Final Thoughts on Chicago Sports

Top Albums of 2008

MikeJ — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 05:15:00 GMT

This might be a few days late but who's counting? Here's my top albums for 2008. Rather than rank everything and do a simple "top ten", I'm just going to throw a bunch of albums into three bins. Also, I'm going to list these alphabetically because sometimes I want Fuji Apples and sometimes I want Red Delicious. I just can't pick a favorite.

Albums that will stay in the rotation

I may not be listening to these when I'm 60, but I certainly will when I'm 35. If an album is still in the rotation after two years, you know its a keeper.

The Black Keys - Attack and Release
This two-piece from Ohio took a major step forward in 2008 with their latest, Danger Mouse-produced effort. "Psychotic Girl" is my favorite track. The addition of banjo, bass, and a haunting choir adds a whole new dimension to their classic blues-rock sound.

Coldplay - Viva La Vida
This might be Coldplay's worst album, but its still pretty damn good. And please note that Codplay's "worst" is like saying the movie "Casino" is worse than "Goodfellas". The bar is extremely high. "Violet Hill", the first single, echoes "Welcome to the Machine" era Pink Floyd.

Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs
I couldn't get the bassline for "I Will Possess Your Heart" out of my head for like three months this summer. It's just that awesome. Death Cab is a band for which the videos really add a lot. In addition to the afforementioned IWPYH video, the song "Cath" had a particularly interesting clip. It turned a good song into a great one for me.

Metallica - Death Magnetic
Old school Metallica is back, and I listened to this album as much as anything this year. The lyrics might be dumb, but the riff for "All Nightmare Long" is classic Metalli-crunch and will never die.

The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely
Jack White is my favorite musician of the 2000s, and this is another solid entry into his canon. A couple of tracks miss the mark but the majority of this album is great. The single "Salute Your Solution" is a great place to start, but also the more mellow tracks like "These Stones will Shout" are just classic White.

Radiohead - In Rainbows
I know this album came out in November 2007 but the summer of 2008 was all about Radiohead. Headlining Lollapalooza, every track seemed to have its moment in the sun. Tracks like "Reckoner" and "Jigsaw Falling Into Place" hit that nerve that raise the hair on the back of your neck.

Albums that are good but might not last

These albums are pleasant enough now, but I wouldn't be surprised if there's an inch of dust on these mp3s come 2012.

Eagles of Death Metal - Heart On
I haven't given this album my full attention yet, and it's certainly not as good as their previous album, "Death By Sexy"; but I heard enough of this album to make me want to listen to it more. While we're here, 2006's DBS is a good old-fashioned, devil-horn raisin, head-banging rock party. If you haven't heard it yet, I highly recommend checking it out.

Guns N' Roses - Chinese Democracy
What to say that hasn't already been said by writers far better than me. While it definitely wasn't worth the wait, there are four or five excellent tracks here. ("Raid N' Bedouins," "Shackler's Revenge", "I.R.S."), four or five mediocre tracks, and another four complete duds. I just can't do power ballads anymore, and I can't figure out why this couldn't have come out ten years ago. DeRogatis put it best when he called this album the "Godfather III of Rock."

The Gutter Twins - Saternalia
I need to listen to this album more from the Lolla band. The first 5 or 6 tracks are amazing but the album kind of loses its way in the 2nd half (outside of the track "Each to Each", which is as good as anything on the first half of the album). Discs that tail out tend to lose my interest in the long run.

The Whigs - Mission Control
A solid band from Athens, Georgia, and yet another band I saw at Lolla. (There's a lot of Lolla on this list, I failed to mention above that I saw The Black Keys and The Raconteurs at Lolla as well.) I'm not sure if there are any classics here, but the whole album is pretty solid. "Like a Vibration," which reminds me of Social Distortion, is my favorite track.

Weezer - Red Album
Best Weezer album since Green, but it still pales in comparison to Blue & Pinkerton. Which is OK. To make a "good" album 14 years in is an accomplishment for anybody.

Mudcrutch - Mudcrutch
Tom Petty's first, aborted, band -- reborn. A few tracks sound like Petty outtakes, but songs like "Crystal River" take classic Petty into directions he's never been. I'll probably still be listening to this when I'm 50, but not as often as at least five other Petty records.

Albums that need further attention

For whatever reason, I didn't listen to this stuff enough. It's all noteworthy, though, at a minimum.

Beck - Modern Guilt
For some reason, I never got into Beck. I like just about everything I've ever heard, but his catalog has so far eluded me. I have made it a point to give this one a fair shot.

Foxboro Hot Tubs - Stop Drop & Roll
50s rockabilly Green Day side project. I like what I heard but haven't really gone back to it.

Girl Talk - Feed the Animals
Infectious dance record that reminds me of a modern-day "Paul's Boutique." Dozens of samples weaved together make up each song, and you have to admire a guy who can mash up Metallica's One with Karen Carpenter and Little Wayne.

The Killers - Day & Age
"Hot Fuss" might be one of my top 10 albums of the decade, and "Sam's Town" really grew on me. But my first impressions of this one are weak. Because I like the other two so much, though, I will give it a few more chances.

