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The Bears had enough of that gaining yardage crap.

In other news, the Colts getting shutout by the Titans at the half 10-0.

I want Kyle Orton to play in this game!

Uh, wow!

Is there a Mercy Rule in football? There should be.

First of his career. Congrats Ced. Great job by the coaching staff to change the pace even with Jones going strong.

This is an old fashioned butt-whuppin! The O-line has come to play. RBs are hitting holes like they are going out of style.

Nope. I'm not trading Prior. He's got much more upside than Dunn. And the Cubs would be trading Prior at his lowest possible value. Prior is in the same boat as Wood. You can't trade him now. He's been injured too much and is too deep into his contract. He's at the point where you just have to keep him for the duration of his contract and hope he stays healthy.

One of my biggest reasons for wanting Dunn so bad the last couple years has been his age and likelihood of his improvement. But as has been mentioned, he has had a decline in each of the last couple years in a great hitter's park. He's no longer a lock for a .900 OPS, which while he will still be productive it becomes a matter of what you'd give up for him. You also have to compare him to some of the other options. Do you take Dunn at a .855 OPS and give up players for him, while only having him guaranteed for 1 year? OR do you go after Lee or Soriano who are older, but don't require any lost prospects and won't be a huge salary difference over Dunn for 4-5 years?

And again, he won't win MVP because Ryan Howard is stronger.

Wow. Sounds odd saying that a lineup with Damon, Jeter, Sheffield, Abreu, Matsui, ARod, Posada, and Cano was stupid and missing something.....but no way do you play Melky over Jason Giambi.

I think it depends on Schmidt. They aren't bringing Alou back. They will make a token offer to Schmidt and if he gives them a discount, they'll probably bring back him and Bonds for a year, then trade Schmidt after 2007. But Schmidt will leave, combined with Alou leaving....Bonds going makes for a perfect rebuilding opportunity.

Giambi was asked and said he could go. I think in an elimination game, though, if you have a player like Giambi who is even remotely able to play, you play him. So, maybe he wasn't that available.

I would like Bochy, alot. I think that will satisfy all the things the Cubs are looking for in a manager. I'm pretty sure Hendry and McDonough want an experienced ML manager. I'm pretty sure Hendry wants someone who has playoff experience (as witnessed by the Baker hire and Piniella/Brenly interest), and I'm sure McDonough won't object to a playoff tested manager and "proven winner". I'm sure both want a guy that was been a player's manager, has gotten along with the front office, and has a hard-nosed perception. Bochy is probably the best possible available choice for the Cubs if they fully intend on trying to win within the next few years.

Not gonna happen. Indians aren't gonna take on all that salary to MAYBE be marginally better. They also aren't trading Crowe anytime soon, either. They are hoping he can move Sizemore to the middle of the order, by becoming the team's leadoff man of the future.

I don't know the big deal with the lineup in the last game. Torre was trying to shake things up. His team hadn't scored in 14 innings, going into the game. Their season was on the line. He had to try something. Arod moving down was the easiest thing to try, because nobody would blame him for that if it didn't work. As for everything else, this is great! Torre retires, Piniella goes to New York. Win-win for the Cubs. I'm indifferent on Girardi and Brenly, but neither is a horrible choice like Piniella would have been.

He wants Urlacher money. He's not worth Urlacher money. Briggs is a very, very good linebacker. But Briggs as at best the 3rd most important defensive player. You can't pay your 3rd best player like he's the best. And one could argue that Tillman and Vasher are more important. OLB is probably the easiest position to fill in all of football. I think you let Joe and Williams play and draft another young LB who can run, and the Bears will be alright defensively. With the offense developing, the Bears can still win plenty of games without a completely lights out defense. The downgrade would be minimal overall and save a ton of money. BTW, 22 years ago today, Walter Payton became the NFLs All-Time leading rusher!

Don't want Mussina anywhere near the Cubs. Sheffield would be an interesting option. I'd take Sheff on a 1-year deal, but he'd be far from my 1st option and he better not be the only upgrade. If the Cubs get Sheffield, it would have to NOT be at the expense of Murton. A solid hitting 2B and CF would have to be brought in.

The bottom end of those rosters look a lot like Glendon, Mabry, etc. The problem isn't at the bottom end of the roster. It's at the top end. The problem isn't that we have scrubs - every team does. The problem is that an average Juan Pierre was one of the better players on the team. The problem isn't that Rusch was on the team. The problem was that he was forced into a larger role than desired because of the lack of better options. To fix the team, don't worry so much about the Bynum's. Worry about getting 2-3 impact players and the rest takes care of itself. But that's bound to happen when you have GM that actively seeks out and values those types of players. Hendry went after Mabry and bullpen help, before a starting RF. He traded something of value and sought after players like Perez, Macias, and Bynum because of their "versatility". I think the bottom end of the roster is a huge problem. Especially, when it is a bottom 6 or 7, instead of a bottom 2. It's quite alright to have Glendon Rusch and Neifi Perez on your team. But when they are your 5th starter and starting SS because the regular goes down, then it's a problem. It's magnified by there being other 25th men on the roster. The Cubs went into this season with Perez, Mabry, Pagan, Bynum, and Blanco on the bench. If the Yanks had that bench to start the year, they wouldn't have made the playoffs. You gotta know players aren't gonna make it thru the entire year. The problems comes when these guys get a ton of playing time because of injuries.

actually, my phone just got hooked up. So, I think I'll be able to get in and do it. Thanks, though.

1. Cabrera 2. ARod 3. Ramirez 4. Soriano 5. Schmidt

I just moved and can't access fantasy leagues from work. I don't know if you can change teams as commish, but if so, could you make the following moves? Drop Warner, pick up a QB for me: In order, Brunell, Alex Smith, Leftwich, if all of those are gone, just give me Gradkowski for TB. I don't believe I have anyone else with a bye.

True. Shawne Merriman has to be in the conversation though. Merriman's really only had the 1 great game. There are plenty of defenders playing better football right now than him.

I've had similar cautious sentiments all season. And now the Bears are giving 11, and the line is holding steady. I believe the Vikings game was the come out flat game, and I really expect Lovie and the coaches to prevent that this time. But I don't see them dominating like they have in 3 of the first 4 games. Honestly, assuming they avoid coming out flat, I don't see how they won't dominate this game. Buffalo's o-line has holes (Hell, they have Mike Gandy starting) and our front four is going to be in Losman's face all day. I see a very dominant day defensively leading to many opportunities to score for the offense. 24-6 I agree with this. Bills have given up 11 sacks to lesser pass rushing teams this year. I think Losman goes down 4-5 times. I love the matchups of the Bears DBs on the Bills WRs. I think the Bears will put 8 men in the box a bunch to stop McGahee. And rely on Tillman and Vasher to stop Evans and Reed, which are good 1-on-1 matchups for the Bears. I think Buffalo is a lot like Seattle defensively. Front-4, just ok....back 7 is the strength. I'm not saying the Bears will score 37 again, but I expect the running game to take another step in the right direction and the Bears to play more ball control this week.

Isn't this just his 2nd year?