BigbadB

I haven't even heard Skoronski having any visits to the Bears. I've seen a million mocks that have him going to the Bears, but unless Poles is purposely ignoring him to make others think they don't want him, I'm guessing Poles has already excluded him from his list of candidates to start at T for the Bears this year, There were rumors about several other players that I don't think Poles is serious about, and those could be smoke screen rumors to try to get teams to jump them so that Paris slides to #9. Even the trade back with Pittsburgh rumor could have been leaked to try to get someone to trade up. Poles knows he needs to make a big splash after moving down. He's got his guys on his radar, and I'm sure he has a fall back (literally) plan if none of them are there. It is my belief that Poles would love nothing more than to take the guy he probably would have taken with the first pick (Carter), and he's doing everything he can to try to get him to slide to #9. Paris is probably is first backup plan. Neither could end up being there, and if that's the case, it will be interesting to see where he goes. That's how I see it right now. I could be way off and Skoronski was the guy he wanted all along like all of the pundits have predicted.

Poles grabbing whatever he could with that first pick trade when he did was brilliant. Polls are all over the place at this point. It kinda feels like the Draft Day movie now where the QB's that were currently the hottest ticket in town are now possibly sliding. I just read an article that said Levin might go first in this draft, and that he's more than likely the favorite to go 2nd. Hendon Hooker's stock is rising like crazy now, too. There are still a lot of teams looking for QB's, so Poles does still have a chance to get his guy at #9, whoever that may be. I'm not so sure the first pick is worth nearly as much now as it was when Poles made the deal.

They also have Robert Tonyan who helps out the TE room quite a bit, also.

Oh, it will be a meltdown alright. That's why I don't think it happens. I think the most likely is a trade down and he takes the T Poles most covets, whether that's Dawand Jones or Broderick Jones, since Paris will likely be gone and Skoronski isn't even being talked about outside of all the draft experts who all believe the Bears are taking Skoronski. DB is supposed to be one of the deepest positions in the draft, so I find it highly unlikely they go CB with monster holes to fill at T, DT and DE. To go with a CB and not have another pick until late 2nd round with all of those holes to fill would be suicidal. I'd guess they could land a decent CB in the 3rd round. I think all of this draft Bijon and Jalen Carter stuff is to try to get teams to trade ahead of them so that Paris falls to 9. I'm guessing Poles has several plans in place to fix the holes, but I'm guessing each one involves DL or OL with their first pick, and he's not tipping his hand.

I’m not so sure this Oakland team would have a winning record in Single A.

Was planning on sitting there watching the entire draft, but ended up with Cubs/Padres tickets on Thursday afternoon and Buddy Guy tickets on Saturday night. I guess I shouldn't act like a whiny spoiled brat since I can record it and still watch it whenever. 63 degrees and rain is the early forecast for Thursday in the Peoria area and likely worse than that in Chicago, so booo. I think the tickets behind home plate are under the upper decks, so there is that.

I predicted 86-90 with emphasis on 86. I'm now thinking 90 might be reachable with the right roster additions/deletions and upgrades at the trade deadline. What's Hendricks' status for a return?

I'd love if they traded back and drafted JSN while also picking up a better 2nd rounder. I'd be highly shocked and concerned if they drafted JSN at 9 and then waited until 58 to draft T and DT.

I'd bet at least a few of those were missed because of that scream. She's got some pipes.

Seems like they are hot for one of Jalen Carter or Tyree Wilson. If neither make it to #9, I'd expect they consider trading back to get a higher second round pick. For some reason, I think Poles has a T that he likes that he can pick in the 53-64 pick range, so I don't think ruling out JSN with the first pick, now in the teens from the trade back, is completely out of the question. With that early 2nd round pick, they can still follow your draft pattern since several needs are supposedly deep in this draft.

How about that time Moises Alou kicked the ball into the ivy to try to get a ground rule double called while the hitter rounded the bases for an inside the park home run? I don' t have much respect for Alou. I already have more for Ballesteros, and I haven't seen him play yet.