Kings of Leon - Only by the Night
"Sex on Fire" is one of my favorite tracks of the year.

Nine Inch Nails - The Slip
Another lolla band who is/was awesome live, but this is a rather mediocre entry in Rezner's catalog. I like it enough while I'm listening to it, but ten minutes after the fact I can't recall a single riff or lyric. That's usually a bad sign.

Robert Plant & Allison Krauss - Raising Sand
I can't say I'm a huge bluegrass fan, but this album is very pleasant background music for while I'm working.

Slipknot - All Hope is Gone
"Psychosocial" is perhaps the best song for headbanging in twenty years. Or at least since Pantera broke up.

Supergrass - Diamond Hoo Ha
I like their 2006 album, "Road to Rouen", quite a bit and I need to give this a few more listens.

And there you go. I can't wait to see what's in store for 2009!

Cubs Trade DeRosa

MikeJ — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 05:12:00 GMT

I like that the Cubs made a few moves yesterday, even though the moves themselves are a bit...curious. They obviously aren't content to sit back and hope the same roster will cruise to the playoffs with 97 wins again, and that's by far the most encouraging thing I get from these moves. Standing pat never works. But if you ask me point blank, DeRosa is the type of guy you should be acquiring, not trading away.

First off, the Cubs signed Aaron Miles from St. Louis. He's a jack-of-all-trades type that can play anywhere. He hits for average and gets on base, but he has no power to speak of. Think "older, more versatile, more expensive, Ryan Theriot." I heard about this before the DeRosa trade and I instantly assumed that DeRosa was a goner. Otherwise, there's no point in having Miles around.

The DeRosa news came next. So who did they get? Peavy? Uh, not quite. They got 3 minor league arms from the Indians. Not even particularly strong minor league arms. A trio of grade C prospects. Might be OK some day, might not. (Probably 80% of grade C prospects never make the majors.) Turns out the trade was a straight salary dump. I really like DeRosa. I was down on his signing, and I even ragged on him a few times (wrongly) for being anti-clutch. But he was for the most part a great guy to have on the team, and he had two good-to-great years here. Aramis goes down for a few days? Start him at 3rd. Soriano limping? Start him in left. Fukudome struggling? Start him in right. Otherwise, plant him at second and reap the rewards. Solid hitter, capable defender, smart baserunner. No lip. Head always in the game.

There's also a cost-cutting move on the table in the form of a Jason Marquis trade. He's going to Colorodo for cash and Luis Vizcaino, an average middle reliever coming off a down year at Coors. Marquis was one of my biggest whipping boys but I've got to finally give him some props. For a fifth starter, he wasn't that bad. Two out of three games he'd give you a solid effort, and he'd always play solid defense, lay down a good bunt, and even pinch run when needed. He was good for a dozen wins a year, and you really can't expect much more from a fifth starter. Finding a solid one is often easier said than done. Hopefully Sean Marshall or, gasp, Rich Hill can take the job next year (or Peavy!).

It is assumed that they will use this new-found savings and sign Milton Bradley to a 3-year deal. Yes, Milton has certainly got game, and he's exactly the type of hitter that the Cubs need. Switch hitter, high OBP, high AVG, decent pop. But I'm not so high on his signing. First and foremost, he gets injured a lot. He's only played as many as 120 games twice in his eight-year career. Second, he's a major-league asshole. If he plays 140 games and hits like he did in Texas last year, then you can put up with a few headaches. But I'm not overly optimistic.

So after looking at the lineup, is Bradley and Fontenot/Miles going to be much better than DeRosa and Fontenot/Fukudome/Johnson would be? I don't know, we'll have to wait and see. But it seems like a push. Unless one of two things happen:

The Cubs acquire Jake Peavy
The Cubs acquire Brian Roberts

Basically, the two most over-analyzed non-trades of the 20-aughts. Sure, it's great if Peavy or Roberts show up. But otherwise this is a push at best. We'll see.

I do know one thing, I now have two reasons to pay attention to Cleveland this year. DeRosa and Woodie. Good luck, gentlemen.

2008 Bears: Over and Out

MikeJ — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 03:30:00 GMT

The Bears lost a heartbreaker to the Houston Texans today, 31-24, ending their 2008 season with a record of 9-7. The Bears weren't very good this year, but they had a chance right down to the last day of the season; and that's really all I was asking for. The Eagles and Raiders did their part; too bad the Bears couldn't help themselves. On with my notes:

Orton was decent today. No major mistakes, a few decent throws. Can't complain about the 24 points he put on the board. Olsen was his usual solid self, and Devin made a real nice catch downfield. Lloyd, too. And I think I even saw Marty Booker. I'm curious as to why they attempted a pass to Earl Bennett with the season on the line, considering he didn't make a play in the previous 15 games. Not that it really mattered, I'm just sayin.
Forte wasn't used enough. He never is used enough, it seems. It's weird saying that about the player who has the highest percentage of his team's touches in the NFL, but that's what its like watching these Bears. The dearth of talent at the skill positions makes you want to go to the Forte well on every play.
The defense pretty much sucked today. Andre Johnson is a man, and he abused Peanut and Manning all day. I kind of figured the Bears would have a tough time with him, but I was hoping Tillman would get the better of him a few times. Peanut was pretty eratic this year. Some good games, some horrid games. More than a few brain farts.
Poor tackling all day. Did Urlacher even play? I only saw him once, and that was when he was on the bench chewing his mouthguard. The whole defense really just got "out-physicalled". The line, the linebackers, and the secondary. Roughed up. And that's your season in a nutshell right there.
Pretty lousy officiating. A few major calls went against the Bears. Not that the Bears really deserved to win, but they might have been able to squeak out a stinker like the Green Bay game had the officiating not been so lousy.

