davell

I grew up in North Carolina, in a time before there were pro sports teams there. So, I guess I can at least see how someone who grew up in an area WITHOUT pro sports teams could pick and choose from different areas based on certain players they liked growing up, possibly? Or maybe if there was a parent from a different area and passed down their fandom for a certain team? I didn't do this personally, I got a Chicago Bears blanket(because there was a Bear on it) from my grandparents when I was 4 and decided then that they would be my favorite football team. I then looked at basketball and baseball teams from the same city and decided to like the Cubs, White Sox, and Bulls as well. My grandfather IMMEDIATELY told me that it's not cool to like BOTH the Cubs and White Sox, so he helped me choose. As a gigantic UNC fan, I guess the one thing that COULD have gotten in the way of my fandom would have been if Jordan had wound up somewhere else. I would have been young enough at the time to where it's possible that could have sawyed me to whatever team he was playing on.

There's one comment above all others in the Stark piece that rings above all others for me involving Pujols. And that's when someone said they're just trying to figure out how much money is going to be deferred. I can see them giving him all that he wants, but doing it over a 20 year period or so, instead of 10.

Looks like Manning will test FA.

I'd still take Pujols. Not to mention, I don't think there's any chance Fielder settles for that. He's wanting 8/200 evidently. Salaries are heading upwards again and I can see an AL team(or us, out of desperation) getting pretty close to his salary wants.

The funniest thing about all the meatheads offering up Rivers as an example of how Cutler should have played through it is that Rivers was pulled from the game when he actually got hurt. It was the week before against Indy. He got hurt in the 4th quarter, was pulled from the game and Billy Volek led the Chargers to the come from behind win. He played the following week after having 6 days to test it and have braces specifically designed and still sucked. It's silly to go back to one of the most extreme examples of a player going out there with a bad injury, and then pull that back and try to make it the new rule for how all players should act with an injury. If Rivers wants to go out there with a blown out knee, that's fine. It doesn't mean anything in terms of Jay Cutler's toughness. And of course none of that even touches on the fact that Rivers stunk that game anyway. It was clear he didn't help his team by doing this. Absolutely. He's an extreme example and to me, is probably the only person I can think of that even has the possible right to question Cutler. The rest of these people have nothing whatsoever to back up their claims. But, as you said, Rivers lost the game as it stood anyway. He got points for being tough from just about everyone, but in the grand scheme of things, it's possible he kept his team out of the Super Bowl.

In the end, if we somehow come out of the draft/free agency with a starting left tackle, wide receiver, offensive guard, and a 3rd CB, DE, and DT with not losing too much out of the SS spot, we'll have had a damn solid offseason.

If I wanted to address EACH hole on this team somehow, these are the holes that could be upgraded. Keep in mind, I don't think for a minute each of these get addressed. Left Tackle- Need a true stud here. Offensive Guard- Need a young guy who's ready to go immediately. Not sure I can trust Garza to last another year. OT/OG- Another guy who can move around and play in different spots when needed due to injury. Backup QB- Maybe Hanie is fine, but since he's a FA, it's got to be addressed at least, whether it's him or not. Wide Receiver- Big guy who can stretch the field is my true want, but I'll take anyone who actually qualifies as a go to receiver. Backup RB- I'd like a bigger guy who's a shortyardage stud, but I think the Bears probably see Taylor as the answer for another year anyway. Punter- Time for a change here. Not much to say. DE- I'd like a situational pass rusher somehow. I'd love to find another Mark Anderson(in his rookie year) type steal to pair with Peppers on passing downs. DT- I'm fine with Harris, if he gives us a discount. If not, address this again as well. Keep Adams as well. LB- Need a replacement for Pisa. If it's Roach, we need another guy who can play all 3 spots in a pinch, as Roach has done. CB- Personally, I think we need 2 guys here. But, I'd settle for one. Tillman's had a great year, but he's at the age where it can go very quickly.(not talking about replacing him, just insurance against an injury for now) I've never been a Jennings fan so someone to start instead of him would be nice. SS- Resign Manning. Although I have my doubts this happens as he's likely to get paid very well somewhere. I'm not sold on Wright being the answer either. FS- Could use an upgrade here as well. Harris is decent, but he's probably league average. That's completely nitpicking this team from my standpoint. I don't think we'll address more than about half of these and I'd be OK with that, as long as it's some of the more important ones. In order, here's my nitpicked list. 1. Left Tackle 2. Wide Receiver 3. Offensive Guard 4. Defensive Tackle 5. Corner Back 6. Defensive End 7. Strong Safety 8. Outside Linebacker 9. Backup QB 10. OT/OG combo guy 11. Punter 12. Backup RB 13. Free Safety

Chad Ochocinco is leaving Cincy and Chad Johnson is coming back!!!!!! If this news doesn't make everyone's day, nothing will. I do love the fact that Lewis said Bellichek isn't crazy enough to take him, after Chad mentioned he'd like to play for New England.

I believe all Rivers had done was some cartilage removed. The last time I did that, I was in a bar 2 days later and back to 100% in about 2-3 weeks. http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/22772752/ns/sports-nfl/ He also played that game with basically no ACL and had ACL surgery a day or two after the game. Recovery was supposed to be at least 6 months and he was ready in 3. I didn't remember all this, so I had to look it up, but I remembered that was something out of the ordinary from him. I can't stand him myself, but he's got to be a tough SOB at the very least.

