Bears put it all together in rolling Vikes for NFC North title

With all the talk going around before the game how the field was not playable and the Bears were going to fall on their face after getting blown out by the Patriots the week before, there was little to argue with after the dust settled Monday night.
The Bears are NFC North champs and have one of the most complete teams in the NFC going toward the playoffs. Don't think so? Well, OK, here are my points.
The Bears have a quarterback who can make the big throws and aside from one game this season has taken care of the football. I know all the Jay Cutler haters out there will rag on him no matter what, but he and Mike Martz have clicked. The biggest key has been the fact they've taken a lot of the shots downfield out of the arsenal for Cutler. That may stick out, but he's done a lot better hitting the intermediate receivers down field and limited the turnovers over the last six games when the team has won five of six and won the division.
Maybe more important than Jay and one of the reasons he has turned it on, has been the offensive line. Since the bye week in Week 9, the Bears have come together and shown the ability to run the ball. That has taken a lot of pressure off Jay while Matt Forte and Chester Taylor have shouldered more and more of the offensive load. Those five guys have put it together enough to keep Jay upright enough to be effective in the pocket.
Of course, the consistent for this team has been defense. The front four has gotten pressure every week since the bye week and have let the linebackers and safeties do what Lovie's Cover 2 defense does best, roam the field and cause chaos. It's all about speed and ball hawking in the defensive secondary for this team and when the front four that is led by Julius Peppers do what they did Monday night in getting hits on the quarterback.
Say what you want about the Bears being lucky and not being good. I haven't seen many teams be "lucky" and get to 10 wins in a season before. You have to have talent to put yourself in position to catch breaks and that's what the Bears have done this season.


Of course one player I did not mention above was Devin Hester. There was talk last night on Twitter after the game after he set the all-time return record that he is a future Hall of Famer. At first I didn't know how to take that. But the more I thought about it, the more I think it is actually the right call. Not just because I am a Bears fan, but if you think about how he changes the game and is part of every team's gameplan that takes on the Bears, it makes total sense. In his very first game in Green Bay, Hester ran a punt back for a touchdown in starting the 2006 team's run to the Super Bowl. That was his start of greatness.
Last night after the game in the press conference, he got emotional when talking about the guys that clear the way for him. He is right that it wouldn't be possible without them, and showed what kind of a player he has become. He is an X-Factor on this team and has been his entire career to this point. So, I say in just five years he has become the best return man in NFL history and that, to me, says he is most certainly a future Hall of Famer.

It is Christmas week and to keep with the post I made yesterday on the iBand, today I feature The Roots playing a Christmas song. That in itself is quite awesome, but when they team up with Dr. Elmo, the original singer of "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer" it is so much better. So here you go! So good! There is no video of it on its own, so you have to fast forward to around 37:30.


Alright, time for the Nussie Hunter portion of the program. Marisa Miller is one of our favorites here at Wilber's Way. When she made the jump to do work for Victoria's Secret, we were elated. Take a look for yourself, she sure is something special. There's more of where this came from, here.

Pinch yourself, Greinke really is a Brewer!

I woke up Sunday morning like it was Christmas, hoping what I had seen Saturday night was true. Many sources confirmed it. So Monday, when I saw Zack Greinke had caught an early-morning flight to come to town and meet the media, there was no way it couldn't be true. The way it all went down Saturday night gave me reason to wonder and just hope everything was true. But as I wrote earlier today on Examiner.com, multiple reports confirmed what was originally reported by Jim Breen, writer of Bernie's Crew, a Brewers fan blog. Here's the video of that trip to the Brewers clubhouse this morning.
Yes, the Brewers have acquired the 2009 Cy Young Award winner to lead the staff into the 2011 season as one of the contenders. (Wow, I can't believe I just wrote that.)
The words that ring the best to me from what he said this morning was that he is "the happiest he's been since he was drafted" in 2002. Those are some strong words and considering he had to waive his no-trade clause to make the deal stick, says it was partly his choice to come here. Well, Zack , welcome to Brew Town.
I've had a lot of conversations with friends over the move in the last two days and he immediately does make this team a contender. Before you jump on the "The Brewers have no offense" wagon, remember the Giants had the worst offense in baseball last year, but got hot at the plate and had the pitching all year and ended up winning the World Series.
There is one question mark that I do see that does need to be addressed and that is defense. Alcides Escobar and Lorenzo Cain provide great defense up the middle for this team and would have likely been the Opening Day starters here. Now Yuniesky Betancourt at short and the prospect of giving Carlos Gomez the reigns back in center makes me a bit nervous. While the Giants may have had bad offense, they game through when needed because of potential. I'm not so sure those two guys have that potential. Yes, the Brewers resigned Craig Counsell today, but you can't expect him to start or play significant time before his age is evident.
The moves to solidify those positions will not be big ones, but they'll need to be ones for role players that can step in and contribute mostly in the field, but occasionally at the plate. Just as I don't really know who would be on the block to trade away for Greinke, I do not know where this player or players will come from. Just as Melvin has done in the past two weeks, I'm sure he'll find someone to step in if they are out there.

The move for the Brewers to get Greinke was big news (Rightfully so). And all the Cubs fans were jacked to get Kerry Wood back. Well, one of my go-to blogs is Miller Park Drunk and he has a shirt that says it better than I could.  You can buy the shirt, here!


A totally non Brewers item to post now, but it was just too cool to not post. Plus, it's Christmas week. One of my favorite times of the year! Enjoy! Oh, and be sure to bust out your lighter app and take part.


Time to get right into the Nussie Hunter portion of the program. Since we're meeting and getting to know Zack Greinke, why not get to know his wife, Emily, as well. She has been ranked among baseball's hottest WAGs over the past couple years. And well, can you blame them after seeing her here and below?

