Full Court Press

People who believe in bad luck or jinxes also believe in good luck. However hard work always pays off in the end especially if the cubs continue to work hard as they have been this early. The reason they are earning the limelight is because the deserve it.

No, I am a rational person who doesn't believe in omens, jinxes, astrology, occultism, magical thinking, numerology, witchcraft, or curses.

Except for the Cubs.

jinx: a convenient way of saving face.

Was it a jinx that led to Boston wrestling a 3-1 series lead from the Yanks in 2004? Was it a jinx that led to Boston doing it again vs the Indians in 2007? No. Baseball is a momentum game & once a team seizes it, it's very hard to get back.

It's only Cub fans that call such things jinxes because they refuse to accept the simple fact that they weren't good enough to win.

As for a Cub championship in 2008, it won't happen. Want to know why? Johan Santana's a Met. He should have been the cover boy on SI.

Well geez, the Cubs have so many jinxes on them already, what's one more?

Yeah - that damn jinx...really killed the Bears back in the day when they were on the cover about 5 times. Any oh yeah, it really killed the Bulls and Jordan.

...and people get on the media for being lazy and perpetuating curses, etc. silly me

And how many times was Michael Jordan on the cover again?
How about Muhammad Ali?
The New York Yankees?
Blaming a team’s or an individual’s failure on a jinx or some stupid billy goat curse is embarrassing.

Was this really a necessary thread topic? Everyone knows you have to beat one jinx in order for a new one to be in place. It's simple voo-doo. I say, put the billy goat on the cover and see what happens.

This thread actually prompted me to click on Richard Roepers column. Dont ask me why. It may have been a slip of the mouse.

NO. However, just in case, you should post another topic so this one isn't at the top of the blog.

Didn't a black cat cross Fukudome's path on his way to the ballpark a few weeks back?

Or was that a cougar that crossed in front of him?

Maybe the cougar was Fukudome's and it escaped and he's been in mourning ever since. His hitting sure looks like it's in mourning.

I can't believe the Cardinals are even close to the "loaded" Cubs. I know the Cards are playing way above the talent of their pitching staff, but what does that say about the Cubs? Lou needs to light a fire under the team's collective arses or Hendry needs to light one under Lou's. This team is underperforming in an incredibly weak NL -- not just the NL Central -- the entire NL.

I didn't see it, my issue came without a cover. The big Christmas tip to my mailman comes in handy in times like this.

GO CUBS!

Roman responds: Well played. Hey Sweeney, if you're in town this weekend, Arlovski is hosting a charity event. You can meet the Pitbull.

Hey, how's that search for the Bulls next head coach coming along? Or something else relevant to the sports world.

I see where Alfonso "A-kills-me" Soriano predicted he will steal 30 bases this season.

Just wondering, but did he mean during the game or does he plan to steal them after the park is closed?

Sounds like another jinx to me.

"We Believe" is a good slogan as well, I simply thought
it was MEANT for the Obama campaign only. I presume the Cubs can use
it until November, just don't lay claims to it all season.
("By the way I am a WHITE SOX FAN & OBAMA SUPPORTER!")

"You Believe"...what?

That America's Chickens have come home to roost?

Julie, according to my aunt Marie LaVeau who lives in the Mississippi delta bayou country and has a strange collection of hand made dolls and stick pins, a jinx is a simple prank used occasionally to add a little extra to an already existing curse. Now as I understand it from her jinxes aren't broken they wear off but the original curse remains and that is what needs to be broken before a new curse can be cast.

Did somebody say we having chicken? Broiled, Roasted or BBQed?

"We Believe" in black racism. That's the message Obama's delivered. To denounce a guy when it amounts to political suicide not to, is not courage. That's desperation. Until this weekend he chose to tolerate the double standard Wright preached.

The Cubs are desperate to end the curse. In that way they are alike.

The only way to achieve racial tolerance is to apply one standard for all races. I think the only person who understands that in this election is McCain because he knows what it's like to be treated worse than a slave from the time he spent as a tortured POW in Vietnam. As a hispanic I'm glad to support a man with such a distinguished record in the military.

It the si jinx is true, then would the swimsuit issue covergirl not count for getting lucky?

The only jinx I believe in is Kerry Wood as closer and the incredible shrinking talent Soriano as left fielder.

I believe that 'Jinx' would be a good name for the upstairs nightclub above my wrigley bar 'Curses'

Thank you Juan, please just keep posting on baseball, and not racism. But to ask you a question, If Obama were totally white, and not of African descendant, would we even be talking about race, or what his pastor said?

No, you've obviously are not black, do you treat black people like you treat your own kind?

He wasn't the only person in America, white or black, that made those statements about the 9/11 attacks. You were never a slave, or hopefully a never a POW, so how do you know which is worse?

you know its Fried...stop frontin'

Chuck...you lost me!!

Obama is Half n Half by the way!!!

secondly...

Wright is a Biggot and Megalomaniac!!

but...i will say this..

At least now everyone is talking about Barak the Christian, and not Barak the MUSLIM!!

Slick...very slick!

Since we are talking about race here...i thought id ask how come all the Bonds supporters arent taking back their ignorant claims that Roger Clemens doesnt get lambasted by the media and the public because he is white.

