Interesting Behind the Scenes Look at the Winter Meetings

Thanks to Jeremy Dombro for sharing this video....

http://hirejimessian.com/2008/12/07/winter-meetings-preview/

One Last Bears Rant

Busy holiday season and I didn't have a lot of time to come out here. Thanks to Dwarf for putting some new content out here. So I'm going to take one last time to rip the 2008 Bears here, just cause they deserve it. Lovie's bunch goes into their "one game" season last Sunday with one objective. It's a MUST WIN situation against a team that really has nothing but pride to play for. The Bears needed a lot of help to advance, but that should have had no bearing on the game plan. No bearing because without a win, they are spectators for the postseason anyway. They went out last Sunday proved how BAD they are. They get the help, but can't take care of business. Why am I not surprised?

So what happened? A lot of things happened and were magnified against the Texans in Houston. The defense isn't nearly as good as they think they are. The secondary can't cover a big time receiver like Andre Johnson. The defensive line is incapable of putting consistent pressure on a quarterback, or contain a running game. Oh they stopped the run against Tennessee, but ended up making Kerry Collins look like Peyton Manning. Other then that, the defense isn't bad. While were at it let's dump "Lovie" Babich, our very over rated defensive coordinator.

Now that high powered offense.....how bout them? If I hear one more person say that they would have been better if they had some legit receivers, I'll puke. I think we're all in agreement that their weak at that position, but it's not much different then what was there last year and all we heard about was how bad Rex was. Well guess what....Kyle isn't much better. I'll give you the fact that the receivers are bad. You got Davis who has no hands, Lloyd who has no heart, Booker who has no clue and Hester who has no experience. Couple that with a quarterback who can't throw more then 30 yards in the air and there isn't much hope for this team. Let me not forget the most clueless head coach in the NFL. Lovie would win an Oscar for best look of bewilderment if there were an award for that.

Let me give some credit, where credit is due. The Bears do have hope at some positions. Matt Forte looks like the real deal and made us all forget that huge waste of humanity Cedric Benson. The kicking game is solid with Robbie Gould and Brad Maynard. I actually thought Maynard may have been the teams MVP this year. The tight ends are pretty solid with Greg Olson and Des Clark anchoring that position. In reality the Bears could compete if there were some changes made for next year. They do play in the worst division in the NFC, so there is some hope. The question......will any progress made during the off season survive the bewilderment of Lovie Smith? Only time will tell. Rest in peace 2008 Bears, I won't miss you at all.

Commit to the Indian

This was sent to me by a fellow hockey fan. I thought I'd pass it along. Thanks Richie for sharing this.....
. . . .
In the middle of a grueling six game road trip where a very young hockey
team is away from home, the third game of the trip ends late on a cold
Canadian Saturday night. This is the only break on the trip and the three
days between games allow them the only break to get back home in their own
beds for a couple of days before going back on the road. A scheduled
commercial flight waits for them at Toronto's International Airport for the
short flight home; they could be home by midnight. This plane departs on
schedule, but without a single member of the hockey team.
Back in the locker room a vote was taken after the game was complete, and a
unanimous decision was made by this young team to skip this flight and stay
one more day. They make arrangements to check back in the hotel and on a
frozen Sunday morning charter two buses that have no heat and begin a
journey two hours straight north into a sparsely inhabited Canada, where
hockey is its passion. They arrive at their destination to the surprise of
the team's general manager who is there attending his father's wake.
After a few emotional hours, this team boards the buses and heads back on
the two-hour trip back to Toronto. On the way they ask the drivers to stop
in a tiny Canadian town because they are hungry. To the shock of the
patrons and workers at this small hockey town McDonald's, a professional
team walks out of two rickety buses and into the restaurant, which just
happens to have pictures of two members of this team on its wall.
The patrons know every single one of these players by sight, being fanatic
fans of hockey in these parts. One can only imagine the amazement of the
locals seeing an entire professional hockey team sit down and have a meal
in their tiny little town in the middle of a hockey season. After a while
they board the buses and catch their same flight 24 hours later, giving one
day to their general manager.
Have I made this up, is this an excerpt from some fictional book? No this a
true story of the Blackhawks on the night they decided to attend Dale
Tallon's father's funeral. It's amazing that such a good story can be
found almost nowhere on the internet, and not even mentioned in the Chicago
papers. Had one of the Blackhawks got into a fight and punched some
drunken loser in a Toronto bar it would be plastered all over papers and
the television.
This being said, its hard to imagine any professional football, basketball
or baseball team doing this, but the members of the Blackhawks claim any
hockey team would have done this, and I believe that to be true. This is
one reason I continue to be a big hockey fan, and another reason I am
excited about this Chicago team.
I thought I would share as this story appears to have gone mostly

