I made my first-ever visit to the Bears practice facility at Halas Hall Wednesday. I had to miss a mandatory reporter meeting to do it, so I was reluctant, but it was the only way I was going to be able to get quotes for the training camp preview story that will run in our souvenir program.
First of all, I didn’t realize Lake Forest was so far away. In order to avoid the Dan Ryan, had to take the Tri-State toll all the way from I-80 to where it connects with I-94, which is about 60 miles worth of tollway. Once I got to Lake Forest, I realized that they hide Halas Hall quite well, but I was able to find it fairly easily since I had decent directions.
Since the story is for the Bears’ official program, I’m not allowed to be overly critical of the team in the preview, otherwise I’d have gone to Halas Hall with intentions of asking what the heck they were thinking with their draft picks. But instead, I had a list of fluff questions for Lovie Smith, even though I knew I would probably be able to only ask one or two before having a member of the Bears P.R. staff whisk me away. I believe they bring cattle prods for those types of situations.
Lovie was only available Wednesday, and only after practice when dozens of other reporters would be surrounding him, also asking questions. Since these informal press conferences only last so long, it makes every question crucial. I could only hope I’d get enough relevant quotes to fill my preview story. I prayed for no questions about Desmond Clark or Airese Curry (see my previous blog about Bears camp). Sure enough, though:
WGN’s Dan Roan: “Has Desmond earned, in you’re eyes Lovie, the chance to compete for some more plays and some more looks?”
Ugh. Dude, Dan, I love you. You’re great. But you’re killing me, Smalls. You’re killing me.
Then, the very next question:
Reporter I can’t identify: “Coach, can you talk about Airese Curry? He caught a nice couple balls today. Is that what you guys have been waiting to see from him?”
What, you mean being able to make it through an entire practice without pulling a hammy? Being able to catch passes without pads and while not being defended? That’s what they’ve been waiting for? Please.
In the end, though, I got what I needed. P.R. director Scott Hagel was even gracious enough to let me walk with Lovie for a while as he walked out the door to ask a quick question before I took off. All in all, a worthwhile trip.
Even if I did spend half my paycheck on tolls.
The following post will appear in Thursday’s paper. There may be some minor editing done in the final copy, but this is the rough draft.
Gene Kanak will write an accompanying piece arguing why it’s OK to root for both the Cubs and Sox.
In short, I’m right and he’s wrong. But I’ll let you decide. Here’s my arguement.
Liking both the Chicago White Sox and the Chicago Cubs is tantamount to liking both Miller Lite and Budweiser.
Technically, there’s nothing wrong with it since both are beer (insert Miller Lite joke here), but if you were a real beer drinker, you’d pick a side, for crying out loud.
The White Sox and Cubs are both Chicago major league teams (insert Cubs joke here), so in theory, a person from the Chicagoland area would have good reason to cheer for both. However, anyone who claims to be a fan of each is really a fan of neither.
That doesn’t mean said person isn’t a baseball fan; he’s just not a true fan of either specific team.
True Sox fans: Could you possibly give another man a hi-five after a Sox win if he was wearing a Michael Barrett jersey?
True Cub fans: Would you invite a friend over to watch a Cubs game if, just the day before, you saw that same friend sing Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” at a karaoke bar?
The answer to each, of course, is not only “no”, but “oh, heck no.”
The wounds between the two sides are simply too fresh and too deep.
For decades, White Sox fans lived in Cubbie shadows with a dwarfed fan base, an inferior ballpark, substandard payroll, very few if any franchise players and a lack of success on the field. This led to resentment by Sox fans.
Cubs fans, with their own history of problems, didn’t understand. They couldn’t have cared less about the stupid White Sox and told Southside fans as much. Basically, Sox fans hated the Cubs while Cubs’ fans simply didn’t care about the Sox.
That apathy helped lead to even more bitterness from the Southside that festered until the Sox won the World Series last year. Then, the tables turned. Suddenly, the Sox have a much more comparable fan base, the ballpark suddenly seems nicer (even though it isn’t), the payroll is essentially the same as the Cubs and with players like Mark Buerhle, Paul Konerko, Jose Contreres and Jim Thome, they have the city’s marquis players.
Now, the Sox are on the front page; they are the first sports story on the 10 o’clock news.
Meanwhile, the Cubs still stink and Sox fans don’t have any problems reminding Cubs fans of that fact.
So here we stand. Cubs fans now hate the Sox and Sox fans still hate the Cubs.
How can anybody possibly cheer for both?
A simple hypothesis (no scientific method currently exists to make this a theory) suggests such fans began their baseball-watching days as one of two things — Cubs fans, or fans of neither.
