Broncos fans give Jay Cutler a rude welcome Sunday upon his return to Denver.
OK, so the Broncos fans got to have their fun: They razzed Jay Cutler and let the new Bears quarterback know just how offended they are that he engineered his exit out of Denver. The loud, vociferous booing seemed to rattle Cutler at first, but after he got a chance to settle in, he gave the crowd a taste of what they're going to be missing without him lining up behind center. And it was a beautiful sight for Bears fans.
"I'm here to play ball. I came here to win a championship. Ain't nothing I'd rather do. If I could do anything, one, I might cure the lupus my aunt has; two, another aunt got both legs cut off because of diabetes; I might give her legs back. But No. 3 on the list would be win a championship in this city so that people can have what they deserve."
What's the reason for this recent White Sox slide? Everyone seems to have an opinion. Could it be the opposition's choice in bad 70's music? A lack of intensity? Too much intensity?
Ever since Stu wrote the Sox were 'set for a run', they've run off five losses in their last six games. The Sox are now a game below .500, and trail the Tigers in the AL Central by 4.5 games. Things do not look good.
You can't browse the Interwebs nowadays without finding a sports writer or thirty anxious to hand advice out to new Cubs owner Tom Ricketts. The national guys are doing it. The bloggers are doing it. This paper's columnists are doing it.
So I think that means we get to do it too, right? Me first, you guys second.
It's not something anyone - the coaches, players, owner, fans - will want to admit, but it's true: the 2009-2010 season is largely irrelevant for the Bulls. This became official the day the Bulls got rid of Ben Gordon without compensation.
See, there were two ways the Bulls could have made themselves into contenders.
Stu is out doing what he does, so you guys are stuck with me again for the next five days. Getcha popcorn (and pitchforks!) ready.
You'll have to excuse me if I don't think Saturday's offense explosion by the Bears is the best thing I've seen in the post-MJ days of Chicago sports. Because it seems like lots of people feel that way. For me, it's nearly impossible to put even an ounce of stock in the preseason. Remember how bad Jay Cutler was in the first game? Now think about how great he was on Saturday. I'm not sure if either performance really taught us anything. We know Cutler has enormous talent, and we know he'll probably throw a fair amount of interceptions. That's about it. I think last year's Lions - who finished the fake season 4-0 and the real season 0-16 - gave the world a stern warning: Do not trust the preseason. It tends to lie.
Ken Williams (above) says this would be his most disappointing season if the Sox don't get in the playoffs and ''do well,'' while Jim Hendry acknowledges he'll be "very disappointed" if the Cubs don't make it to the postseason.
I'll be away from the blog next week doing back-to-school stuff with my offspring (Ricky O'Donnell once again will fill in ably here), and I can't help but wonder where the Sox and Cubs will stand when I return. Three weeks ago, I posed this question: Cubs and Sox both in the playoffs, just one ... or neither? I liked both teams chances back then, but while the Sox still have high hopes, time rapidly is running out on the Cubs.
Jake Peavy's rehab is going to take longer than he and the Sox had hoped.
It's looking like the White Sox may not get much of a stretch-drive boost from Jake Peavy, who was downcast after struggling Tuesday in his second rehab start for Class AAA Charlotte. Hopes that he might make his Sox debut against the Yankees later this month have been dashed, with at least two more rehab starts (this Sunday and then Aug. 28) on the docket. If and when he does finally return to a major-league mound in September, can he really be expected to fare much better than the departed Clayton Richard would have?
This isn't exactly what Sox GM Ken Williams had in mind when he acquired the San Diego Padres ace at the trade deadline, but remember this: The Peavy acquisition was as much about the future as it was about this season, maybe even moreso.
Sage Rosenfels and Tarvaris Jackson had good reason to look over their shoulders.
So I had a Brett Favre item all set to post Monday night, based on this report by Jay Glazer of FoxSports, in which he told of the near-unanimous feeling among Vikings players that Favre's arrival in Minnesota was only a matter of time. But when Kevin Gregg melted down again in San Diego, I switched off to a Cubs-in-crisis post, figuring Favre could wait.
Alas, as we have come to learn, nothing is ever certain when it comes to Brett Favre. It has been the story that just wouldn't die. Like a morning spent in the dentist's
chair or an afternoon stuck in a massive traffic jam, it was excruciating and seemingly endless. But now it apparently is going to happen: Favre reportedly will sign with Minnesota, assuming he passes a physical today.
Cubs manager Lou Piniella and his coaches watch another late lead slip away.
Lou Piniella has seen enough. Finally fed up after closer Kevin Gregg blew yet another save Monday in a crushing 4-1 loss at San Diego, the Cubs manager vows there will be changes made to the back end of the bullpen.
Buffalo's Leodis McKelvin picks off a Jay Cutler pass intended for Devin Hester.
We know it was only the first preseason game. We know Jay Cutler played only one quarter and threw just 10 passes. We know the Bears were missing Matt Forte and Greg Olsen and admit they came into the game with no intention of showcasing their real offense.