As I watch the Bears slowly fall apart, I came upon the following article which was on Ed Sherman's Blog from Crain's. Perhaps the Cubs should field their marketing staff as they appear to have something closer to a killer instinct than Zombrano, Lee and Ramirez had in the last six playoff games. The Cubs seem to be employing the same advisers that told Blagojevich that the Senate seat was worth something. Cubs players complain that fans are no longer lovable. Could it be that as fans keep getting squeezed so they expect a win at every home game. This is NOTHING more than adding a $20 charge to all the other fees that fans pay when they purchase a ticket. Will the ticket brokers have the homeless sign up for the Cubs Club just as they have them wait in line for the first day single game tickets go on sale? This is on top of the Cubs raising single game tickets over the winter. With Toyota forecasting its first operating loss in 70 years, troubles in Detroit and numerous stories of consumers not spending as much this year, you have to wonder if all professional sports will see a slow down in 2009. This is not just directed at the Cubs but will many franchises see a slow down in '09. I hope Cub fans enjoy the oppurtunity to pay $249 to get a Cubs Club bumper sticker.



New Cubs Club sure to pack them in

New Cubs Club sure to pack them in
Posted by Ed Sherman at 12/22/2008 7:50 AM CST on Chicago Business
The Cubs have found another way to tap into the insatiable demand to be part of everything at Clark and Addison.
The new revenue stream is a repackaging of their on-line fan club, Cubs Club. Among the goodies for joining are a membership card, Cubs sticker, exclusive e-mails and web content.
And oh yes, there's one more thing: the ability to purchase seats for premium games before they go on sale.
Ding, ding, ding.
Every year in February, you see pictures of crazy fans lined up around Wrigley Field nervously waiting for the ticket windows to open for single-game sales. Now the Cubs are offering those fans a way to beat the cold.
For a fee of $249, the Cubs Club Marquee level gives the member a chance to purchase up to 12 tickets in a special Marquee level pre-sale.
For $129, the Cubs Club Ivy Membership levels allow fans to purchase up to four seats in a special Ivy pre-sale.
Do you think there might be a few fans who will sign up for the first crack at tickets for the White Sox and St. Louis games? It sure beats freezing your tail off or paying premium prices for a ticket broker.
The Cubs easily could sell out their entire season with an unlimited Cubs Club membership, but they are going to set limits to ensure tickets still are available to the general public. Matthew Wszolek, Cubs director for sales and promotions, said the cap would be from 4,000 to 5,000 members at the Ivy and Marquee levels.
"We're not talking about just games in April," Mr. Wszolek said. "You can get a Cubs-Sox ticket through Cubs Club. The value on that alone is considerable."
Yes, it is. It isn't difficult to imagine a number of Cubs Club members will be ticket brokers and/or fans looking to sell tickets to premium games to those brokers and make a quick profit.
"We're aware that possibility exists, but we truly feel this is something that Cubs fans desire, and it's an opportunity we want to provide," Mr. Wszolek said.
There is a cheaper option to join the club if buying tickets isn't a priority. For $19.95, you could receive the standard membership that includes the e-mails and other stuff.
At $129, in addition to being able to buy tickets in advance, Ivy members will have a special gate entrance at Wrigley Field.
If you go for the whole enchilada at $249, you'll get all the goodies plus a special non-game, on-field event for all Marquee members.
"We continuously heard from the fan base, I want as much Cubs content and information as possible," Mr. Wszolek said. "They're looking for more things to be associated with the team. We weren't doing that well enough. We want to give people more access."
Access to those ticket pre-sales will be the big driver here. It should ensure Cubs Club always will be full.

