can Brown do for you?

Apparently, a heckuva lot.  Alex Brown and the Bears beat the Bucs today by a score of 13-10 in Tampa Bay.  He was simply a monster today.  Two sacks, five passes defended, four knockdowns, and one forced fumble that lead directly to the Bears only touchdown.  If he's not Defensive player of the week, then I'm Mickey Mouse.  He's looked like Bruce Smith in his prime these last two weeks.  Simply remarkable.  His buddy on the other side of the line, Ogunleye, ain't too shabby himself.  Chalk up another two sacks for Wally, and give him eight on the year.  Speaking of eight, the Bears record stands at 8-3, with seven wins in a row.  Still only a two game lead in the division, thanks to Brad Johnson and the Vikings, but the playoffs are practically a given.  Some notes:

• On offense, Orton did a decent job.  No major mistakes, save the one pick.  He made enough plays to not lose, and earned his third road win.  Can't complain about that. 
• Jones, Peterson, and the especially the line all had good games.  I'm starting to wonder if Peterson should get more carries.  Every time he touches the ball it seems he gains seven or more yards.  Plus he's keeping Jones fresh.  Whether he gets more carries or not, the depth is a beautiful thing. 
• Moose has been strangely quiet lately.  Yes, he's getting doubled every play, and his QB ain't the greatest, but you'd think you'd get more than four catches for 38 yards for 16 million dollars.  In other news, Justin Gage proved last week was not a fluke.
• Bobby Wade, Punt Return duties:  R.I.P.  If the Bears receivers weren't so banged up, he'd probably be cut tomorrow. 
• Chris Simms impressed me today.  He lost the game of course, but he handled the Bears pass rush far better than Jake Delhomme did last week.  I think he might end up being half as good as his old man, and that's actually a compliment. 
• Tampa is a tough team.  There were a number of plays in the second half where their big TEs and RBs took three or four hits to go down, and they consistently got that extra yard when needed.  I won't be looking past them if we meet again in January. 
• Urlacher and the linebackers have been rather quiet these last two weeks.  I don't think it's because they're struggling or anything, just a matter of the defensive line aborting so many plays before they start.

Finally, no review of this game would be complete without mentioning THE critical play of the day.  WIDE RIGHT!  Matt Bryant missed a 29-yard chip shot in the closing minutes that would have tied up the game and sent it to overtime.  Chucky's luck with kickers continues. 

Green Bay next week.  I know they're 2-9 and Brett Favre is struggling, but that don't mean Jack Squat.  Expect a tough game.  Till then.....BEAR DOWN, CHICAGO BEARS!!!!!!!!

For Real

The Bears beat the tar out of Carolina today in a game that wasn't as close as the final score would indicate.  What a game!  It was easily the best Bears game since 2001, and Bears fans across the country are dancing in the streets.  That might be a slight exaggeration, but still.  There's gotta be some shuffling going on somewhere.  They've now won six in a row and you can take all of this talk about weak schedules and throw it out the window.  The Bears proved it when it mattered against the supposed best team in the NFC.  I picked the Panthers to win Friday, and I wasn't alone.  What a mistake that was.  Adewale Ogunleye said it best as he walked off the field, “Let's call a spade a spade, I looked at their schedule and Carolina hasn't played anybody this year.”  Damn right, Adewale.  The only good teams they played were the reeling Patriots and Tampa Bay.  The rest were the same chumps the Bears had been playing, but nobody was pointing that out when talking about Carolina's dominance.  They played NO, NE, MIA, GB, ARZ, DET, MIN, TB and NYJ.  Big deal.  Let's look a little closer at today's game against Chicago. 

DEE.  FENCE.  DEE.  FENCE.  The front four ate Jake Delhomme for lunch.  Eight sacks by the line, including three by the aforementioned Ogunleye.  He's just a menace back there.  Alex Brown must have thought he was at the Meadowlands because he had his finest game as a pro.  (I rank this over last season's four-sack game against the Giants because this game had a lot more meaning.)  Two sacks, two forced fumbles.  Carolina's left tackle will be having nightmares about Alex.  Tommie Harris, Alfonso Boone, Ian Scott, and even Michael Haynes...these guys were everywhere.  Jake rarely had time to plant his feet, and the running game was stifled.  The only negative by the D was Steve Smith getting loose for14 catches and 169 yards. No touchdowns, though.  But you've got to give him some credit.  He simply out-ran and out-muscled our secondary all day.  That said, Nate Vasher might be joining him in Hawaii.  Six INTs in ten games will get you noticed.