And that's your season. It's disappointing not making the playoffs, but we all know what would happen if they actually made it. So from that standpoint, it's not too deflating of a loss. (On the flip side, imagine being a Cowboys fan right about now. Now THAT would suck.)

Looking back at my season preview, I predicted 7-9 and they ended up two games better than that. Take a look at my keys to the season:

Defense Stays Healthy - They mostly did. Vasher missed half the season, Dvoracek missed 6 games, and that was more or less it. They lost maybe 15-20 starts on defense this year, and that's about as "healthy" as you get in the NFL. Turns out staying healthy wasn't the only key for this defense. You actually have to show up and make plays. Most of the big name guys on this defense didn't make nearly enough plays.
Forte pans out. I'd call that a big yes.
Playmaker emerges. Outside of Forte, nobody on offense emerged. Maybe Olsen. Orton kind of stepped up. Stepped up to "average", anyways. Danieal Manning really stepped up on special teams. They probably would have lost both the Saints game and the Green Bay game without him. And they wouldn't have been close today.
Line gels. The line did FAR better than I could have possibly imagined. They weren't great, and on occasion certain individuals had crappy games (St. Clair vs Allen, anyone? Tait versus Mario Willams?) But for the most part, they exceeded my expectations by quite a bit.

I said back then that if all those things went right, the Bears could be in line for a 10-6. They were certainly within range of that, and if not for a Peanut brain fart against Tampa and an 11-second team meltdown against Atlanta, they very well could have won 11. But it wasn't meant to be and its time to turn the page to next year. I'll be back next week with a look at 2009.

Another Ugly Win for Bears

MikeJ — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 05:14:00 GMT

This team is thoroughly mediocre, but they keep winning and that's all that matters. Every time they take the field, I just can't get that damn Denny Green quote out of my head. You know the one.

Kyle Orton was as ugly as his beard. He's confident, he stands his ground in the pocket, and he's pretty accurate on short and intermediate throws. He also stares at his receivers too much and he can't throw deep for shit. We knew all this going into the year. He truly is who we thought he was. Worthy of big money? No. Worthy of a medium-sized bag o' cash? Yeah, probably. (You look around the league lately?) You can obviously win with Kyle, but he's really just keeping the seat warm for the next year or two at most.
Matt Forte was criminally underused again, until the fourth. Then he came alive and quite frankly won the game. That fourth and one was "heart attack, part one."
I have a limit of one beer per quarter on school nights. Overtime! Time for a fifth. Thanks, By Owner.

Olsen and Clark are both very solid Tight Ends. Wideouts suck, yada yada. I feel like I write the same thing every week. This team needs an impact receiver. Period.
I'm currently watching Rashied Davis get interviewed on Comcast. Did he play tonight? Has he played since the first Detroit game? You'd probably get more relevant info from the equipment manager.

Defense was shaky in the first half but came to play in the second half. Only two guys played well the whole game, and that's Corey Graham and Lance Briggs. Everyone else was spotty. Huge play by Alex Brown at the end, obviously, and some nice pressure by Tommie Harris. I'm content with the performance on D, but I don't know how they're going to stop Andre Johnson and Steve Slaton this Sunday.

Lovie Smith referred to Adrian Peterson as AP. For the love of God, don't embarass yourself by calling him that again.

Outside of the Peterson late hit, Special Teams won the game. Gould and Maynard were awesome, Danieal Manning was again a superstud. Huge blocked kicks. Can't say enough about them.
I had Ryan Grant tonight and lost my fantasy football championship game by one measly point. That hurts but I'll take the 2nd place money and watch an interesting Bears game this Sunday. Not a bad tradeoff.

And that's a wrap. Rap? Wrap. Bears are in Houston, and I'm not overly confident about this one. Let's see if they can "find a way to win." All I know is, meaningful football in week 17. I'm not happy, but I'm satisfied.

Bear down.

