Sox reupped with Crede for $5.1 million.

$300,000 in incentives, too.

Prelude to a trade, maybe?

Not a horrible contract considering his back situation. Maybe a little on the high side.  

(Sorry if this is too much self promotion, Matt.)

Hey Bulls fans,

Running with the Bulls is having a NBA Playoff Challenge where you pick the winner from each round of playoff games by some many games. (For example: Bulls in 4.)

The winner receives a Bulls t-shirt courtesy of SHS and all the braggin' rights one can possibly have, not unlike the Blog-a-Bull fantasy basketball league, which I might add I finished in 2nd place. (Spare me the Colossus bashing. He screwed up, I'm over it.)

Follow the above link, drop on by, throw your picks in the comments, win a t-shirt. And best of all, it's free.

Go Bulls!

NL Central Preview

Hey Bucs fans, you may or may not have heard about this post from our Cubs writer that originally "disappeared." Well, stop by and check out our NL Central Preview Redux. Our writer originally took a lot of heat for his post, but he's done a nice job of making the original post worth reading.

Stop by and take a look.
Thanks,
Sweet Home Sports  

NL Central Preview

Hey Cubs fans, I'm sure you've heard about this post from our Cubs writer that originally "disappeared." Well,stop by and check out our NL Central Preview Redux. Our writer originally took a lot of heat for his post, but he's done a nice job of making the original post worth reading.

Stop by and take a look.
Thanks,
SHS  

 So our Cubs writer fixed the "factual errors" and resubmitted his post, the one that took a shellacking here and elsewhere. His follow-up post, "Defending My Picks," he incorporated into the original post as well. Since I too publicly slammed him, let me be the first to say I'm very proud of him biting the bullet and fixing the post. Whether you like his opinion or not, he did the right thing by fixing the mistakes.

Come by and check out the new post.

NL Central Preview, Team by Team (The Second Time Around)

Thanks
SHS        

NL Central Preview

We'd like to invite all you Astro's fans to stop by and check out our NL Central Preview. Our writer originally took a lot of heat for his post, but he's done a nice job of making the original post worth reading.

Stop by and take a look.
Thanks,
SHS  

So our Cubs writer fixed the "factual errors" and resubmitted his post, the one that took a shellacking here and elsewhere. His follow-up post, "Defending My Picks," he incorporated into the original post as well. Since I too publicly slammed him, let me be the first to say I'm very proud of him biting the bullet and fixing the post. Whether you like his opinion or not, he did the right thing by fixing the mistakes.

Come by and check out the new post.

NL Central Preview, Team by Team (The Second Time Around)

Thanks
SHS        

Thought I'd throw out some good news amidst all the jabber-jawing surrounding trade speculations and "scoops"...

Ben Gordon, as the title of the diary clearly says, was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week.

And just to throw in my obvious two cents as well, Gordon will not be traded as well as he's playing.

Ben Gordon is Pretty Good, For a Week at Least (Sweet Home Sports)

Gordon Named Eastern Conference Player of the Week (NBA.com)

   

Hey Bears Fans,

Just wanted to do a little shameless self promotion here. The guys who write for me have two Bears previews up over at Fleece & Flog -- one serious, one not so serious.

The Chicago Way

In the Line of Fire: Bears Linemen

Since I wasn't a sore loser after the WCG fantasy league last place finish, I thought you guys might find these mildly amusing and informative.

If you don't, I'll crawl back into my hole until the next fantasy season where I will make a better showing of myself.

BTW: Bears 28 Saints 21  

According to FoxSports.com Chris Webber has agreed to a buy out of his contract.

Where will he end up? Or has he played his last game?

And more importantly, would he be someone the Bulls would possibly take a flier on to address the rebounding need they seem to have of late.

I realize he's significantly slowed by injuries, but wouldn't he make a nice addition for a possible 8-10 minutes a game?

I can't imagine he'd cost much as the Bulls wouldn't have to pick up his contract.

Thoughts?  

From MSNBC: Rodman vs. Globetrotters during all-star weekend.

Yes, Dennis has been asked to put together a team for an exhibition game versus the Trotters.

This is either for the after hours club circuit or the Harlem Globetrotters got hold of some really good ganja during their last trip to the Bahamas.

As if playing in Las Vegas wasn't enough, David Stern just got a little balder on top.

(Shameless self-promotion: I did a small post about it at my blog too. Fleece the Pig, Flog the Pony)

We can all see how raw Tyrus Thomas is, and sadly his play does remind me of Marcus Fizer. But with Deron Williams having a breakout season in his sophomore year, can it be possible that Tyrus will do the same next year?

