ChicagoSportsBlogs : Non Compete

Bam!

Welcome back Pauly!

I know I am late to the party, but welcome Jim Thome to the World Champion White Sox. Peoria's finest swings a heavy stick. I hope he's healthy and ready to contribute. I've got to start off apologizing to Thome for being a little skeptical at his signing - but I'm a bit preoccupied with signing Pauly right now...Trust me, in due time we'll get on the bandwagon. If everything I read and remember from his White Sox bashing days are true - this man is a class act.

We'll leave you with a bit of advice for this offseason, Jim - don't trip over your dog at home. Also, don't do any house work either.

I need to figure out if it's good or bad news that Paul Konerko turned down the Orioles $65 million offer yesterday. I'm going to go with good news. Sixty five million dollars is a lot of money. He could have just signed the deal and been set for life. It would have been “No more stress, no more mess“! The holidays at the Konerko residence would have been that much more enjoyable with all this contract negotiation stuff out of the way. There isn't a need to put your holiday plans on hold with a $65 million dollar offer in your back pocket. You can just hop onto your new jet and fly off to Hawaii with the family. After all, cash is king.

Konerko and his agent are either holding out for more money, or Paul doesn't want to go out east. I'm guessing he doesn't want to go out east. I can't blame him. This Baltimore team has a lot of problems, both on the diamond and off. It's obvious that Paul wants to stay close to home. The question is, what does he consider home? Is it the White Sox, and Chicago or is it the Angels of California, Sacramento, Anaheim and Los Angeles. Let's throw in Santa Barbara too while we are at it. The analysis of this pending signing is typical. The Konerko clan keeps Arizona as it's proper home and so the Angels are the most obvious fit. Their Bermuda Triangle of California cities is only an hour flight away on that new jet from Arizona. Some reports make some crap observation that the owner of the Angels actually lives in Arizona and he flies in every morning to work. Like Pauly is going to commute with the team owner to work. Right. That's a bonus. Way to dangle a carrot. The only thing the White Sox can offer which could possibly match this awesome deal the Angels have proposed, is to ask Freddie Garcia to sit in the back seat while Ozzie drives them to the Cell every morning. Pauly can sit shotgun. How's that for family.

 

The Bear's continued on their roll through the NFL yesterday by defeating the Tampa Bay Bucs 13-10. They beat the Bucs in Tampa, with a rookie QB. That's pretty amazing, considering Tampa Bay is a very strong team. They have their own young QB who should look familiar to most people here: Chris Simms. Simms looked pretty damn good against the NFL's best defense. We'll get to him later. Let's jump right in and get to the team evaluation:

• Offense - Everyone wants to use the word efficient to describe the Bears offense. I like the word lackluster. I'm tired of excuses. 239 yards of total offense is not acceptable. We need to step it up. The rookie QB excuse is officially removed from my playbook. It should be removed from the Bear's playbook as well. Orton has seen tough teams, and has not cost us any wins. He has done what he is told and not pissed the defense off. It's time to let him loose a bit. The running game is deep, thanks to Peterson who reminds me of Neil Anderson. He just pushes forward for 6 yards every time he carries the ball. This will help since Thomas Jones seems to be playing at less than 100%. Don't get me started on the lack of production from Mushin. He's going to eventually have to pick up some of the blame for his crap numbers. You can't avoid that when you sign a 16 million dollar deal.

 

• Defense -- What can you say? The defense is for real. It's the best defense in the NFL. The front four have accomplished more than I could have ever hoped for this season. Alex Brown looks like Richard Dent and Wally is a pure monster. We can cover anyone, and the defensive play calling is close to perfect. If the old saying is true, “They could call holding on every play“, what do you think this defense is really doing down there in the trenches. It's stunning. I wish they played both sides of the ball. The Bucs scored a single TD on us, and it took them all game to do it. The defense stepped up big on every possession we needed them to. This included the monster sack of Chris Simms at the end of the game. It should have made his dad Phil proud. Cadillac ran for 80 some yards and looked more like a Toyota. Fast linebackers and gap stopping defensive linemen will do that to a runner.