Marcum 'Just the start' could mean good things for Brewers

When news dropped Sunday the Brewers had dealt Brett Lawrie to Toronto for Shaun Marcum, I was immediately excited. I had to double check the stats, to be honest, but knew Doug Melvin would get a guy that could make an immediate impact if he could.
That's exactly what he did. Last year Marcum went 13-8 with a 3.64 ERA (FULL STATS) in the brutal AL East. Yes he did miss all of 2009 after having Tommy John Surgery, but he bounced back and threw 195 innings. That makes me a little less worried about him being a so-called "injury risk" and more excited he will contribute for most of 2011. He was the ace of the Toronto staff after Doc Haladay left town and will fit right between Randy Wolf and the ace of the Brewers, Yovanni Gallardo. The new man at the helm, Ron Roenicke, has already gone on record and said he's "very excited" about the arrival of Marcum to the staff having watched him from the opposing dugout.
Of course, the quote from Melvin still rings out that his is "just the start" of what he wants to do this winter. I'm hoping they can put together something for one more arm - not sure on Carl Pavano, but I saw he talked to his agent - to round out the rotation that already includes Yo, Marcum, Wolf and Chris Narveson. What that move is, I don't know yet, but I'm sure it has to be something of importance. Yes, they would like to deal Carlos Gomez, but you can't just ship your trash out the door and get something great for him. You can't get too much into the rumors you read during the day on Twitter - There's a lot of them - you just have to wait and see what gets finalized.
Let's just hope Marcum is nothing like the douche it has been revealed that Brett Lawrie was. A blog I've mentioned on these pages before, Miller Park Drunk, has posted pictures from Lawrie's Facebook page and let's just say the guy is a bit of a tool. Here's the link. What is up with CLEAN Eminem lyrics? I know you are a bit of a public figure, but what the hell?


Moving on now to my Bears, who had to get a ripping from the usually lax Coach Lovie at halftime in Detroit to move to 9-3. They still aren't getting any respect and the skeptics stood up and pointed when things got dicey at Ford Field, but this Bears team is for real. Make no mistake, they have come along since the beginning of the season, but they are for real.
I watched some video on ESPN.com today that featured Trent Dilfer telling me why the Bears were not Super Bowl contenders and he said because they are built around defense and don't ask the offense to do most of the heavy lifting, they are not even being considered, or shouldn't be.
Hey Trent, what were you on that Tampa Bay team that won the Super Bowl? The defense did everything and you were asked to just not mess it up.
Now, I'm not saying the Bears are going to win the Super Bowl, but being in a spot to earn a bye in the NFC playoffs has to put them in the discussion and he's being asinine for dismissing them so quickly. They surely have the defense that will make noise in December and we'll get to see it get tested in the final four weeks of the season. With games against the Patriots, Vikings, Jets and Packers, that defense will need to step up if they want to hold on to the NFC North lead and earn that bye. Yes, the team is built around defense, but since the bye week (Week 9), the Bears have the second highest third down conversion percentage at just over 52 percent and Jay Cutler is not making the stupid plays. The biggest key has been the emergence of BOTH Matt Forte and Chester Taylor. That means the offensive line has figured it out, having played the same five guys since then.

Alright, I don't get into college football much here on the blog, but that "Teach me how to Bucky" was quite ridiculously awesome. So, when the same folks to another video, you have to take notice. This time "We're Smelling Roses."


It is now time for the Nussie Hunter portion of the broadcast. Today, I introduce you to a woman you probably don't know. Her name is Daphne Joy and she's downright amazing. I found her on Twitter and you can too, here.

Give all the credit to the man at the top: Lovie

The talk at the start of the season from those who follow the NFL, especially the Bears, was that this was going to be a rough season for the Bears and head coach Lovie Smith. I'll admit, I thought they would do better than most had them for this year, but the way things have unfolded over the last month has been beyond my expectations.
Yes, the defense has been playing well, Jay Cutler has been reigned in and the offensive line has pieced it together enough to keep Jay upright and make lanes for Matt Forte to run through, but there is one person to give credit for this (what could be) great season. You guessed it, Lovie.
When teams around the NFL are broken and has guys stepping out and making it about themselves, no nonsense is coming out of Halas Hall in Lake Forest and the Bears are unified going forward each week. It's one of those things where it's known the defense is the mainstay of the team, and the offense has to do "just enough" to get the team over the top. Never, though, has there been any finger pointing, even last year, at Jay or the offensive line (including O-line coach Mike Tice) to get it together.
Who gets the credit for that? Yep, Lovie. He's done it every year he's been in Chicago and this might be the best he's done as a coach, and yes I'm talking even better than 2006. There were no expectations and many questions abound on this team on how things would go this season, after the disappointment of last year.
And all the questions about the Bears not beating anyone with a winning record before Sunday, who cares? Is it the Bears fault their schedule is the way it is? Hell no. Sunday, against the team EVERYONE said was the new front runner to win the NFC, the Bears were in control for most of the game. Yes, the Eagles rallied late, but they are a good team, heck, they're great, and the Bears weathered the storm. The offense played great behind both Jay and Forte (who had 100+ yards) and the defense kept Michael Vick in check for the most part in what was the highest rated NFL game of the season (per Jay Glazer).
There are five games left and one five teams of the last 59 have missed the playoffs with an 8-3 record. That means things are looking good for this team to make the playoffs.
Why is it, when there is talk about coach of the year, am I not hearing Lovie Smith's name mentioned? He should be. He HAS to be. He has brought this team together and is leading them to a possible NFC North title.
I guess the Bears, got a little respect for this win? If not, it doesn't really bother Brian Urlacher.

Keeping on my NFL tip, I'm sure you've seen the Derek Anderson flip out video by now. My take on it is this: He was a bit out of line for blowing up. I was unsure in reading some things on Twitter about it, but hearing what the reporter said to him was not out of line. He was essentially throwing him a rope to save him from the fan backlash and he completely lost it and handled it the wrong way.
This is a bit like a scene in "Fever Pitch" when the guys see Johnny Damon, Trot and some Red Sox players out after falling behind the Yanks 3-0 in the ALCS. I can support the guys having some sort of laugh on the sideline regarding the score. It has to upset you being down in a game, but you can't get too down or upset because it will effect your play on the field. In Anderson's case, he's so bad, he could be upset and it wouldn't help him. Just saying.



The other hot topic in the NFL this week was the Cortland Finnegan and Andre Johnson fight in the Texans and Titans game. This highlight is obviously taken from a show on Sunday and the two have both since gotten just a $25,000 fine and no suspension. Finnegan calls himself the "dirtiest player in the game." This isn't the WWE and unlike Ric Flair having that monicker, it is not a good one to have in the NFL. The guy is a scumbag. While I don't condone throwing punches, you have to defend yourself and Johnson did just that and teaching that punk a lesson. While I talked earlier about bringing a team together and being disciplined, is it time we question the job Steve Fischer is doing in Tennessee? He has the Vince Young problem. Randy Moss is in town now. Then there's this jerk. The NFL has no place for that.


Enough football, it's time for the ladies of the day to take over. Today's Nussie Hunter segment of the broadcast is the exotic Francia Raisa, who appeared in the movie For Colored Girls. I'm not too into the movie, but the fine folks at Guyism.com have more pics of her from the premiere.