Obviously Deron Williams is older, plays a different position, and got a few more minutes last year than Tyrus is getting this year, but his talent is there. When he develops a jumper, he'll be Kenyon Martin-like hopefully without all the injuries.

Lately people are down on the choice of Tyrus, but I say wait. Give his game time to grow. I still think by the end of the year, he'll be joining the regular rotation...if he stops taking 21 ft jump shots.  

Well, things are back to normal, at least for my Crusty Old Men. I got destroyed by 30+ points. Again! Of course there were slaughters all over the place in week 6. So lets check them out. (By the way, sorry for the delay in posting this. I've been in a blogging funk as of late.)

Match up 1:
The Tiger Cats (5-1) clawed the hell outta our commish, the Wrigleyville Smokies (3-3): 142.72 - 98.92.

Let me throw out a few numbers here: 35.00, 24.92, 23.50, 20.60, 15.00. Yeah, those numbers are the Cats top five scorers in week 6! That's a season's worth! The season high so far decimated the commish's measly J. Horn 24.20 and Evil Ben Kenevil 17.52. And just think, if the Cats started Travis Henry 24.50 instead of L. Johnson 9.80, the rout is more round about! But no one is benching LJ for Henry. Maybe next time.    

Match up 2:
Yeah, um the winless no more MOBears (1-5) beat up on Lovie's Revenge (4-2): 105.26 - 80.56.

Upset of the week! Funny how two guys can win a whole week for someone. The MOBears' K. Jones (23.50) and L. Coles (23.60) just killed the Rob and his -6.94 from Sexy Rexy and 0.40 from Moose. Hey, Rob, at least the Bears won! Not even the CHI defense (17.00) and their 3 TDs helped.

Match up 3:
Go Deep WCG (3-3) whacked the Trojan Warriors (2-4): 110.92 - 79.50.

LT is back to his old ways with 4 TDs and 38.90 points. And Go Deep is also happy about D. Branch's 22.70. H. Baskett's 0.00 killed any momentum D. Brees 18.90 and J. Shockey 18.70 gave the Warriors.

Match up 4:
Ring Your Bell (5-1) ripped the Red Penguins (3-3): 102.30 - 94.14.

In the closest contest of the week, C. Portis's 20.50 and Stephen Jackson's (no, not the Indiana Pacer) 17.00 eeked it out for the Bells over the Penguins' suddenly retiring fool, Tiki Barber and his 23.30 and Willie Parker's 20.00. Maybe A. Randle El's 1.60 didn't help the red birds.

Match up 5:
My Crusty Old Men (1-5) collapsed against the Windy City Phantoms (3-3): 135.20 - 94.08.

God, this is awful. Beaten by a man without a country. 26.80 from R. Brown, 26.50 from Bear killer Steve Smith and 24.40 from Marc Bugler calcified the Old Men's bones. McNabb was human this week 15.88, and Ronnie brown finally produced 18.70, but it didn't matter. My grave deepens.

So the beat goes on. The Bell and the Cats are virtually tied and the Old Men and the MOBears lag  in last. I'm glad my we decided not to put any money on this league cuz it would look bad for my 1st and 2nd place 2006 baseball finishes and the good standing I hold in my other FF leagues. What gives? Don't call it a come back!  

Week 6 Studs: CHI DEF! LT! Tory Holt! Steve Smith (finally)
Week 6 Duds: Rex friggin Grossman!, Edge!, J. Cotchery, K. Barlow (duh!)
Don't Bet the Farm On: Reggie Brown (I know, McNabb is throwing it his way, but I just don't believe in him), TO (he's gonna fuck this up somehow), Roy Williams & Kevin Jones (c'mon, it's detroit and these ain't the Tigers)  
Aberrations: T. Glenn (TO will fuck it up somehow), LJ (yeah, he and LT are about the same now), Little Manning (he's still the shit)
Ouch!: Mike Brown (sniff sniff), Culpepper (does this matter?), D. Graham (ankle)

Tears of joy stream down my face. I can no longer bitch about being winless. But, shit, I want my pain, I need my pain. I need to moan and groan and feel disrespected in this league. Will the Phantoms oblige me this week? We'll see. Onto the matchups...

Matchup 1:
Wrigleyville Smokies (3-2) squeak out a win against the Red Peguins (3-2): 60.70 - 59.06!