Kyle Orton was excellent.  The numbers won't show it, but he clearly took a step forward today.  He made all the throws he needed to and was practically mistake-free.  He keeps this up and he'll be rookie-of-the-year, which is almost unheard of for QBs.  As decent as his numbers looked, they would have been much better had there not been so many drops.  Moose, I'm looking at you.  You made a few nice catches today against your old team, but four drops.  FOUR?  Come on, you gotta catch those.  You lost all rights to complain about your QB until further notice.  While we're talking about receivers, what's Reggie Wayne doing in Justin Gage's uniform?  He was awesome today.  Nice to see someone step up.  Thomas Jones and Adrian Peterson kept the ground game moving, as usual. 

On special teams, it was nice to see Bobby Wade use two hands.  He didn't fumble a single time!  Gould was 2 for 2 on field goals and his windy city nightmare appears to be over.  I'd like to see him hit something over 40 yards, though, before I start bronzing his shoe.

So ends my analysis of the Panthers game.  It's just so great to be a Bears fan in Chicago when the Bears are winning.  The air seems cleaner, the deep dish pizza tastes better, and the beer goes down smoother.  Gotta love it!

Going to Carolina in my mind

The Carolina Panthers are coming to town this Sunday to face the Bears at Soldier Field, but I can gaurantee that they'd much rather be playing in pleasant Carolina than on the blustery Chicago lakefront.  It's been colder than a witch's titty here the past few days, a rather rude awakening of sorts for the locals.  Yes, I realize that we're sort of used to cold weather here in Chicago, but it's been unseasonably warm all fall.  We've been living the high life with 65-75 degree weather all season, and the 22 I woke up to yesterday was a bit of a shocker.  The weekend wind blew more than just Robbie Gould's field goal wide right, it really brought in a tremendous cold front.  But enough about the weather, because last I checked this ain't ChicagoWeatherBlog.com.  Let's talk about this week's game!

With the altercation behind them, it's time to focus on the best team in the NFC, the Carolina Panthers.  They've got a tough D, the best WR left in the NFC, and a QB who can sling it.  They've also got a touchdown machine in Stephen Davis.  Davis's rushing stats aren't pretty, but he's already scored 12 TDs, and what more could my fantasy team ask for?  Oh yeah, yards.  I suspect the Bears run D will stuff Davis behind the line all day.  He's still a goal line threat, but the Bears should fare well enough if they keep him out of the red zone.  It's Steve Smith they need to worry about.  He's been on fire all season, and he leads the NFL in both Yards and Touchdowns.  Charles Tillman has been pretty steady lately, so I'm hoping he doesn't relapse and revert to his Jeremy-Lincoln-ways that he was prone to earlier in the season.  The Bears defense is officially ranked #1 in all of football, in both points allowed and yards allowed.  Most impressive.  I still think the Panthers will score 14-17 points on them, though.  The question is can Kyle Orton and the Bears keep up? 

If Orton can limit his mistakes, and Jones is past his bruised ribs problem, and Moose can step up and haunt his old team, and Fred Miller can overcome the 15 pounds he lost with his jaw wired shut, and Bobby Wade can overcome his fumble-itis, and another receiver can become an actual threat to catch a pass or two on the other side of Moose, and Bryan Johnson doesn't screw up in his second week back in the starting lineup, and they can find Desmond Clark for a score, and Ron Turner can open up down field more....yes, I think the Bears can win this game.  Unfortunately, I don't think all those things will happen this week.  Carolina 17, Bears 10.