Welcome to Milwaukee Ron Roenicke!

The love affair with the guy Doug Melvin and Co. have named Ron Roenicke as the new manager of the Brewers has been in full effect the last couple of days. I'll say it just shows how much of a great pickup this is for the team and the city of Milwaukee. I'm not sure how much I can put into our TV play-by-play announcer, Brian Anderson, speaking his praises (Like he did here), but when Mike Scioscia, Angels Manager (Audio is here), uses the word "Incredible" about six times at least to talk about his now former bench coach, it runs a little louder.
Of course, there's the manager himself. Just as BA said, Roenicke is a great interview. It was actually rather refreshing listening to his presser where he was introduced and then he was on Homer on ESPN Radio in Milwaukee. (Take a listen). To follow it up Doug Melvin was on the D-List with Drew Olsen and Dan Needles this afternoon to talk about the hire (Audio is here). (Tom H.'s J-S story is here.)
Now that you have all of that, here's my take, I LOVE THIS DECISION! I know I wrote on this page on how I like the Bobby Valentine possibility, but sometimes changing your mind is a good thing. The more I found out about Roenicke (We'll be calling him Ro-Ro in the 223 next season!), the more I started to fall in line with the idea. Just think about the guys that have come from under Scioscia's wing to manage their own teams and what they have done. Bud Black and Joe Maddon have done nothing but win at their jobs and Roenicke was next in line to get his own gig. It has been compared to the Bill Walsh NFL coaching tree in the fact that is the best coach with the best assistants that have learned what to do. They all went on to be successful with coaching gigs in the past and this one is looking to be the same way. The key, of course, is if the pitching can turn around from as bad as it's been the last two seasons here, which has nothing to do with the guy that had the post before "Ro-Ro."
The biggest thing I liked in listening to him talk is that he doesn't spit out the cliches over and over. He knows the game and shows it when he talks. I love it.


The Bears are back in action this week after a bye week and travel to Toronto take on the Wisconsin alum Lee Evans (above) and the Bills. All of the pundits are thinking this could be the game where the Bills get their first win of the season. That makes me a little nervous. The ringing words that have come out of Halas Hall over the last two week is Mike Martz saying he is going to use Matt Forte and Chester Taylor more. I like hearing that and think it might be what the offense needs. Whether that's done in running the ball or with short screens, is something that will be shown this week. Martz also said he plans to have them both on the field at the same time. that might be something that could put teams in a pickle when it comes to which one to key off of and could help Jay Cutler out in finding a rhythm and getting the other guys open because they will be paying attention to the back. The defense used the bye to get healthy and I'm thinking them getting Lance Briggs back this week should help shore things up in what resulted in losses the previous two games. I'm saying it will. He's the type of player that makes everyone around him better when he's on the field, including Brian Urlacher. The two seem to pick each other up and that should help the unit get back to their old form.
Prediction: Bears 24, Bills 17

Time for my NFL Picks. Last week was not a good week for me, to say the least, going just 6-5 to push my record for the year to 64-53. Here we go. Winners, as always, are in bold.
Bucs at Falcons
Bears at Bills
Patriots at Browns
Jets at Lions
Cardinals at Vikings
Saints at Panthers
Dolphins at Ravens
Chargers at Texans
Giants at Seahawks
Chiefs at Raiders
Colts at Eagles
Cowboys at Packers
Steelers (21) at Bengals (17)

Alright, time to get into the Nussie Hunter segment of the broadcast. I came across a former Miss Universe on Guyism and I couldn't find someone to unseat her from a spot and mention in today's post. I'm saying pink is a good color on her, no? There's 46 more photos, here!

Game 1 in the books, what lies ahead?

Yes, I stole this pic from SI.com, but hey, it was too good and I couldn't pass it up. It seems all of San Fran is in love with these dyed beards (although no one will admit it's dyed) that have propelled the Giants just three wins from the World Series title. Cliff Lee got rocked last night after looking untouchable to start the game. It was rather shocking to me and the people who Tweets I was reading on Twitter last night during the game.
So is this series all Giants? I wouldn't go that far. The Rangers are still ready pitching-wise and this one will come down to the "other guys" after Tim and Cliff like we predicted anyway. I still like the Rangers behind Cliff, starting with C.J. Wilson tonight. I would not count them out, but they need to win tonight to right the ship. I also think they did a little bit of something of "giving them something to think about" with how they closed the game out last night, making a bit of a rally in the late innings to put up seven runs in the loss.
The key, something I did not touch on yesterday here, was the defense. You will never win a World Series game where you commit three errors. That is something they are not accustomed to doing and probably got caught up in things.
Enough said.


I have not posted in a bit and have missed my NFL picks for the season. I've been mired in mediocrity much like my Bears through the first seven weeks, going just 58-46 on the season in picking winners.Well, my teams doesn't play this week, so my judgment will not be clouded in their game. Here goes. Winners, as always, in bold.
Dolphins at Belgals
Jaguars at Cowboys
Redskins at Lions
Bills at Chiefs
Panthers at Rams
Packers at Jets
Broncos at 49ers
Titans at Chargers
Bucs at Cardinals
Vikings at Patriots
Seahawks at Raiders'
Steelers at Saints
Texans (28) at Colts (34)

Alright, now to a quick Nussie Hunter segment. I'm sure if you read the gossip mags, rumors are circulating whether or not my boy Justin Timberlake cheated on his girl Jessica Biel with one of our favorites here at Wilber's Way, Olivia Munn. Well, US Weekly is divulging details. Check that out and see what JT may have turned his back on, here.

It's time to get serious, this is the World Series

It's finally time for the Fall Classic boys and girls and while it's not necessarily one that we pictured at the start of the playoffs, it is clear these are the two teams that deserved to be in his position the most through the playoffs and thus, to us baseball purists, make for the best World Series.
The stories of both franchises having two of the longest droughts in MLB makes for one storyline, but none of these guys were part of those teams. So let's just look at them. The reason this is set to be the best in my eyes is the pitching. The Giants have shown they've had the best pitching all year. And as good as the Rangers were to get out front of the AL West, they knew they had to go get an arm and did so in the biggest way when they got Cliff Lee (who as I write this is killing Giants hitters).
So, who will win this Series? The way I look at it, the pitching on both sides makes it too close to call, so that is a wash. So I took a look at the lineups and offenses for both teams and that is where I think the Rangers have a slight edge. Not a huge edge, but enough pop with their offense to do the most damage, especially when the series moves to Texas for Game 3. They have power and can hit it out, but should be able to get at least one game in SF and steal the home field advantage from the Giants. The key to it all to me has to be Vlad Guerero who had another ridiculous year when everyone wrote him off. I see him making a splash and helping the likes of Josh Hamilton get his.
I'm thnking Bruce Bochy could give the Giants the edge in managing, but I'm also thinking the Rangers won't let their coke head of a manager get in the way of things and make his decisions pretty easy.
My Prediction: I know Game 1 has started, so check the time stamp on my Twitter post where I predicted at nearly 6:50 this evening the Rangers would win the Series in six games.


