Did Lance Briggs eat, Lance Briggs?

I am the last one to comment on someone's weight, having fluctuated in weight myself the last several years... However, maybe the Chicago Bears Lance Briggs should lay off his BBQ (Rick Morrissey's review of Brigg's restaurant).

 

That is a picture of a very fit Lance Briggs a few short seasons ago. I know that a lot was written last season about Briggs being out of shape, especially after coming back from his lengthy injury, but when you compare that picture to this:

 

It appears Briggs has done a lot of industry research prior to, and after his BBQ joint opened up. His waist, legs, and even arms seem like a bloated version of this impressive NFL beast. 

What are your thoughts?

Could the Jay Cutler hype be real?

Bears offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer is the latest to praise Cutler's abilities in 2014.

LM: #Bears OC Aaron Kromer on Cutler: “Jay has learned to solve his own problems on the field. He’s much quicker this year with his reads."

This could mean the ball comes out quicker, Cutler takes less sacks, and the Bears score more points.

And Melo has chosen

In the biggest NBA Free agent frenzy since LeBron, Wade, and Bosh; Carmelo Anthony is about to wrap up his courting period.

The Melo watch didn't disappoint either. With rumors from New York saying they weren't offering a max contract in an effort to retain flexibility. Then Derrick Rose well not recruit, then did, but it was on accident, but it wasn't. Then finally we hear Melo, Kobe Bryant, and Kevin Love were playing basketball together at UCLA.

Most of those rumours have already been dispelled and all that is left is the actual announcement. But truth be told, Melo only needed to hear one thing to make his decision...

Max contract

I understand what winning can do for a players legacy, and I'm sure Melo was genuine when he said he was going to look for an opportunity that could help him win a championship, but there was more money on the line than the average NBA fan can even fathom. The New York Knicks can offer Carmelo $60+ million more than the Chicago Bulls, and around $25 million more than the LA Lakers. Would you care to explain to your spouse why you took $60 million less?

People will say he already has more money than he knows what to do with, and you are right, but it doesn't mean he can make stupid decisions. When you hear Melo say, "I always wanted to stay here in New York" it isn't because he is selfish or only in it for the money, it is because he would earn ridiculously more money in New York than any other team could give him. And that isn't a bad thing, it's the decision 99% off us would make, so to unfairly cast the unfortunate expectation that he is that 1% is just wrong.

The Bulls did their job, and now they can return to building a NBA Eastern Conference contender. The Lakers and Kobe did their job, and now they can return to rebuilding their great franchise. Maybe, Kobe will join Carmelo next season in New York? Maybe the Bulls will work some magic and grab Kevin Love? Or maybe, just maybe there is a new super team about to be built in the desert?

Part of the picture will be announced tomorrow (Monday) and the NBA will become a little clearer again.

NBA Free Agency officially started, where should the starts sign?

The NBA Free Agency period is upon us and everyone's burning question is, where will these superstars end up!? Well I'll do my best to guess for you all.

If you think you have some ideas, or maybe some inside info, post a reply to the story below. Would love to hear your ideas.

LeBron James - Haven't we done this before? Word is LeBron is asking for a max contract, but that just might be fake info that he our his people are leaking out to other teams. If it is true, chances are one of the Big 3 will not be back, and you will see a Big 2, with a couple of other stronger spring cat type players. Imagine the Heat with LeBron and Bosh, with 3 other above average starters and an actual deep bench? Where does LeBron go? He's keeping his talents in South Beach.

Carmelo Anthony - Carmelo's only choice should be, do I want the money? Or do I want to win? If it's money, he'll be a Knick again. If he chooses winning, he'll be a Chicago Bull. The Bulls offer him something that very little other teams can, a legit chance to compete for a title in 2015. That isn't saying that he couldn't win in New York, Phil Jackson succeeds at everything he does and will do so as a GM, but his problems run deeper than Melo and it would be a smarter move to let him walk. Melo will be a Bull, regardless if Derrick Rose is recruiting him.

Kevin Love - This is a wild card because he is the biggest name available for trade. His name had been tied to a number of teams, and some if them make a ton of sense, but they need something that Minnesota would like in return and that's the tricky part. There were earlier rumours that the Bulls started to include Taj Gibson in a deal for Love, which if they are could jump then to the front of the list. His name is also tired to Golden State Warriors, for Klay Thompson and David Lee, there is a possible deal in the works with Denver as well, and maybe Boston or the Lakers. The tough party is, the Timberwolves want to win now and the teams dealing need to have current talent going the other way. So who will feel the Love? Golden State, but don't rule out a sign and trade with a team like the Heat, sending someone like Dwayne Wade or Chris Bosh over.

Dwayne Wade - Wade has seen better days and he is in the twilight of his career. Players do one of two things at this stage, chase rings or linger on their team till it's clearly over. Wade would be better served to chase rings like Ray Allen, but he more than likely will linger longer than he should. It is also probably the smarter move for Miami to break tires with Wade, for the reasons of continuing to win. He will ask for too much money and tie up too much under the salary cap, especially if James gets a max contract. Where should he go? San Antonio. Where will he go? Stays in Miami.

Chris Bosh - He is intriguing. If the story is really over for the Big 3 (who actually believes that it is?) Than Bosh could fill a Big hole for a lot of contending teams in the league. Minnesota could use his services if they deal Love, San Antonio could be a fit and championship opportunity. Or possibly the Lakers, who have almost a complete roster to rebuild and the Phoenix Suns who have more money to spend than any NBA team this off-season. Where will he go? Miami, but I beg for him to make things very interesting.