 

Cubs need bullpen help, Cubs get bullpen help

The Cubs signed 33-year-old lefty Scott Eyre (pronounced AIR) today to help out in the bullpen.  I've seen reports ranging from 2 years, 11 million to 2 years, 9million, to 3 years, 11 million.  If it is indeed two years for eleven million, it sounds like an awful lot of money for a middle man.  Three years, eleven makes sense.  Whatever the case, the only people that have to care about the money work for the Tribune company, so let's move past that and answer the critical question, “can the guy pitch?”  Yeah, he's pretty good.  Last year was a career year for him and it led to his big pay day.  He had a decent strikeout rate, low batting average against, and only three homers allowed in 68 innings.  Oh, and a 2.63 ERA, which would have led all Cubs relievers.  Before last year, he was rather steady for a few seasons.  And before that, White Sox fans will remember him royally sucking from 1997 through the year 2000 on the south side.  But he's been rather dependable for four straight seasons so I'd like to think he can continue to be dependable or at least one or two more.  Decent move by Jim Hendry.  Of course, I thought the Mike Remlinger deal was great at the time, too, so what the hell do I know.

Bulls robbed, Bears altercate

The Bulls were robbed tonight in the closing seconds of their loss to Portland.  Luol Deng missed a potential game-winning shot, Andres Nocioni went for the rebound at the same time as a Theo Ratliff, and it appeared by the replay that Ratliff had knocked the ball out of bounds.  The refs called it Portland ball.  With one second left on the clock, the game was all but over and the Bulls fell to 0-2 on their annual circus road trip.  Despite losing, they actually played pretty well tonight.  Mike Sweetney put up 24 points and 14 boards, and he's been trying damn hard to make us forget that Curry fella.  Gordon, Hinrich and Noce had nice games as well.  I feel pretty good about this team.  A blind man can see that they're a bit undersized, but they've got some real talent on that roster.  Deng and Gordon are simply brilliant at times, and completely invisible at others.  If they can keep the brilliant times and simply raise the invisible performances to “mediocre”, they'd be all-stars.

The big news at Halas Hall this week, of course, is the fight, excuse me “altercation”, between Olin Kreutz and Fred Miller.  The media is naturally going crazy with this news and in a way, I can't blame them.  The Bears really have been void of interesting characters for going on 20 years now.  They've had a handful of good players since then, but the biggest non-football stories in this time were probably Urlacher's “one night in Paris” or Alonzo Spellman's “no shirt/no shoes” freeway hike in the dead of winter.  So you can forgive the media for feasting on this morsel of spice that the altercation has delivered. Ultimately, I suspect it's a complete non-issue for the team.  A couple slabs of beef got in a pissing match, slapped each other around a bit, and that's that.  The only real story is that Lovie Smith believed their lie that Miller got hurt in a household incident.  Lovie should have known better.  Everyone knows that “household incident” is code for something dirty.  Usually it means the guy got drunk and tripped over his dog or something.  This time there was a little more to it.  Lovie should have pressed the issue a little more and found out what really happened.  Now he looks like an assclown that doesn't have control of his team.  I don't think he's an assclown, mind you, but the media is blaming him for the whole fiasco.  I personally think the story has run it's course and it's time for the media to move on.  Lovie's been doing a terrific job with this team and I'll trust his judgement to discipline his players as he sees fit.  I don't want people telling me how to raise my kids so I don't tell them how to raise theirs.  It's that simple.  So let's move on beat the tar out of Carolina this Sunday. 

Orange Whip

San Francisco blew into town and the Bears won in a breeze, 17-9.  The Niners were whisked away in a flutter, and the Bears whirlwind tour of first place will continue another week.  The game's MVP?  Why Gale Sayers, of course.  Thank you, thank you, be sure to tip your waitress, I'll be here all week.  Ok, enough with the puns, to the game analysis!