Those that began as Cubs fans perhaps looked to the Sox while wanting to pick a favorite American League team. Doing so would have been simple enough since it wouldn’t have been a horrible sin as recently as five years ago. True Sox fans probably wouldn’t have liked it, though.
The other group of dual-fans, those that held no allegiance to either team in the early stages of their lives, probably had some relatives or friends who liked the Sox and some who like the Cubs. Not being able to choose sides, these people chose to cheer for both.
As adults, though, it’s time for these people to make a decision. One or the other.
You simply can’t have it both ways.
Rob Laird is a sports writer for the Daily Journal. He can be reached by phone at (815) 937-3390, by email at rlaird@daily-journal.com or mail c/o of The Daily Journal, 8 Dearborn Square, Kankakee, IL 60901.
Here’s a sentence I never thought I’d type: I went to the Cubs’ game on Tuesday night and ended up partying with Sterling Sharpe.
Let me explain.
At about the 2nd inning, my friend and current Journal sports writer Paul and I decided to go grab some beers. On our way to the vendor, we passed this huge man that Paul swore looked familiar. We thought about it for a minute but then gave up.
Heading back to our seats in the left field bleachers, we quickly discovered that that huge guy was sitting directly behind us, next to someone else who also appeared to be a football player.
I asked if they played, and when they stammered like a drunk guy talking to a cop, we knew. Once the bigger guy starting talking, Paul recognized the voice as that of Sharpe.
We were on to him.
As the game went by, Sharpe and his buddy, who we learned was Jarrod Cooper of the Oakland Raiders, began joking with us and the three girls in our group.
Cooper was a big fan of those girls. He was pretty much a big fan of every girl. He ended up being a great guy to hang out with. Lots of laughs, very nice to everyone. Just a good guy. Possible drinking problem and maybe overly flirty, but heck of a nice guy.
Sharpe was just a nice as Cooper, only without the awkward flirting or sloppy drunkenness. Great guy. Concerned for everyone’s safety.
After the game, the entire group was invited to Hi-Tops, where there was a private party upstairs. We were let right in, despite our less than formal outfits. Derrek Lee made an appearance, which was odd. Cooper appeared to be very good friends with him, which was even odder.
Pretty much, the entire night was odd. Surreal even. Sharpe and Cooper separated from us at about midnight, but we stayed upstairs until boredom kicked in at about 12:30. We went downstairs until the bar closed (Sharpe and Cooper left at about 1 a.m. after saying goodbye to me). Then we went home.
Out of curiousity, I googled Cooper the next day. He’s got a few arrests on him, including a couple for DWI and one for driving with a supsended license. The last one led to his dismissal from the Panthers, though he’s found a home in Oakland. The report on him is that he’s a headhunter on the field and a great teammate in the lockerroom. Neither surprised me.
All in all, it was a very nice experience. Both players seemed down to earth and were both polite and friendly. Sharpe was a class act all the way.
The Bears arrive on July 26, with the first practice taking place the next day.
For those curious, I’ll list the top four good stories (stories that make you feel good), followed by my top four bad stories (stories that make you want to stab yourself in the eyes) and top four non-stories (stories that at least one publication will publish because they ran out of ideas the first week of camp).
Top Four Good Stories:
1. Defense, defense. Assuming Lance Briggs shows up (more on that later), this defense will be a treat to watch at camp. There are whispers the Bears are going to unleash Urlacher in the passing lanes more, which is sort of like giving the pit bull down the street some raw beef tips and letting him roam the block. When he’s not getting more interceptions, he’ll finally start lighting people up when they come across the middle, like fans have always wished he’d start doing. This will be good for everybody.
2. The Ced Benson Experience. Remember, fans didn’t even smell him during last year’s camp because of a holdout. This will be our first chance to see him. We should’ve picked Caddy Williams last year, but we have Benson. And you know what? He’s still pretty darn good.
3. Rookie Nicknames. Danaiel Manning is “Yay,” Devon Hester is “Anytime,” Dusty Dvoracek is either “Salt” or “Pepper,” whichever one Tommie Harris isn’t. There are so many jokes here. I’d better just pace myself over the next few weeks.
4. Anytime crazy Dusty Dvoracek lines up against Olin “Hawaiin Punch” Kreutz. This could break out into a fist fight at any moment. And what a fight. A man can wish.
Top Four Bad Stories:
1. The Thomas Jones/Lance Briggs saga. Both are coming off monster seasons. Both are underpaid. Both are represented by Drew Rosenhaus. Uh oh.