Seems I was the only one to predict a victory for our commish. (You can thank me later, Chad.) Smokies' B. Westbrook was back for a decent game (13.60), and Randy Moss finally pitched in a little too (12.20). But if the Penguins get anything from B. Scaife (0.00) or A. Randle El (1.40), we're talking different outcome. Maybe he won't be so quick to put W. Parker on the bench next time (14.90)! Oh, and this game featured awful QB numbers: Brunell (4.36) for Penguins and Roethlisberger (4.80) for the Smokies. Also, I guess I was wrong about F. Gore (17.80). Commish might wanna keep him in the lineup (except for his game against the Bears).

Matchup 2:
Ring Your Bell (4-1) finally fell from the ranks of the unbeaten, losing to Lovie's Revenge (4-1): 101.44 - 81.54.

Wow, I wasn't expecting this. F. Taylor unexpectedly came outta the moth-balls to score bigtime (20.50) for Lovie, and his secret weapon, the CHI defense (17.00), could end up leading the league in points scored. Despite 26.00 from JAX defense, the 0.90 from Roy Williams, 2.70 from I. Bruce, and 1.40 from Des. Clark doomed the Bell Ringers this week.

Matchup 3:
The Tiger Cats (4-1) whooped Go Deep WCG (2-3): 104.34 - 89.82

How did the Cats get -1.46 points from C. Pennington and still win? Easy. He goy 6 other players in double figures including 19.40 from LJ and 19.00 from Mr. Gould. Go Deep's 24.00 from PHI defense and 16.40 from Chester Taylor were far from enough. And what gives with all the high scoring defenses? By the way, LT (8.60) had another bad game by his standards for the Deep.

Matchup 4:
Those Windy City Phantoms (2-3) stayed hot, defeating a somewhat decimated Trojan Warriors (2-3): 91.50 - 72.40.

Those mysterious Phantoms! Who are those guys? Who runs those guys? Can I have try running them one week? I like to win too! They did it with The Deuce (19.30), Reggie Brown (14.70), and the quietly having a good year Marc Bulger (17.80). Trojans needed more than 3.00 from D. Driver, 3.30 from Braylon Edwards, 4.00 from NO's defense and 4.40 from M. Colston. That's a whole lot of nothing from some key guys. No amount of tbench guys woulda helped Trojan.

Matchup 5:
In an unholy act of god, my Crusty Old Men (1-4) finally win a game, beating the only other winless team the MOBears (0-5): 86.16 - 55.40

Yeah, I sold my soul to beat another winless team. So the fuck what? Did you notice the manner in which I kicked his ass by 30+ points? (I know, I'm headed for fantasy karma hell.) But getting 0.00 from K. Barlow (I called this), -3.00 from NYJ defense, 1.90 from Dallas Clark and 2.50 from L. Coles, you deserve to lose. Putting your faith in that many Jets is just wrong. My MVP, D. McNabb came thru again (26.26), and Antonio Gates matched his projected stats exactly (12.10).

So I'm off the schnide, MOBears is wtill winless, and there are no more undefeated teams left. (Are the '72 Dolphins toasting as I type?)

Week 5 Studs: McNabb (again), Gore (I was wrong), J. Galloway
Week 5 Duds: Roy Williams, K. Barlow and any other Jet, Shockey, Jamal Lewis
Don't Bet the Farm On: Fred Taylor, Cedric Benson, M. Leinart (not this week against the Bears at any rate), and grudgingly the Deuce
Abberations: LT (two weeks in a row), S. Moss, Moose, B. Roethlisberger
What the Hell Happened to... Tony Gonzalez, Isaac Bruce  
Ouch!: Larry Fitzgerald (hammy), D. Stallworth still (hammy), Larry Johnson (neck)          

From an David Haugh article in the Tribune:
The decision not to dress Scott raised more than a few eyebrows, considering he had not appeared on the injury report all week. Coach Lovie Smith said Scott reported feeling sore on Saturday, so he decided to sit him out for precautionary reasons. But the decision surprised even Scott, and knowing how conscientious and tough he is, it had to be hard for him to sit, knowing he probably could have played if it were later in the season or a playoff game.

I read this today and was kinda curious about it. It smacks of the first potential non-preseason "controversy" of the year. I was telling some friends last night that if any Bear complains of lack of playing time or receptions (a la T.O.) or carries or game reps, I'll personally go to Lake Forest and slap the malcontent in the head. This team is on the verge of greatness like the '85 Bears or the '72 Dolphins and no kind of dissent should be tolerated right now. No pouting like the media tried to say Ced was doing. No T.O.-like numbers worrying, nothing. (I understand the discord surrounding the lack of a Sweetness TD in SB XX, but he should have been reveling in the ultimate moment, not sulking for lack of recognition...Lord Jesus, I promise I will never say a bad thing about Walter again in my life. The super fans got it wrong. Payton, not Ditka, is the guy they shoulda worshipped.)

