UMFan83

Man I would love a playoff so badly. I know there are a lot opposed to a 16 team playoff but could you imagine the excitement of that first weekend. 8 playoff games, schools from tiny conferences playing the juggernauts. Maybe they would get blown out, without even an exception. Or maybe, just maybe there would be a few good games. Regardless, while I barely watch any bowl games now (just Michigan's bowl, snippets of the BCS bowls and the BCS Championship game), I would plan my entire weekend around watching a playoff round. This year I'm not even excited for the bowls because I'm pissed that for like the 3rd year in the last 4, there is an undefeated team that is left without a shot to play for the title.

Really? I am in the middle. On one hand it puts a dome team where it's most comfortable - in a dome. On the other the Bears don't necessarily seem like a team that thrives in the elements, so a dome might not be the worst thing ever.

I think we have a 5 game lead in the division now. I'm pretty confident we'll win the division too. We might be able to win it with 43 wins.

I'd consider 45 wins, even without Noah for 2+ months, a disaster considering the start we've had and the remaining schedule. I agree with whoever said we can still go something like 20-10 over the next 30 and would've expected better with a healthy Noah. The suggestion was that the Bulls would go 20-10 with Noah in the lineup, not without. I'd consider 45 wins a huge disapointment too, it was just a number I threw out. I think it will be something like 50-32, but at the same time its really hard to understand how much we'll miss Noah until he isn't out there. When the Bulls didn't have Noah last year, they were a completely different and bad team. Obviously the team is better and deeper this year (except at Center of course...) but there will be a definite and noticable dropoff in the teams play eventually.

They just said on CSN that the Cubs are close to resigning Wood to a 2 year deal.

It's hard to kill the momentum a championship brings. And even if the momentum does shift it will go right back to where it was in a year or two when we are likely back at the top of the conference.

dex, I hate this too but you gotta think this Rose-Boozer-Noah core will be together for multiple years. This is just the start. Maybe we only win 45 games this year or something, but we can still have a solid playoffs and scare some teams. I'm pretty sure everyone will know we are badass.

And while those games sucked they still had memorable moments in them. I flipped out when Sosa hit that game tying HR. Felt completely the opposite when Lowell hit his HR.

Maybe they should just forefit the game. That would be the break to end all breaks.

Wow this is just unreal, and Clayton is a guy I pretty much take to the bank. If he says there's a chance, there probably is. It would probably seal Favre not playing as well. I could see him wanting to give the home crowd one last hurrah, but I doubt he'll push his shoulder for what would virtually be a road game. I actually don't put a lot of stock into Clayton's comments about 50-50. He's just making that part up, and he does that sort of thing a lot. His schtick has always been to provide as many "gee whiz" headlines as possible instead of actually going in depth on any stories. That said, why is Indy more of a possibility than Detroit this time? I don't know, maybe the Vikings would prefer a game slightly closer to Minneapolis (if it even is). I know Lucas Oil was in the running for last week's game before it went to Ford Field. Keep in mind that they are probably putting on this game and losing money on it, or at best making a small profit. All the staff that has to come to the game on short notice, and everything else that goes into putting on an NFL game, I'd think Ford Field officials would rather it go to someone else this time. That's just my guess anyways, I don't really know for sure why but I know Irsay has been vocal about allowing them to play at Lucas Oil Stadium.

If they do the same thing they did for the Ford Field game, I'm taking Monday off and driving to Indy Monday morning before the sun comes up and getting some tickets.

He'd be back for the Giants game, so it wouldn't be throwing away the entire season. Even with Rodgers, we'd have very little chance of winning this game on Sunday. It makes sense to just hold him out and have him come back at 100% for the Giants and Bears. Hopefully scoreboard watching goes our way this weekend, although it hasn't at any point this year and I doubt it's going to start now. I might be crazy for suggesting this but I think the Packers have a fighting chance with Rodgers playing the NE game. The Pats have an amazing offense, but the Packers D has been playing really well lately I believe. If there's a defense that can slow them down, it's GB's. And offensively, assuming the conditions are much better than the other night, I would think Rodgers would be able to exploit that Pats passing D that is said to be so weak. I think it would be something like a 30-24 game in favor of the Pats, but one that could go either way.

Yeah its so weird how much this Minnesota/Chicago game means to the race. Sportsclubstats.com has the Bears at 69.7% chance to make the playoffs right now. If they lose to Minnesota, they go down to 41%, a drop of 28%. A Packerse win doesn't even really drop their odds much, only 6%. A loss to the Jets the next week only lowers the odds 12%. This Minnesota game is huge. If the Bears win, I think the Bears will win the division. If they lose, I'd have to probably admit the Packers probably win, even though they'd have to beat the Giants and Bears to clinch. I wouldnt give up on the Vikings in that one yet. First of all the Bears played awful last week and their confidence has to be shaken a bit. They will recover it enough knowing that their path to the playoffs is clear, especially because they will know how the Packers did. But the confidence can't be as high as it was before last Sunday. The Vikings however, have to be having this "us against the world" mentality going on right now. They did put up a stinker the other night, but I would expect that in a "home" game 600 miles away against a very good team. Bottom line is the players still want Frazier to be the head coach, they want to play hard for their fans who have gone through all this Metrodome crap with them, and the whole 50th anniversary stuff comes into play. Finally, the Bears and Vikings don't like each other, and it's a test of their pride to come out and help keep a division rival out of the playoffs.