• The story of the day was obviously the wind.  Every pass was an adventure, and no kick was a gimme.  Fun game to watch, really.  I almost fell off my couch laughing at Gould's first missed Field Goal (juuuust a bit outside), and at Vasher's record-setting 108 yard kick return for a touchdown.  
• The drastic conditions weren't good for the Bears, of course, because it kept the game close against an easy opponent where one mistake could cost them the game.  But the defense stepped up, as usual, and overcame all the miscues.
• And what miscues there were.  The wind was a factor, but three fumbles by Bobby Wade is simply unacceptable.  On two of the fumbles, he simply shouldn't have bothered fielding the ball.  He's been good all year at making something out of nothing, but you'd think after the second fumble he'd learn his lesson.  Nope.  He tried to make chicken salad out of chicken shit a third time, and it backfired.  I suspect he'll regain his job next week (Rashied Davis fielded the last punt of the day), but you never know.  Coaches hate guys that drop the rock.
• The Bears and the NFL are in the business of selling jerseys so they broke out the alternate Orange unis today.  They look kinda cool, but I'm not really a fan to tell you the truth.  I prefer the traditional navy, and to leave the gimmicks to the Seahawks of the world.  It just felt like I was watching the Miami Hurricanes with dark helmets, which considering the elements wasn't really far off. 
• The real story of the day, of course, was the loss of Cedric Benson.  His knee got bent backwards on a play, and much like Mark Bradley two weeks ago, he's currently listed as having a “sprain.”  And as with Mark Bradley, I'm expecting the worst.  MCL, ACL, the whole nine yards.  This really, really sucks for the Bears.  I don't want to jinx it or anything, but seeing him carted off I was reminded of Curtis Enis.  Top five draft pick, contract holdout, sat on the bench awhile, finally cracked the starting lineup, one good game, bam, busted knee.  Came back the next year, lost a step, averaged barely 3 yards a carry and was cut the following season.  The NFL should simply not allow the Bears a top five draft pick again.  Career killer.
• At least the Bears have some depth this year.  Thomas Jones, when healthy, has been great.  And Adrian Peterson looked really good today, too.  But really, that's not the point.  Cedric Benson was really starting to shine, and visions of Pro Bowls danced in my head.  I really hope he comes back strong without losing a step.  Maybe the orange jersey is a good omen.  After all, it worked for McGehee. 
• It wasn't a good day for the signal callers.  Cody Pickett gave a Chad Hutchinson inspired performance.  I was actually amazed when he completed that one pass.  Just awful.  Orton didn't fair much better, of course, but what can you say.  The Bears won. 

Niners in town

I don't know what it is, but the San Francisco 49ers always seem to have the Bears number.  The Bears simply don't have an answer for Montana, Rice, Craig...er, wait a second.  This ain't 1987, and Cody Pickett is not Joe Montana.  The Bears are favored by 13, and I expect them to cover.  The Niners are bad.  Still, this game kind of worries me.  All week long, all we're hearing about is how the Carolina Panthers next week represent the first tough test of the season, as if this was a bye week. This game is a must win, because they can't afford to lose any games if they expect to take the division, especially against such an “easy” opponent.  Nevertheless, I'll still take the Bears to cover.  Lovie will have them ready.  Bears 21, Niners 3.

Since we're here, might as well talk about some other Bears news.  They cut Marc Edwards this week, the fullback that started the first half of the season and even scored a few touchdowns.  Bryan Johnson's healthy, and so is Jason McKie, and the Bears aren't in the position to keep three fullbacks on the roster.  The other guys apparently contribute more on special teams, and Johnson was opening up holes like a truck, so the Bears felt Edwards was expendable.  It seems to make sense, but you have to wonder a bit if they're messing with a good thing.  Also on offense, Fred Miller broke his jaw in a household accident and will miss a few weeks.  Expect St. Clair to fill in, as he did nicely when Tait was hurt.

Finally, I've got to say something about Rex Grossman.  There's been a lot of talk in the Chicago media about the “QB controversy” that will arise when Rex gets healthy in a few weeks.  I don't want to hear nothing of it.  Orton's been doing fine.  He's struggled on occasion, but they've won four in a row with him behind center.  I know it can occasionally get frustrating watching him, but does anyone remember last year?  The Jonathon Krenzington experiment?  Orton is a godsend.  And besides, there's no evidence that Rex is any better.  He's started a whopping six games in three seasons, two less than Kyle.  This preseason, everyone was going ga ga over one pretty throw.  That's all he had, one good throw!  So he's not exactly Joe Montana.  The Bears should stick with Kyle till he earns a demotion.  A few games in a row like the Cincy game, and then there's a controversy.  Not now.  Go Bears!

