Where do we go now

Well, well, well, the Bears certainly have put themselves in an interesting position haven't they? The team, which didn't address their number 1 concern in the offseason, started off 7-1 and was ranked in the top 5 in all of the NFL (higher in some polls). But even with this, weren't Bears fans a little concerned? I mean there still was no offensive line, we weren't handing the ball off or taking advantage of Matt Forte in the passing game. Jay Cutler has shown signs of being erratic since arriving in Chicago, and the Bears defense wasn't exactly getting younger.



But alas, the Bears were 7-1 and in control of their destiny. The Packers, although beating the Bears early in the season, were an afterthought and the surprising Vikings were the team which posed the biggest first half threat. Lovie Smith was on pace to receive an extension to stay here for at least 3 more years, Jay Cutler would get the same. Heck! Even Brian Urlacher was possibly in line for a new deal. All things were good, and the Bears had just shalacked the Tennessee Titans 51-20.



Boom! Reality.....

The Bears faced a contender in the Houston Texans, and even though teh Bears defense kept them in the game, Houston eventually rolled on with a 13-6 victory and Jay left the game early with a concussion. We still didn't worry cause in the offseason we brought in Jason Campbell, who legitimized the Chicago back-up QB position.



San Francisco rolled on over us, with a rookie QB under center. Picking apart the Bears defense like Tom Brady himself, Colin Kaepernick (ex Chicago Cubs prospective prospect) was thrust upon the national stage, while the Bears defense looked old and Jason Campbell spent more time on the ground that his balls did in the air. Worry at this point is setting in, although chants of MVP began for Jay Cutler...



After a week of questioning if Cutler would make his return, he did, leading the Bears to their 2nd divisional win and further prompting some MVP chatter. Radio stations began to pick this up, and national guys argued for and against the notion. But, don't you worry cause that all ended abruptly as the Bears faced it's 4th contender and 3rd in the last 4 weeks, Seattle. This was a highly contested game, with the Bears leading at the half, but you felt some air leave Soldier Field when the Bears were unable to convert a 4th and 1 which would have extended a drive in their own red zone. In the 2nd half, it was time for Russell Wilson to perform his very own version of Colin Kaepernick. Running an offense which seemed unstopable, Wilson had 3 options, hand off, run it himself, or pass and all 3 would result in what seemed like 12 yard gains. The Bears showed some life with a long pass to Brandon Marshall, but losing the coin flip in overtime did the Bears in as the defense was slow and tired and has become visably old.



The next 2 weeks have gone exactly the same, looked old, tired, and just unable to compete at a professional level. Jay Cutler is under pressure and the only weapon being used, possibly more than anticipated, is Marshall. With the Bears going 3-6 against teams that currently have winning records (all 6 of their losses have been to playoff caliber or competing teams), they have placed themselves in a position which almost all is lost. Lovie's extension is torn to shreds, Cutler went from MVP candidate to maybe not receiving new money, Urlacher went from the newest member of the Bears Middle Linebacker Mount Rushmore to calling out the fans (twice this season) and possibly on his way out of Chicago. Mike Tice is sure to be replaced (his replacement will certainly be the 4th Offensive Coordinator Cutler will have while with the Bears), and if Lovie Smith is gone, the Cover-2 defense will certainly leave as well.



So I ask the questions... Should the Bears invest in Jay Cutler again? What about Lovie Smith? Should he keep his job? Is Urlacher in jeapordy of leaving Chicago? Should Matt Forte be used more in the passing game? Is it time to completely rebuild this franchise? How far can Jay Cutler take us, even with a healthy and good offensive line?

All I know is, if the Bears win a playoff berth or not. If the rebuild or not. If they fire Lovie or not. Come August the Bears will be the center of the Chicago sports world once again, and us Bears fans will scream about this or that, but proclaim that this team will win a Super Bowl.

