Big Sports Night in Chicago
Both the Cubs and Bears were in action tonight and my DVR got a heckuva workout. I subjected myself to both contests in full just for you, dear reader, so you wouldn't have to. And here's what I saw:
I saw a Cubs team take two of three in an all-important series against the second-place Brewers. The Cubs have been sort of moseying along of late; win some, lose some. The Brewers, on the other hand, have been downright atrocious. They've now won something like 3 of their last 17 games and have fallen 2 games out of first. Hence, the moseying Cubs have found themselves in first just one day short of September. It's a good feeling.
You know what else is good? Or should I say "who" else is good. Jacque Jones, that's who. Who'd have thunk that the recipient of the most scorn in the history of this blog (after the departed Neifi Perez) would be the guy to carry the team on his back down the stretch. He's been money in the bank ever since he was traded to the Marlins back in June (a trade ultimately rescinded, of course). His homers are still drastically down this year, but he's hitting it everywhere else in the ballpark with authority. You know what else I like? Seeing Jacque smile all the time. Every time he gets a hit, he looks like the happiest man in Chicago. This is a welcome change from your typical athletes who are utterly emotionless on the field of play. Jacque is productive, the fans are happy, and Jacque is happy. I'm especially happy for him, too, as the boos are gone and presumably he isn't dealing with racist buffoonery on a daily basis.
Oh, and I liked Murton and Sorianos back-to-back jacks quite a bit, too.
As for the Bears, what a colossal waste of time. The starters played exactly one series, which amounted to a robust three-and-out. What's the point of that? I couldn't imagine how pissed I'd be if I spent $60 on a ticket and half my day traveling to watch the first team offense for all of 70 seconds. Can you at least give them a quarter? Considering what happened in the third, however, it's a surprise coaches give them any playing time at all.
Greg Olsen busted up his knee pretty bad and had to go to the lockerroom for x-rays. Lovie said it was a bruised knee and we'll just have to wait and see how serious it is. I'm on the edge of my seat with this one, as Olsen was starting to look like he will be a major player this season. Oh, and second rounder Dan Bazuin got hurt, too.
As for the rest of the game, Mike Hass and David Ball both looked pretty fantastic at Wideout. If I had to guess, I would say Hass will win the WR #6 job and Ball will get sent to the practice squad. Jamar Williams, Corey Graham, and Kevin Payne all stood out on defense.
And I think its official. Robbie Gould can't hit 50+ yard field goals. He's Oh-for-whatever this preseason after never being challenged last year. Now we know why.
And that's really about all I have to say about tonight's boring-ass Bears game. Regular season is just a week away, but in the meantime, I'll go with...
Go Cubs, Go!