Now for some Brewers talk. The rumor mill was set on fire today when Bill Scott of the Wisconsin Radio Network reported the Crew was set to name Bobby Valentine, formerly with the NY Mets in the states and has since been in Japan and is currently with ESPN, as their new manager.
The Brewers beat reporters, Tom Haudricourt and Adam McCalvy, were sent running to get word from Doug Melvin and Valentine who flat out denied anything was going on. Before I get into that, I want to talk about what I think about Bobby V. coming to town because I actually like this move. Yesterday I talked in this very space that it would be a good move for the Brewers to go with Joey Cora. Well, that was just me picking him over Bob Melvin. And, of the three, Valentine, is the pick of the three. There is talk the fourth of the eight candidates is Ron Roenicke, who is with the Angels, is the fourth guy and Valentine would be my pick of those four still.
He is a proven winner. He brings the entertainment factor and is a big enough name where Milwaukee would be on the national baseball map at the start of the season and throughout the year. I also think he, like Cora, would gel well with the young nucleus of the team. His history and his personality would be one the players would get right away and, as a fan, I actually like the idea of him leading this group.
He has made it public he likes the Brewers people and what they are doing (or say they will do) heading into next season. I also see him as the "Big Name" of the group and it would be a huge "Get" for the smallest market in Major League Baseball to woo him into town with a three-year $10 million deal.
Of course, baseball's unwritten rule will have this thing denied for at least a week with the World Series starting tonight and it's kind of an unwritten rule to not steal the limelight from the two teams that are playing to announce things like this during the series. If something must be done, it should be done so on off days, the first of which comes Friday. We shall see. Stay close to your Twitters and Brewers blogs.

Now it's time for the Nussie Hunter. I saw our featured guest of the day a while back on some MTV special and had to do a double take. Well, apparently she's showing us all she is no longer a child star. That someone is JoJo, who has become one damn beautiful woman. She's been documenting it on her Twitter page, posting photos of herself in tight, revealing tops. Umm, just see for yourself below with a couple more, here.

Fixing the Bears: What's the biggest key?

Two days removed now from Jay Cutler's historic interception fest with DeAngelo Hall and things are starting to come out about what the Bears saw and why they went after the former Falcons and Raiders DB.
Mike Martz told WBBM Chicago Hall just "guessed" and they had planned on going after him all game coming in and he guessed right throughout the second half.
Well, that's all fine and dandy, but I guess Jay must have gotten shell shocked with what what going on after the first couple that he could not make the adjustments in his head and make better throws when the rush was around him.
Martz does not throw Cutler under the bus in the interview, and actually talks him up.
Things are pretty clear though heading into the bye week for the Bears. They are ranked No. 5 in total defense and No. 30 in offense. That's why they are 4-3 and still in first place of the NFC North.
Going forward, things need to get better. If there is a way to cinch up the offensive line, that needs to be done. Mike Tice (yes former Vikings coach) runs that unit and to be honest, he's kind of in the same boat as Brewers manager Ken Macha was with pitching. There isn't much help there to work with and guys are just being taken to task. It's not so much they are missing one or two fundamental keys they can work on, it's much more than that with this crew.
But I look back at the Carolina game when the Bears HAD to run the football to get ahead and rely on Matt Forte to get them where they wanted to go. Well, with Jay back from injury, they went right back to a 65-35 pass-run split and at time forgot they had he and Chester Taylor in the backfield. It's been rather disappointing at times. The line showed, if for just a little bit, they could run block. So maybe they need to build some confidence that way and it will lend itself to the pass blocking. I"m just thinking out loud here.
The schedule doesn't lend itself to much more time to figure this out and the losses could start to pile up if things continue to go south in the second half of the season.


Now to turn attention to my other favorite sports team, the Brewers. Word from my guy Tom Haudricourt, is that the Crew has narrowed its list of candidates from eight to four. Only two of the four finalists are known, at the moment, though with White Sox bench coach Joey Cora (above) among them. The other is former D-Backs manager and current Mets scout Bob Melvin (below).
Since we know just two guys, I'm going to talk about those two, one of which I'm pretty high on, the other I'm kind of lukewarm on.
Cora would be coming from Chicago where he has seen how Ozzie Guillen has handled the Sox the last few years. Say what you will about Ozzie, but I'd guess those guys in the clubhouse love him because he gets every single one of those guys as players and can relate to them (after they figure out what he's saying, of course). Cora likely plays a big role in that, too, just a few years removed from being a player himself. That might be the one thing missing with Macha. The guys didn't really get along with him in the clubhouse and didn't really have his back. Makes it rather hard for guys to get motivated after he says something they don't find much sense in.
On the Melvin side, he has been away from the game a bit and his last stint at manager ended with him getting fired into a season and did not really show much after some of his talent went away. I know a coach and manager is only as good as what is around him, but it kind of shows what he really meant for the team: not much.
I'd almost lean toward the fresh face to breathe some life into the position and let the young players flourish. We went the old manager and bringing them back into the game before and he didn't really sync up with Ryan and Prince and it ended badly here. The second interviews are going down as we speak in Milwaukee and GM Doug Melvin, Asst. GM Gord Ash and owner Mark Attanasio are working on the matter. I'm hoping they make the right decision.


Today is opening night in the NBA boys and girls. To be real, I'm not really that into the NBA (but I could go for a game of the new NBA Jam about now). There is one storyline I am watching though, and that is how LeBron James and the Heat will fair this season and how will they be perceived. Early on it looks like the "Evil Empire of the Association" has been born. But with Dwyane Wade and King James being two of the biggest names in the game and with big endorsers, Nike and Jordan can't sit back and let their names be tarnished for long. I'm sure you've seen the ads by now, but here they are for D3 and King James.


