Clock is ticking toward Bears-Packers at Soldier Field

The weekend is here and the Bears and Packers in the NFC Championship game is just around the corner now. I did not think the week could go by fast enough, but it is finally here. I have a couple of great things set for today. Also, be sure to take a look at our mailbag in Thursday's blog with some fans' picks on what is going to happen in the game.



Sports Countdown Clock Generator
Now to some breaking down of what is on tap for Sunday's game. I've reached out to a good Packers friend, Josh Golberg, who will give five keys for the Packers and I'll come back with five keys for the Bears.

1. Momentum. Nobody wants to play the hot team heading into the playoffs and no team is hotter than Green Bay. The Packers have won four straight going back to two must-win games to close out the season. They seem to be peaking at the right time. (You could argue that New Orleans/Seattle were hot teams heading in…but they played each other)
2. The running game. If you would have told me midseason that 25 carries for 66 yards by your main running back against the #1 seed in the NFC on the road would be enough to carry a dominant passing attack and earn an upset…I would have asked for whatever you were smoking. But the resurgence of the ground game with Brandon Jackson, and more recently James Starks, has kept defenses honest and allowed Aaron Rodgers to pick opponents apart. It doesn’t matter if the Bears held offenses to an average of 90 yards rushing during the regular season. They at least now have to account for somebody running the ball effectively.
3. Aaron Rodgers. There isn’t a QB that has played better in the postseason…and not just because the Patriots, Saints and Colts are all out. Rodgers is coming off of what many people are saying is the best postseason performance in history: 31 of 36 passes, 366 yards, 3 TDs, passer rating of 136.8. Ran for a 4th TD. In fact he has 10 TD passes in his first three career postseason games, an NFL record. Against Chicago this year, he’s a combined 53 for 73 with 2 TDs, 2 INTs and a combined passer rating of 91.1. Definitely mortal-like numbers. He’ll have to break that mold Sunday.
4. Dom Capers. Show me a defensive coordinator who has done more with less. Seriously. Ten players on IR. 10. That’s almost enough to form an entire defense. Starters/backups/3rd stringers. No coordinator has had to tweak things more to the constantly changing strengths and weaknesses…yet they still wound up with the 5th ranked defense when the regular season was concluded. I wouldn’t want anyone else gameplanning for an opponent.
5. The receiving corps. Possession receiver? Check (Driver). Downfield threat? Check (Jennings). Emerging threat? Check (Jones). Token white guy who seems to be forgotten about only to come up big? Check (Nelson). No defensive secondary can cover those four plus account for a tailback or a tight end. Top to bottom, Green Bay has the best receivers in the league. Their #1 or #2 might not be as good as some teams, but combine them all and they’re the best. Throw in Rodgers and you’ve got an explosive passing attack. They’ll dink-and-dunk you down the field and just when you make a mistake, they’ll make you pay for it.
Prediction: Packers 31, Bears 17


Now to the Bears keys to success Sunday.
1. Good Jay. It's tops on the list and it is the most important because how Jay Cutler goes, so goes the offense. He played in his first playoff game last week and showed he was not above the moment and had one of his best games of the season. Some of what he is able to do Sunday is not tied directly to him, as he needs the front five to make sure he is not getting the tar beat out of him. Is there any doubt to think Jay will not continue to play smart? No. He has been on point for the last two months and has limited his poor decisions. For his sake, the sack is the lesser of two evils when compared to an interception.
2. Make James Starks a nonfactor. Starks rushed for 66 yards against the Falcons, but 123 against the Eagles where he was an even bigger factor. It will not take much for him to be a factor and do all the Packers need in just planting an idea of the run, but to silence him has to be a key objective for the Bears. Making the Packers turn away from the running game on 2nd and 1 and 3rd and 1 will set the tone for the defense and make them one dimensional. That will open things up for the defensive line to pin their ears back.
3. Get pressure with the front four. Speaking of the defensive line, those front four of mainly Julius Peppers, Tommie Harris, Anthony Adams and Israel Idonoje need to establish pressure on Aaron Rodgers, but with a slight purpose. Consider this an extension of limiting the run game in containing Rodgers and not letting him use his feet to create. Keeping the pocket from moving will set things up for the line and help the secondary.
4. Create turnovers. There is no secret the Bears defense is one of the best in the league at creating opportunities for themselves. Against the Packers it seems they always find a way to force a key fumble when the Green Bay is knocking on the door and getting a key interception, even on Rodgers. If Chris Harris plays like he has been announced he will with his injury, look for the secondary to have to come up big with a great GB secondary. It's all bend but don't break and they can give up yards, if they create opportunities by hawking the ball.
5. Special teams domination. I would expect little argument from Packers backers that the Bears have an elite special teams unit compared to the Packers. In the regular season finale Devin Hester was kept rather silent, but I don't expect that to happen again. He needs to help flip field position and help the offense work a short field to scores. Even if he forces the Packers to kick the ball short or out of bounds, it would work to the Bears advantage most of the time. I do not expect Tim Mastahay to have the game he had in Week 17 where he was pretty much perfect.