Bears Need Help, Bears Get Help

MikeJ — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 04:26:00 GMT

The Bears need help to make the playoffs, and they got some serious help today:

The Vikings lost to Atlanta, 24-17. The Bears "easiest" path to the playoffs required two Vikings losses and two Bears wins. One down, three to go. I'm not really sure why the Vikings switched back to Tarvaris Jackson for today's critical start, but I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Yes, Jackson was the player of the week against Arizona last Sunday, but everyone's a player of the week versus the Cardinals lately. He's still an eratic thrower who generally relies on his legs to make plays. Maybe a notch (or two) better than Henry Burris. MVP candidate Purple Jesus did the Vikings no favors today either with his greasy palms. Vikings will still likely make the playoffs, but I wouldn't look for them to get out of the first round.
On the opposite end, Atlanta looks awfully good. They aren't going to be some wild card pushover in the playoffs. They should easily take Arizona, and I bet they'd give NYG or CAR some fits as well.
Dallas sputtered to an ugly loss versus Baltimore on Saturday night. Tons of talent on that team, but I think they have one too many egos at Wide Receiver. I'm not saying T.O. is the only reason, but he certainly doesn't help matters much. Throw in a Pac Man and a Tank, and it could happen to a nicer bunch. Still, Dallas needs to lose next week at Philly for the Bears to have a shot at the Wild Card (if the whole division thing doesn't work out).
On the flip side, Baltimore is no slouch. Easily a top 5 contender.
Tampa crapped themselves at home against the still alive San Diego. One of the great underchievers in football this season is still around thanks to Denver's dislike of playoff football. Tampa doesn't scare me at all, but they're in with a Dallas loss and a win over Oakland. Oakland is a train wreck, but they beat a solid Houston team today and you never know.
Philly had a chance but they blew it against Washington. The Eagles have been hot, but I think their hotness was due more to "easy schedule" than anything else. Donovan McNabb... I can say 10,000 words on McNabb, seeing as how he's always the go-to guy for Bears offseason rumors. But I'll keep it short and sweet: No thanks.

That's pretty much it. Bears still need some big time help, but their odds are looking a whole lot better now than they did this time yesterday. Still, doesn't it even matter? I get this a lot from people. Does making the playoffs really matter for this team? What good is making the playoffs if you lose in the first round? Forget the whole "anything can happen" scenario, but I generally would be happy with 10 wins, playoffs or not. At least this season. It's not my ultimate goal, of course, and a string of 10-6's would get old really fast. But considering where they were at the beginning of this year, and the extreme lack of talent on offense, I was thinking 6-10 was the most realistic scenario. Frankly, I'm content that this season comes down to week 17. That's 17 weeks of meaningful football, and that's a heckuva lot better than most of the last 15 years have played out. "Evaluating the roster" every December is the worst.

Bears-Packers, Monday Night Football. Keep it interesting for at least one more week. Bear down.

Why I can't get into the Bulls

MikeJ — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 04:33:00 GMT

I like the NBA, I really do. And I really want to like the Bulls; I try and try and try again. But I just can't get into them this year. I watch the Bulls, and I'm mostly disgusted. Poor disjointed play, a few flashes of brilliance, poor disjointed play, then either a tight win or tight loss. (Or they're blown out from the opening whistle, and those games make me want to put a gun in my mouth. Like the upcoming game against the Celtics.)

I look at all the lottery picks on this team, and I just can't figure out why they're so mediocre. The team is just the epitome of wasted talent, and I think that's my problem. There's only one player on this team that I really like, and that's, of course, Derrick Rose. While he's hit some snags of late, the sky is the ceiling for that kid. There's a couple guys I kinda like, and that's Gooden, Gorden, and sometimes Nocioni. Gooden I like because he seems to get the most out of his talent, and I like Gordon because its hard not to like his NBA Jam-like "on fire" games. (My Gooden approval, I must admit, is totally fake because he, too, is more-or-less a failed lottery pick. I just like him more than our failures because he was somebody else's failure.) Noce, well, he sucks most of the time but at least he appears to give 100% at all times. It's appreciated. (and he can get on fire at times as well, like last night, and those games are hard to ignore.)

And then there's Luol Deng. Lottery pick, massive contract, average player. It's just the expectation factor that's killing me. Tyrus Thomas, Joakim Noah...massive, massive busts. Noah looks bored and is starting to look like he'll be out of the league in two years. I never would have guessed that when they drafted him. I knew he wasn't a star, but I thought he'd be a solid, high-energy big man off the bench at the bare minimum. Grab some boards, a couple of putbacks. Good D. He's done none of that. Thomas is the most perplexing. He's got all the talent in the world, yet he rots on the bench most nights. Not that he's earned playing time, mind you. He gets in there and does nothing. If he wasn't a top three pick, he'd have been cut long ago. He's just worthless.

I guess when you get right down to it, I hate watching the Bulls because of John Paxson. In more ways than one. First and foremost, the Bulls roster. It's all his. If he didn't win the lottery this year with those 1.7% odds, he wouldn't have gotten Rose and the Bulls would have been stuck with another lottery disappointment. Guaranteed. But the second reason I blame Paxson is because of his playing career. His team, well, Jordan's team, just set the bar extremely high. I look at the Celtics now and I see the '96 Bulls who won 72 games. Three superstuds, great role players, come to play every night. And then I look at the Bulls now and I see what the Atlanta Hawks were then. Mediocre, first-round fodder. At best.

The grace period is over. I cut the Bulls some serious slack during the first five years post Jordan. I mean, six championships in eight years buys an awfully huge grace period. A couple of 15 win seasons? A few draft busts? No problem. I'm still drunk on Champagne and Grant Park rallies. But this is Year Ten A.J., and they've won exactly one playoff series. Never contenders. Never really even close.

