Soul

You know that these things have to be said. I didn't expect it to get any worse then it was. Lou should be the one apologizing though? That's stupid. Marquis should apologize for thinking anyone cares what his opinion is. He hasn't built up the cache to make statements about who should be starting and who shouldn't. Lou was completely in line with what he said. Did Marquis just come out and say these things, or was it in response to a question from the media? If it was in response to a question, I see no reason for him to apologize. From what I've read, he simply expressed a desire to start and that he feels he has earned that right. Nothing indicates that he drew a line in the sand or anything. And how do we even know that he didn't apologize to Lou? If Marquis needed to apologize, why would it have to be a public apology? Lou overreacted, plain and simple. He should have waited to hear Marquis' exact words before responding. Marquis wasn't exactly an All-Star last year, but he's been league-average or better in three of the past four years. Not a staff ace, but an OK back of the rotation guy (although he's getting paid a bit much for that role). As much as he struggled down the stretch last season, I still have more faith in him as a starter than I do in Dempster. He re-iterated what he said though. Sure he put a spin on it, but the man is STILL basically giving this team an ultimatum. Which is total crap. Plus, go back and read Lou's comments. They weren't the explosion some people say it was. He's saying Marquis should earn a spot in the rotation like anyone else. We've got 7 pitchers competing for 5 spots -- that's a good thing for a team, not bad. That's the situation teams *need* to be in at this time of year. And if Marquis wants a spot, then simply earn it. I don't see how there is much wrong with what he said anyway.

I'd prefer Hackett to Johnson anyways. The way this FA period is going, I'm wondering if Angleo intends to sign *anyone* outside of Briggs. BTW, on Mike & Mike this morning they called Briggs the "biggest loser" in FA.

I agree about Brohm as the top QB in the draft - I have yet to figure out why he's been forgotten about. Also, ya'll picked up Ben Hartsock today. Big time move for the Falcons. :D Brohm is not the top QB. Ryan is. Ryan's bigger, has a better arm, and is better in the pocket. Brohm only has a mobility advantage, but may be a system QB. Andre Woodson's stock is really dropping. He went from potential top 10 pick, to possibly 5th QB taken, and all the way down to the 3rd round. ....and I tried to tell people months ago he wasn't special, and got lambasted for it. Oh yes, here it comes: told ya.

There was a chitchat thread once in social. I'm not sure but I think some transactions and or game threads may top this as well. Milestone Post thread and Movie thread The Movie thread is longer. The Milestone Post thread is only 209 pages long. I expect this thread to be the longest on the site currently in a week or so, passing the movie thread. I tried to find a bit of Brian Roberts news to go along with this, but it's not easy. I can tell you that the sentiment from Orioles fans increasingly seems to be that they would like to keep Roberts and wait for the trade deadline rather than get rid of him for middling players like the Cubs have. I happen to not agree with them (I think the Orioles would be best served making the trade if they get Gallagher+2 others) but it is interesting to track how both fanbases perceive the trade as time goes on. I seriously doubt anything will happen on this front before the season. Orioles' best interest would indeed be served by waiting for a team to become desperate enough to overpay.

3-5 days with a broken bone? I'll bet it will be weeks; bones don't heal that quickly.

You know that these things have to be said. I didn't expect it to get any worse then it was. Lou should be the one apologizing though? That's stupid. Marquis should apologize for thinking anyone cares what his opinion is. He hasn't built up the cache to make statements about who should be starting and who shouldn't. Lou was completely in line with what he said.

I certainly heard he was one of the primary complainers.

Because he sucks, and he has a poor attitude on top of it. And with no possibility of dealing him, Angelo's not going to sink more mega-cash into the position on a guy like Turner. He might go RB in the draft, but I would still lean towards OT @ 14. A lot depends on how the draft breaks too -- sometimes a totally unexpected player falls to you, as Tommie Harris did to us a few years ago.

I'll tell ya something, it might be Spring Training but you can't lose every damn game and then just expect everything will be fine once you go to Chicago. Just sayin'. This losing every game crap is getting old, ST or no ST.

Skiles was the only thing holding this bunch of mediocre players in the playoff hunt every year. Firing him mid-season because some of the idiot players didn't want to work hard anymore ranks up there with the dumbest GM moves ever. I heard it might have been Wallace who complained about Skiles, too. If that's true, Paxson should be fired immediately. Fire a good coach because a worthless piece of junk like Wallace doesn't like his style?

So where is Brenly again? I can't stand much more of Plesac. I wish they would just turn his microphone off.