And now King James:


We're pretty ACTION PACKED today, but I have one more thing before we get to the Nussies. Today, Oct. 26, 2010, is the 25th anniversary to the date in the first Back to the Future that Doc Emmit Brown is at Twin Pines Mall and has a run in with some Pakistanis. I encourage you to watch it if you call yourself a fan. I know I will be! GREAT SCOTT!

Alright, time for the Nussie Hunter portion of the broadcast. I was on the subject of Jay Cutler earlier and it's well known now that he is dating former The Hills star Kristin Cavallari. Well, she posted on her Twitter the other day that the two of them carved pumpkins. Be sure to check out the photo here (Shouts to BearsGoggleson.com).
I figure since we put one side of the couple at the top of the page, why not put the side you and me would rather look at, here. Then check out more pics of her, here.

Interceptions make their ugly return to burn Da Bears

I know I've been away for a short bit and some of you faithful followers of The Way were probably thinking I went away because of the Bears struggles. Well that is not the case.
Yesterday the return of "Old Jay" made an appearance at Soldier Field and it was the reason the Bears lost. Well, really the four interceptions by DeAngelo Hall scored the winning points, but Jay's fumble on the goalline in the middle of a scrumb that showed he had crossed the goal line was what really cost the Bears the game.
At some point, Jay has to find a way to go and win the game for the team and I have no problem with him throwing interceptions if he is making at attempt at what could be a big play.
Considering the Bears lost just 17-14 with six turnovers could be a sign the defense is as strong as it's ever been and they just need to fix the offensive line to get this thing turned around after the bye week.
It is still like this game slipped away, though. There were many chances and the defense and Jay know they had a golden opportunity to make a run at winning this game and staying in first place in the NFC North.
The picks Jay did throw are all ones he knows how to fix and the problems are all things he can fix. That's what is the silver lining in this game.
The fumble on the goalline was a situation where I'm sure Lovie did not want to challenge after just challenging a play earlier. But in all honesty, that is the play he should have challenged and he would have won that one to get the Bears out front.

Note: As I've been away, I have still been making NFL picks. If you know me you can see my picks. I'll update things Thursday for you guys and get you a new season number.


Yep, my boy Brock got his ass handed to him and his face busted in this weekend. Can't say I didn't see it coming. I'll say Cain Valesquez is great and everything I heard coming into this fight was how he was the real deal and such a great threat to Brock, who came out firing, but couldn't finish it quick enough to avoid danger.
I just hope Brock gets a rematch and doesn't have to go through an undercard fight to get a shot at his title again. I think he deserves it.

Alight, time for the Nussie Hunter and while I was on the subject of MMA and UFC I was going to mention Ariany Celeste is on the cover and in the pages of this month's Playboy. Bad news is I couldn't find photos suitable for this space.
I did, however, find some shots of Adriana Lima that are easy on the eyes. She might be the single hottest Victoria's Secret model. But maybe I'm just smittent! There's more here at Guyism.

The league on notice, time to hit the Big Apple for the Bears

After Week 2 everyone said the Bears made a statement. Well, after Week 3 was put to rest, the statement got its punctuation. Yes, there were 18 penalties on the Packers, but the Bears took advantage and became the NFC's only 3-0 team.
They have areas they need to improve, but the positives do out number the negative which is promising heading forward this season.
Devin Hester shined and got that first return touchdown in two years and it helped Jay Cutler put it together. Yes, I'm not giving my full endorsement of his performance, but he did enough.
As usual, it was the defense that made the big statements ring true. The leader of all of that was the biggest acquisition made in the offseason, Julius Peppers. How amazing was he in the third quarter?
The stats might not show that the Bears did a lot of things right in terms of getting to the quarterback, but three big holding penalties and an intentional grounding speak for that.
Also, Brian Urlacher (So great to have him back) and Lance Briggs just continue to show how great they are together. Yes the Bears are 3-0 by way of a bit of some help, but you have to win those games if you're going to be a successful team and you have to give them credit for that.
This week, the New York Giants are on the docket, as the Bears get to check out the new Meadowlands. For once this season, the Bears are favored in a game and they'd rather be the underdogs. I think they have reveled in being the underdog and want us to not give them a shot so they can prove us wrong.
The Giants have shown they are not disciplined at all the last two weeks, and I'm not so sure that can go away after a week. It could be the key, again, for the Bears to win. I have not been impressed by Eli Manning all season and this could be another chance for the Bears to take a step forward.
Prediction: Bears 24, Giants 14


Before I get into my picks, I got an E-mail from a big Giants fan this week, that I have agreed to not talk about the game with this week so we wouldn't say anything lame to upset each other. Yes, On The Line Sports' own Vaughan Gartrelle wanted to chime in as things led into the game. These are his thoughts on the week:
"This is the week where it sucks to have two of your closest friends be bears fans. I will tell you this much my New York Giants will come out swinging. We have many problems but we are a team that plays extremely well under the owners pressure i.e. 2007. If I was in thee Giants locker room my pregame speech would sound something like this :

We played a damn good week one, instead of taking that momentum into week two for our game against big brother we let the media convince us we had no chance. And then in week three we did exactly what we should have done for week two and took that terrible momentum into a game that we should have won. No look at where it has us behind the eight ball let's just be glad we have many other shots before that's our concern. Now we must go out today and be the reverse of ourselves and be GIANT KILLERS. Let's go win on the big stage.

If this is the speech 20-13 giants if not 31-6 bears."



That was pretty good from V. But it's now time for my NFL Picks. Last week I delivered a great week and went 10-6 to push my record on the year to 28-20 for the season. Here is Week 4 with the winners in bold.
49ers at Falcons
Jets at Bills
Bengals at Browns
Lions at Packers
Broncos at Titans
Seahawks at Rams
Panthers at Saints
Ravens at Steelers
Colts at Jaguars
Cardinals at Chargers
Redskins at Eagles
Bears at Giants
Patriots (17) at Dolphins (14)

It should be a big week and the Nussie Hunter wanted to give you a girl that is a fan of sports to close things out. Is there one hotter than Kelly Brook right now? Yes she's made the blog twice in recent months, but that's because she's at the top of her game. Just check out the photo below. Then head over to Guyism.com to see her in a red dress. ALL HOT!

Looking for another better showing in Week 3... THE PICKS

Before I get started, I have a bit of a programming note for this week. This would normally be the time when my Bears preview would be accompanied by my NFL picks, but with Da Bears set for a Monday Nighter, I'm holding out on that until right before kickoff, so you can call me on my shit during the game.