Personally, I think with the play of Mark Anderson and Obafemi Ayanbadejo, the training staff can be more cautious with d-line injuries. The line didn't miss a beat with Wale out. (But please get healthy soon!)

One more note/inquiry and it's a serious one. Someone said to me tonight that Tommie Harris got hurt in Sunday's game and is out for the MNF Arizona game. Is this true? Cuz I ain't seen it here or in any other Bears notes form.  

Okay, this has officially become a pain in the ass, if only cuz I can't brag about anything except about how bad I'm getting my ass kicked.

Onto the matchups...

Matchup 1:
Lovie's Revenge (3-1) exacted some serious revenge on the Wrigleyville Smokies (2-2), 119.18 to 46.56!

That was not a typo! The commish would be fired if he were in any other profession. His team lay down and played dead this week. Brian Westbrook was a scratch (I told you so) for a big fat 0.00, K. Warner is losing his job (0.52) and Cincinnati had -2.00, while Big Manning (18.78), Lil' Jones (18.20) and Reggie Williams (22.10) rolled up the score for the Lovie and the boys. No bench personnel woulda help the Smokies, and the battle of the The Cub Reporter writers goes to Rob G's Revenge!

Matchup 2:
Holy Nobody Home, Batman! The WCG Phantoms (1-3) showed some life, keeping MOBears (0-4) winless and opening up a can, 125.32 to 92.92.

The Phantoms were scared themselves at the prospect of going winless, and had huge days from M. Bulger (27.02) and Santana Moss (32.60!). The MOBears were just plain scared, and 22.70 and 20.50 from K. Jones and L. Jordan couldn't keep the yellow from running down the backs of the MOBears. Even the benched K. Barlow and his 15.50 wouldn't stop the fright for the MOBears.

Matchup 3:
The suddenly mighty Red Penguins (3-1) flew right past Go Deep WCG (2-2), 91.50 to 73.16.

Rookie running backs, wtf? L. Mauroney had 26.20 for the flightless ones and the suddenly beloved B. Berrian notched a nice 17.90. Go Deep's D. Bledsoe had a 13.16 for him, but not starting Thomas Jones (23.10) over C. Taylor (4.30) doomed  the Deep ones. Not starting a Bear. For shame! Just kidding. I wouldn't have started him either.

Matchup 4:
The Tiger Cats (3-1) mauled the Trojan Warriors (2-2), 110.58 to 91.96.

Larry Johnson finally turned in a good week with 27.00 for the Cats as did T. Holt (17.40) and the scoarching hot Robbie Gould (14.00)! 20.16 from Drew Brees and 20.20 from M. Colston (the New Orleans connection) weren't enough for the Trojans. You see what happens when you start a DEF (Seattle -3.00) against the Bears? You lose. No bench points either.

Matchup 5:
Ring Your Bell (4-0) rang my bell as my Crusty Old Men (0-4) remained winless, losing 131.48 to 113.02.

Yes, I know. "Don't throw stones in glass houses."  And once again I took a shive from the weekly high score. McNabb's huge MNF 34.22 and T. Glenn's nice 20.60 were no match for the Ringer's 6 players in double figures: C.Frye (15.48), A. Johnson (17.90), I. Bruce (19.40), Roy Williams (15.70), C. Portis (20.40), and S. Jackson (21.80). I wanna reiterate my message board complaint that everyone needs to take it easy on me. I'm the 4th leading scorer and I'm winless! Does everyone got it out for me? (At least I'm not Chad. 45.65. Hehehe.)

One more week in the books and from my observations the byes really didn't hurt too many people this week. We have more winless teams (2) than undefeated teams (1). Scoring was way up this week (unless you're Chad), as were the ass-kickings (most of the games were won by 18 points or more) and TO survived an inadvertent OD to score some points.

Week 4 studs: McNabb (becoming redundant), S. Moss, L. Johnson, M. Colston
Week 4 duds: K. Warner (again), LT (by his standards), B. Farve, A. Gates, C. Palmer
Don't Bet the Farm On: M. Furrey, D. Brees, C. Frye, F. Gore (repeat)  
Aberrations: Hasselbeck, Boldin, Harrison,
Fucking Rookie RBs I Didnt Take a Chance On: J. Norwood, L. Maroney, J. Addai
Ouch!: Westbrook (uh-huh), D. Driver (ribs), Andre Gorude (kick in the face), Albert Haynesworth (dignity and self-respect), McNabb & TO (mouths)

Check out this story about the new basketball being used this year.