We weep

I am still angry, saddened, dazed, confused, and discouraged by the horrendous actions that took place in Sandy Hook Elementary School. I feel a little uneasy today as we sent our children to school or left them in the care of others as we returned for another work week. There is a huge part of me that would like to stay home and shelter my children from all the dangers of the world. Over the next couple paragraphs I want to make abundantly clear, my thoughts and prayers, in fact I believe everyone's thoughts and prayers are with the children, their families, the brave teachers that did everything they could to save them, the kids that will live the rest of their lives with this memory, and the Newtown community.

I am discouraged because we hear about the monster that did this in Connecticut, we hear about the tragic event the same day in China, we hear about the high school basketball game later that night, and we hear about the movie theater incident just last night. As I sat down for the days work a colleague was speaking to a client in Connecticut not far from the event and his children's school was locked down due to suspicious activity at a subway nearby.

I'm not sure about you, but my wife and I decided to keep the news from our children. After all how do you explain to a 1st grader that kids his age were just rifled down in a classroom just like his? I think part of not telling him was also because it would make this event even more real to us as parents. I still sit here imagining the parents staring at their children's rooms, grasping their favorite toy, laying in their blanket. Even more so realizing that in a week it will be Christmas.

People will scream to toughen on gun laws, they already have. This isn't fixing the issue though. It is the people behind the weapon. The monster in Connecticut was a monster, gun or not. The monster in that Colorado theater was a monster, guns or not. The monsters in Columbine were monsters, guns or not. Virginia Tech, Northern Illinois University, so on and so on and so on. These people were the problem. Their ability to acquire the firearms were the problem. The firearms were not the problem.

To put the sports perspective on it. Brandon Marshall suffers from Borderline Personality Disorder. He admittedly has suffered from this possibly his entire life. In most US states he is perfectly qualified to purchase firearms, and in some he can even fit the criteria to be approved for conceal and carry. This is a problem.

Now of course there is a glaring hole in restrictions for people with mental disabilities and owning firearms. Some will say to close that hole and we can fix a lot of what's wrong. Sure, this could possibly stop an incident from happening, but it is more important to identify those with mental illnesses. In Brandon Marshall's case he wasn't diagnosed until sometime in 2011, this was after numerous incidents and outbursts. What if he happened to have a firearm on him during one of these incidents? What if he hadn't of been diagnosed and properly treated? As a 27 year old star athlete, he would have been brushed away as another poor athlete that couldn't handle the pressure of professional sports. But he was diagnosed, and we can do more to help others get treatment they need.

We need to do more to identify individuals that suffer from mental illness. We need to do more to ensure they have the proper care and treatment they need and deserve. We need to make sure that the underprivileged kid that is always starting fights isn't doing it because he has a ticking time bomb in his head. We need to make sure that rich child that has social anxiety isn't this way because he is suffering everyday from deep depression. We owe this to our children, every one of them. Most of all, parents, family members, adults, and anyone else in position of influence needs to make sure they tell and show the kids in their life that they are loved.

I mentioned before that all of our thoughts and prayers need to be with those so impacted by this tragic event. This is so true, but as a caring nation we need to also let them know that they are loved, especially in this time of need.

Chicago Sports: Chicago Sports on the Cubs

Chicago Sports: Chicago Sports on the Cubs: All things Cubs from the all things Chicago guys In case you all missed Darwin Barney's breakout game the other day, here's the highlight...

Do you really read this?

So, it has been some time from my last post to this one. I spent a great deal of time "redesigning" the site. I thought if I made it prettier then people will check it out more. Well that kind of worked, but I wanted more. So I began looking at other areas to generate views... Keywords? Well not exactly sure about this yet as it seems to be more for ad generation, and paying the good folks at Google x amount of dollars, when they have the dollars I already want to get.

But hell I'm going to try something. I will pimp whore this post out using all the "Super Keywords" that came back. Which in a nutshell means, what these sites tell me is most searched for is what I will tag this post with. Sure to work, right? Well we shall see.

What I do ask is this.

