What? The Cubs Made the Playoffs?!?

The Chicago Cubs made the playoffs. Not only did they make the playoffs, but they also won their division! As a Cubs fan, I cannot even start to explain how relieved I was to see that the Cubs were in. It was strange, though, as it was the top of the eighth inning and the Cubs were beating the Cincinnati Reds by a score of 4-0, and all of a sudden there was a huge uproar in the crowd. Red’s rookie center fielder, Norris Hopper, began looking around nervously, as if there were about to be a riot of some sort. Cub’s first baseman Derrek Lee, who was in the middle of an at bat, most have wondered why all the sudden noise. Then, it all fell into place, quite obviously, according to ESPN reporters. Just left of the 379 foot marker on the outfield wall, the score of the Milwaukee Brewers vs. the San Diego Padres score was updated, showing: Padres 3, Brewers 2. It didn’t matter that the score was only that of the fourth inning, because to the pro Cubs fans of Wrigley Field, it was another piece of the welcome magic number news. It wasn’t until another hour and forty nine minutes had passed that it was official: the Chicago Cubs were the National League Central division winners!! There is no more joy in anything to a diehard Cubs fan, which unfortunately isn’t me as I like the Boston Red Sox as well, than to see their beloved Cubbies win a division title. Now that the playoffs are here, anything can happen. For example, the 2004 Boston Red Sox were down three games to none, a mere one game from elimination, and then they did the unbelievable, the unknown, and won four straight games against the New York Yankees to make it to the World Series, where they absolutely dominated. So don’t count the Cubbies out, anything can happen!!

Mike Gundy: Defender or Attacker?

Mike Gundy, head coach of the NCAA powerhouse Oklahoma State Cowboys, blew over the edge in a post-win news conference. Gundy’s tirade was set off after he read an article in the “Oklahoman,” a local newspaper, where it was written that freshman phenom, quarterback Bobby Reid, arguably one of Oklahoma State’s top recruits in recent years, is soft and a mama’s boy. Even though his team had just beaten the Texas Tech Red Raiders 49-45, Gundy took the option to make a personal statement about the written article. “Here’s all that kid did: He goes to class, he’s respectful to the media, he’s respectful to the public and he’s a good kid. And he’s not a professional athlete, and he doesn’t deserve to be kicked when he’s down,” Gundy said. Reid had thrown for 191 yards, according to ESPN, with one touchdown and one interception in a 35-14 loss at Georgia and started off slow before his undisclosed injury the following week in the first quarter of a game against Florida Atlantic. “If you want to go after an athlete—one of my athletes—you go after one that doesn’t do the right things,” Gundy said. “You don’t downgrade him because he does everything right and may not play as well on Saturday. And you let us make that decision.”

Some say Gundy over-reacted, calling him a control-freak and wants everything done his way, with no second choice. I disagree with this, as he was doing what I consider right, and that is defending his player. This is what athletes look for when they are looking for what school to go to, what team to play for, and whether or not they can trust the coach of the team. If seeing this doesn’t give the player complete faith in the coach, then there’s no way that they know what they’re looking for in a coach, in a team, or any other factor of why they would possibly attend the school. “Where are we at in society today? Come after me. I’m a man. I’m 40. I’m not a kid,” Gundy said. Write something about me or our coaches. Don’t write about a kid that does everything right, that’s heart’s broken and then say that the coaches said that he’s scared. That ain’t true.” This is the perfect example of what you need, what you want, in a coach. If you disagree, then I believe that you are either, one, crazy, or two, aren’t sure if you even want to play anymore. You were just doing it in the beginning because it looked like a lot of fun, eventually convincing yourself that it was something that you couldn’t live without. And playing for a coach like this, like Coach Gundy, is an extreme privilege in the sport of college football.

