Super Bowl Preview-Part I

Here in Chicago, we curse Al Gore for not being correct on Global Warming. Although we had a warm December, January is reminding the locals on why we should not break out the shorts and sandals until Memorial Day.

Now we are being teased with all the local news sport goofs appearing from warm Miami this week, with the game not until Sunday I guess they will be keeping tabs on how well the room service is for the team by Friday.

I was in Las Vegas last week and after I found I could not donate blood for money at the casino I wandered over to the sports book. There with all the flashing numbers and odds on NBA and NCAA games was the Super Bowl spread.

Colts (-7) o/u 49


The Bears will be getting 7 points. Wow. The betting gods are telling us that not only will the Bears lose they will get put out their misery like Barbaro did earlier today.

Our loss, Alpo's gain.

I disagree, of course, because the last offensive juggernaut the Bears played are now getting their beads clean for Mardi Gras and paying fines for defying NFL law and pissing off a great defense.

And I'm not sure Peyton Manning's thumb will be healed. He was hiding it last week from the media better than Gary Burghoff hid his hand disfigurement on "MASH" for all those years.

Bad hand equals bad loss.

I don't have the score for you yet, but I will post soon. And probably with more thoughts on the game and predict which sports news guy will get arrested for picking up transvestite prostitutes in Little Havana.

Welcome Home

It's called the George Halas Trophy.

Bold Predictions-The Revenge

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Bear Ditka

Flippin da bird

Da Coach was making waves this week in Chicago, when he was undecided about who he will be pulling for in the Bears and Saints game.

Then-

"I'm pulling and I'm rooting as I have every game this year for the Chicago Bears. I picked them in every game," Ditka said on ESPN radio Thursday. Ditka does his show from Chicago in his restaurant, on Chicago ESPN radio outlet and probably while smoking one of his Ditka cigars.










What a shock.


But now for the rest of the story-

After the interview Ditka stumbled from his restaurant and out into the cold where he came upon a blind poor man laying in the alley, the only thing keeping him warm was a sleeves grey hooded sweatshirt which is usually seen worn only by the truly wretched.

Ditka took pity on the man and poured the remainder of his Chivas from his rock glass onto the man's lips and then placed his cigar out on the man's forehead.

The man leaped up and screamed "I can see, and the Bears will win this Sunday!!!!"

As Ditka stepped in his limo he yelled to his assistant, "Hey Fridge, get dat poor bastard and Italian Beef and Sausage combo, and one of Flutie's old jersey's to wear."

The grateful man left in the fumes of Ditka's sleek carriage yelped "Ditka is a saint!!"

No my friend, Ditka is better than a saint, he is a Bear.

Bears Playoff Game 2

The cities of New Orleans and Chicago have a lot in common-

Both survived great disasters, I know the fire was over a 150 years ago in Chicago, but it was pretty bad only the Watertower remained. If that went down where would people shop?

Great music scenes- Jazz in New Orleans Blues in Chicago

Great food and drinks- Cajun food and Hurricanes in New Orleans,

Pizza and Old Style in Chicago.

The Saints come to Chicago getting 2.5 points, which mean the gambling gods are telling us that the Saints are prohibitive favorites to win. I believe the Bears will win being lead by Rex Grossman, 38-35.

Yes a quarterback, which is said in Chicago with as much disdain as saying quiche.

Accept Rex Grossman, believe it or not the game has evolved since Bronko Nagurski was plowing fields in Minnesota with no horse, just Bronko pushing a plow through the dirt. Story has it when a scout saw Nagurski plowing he asked him if he knew where the local university was where the scout wanted to sign a certain player. Bronko picked up the plow and pointed it down the road. Needless to say the scout didn’t go see the other player.

Anyways that style of smash mouth football needs to be backed with an aerial offense which allows the run to be more effective.

Grossman is the man. He will be the quarterback that breaks all the passing records for the Bears which date back to when the US only had 48 states.

One last story, I went to New Orleans once for a business trip. Of course I made the obligatory trip to Bourbon Street. Not much different then Rush Street in Chicago, except for the smell and women lifting their shirts for beads. And the women who do the flashing are the one’s you want to see least.

