Vacation's Over: Did I miss anything?
I'm back.
March 18, 1995. Basketball icon Michael Jordan returns to the Chicago Bulls with a (somewhat pompous) two-word press release.
I'm back.
March 11, 2007. "Idiot with an Internet connection" returns from a seven-day trip to Mexico with an (extremely pompous) two-word declaration.
Did I miss anything?
- Lance Briggs has vowed to never play for the Bears again. "Trade me or remove the franchise tag," Lance (more or less) said. You see, Lance's feelings are hurt. He just doesn't understand why the Bears would want to hold on to one their best player's rights for (at least) one more season. Seven million dollars? An insult. You know, it turns out the NFL is not all puppies and fresh-cut daisies. In fact, the NFL is a God-damned business, after all. Who knew? Cry me a river, Lance.
- Thomas Jones has been traded to the Jets, clearing the way for Cedric Benson to start earning his paycheck. For Jones, the Bears get to move up 26 spots in the second round of April's draft. It doesn't sound like much, but it's a pretty big jump (according to Jimmy Johnson's chart.) It's the equivalent of obtaining a 3rd, 4th, and 5th rounder; or so Jimmy says. I don't know about this one. In fact, nobody knows, nor will anybody know about this one till at least 2008. It all depends on how Benson and the Bears do. If the Bears make the Super Bowl next year, then it was a fine trade. If Benson does awesome, regardless of the team's performance, then it was certainly justifiable. If Benson blows (either figuratively or a knee), while Jones pulls a Marshall Faulk, then it may turn out to be one of the worst trades in franchise history. (It'll be awfully hard to top the Rick Mirer debacle.) What I do know is my two-year-old won't be able to wear his Thomas Jones jersey next season. He's outgrown it.
- The Cubs have had an up and down spring. They started out horrible and sloppy, like 2006 all over again. Then Lou lit a fire under their ass and they started playing smart baseball and proceeded to win a few games. This is something ol' toothpick never did. Of course, that lasted about three days and then they started losing again. So Lou blew up, again. Get used to the roller coaster, Cubs fans.
- The race for fifth starter is starting to heat up. It looks like Z, Lilly, Marquis and Hill have sewn up one through four. Prior, Miller, Cotts, and Guzman are the four horsemen competing for the five spot. Prior, sadly, looks about as effective as Mike Sirotka out there. He's throwing nothing but heat; heat being what they call "BP" these days. It doesn't look good. What IS looking good, Mister Kotter, is Angel Guzman's heat. Could this kid finally make good on his 2004 promise? Stranger things have happened.
- The Bulls are 8-3 since the All-Star Break. I haven't written about them in eons, but I've been keeping up with the day-to-day drama of Chicago's NBA team. The highlights from the Gordon-Redd game last week were amazing, and I wish I could have seen it live. Well, actually no, I don't. Did I mention it was 82 and sunny every day in Cabo, without a hint of humidity? Basket-what? Another cerveza, por favor!
Turns out I didn't miss much. Adios, amigos!