Prediction: Bears 23, Packers 20 off a Robbie Gould field goal in the final minute.

On to that other playoff game going on that will determine who the winner of this game will play in the Super Bowl, I know haven't done a lot with it this week. For good reason. This is huge.
That said, I'm still leaning toward the Steelers. They have a better defense all around than the Jets and are not banged up or inexperienced like the Patriots and Colts defenses were. This will be a great game, but I'm still taking the Steelers, 21-17.

As most of you who know me know, I'm a huge fan of Twitter. I have been following the chatter all week on both sides of the aisle and figured I'd make it easy for some of you to do that this weekend. Here's a list of a select number of media members with what they have to say. Should be fun to follow this during the game Sunday. Check out the list on my Twitter page.


Now on to the Nussie Hunter portion of the broadcast. With a big game and a big blog, you have to bring out the big guns for the event. That leads us to the one and only Megan Fox, who is in a new ad campaign in for Armani. She looks as good as ever. You can see more pics, here.

The Good. The Bad. The Ugly: Brewers skid hits 9 games

The Brewers losing streak reached nine games tonight as the bullpen gave up three runs in the final three innings and let the Pirates beat them for the third straight time.
It's a wonder how things can change from the last time the team was in Pittsburgh, which was after that 20-0 win.
Well, that seems forever ago as this team can't really seem to find a way to close out games. The last two days have seen late leads only to have the washed away by an imploding Trevor Hoffman and tonight Todd Coffey couldn't get Randy Wolf out of a jam.
Hoffman has been put on the shelf while he works on his mechanics, which is fine, I guess, but doesn't really solve a lot of problems because there is so much more.
The title of the blog is The Good. The Bad. The Ugly. and I'm going to start with the Ugly.
There is so much wrong with this team one can only point the finger in one direction, the manager.
Whatever buttons Ken Macha is pushing haven't been the right ones. What he's working with the pitchers on with Rick Peterson isn't working either. That's been the biggest problem. Ups and downs are expected, but consistently repeating the mistakes points the finger only at the manager.
Will the pitchers magically turn it around if a move is made, probably not, but whatever personality is with the team needs to be changed. Whether they stay in house with Willie Randolph or Dale Svuem is up in the air. I'd go with Randolph because I think he could really work well with the guys in that clubhouse. But that's just me.


If the ugly is Ken Macha and what he's doing (or not doing) with the pitching staff, namely the starters, then the Bad has to be the trickle down effect that has had on everything else.
Tonight Ryan Braun made one of the dumbest decision I have ever seen him or anyone make on the field. I know third base wasn't covered, but really? La Roche was right behind you. Stay at second and let Prince try to get something going.
The guys are pressing and when you press in the game of baseball, you don't perform. It's weird that way, but that's how it is. Ryan hasn't been awful at the plate, but tonight showed he's trying to make thing happen. Prince has just 18 RBIs right now and can't seem to get going.
Prince had a line after Friday night's loss where he said all the offense can do is hope to outscore the other team. That's basically what it's come to. With that kind of pressure the guys are almost guaranteed to not come through with enough runs to hold up and get wins on a consistent basis.
The uncharacteristic Braun baserunning blunder is just the latest in the guys trying to do too much and falling short. You're saying "It's part of losing." OK, sure. But I'm saying, this team is better than this and shouldn't be losing like this. Yes, good teams have had bad years before, but I'm not sold that the season is already done for my Milwaukee Brewers just yet. I'm hoping before everyone starts seriously clamoring to trade Prince, other moves are made before they send up the white flag of surrender.