 

• Special Teams - Can someone please cut Bobby Wade already? He fumbles the ball like a 16 year old virgin going to the prom. It's sad. Get him out of there. Give it up to Robbie Gould for making 25, and 36 yard kicks. As long as it's less than 40 yards, Gould is our man. I hope we don't see the Bears lose a game based on the kicking game (like the Giants did yesterday)

 

• Coaching -- You can't really ride the coaching staff this week. We got lucky that Tampa Bay missed a kick that would have sent this game into OT. The coaching staff, and Chico's play calling in particular had constant pressure on Chris Simms. They didn't forget that Simms has played only 11 games total in his short career. That being said, the offensive play calling is crap. Don't get me wrong, I love winning. I think that the Ron Turner school of baby-stepping offense is great when the rest of the competition is horrible, and the defense is as good as it is, but enough is enough. Let's get Mushin some TDs. Let's see if Orton can throw a little deeper than 3 yards. He should have enough arm to throw for a first down. His accuracy is crap - but why hasn't this been corrected? Perhaps it's because this coaching staff only calls 20 pass plays a game. Orton must be practicing taking snaps and not fumbling them. They should work on his 5 step drop more. Isn't it obvious that if you have the BEST defense in the league you would train your rookie quarterback in tough conditions during practice? Have Vasher cover Mushin, and get Orton to throw to him more. There is no excuse for the lack of progression we have seen from Orton. Clearly, the focus is on not losing games for the defense this year. That's great, but that strategy isn't going to work in the playoffs.

So that's it kids. I'll be back later this week with more news. Until then, BEAR DOWN!

I was hoping we would start off our White Sox post-season write ups with news that Konerko was signed. Instead I'm fighting the holiday malaise to report to you that Aaron Rowand is gone. I know I'm a few days late, but what can I say? I've become old, fat and slow. Besides, you didn't want to hear what I had to say that afternoon when my wife of all people tells me Aaron is gone. It's bittersweet. Take the jump to see the write up from our “favorite” sports news source.

I had a ton of questions when I sat down and thought about this trade. I was asking myself, “Why Thome? Isn't he old and hurt?”, or “Why rush into this? Is it because Delgado got away?”. I even started to question why Kenny would one day say that signing Pauly is the team's number one priority, and then the following day sign Thome. It can't be because he's from Peoria, can it? Then I realized it was good to leave this one to the professionals. Take the jump to see the answers to all of these questions in today's Trib. I pretty much agree with all of these answers. Everything is in there. Go read it.

It still bothers me that we traded a young proven outfielder for a veteran first baseman. Especially since Thome might have to play DH if we get lucky enough to sign Konerko. It's an amazing risk that Kenny is taking. It's also a smart one from what all the baseball experts keep saying. Most championship teams have to be modified a bit for the following year. Teams that go into the season following a championship need to tweak. If they stay the same they struggle. The only thing we know for sure is that Kenny likes to wheel and deal. This is especially true when the other team is picking up a majority of the tab.

Good luck in the NL Aaron.

Time for a shameless plug - even though I don't get one for free, nor do I get a piece of the pie (notice we still don't run ads on this site) here goes:

I want a Sox Pride DVD for Christmas. You want one too. Go here and buy one for everyone on your White Sox Christmas list.

Man - I wish they had an affiliate program.

By the way - did I mention we're still the World Champs? I love saying that...

Happy Turkey Day to all.

 

Do you guys remember being a freshman in high school? Do you remember that first paper you had to write? Maybe it was on Catcher in the Rye for your first period English class? It was hard. It was so hard, you decided to sit down with your pal Johnny after shooting some hoops one day to write the paper together? Does this ring a bell?

Perhaps it rings a bell for our two favorite sports columnists - Jay “I hate all of you“ Mariotti from the Sun Times, and Mike Downey from the Chicago Tribune.

Don't believe me? Take the jump and compare today's columns.

Mariotti here. Downey here.

Did you spot the similarities? It's scary. Someone has to come clean and explain how this happened fellas. I think they're both going to get an F on this report....In the meantime go read MikeJ and thank him for pointing this out.

Did anyone else notice that coverage of the beloved Bear has increased dramatically? One wonders how many more victories it's going to take before the national media does those cry-inducing sit downs with various Bears players. How many people want to take a bet we're going to be talking about the '85 Bears a lot more next week? Anyone want to take some action on how many times Urlacher and company are going to be asked if they can rap and dance? I suggest we all get ready. Yesterday's victory over arguably the best team in the NFC has focused more of the spot light on our Bears. Let's take a look at what the new media geeks are saying:

One of my favorite's is Pasquarelli on ESPN. Jump and check out his game review. It's longer than 4 sentences. When is the last time Pasquarelli wrote more than 4 sentences on a Bears game? It must have been when we went to our 4th string QB last year...

Check out the NFL.com game recap. Again, notice the number of quotes.

Young Charles Robinson does a nice job writing about our defense on Yahoo.

CBS does a nice write up here.