Record Breaking Predictions

This season, there are a few records in the NFL that I believe will fall. Perhaps the most obvious is Dan Marino’s 420 passing TD which has already been tied by Brett Farve. Unless Brett suffers an injury, this record being broken is a sure thing. Farve is also 3,000 yards shy of Marino’s yardage record of 61,361. This record will be a lot harder to break for Farve, but it’s still possible given Farve’s recent level of play. He needs to throw for 3000 yards in the remaining 13 games by completing on average 230 yards a game, that’s possible if he can stay consistent. Another record I believe has the possibility of being broken is the 49 touchdowns in a season set by Peyton Manning. Who’s the player to break the record this year? Tom Brady of course. I hate the Patriots but I’m able to recognize greatness when I see it. With Randy Moss and Donte Stallworth as new receiving options, Brady should have no problem surpassing Manning for the top spot in a season. He has 10 tosses in 3 games, putting him on record to reach 53 or 54 this season. The only question would be if this sort of pace can be held throughout the entire season. The record for most touchdowns in a season is also in jeopardy if Rand Moss can keep up his pace for the season. He’s averaging 1.66 touchdowns a game which would yield in the range of 26 grabs a year. The record is currently held by none other than Jerry Rice at 22 in a season. One shameful record that will be broken this year is George Blanda’s 277 interceptions over a career. This record will also be broken by Brett Farve who currently has 275 interceptions is his long career.

Sexy Rexy - Not So Sexy Anymore

Ask any Bears fan for a reason to like the Bears and nobody will tell you it’s because of Rex Grossman, unless that is you’re talking to the Grossman family or close friends of his; on second thought, maybe just his family. Not even his teammates can say that they support Grossman with any sort of confidence anymore. Even though the Bears have two great receivers in Bernard Berrian and Muhsin Muhammad, and an up and coming running back Cedric Benson, with Grossman at it’s head, the Bears would likely be more successful to punt the ball away and let their fantastic defense and special teams do all the work. This may seem bitter and critical coming from a Bears fan, but given Grossman’s performance it’s getting harder and harder to admit I’m a fan after each disappointing week on offense, each interception, and each fumble or bobbled ball. Sure there are still some people who give Grossman credit for his 7 games with a passer rating of over 100 last year and 3 games of 80-99.9. Those are good numbers if they stood alone, but that’s only Good Rex. Bad Rex had a game of 64.9 and 5 under 37 with two abysmal games of 1.7 and a 0.0. On Sunday Night Football Al Michaels put the game of 0.0 best in my opinion, “God Awful with eight exclamation points.”

It’s true that most people don’t watch the Bears for the offense, but for their defense, but a defense would be hard-pressed to win a game by itself. This is why the Bears need to switch their quarterback situation. Right now Grossman is just too inconsistent to give the Bears a legitimate chance to win. The Bears needed to make a quarterback change, which they finally did to Brian Griese, because with their recent injuries to their defense, the Bears will have to count on their offense to perform better than it has. The Bears safety Mike Brown, linebacker Lance Briggs, and corner back Charles Tillman, are all questionable for this Sunday’s game against the Lions which will also be Brian Griese’s first start this season. If Griese will prove to be consistent completing passes, then nearly ALL of the Bears offensive problems will be cured. As I’ve already said the Bears have plenty of offensive fireworks, just nobody to set them off; Bears fans everywhere are hoping that Brian Griese can be the spark that is so badly needed.

This picture was found on the Chicago Bears website www.chicagobears.com

Michael Vick: What a Role Model?...

Seems like things aren’t going so well for Michael Vick lately. After being accused of dog fighting charges, the quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons pleaded guilty to the felony charges and was released on bond. Furthermore, after a drug test given to Vick on September 13, he was found in probationary violation due to marijuana use. Vick is now ordered to home confinement. On September 25, Vick was indicted by a Virginia grand jury for felony animal beating and killing and dogfighting charges. Upon sentencing Vick can face anywhere from 1 to 5 years in prison on federal charges and up to 40 years on state charges.

So what does this mean for Michael Vick? As of now he is suspended with out pay from the NFL. Arthur Blank, owner of the Atlanta Falcons, was stated that he has tried to recover a piece of Vick’s signing bonus and that they don’t know if what Vick’s future with the Falcon’s will be because of salary cap problems. However, it is a breach of contract for any player to involve himself in gambling and this certainly can pave the way for Vicks dismissal from the Falcons. As if all this isn’t bad enough news for Vick, all of his endorsements have gone down the drain. Among these include Coca-Cola, EA Sports, Kraft foods, Hasbro, and AirTran. Dick’s Sporting Goods, a sports store, has refused to sell any Michael Vick merchandise. Also, 22 Michael Vick football cards chewed up by dogs were sold on E-bay for $7,400 and all of the proceeds are supposedly going towards the Humane Society.

