With the draft coming up in the next few months, one of the biggest complaints I hear is that first round draft picks make way too much money.  Critics claim that way too much money is being spent on players that haven't done anything in the league.  To test this theory, I'll be looking into the salary cap numbers of the first ten draft picks of the past five years.  The numbers I'll be using are "Cap Value" ones found on USA Today's website here.  Up first is the #10 pick, because I want to build the excitement to the #1 pick.

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From ESPN.com:

Without the tearful public ceremony that accompanied his retirement announcement from the Green Bay Packers just 11 months ago, quarterback Brett Favre has instructed agent Bus Cook to inform the New York Jets Wednesday that he plans to retire.

In an e-mail to ESPN's Ed Werder, Favre indicated he had no regrets about finishing his career with the Jets rather than with the Green Bay Packers franchise he represented for his previous 16 NFL seasons. He specifically praised Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum, team owner Woody Johnson and fired coach Eric Mangini -- and even mentioned Thomas Jones and Kerry Rhodes, both of whom were publicly critical of Favre after the team's collapse in the final month of the season prevented the Jets from making the playoffs.

Let's hope it's for good this time and we don't have to hear about that overrated, interception-throwing, unshaven redneck anymore.

Didn't see this mentioned before so I thought I'd make a FanPost.  From chicagobears.com:

The Bears have announced that they will not raise ticket prices for the 2009 season. It's the first time that all ticket categories will remain the same price from one season to the next since the new Soldier Field opened in 2003.

"Going back to when we built the new stadium, we knew we had close to if not the smallest stadium in the league, so the reality was that we're probably going to have to raise ticket prices every year," said Bears president and CEO Ted Phillips.

"This year we decided to make an exception, principally because of the economy. It's an unprecedented time. Every day you pick up the newspaper and you see major corporations laying off employees and having budget cuts.

"We just felt that given the climate that we're in, it was the right thing to do for our fans."

 As someone who has seen his season tickets go up almost 40% from $50 when new Soldier Field first opened up to $68 last season, I appreciate this decision.  For other season ticket holders, does this impact your decision to renew them?

As WCG mentioned in this post, my name is Mordecai and I'm a new writer here at windycitygridiron.  I'll be, um, tackling such things as Bears history and financial matters.  For the history part of my writing, I'm planing on doing things like book reviews, finding old pictures and game recaps and doing Forgotten Bears, a look back at Bears that you might not remember.  If you have any suggestions for old Bears players that you would like to see profiled, please e-mail me at bizzarobowl (at) gmail.com or leave them in the comments below.  Today's Forgotten Bear is a running back that people under the 60 might have a hard time remembering.  Join me after the jump, won't you?

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From ESPN.com:

Now, the Chicago Cubs won't start Carlos Zambrano in their regular-season finale Sunday against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Instead, it will be Angel Guzman, a Sept. 1 call-up who has appeared in only five games -- all Cubs losses -- and has a 7.04 ERA in 7 2/3 innings.

Cubs manager Lou Piniella said Zambrano told team officials he'd rather throw a side session in the bullpen instead of working the first couple of innings Sunday. If Zambrano had started, he would have been pitching on three days' rest.

 Piniella rested most of his starting lineup in Saturday's 7-3 victory, but said he would start his regulars Sunday against lefty CC Sabathia.

I think it would be hilarious if the Cubs beat the Brewers with Guzman pitching.

Here is the complete list .  The Cubs clock in at #15 .  Others of note: Brewers at #2 , Pirates at #3 , Cardinals at #5, White Sox at #8, Reds at #13 and the Astros at #16.  The Cubs highest ranking was for Neighborhood at #2.  (San Diego came in 1st, WTF?)  The Cubs lowest ranking was for Affordability at #27.  I just thought I'd post this for the sake of discussion.  Agree or disagree, please discuss in the comments.

Current MLB Power Rankings.  As usual, included is the Cubs ranking and the writers' comments about the Cubs.

Foxsports.com: Cubs #6

The Cubs' depth keeps shining, whether it be in the bullpen or the field. Scary thought: Chicago is in first place without the services of Alfonso Soriano. Guess who's currently vying with the D-backs for the NL lead in runs scored? The Cubs. Inconsistency in the rotation is all that holds this team back from putting some distance on the Central.