I just can't take it any more. Every time I click past their games, I'm superfly TNT, I'm guns of the navarone. I'm like "Jim Hendry" in this video.

Time to clean house. Everybody but Rose goes. Make a run at LeBron. Or Wade. Do something.

Bears-Saints Rapid Fire Recap

MikeJ — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 05:53:00 GMT

Bears Win!

Offense was crap. Orton was sub-par; Forte was stuffed; receivers still suck royally. Lucky with a pair of huge pass interference calls. Lucky, because he wouldn't have caught them anyways. Turner's an idiot. What are you passing for with 5 minutes left and a four point lead?
Defense was OK. Could have been better, but the Saints are one of the best offenses in football. 24 points? Mostly off stupid Bears turnovers? Could have been worse. Ogunleye and Adams had nice games. The Browns, too.
Special Teams. Manning was awesome, Hester was garbage. How would Manning look at tailback? He hits the hole hard. Fake punt? Ballsy, bud I'd have pinned them deep. Still, Peterson caught it. Don't know what the ref saw. Gould is great, Gould is good.
Coaching. Like I said, Turner was crap. Cover 2 was more like cover nobody. But in the end, euphoria. As witnessed by my WAP. Stupid train schedule.

Did this post have any value? Probably not. I'll try better next time. Two more wins to secure a playoff spot. And even then, need some help. Bear down.

Finally, I just heard Cedric Benson told nfl.com that he could have run for 1800 yards if he had the holes Forte has been getting. Excuse me while I pick my ass up off the floor. I just laughed it off.

Bears Win a Cold One over Jags

MikeJ — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 02:48:00 GMT

A free ticket to the Bears-Jags game landed in my lap today and I couldn't pass it up. (Thanks, Dave!) It was awfully cold out there, but it was a nice view of a much-needed win for the Bears. Some thoughts...

Orton was solid. He's just a solid guy. That's pretty much what he is when he's not playing Detroit (and essentially an All-Pro). Probably the 12-15th best QB in football. Can the Bears do better? Sure. But they can do a LOT worse. A LOT. I'd still draft a QB in the 2nd or 3rd round this April, but I'd definitely sign Orton to an extension with the intention of him starting the next 20 games or so. I wonder if he'd take a five-year, $35 million dollar deal, with the first dozen mil or so guaranteed? That's a pretty good haul, and not too much to sit on your bench should a young stud rise up and take the job.
I'm looking at the box score, and it sure doesn't seem like Forte had 21 carries today. Freezing in the upper deck, it seemed from my point of view that he only had two or three carries in the second half. And when he did carry the ball, the Bears had four-wide with no interior blocking in an attempt to create mismatches inside. His under-use was criminal, in my opinion, and Ron Turner has been in a funk since Orton twisted his ankle in week 8.
Another day, more drops from our "receivers." Hester did have a pair of nice grabs, but also another couple of mind-boggling drops. Booker is probably the best receiver on this team, and he's ancient and hurt all the time. (By "ancient", I mean one year younger than me. I'm old.) The Bears number one priority this offseason should be to acquire a number one receiver. Could be through the draft, a free agent, or a trade. I don't care -- it has to happen. (That's why I'm willing to wait until the 2nd or 3rd round for a QB.)
The defense was solid enough. I saw a lot of "bend but don't break" from my perch. They had a decent pass rush (Mark Anderson!!!!), but they gave up some big chunks of yards on the ground to bowling ball Maurice Jones-Drew and the nearly petrified Fred Taylor. (Now that's ancient, my friends.) Part of the Bears success was due to Jacksonville's lousy/cold receivers, part of it was due to Jacksonville's lousy/cold QB, but part of it was because of a solid effort in pass defense over the middle by our linebackers. They left some picks on the field, though, in the form of tipped balls. They're going to need to make those grabs if they have any hope of beating Drew Brees and the Saints this Thursday.
Tillman doesn't seem to have his head in the game lately. Does a sore shoulder affect his brain? Dumb plays.

The Packers lost today, and they're dead as fried chicken. The Vikings got a reprieve from a Minnesota judge, allowing their run-stuffers to play, and they still just barely beat Detroit. (It's official. Lions will go 0-16.) It's not looking good for the Bears playoff chances. The Bears just have to win out and hope two of Arizona/Atlanta/Giants take care of the Vikings. It doesn't look good. But its nice to see wins anyways.

Till next time...

Quick Hits, Random Musings, Whatever

MikeJ — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 03:41:00 GMT

Here goes...