I know none of you would ever be man enough to fess up, cause your sickness is sooo deep seeded that the truth cant penatrate your years of SOWING HATRED AND DIVISIVENESS

AKA B.L.T.

OMG...after I posted my thoughts about the two horse races...

look what I just read....HOW CRAZY!!!

Hillary's Horse
May 03, 2008 7:05 PM

Tragedy struck the first filly in the Kentucky Derby since 1999, as Eight Belles went down on the track after her second-place finish today, broke two ankles, and was euthanized.

Showing a sisterhood with the female horse, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., during a trip to Louisville this week had said she was going to bet on Eight Belles to win, place, and show.

ABC News' Karen Travers reports that Clinton told supporters in Jeffersonville, Ind., earlier this week, "I hope that everybody will go to the derby on Saturday and place just a little money on the filly for me. I won’t be able to be there this year -- my daughter is going to be there and so she has strict instructions to bet on Eight Belles."

Travers also points out that Eight Belles' trainer, Larry Jones, returned the love. "It looks like it could be the year for the girls," he said. "Eight Belles I’m sure would want to endorse."

The horse Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., picked to show -- Big Brown -- won the Derby.

He wasn't the only person in America, white or black, that made those statements about the 9/11 (CHUCK)

Like WHO?

Any big names?

WHAT ABOUT YOU CHUCK?

Chuck sez: "He wasn't the only person in America, white or black, that made those statements about the 9/11 attacks."

Yeah ... there were a few other dummies who spouted off with similar nonsensical opinions.

One of the more benign statements was Bill Maher's, when he made the initial mistake of saying that the terrorists flying those planes into the Twin Towers, the Pentagon, and a corn field in Pennsylvania were not cowards, thereby implying that these scum bags were brave men.

While the act of killing innocent men, women, and children is should never be construed as something heroic, I do believe it was a slip of the tongue on Maher's part, and a poor analogy at best, (unless of course one wishes to equate suicidal mania with bravery and true self sacrifice).

But I guess it does take a pretty big pair of stones, along with a minuscule and warped brain, to pull off something as heinous as that, so I cut him some slack on that particular opinion; however ill advised it was at the time.

But in his defense, Bill has since fought hard against the conspiracy nut-cases who believe that our own government was behind these disasters, and I never did believe that his original faux pas was in any way intended as being unpatriotic.

On occasion, we're all guilty of saying stupid things, and making inappropriate statements. My opinion is that a person should be judged on the body of his or her work, and that a single brain fart should not be allowed to destroy an entire career.

Jimmy the Greek had everything going for him, and then one day in a semi-stupor he voiced an inappropriate, but in no way mean spirited opinion that ended his career immediately. Howard Cosell barely survived his own on-air disaster, which I never thought was an intentional racial slur at the time.

It's a shame that we've come this far down the road of political correctness. Can complete censorship be just around the corner?

Slips of the tongue should never be fatal unless they are true expressions of one's beliefs; backed up with numerous and similar references such as those made by the Reverend Wright, or any White Supremist you'd care to name.

Mark..you left out one fact..

Only the PILOTS of the hijacked planes knew that they were going to crash them into Buildings...the other hijackers had no idea.

So..that blows Bill Mahrs anti-amercian butt right out of the water.

Well..Rev.Wrights body of work should be called..

The Hatefull Black Hypocryte!

Quote: "You were never a slave, or hopefully a never a POW, so how do you know which is worse?"

I have a black POW friend who has told me "nothing he's learned about his black ancestors" compares to his days as a POW. He thinks it's a travesty to this day that the chinks & gooks got away with it.

He's told me things that they did with water that give me nightmares when I think about them. The words "water torture" are synonymous with bladder torture.

Juan:

Years ago I worked with a pair of World War II vets at the Park District in Chicago.

Eddy Meck was never a prisoner, but saw a lot of combat. He was totally shell shocked, and suffered fits and nightmares that I couldn't even begin to imagine. He talked to himself continually, and his voice would go up at least three or four octaves while doing so.

A local politician did something decent for once in his life, and put Eddy on the payroll as a Civil Service painter; a guaranteed lifetime position.

I worked with Eddy, and most of the time he was on another planet. But he deserved every last penny he earned painting those park benches, by virtue of his service and the sacrifice he made for his country, and suffered from until the day he passed away.

The other guy's name I can't for the life of me remember, but I'll never forget him until the day I die. We didn't work together, but met in passing whenever I was lining the astro-turf at Soldier Field.

He was a laborer. He mostly swept the aisles, and took out the trash. It was a rather menial job, unbefitting his contribution as a US Marine.

He was one of the few survivors of the Baton Death March in the Philippines. He wasn't psychotic like Eddy, and was reluctant to discuss his tour of duty. But one day we got to talking, and he took off his shirt.

After over 30 years, his chest and his back still looked like a road map of Cleveland. The scars were deep, and profound. He told me that when captured he weighed around 165 pounds, and when he was finally rescued he was closer to 80, and mere days away from death.

I'm sure that Americans have done things that have run contrary to the Geneva Conventions, but no one could ever convince me that we've concertedly committed atrocities on any scale that even approaches this.

you know the reality is..we have matured and grown as a country..we dont do things we used to do. we are amazing like that.