I Said It Before, I'll Say It Again

Rex Grossman ought to be the Chicago Bears starting quarterback. I mean yesterday, today, tomorrow, and on until the team can draft or sign someone better. I know how he started the year, I know how he struggled at times last year, I know he doesn't have the kind of upside that he did before all those injuries when he was younger.

Guess what? I don't care. The fact of the matter is that Rex Grossman is as good or better thn anyone else they have at the quarterback position. The Bears have fallen once again to the Detroit Lions, during which Griese managed to throw only one TD pass on FOUR interceptions. In the second half, his completion percentage was something around 25%. In comparison, Rex is a pro-bowler.

And yes I remember that fourth quarter rally last week. And yes, Griese looked excellent on that single drive. But unlike some fans and members of the sports media, I watched the entire game and I wasn't impressed. The bottom line? Rex is gone at the end of the year anyway. Why not let him play the next two weeks and see if we can up his value on the trade block market? Personally, I'm looking in the direction of the Cleveland Browns, who have three starting quarterbacks on one team. Rex and Briggs for Brady Quinn? Where do I sign?

Blackhawks Back On TV

After two generation worth of ownership that refused to change with the times, Rocky Wirtz, son of the late Bill Wirtz, is negotiating with Comcast Sports Network to televise a select number of this seasons Blackhawk home games. While details are scant at this point, the general consensus seems to be that the first such game to appear on the network will be when the Detroit Redwings come to town.

For years, fans and former fans of the downtrodden franchise have decried the policy of not televising home games out of respect to the season ticket holders. Such policies have been routinely blamed for the rapid decline in fan support for the Blackhawks, something Rocky Wirtz is clearly attempting to rectify. With home games once again appearing on local television, prospective fans can actually follow the team, keep up with scores and roster changes, and find an outlet for their interest in Chicago hockey. Perhaps most importantly, fans in general can witness one of the more pleasurable and interest drawing aspects of modern sports: the maturation and development of the teams young prospects.

So here's to you, Rocky Wirtz, for bucking the family tradition and doing what you can to bring the interest in hockey back to Chicago. I, personally, can't wait to watch.

The Curse Gets Worse

Chicago, IL - Anyone who has spent more than a cursory fifteen minutes examining the state of Chicago baseball understands how divided the city is. For a century plus, Chicago has watched the boys in blue and the men in black, more often than not whilst yanking out tufts of hair and grinding teeth in frustration. That all changed a few years ago when the Chicago White Sox managed to win the World Series in the kind of convincing fashion that raises eyebrows. On the north side of Chicago, those eyebrows were lifted in the direction of the Tribune company.

Since then the scenery on the field has changed, though the results on the diamond arguably have not. The Tribune Company has been sold, Sammy Sosa has been banished to the American League, and the payroll has skyrocketed with additions like Alfonso Soriano, Ted Lilly, and Mark DeRosa. So why are fans still shaking our heads in worry?

Because this all seems depressingly familiar to Cubs fans. Soriano's contract looks an awful lot like the one Sosa signed, except longer and more expensive. What's worse, his numbers on the field are strikingly congruent: the high number of strikeouts, the injuries, the inability to perform in the clutch. Add to that a periodically lazy Ramirez, an aging Derek Lee's depleted power levels, and a Jaque Jones contract that makes even less fiscal sense today than it did a couple of years ago when it was announced, and things begin to seem positively dire. True, the Cubs have a plethora of youngsters that look like potential stars in the National League. Kids like Theriot, Pie, Soto, and Hill might make Cubs fans think the future is bright. Unfortunately, the window is closing on the aging veterans and soon the youngsters will be all grown up and left without key players in key positions. Confounding matters further is the uncertainty over who will own the franchise in the coming years. Those who follow the NBA find themselves torn over front-runner Mark Cuban, who has simultaneously brought the Dallas Mavericks back from oblivion while embarrassing the franchise, and the NBA's front office, on a semi-regular basis.

All in all, fans have seen this script before. Make sure you Cubs fans make a big bowl of popcorn and bring the tissues. Old Yeller wouldn't make you cry like the habitual ending of this rerunning movie.

Timothy R. Geigner

Photo Courtesy of http://notesfromatransitionalfossil.blogspot.com/