This is the first piece I've read of what's sure to be a lot of backlash and I'm not surprised it came from Shaq and the NBA Champion Miami Heat concerning the new composite game ball.

Interesting tidbit in this article I didn't know about was when D-Wade mentioned that the ball used in the World Championships was "slightly smaller" than a normal NBA ball.

Don't be surprised to see alot of 85-75 games early on if this ball is harder to control. And Tyson Chandler just may lead the league in turnovers if that's the case.

The Bye weeks are here, and they made a certain impact. And although we're only three weeks in, we have only one undefeated team left: Ring Your Bell. He isn't, however, the leading scorer. That honor belongs to  The Trojan Warriors. And thank god the Windy City Phantoms have taken their rightful place at the bottom of the standings.

And since this is my diary, I'm gonna cry about how my team is 0-3 despite being the fifth leading scorer. (Yes, Chad, I'm in my own "Valley of Despair"!) I can't catch a break. I had the second highest score of the week; too bad my opponent had the highest score of the week.

Onto the matchups...

Matchup 1:
Ring Your Bell stood tall as the lone unbeaten team defeating MOBears, 99.90 to 74.38.
The MOBears had a couple choke jobs in his lineup including V. Davis (0.00, broken fibula), Chad Johnson (1.30, the other two Bengal WRs got all the catches), and Plexico Burress (0.50, benched). That's a whole lot of nothing from some pretty big weapons. And yet Javon Walker (25.60) sat on his bench. (Doing the math, even if he'd started Walker over Burress, he'd have lost 99.48 to 99.90!) Ring Your Bell had Lil' Manning (17.00), Clinton Portis (28.80) and A. Johsnon (17.40 HOU) contribute nice scores.

Matchup 2:
Lovie's Revenge bitch slapped a bye-hurting Go Deep WCG, 97.56 to 85.02.
Let's call this the "No LT" game, and while everyone has to endure bye-weeks, losing the most consistent scorer hurt Go Deep, as did The Chicago Bears' own Thomas Jones (7.10, I thought he'd break out against the Vikes). Culpepper (13.22 actual vs. 18.80 prejected) is still somewhat a disappointment, and the PHI DEF was Go Deep's second highest scorer (13.00).
Big Brother Manning (18.76) threw good points Lovie's Revenge's way as did W. McGahee (15.70), Moose (13.60) and A.Boldin (14.90).

Matchup 3:
The Trojan Warriors fell to the Red Penguins, 99.02 to 89.08.
How 'bout them Penguins! (Nice comeback from his lousy week 2.) W. Parker (26.80) with big numbers and C. Palmer (18.22, I said his first week number was an aberration) is picking it up for the flightless ones. But as The Trojan Warriors will tell you, D. Stallworth's late scratch really hurt his chances. And had he replaced Reggie Bush (8.00) with Ahman Green (18.70), he would have won. Edge had (16.10) in a losing effort.

Matchup 4:
Tiger Cats put the smackdown on Windy City Phantoms (as they should), 86.48 to 65.06.
The coachless ones just plain laid an egg with the low score of the week. R. McMichael (1.90), S. Moss (6.40) and D. Rhodes (4.80) were the guilty parties. (I'm not even gonna bother with his benched points...S. Smith, D. McAlister, and J. Plummer. Are we there's not someone to take over this team?) The Tiger Cats got a little better this week too with M. Hasselbeck (23.08), T. Holt (19.60) Robbie Gould (15.00!!!).

Matchup 5:
In the highest scoring affair of the week, my Crusty Old Men didn't play like it but lost anyways to the Wrigleyville Smokies, 122.24 to 103.14.
I guess the commish's B. Westbrook (35.20) didn't like my 'Don't Bet the Farm' comments about him and saved his biggie to unload on my ass. TJ Houshmandzadeh (23.20) returned to his team for a big game too. My team boasted 6 guys in double figures including D. McNabb (19.94) and Darrell Jackson (19.10). Tatum Bell (21.70) really wouldn't have helped me that much.

The first week of byes is in the books. Starting in Week 4 I'll add standings to this recap as we should have a better idea of who is going where in this league. And I'm sorry if I jinxed Desmond Clark into an injury by calling him an aberration.