Hot Stove, part deux

Yesterday I commented on the Neifi Perez signing, and with the winter meetings approaching, it's time to discuss the rest of the Cubs options this offseason.  I think the Cubs biggest needs have been pretty well established:  Shortstop, Outfield, Leadoff hitter, and Bullpen help.  They could use upgrades elsewhere, but those are the biggest holes to be filled.  I've already given my opinion on the SS/Leadoff problem, and a heaping helping of Furcal would satisfy both needs.  As for the rest of the holes...

I'm going to give the Left field job to Matt Murton.  He's hit well at every level of the minors, and I'd like to think he can keep it going.  He doesn't project to be a big power guy, but he can probably hit .290/.350/.480, with 20 HRs or so.  That'd be more than enough, and a large step up from the '05 Left fielders.   Since Murton has yet to prove himself over the course of a full season, though, the Cubs need to acquire a decent fourth Outfielder in case he falters.  And here inlies a problem.  The Cubs have had good fourth outfielders in the past, like Todd Hollandsworth, but Dusty has overused these players to the point of all effectiveness being wasted.  So the Cubs need to acquire a decent fourth outfielder that's on the short side of 30 yet brings enough stability so that he could be counted on to man the position capably for a few months before the trading deadline.  If the Kevin Mench rumors are true, he would fit the bill perfectly. 

In Right Field, I'd love to see the Cubs sign Brian Giles.  He's a little old, but he's still incredibly productive.  The numbers being thrown around hint that a three year deal might be enough to sign him, and I'd make that deal in a heartbeat.  He's got a tremendous batting eye, and would fit the heart of our lineup like a glove.  If they get outbid on Giles, I'd like to see the Cubs make a run at Hideki Matsui.  The Yanks want him back, but might be forced to part with him if they end up signing Giles.  If the Cubs fail on Matsui, it's time for Hendry to get creative.  Two years ago he dealt a top prospect for a guy nobody knew was available, and that guy ended up being Derrek Lee.  That turned out pretty well.  Perhaps a Shawn Green or Pat Burrell could be made available?  Just dangle a pitching prospect or two and voila, a new Right Fielder that nobody saw coming.  If Hendry strikes out on the trade market, he'll have to go the stopgap route again.  There's some decent guys available, but none would be worth more than a one year deal for four or five million.  Guys like Reggie Sanders, Juan Encarnacion, and even Jeromy Burnitz could be brought back. 

In Center, it's pretty clear that Corey Patterson is a goner.  Hopefully Hendry doesn't wait till the fan convention in January to unload him, like they did with Sosa last year, because the market will be extremely thin at that point.  As for his replacement, lots of guys are clamoring for Juan Pierre.  I'd take him, but I wouldn't offer him a long term pact.  One or two years is plenty.  I also wouldn't mind seeing Mike Cameron come to the North Side.  He plays excellent D, has some pop, and gets on base.  He strikes out a bit much, but he would suffice.  If they lose out on those two, I think Preston Wilson might be worth taking a flyer on.  Good pop, good glove, and yes, unfortunately tons of strikeouts.  He's not worth anything near the 12 million he earned last year, but if he could be had for one of those “one year, 5 million” types of deals, a case can certainly be made.  The fact is, none of the guys available is a long-term solution.  They'd all be just keeping the seat warm till Felix Pie is ready.  The Cubs don't need to break the bank on Johnny Damon. 

In the pen, B.J. Ryan is by far the best guy available.  He's young and he throws fire.  He's a proven closer.  I'd love to see him either finishing out games or setting them up for Ryan Dempster.  He's going to command a lot of money this offseason, though, so I'm skeptical at the Cubs chances.  Tom Gordon is an older chap that's available and will probably be successful, but the Cubs rarely have luck with former Cubs, so I'd probably avoid him.  Ditto for Kyle Farnsworth, obviously.  Trevor Hoffman and Bob Wickman are available and have been consistently productive over the last few years.  But they're both approaching forty and anyone that remembers Mike Remlinger (or Doug Jones or Goose Gossage or Rick Aguilera) knows how that's bound to turn out.  Another name to avoid:  Todd Jones.  He's been pretty awful for the last three years before an out-of-nowhere excellent 2005 campaign.  Smells like Jeff Fassero to me.  I guess I don't really have any names to offer, but that really goes with the territory in the bullpen.  Most successful bullpen guys come out of nowhere, burn out fast, and you never hear from them again.  It's up to Hendry and his scouts to find these one-year wonder types and mold them into an effective pen.  I will say this, I wasn't overly disappointed in the 2005 model.  I wouldn't be surprised if guys like Novoa, Weurtz, and Ohman took a step forward and turned our bullpen from an area of weakness to an area of strength.  I wouldn't bet the farm, but I wouldn't be surprised either. 