I'm asking this impartially not as a Bears fan. Are Packers fans considering the division a longshot at this point and are setting their sights on the WC? Just curious. Most Packers fans I know seem to think it's not terribly likely the Packers beat NE this weekend. If you don't win that game and are still aiming for the division you are rooting for the chance that the Bears lose out. Which is obviously not impossible. Just wondering where Packers minds are. Because as Bears fan, as attainable as the division seems, I still can't get my hopes up for our playoff chances and probably won't be able to unless we officially clinch something

The are asking volunteers to come and shovel the snow out of the stadium for free. They said they would need volunteer shovelers between now and Sunday to have the stadium ready. Here is an article about some of the hurdles needed go get past for the game to take place: http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcnorth/post/_/id/21124/questions-remain-on-tcf-readiness Note: The article says the Vikings would pay $10 an hour for shoveler's but that has since been refuted by Kevin Seifert, who says they would be unpaid volunteers. Saw pictures of TCF in it's current state this morning on ESPN. Needless to say they are going to have to work non-stop between now and the weekend to get it ready. I assume Ford Field and Edward Jones would be plans C and D, respectively. They also say Irsay volunteered Lucas Oil Stadium for the game. That would be a nice 3 hour drive for Bears fans.

I don't know if we can for sure say TCF Stadium is going to host this game. The are asking volunteers to come and shovel the snow out of the stadium for free. They said they would need volunteer shovelers between now and Sunday to have the stadium ready. Here is an article about some of the hurdles needed go get past for the game to take place: http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcnorth/post/_/id/21124/questions-remain-on-tcf-readiness Note: The article says the Vikings would pay $10 an hour for shoveler's but that has since been refuted by Kevin Seifert, who says they would be unpaid volunteers.

He also sucked at age 36 and 37 and people thought he was done, only to come back and have probably 2 of his top 5 seasons at ages 38 and 40. Brett Favre and his career go far beyond any predictable patterns.

BTW it's crazy how similar Bogan's numbers are to last year's with SA. 19:18 minutes vs. 19:41 minutes 4.2 PPG vs. 4.4 PPG 0.1 BPG vs. 0.2 BPG 0.7 SPG vs. 0.6 SPG 0.7 TO/G vs. 0.7 TO/G 1.4 APG vs. 1.2 APG 2.2 RPG vs. 2.2 RPG His shooting percentages are much better last year though on less shots.

I dunno I guess I'd just prefer a defensive oriented guard at the 2 with the starting lineup we have. We already have supposedly below average defenders in Rose and Boozer in the lineup, and as awesome as Noah is he struggles in certain situations against bigger matchups. Adding a 3rd bad defender could really cause the starting lineup to struggle. I mean I guess he would be ok. He only shot 33% from 3 last year though, and 6 attempts per game. Is that even beneficial? I am asking seriously because I didn't think 33% was all that good.

I think it's an on campus building, which can make it tough. Plus it's really not hard to bring in portable beer taps as well as portable plastic bottle selling stations. Yeah I've actually driven around that area and seen the stadium, it is an on campus building but right on the fringes of campus. Obviously the campus is minutes from downtown Minneapolis, so pretty much the moment you step off campus you are near the center of MPLS with a lot going on. Your right though I didn't consider the effect of the stadium literally being on campus would have on holding non-campus related activities with heavy alchohol presence.

That is just awful awful awful*. I see no good reason to attend. *sorry about that morbid comment Geez, I know they intended it to be a college field only, and it was probably built on the cheap, but how can their consession stands not be built to withstand temps below 30, as if it's not possible to get below 30 degrees in mid to late November in Minnesota. Also no beer taps? Again, I understand it's a college stadium but it's a bit strange that they didn't bother to have any plans for any other events but college athletics apparently. I'm assuming it's the only outdoor stadium in the Twin Cities area that is readily available in the summer for stuff like concerts or soccer games. They didn't consider additional revenue streams like that at all?

I hate JR Smith. I am not willing to give up Brewer for him. Bogans? Sure. Bogans, Thomas and a 2nd rounder? Maybe. Bogans and Brewer? No. I like Brewer and what he brings to the team.

it seems like we have the worst reverse home court advantage ever. i dont know if the reffs do it to make a point or something but we get the least amount of calls at home than any team i've ever seen. If we had the worst reverse home court advantage, wouldnt that mean that we have the best home court advantage? lol

Here is probably the article you are referring to: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/2010/12/15/2010-12-15_yankees_selfhelp.html?page=1

Nevermind I found a link. Bears now have a chance in this one. http://1500espn.com/sportswire/Source_VikingsBears_will_be_played_at_TCF_Bank_Stadium_on_Monday121410