The Bears chances for making the playoffs rose exponentially on Tuesday when The Great Girth in Minnesota known as "The Williams Brothers" were both suspended for the remainder of the regular season. Those two behemoths are imperative to the success of the Minnesota defense, and it honestly wouldn't surprise me if Detroit beat them on Sunday. Well, I'd be "surprised" because Detroit is the worst professional football team I've ever seen, including those in Arena2, the WFL and the XFL. But I wouldn't be "woke up with head sewn to the carpet" surprised, if you know what I mean.
Seriously, though. Our team is so mediocre that we're trumpeting the fact that our opponent will be short-handed because of trumped up cheating charge? Pathetic.
While we're here, I think the Bears will cover over the Jags this Sunday. That team has been quite Lion-like lately.
The Bulls lost their last two games, but they've been gellin' like Dr. Scholl's quite nicely with Derrick Rose since my post on Opening Night. Derrick Rose has impressed the hell out of me. He's so awesome, it almost makes up for the rest of the team sucking so bad. Seriously, he's the only thing to watch right now. Well, that's not entirely true. Gordon's been largely on fire, Gooden's been solid, and Hughes has been somewhat refreshing. (Defense and scoring? Huh. Last year's Ben Wallace trade is starting to look like a win for the Bulls.) But let's focus on the lousy guys (because that's so much more fun!)

Looking back at that post, which was only a short month ago, the Tyrus Thomas part looks rather comical. After a great opening night, he's been almost uniformly garbage ever since. Another top 5 draft bust for the Bulls, and he's officially entering Marcus Fizer territory.
The Luol Deng love in that post looks misguided as well. He's just an average dude, and that huge contract he got in the offseason is looking dumber by the day.
Has anyone seen Thabo Sefolosha? Maybe he's out Christmas shopping with Mark Anderson.

The Cubs are still alive in the Jake Peavy talks. Wake me when something happens.
In former Cub news, the Giants signed Bob Howry (for nearly $3 Mil!) and the Cubs declined arbitration on Wood. Howry was awfully good in his first two years here, but last year he was just awful. I wish him luck, but I can't say I'm optimistic about his chances at returning to 2007 form. With Wood, I was kind of hoping the Cubs would offer him arbitration. If he accepted, Cubs would get one more year of Wood for maybe $10-12M. If he declined, the Cubs would get two draft picks. Seemed like a win-win to me. But I guess Hendry was doing Wood a solid in not attempting a cock-block of Wood signing with another team.

That's all I have. Till Sunday...

Vikes Manhandle Bears

MikeJ — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 04:37:00 GMT

The Bears got beat by the Vikings pretty thoroughly tonight by a score of 34-14. The Bears started out well, scoring first on a 65-yard TD pass to Hester. But after blowing a first-and-goal at the one, the wheels came off fast. There's so much hate to go around, I don't know where to begin.

How about John St. Clair? Jared Allen used him as a turnstyle all night. St. Clair has been "OK" this year, but he was abused like Guantanamo detainee tonight. I wouldn't bench him over this, but I might put a picture of Chris Williams in his locker.
I probably shouldn't single out St. Clair. The entire line got absolutely manhandled. Kreutz, Beekman, Tait, Garza - rag dolls, all of them.
Then there's Ron Turner. Um, Jason Davis? Three straight runs into the bellies of the Williams brothers? What were you thinking? It changed the game. He also couldn't seem to adjust to the Vikings nickel package either, making Greg Olsen a non-factor. Which leads me to my next point.
Kyle Orton. While his wide receivers continued to suck to the tune of at least five mind-boggling drops -- (Davis, Lloyd, Hester, and Peterson, I'm looking at you) -- tonight wasn't Orton's finest moment. Two of those picks were just ugly, and he under/over threw several open guys. Was the foot a factor? Probably a little, so I won't rag on Kyle too much. He's still the best Bears QB since, uh, Jim Miller. <shakes head />
Charles Tillman. I don't know what he was thinking on that 99-yard TD pass to Berrian. Probably something like this.

So were there any positives to take from tonight? Not really, but I wasn't too upset by the performance of the defense. Purple Jesus made some legitimately great runs that even the almighty '85 crew wouldn't have stopped. Sometimes great players make great plays. Chester Taylor, though? Good but not great. Gus Frerotte? Not even close to great. Nice to see some hard-hitting, though, and I have to give props to Urlacher, Briggs, and Tommie Harris. Urlacher and Harris have spent a lot of time in the doghouse this year, and I can't pin any blame on either one for tonight's loss.

Oh yeah, and Matt Forte. I feel like I praise this guy every week, yet every week I feel that I'm not giving him enough love. No, he's not Purple Jesus. But he's pretty damn good, and he's got a better than average chance to make the Pro Bowl this year. One of only two Bears to likely get any consideration (Briggs being the other.)

I'm just about out of words. One game out with four games left. Bear down.

Man, the Rams suck!

MikeJ — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 02:40:00 GMT

At least Detroit put up a fight. While watching today's Bears game, all I could think was, "holy crap, these guys are awful." How much do the Rams suck? Let me count the ways.

Adewale Ogunleye had two sacks. It just goes to show, when you stunt on one of the worst teams in the league, with its backup QB playing no less, you can get your second and third sacks of the season.
Tommie Harris had two sacks. Ditto.
Urlacher and Briggs tipped a set of picks to each other. The Bears had four on the day, three of which were off tips. It's nice to have a pass rush.
Mark Anderson actually made a few plays. His first few of the year, actually.
Alex Brown had a sack. I'm telling you, crazy stuff going on down in the Lou.
Bob Babich looked smart.
Matt Forte tore through their defense like tinfoil.
Devin Hester looked like Reggie Bush.
Kyle Orton barely broke a sweat. Efficient, though. And efficient means victory.