Bears Fall to.500 in Lovie Smith's 6 Game Season

Two weeks ago Lovie Smith tried a new brand of BS by looking at the remainder of the year as a 6 game season. As bad as the division is, a 4 -2 record in his 6 game season puts the Bears at 10 - 6 overall. In the NFC North, that could easily win the division. After an impressive win against one of the worst teams in football last week, things were looking up. Looking up until last night, when they were embarrassed by the Vikings in Minnesota. Once again the Bears proved they can't stop Adrian Peterson. Kyle Orton is showing all the signs of mediocrity that I thought he was capable of. The Bears secondary showed that they can give up 99 yards in one play after the Bear offense failed to gain 1 yard in four.

If there was ever a time to clean house at Halas Hall it will be after the final snap of game 16 this year. There's no need to worry about playoff tickets this year folks. The only playoff football the Bears will see, is from their LazyBoys. Apparently Ron Rivera was better then a lot of people gave him credit for. The Bear defense was still feared when he was in charge. The offense would be the laughing stock of the NFL if it weren't for rookie Matt Forte, who makes them look at least creditable each week. A bunch of bad receivers with a 'puss arm' quarterback is what we have to look forward to in the final four games of Lovies 6 game season.

Speaking of Lovie, I have to say I am amazed every week watching him on the sidelines. Talk about a robot for a coach. He could be up by 20 or down by 30 and it's the same hypnotic look on his face. When his coaching career is over, he should get on the World Poker tour. Nobody's going to be able to read him. Aces full or 4 - 7 off suit and it's the same look from the Lovemeister. He stands on the sideline listening to Beyonce or ordering extra pizza for after the game through that headset. You can't convince me that he's getting any kind of football information through there. So it's Jacksonville, New Orleans, Green Bay and Houston for the final four. Does anybody see 3 more wins in there, cause I sure don't. So as an end of season gift, let's all pitch in and get Lovie a new CD for next season. Something that might change the expression on his face.

Hatfield Hotdog Launcher Documentary

With Thanksgiving upon us, I think it is time to appreciate the technology that we now all benefit from. The following YouTube video, I think all the kids like the YouTube, is dedicated to the invention of the Hatfield Hotdog Launcher. The Launcher is used at Philadelphia Phillies games to launch encased meats into the stands at Citizens Bank Park. Is it coincidence that the Phillies’s are the current World Series Champion and at the same time possess hot dog launching technology? I think Chicago would greatly benefit from this type of technology. Instead of worrying about goats or signing the latest Cuban, I ask both of Chicago’s teams to come together to develop this jointly. Perhaps the launcher can be used to reach the roof tops across from Wrigley?

I enjoyed the video. What about you?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aW-ljrm7a6g

Finally.....a Team Worse Then the Bears

The Bears finally found a team worse then them. Don't be fooled by the mirage Bears fans, the team isn't "back" by any means. They just found a team that made them look half way decent. This is the same defense that couldn't stop the potent arm of Kerry Collins two weeks ago. That's right Kerry Collins. Doesn't exactly strike the fear of God in you does it? So they knock Mark Bulger out of the game on the first series and get a rusty Trent Green with an offensive line that that couldn't block for St. Lawrence high school.


I did see affirmation of a few things during this game. I do believe Matt Forte is a stud who will be a force to be reckoned with in the future. The Bears have totally messed up Devin Hester. He is not getting it done at wide receiver and I think his mind is messed up on returns. The one thing that he was REALLY good at and they mess with his head. Once again, Kyle Orton has proved that he is nothing more then a mediocre quarterback at best.


So Lovie Smith's team is undefeated in their new 6 game season. I wouldn't get to excited for the remainder of that 6 game season. Although they don't have a very tough schedule remaining, they don't have anybody quite as bad as the Rams. They'll have their hands full trying to stop Adrian Peterson next week, which they haven't done very well in the past. It's going to be a long rest of the season...even if it is only 5 more!