There has been one player that has been the good in this sea of awful and his name is Casey McGehee. He had another home run tonight and two more RBIs. His numbers are off the charts this year as he's settling into the No. 5 spot in the lineup behind Prince. Which, before I get into my main point, is pressure in itself. Had he not been producing, Prince's lack of production would be on Casey for not giving the proper "protection" to the slugger.
But Casey has been producing and has he ever. Take a look at how his numbers rank among NL third baseman. He is No. 1 with 37 RBIs, tops in average (.324), second in hits (48, which is one off the lead), second in slugging percentage (.574), second in home runs (9, again, just one off the lead) and second in on-base percentage  at .393 which is just one measily point behind Chipper Jones' .394.
That's off-the charts right there folks. And those 37 RBIs has him ranked second in the entire National League to only Adam Ethier's 38 and he's on the DL. So expect Casey to take the lead sooner rather than later.
Now, if you know me, you know where Casey ranks on my personal list of fave players. But, did I see this coming? No. To be honest, I don't even bet Casey himself saw this type of production coming. He is the only guy on the team hitting the ball all over the yard. With the average up to .324, he and Braun are the two best hitters on the team. Now if only Prince can get it going. Maybe the three of them can carry the team to a few wins and maybe start saving the season.
Finally, be sure to get the vote out so Casey is on that NL All-Star team.

Now to some stuff that hopefully lifts yours (and my) spirits. Did you see this video of some guys that went to the New York Public Library and recreated the scene from Ghostbusters? They were on point with this. Take a look. Damn funny and creative.


Not sure how many follow the NBA playoffs intently, but we are in the conference finals and there was a pretty odd occurance that went down at the Celtics/Magic game the other night. Here's a ref throwing a ball at a fan, then the fan throws it back. The ref then has him removed from the game. Makes absolutely no sense. Take a look for yourself.


It was a sad day for the Nussie Hunter today. Word is out that Megan Fox, one of our faves here at The Way, will not be in Transformers 3. Here's the story, where she says the decision was hers. A bit of a sad turn of events. I know Shia is one of my mancrushes, but they had better find a love interest worthy for the new movie. You hear me Michael Bay?!
In the meantime, this looks like an opportunity to mourn while looking at Megan and her hotness.

Who Dat, winning that Super Bowl 44?!

Well, let me start by saying my Super Bowl XLIV pic was way off. But I like being pleasantly surprised. That's exactly what the Saints did for me last night.
I'll say this, the Saints came out in the second half, after finding a way to get points at the end of the first half, and got it done. That's when games are won and Sean Payton was gutsy as hell. Yes Drew Brees executed the win, but Payton won it. That onside kick takes balls and is amazing. That was one of the most impressive second halves by a team I have seen. As much as you don't want to say it, sometimes confidence and believing you're going to do something can mean so much more than ability. That's what the Saints did. Sean Payton showed those guys they were going for it and they believed in it and got the win. It was damn impressive.
Tracy Porter's pick-six that sealed the win was just the punctuation on a great game. It shifted the discussion on whether Peyton Manning belonged in the big game. Really? The guy is ridiculous. Yes he belongs in the big game. He lost the Super Bowl. One game. Yes it's a big game, but the Saints as a team played great. And that's what beat Peyton in this one.
The scene after the game was great too. How awesome is that photo of Drew and his son? So awesome! That's truly enjoying the moment and his son doesn't know exactly what is happening, but he was having a blast with his father. So great!
Judging by the fact that this was the most watched television show EVER, most all of you watched the game. So I won't bore you with my breakdown of the action. I will leave you with this though.




Of course I will give my take on the commercials. I grew up on the Golden Girls, so seeing Betty White was great. I'm thinking "You're playing like Betty White" might make my sports vernacular. Haha.


Bud Light had a couple funny ones. I like the "House of Bud" and the "AutoTune" How great is T-Pain to make fun of himself? ... And here's the AutoTune!


Of course, I'm also a hawk for ones that feature some of our faves her on "The Way" When I saw my girl Megan Fox in a spot, you can bet I was excited.  But take a look when they do a close up of the phone and show her hands. Umm, I know for a fact that's not her hand because her thumbs look like big toes. Here's proof. That doesn't take anything away from the commercial though. So good!


The SI swimsuit issue does get unveiled tonight when the cover model is released on Letterman and tomorrow when it hits newstands. So I have a couple things to get you ready for that. Of course, the lovely ladies of SI Swim were mingling with NFL players last week. Another one of my faves, Marissa Miller, gave Matthew Stafford a thrill. Take a look at this.