Alright, now that that is out of the way, let's get to the picks. Last week I went 10-6 and rose in the nationwide rankings as my season record is no 18-14. I'm looking for similar results this week. Here we go...
49ers at Chiefs
Browns at Ravens
Cowboys at Texans... PANIC!
Lions at Vikings... PHEW!
Bills at Patriots
Falcons at Saints
Titans at Giants
Steelers at Bucs
Bengals at Panthers
Eagles at Jaguars
Redskins at Rams
Colts at Broncos
Raiders at Cardinals
Chargers at Seahawks
Jets at Dolphins
Packers (20) at Bears (23)... DUH!!!!!!

Going to make today a quick post as I have a busy final Brewers weekend to get to (should be a blog tomorrow night). Yeah it's bittersweet, so to get to the festivities, I'm going to turn things over to the Nussie Hunter.

The pages of Maxim this month were blessed by the one and only Ciara. For some reason she had sort of gone away the last couple years and I almsot forgot about her. Well she's back with the ridiculous video for "Ride" Check it...


Uhh, yeah. She's gorgeous and Maxim attempted to do her justice and did a good job, but I'm not sure pictures can do her complete justice. Check below and the rest of the pics, here.

Making a statement: At 2-0 Bears turn heads

Did you think the Bears could beat the Cowboys? Be honest when you answer that! I know every single "expert" on Fox picked the Cowboys to roll without a second thought. You know what, I had my doubts, but check my picks on the last blog post. Yes, I'm a Bears fan, so I picked them, but be real here. They went on the road to a place not many teams can really go and win and you had to think many of the mistakes the Cowboys made in their loss to the Redskins would go away when they got to the friendly confines of Cowboys Stadium.
Well, they didn't and every time it looked like the Cowboys scored and looked like they were going to take over the game, Jay Cutler (and his 5 TDs and lone INT) led drives that got points with touchdown passes to Greg Olsen (beating an all-out blitz), Devin Hester (You are RIDICULOUS!) AND Matt Forte (after a missed FG that would have tied it to put the game away). Yes, this may be the Jay Cutler Jerry Angelo thought he was going to get when he traded a pair of first round picks and Kyle Orton for him.
Yes he took a ton of hits and at times looked to be in a ton of pain, but he persevered and made the big throws that everyone has been waiting for him to make.
Add to it the fact that the Bears defense allowed just 38 rushing yards on 22 attempts. Yes, this might be the beginning of something big. Heck, look around the division and the Vikings are 0-2, so things could be going in the Bears way.
As much as they'll say in the locker room over and over that they are not thinking about the "haters" when they came home with a win, you know they had some fresh crow ready to be served to the media at Halas Hall in Lake Forest.
Can't say you blame them. You can't put a lot of weight in an 0-4 preseason, but the way the Bears went 0-4 there wasn't a lot of positives you can take from it. You have to hand it to the team for being able to turn it on when it matters and do what they have done the first two weeks of the season.


Up next though is a visit from Clay Matthews, Aaron Rodgers and the Packers to Soldier Field on Monday Night Football. For six quarters they didn't look like the team many expected to see to start the season, but the second half of the Bills game last week was very impressive. Aaron Rodgers finally got the offense in a groove and Clay Matthews.... I'll say it again Clay Matthews. Yes he is a man beast and yes he has turned quarterbacks into his own rag doll through two games.
It's going to make for a great night on the Lake in Chi-City. I'll have my preview this weekend in what should be a great game and maybe one that is the Bears official coming out party. A win in this one and do the Bears become a sexy Super Bowl pick? Heck after this one, they could go undefeated into the bye week in Week 8 or even 6-1 with a loss. That's if things keep trending up. Yes, this team could be something special. We'll have to see how things unfold over the course of the week.

Alright, time to get on to the Nussie Hunter portion of this broadcast. In checking my "dude blogs" today I found some great stuff. I remember watching Holly Madison dating Hugh Hefner for something like seven years, but now she's single and is in UFC Magazine. All I can say is she looks incredible these days. The good folks at Guyism have all the photos. Here's a sample.

The Bears & Boys, plus all of Week 2 in the NFL

For two teams that really didn't do a lot of things right, Week 2 of the NFL season has the Bears in Dallas to take on the Cowboys at Cowboys Stadium. The only difference from Week 1 for the Bears and 'Boys was that the Bears were the benefactor of an odd call.
The key to this game will be which offensive line can pick it up late in the game. I'm imagining both defenses living the the backfield and meeting at the quarterback all game, making things rough for Jay Cutler and Tony Romo. Last week, former Bears first-round pick Marc Colombo cost them the game with a holding call in the final seconds. I'm not sure which unit will step up, but I know it's the key. I see both defenses running amok in this one and creating chaos all over the field.
If Cutler can hit Matt Forte out of the backfield on some short passes to counteract that quick rush, it could put the Bears in a position to do some damage.
I have made my picks and the team I picked to win shouldn't surprise you.
Prediction: Bears 20, Cowboys 17 in a close one in the Jerry Dome.

Now for my Week 1 picks. Last week was a rough one, as I only went 8-8. It's time to get better in Week 2. Here they are (Bold teams are winners):
Cardinals at Falcons
Ravens at Bengals
Chiefs at Browns
Bears at Cowboys
Eagles at Lions
Bills at Packers
Steelers at Titans
Dolphins at Vikings
Buccaneers at Panthers
Seahawks at Broncos
Rams at Raiders
Patriots at Jets
Jaguars at Chargers
Texans at Redskins
Giants at Colts
Saints (28) at 49ers (13)

Alright, got a quick Nussie Hunter to present in today's broadcast and it's a woman that shares a name with one of my fave teams. Nicole Brewer was on CoEdMagazine.com this week and look amazing. I'm thinking the Brewers need to get her some sort of appearance deal! Here's a great sample below. You can see the rest of them here.

I'll take a 1-0 start to the season anyday!

Well, let's get right into it. The Bears' 19-14 win over the Lions Sunday at Soldier Field was not without the play that will be felt and replayed over and over again throughout this NFL season.
My initial thought was, OK, this game is a loss. There are 24 seconds left, they have three timeouts, but that doesn't make things easier. But when I saw the play had been ruled an incomplete pass and I saw the replay, I had a gut feeling the play would not be overturned. Yes he caught the ball initially, but how he was holding it with one hand and just setting it down when his hand hit the ground, cost the Lions the score. It's simple really. That's why coaches teach high school kids to put the ball to their chest when they catch it. Had he down that and tossed the ball to a ref or even spiked the ball, the touchdown would have stood.
The best explanation of the thing is from former Director of Officials in Mike Pereira, who now works for Fox Sports. Here he is...