If you visit, click on the buttons below. They should be; Funny, Interesting, Cool

Also, post a comment. Search around to some of the other stories and post a comment on those. Share articles on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or Blogger. I want to see how many of you actually read this, and I would like some friends, family, supporters, and followers to get the page out there a bit more. It would be a tremendous help!

Also... I am thinking of adding some additional content to the page. One idea I had was doing a weekly podcast, set up in a sports radio like format. I could have multiple people on, guests (which would be friends or family), and some other surprises. Another idea would be some video posts, or what the cool kids call, Vlogs...?

Either way I want to expand this a little bit as I have fun with this, but I want to make sure the people that I subject my madness to also enjoys it. So please let me know, post comments on THIS page to tell me what you like, dislike, and what you would like to see more or less of.

Thanks, that's all I gots.

Delicate truth

The world certainly ha taken over the "pussifacation" approach to many things. Guys walking around worried about their hair and only drinking bottled water. Less and less people moving into trades and into desk or retail positions. Sports becoming, well less manly.


We have seen it across the board in all sports. In basketball players could get away with more physical play to keep the offense out of the lane. Baseball pitchers are no longer allowed to pitch inside for fear of hitting someone. Hockey hits to the head and from behind are serious infractions. In football likewise, head shots are filling the commissioners office with likely fines.


People ask for a return to the good old days, when a middle linebacker could be mean and clotheslined any puny receiver crossing his space, with or without the ball. People long for the days when a hockey player with his head down was a big hit waiting to happen. People want you ace pitcher to be able to control the inside corner and put a batter on his arse if he crowed the plate. People want this, but it's just not smart any longer.


With the long term effects on head injuries, what we know about them now, and why we learn everyday, we know these leave lasting dangerous effects on people. Dave Duerson's suicide in February of 2011 a little more was learned. These players are leaving the game mentally irregular. We have read in certain publications that our great Walter Payton suffered from depression and had thoughts of suicide. Now with the news of Junior Seau's apparent suicide this news ha jumped to the forefront.



Some will tell you that these are grown men who make the conscience decision to do what they do. Well what about the 21 year old Penn State football player Owen Thomas, who was found dead hung in his dorm room? Did he make that conscience decision? Was he old enough to determine living the rest of his life with CTE (disease linked to impulse control and depression found in multiple NFL players)?


It is time for the world to notice this. With athletes being unprepared to step foot into retired life, let alone deal with mental defects caused by their sport, things need to change. Sports leagues need to prepare players from the beginning of their careers till the end on how to cope without sport. Equally important is the need to put equipment in locker rooms which will protect their heads from the effects of repeated trauma over and over. We are a delicate species, we see it at birth, we see it at death, we must now see it in-between.

What it means to be a fan

I have noticed throughout the years that people tend to judge others in their fandom. "Oh I went to this many more games than you" or "I know everything about their 4th string Short Stop in Double A so I'm a bigger fan that you."

It seems that a part of enjoying sports never left second grade? "My dad can beat up your dad."

The way I see it, you just had more money and free time than I do. Sure I know a great deal about the sports I follow, I would gather to say I know more than most people I know. I also know one thing some don't, it doesn't matter who you root for, who you know, or how much you know, it only matters that you root.

People need something else in their lives, with mountains of bills, gas prices, housing crisis, wars, presidents that have lost touch with the people, your boss breathing down your neck for those damn TPS reports! URGH!

Sports are here for our enjoyment, and to take us away from our everyday stresses. Sure our local sports team can cause more stress, but it's a different stress. I would rather worry about the Bulls chances without Derrick Rose than worry about a clients internal mess that's somehow my fault. We need options to distract us from dirty diapers and traffic. We need places to turn to remember the joy of being young and running around the bases. We need these things.

I don't care if it is sports, soap operas, or searching the Internet for your favorite celebrity and their most recent cell phone pic that was stolen. Distractions are distractions, and they help.