So that sums up the Cubs greatest needs in this offseason.  There are other areas that can be upgraded, like starting pitcher, second base, and a better defensive starting catcher; but these other areas must be addressed first.  Jim Hendry is on the hot seat.  He's going to make some moves, that much is known.  How these moves turn out will determine whether the Cubs are hoisting a trophy next October or searching for a new General Manager. 

Cubs trying to hit the century mark

The Cubs signed Neifi Perez to a two-year contract today.  Suffice it to say, I'm not pleased with the move.  Since Dusty Baker's going to be around for at least one more year, possibly more, Hendry has to construct the roster so that guys like Neifi Perez aren't around.  If Neifi's on the team, Neifi's gonna start at least five times per week.  Dusty wouldn't have it any other way.  It's not so much that Neifi's bad.  He is, but that's besides the point.  He could be useful purely as a backup.  He plays good defense, and you could get by with him hitting eighth for a week or two.  His problem is that he simply doesn't hit well enough to play every day.  And when Baker hits him first or second, as he did 382 times last season, the problem is compounded.  His miniscule OBP simply neuters Derrek Lee's effectiveness.  (Lee was 50th in the league in number of ABs with runners in scoring position - a pathetic total that owes a huge assist to out-making machines Neifi and Corey.)  I suspect the Cubs' road now forks in two different directions.

1)  Sign Rafael Furcal.  This is the best move by far.  Furcal is young, plays excellent defense, hits well, steals bases, and has an excellent on-base percentage.  Furthermore, he's a proven veteran.  If he's on the team, Dusty will play him nearly every day and bat him leadoff.  The worst possible outcome here is Neifi starts stealing at-bats from Todd Walker.  I wouldn't be very happy about this, but at least Neifi's ability to drag the team down would be cut in half.

2)  Go into the season with the intention of Ronny Cedeno being the starting shortstop, leaving Neifi as insurance.  I'd be OK with this move if we had a different manager.  Cedeno is far from a sure thing, but he hit well in limited duty and plays excellent defense.  Plus he's young enough (22) so that there's hope he might blossom into a better-than-average player.  His youth, though, is a liability in Dusty's mind.  The first sign of a slump would yank Cedeno from the lineup faster than you can say Jason Dubois.  Neifi would hit .300 for a week and cement his place in the lineup for six months.  Cedeno would rot on the bench for the rest of his career as a Cub. 

So really there is only one option at this point.  Sign Furcal.  Whatever he wants, pay the man.  I can't take another season (or two) of Neifi popping up and grounding out to short.  If the Cubs give Perez more than 25 starts in either of the next two seasons, expect the 2008 season to mark the 100th consecutive season of championship-free baseball on the North Side.

A Win is a Win

The Bears beat the Saints today in Baton Rouge on a last second field goal by Robbie Gould.  Pretty pathetic turnout by the LSU faithful.  The announced crowd was 32,000 (in a 93,000 seat stadium), but it didn't even look like 15,000 were there.  I thought this was Saints country?  Did all the Saints fans move to Texas?  Are they simply sticking it to the owner for all the moving talk?   Whatever the case, it was a pathetic turnout for the most popular sport in the country.  Anyhoo, back to the game.

Kyle Orton had the 2nd worst game of his career, but nevertheless managed to get the victory.  He threw two picks, fumbled once, and missed some open receivers.  He did manage a few nice throws when they needed them, though, and the Bears got the win.  I was getting frustrated a bit watching Kyle today, until the announcers reminded me of something.  Eli Manning was gunning for his first career road win today in San Francisco.  Yes, the golden child son-of-a-golden child with the golden brother was winless in seven career tries on the road.   Today was Kyle's second road win in four tries.  (Eli finally won today over San Fran's JV team).  As Coach Ditka would say, “Listen gang, this Orton kid ain't a bad Quarterback.”  To be sitting on top of the NFC North at 5-3 with a rookie QB having started all eight games is quite a feat, even considering the weak competition.  I can name at least seven teams right now with a worse QB situation than the Bears.  (SF, TB, NYJ, DET, MIA, BAL, ARI, and arguably the Saints).  So let's all do a shot of Jack for Mr. Kyle Orton. 