Week 3 Stars: B. Westbrook (he'll get hurt soon, he always does), C. Portis, W. Parker, M. Hasselbeck (5 TDs! 3 INTs!)    
Week 3 Duds: K. Warner, W. Dunn, H. Ward, Chad Johnson
Don't Bet the Farm On: B. Farve (played DET), Roy Williams (played GB), L. Betts (Portis is just about healed)
Aberrations: Rudi Johnson, Tiki Barber, Michael Vick
Ouch!: Des. Clark (foot), T.Owens (and it was a friggin' bye week for him), Shaun Alexander (is it prayer or is it memorex? broken fibula), P. Burress (back)  

     

We haven't had any true debate threads thru the first two weeks, but after yesterday's game, I think I might have one.

While defenses work on going after the ball using stripping drills, a ball carrier can have the snot knocked outta him and still hold onto the ball, yet on the very next play a seemingly inoccuous hand slap will have the pigskin bouncing around on the turf like a Mexican jumping bean.

Despite the somewhat bad tackling a few times yesterday, this Bears team is hitting harder than any I've seen in recent years. There were a more than a few times yesterday when I cringed or did an "OOOhhh" at a hit put on by the Bears.

But the biggest play of the game defensively wasn't a slobberknocker, it was a well-placed, dare I say lucky, hand on the ball by Tommie Harris delivered to Chester Taylor.

Which brings me to the debate question: Are causing fumbles a matter of skill or are they just dumb luck? (I'm sure most people's answers will probably contain the words 'a little bit of both,' but try to take one side or the other.)
   

(From the diaries. I'll just take this opportunity to say I saw Chris Mannix leave his pharmacist earlier this week with a Costco-like load of pill bottles. That may or may not cause you to temper your enthusiasm for his prediction. -TZ)

Bullish on Bulls

It's nice to see the Bulls get national recognition, as well they should with the moves they made this off-season and the draft they had. But I wish they could fly under the radar one more season just so the press doesn't go to their heads.

Oh, I forgot, ballers don't read the papers. But they do read the intraweb doohickey, so says joejoe and his converse with Ben Gordon!

Already the wailing and gnashing of teeth has begun as my team is pretty awful after week two. But at least I'm not the MOBears who are being beaten by a team with no manager.

On to the matchups...

Match-up 1:
Wrigleyville Smokies (100.14) defeat MOBears (89.10)
So our not-so-fearless commish (he let me know he fears spiders, clowns and masquarading food -- I still say he's scared of caucasian WRs too) turned a Jerry Rice-like performance from Antonio Bryant (19.90) and a DO-Bet-the-Farm-On performance from Brian Westbrook (17.80) into a winning week.

I think A. Bryant took all the SF points so MOBears' V. Davis (0.00) would garner a big fat goose egg. Of course we'd be talking about a different outcome if he'd have started Michael Vick (24.38)!

Match-up 2:
Ring Your Bell (116.54) defeat Windy City Phantoms (100.80)
How can a team with no real live manager score 100+ points? Rudi Johnson (27.20) and Joey Galloway (17.90): that' how. Too bad it wasn't enough to overcome RYB's Eli Manning (24.84) and the Chicago Bears' own Des Clark (15.50). Of course someone must be managing the Phantoms; Steve Smith was out of it's lineup this week. I wonder who that mystery man could be?

Match-up 3:
The Trojan Warriors (96.52) defeat Lovie's Revenge (89.00)
The Trojan Condoms, er, I mean, Warriors stay in first place with big games from Donald Driver (18.50) and Donte Stallworth (15.10), whereas Lovie's Revenge can't start two QB's at once -- Peyton Manning (28.20) and Sexy Rexy (27.56). Only 3 points from his kicker, Josh Brown, didn't help.

Match-up 4:
Tiger Cats (75.44) defeat red penguins (68.78)
In the ugliness that was this matchup (really, I can't believe I'm 0-2 and both of these teams have W's), Larry Johnson (15.70) and Warrick Dunn (13.40) got it done for the TC's. Carson Palmer (18.18) had a nice game for the RP's, but Michael Jenkins (1.80) did not. (That's what happens when you start a WR for a team that gains 300+ yds rushing.)But both teams under-performed according to Yahoo projected points (TC: 93.28, RP: 92.14)

Match-up 5:
WCG Go Deep (100.60) defeats {sniff-sniff} my Crust Old Men (89.10)
The pain, Terry Glenn (16.60) sat meekly on my bench while Lee Evans clogged my lineup with his putrid (2.30) points. Mr. McNabb (25.10) helped, but it wasn't enough as WCG gave me the ass shiver with LT (25.60), Reggie Wayne (14.70) and Chris Chambers (12.60). (Talk about preforming below standards. My team was projected to score over 100+.)

