If this is true, I’m all for it.
Tori, one of Rain Delay’s few readers, said that according to ESPN 1000, many Cubs fans have adopted Pearl Jam’s “Alive” as the Cubs theme song for 2007. Again, if this is true, I’m all for it. It kicks the ever-loving crap out of the White Sox 2005 theme song, which of course was {name redacted}. (Sorry everydayshouldbesaturday, I’m stealing your bit for this one.)
At first, I was cool with just “Go Cubs Go” being the song, but now I’m geared up for “Alive.” We’ve got to rubber-stamp this. Come on bleedcubbieblue.com, get behind me on this one. Spread the word.
That said, if the Cubs end up losing this year in spectacular fashion, it could end up ruining one of my all-time favorite songs forever. Aw heck, I don’t know.
A couple of links:
Cubs trade for Steve Trachsel to bring down strengthen their bullpen … their rotation … their bullpen. Aw heck, I don’t know.
WWE suspends wrestlers for steroids. Equal parts sad, fitting, too-little-too-late and interesting.
With the non-stop Michael Vick coverage on the World-Wide Leader, I needed a break and surfed the internet instead.
Here are some things that I found …
Just as it seemed that the Bears had put all of the off-the-field drama behind them (and just as the media got back to what is important — being far too harsh in the criticism of Rexy), Lance Briggs apparently decided to spice things up by crashing his brand new Lamborghini and fleeing the scene.
With the end of the preseason now less than a week away for the Bears, here’s how I think the Bears’ roster will shake out:
The return of Henry Blanco to the Cubs yesterday got me excited for a couple of reasons. 1.) I get to say “Hank White” again and 2.) OK, there is no number two. That’s the only reason to get excited for the return of Henry Blanco.
This got me thinking: Does anybody outside Chicago refer to Henry Blanco as Hank White? I’m sure some do, but with not nearly the consistency as people who specifically follow the Cubs. I’m sure other teams have these types of players - guys who have nicknames mainly used by only die hards. For example, everyone knows Alex Rodriguez is A-Rod, but how many people know Jose Mesa is Joe Table? (Here’s a link to an amusing list of other players with their names translated to their literal English meanings.
Here are my two favorite nicknames no one knows about:
As possibly the world’s only fan of both the Chicago Bulls and Reggie Miller, news of Reggie’s possible comeback with Boston has left me with mixed emotions.
On the one hand, Reggie was easily my hero from the ages of 13-17. Through a series of random, fluke occurrences with which I won’t bother to bore my few readers, I received his autograph at this game in 1994. Following that, I tracked his career closely. Not long after I received that autograph, this happened.
You know what? It’s easier I just link this.
Bears fullback Obafemi Ayanbadejo has been suspended by the NFL for violating the league’s performance-enhancing substance policy. He can still participate in practices and preseason games. Today is the last workout before the preseason opener in Houston.
According to the Tribune, the Bears knew of the positive test before signing the fullback:
In a situation eerily reminiscent of those involving Bears quarterback Jim Miller in 1999 and fullback Daimon Shelton, Ayanbadejo, brother of Bears linebacker and Pro Bowl special teams player Brendon, tested positive for a banned substance that was contained in an over-the-counter supplement MaxLMG, billed as an aid for recovery after physical workouts.
“It’s unfortunate that someone like myself, who didn’t take a steroid, tested positive,” Ayanbadejo said. “But it was an anti-estrogen substance that I wasn’t aware was in the product and that’s something that’s on the league’s list.”
Ayanbadejo took six tests between November 2006 and April 2007, with only the January test returning a positive. He found out about the positive results in April, while under contract with the Arizona Cardinals, who then released him on June 5.
His appeal of the decision was denied and the suspension handed down.
“I did my best to fight it but it got me cut by Arizona,” Ayanbadejo said. “After that I explained the situation to Chicago and the organization believed me and gave me a chance to come and compete here, which I appreciate very much.”
http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/
It looks like the Bears knew about the suspension when they signed him and waited until the appeal was heard before making the information public. I’m sure Lovie Smith will address the issue at practice, as could Ayanbadejo and maybe even Jerry Angelo. As it is, this suspension doesn’t seem like something that blindsided the team.
The feel good story of camp so far is probably Trumaine McBride, a rookie cornerback who entered camp possibly as low as seventh on the depth chart but has played his way onto the team.
Often in NFL camps, there’s one guy who didn’t figure to have a chance but plays so well the team is forced to recognize it and puts him on the team. This year, McBride is that guy for the Bears. He’s small, not the strongest guy in the world, and not many people figured he’d be anything more than a practice squad player, if that.
Well, after the Bears released Dante Wesley, suddenly McBride finds himself on the team. Feel-good story, right? Small little defensive back without a chance fights the odds and makes it onto the roster of the NFC Champs? If you’re a reporter, that’s your angle, isn’t it?
Nope. Not if the guy has a speech impediment. A slight, barely noticeable speech impediment. He may as well have cancer. Or a child with some horrible disease.
The recent heat wave has made practices pretty difficult on the players, but no one seems to be complaining. I don’t know if the reason why the heat seems to affect the players less now than in previous camps has anything to do with coach Lovie Smith, but it could. The players under Lovie compared to Dick Jauron are skinnier and faster at most, if not all, positions, which generally means they are better conditioned.
Also, the hot practices will be a good trial run for the season opener, which takes place in San Diego.
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If there’s one thing I’ve learned about Bears’ camp it’s this: You can’t really project how any one particular player will perform during the season based on what happens in camp, but you can project with a fair amount of accuracy how well the team will perform.
For example, over the last few years, there have been players I became fond of based on their performances in camp. These people included: Hank Burris and Trace Coleman in 2002, Adrian Peterson in 2003, Daryl Jones in 2004, no one in 2005 (I’ve tried to block that year’s camp from my mind) and Tim Day, Reggie Harrell and Dwayne Slay in 2006. (This year, the man-crush is on wide receiver Mike Hass.) These were all people I, and many others for that matter, thought could become good NFL players if given a chance; none except Peterson, who had already established himself, has done so.
On the other hand, over the last five years, I figured the team would do this (actual record in parenthesis):
2002 - 6-10 (4-12)
2003 - 5-11 (7-9)
2004 - 6-10 (5-11)
2005 - 8-8 (11-5)
2006 - 12-4 (13-3)
2007 - 11-5 (???)
So, aside from the 2005 season my guesses, which didn’t deviate from most projections, were fairly close.
What does this all mean? Well, if you believe in precedents — 1.) Don’t expect camp star Mike Hass to do anything special this year. 2.) The Bears should win about 11 games.