Our favorite stand-up comedians at Deadspin have nothing to offer in regards to this game. They also don't think our site is good enough to be considered Blogdom's Best Bears site. Could it be because we didn't send them flowers? Or a Ditka sweater?

 

It's amazing what a little butter and cream do to the taste of crow. I was out on the East Coast again this weekend enjoying some festivities with the family in Patriots-land when I realized it was time to order lunch. What's on the menu? It's crow of course! There is no better meal after the Bears beat Carolina. Humble Pie isn't good enough. This victory ends all the nonsense. It was a message to us, the fans of Chicago, from a team that has been doubted from the beginning. Even the most steadfast Bears fans had concerns about this team. How could you not? When is the last time a rookie QB played this well? Go here and see how ESPN ranked the top NFL rookies of all time. I'm not saying Orton is in this class, but go find the only quarterback who his. It's amazing that Orton has only cost us 1 victory this year.

The majority of us are going to start comparing this Bears team to the Baltimore Ravens team that won the Superbowl a few years ago. That Baltimore team was panned for playing mistake-free football under center and cheered for their balls-out, bone crushing defensive play. It was a game plan that bored people to tears, until Ray Lewis stepped onto the field. The Bears defense has reached a similar level. This becomes clearer after the pounding Jake Delhomme took yesterday. The winning number was 8. That's 8 sacks on Jake Delhomme. Yea, we know sacks are overatted. (take the jump to relive old coach Blache's comments) These 8 were special. They didn't come from outside line backers or corner blitzes. These were the result of the front four's man handling of the Carolina offensive line. Wally stands out as being player of the game in my mind (Vasher not withstanding). He alone sacked Delhomme 3 times. He's a fierce competitor and worth every penny we pay him. Score a point for our front office for making that move. It's too much fun watching him chase the quarterback. Plus, his abilities are starting to rub off on the rest of the guys on the line. The unit as a whole is emulating his efforts. The proof is in the pudding - look at Alex Brown yesterday. You think he's picked up a few tricks of the trade from Ogunleye? He got 2 of those 8 sacks. He was also putting massive pressure on Delhomme all afternoon. Kudos also go to Nathan Vasher for doing a little hula dance at the end of his second interception. Clearly a nod to his dreams of Hawaii. I think the kid is good enough to make the Pro Bowl and I'm pretty sure he won't be travelling alone.

It's good to win. BEAR DOWN.

 

This Sunday the Bears welcome arguably the best team in the NFC, the Carolina Panthers. (don't get me started on the Seahawks) There is only one true question with this team. Which Carolina are they from? It doesn't matter. They have a solid defensive unit and an offense that looks pretty good without Mushin. Did I mention they are an expansion team that has already seen a Superbowl? That pains me to say. This game should be an offensive challenge for both teams. The Bears will struggle offensively because we have a rookie QB that no one believes can get the job done. This is regardless of the fact he can walk upright after 8 games in his young career. Our last rookie can be seen hobbling down the sidelines on crutches. That's progress in Chicago. The Panthers will struggle offensively because they run into the best defense in the NFC, if not the league. The modern-day Midway Bears are a force. They're getting stronger with every game. This week's challenge will be to stop Steve Smith. Peanut Tillman will have his hands full. I'm hoping the pressure up front is so severe that Smith does his best catching during pre-game warm ups. Speaking of warm-ups, it should be super cold and windy at the spaceship. That should also benefit our defense. Alas, I'm running out of time and I've got to cut this week's analysis short. Bears offense stinks, and we get to find out if the defense is really class-A. If they are, we lose only by the score of  17-3. I don't want to even predict the score if our D isn't on top of it's game on Sunday. It won't be pretty.

Bear Down. GO BEARS.

The Bears won a difficult game against the 49ers yesterday. It wasn't difficult because the 49ers are a good team. It was difficult because of the conditions at the spaceship, the mistakes, the injury to Cedric Benson, and the ineptness of the Bears offense. Just when you thought the Bears couldn't play any worse, they do. This time we can blame some of the putrid game play on the 50- mph winds. We can also thank that very same gust of wind for the improbable “Vasher Dash” touchdown. If you haven't seen it, or read about it yet, go grab a paper or visit ESPN.COM and catch up. It was an amazing play. Actually, it was comical. I was in disbelief when Vasher returned that failed field goal attempt a record setting 108 yards for the score. Pure, utter disbelief. That's been a reoccurring theme this Bears season. Whenever the Bears seem to play poorly, there is always some sort of a spark. This spark turns things around in games the Bears have done nothing to merit a victory. It's a strange game. My confidence level in this team is decreasing with every lackluster win. Can this be possible? We have something strange here. It's not unlike the Greenspan Conundrum. The more the Bears win (and it's been 5 in a row kids) the more I get nervous. I can't help but notice the Vikings are playing better now that a 40 year old Brad Johnson has taken the helm. The old-timer is clearly the best coach on the Vikings. What makes this fact even more powerful is that unlike Mike Tice, he puts a jersey on and executes on the field as well as on the sidelines. Plenty of the football experts and TV talking-heads are starting to award the Bears the division crown. I say not so fast:

The Vikings remaining schedule includes: Green Bay, the Browns, Lions, Rams, Steelers, Ravens, and the Beloved Bears. I think that moves their current sleeping-giant 4-5 record to 8-7 before the Bears come to visit. I think the Vikings lose to the Rams and the Steelers before they end the season with the Bears. The Bears have Carolina, the Bucs, Green Bay twice, Steelers, Atlanta, and the Vikings. That would leave the Bears at 7-8 before going into Minnesota. Let's review my Bears picks:

• Carolina v Bears --> Loss
• Bears v Bucs --> Loss
• Pack v Bears --> Win
• Bears v Steelers -->Loss
• Falcons v Bears --> Loss
• Bears v Pack --> Loss
• Bears v Vikings --> ?????

Clearly - that last Vikings game is going to make or break our playoff hopes. It's not impossible. Brad Johnson is a veteran QB who knows how to win on the road. The Vikings just pulled off a great victory against the Giants on the road. That builds confidence. The Bears on the other hand, won a windy laugh-fest against the WORST team in the NFL by a score of 17-9. Our kicker is a rookie who can't kick anything longer than a 35 yard FG in perfect conditions. Our QB is a rookie who can't hit our All-Pro receiver even during a scrimmage with no one covering him. Moose had 1 catch yesterday kids. There is no chemistry between these two. That's not good. Benson is out with a sprained knee, and Thomas Jones can't walk and breathe at the same time without pain. That leaves us with a TE who will lead the team in receptions and a 3rd string running back. Unless the defense starts to score 2 touchdowns a game, we're in trouble.

I'll be back to review each position later tonight. Until then, chew on that.

 

They got this award right. After watching the GM of the Cleveland Indians win the MLB Executive of the Year award over our very own Kenny Williams, it's nice to see Ozzie get the manager of the year honor. It wasn't even close. Ozzie brought a championship to the city of Chicago as well proved what baseball should be about. All-ball! He had a near flawless performance in the playoffs, and kept his team together during the down times. He really did a great job. Congrats to Ozzie and his family as well as to Venezuela. I believe Ozzie is the first Venezuelan to win the award. Viva Venezuela!

On to other business - due to some personal obligations I've been a little lax on my posting. Hopefully you've all enjoyed the grand scheming of Cub-Fan MikeJ. There are a lot of problems with that team on the Northside. They pale in comparison to the problems of the White Sox, and we have a few to be sure. The White Sox problems are a rich-man's problems. We need to sign Pauly and we need to figure out what we're doing without Frank. It's going to be an interesting off-season for the World Champs. Yes, that does bring a smile to your face....World Champs. So, when I snap out of it I'll be back in full force covering the beloved Bears who have a better record than both the Patriots and the Eagles. Didn't think that was going to happen didja?

Back in 5

The San Antonio, LSU, Los Angeles, New Orleans Saints are a good team. Don't be fooled by their horrible 2-7 record. They could be up to something nefarious; like tanking the season for that coveted #1 draft pick. Crazier things have happened. Why not? The Saints can battle with SF, Arizona, Green Bay (please no!), Houston, the Jets, or Baltimore for that pick. I admit it's a massive long shot, but think about the Saints final destination in life. It's LA. There is a young Heisman worthy QB leading his team to potentially another BCS Championship who would look good in a newly designed Saints jersey. It's the stuff of legend! He gets to stay near the Mansion, Hollywood, and his local Aston Martin dealer. The Saints escape from New Orleans, Mr. Benson leading the way of course, and establish themselves immediately with a marque player. They only have to change their name to something clever like the LA Posh, or the Los Angeles of Anaheim Football Stars. You get the point. I'm done with my Sam Smith impression, so let's cover the game:

The Bears beat the Saints yesterday. There aren't any good adjectives to describe the win. We just won. There wasn't anything flashy about it. We didn't look particularly good against the 2-7 Saints in the first half, and in the second half our defense stepped up enough to secure the victory. The offense got in on the action late in the game as well. A fantastic 90+ yard drive led by a scraggly-bearded Kyle Orton and his 2 backup running backs made up for the 2 interceptions and that lost fumble. You read that right kids, Thomas Jones, our little engine that could, broke down and missed the second half of this game. This forced the coaching staff's hand to play Cedric Benson. The 4th pick overall in last year's draft did a fine job when he got the carries. Lovie and company split the carries with Adrian Peterson who equaled the kid.