So week 2 is in the books, and the Warriors hold sway again. Strangely, the Phantoms (and their phantom manager) are not in last place, but at least it's not me trailing the ghosts. Six of the top 10 scoring players this week were QB's. What does that mean? Rex Grossman in the 38th round was steal.  

Week 2 Stars: P. & E. Manning, Rudi Johnson  
Week 2 Duds: Cadillac Williams, T.O., T. Gonzalez
Don't Bet the Farm On: A. Toomer, (god, I hate to say this) Des Clark, C. Pennington
Aberrations: Thomas Jones, L. Fitzgerald, A. Gates
Ouch!: Steve Smith (again), Chad Johnson (slobber-knocker), Aaron Brooks & Art Shell (mental health)

In what can only be trouble for USC football, Yahoo Sports put facts to the allegations that Reggie Bush and family received money and financial considerations while at USC.

While it remains for the NCAA to figure out what to do with this new information, my thoughts are that USC may get punched in the nuts recruiting-wise when the governing body finishes its investigation.

Here's the link.

Cash and Carry: Bush at USC

Honestly, I haven't had much to say about this week's Bears game cuz I was at The Cell watching the White Sox blow a 2-0 lead and lose in the 9th, and so I didn't get to see the Bears game.

I can, however, recap the week that was in the WCG Fantasy Football League...

(I'm not exactly sure who everyone is in relation to their WCG site ID, so forgive me if I don't name you that way. I just wanna give everyone an idea of who's who.)

Match-up 1:
Ring Your Bell (Mike Bornemann) 91.58 defeats Wrigleyville Smokies (Chad) 83.64...

Our fearless WCG commish was kicked in the teeth with a week one loss made more exasperating by losing TJ Housmanzadeh for the day. He left 12.20 points via A. Bryant on his bench and 28.20--holy fuck!--by Frank Gore.

His opponent was helped out by 25 big ones from Balitmore's shellacking of TB, and 14.80 from Steven Jackson.

In pregame voting (a really neat-o little feature) the Smokies were prohibited favorites, 4 votes to none.

Match-up 2:
MOBears (MOBearsFan) 68.22 lose to Go Deep WCG (bfos7215) 74.68...

The pregame voting had MOBears 3-2 over GoDeep, but with a nice 21.50 performance by LT and inspite of -0.30 from Chris Henry, GoDeep gets the victory. Had MOBears started Vick (18.40) over Brady (10.82), he would pulled out the victory. But honestly, who woulda started Vick over Brady; no one, I say. (It coulda been worse too. Mike Bell - 15.60 and Chester Taylor - 19.70 sat glued to Deep's bench.)

Match-up 3:
Lovie's Revenge (Rob G) 110.04 beat Tiger Cats (mark) 91.40...

In a high scoring affair the voting underdog (1-3) once again prevailed. Almost all of Lovie's guys scored in double digits the lone exceptions being Michael Clayton (4.00) and McGahee (9.80). 18.70 and 18.18 from Fred Taylor and Leftwich sat unused on Tigers' bench. If he only knew.

Match-up 4:
The aptly named Windy City Phantoms 55.28 were bested by the red penguins (elagoalie11) 83.78...

You would think the Phantoms were run by some imaginary person who didn't know a thing about fantasy football. Wait, that's exactly the case, and even deep-sixing the IR'ed Dominick Davis didn't help this team. A non-playing Steve Smith didn't help the invisible man either.

The penguins were helped by Tiki (18.10) and the Pitt Defense (14.00).

Match-up 5:
The Trojan Warriors (not sure what your WCG ID is) 125.70 ass-raped the Crusty Old Men (kidd2323) 84.76...

The pre-voting was a dead heat (2-2), and I was just plain dead after week one. 21.00 from the Kicker(!!!) Jeff Wilkins and 21.30 from Stallworth sealed my doom, and even a decapitated Trent Green (3.70) didn't hurt the Trojans.

Heath Miller's 16.70 sat on my bench, but it wouldn't have helped.

So my final thoughts...if I don't beat the Windy City Phantoms I'm gonna cry. I need to win at least one game this season and with my pitiful receiving core, I just may lose every game especially since Deion Branch just got traded to Seattle and made Darrell Jackson option #3.

IMHO (these are taken players only)...