I culd be convinced of Bryant Johnson. he has had some good games, when he gets in. same for Bradley really. and hester can burn anyone ...that lack of confidence I sense in your response surely must be bourne on the wings of a realization that none of those guys are actual good NFL wide receivers. everyone should have a lack of confidence then, because every single team in the nfl has holes. why are we taking the bears out of the context of the nfl and acting like it's just them that can't have any weaknesses? it's not the having of the weaknesses that worries me, it's the ability to cover them up. but actually, if the bears can stay healthy defensively, there isn't much weakness that that won't cover up, offensively. they just re-signed a perrenial pro-bowl player, this is what good teams do, they keep their exceptional players and continue and continue and continue to re-tool around those guys. i'm hopeful for the return of dvoracek, payne, and bazuin. i'm optimistic at the propsect of having both tillman and vasher healthy for a majority of the season, and intrigued at the possibility of mike brown reclaiming his starting job. can injuries happen? sure. but stating that a team with a defense including urlacher, briggs, and tommie harris, three players that are probably top 3 in the league at their respective positions, is on a "2-year rebuild plan", is just so much utter nonsense. teams don't even have 2 year rebuilding plans anymore, either you can rebuild your team in a year or you're a bad gm, your coach sucks, and ownership has lost interest. there are no such thing as "2 year rebuild plans", that just sounds like passive-aggressive pseudo-skepticism to me. A multi year re-building plan is exactly how we got to the Super Bowl, and countless other teams as well. How can you possibly claim that a team sucks if they can't go from, say 3-13 to a Super Bowl in just one season? That's completely ridiculous and you know it. Hell the Giants have been building for 5 years and they finally made it. Do they "suck" too? As for my comment about the WR, I was only speaking about the WR situation, which is clearly crappy. It had nothing to do with whether every team has a weakness or not, which obviously every team does.

EPatt is soooooo small and skinny. I don't think I realized just how little he is.

I'm really starting to develop a healthy man-love for Lou. Guy won't let something rest to see if it will die down, he just hears something from the reporters and fires right back. You get 'em Lou. I mean come on, Marquis getting uppity on this club? Guy is a bum, get outta here loser.

Hahha.

the #'s the news up here reported were 6 yrs, $20 mil garanteed. thats not far from Angelo offered. If they were that close, what stopped the Bears? the garanteed money? seems like BB got a resonable deal. Angelo offered 8 million in guaranteed money. If Berrian really received 20 million guaranteed, the two sides weren't even close to the same ballpark. He got $16M guaranteed. Was he overpaid? Yeah, but he was the top WR on the market outside of Moss so he was going to get paid in that neighborhood. We were desperate for a WR like him. I don't think it's a terrible deal. Oh, not saying it's the wrong move. Not at all. It's just way more than he's really worth. Berrian really hit the market at the absolute perfect time. Obviously nobody in Minneapolis wants to hear the name "Moss"

I culd be convinced of Bryant Johnson. he has had some good games, when he gets in. same for Bradley really. and hester can burn anyone ...that lack of confidence I sense in your response surely must be bourne on the wings of a realization that none of those guys are actual good NFL wide receivers.

I agree with this, but right or wrong, people put value on the "veteran" aspect of a guy even when its clear his numbers are what they are. That's how guys like Neifi stay in the league. I'd rather the Cubs cycle through their prospects. Suckage with a purpose is much better than plain old suckage.

Yes, I do recall several Cards fans warning us about Marquis' poor attitude when we acquired him. Not that we needed any warning. The entirety of the Cub fan base hasn't wanted him here since he arrived. Personally, the sooner he leaves the better. I'd rather try several young guys than give junk like Marquis an opportunity to continue to suck with no potential upside.

Wow, did the Vikings ever overpay for Berrian. Still, it leaves us with a horrible WR corps, which means our offense is likely to suck next year. We still need to draft OLine, we can't fill 2 OLine positions + WR + RB all for the '08 season. It all spells.....2 year rebuild plan. Plus, got to remember -- now we're starting to talk about Urlacher getting older, less healthy. It's starting to get very dicey around here. Still, $23mil over 3 years for a #2 receiver? That's ridiculous.

That's really it. As long as those things are intact (I would include the bleachers, but since they were just renovated, I don't see it being an issue), and any renovation is congruous, the rest doesn't matter. The grandstands/bathrooms/concourse are not charming, they suck. Seeing that the bleachers were just renovated and the field replaced, we aren't going to see a new stadium in the near future. So significant improvements are going to have to be made. Yeah, the great Wrigley grandstand project is approaching. Only question is what to do with the Cubs when it's happening.

LOL, unfortunately when you look a little to the left the fantasy is ruined 8-)

...with lightning bolts shooting out of his ass, no less. Can't forget about the lightning bolts.

Seriously, what the hell? Yea, a few people on there are pretty delusional about Roberts's trade value. I certainly hope this doesn't represent the majority opinion over there. Christ that's stupid.

The Bulls suckage is making me want to break things. I need this season to end.