Life should be good in Bears' land. We are in first place. We might be there by default, but we are still in a position to join the Giants, Atlanta, and Seattle in the playoffs. If the defense stays healthy and continues to play the way they did against the Saints (in the second half) we should see actually see some playoff football in Chicago. Hell, if we continue to just win, we might actually get a home game in the playoffs! How exciting. I think a lot of people in this town would be satisfied with a division champ. I'm not one of them. The Bears need to do something drastic if they want to capitalize on the weak division this year. There are no guarantees in the NFL. Let's look at the Vikings. They spend the majority of this season goofing around off the field, and on the field they are either hurt, lazy or just plain bad. Insert a veteran QB like Brad Johnson and notice how the team plays better. They feed off the 50 year old veteran. (ok, he's not 50) The changes in this division are stunning. Minnesota goes to a veteran QB to win, while the Packers stick with a veteran QB to lose. The Bears use a rookie QB whose goal is the ever popular mistake-free football we keep reading about. The Lions are forced to play a young QB who has been given a ton of opportunities to succeed but hasn't! The Bears are built strong enough to win this division in a massive down year. That's still a major accomplishment over last year's pathetic effort. The question everyone should be asking is if it's enough to get us at least a win the playoffs. If it's not, what do you think we need to do to better compete at the next level?

I've got an idea -- but I'll leave you with that for now. Go Bears!

It's the third quarter and the Bears have been making a ton of mistakes. The offsides calls, the intentional grounding by Orton on the previous series, a missed field goal attempt, and interceptions have all cost us. It's a tie game 10-10. The Saints defense looks like it's Pro-Bowl caliber. Thomas Jones is hurt, and when he was playing, he was ineffective. Cedric Benson and Adrian Peterson are getting the carries now that Jones is out. It's funny to watch Cedric have to split the carries. Peterson just broke one for 37 yards....Cedric who?

Wait for it -- he just scored. A 93 yard drive. It looked easy. Easier than trying to hit a wide open Muhsin. Orton has been a little inaccurate today. Most of his passes have been way to high. Personally, there is something in his release I don't like. There is something in his mechanics that is throwing me off. Hell, I can't be the only one. Muhammad probably agrees with me. For now, the Bears are up 17-10. There is still plenty of time. Let's see if the defense can get another turnover.

Does anyone think they make Orton throw deep (and I mean deep) down field just for shits and giggles? There was no way anyone was going to catch some of these monster deep balls. Is coach Turner trying to show off his rookie QBs arm? If so, how about calling a play that actually works down field.

I think I am finally recovering from the most amazing 2 weeks of my life. The White Sox won the World Series. Did you get that message? I sure did. I took a nice rest after all the celebrating and screaming to reflect on how perfect this year has turned out. Then I realized there is a ton of work to do in this town. We need to get our football team back on track (you are on your way boys) and see if anyone still cares about hockey. Then there are the Chicago Bulls. A young team that learned more about cardiology and dress codes in the offseason than how to play defense. Still, they pulled it out last night in a game I could barely get into. A 25 point deficit will do that to you. Everything seems to be right in the world. My fantasy team is actually above the .500 mark for the season. That's not bad in the grand scheme of things. I'll drop a few tidbits here before wiping the sleep from my eyes and getting back to my awesome daily coverage. One more thing, White Sox - World Champs. Some notes: 1. Carl Everett is done with the White Sox. It was real Carl. You had a couple of great swings in the playoffs. I look forward to seeing you at the ring ceremony. Watch out for them dinosaurs. 2. Cliff Politte is staying. Congrats Cliff. You were a rock this season. 3. The Cubs want Raffie Furcal. It's a good move. Make it happen. 4. The Bears are in first place. They should make the playoffs. I'll pick up the Bears coverage now that the Series is over. 5. The Blackhawks stink. Jesus, this is like the worst thing that could happen post lockout. More on this later. 6. The Bulls expectations are sky high? I think not. If this team makes the playoffs this year, I'll be surprised. Isn't this about the time that most Skiles teams give up on him? Hmm.... That's it kids! More pics from the parade are on their way. Until then - Bear Down.