Week 1 Stars: McNabb, LT, J. Wilkins, BAL  
Week 1 Duds: R. Moss, S. Alexander, C. Cooley
Don't Bet the Farm On: F. Gore, K. Barlow, B. Westbrook
Aberrations: C. Palmer, (and by extension) Chad Johnson, Steve Smith (DNP)
Ouch!: Trent Green (concussed), J. Jeravicious (ribs), Jerry Porter (jerk)

Being a frequentor of other SB Nation sites, I can't believe I didn't find this one until today.

Huge, huge, huge ND football fan and I can't wait to take part in the discussion here. I read BlueGraySky.com all the time, but I like the SB Nation format a little better.

Biggest ND rival for me: Michigan...and the story goes like this. My 5 best friends and I are splint right down the middle when it comes to rooting for the two football powerhouses, and when we were in our very early 20s and alcohol was involved, well, it could get violent. Usually living room dive drills would ensue and holes the size of someone's ass would end up in the wall. Occasionally a patio screen had to be repaired, and from time to time the aftermath of a ND vs UM game looked like SCUD missle attack. Bragging rights suffered when the rivalry took a hiatus in the '90s but we have enjoyed the games lately in much gentler settings.

Favorite ND moment: 1989. Rocket with two TD returns against who else? #2 Michigan.

Favorite ND players: Reggie Brooks, Tony Rice, and Chris Zorich...kinda diggin' on Zbikowski right now.

Last ND game attended: ND vs Michigan 2002 when the boys started the Return to Glory.

How great is it to see ND ranked #2 in the preseason AP? I know it'll be #1 after the National Championship game.

Go Irish!  

Since you said I could have all the white receivers in the NFL, I'm gonna report you to this new association on the grounds of discrimination:CWRAA: The Caucasian Wide Receivers of America. (Tip of the cap to Deadspin.com and EveryDayShouldBeSaturday.com of course.)
We will not be held down any longer! And Steve Largent is my hero! Coming from a high school flanker and free safety, I know these terms they bandy about, and it's high time we made a stand!
So if the Bears would be so kind as to draft Jeff Samardzja next year, I'll stop with the rant, but until then...I'm the Cracker Catcher!

[Found the link -Matt]

Since when and why did the Bulls radio broadcasts move from WMVP AM1000 to WCKG 105.9? I just read about this on my Bulls.com email and had no idea this happened.

I don't remember hearing about this at all in the previuos few months, although I know Reinsdorf has a bug up his ass for WMVP after Carmen and Silvy tag-teamed him last summer.

What gives with this deal?

Gilbert Arenas wants out of Washington...

Not that it's gonna happen, but wouldn't the #2 #16 and Gordon for Arenas be a worthwhile swap?

Big guard, clutch shooter, smart player, Bulls nemesis, someone to compete with Wade and LeBron ...

With the caveat of the Bulls adding a bigman in free agency, wouldn't this make sense?

Bulls fans, would you make this trade?

I would.  
 

we need to have a lottery or something...

I'm thinking $5 buy in, put all the possible first round names in a hat, and whoever picks #2 and #16 gets half the pot...if we have enough people at the get together...or maybe we can just base it on the #2 (or the Bulls first pick if they traade down) and winner takes all.

This draft is so uncertain that just about anyone has a chance especially of the Bulls trade down...

We do this with one of my softball teams every year.

Thoughts?

In an effort to pick up on Bulls-related items NOT involving the draft...

While watching TV this morning (I can't remember what show), an advertisement for I-PASS flickered across the screen with a very familiar voice attached to it. So I stopped channel-surfing to place the voice, and at the end of the ad, behind the wheel of an SUV stopped at a toll booth was none other than a sleepy-eyed (dare I say, stoned-looking) Kirk Hinrich extolling the virtues of an I-PASS.

I can see Kirk's new found fame has its benefits...plugging I-PASS.

I wonder if they paid him in free tolls for as long as he's a Bull? Or maybe they emptied all the change from a tool booth and loaded it into the back that SUV he was driving.

According to Elias Sports Bureau via ESPN...

* Albert Pujols went 4-for-4 with a home run in the Cardinals' 10-6 loss to the Tigers, his second game since returning from 18 days on the disabled list. Over the last nine years, the only other player to go 3-for-3 or better on a so-called "perfect night" at the plate with a home run in one of his first two games back after a stay on the DL was Bengie Molina in 2004.

Wow, talk about missing the bus. If only the Cards had won, I'd feel a little better posting this, but IMHO the Sox pitchers can thanks the baseball gods for sparing them from the wrath that is Pujols.
Someone in the game thread (winningugly) said the luck of the Sox is back, and I think I agree with him now since we missed the real Clubber Lang aka Albert Pujols.