2. Ricky Manning Jr. He’s kind of a question mark right now with his assault charges. Depending on what happens at his court date on June 16, he may miss some time at camp.
3. Tank Johnson. The mentally unbalanced second-year defensive tackle probably won’t get many reps at camp because of injury, but he’ll be around for light exercise and such. Here’s to hoping he doesn’t bring his glock to Olivet. Because, as he proclaimed to a police officer during a traffic dispute in the offseason, he has one.
4. Michael Haynes: Former Bear. This will probably be his last training camp, assuming he makes it that far. Remember when this guy was the defensive end of the future?
Top Four non-stories
1. Quarterback controversy. Get ready for endless, endless questions asking who the team’s starter will be: Griese or Grossman. Two things, people. First, both Griese and Grossman are below-mediocre quarterbacks. It’s like bickering over whether we should punched in the face or kicked in the groin. Second, when camp starts, there will still be about seven weeks until the start of the season. Please, let’s find something more tangible to waste our time with. I don’t think I’m ready for this. You know what? I’m not. For the safety of everyone involved, I’d better not bring anything sharp to camp.
2. Airese Curry: Superstar. This guy sucks. Can I say sucks? I hope so. Because I just did. People have been trying to hype this guy since the Bears wasted a pick on him a year ago. He stunk then and he stinks now.
3. Desmond Clark: 10 pounds lighter and more determined. Yes, but he’s still Desmond Clark.
4. JD Runnels: Rookie sensation. The fullback from Oklahoma will get reps with the first team at camp, but only because Bryan Johnson’s going to be hurt again. How do I know this? Because Bryan Johnson is always hurt, that’s how.
You’ll find in Thursday’s newspaper an apology commentary by fellow sports writer and personal friend Gene Kanak. You see, Wednesday’s sports section featured a rather interesting photo caption that wasn’t supposed to make it to press but did. I won’t get into it, as it’s not really my place while I battle for the title of “lowest man on the Daily Journal totem pole” but let’s just say the words “clownbag” and “stupid-looking” were prominently involved in the caption. Gene feels genuinely horrible about it; as well he should.
Being scheduled to work all of Wednesday evening, I was expecting a flurry of phone calls by angry/confused readers who had concerns about the caption. However, I didn’t receive one phone call on the topic. Not one. In fact, nobody in the department did.
Keep in mind, we get complaints quite frequently about things much less egrigious. For example, I had one caller hurl unspeakable profanity at me because, in the TV/Radio section, I forgot to change the start time from Eastern to Central for a baseball game. The person was upset that he missed the first three innings. On the plus side, I did learn some new words.
Possible reasons for the lack of reader reaction about our mistake: 1.) People thought it was funny. 2.) People didn’t see it because they don’t read the sports section.
I hope, for many reasons, it’s the former. I’m pretty sure people read our section; after all, if they didn’t, I wouldn’t have a job. It’s also possible the complaints have been directed in other directions. The voice mail for Denise, our managing editor, for example, may be blowing up right now. But I’d bet it isn’t.
That people haven’t complained doesn’t excuse the blunder but perhaps it will ease some of the embarrassment we are all feeling right now. Because, I have to say, we all have a lot of egg on our face at the moment.
Still, I think it’s possible we’ll look back on this and have a good laugh some day, perhaps as soon as a few weeks, when it will inevitably appear on “The Tonight Show.”
I won’t bore you with the details as to how I came to the above conclusion, but I’m sure you know what I’m talking about.
Long story short, about five weeks ago, I was hit by a person who blew a stop sign. It looks like I am still at least three more weeks away from so much as bringing my car in for repairs. This was five weeks ago! Why the delay? Because insurance companies are run by Satan. So if you see a Dodge Stratus with a dent in the front-drivers’ side quarterpanel, that’s me.
I’ll now move onto a subject that makes me only slighltly less angry. The Cubs.
Predicted final score of the three games at Busch Stadium: Cardinals 19, Cubs 3. Cardinal hits: 28. Cub hits: 10. Rob Laird curse words: 9,743. I’m trying to decide if I’ll invent some new curse words, or string together some old stand-bys in new and inventive ways.
Maybe I’ll treat it like Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS, when I sat on the couch, rocking back and forth in the fetal position with my thumb in my mouth, muttering “darn it, darn it, darn it” for about 45 minutes straight. (FYI, I didn’t actually use the word darn. I just don’t want to get fired.)
The only thing that’s certain is that Albert Pujols will hit at least two homers and the Cards will sweep. Why is this certain? Because they’re a much better baseball team than the Cubs.