<a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/video?vid=84f74ba3-944b-4246-8a5b-a50d8c618c1c&from=IV2_en-us_foxsports_articles" target="_new" title="Online OT: Pereira's Week 1 Calls">Video: Online OT: Pereira's Week 1 Calls</a>


Alright, now time for a look at the rest of the game and the good and the bad from this team.
I'll say the best thing I saw in the day was the throw Jay Cutler made to Matt Forte to get the Bears the lead. It is clear if Mike Martz has things his way, Forte will play the role of Marshall Faulk in this offense. He is capable of doing so and the 151 receiving yards in the opener is the most for a running back on opening day in NFL history.
And I cannot go a game recap post without mentioning the man above wearing No. 6. No folks, Kevin Butler is long retired, but Jay Cutler had 371 yards with two touchdowns. He looked poised and ready to spread the ball over the field. That's the work in the Martz offense that I wanted to see in the preseason. It was apparently kept under wraps and was ceremoniously unveiled Sunday. There is also one Cutler stat that stands out to me and it is the one interception he threw. Yes, Aaron Rodgers, the guy many gave the MVP to, including myself has more interceptions that Cutler. So all the pundits can sit down (at least for now).
There were some things that upset me. Namely the turnovers that kept this game close.  It's not rocket science and a coach doesn't even had to mention it to the players. It's like a pitching coach telling a pitcher to throw strikes. He's going to respond with a "No kidding, thanks for the help." The Greg Olsen cough up in side the five was the biggest one to me. Last year the Bears were the worst inside the redzone and you can't expect them to be that bad again. this start to the season isn't exactly encouraging, though.
I am pretty sure it will get fixed and we will not be talking about this for long.
Week 2 is at Dallas and it should be another good one. Look for the preview on that one during the week!

Time now for the Nussie Hunter and we go no farther than the WWE to find our gorgeous guest for today. It's the one and only Maryse Oulett.  The fine folks at Guyism.com have more photos of her. Be sure to take a look! Here's a preview:

What to think of the 2010 Monsters of the Midway

At noon Sunday the Chicago Bears start another season and this may be the first time in a long time my expectations for the season are low.
Does an 0-4 preseason give fans anything to get excited about? Well, not really. Aside from Matt Forte's 89-yard touchdown run against the Raiders in Week 2 of the preseason.
Everything from Jay Cutler's production with the offense, to the offensive line in pass protection, there are a lot of things I don't think this team can do.
Is that to say they won't get it fixed through the year? Maybe, but with an offseason and preseason games to work on things, you'd think they'd have things under control by now.
On the defensive side of the ball Julius Peppers has been everywhere on the field and Brian Urlacher (when he has not been nursing a calf strain) has been a welcome re-addition to this unit. There are still question marks at cornerback with Nathan Vasher shipped out of town and Zachary Bowman taking over. Also, at safety where the coaching staff cannot seem to figure out if Daniel Manning and the re-acquired Chris Harris belong at the spot.
So, ,you're probably thinking, do I think the Bears are going to do this year? Well, the folks that have this team winning three games this season are mistaken. They are better than that if they just let Jay make the calls for himself and just wing it at the line. If you saw my NFL preview the other night, you saw I didn't have them in the playoffs and that is right. The Vikings and the Packers are too good within the division for the Bears to make it into the postseason.
The schedule this year is pretty tough and I'm thinking this team could have another 7-9 or 8-8 year in them. It's not awful, but it's not great either and I'm going to say it now, Lovie Smith should not be back next season.
The only way things turn is if things start to click offensively and Cutler and Martz figure out the offense and everyone gets rolling. In order to do that, the offensive line is going to have to play out of their minds and Mike Tice will have worked wonders because even the supposed best of the bunch in Chris Williams has looked terrible at points during the preseason.


Alright, let's turn our attention to the near future and Sunday's game against the Lions, shall we? The Lions have lost 20 at home and in two games the Bears scored 47 points against Detroit last year.
With the Bears playing at home, I'm going to give them the edge in this game to get things established with Matt Forte and Chester Taylor early. Whether that is with straight runs or with short throws from Cutler is up to Mike Martz, but I see it happening.
To me, that is the key in the offense. If a line can run block, they can protect the QB and if they can push bodies around when the guys are running down hill, they will be able to get the confidence needed to protect Jay and maybe even let him make some strikes downfield.
The news today is that Lance Briggs and Desmond Clark are "probable" to play and both should be welcomed on the field. Briggs, moreso, clearly for his importance on the weakside next to Brian Urlacher and Pisa Tinoasumoa on the strong side.
The key for the defense is simple, get off the field on third down. If Julius Peppers can get some pressure on the Matt Stafford or bring enough attention to himself that Tommie Harris and Marc Anderson can get pressure, the Cover-2 will be able to shine.
Prediction: Bears 24, Lions 20


OK, folks, time for a talk with the Nussie Hunter. He made a trip Down Under and brought back with him shots of Miranda Kerr set to appear in Victoria's Secret. I'll say it's not a secret anymore, hun. Here she is. And here are more shots of her!

The picks are in for Week 1 of the NFL season

Week 1 of the NFL season is finally upon us! Yes I'm excited and you probably are too. So let's get right into it. Here are my NFL Week 1 picks with the winners in bold. This season I will keep a running tab of how I'm doing on the blog and not just on my ESPN.com pick-'em league. That way, I can make fun of you every week for picking more than you.
Vikings at Saints (Yes I made this pick before the game. Here's the proof.)
Dolphins at Bills
Lions at Bears
Raiders at Titans
Bengals at Patriots
Panthers at Giants
Falcons at Steelers
Browns at Bucs
Broncos at Jaguars
Colts at Texans
49ers at Seahawks
Packers at Eagles
Cardinals at Rams
Cowboys at Redskins
Ravens at Jets
Chargers at Chiefs

Alright, time to jump right in it and get to the Nussie Hunter pick of the day. Figured we had to have some football tie-in and the one and only Sara Jean Underwood was more than willing to help us out with some bodypainting. there's more of that, here!

Are you ready for some football?! The time is here!