My personal opinion on the matter is actually one of sadness. Michael Vick grew up in a horrible situation with little money in a not very good neighborhood. He turned to athletics to keep himself from getting involved in crime and drugs and was quotes as to saying "Sports kept me off the streets...It kept me from getting into what was going on, the bad stuff. Lots of guys I knew have had bad problems." It makes me happy to hear about things like this. People finding a way to get themselves out of the projects and into a comfortable lifestyle. Michael Vick turned his life around. And then turned it around again. He had everything in the world going for him. He said that he kept himself away from drugs when he was younger and in the projects but now that he is a grown man and is living a luxurious lifestyle he finds his way back into it. To me this is stupidity at its finest. What a great way to stand as a role model for all the kids still stuck in the projects hoping to find their way out, especially if they are an aspiring athlete.

Uh-Oh! Who's Starting the Season on a Slide?

LT is...that's who! LaDainian Tomlinson, star running back for the San Diego Chargers, has not had a very appealing first few games for the 2007 NFL season. His statistics through the first three games are very, very minimal. According to his player profile on the ESPN website, he has a mere 130 yards TOTAL on the season! And this is on 57 rushing attempts! These statistics are simply unacceptable for the league’s reigning Most Valuable Player. I mean come on, seriously now. When is LT going to pull it together and play the football he has always been used to? He isn’t used to playing like this, gaining only 2.2 average yards on a rush over three games, let alone one. The most yardage he has gained this season was against the Green Bay Packers, where he got 62 yards on 22 rushing attempts, giving him a lackadaisical 2.8 average yards per attempt. He only has 1, that’s right, 1 touchdown in his three games this season, whereas last season (16 games) he set an NFL record with 31 rushing touchdowns. Yet after 3 games he only managed 1 single touchdown. That is, as it should be, not acceptable (as in with the coaches), yet he is still given the ball, still given chances, in the hopes that he will pull it together and run, cut, and spin like he always has. You can only hope, but that is all you have until he gets done what he needs to get done, hope.

Is Belichick's Punishment Fair?

So by now pretty much everyone has heard of the scandal surrounding Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots. If you haven’t here is a quick rundown. He was caught by the NFL filming the New York Jet’s defensive signals. Eric Mangini, Jet’s coach and former Patriot’s assistant coach was the one who told officials that he suspected Belichick of this filming. Belichick’s explanation for his behavior was that he was not aware of the rules surrounding his actions. He also denied using video tape to gain an advantage over other teams in the NFL. As a result of his actions, Belichick was fined $500,000 and the Patriots were fined $250,000. This is the largest fine ever imposed on a coach in the history of the NFL and the most that the NFL allows in terms of fines for a coach. All in all, Bill Belichick is not a very smart or lucky man.

Now usually when it comes to sports most arguments and discussions happen with my dad. However, last week my mom and I got into a discussion about Bill Belichick and the nightmare he’s found himself in. She said that his punishment did not fit the crime and that she felt bad for him. I really disagree with this. I think that this is a form of cheating and contrary to what Belichick says, it does give him an advantage over other teams. I’ve heard football referred to as one of the last remaining pure sports, meaning that is one of the last sports where most teams are on a level playing field with out cheating for the most part (I think this is arguable). However, this sort of behavior by Belichick ruins this. Another one of my mom’s arguments was that this has probably happened before and probably still happens but nobody knows about it and that it was just unlucky for Bill Belichick that he got caught. I thought this was ridiculous too. Sure, other coaches may be doing something similar to what Belichick did but it doesn’t make it right. Belichick should stand as a role model to other coaches not just in the NFL but in other leagues as well. Once other people see that this behavior is a serious offense and comes with a huge cost, the might change their behavior and the game will be much more fair.
So pretty much, yes, Bill Belichick is a very unlucky man who got caught for filming the Jets. Whether he knew the rules or not about his actions, he is in trouble. So maybe he’s down $500,000 and everyone thinks he is a horrible person, but Belichick’s contract was renewed by the Patriots and I’m sure he still has quite the bank account. He’ll survive this and the game of football will move on to the next big controversy.