CBS Sportsline.com: Cubs #3

Alfonso Soriano's return should bolster a team that sure did fine in his absence. The Cubs have gone 9-4 since he left a game with the calf issue. Few teams could lose their biggest offensive star and still reel off a stretch like that.

ESPN.com: Cubs #2

Geovany Soto leads all major league catchers in batting (.352), on-base percentage (.447) and slugging (.606).

SI.com: Cubs #3

If Young is miscast as a leadoff hitter in Arizona, what about Alfonso Soriano? Since he's been down with his hopping injury, the Cubs are 8-2, hitting .327 with a .415 OBP. Before then, with Soriano mostly at leadoff: 7-5, .249, .328. Look, I'm not saying that Reed Johnson or Mike Fontenot are better players than the free-swinging Soriano. I'm just saying they're a better choice to be leadoff men. That's all.

TSN.ca: Cubs #3

Alfonso Soriano's injury is significant enough but, with a .175 batting average, he's nearly 100 points lower than any other regular in the Cubs lineup.
Key Injuries: LF Alfonso Soriano (calf).

Baseballprospectus.com: Cubs #2

At 6.14 runs per game, the Cubs lead the majors in scoring, and they've got the league's highest slugging and on-base percentages to thank for it. Having the top OBP is very un-Cub-like; Wrigley's residents haven't led the league in the category since 1945, the last time they won a pennant. Seven regulars had OBPs above .380, topped by Kosuke Fukudome (.463), Geovany Soto (.437), Derrek Lee (.413). The latter is slugging .670 as well and is fifth in the league in VORP.

I thought I would try this.  I'm compiling various MLB power rankings from the top sport sites and where the Cubs rank on them.  Included is the Cubs ranking and the writers' comments about the Cubs.  My biggest concern is that different sites publish them on different days of the week.  If you guys have any suggestions please pass them along in the comments.  And here we go:

Foxsports.com (Monday): Cubs #8

Great sign: Ted Lilly and Rich Hill showed flashes of putting it together this week. The Cubs are looking like a very complete team, which could mean another trip to the postseason. The stage is slowly being set for a major war with the Brewers all summer long. It should be a very interesting week, with dates against the Mets and Rockies providing a chance to make a statement.

CBS Sportsline.com (Tuesday): Cubs #3

We don't think their ceiling is this high, but only the D-Backs have fewer losses through three weeks of play. They have played just six of their first 19 on the road, though.

ESPN.com  (Friday): Cubs #2

At least Ted Lilly made it through six innings in his latest start. Lilly, who won 15 games in '07, is 0-3 with a 9.16 ERA.

SI.com (Friday): Cubs #9

The dope on the hop is that it probably wasn't the hop at all. At least according to Alfonso Soriano, it wasn't. Soriano is on the disabled list with a strained calf. He pulled up lame after one of his quirky trademark hops he takes while fielding pop flies. "Look, I don?t know. That?s the way he feels comfortable catching the ball. I don?t know," manager Lou Piniella says. This is what passes for news in Chicago.

TSN.ca  (Friday): Cubs #10

Reed Johnson apparently has a little something left in the tank, hitting .361 in his first 11 games with the Cubbies.
Key Injuries: LF Alfonso Soriano (calf).

Baseballprospectus.com  (Friday): Cubs #7

A Hop, Skip, and Jump to the Sidelines: Alfonso Soriano's quirky style in the field draws attention as he strains a calf and heads to the DL. He's hitting a minuscule .175/.230/.298 thus far, but the Cubs are second in the league in scoring thanks in part to a torrid performance by Derrek Lee (.379/.432/.742), who's fifth in the majors in VORP.

If you guys have any other sites you recommend, please let me know.

Since I didn't see it posted elsellwhere, I thought I would post it here:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=cubs/0919&sportCat=mlb

It breaks down every year from 1909 to 2007 in little capsule form.  It's not too bad and it does a good job of giving Cubs history for those who don't know much about it.

I'm going to be in Arizona March 13-16th and will be seeing two games at Hohokam and one at Tucson Electric Park.  I want to tailgate before the games and was wondering if anyone had any suggestions.  I looked around the internet and really didn't find much.  Even the BCB guide didn't have any tailgate info in it (BTW Al, the comments for that are closed.)  It looks like tailgating is allowed at Hohokam two hours before the game, but no alcohol is allowed.  If anybody can give me any hints and ideas, it would be a great help to me and the BCB community at large.