I was in a crowded sports bar in SoCal, so it was really not that late when the game ended. My bar tab was close to $400 after I bought a round of drinks for everyone in there. Most were clients of mine as my business involved bar clientele. The game was on nearly 40 tv's that you could see no matter which way you spun your bar chair, but the biggest tv was right behind the bar and those seats right in front of that tv were saved for me, my wife and a close friend from San Jose who flew down to hang with me for the game. He's not a Cub fan or a big sports fan, but he loves supporting a friend when they have something cool going on in their life. I had my "Try Not To Suck" t-shirt on we went nuts when it ended. We ended up getting so hammered, we decided to wait it out til after the bar closed before attempting to drive home. Went out to the car at about 2:30 and decided neither of us could drive still, so we called an Uber. It's chilly out and a cop has a car pulled over along the road by the bar, and it turns out it's our Uber driver that's pulled over. Now the decision on whether to get in the back seat of a vehicle that just got pulled over at nearly 3am in the morning. We just want to go home and get out of the cold, so we dared to do so. He was a foreigner of some sort, and he said he was being profiled by the police officer and followed him for several miles before they pulled him over. Sucks for him, but we just wanted to be home since I was still a bit numb from just spending $400 at a bar. It was worth it. One of the best moments of my life and the entire bar enjoyed it with me and the wife, and not just because I bought them all a drink. Most are San Diego Padres fans, and they know the feeling of not winning the big one.

I played for Tingleff Drugs and Bosch Trucking back in the day. Jerseys were your basic colored T-shirt.

I went with 86-90, with emphasis on 86. I think they are better than a .500 team.

I saw some Ernie Banks games, which should age me quite a bit. But, I was really too young and the games were to far in between and he was in his declining years to be able to appreciate him as much as I should have. But, I do have a lot of fond memories watching Ron Santo, Don Kessinger, Jose Cardenal, Billy Williams, Rick Monday, Randy Hundley Glenn Beckert, Fergie, Rick Rueschel playing together in the early '70's. I remember watching Billy Buckner playing for the Dodgers and jumping up on the left field fence when Hank Aaron hit his record breaking 715th home run way back when. I remember Ryne Sandberg being the main piece in a trade, and then sitting there watching him make out after out in his first games as a Cub, and wondering to myself, how bad did we get fleeced on this deal. Jerome Walton and Dwight Smith bring back great memories. I got to see those guys play in Peoria when the Single A team was there. Greg Maddux and Steve Trout did rehab starts in Peoria. Mark Grace played at Peoria for awhile. In fact, he met his first wife there. I was actually featured on a news story once in Peoria where these kids broke out the windows of close to 30 cars in an apartment complex where I lived, and Mark Grace's car was also vandalized the same way that same night while parked overnight at his then girlfriend's (maybe parents) place. I loved going to Cub caravan's in Peoria and day baseball was simply amazing. I do recognize WGN as my biggest reason for being a Cub fan. To be able to watch all of those games, no matter how bad they were, was priceless. Lovable losers was always the perfect definition of the entire organization. I suppose rooting for a winning team would have been more fruitful and healthy throughout my lifetime of watching baseball, but I don't regret it. Welcome to NSBB.

Let's do the time warp again!

I don't see Poles taking a WR with his first pick unless all of the blue chip guys he has his eye on were all gobbled up before #9. And if he did decide to go WR, he would likely trade back again to do so.

Was poised to be fine with it but 3/18 is a steal for Detroit and screw up by bears without a major upgrade Can’t imagine that was the big pay day he wax hoping for when he decided to test the waters.

This Aaron Rodgers fiasco is getting hilarious. Packers are currently handcuffed on making any moves since Rodgers could just stay with the Packers and his price tag this year would be 60m. Now he wants Randall Cobb as part of any trade package. But, in the meantime, there is no guarantee he ends up in NY at all. It makes me wonder if he does end up staying in GB, that he ends up the most expensive backup in the history of the NFL.

So if not McGlinchey, is it Orlando Brown or Jawaan Taylor that the Bears go after next?

Would the full on tank appear too obvious if they just went empty net for entire games?

Both guys make sense. Potentially the best available free agents at their position. 27 years old or younger when the season starts. Tackle is one of the toughest positions to fill. The draft is deep for many of the other holes the Bears need to fill. I think they end up filling two spots on the Oline via free agency and then get s guard or center with one of their early picks to finish off the line. If they go that route, someone like Bijan Robinson could actually be in play at #9. That would surprise me though. I think Poles will be very busy in free agency. He’d probably going to have the benefit of saving some of that cap money for those later roster cuts, also. I liked Gooney’s reference to how valuable that 9th pick will be with 4 QBs likely to get picked ahead of that pick. Makes it more like a 5th overall selection that we traded for. Wonder if Indy is worrying whether they end up with sloppy 4ths if someone offers AZ a haul for their 3rd pick.

Hearing rumblings that the Bears won"t be outbid for Dremont Jones or Orlando Brown

That's what I want at this point. I'm taking a guess that Carolina is the team they are talking about that might be offering this year's first, second and third, next year's first, second and third and then the first in 2025. If someone is offering that, how can you say no? Hell, I'd take that without the 2024 second and third. I seriously doubt they can get that much, but it is going to be fun watching the process play out these next few months.

I don't believe the Cubs have ever lost a game where I started the game thread................ I also don't believe I have ever started a game thread.