The time is nearing. Thursday night the NFL season finally kicks off and I must say as much as I love the Brewers it's time to move on to my other favorite team. You know, the one who's stadium shares the Wilber's Way flag with Miller Park, the Chicago Bears and the NFL.
So why, you are probably asking, is there a picture of Aaron Rodgers on the top of the page? Well, that one is easy, my friends, I'm a smart fan and am willing to realize that Rodgers and the Packers might be the team to beat in all the land. It will come down to the Packers defense in Year 2 under Dom Capers in the 3-4 defense and how well the guys around Rodgers step up. I'm going to cut right to the chase and make my division-by-division picks. Yes this is debatable, so please comment below and let's get the chatter going.

NFC North
Packers: The Green and Gold will beat out Brett Favre who will be without key parts for half the season. That might be enough for the Packers to get out front and beat the Vikings in their trip to Lambeau this season.
NFC South 
Saints: The defending champs will have to fend off the Falcons to win the division, but should get it done with Drew Brees leading the way.
NFC East
Cowboys: This might not be a popular pick with the followers of the way, but Tony Romo and his supporting cast is good enough to beat out the Shanahan-led Redskins for the division.
NFC West
49ers: This one is pretty much by default, but the Niners will have a lot of teams outside of the division fits this year. The key is coach Mike Singletary bringing Michael Crabtree, Vernon Davis, Frank Gore and Alex Smith together. That should be a potent quartet and all they need to do is get on the right page and stay healthy.

Wild Cards
Vikings: Favre will get this team back to the playoffs.
Redskins: Mike Shanahan and Donovan McNabb are too good to not get this team into the playoffs in their first year on the job with the weapons of Chris Cooley and Clinton Portis.


Before we get into the AFC, I have to talk about Joe Flacco. He might be the player with the most pressure on him in the entire league the season. Don't think so. Here's what I'm thinking. Yes, Ray Rice and Willis McGahee are in the backfield to ease the pressure, but for the first time in his NFL career, Flacco has guys to throw to on the outside in the traded for Anquan Boldin and the just signed T.J. Houshmanzadah (I'm allowed to spell that wrong). Add to the mix and aging defense and the offense will need to score more points to keep the wins coming. The one thing about him that leads me to think he will step up to the challenge is that winning is all he knows. The guy is the hero of Delaware. Name me one person that amounted to anything from there not a politician and I'd be surprised. OK, back to the Division picks.

AFC North
Ravens: The defense is aging, but can still make the big plays when needed and that could be the difference.

AFC South
Colts: The Texans are going to be in the hunt, but Peyton is too good to let the Colts sink. The only thing Indy might lose could be the consecutive seasons with 12-wins one that has made them the model of consistency.

AFC East
Patriots: Randy Moss and Tom Brady are in contract years. I'm not sure Brady will throw 50 TDs and Moss catch 25 like they did a couple years ago, but they might come close in proving how much they mean to their team.


AFC West
Chargers: Philip Rivers has had LT to look to turn to in each of his season until now. We'll see what he's made of on his own now. Let's be honest, there really isn't anyone else in the division who will put up a fight.

Wild Cards
Dolphins: Brandon Marshall's arrival means the 'phins have a playmaker on the outside. If they can work that i with the Wildcat, their offense should start carrying their part of the bargain.
Texans: I'm going to be honest, I originally had the Steelers in this spot, but Pittsburgh is nothing without Big Ben and him missing the first four games is going to take until Week 6 to shake off.
I'm saying Matt Schaub and the crew in Houston finally gets over the hump and into the playoffs.

Playoffs
NFC Wild Card
Cowboys over Redskins
Vikings over 49ers
AFC Wild Card
Patriots over Texans
Dolphins over Chargers

NFC Divisional Playoffs
Vikings over Saints
Packers over Cowboys
AFC Divisional Playoffs
Colts over Dolphins
Ravens over Patriots

NFC Championship
Packers over Vikings
AFC Championshp
Ravens over Colts

Super Bowl
Packers over Ravens
Yes, I just picked the Packers to win the Super Bowl. Now they will win just six games this season because hells is close to freezing and they need to balance the world. Or, everything will come together and they will show why I just took a chance on them.

Coming up: With a game Thursday, I'm going to make a quick post tomorrow night to continue something I started last year with posting my picks, by doing the same this year.
Friday or Saturday: My Bears season preview will come one of those two days depending on when I get to it and if I have game prep to do for that other Web site I write for.

Had enough NFL talk for the night. It's time to check out the woman Jason Kidd calls his own and the woman who is the Playboy Playmate of the Year. Yes there is hope. More specifically, Hope Dworaczyk. Want more? Here ya go!

Finally, No. 600 for one of the classiest players in the game!

Finally! Trevor Hoffman, you, your uncle, your brother, your father and me both figured we'd be talking about this so much sooner in the season than Sept. 7, but that's how it works sometimes. And to be honest, that made the story leading up to this - the 600th save for the man that is already the all-time saves leader - that much sweeter.
Who would have thought after the year he had last year that Trevor Hoffman would falter like he did at the beginning of the season and lose the closer role. The wrinkle in the whole story is something I heard in listening to the post game show on 620 WTMJ that Hoffman, while taking a backseat to the man who became the closer, John Axford, became one of the mustached man's biggest fans and friends. If that's not the class that makes the celebration on the field and the photo above that much sweeter, I don't know what is.
There is a line in sports between cocky and confident and in baseball confidence is something that is more evident and comes and goes more than any other sport. Hoffman lost his at the beginning of the year when he could not save a game for the life of him and he was big enough to give up the role, but not give up on the team and himself to get back to where he was. Let's be real here and say Trevor's pitches are not the best, not the fastest and everyone knows what they are going to see from him. That doesn't make it any easier to hit off him, though, because he is that smart and is at the ballpark at 2 in the afternoon on the day of a 7 p.m. gamenight. Yes, at 41 Hoffman is the epitome of hard work and every player on that team respects the hell out him. To be honest it's hard being as big of a fan as I am of that team to not get goosebumps and not get a little misty eyed watching the final out and the celebration that follows with the team and Hoffman's family. You could see how much he wanted to get there and how much the guys were pulling for him to get back into the ninth inning and to 600.


That video is one I watched a bit when word came down from a certain friend of mine (We'll call him The Rog for this episode of The Way). Save 478 tied the record back in 2007 and just three seasons later he's up to 600 and at 41 has shown in recent weeks he's able to be smart enough to step back and figure things out.



Alright, time to finish off this blog because it's late. The other big sports news of the day was that Reggie Bush is likely to have his Heisman Trophy taken away. For some reason, the first thing I thought of was "I wonder how Kim Kardashian is doing." Yeah, strange I know. So I hit up a couple dude blogs and I'd say she's doing quite fine. What do you think?