Really, this is a repeat of last week. It was such a dominant performance that it doesn't tell you anything. The Rams were road kill, and the Bears had it on cruise control.

I did see a few traces of some old bad habits today, though. St. Louis was too pathetic to capitalize, but when the Bears crowded the line and had the linebackers filling the gaps, receivers were getting open down field. The linebackers simply aren't getting back into coverage fast enough. While I appreciate that they stop the run that way -- see the Tennessee game. But even a mediocre QB can pick that defense apart. (Trent Green longs for mediocrity.) This is the definition of catch-22. If they do back off, a half-way decent runningback will fly past them. Like Ryan Grant did. Or Adrian Peterson will. (the good one.)

Speaking of, I guess the Kevin Jones signing isn't going to work out. Second straight inactive while Peterson looked good in a limited role. And that Earl Bennett third rounder isn't looking so hot lately either. Brandon Rideau, fresh off the practice squad, dressed and was active on special teams. But enough about the triviality.

Bears win. Big game next week. Happy Thanksgiving week, people.

Cubs sign Dempster; go after Teahen?

MikeJ — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 02:09:00 GMT

The Cubs signed Dempster to a 4-year deal worth $52 million dollars. It's a lot of money for a guy who's only had one good year in the last three, but overall I think its a pretty good deal. His underlying stats suggest his improvement last year was for real. (He went 17-6 with a 2.89 ERA) But, as the saying goes, there's a reason they call them "career years." Is he likely to repeat? No, probably not. But he's a pretty good bet to put up Ted Lilly numbers, which is to say 15 wins with a 3.90 or so ERA. He does that three of the next four, and I'm happy.

Like the move last week killed the Kerry Wood era, this move ends an era that never started. The Jake Peavy era. Would I prefer Jake Peavy to Ryan Dempster? Sure. But it wasn't Peavy or Dempster. To get Peavy, the Cubs would have had to trade at least three, possibly four prospects (likely Marshall, Pie, Vitters, and another); plus Peavy is due to make $10 million more over the life of the contract. So when you think of the cost of four prospects and an additional 10 million, the Cubs probably made the right choice.

And besides, he's got work to do this year. Maybe this time he'll have 10 walks in the playoff opener! Yeah, I'm still bitter.

In other news, the Cubs are looking to acquire Mark Teahen from the Royals. I don't know about that one (and that's not even knowing who they'd have to give up -- though with the Royals track record its probably not much). Teahen had an awfully good age-25 year in 2006, but since then he's been very mediocre. (No power in 2007, Neifi-esque in 2008.) Would it be out of the question for him to rebound to 2006 form in his age 27 season, ala Aramis Ramirez? Not at all. But some people do peak early; look at Austin Kearns. He might be worth a look, but I wouldn't give up more than a low-A prospect for him. And I would by no means hand him the right field job. DeRosa's probably a better bet.

Bears vs Packers: What the hell was that?

MikeJ — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 02:25:00 GMT

The Bears got blown out by the Packers today, 37-3, and it really wasn't even that close. To break it down would be pointless, so I'll just condense my thoughts into three points:

Orton came back to soon. I admire the effort; but he was a statue back there and simply couldn't get the job done.
The defense was horrible. Pass defense, Run defense, everybody: garbage.
The coaching was terrible. What was that crap at the end of the first half? 40 seconds left, you got the ball on your own 6. Run, Pass, Run? Pick a lane! Green Bay got the ball back after a 30 yard punt and booted a FG. Game, set, match. And what's up with Forte getting only one carry in the 2nd half. Was he hurt? Down by 14 with two quarters left, you don't have to abandon the run like that. Worst coaching performance of the year.

So what now? I'll tell you what now...

Orton or no Orton, they should be able to beat the Rams next week. And despite how they looked today, the season's far from over. Three mediocre teams are tied for first in the NFC North at 5-5. Are the Packers that much better than the Bears? I don't think so; today was just their day. It all comes down to the remaining schedules.

Bears: @STL, @MIN, JAX, NO, GB, @HOU
Packers: @NO, CAR, HOU, @JAX, @CHI, DET
Vikings: @JAX, CHI, @DET, @ARI, ATL, NYG

Looking at the schedules, I don't think any team has an easy path to the playoffs. I think the Vikings schedule is clearly the toughest (though that last NYG game will likely be meaningless for New York.) The Packers have two fairly tough games coming up, but three of their last four should be winnable. The only two tough games for the Bears are their divisional matchups, and maybe New Orleans. If the Bears can win their remaining two division games, that will go a long way towards securing the division.

To do that...

Orton has to play like pre-injury Orton.
The defense needs to play like a unit that earns twice as much money as the offense.
Hester needs to lose Ron Turner's playbook and go back to strictly special teams. Then maybe he'll be RIDICULOUS again.

Till next time...