That was not today's Nussie Hunter. I'm better to you than that. Last year's cover model was Bar Refaeli. And yes, she's looking good again this year. I'm done talking, just look!

Debate: Is it OK to have a man crush?

A little bit of a different topic on the blog today. Had a recent discussion with a friend of mine, Amanda (She gets her first shout out on Wilber's Way, haha), and it got me thinking about all of the guys that I sweat and follow in pop culture. And yes, I sweat them hardcore and it led me to the idea to write this blog on what I thought was going to be a quiet Wednesday in the news (Bears signed Jay Cutler to an extension after he's played five games for them!). I have three guys that I have embraced as man crushes and am comfortable enough to admit as much. The question I have is; is this normal? I mean, I'm completely into girls, babes, chicks. Like Ronny from Role Models says, "I have this thing where I look at boobies and call my self the Booby Watcher. Even have a comic book with me in it, called 'Adventures of the Booby Watcher."

And yes, Paul Rudd has jumped himself to the top of the list. I remember him from Clueless and he's kept up with the times and has stayed funny over 15 years later. The guy just turned 40 on April 9 of this year and I must say when I turn 40 I want to pattern myself after him. Seems to have that dry humor with a bit of sarcasm that I'm a fan of. Whether it was 40-year-old virgin (You remember him from that), Knocked up (Yeah buddy!) or my new favorite, I Love You, Man he seems to deliver the funny. Plus, he was pretty good in his small role in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. He tried to save Year One, but didn't last more than 5 seconds in that. Epic Fail!
It's not just the movies where he is funny. He just seems to have charisma and a sense of humor, again, that I want to have at that age.



The next dude on my man crush list is Urijah Faber, the former WEC Featherweight champion. Let's see about this guy. He's charismatic as hell. The first time I saw him he came to the cage with "California Love" blaring in the arena as he faught the best MMA fight of 2008 against Jens Pulver in Sacramento. The place when bananas and by the end of the five-round battle, I was hooked. I now own two of his walk-in shirts and follow him on Twitter. He's just a cool as dude, who somehow at 5-6, 145 can kick anyone's ass that gets in my way. Yeah, I'll say I love that guy. Even after going through a bit of turmoil and losing the Featherweight title to Mike T. Brown via knockout and losing to him again a few months later, trying to regain his title, I'm still a fan.
I've watched the guy get back on the horse and am set for him to return to the cage in December when he is medically cleared. Can't wait.



The final dudebro on the list is Shia LeBouf. I know a lot of you are saying, where did that come from? Hey, I dunno. I really liked him in Disturbia and got sorta hooked when he was in the new Indiana Jones movie (even though it sucked).
Here's the thing, I did just slip a pic of Megan Fox into the blog today (Heyoooo!), but really, his ability to pick up one of the hottest lasses in Hollywood, makes him a guy I want to be like. Heck he pulls off Transformers and somehow keeps you watching. And hey, I sorta like the confident guy that seems to be charismatic and one that you want to be around.

What do you think? Am I normal for sweating these three guys? There are some others that are close to making the list, but fell short. I know a lot of my friends read this everyday, so please let me know if you share the belief hit me up with a comment and share your thoughts on man crushes.

We're not all about sausage today. There will be a Nussie Hunter today and as Amanda suggested (Whoa, two in one day?!), I should put up some Mariah Carey to save you from having to take a cold shower for looking at guys all day. Well, she wins. Enter Mrs. Nick Cannon.

So T.J. Hows-ya-momma wanted to come to Chicago?

First off, I'd like to apologize for just one blog all week (one goddamn blog!). Things have been a bit crazy as I've been at either a Brewers game or covering a high school sporting even each night since Sunday.

Now that that's out of the way, it's time to focus on what I want to talk about on this rare Saturday edition of "The Way." Yeah, don't get used to it!
As the photo above would lead you to believe, I want to talk about T.J. "Whosyamamma" or whatever the hell his name is. It came out this week, the former Bengals WR wanted to come to Chicago and when the Bears passed and allowed him to go to Seattle, he circled this game on the calendar.
Here's the story and quotes from the conference call with Bears GM Jerry Angelo's comments. Of course, the fine folks at the Tribune have to ask Lance Briggs and Charles Tillman what they thinks of the comments and Peanut showed what his coach has taught him, by not starting a war of words. A move, I'm a fan of. Let's allow the play on the field to even the score. Hey No. 84, beware of where No. 55 is when you come across the middle. Lance Briggs will be ready to light you up! Child please!