Elsewhere on offense, Thomas Jones re-injured his ribs and the backups got some work.  Both Adrian Peterson and Cedric Benson had some nice runs, with Peterson also scoring a TD.  It's kind of funny be referring to the fourth overall pick in the draft in the same breath as career third stringer Adrian Peterson, but if that's how the Bears are going to use their seventeen million dollars, so be it.  Wideout Justin Gage returned to the starting lineup and hardly screwed up at all.  So the Bears got that going for them. 

The Defense had some lapses today but held tight when it mattered most.  Three Bears turnovers in the first half led to exactly zero points for the home team.  Hunter Hillenmeyer had a nice game with both a sack and a pick.  Adewale Ogunleye spent his Sunday afternoon in the opponent's backfield, and he must really be liking it because he's been there an awful lot lately.  Lance Briggs and Chris Harris were all over the place, too.  Plus there was a Mike Green sighting.  I haven't heard his name called since the Christmas tree was up. 

My one big complaint applies to all three phases of the game.  Penalties.  This team doesn't score enough to overcome sloppy play.  And, game-winner aside, Robbie Gould must be able to connect from outside 40 yards.  I suspect the Bears will be on the market for a kicker this offseason. 

So the Bears won, and it wasn't pretty.  But you know, I'll take it.  Go Bears!

Bulls Win!

The Bulls opened their season tonight with a tremendous comeback win over the Charlotte Bobcats.  I gotta admit, I'm not in basketball mode yet.  Baseball just ended, and we're in the heart of Bears season at the moment.  In a typical year, my interest in the Bulls increases as the Bears playoff hopes fade.  Suffice it to say I hope my Bulls interest doesn't swell until February 2006. 

The NBA regular season is too damn long.  I mean, who really cares what's going on with basketball in the first week of November?  I follow the team, and read the box scores every day, but it's not “appointment TV” until Christmas Day.  With that in mind, they should shorten the season to 60 games, and start the week before Christmas. The NFL is for all practical purposes finished at that point, and the NBA fans can rev up the season without any other distractions.  Mr. Stern, do me a solid and make this happen. 

What's funny is, in spite of my stated opinion, I actually caught tonight's game.  A few notes:

• What a comeback.  Yes, it came against the league's doormats, but the 30-9 thrashing in the fourth period was fun nonetheless.  The threes were flying like crazy, many courtesy of Eric Piatkowski. 
• Chris Duhon wins the award for “Most Unlikely Player to Record a Triple Double” tonight.  18-10-12.  Those are Lebron numbers.  Not bad for a defensive specialist.
• Captain Kirk twisted his ankle.  It didn't look too serious, but you never know.  Hopefully he won't miss much time.  They'd miss him more than any other player.
• This Michael Sweetney kid looks pretty good.  He's rather, uh, large, but he's a real hustler.  Some are saying that Sweetney will outperform Curry this season, and in the limited minutes I've seen, I have to agree with the possibility.  Curry will score a few more easy baskets in the first quarter, but Sweetney will more than make up for it on the defensive end over the course of the entire game. 
• I don't know much about Darius Songaila, but he must be all right if he's already cracked Skiles starting lineup over Luol Deng.  Both players combined for a really nice game.  (21-9-6)
• Ben Gordon picked up where he left off in the playoffs last season, and that's not a good thing.  He hit a big three, but otherwise had a miserable shooting night at 4 of 18.  We need him to come back to last year's award-winning level if we have any hopes of returning to the playoffs. 

That's about it.  The Bulls still have a lot of young talent on this team, and Skiles has done a great job turning around this franchise's losing mindset.  If they can avoid the big injuries, and Skiles doesn't fall out of favor the way he did in Phoenix, I see no reason why this team can't at least make a return trip to the playoffs.  Let's go Bulls!