I'm sick of all the people that have weighed in on Cutler, but I guess if ANYONE has the right to ask about Cutler's injury, it'd be Rivers. That said, i don't know how BAD his injury was either. But he did have surgery the week of a playoff game, played(albeit not well) and then had another surgery a day or two later. But, in the end, it comes down to the coaching staff. If they say you're coming out, you're coming out. And that would have been the same with Rivers as well.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/hotstove10/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=6056760 Good article from Stark about Pujols/Cards. Alot seem to think he winds up at 8/240 with them.

I don't think they'd replace Castro. But, I don't even want a Cabrera or Guzman costing him an additional 50-75 at bats from where Barney could possibly. And the money could certainly go towards something other than the system, but since that's my favorite area of the team for now, I'm greedy in that way. :D

http://www.espn.go.com/blog/chicago/bears/post/_/id/4669700/how-much-rebuilding-will-bears-do

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Issues/2011/01/Jan-25/Ratings-and-Research/Harris-Poll.aspx Football is dropping some. I actually figured it would be higher than it has been, to be honest.

Yeah, I don't want to jinx Quade, but I do think he'e a guy who's going to let the young guys play through slumps. But, having a "veteran" like Cabrera or Guzman could make it easier for Castro to lose some at bats that he probably needs, if he's struggling at some point. I'd rather not take that chance, Castro means much more than having some veteran on the team that probably doesn't do anything Barney can't do. Plus, that million could be spent towards a INT FA or the draft, where it's more likely to pay actual dividends for our team than adding a Cabrera.

In Levine's chat each Tuesday, he's been mentioning Orlando Cabrera as a possibility for a few weeks. This week he also brought up Christian Guzman and Julio Lugo. He's previously said that we'd look at guys like this if we can sign them for a mill or so and they're happy backing up 2B/SS/3B. To me, this would be a waste. I don't see any of these guys being able to do anything that Darwin Barney can't do just as well.

http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/mlb/news/story?id=6057733 On eyear, 800,000 with 400,000 more possible in incentives. Non guaranteed.

Tom Weir is now my favorite writer.

The 2009 cap number was 127 mill, by the way. So, take those numbers and put them in context of that. Usually, there is around a 7-10 mill bump on the cap each year and there was a minimum spending amount of 80% of the cap. That being said, the players had always said that if they played in an uncapped year, they wouldn't ever go back to playing under one again.

I hate to say it, but the owners have the players in a bad spot. If the owners want a lock out, they're not having to pay player's salaries and still receiving their TV deal money from DirecTV and other broadcast networks. Yes, it'd turn into future credi later on down the line and they'd have to pay it back eventually, but the owners wouldn't be hit like the players would during the lockout. On the other hand, players won't be receiving anything. And seeing how short some NFL careers are, I think missing ANY games from their side is going to be an extremely tough pill to swallow.

On top of plays like that, he played the entire 2007 season with Type 1 Diabetes without knowing or complaining about it. I'm not of the opinion that I could objectively name ONE QB out there that's TOUGHER than Jay. I hate meatballs. I will say this though: I actually listened to one of Florio's bits on how this was handled and I agree with what he said. From now on, the Bears PR department should have a better way of handling this type of situation. Maybe you don't bring him back out after halftime? Leave him in the back? I don't know what the answer is personally, but I'd like to think that maybe there was at least a way to curtail SOME of this crap, not all of it, but at least some.......

I think Knox is a damn good 3. He's fast as hell and has the ability to stretch the field. That's the good. But, he's sloppy as hell running routes at times. Cuts routes off too quickly on occasion and isn't agressive at all in playing WR in a defensive way when the time is needed. That's why he's a legit 3, although he's been put into the 1 role on our team. I'd venture to say at least half the INT's Cutler through his way were his fault, if not more. It's really funny if you look at it seriously: The Bears finally go out and get themselves a franchise QB. And instead of giving him every chance to succeed, by giving him a good O-Line(we're bottom 10ish here) and a solid set of receivers(probably bottom 5) we sit and watch yesterday's game(and the previous 32 games that Cutler has played for us) and expect to see him do everything on his own, I guess....... I like Knox, but I truly hope he's not our 1 heading into next year.

Cutler needs to slap a few asses in the huddle and smile a little bit. Then, he'll be liked by the meatball.

I'm drafting OG's and DT's most likely, if I'm Angelo, with my 1st 2 picks. Unless I'm totally convinced that there is a LT available at 29 that's going to start for us and be productive immediately. Maybe take a chance on a WR or CB in round 4, then go BPA after that. I really want WR addressed bigtime, but I think our best shot is taking whichever one of Edwards or Holmes the Jets decide not to keep. Either would be a huge upgrade for us and I doubt either of them break the bank, to where we couldn't add some other complementary players as well. I'd love to get V-Jax, but think it's a pipedream, same with Sidney Rice. Perfect offseason for me is Holmes/Edwards, a starting OG thru FA, and a CB that is cut after June 1st that slides down the pay scale some then draft a LT that can start(unlikely one will be there, but hoping anyway). followed by a DT in the 2nd, and another OG in the 3rd.

Has MJD responded to anyone who correctly brought up he missed the final 2 games of his season(when his team needed him the most) because of a knee injury?