While I'm on the topic of the NFL, I'd like to take this time to link to my weekend picks.
Here are my NFL picks on ESPN.com (Invite me to your group if you want).
Here are my College Pick 'em choices on the Worldwide Leader's page, as well.



Now to the reason I haven't been blogging all week. The Brewers final homestand of the season is a 10-gamer and when it is all said and done Sunday, I will have hit six of them. Yeah, I'm True Blue Brew Crew while the fair weather fans have jumped ship. Sunday afternoon the 3,000,000th fan will come through the turn styles at the Cathedral for the second straight year. It's an accomplishment for this franchise and this city. Something that, despite the team's record, is important and could set things up for next year.
Plus, these guys need the support. It's so depressing to see the park partially empty on a weekend. I mean, do we want to end up like Pittsburgh or Miami where just 10,000 fans show up? Oh yeah, we were that way once. Let's not go back to that. I know it's a football Sunday tomorrow, but hey, it's the final Brewers game of the season, show your support! Post game at TGI Friday's in Brookfield? Oh yes!

Now to some fun stuff I found throughout the week that need a mention here before I had back to Miller Park for the weekend push.
This one is a tough one to decide whether it is real or fake. Watch this version, then the one from the other angle and decide for yourself. Damn good either way!



This next one is a tribute to a wrestling legend. Not sure if this is good for him or just awesomely bad. But still cool! WOOOOOOOOOO!



We've reach the portion of the show known as the Nussie Hunter. Had a bit of a struggle with this today because I didn't want to repeat a girl unless it absolutely warranted it. And considering I dedicated an entire blog to my dream woman a short while ago, I had to find good reason to give her mention again. Well, Megan Fox is hosting SNL tonight (set your DVRs accordingly) so I feel it warrants her another mention on "The Way." Not a fan of horror movies, but she does have a new movie out (please send my check to...). I like gorgeous girls as much as the next guy, but a funny girl, too? Yep, that might be perfection! Be sure to check it. Some band named U2 is also playing. Whoever they are!

A teenage boy's wet dream...MEGAN FOX!

Hello friends. First, let me wish you a happy Megan Fox Awareness Day. She is, after all, one of the most beautiful women in the world and today this blog is dedicated to her and her alone.
That's right. Today, sports do not matter.
You're probably yelling at your computer screen right now saying, "Aaron, but why?" Well, the answer is simple really.
When I came up with the idea to start a blog, one of my good friends (Golberg, you know who you are!) said to me to give rundowns of my teams and what was going on, bu also use it as a way to take a stand on issues that I feel passionate about. Well, this is just that instance.



So when I heard that Asylum.com was starting this movement for a "Day Without Megan" I knew this was my calling.
I mean, she is just the girl I would gravitate to. And at first glimpse the thought of her being with Brian Austin Green was a bit odd, after hearing the two of them together and things she said about what she looks for in a guy, it sorta made sense.
Plus, her interview on my fave radio show, Maxim Radio with Covino and Rich (Sirius 108, XM 139 weekdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. CST), I knew it was golden.



You may know her from Transformers and Transformers 2, but she's actually more than that. I think she's quite funny and able to laugh at herself.

She did "Two and a Half Men" and was quite funny.



On top of that, this story just came out from Seth Rogen, from the new movie "Funny People" that she dissed him a while back while they were on the Jimmy Kimmel Show. I said it was a Wilber's Way reject on my Facebook page yesterday, but this was too good. Plus, check her out on Jimmy that night in 2006. Whoa!



I'm not along in this movement as CoEd Magazine is doing a "Megan Fox Boycott Boycott" I must say it is nothing short of awesome with great quotes and photos, and videos.
Wilber's Way is just enought to wet your whistle today boys. That's where the real party is. I mean they got everything over there. Simply greatness.



I promise I'll be back tomorrow with some sports talk from NFL camps and such, but today, is all about Megan Fox. Even Jimmy Traina had to get into the mix at SI.com's Hot Clicks. Gotta love it today. Be sure to get Megan in Twitter's Trending Topics!

If you have any more awesome Megan Fox tidbits, be sure to comment them below. Always up for more Megan. BRING IT!