There is a healthy level of being a fan. LA, you're doing it wrong. We should never revert to violence, or even dressing as one of those Raider-whatchamacallit's. I like the Cubs, I will not change my mind, but with friends we will joke about who sucks more, Cubs or Sox (the answers Sox by the way). I've never hit someone because they are a Sox fan (although it's been close for a couple of you, you know who you are), and I never will. Why should my choice of stress distraction cause me more stress, and the impending ass whooping I'd surely get? It just doesn't make sense.

I have seen too many times, drunks getting foolish at a game, starts a fight, and their kid who is at his first game is forced to sit through it all. That's the impression of sport you will leave.

I was just at the Cubs vs Cardinals game a few weeks ago. Carlos Marmol blew the save and fans went ahead and boo'd him. That's their right, but I had to explain why to my 6 year old who is just really learning baseball. What was worse is, I had to also tell him to not pay attention to the loud mouthed drunk 22 year old that was screaming profanities towards the field, like he heard you from your $3 ticket in the outfield terrace reserved section... What topped that was, Cardinal fans that made the trip from St Louis were telling him to quiet down because of the kids nearby. Classy.

I wish and hope that everyone finds a way to be a fan of something, but do it right. There needs to be an application to make sure fans and sports don't let that guy in section 204 row 22 seat 8 in. He can follow wrestling.

Most unspectacular star

 

First, this isn't really about a prototypical "star", at least not yet. This is about a kid drafted in the 39th round to play a game which the odds are stacked against even the best prospects. Not only are the odds stacked against this kid, but front offices seem to have little appreciation for him as well.

Born in Worcester, Massachusetts in November of '82, Bryan LaHair played baseball and basketball for Holy Name Central Catholic and then went on to play baseball at St. Petersburg Junior College. Soon after he was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 39th round.

Bryan spent 5 years in the Seattle minor league system, which saw him make an All-Star team in 2005, he finally earned a mid season call up after the Mariners released Richie Sexson in 2008. This was finally LaHair's opportunity to show he can hit at the MLB level, and do so like he has at all other stops along the way. After 136 at bats Bryan failed to impress, hitting .250 with 7 extra base hits including 3 HRs. He was back in Triple A Tacoma that next season.


Following the 2009 season LaHair faced another setback, the Mariners did not resign LaHair and for the first time in his professional baseball career there was uncertainty if, where, and when he will play again. That is where the Cubs came into the picture. Knowing Bryan had all world power, a tendency to get onbase, and had hit for average along the way, the Chicago Cubs offered LaHair a contract and an invite to Spring Training.

During that Spring tryout, LaHair won over a lot of Cubs fans with a couple of majestic bombs. However the Cubs brass thought other players in the system were just ahead of him keeping LaHair at Iowa for the next 2 seasons. With players like Derrek Lee and Carlos Pena locking down the everyday first base jobs, and players like Tyler Colvin seemingly waiting in the wings, LaHair's chances at the big league roster in Chicago seemed fairly dim as well. Knowing this, LaHair went on to produce some extremely prolific seasons out in Iowa, hitting 25 and 38 homers in his 2 years there, and added another 15 homers last season in the Winter League.

Even through the recent success wild rumors of the Cubs being involved in Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder sweepstakes, and the trade to bring Anthony Rizzo to Chicago made even this confident hitter question if his dream of playing everyday in the Majors would ever actually happen. But current Cubs manager, Dale Sveum, anointed LaHair the guy to man first base, thus making his dream finally come true.

Through LaHair's first month as the Cubs first baseman he certainly hasn't disappointed. Leading the ball club with 5 HRs, and coming through in the clutch on multiple occasions. LaHair has also proven a lot of critics wrong as he finishes his first month as a regular with a .390 average and committing 1 error. His .471 OBP and his 1.251 OPS show that he has been patient and has found pitches he has been able to drive hard.

Even if LaHair's days are technically numbered as the Chicago Cubs first baseman, he is quickly proving to the Cubs, their fans, and the baseball world that he belongs in the majors, and will find a way into a lineup on an everyday basis. Anthony Rizzo just might be the future at first, but LaHair has finally succeeded.