Hooofa!

Go Bears.

Robby Gould!?!?!?

Wow!!

Quite a game and a little closer then I preferred.

Rex Grossman had 282 yards with a touchdown with a pick that Muhammad should have caught. The running back tandem of Jones and Benson had a great game and should help this team to reach its champsionship goal

But as the media's glare was on Grossman this week the Bear's defense was shown in this game to look less than Super.


The African-American Forest Gump, Devin Hester had a punt return called back on a illegal block. As my family jumped up and down I just looked for the yellow box on the corner of my t.v. the screamed "FLAG".

With the game going to overtime I felt the Seahawks had the advantage with running the ball and Josh Brown on the sideline.

The defense was able to stop the Seahawks and force a bad punt.

This got Grossman to get the team in position for Gould to hit an improbable(for him) 49 yard field goal.

Amazing.

Robbie Gould should wears his jersey all week in Chicago enjoying the fringe benefits that he's is duly owed. I'm sure the ladies on Rush street can't wait to see your dance moves.


Saints come marching in next.

Bold Predictions-part deux

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Bold Predictions

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Why Doug Plank?

“That guy was crazy!” –former Cardinal Pro Bowl receiver Roy Green

Doug Plank played safety for the Bears in the late 70’s and early 80’s. His career was cut short by a neck injury due to years of applying punishing hits.


During the period he played the Bears were fun to watch for two reasons

-Walter Payton

-And the defense laying incapacitating hits.


Plank was teammates with Gary Fencik the two roamed the defensive backfields like two human missiles launched at the unprotected kidneys of NFL wide receivers.

Plank and Fencik were infamous for one holding up a ball carrier while the other came flying at the torso of said carrier. The result was the offensive player was left to resemble an old lawn chair found in the back of your grandparents garage.

I met Roy Green at a health club I worked at in college in Arizona, and he was still playing with the newly relocated Arizona Cardinals. We used to play pick up basketball and after the games he would tell us NFL stories.

I asked him about Plank and Fencik, and a look came in his eye that men only get after seen a great tragedy or in this case catching a football over the middle against the Bears secondary.

Roy shooked his head and said “The game would be in the fourth quarter and just about over and those two would still be yelling and threatening us. They still would be hitting just as hard as the beginning of the game and laughing after making hits.”

“And Plank….that guy was crazy.”

So heres to the man which the "46 Defense" is named after and then layed waste to the NFL in 1985.

And an all time great Bear.

Bears Playoffs Post

Game 1

Yes game 1.

Which I hope to be the first of three, which will culminate in the Bears victory in Miami.
The Bears go into this game as much as 8.5 point favorites against a team which came from one victory from winning the Super Bowl last year and one bad hold of a rookie quarterback on a field goal to being left afloat in the Puget Sound this year.

The 8.5 is a lot of wood to be laying in a playoff and ironically the same amount of points in a Starbucks Mocha Latte for those on Weight Watchers. Either way the gambling gods are telling us that the Bears should easily go through the Seahawks faster than Paul Allen bidding on Jimi Hendrix old sock.

When I think of Seattle I think of the movie “Singles”. A 1992 film from Cameron Crowe about being single in Seattle and going to see Alice in Chains at the local club. Great soundtrack and an interesting take on single life, but shaggy Matt Dillon with a lumberjack shirt tied around his waist, leading the band Citizen Dick (made up of members of Pearl Jam) almost made me throw away my Pearl Jam cd’s. However future Pearl Jam music is what actually made me throw them away.



But be aware of the hex known as Rex who can be easily distracted by large defensive linemen and, from reading his comments about the Packer game on December 31st, dogs with fluffy tails wearing Happy New Year’s tiaras.

With Cedric Benson ripping through the Seahawks, Rex having only one turnover and an innocent Tank Johnson(dead men tell no tales) on defense, the Bears should win 24 -13.




My 7 year old tells me the weather man lies, I hope not because with the cold weather on Sunday hopefully we will get to see Lovie Smith bring out his bad ass "Shaft" leather jacket. I believe he's undefeated in it.