Cubs Offseason: Gregg in, Wood out

MikeJ — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 03:24:00 GMT

The Cubs made a trade today, acquiring closer Kevin Gregg from the Marlins for minor leaguer Jose Ceda. Ceda is a solid, young "B+" type of pitching prospect. Big kid, live arm, but still a year or two away and nothing more than your typical crapshoot for major league success. So what about Gregg? Well...while he had 29 saves last year, he also blew a league-leading nine. (Including this one.) Supposedly he was hurt, though, for his lousy stretch and his monthly numbers lend that notion some creedence. His ERA was sub 2.00 for five out of six months, while his ERA in August was over 10.00. (The anti-Bob Howry, if you will.) After getting surgery, he's a decent bet to rebound. And besides, with Marmol around, Gregg won't necessarily be the closer anyways and might fill the Howry role. Solid move by Hendry.

What this also does, though, is signal the end of Kerry Wood's career as a Cub, and that's a pretty sad thought for Cubs fans. Wood was never what he was supposed to be, but when he was on he was pretty damn electric. I can't believe it's been over 10 years since he struck out 20 on that gray day in May, 1998. (Best. Game. Ever.) Of course, he was only healthy for about six of those seasons, but still. He was a class act and I'll miss him.

In other Cubs news, supposedly the Cubs are still alive in the Jake Peavy talks. San Diego is having a fire sale, and the Cubs are one of two teams on the radar for Peavy. (Atlanta's the other, and supposedly they have the upper hand as of this writing.) Would I want Peavy on the Cubs? Hell yeah. Who wouldn't want an under-30, if slightly injury-prone, perennial Cy Young candidate? He'd instantly be the best pitcher on the staff, and that's really saying something. The only downside is that a trade for Jake would mean the end of Ryan Dempster in Chicago, and the bearded Canadian proved to be a valuable guy to have around the last few years.

Elsewhere on the diamond, the only position I can foresee any real upgrade this offseason is Right Field. (Fukudome and Johnson would platoon in Center.) Some are pining for Bobby Abreu, but I don't know. His career numbers are fantastic, and he's left-handed (which the Cubs desperately covet.) But every Phillie fan on the planet would also tell you that he's a "empty stat" kind of guy that chokes under pressure. So with that in mind, I guess he would fit in nicely. Furcal, too. Yeah, I'm still bitter.

Finally, it's award season. As expected Soto won rookie-of-the-year and Big Z earned a Silver Slugger. Nothing shocking there, congrats to both for the well-deserved awards. And Lou Piniella won manager-of-the-year. It's gotta be a little embarassing to collect a trophy after the total disaster that was the postseason, but he's not a bad choice considering the flawed election process. Congrats to Lou!

Remember the Oilers

MikeJ — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 03:19:00 GMT

The Bears lost to the Tennessee Titans today, 21-14. The Bears run defense was outstanding, limiting the Titans to a mere 20 yards on the ground. Hotshot rookie Chris Johnson and the bruising LenDale White were completely neutralized, even moreso than I thought possible. The downside to stuffing the run like that, of course, is the opening of passing lanes. With those, savvy veteran Kerry Collins more or less got the job done and put 21 points on the board. Tillman, Vasher, Payne and Brown all had good-to-great games, considering. But The Titans are now 9-0.

I can't really blame the defense for this one. Of course you're going to give up a few decent passing plays when you successfully stuff the run like that. And really, giving up 21 points to an undefeated team is no big deal. Urlacher, Briggs, Ogunleye, Harris...everybody stepped up. So lets blame the offense, shall we?

Matt Forte did as well as could be expected, as the offensive linemen did a pretty damn good job themselves. Considering the opponent, there were solid running lanes and there was ample time to throw. And while the receivers certainly didn't do the quarterback any favors, they weren't really to blame either. (Olsen, in particular, gave a solid effort.)

The blame lies on Rex Grossman. He wasn't quite "Bad Rex", which we saw so frequently in 2006. He was "Pathetic Rex", the guy we saw mostly in 2007. He wasn't a reckless buffoon with the football, like 2006, he just had zero confidence, and the byproduct of that was a stagnant offense and a dearth of first downs. Let's put it this way. After the (shocking) opening TD drive, where it appeared they weren't going to miss a beat without Orton, the Bears had 9 drives in a row of nothing. One pick, eight punts (six of which were 3-and-out). If I can't blame Rex, who can I blame? He didn't hit his (occasionally open) receivers, he wasn't able to consistently throw over the D-Line. He did lead them on a scoring drive late in the fourth to make the game interesting, but ultimately on the final drive was more of the same. I'm done with that clown. I want him gone, and unless he pulls an O.J. or wins a playoff game, I'm done talking about him.

Packers next week, and with Orton I think they can win. With Grossman...maybe. Titans D is tougher than the Pack, and Grossman today wasn't horrible. He just....couldn't get enough going. But he might be good enough to beat the Pack, a team that Lovie Smith has owned since he signed on in 2004.

Crap. I just swore off talking Rex and I immediately start talking Rex. Let's rephrase. Orton starts, I really like the Bears chances. Anyone else, not so much.

Bear down.