Still, what we saw Saturday in Buffalo was enough to make Bears fans feel rightfully uneasy about just how smooth the transition to the Cutler Era will be.
When I first started guest writing this blog many moons ago, the old editor (what was his name again?) warned me against writing about Michael Vick. Apparently, you old timers used to have passionate debates over the subject.
If so, contact the CPD immediately. He will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
This man is clearly a criminal, the type who would drop you during a keg stand. I bet cheats in beer pong. He probably stole those sunglasses from someone's girlfriend, too. Surely, no man would buy those.
It's no secret that the key the Tampa-2 is a strong pass rush. Last year the Bears didn't have it, and failed to crack the top 20 in total defense. There are numerous reasons for this. Adewale Ogunleye has lost a step, Brian Urlacher's lost two, and I'm pretty sure Mark Anderson was abducted by aliens. Then there's the biggest reason why the Bears couldn't pressure the quarterback: the absence of Tommie Harris.
If you don't like the deal that brought Alex Rios to the White Sox, you must be in line to get some of Jerry Reinsdorf's inheritance. Because JR's money is all the Sox lost yesterday. In return, they get their center fielder of the future, already a two-time All-Star at just 28. Hey, if Reinsdorf isn't going to spend it on the Bulls, he may as well spend it on the Sox.
Center fielder. Yes, you read that correctly. Rios has been in a corner for the majority of his time in Toronto because of the presence of Vernon Wells, but the stats and scouts say he'll be above average defensively in center. If that's the case, this should be a huge steal for the Sox.
Hey team, Ricky here again. Stu is away, so I'll be at the controls the rest of the week. Adjust accordingly.
Stu already touched on the Pat Kane incident yesterday, and many of you did as well. It's a weird story, to be sure. Some of you seem to be willing to give Kane a pass because he's so young, others think that athletes should be held to a higher standard. It's a great debate to have.
Patrick Kane, cover boy for EA Sports' new NHL video game, was arrested Sunday.
Can this offseason get any worse for the Blackhawks? On the heels of the restricted free-agent fiasco, the demotion of Dale Tallon and Marian Hossa's shoulder surgery comes the stunning news that star Patrick Kane was arrested in Buffalo early today after an alleged altercation with a cab driver.
Pete Rose may yet get his long-awaited chance to be voted into the Hall of Fame.
Does Pete Rose belong in Cooperstown? Hank Aaron thinks so, and as Sun-Times baseball columnist Chris De Luca points out, the former "Home Run King" has the ear of commissioner Bud Selig. But De Luca argues that even the growing list of alleged steroid abusers deserve Hall of Fame admission before baseball's all-time hits leader, and I agree.
The 2009 season figures to be the final stand for the core of the Bears defense.
All eyes in Bears training camp are on Jay Cutler. Fans wearing the new QB's No. 6 jersey are flocking to Bourbonnais. The Sun-Times is running a daily "Cutler Watch," while the Tribune is countering with a box labeled "Let's Talk About 6." But is it sacrilegious to suggest the real key to the Bears' success resides on the opposite side of the ball?
Mark Prior's once-promising career seems to have come to an abrupt end.
Mark Prior was the Chosen One, the golden boy who was going to lead the Cubs to the promised land. He was the second coming of Tom Seaver, with massive thighs and pitching mechanics that were supposed to make him impervious to injury. When he pitched the Cubs to the 2003 NLCS, the sky seemingly was the limit.
As all Cubs fans know, it all came apart due to an endless series of elbow and shoulder injuries. Last weekend, his star-crossed major-league journey apparently came to a dismal end with the news that he would be released by the San Diego Padres.
Cubs closer Kevin Gregg reacts after blowing the save in Sunday's 3-2 loss at Florida.
Our distrust of Kevin Gregg is well-documented. Full Court Press first asked the question back in May when he coughed up a 4-0, ninth-inning lead against the Astros. We raised the issue again in June when he blew a save at Detroit, and we ask again after successive meltdowns the last two days in Florida: Can the Cubs ever hope to get to the World Series with Gregg as their closer?
Our stance on the Sox has been less strident. While never hopping aboard their bandwagon, FCP is impressed that the Sox just took three out of four from the mighty Yankees. We also applaud GM Ken Williams for picking up 2007 Cy Young winner Jake Peavy in a trade-deadline deal. If Peavy is back on the mound by the end of this month, as hoped, the Sox have the pitching to overtake Detroit and win the AL Central.
Jake Peavy leaves a news conference in San Diego after being traded to the Sox.
If at first you don't succeed .... well, Sox GM Ken Williams tried, tried again and finally got his man, landing Padres ace Jake Peavy at the trade deadline Friday. The Sox sacrificed four promising arms, including Aaron Pereda and Clayton Richard, to land the 2007 Cy Young award winner, but from here, this looks like an excellent deal.