So who else do you think will move this off-season? Who will join the Big 3 in Miami? What if Chicago strikes out on Melo, LeBron, and Love? It will be an exciting couple of weeks for sure.

Have you found hope in the Chicago Cubs?

Let's face it, there really hasn't been much to watch on the Northside of Chicago over the last 2 years. Heck, there hasn't been much to watch on both sides of town. After a year and a half of Cubs fans begging for Theo and the crew to beef up the team's salary. Hoping that the team would add a couple of quality players acting as 2 teaspoons of sugar to help the bad baseball go down. Finally there seems to be a glimmer of hope again on the Northside.

The Cubs will finish the month of June as their first winning month since July of 2013 (they won 14 games but 1 one the games was a makeup from May of that year vs the White Sox officially recording a 13-13 month). Starting June off with an early 5 game winning streak, winning 5 of the 8 series' they played in the month, it seems like the patience mantra that the Cubs brass has been chanting since they got here might be paying off.

Not only have the Cubs won these games, they have done so in an impressive manner. Actually scoring runs, playing smarter baseball, and showing they can catch the baseball. Most importantly, the cornerstones of the franchise are showing that they are the players everyone has expected them to be. Anthony Rizzo and Starlin Castro have come out to impressive starts and really have carried this team throughout the year. The way Anthony Rizzo has taught himself to hit lefties in especially remarkable. Rizzo, with a career .216/.298/.386 and a OPS of .684 verse lefties is posting a .319/.422/.565 with a OPS of .987 split against Southpaws this year, compared to his respectable .280/.393/.512 and .905 split verse righty's this year.



Castro on the other hand has proven to bounce back from a down 2013. Perhaps he was distracted by off-the-field issues, or being pressured to carry the load for the first time in his career finally got to him. Either way his approach at the plate is much improved and he has already marked his 3rd highest RBI total in his career. What might be most impressive is his defensive approach. Never will he be considered a solid or plus defender, but his ability to limit the dumb errors (not paying attention to situations, taking mental breaks, etc.) have seemed to dissipate. Sure he will occasionally air-mail a ball that should have been a sure out, or allow a ball to skip through his legs, but the mental errors have been limited which proves well for him to continue to be an asset for this Cubs team.

The team is a long way off from being competitive, but Cubs fans can hang their hats on the much improved play from this team. If anything, the way they have played over the last several days should prove evident that if Cubs fans and Cubs ownership remains patient, there are much better days ahead.

Free Thinker

I know I typically scribe about what's the blaze in Chicago sports, the latest disappointing Cubs loss, the magical Blackhawks run, the potential of the Bulls, or the character flaws in Jay Cutler. Today I would rather speak from an area which baffles me in today's business environment, elimination of employee thought.

I have worked for a number of companies, and I'd like to assume I have a fairly good idea of those that were good, and those that were, well, not so good. One of the largest indicators to me on if a company was going to be a good workplace and environment is if they truly believe in inclusion, and allowing their employees to think for themselves. A lot of companies will talk about how they empower their workers, but little actually allow them to take part in a creative process to move the company forward.



The largest argument against having an open dialog with employees on how to improve or move forward has always been too many voices, and the effort it would take to work through the poor ideas to find the ideas that provide value. Currently I am part of a company which incorporated an "Ideas" webpage for their associates. Although this could be a great tool to find associate pain points, areas where the company can improve customer process, and an area where employees can pass along that golden nugget that leap frogs the company forward, all too often it is a wasteland of poor ideas and a soapbox for unsatisfied co-workers. The way around this is by adopting a real open communication forum from within the company, having direct access to company executives on a consistent basis, and associates that know beyond a shadow of a doubt that even when having hard conversations the words are coming from a place of trust and care which can hopefully move the company forward.

The worst companies I've been apart of have always been those companies which limit the employees ability to think freely, they micromanage their staff to a point where the staff can no longer think creatively, unless it is a thought on how to keep management off their back. It seems to me that creative thinking within an organization is directly tied to management styles, those managers which give their employees all the tools to succeed and lead them towards success hand-in-hand are also the same managers who have the most creative thought on their teams. Likewise, managers who bark the orders from the top and threaten discipline are often times the same managers that suppress their staff and often have employees with little desire to improve workplace process.

So which way is better? Well that certainly depends, right? When working in a warehouse, especially one that is already successful, how much more creative thought can go into improving the process? Sure there can be tweaks that promote better safety, tweaks to ensure quicker or more efficient pick rates, but for the most part that process has been defined. A carpenter rarely finds a new way to shingle a roof, and landscapers haven't incorporated new ways to mow lawns. Sure there are changes to equipment, which may or may not have been created by those in their respected fields, but the process typically is, the process.



All too often though, an organizations sales and marketing departments are handcuffed with the company process that they lose one of these departments greatest contribution, creativity. When a company sets the same management styles for their sales people as they have set for their warehouse employees they lose that person's ability to create, which often damages their ability to sell. I have seen this all too often where a company creates their "sales process" and doesn't allow for the staff to stray from that process. Whatever that process is, at one point it was a great value and produced for the organization, however customers change and their needs change and their buying indicators change. If you are not allowing for your sales staff to work around a process, whatever that is, you eventually set yourself up for dips or peaks and valleys in your business results.

In today's business environment companies spend more time and money than ever to hire and train staff. You hire those people because for one reason or another they stood out from the crowd and gave you reason to believe that they could be a difference maker for your team, department, and company. When you hire that person, make sure you continue to provide tools for them to continue to stand out from the crowd. You invested in that hiring, continue to invest in that employees growth.