thoughts & things

what do we know as baseball ends and football is a month old?

notre dame is still irrelevant in college football. excuse my smile.

the SEC is, by far, the best football conference year in and year out.

i hope the head coach at the university of minnesota is only renting.

how much fun is it watching favre growing old on the field? piece of crap.

i wonder if three players will fly to mississippi next year to get brett?

the white sox kept their fans interested until after labor day.

cub fans had the flexibility to work TWO jobs after memorial day.

tom ricketts will make a lot of money owning the cubs.

are the bears the worst 3-0 team ever? or is it the chiefs?

the lions are still terrible but now have 3 actual players. only 19 more.

tommie harris better check his apartment lease for an 'early out' clause.

jay cutler is better but still scary.

you had to feel good for devin hester monday night.

the packers are reverting back to the days of coach forrest gregg. fill the day with stupid penalties and cheap shots and play with zero discipline.

aaron rodgers is the real deal.

mike quade for full time manager? ah, only on the north side.

the bulls will be exciting to watch this year.

the hawks are a total mystery but are still the CHAMPS! (if you have a cub fan sitting near you, please take the time to explain this word)

short & sweet. later.

thoughts and things

is blago crazy? seriously, does he truly think the next jury is going to acquit him on all 24 counts? there was only one juror who held out last time. 11-1 for guilty on 13 counts. the goverment was very smart in letting his brother walk away. less confusion and a focused jury. blago is doomed.

this summer has been the worst in decades for summer movies. i went to see two films in 4 months but the immediate future looks a little brighter.

i still think GIBSON'S in rosemont is the best restaurant in illinois.

my favorite actors this week are sean penn, robert de niro, steve buscemi, helen mirren and angelie jolie.

bowling league participationfor adults is way down. people just can't afford twenty bucks weekly for the league and then the beer frames, blow pot, etc.

however, high school team bowling is way up. it's a recognized team sport that's affordable and doesn't require spring training and expensive equipment. a great social tool for the students and affordable.

up here in lake county, there's a HUGE showdown this week between vernon hills h.s. and antioch. both teams are undefeated and feature about a half dozen division one players. vernon hills hasn't allowed a SINGLE POINT in 4 games.

burglary and thefts are up in almost every town. unemployment has made crime rise and there's no end in sight. take your gps units inside at night AND lock your doors.

my buddy says leave nothing in the car and leave the doors UNLOCKED. "why risk a smashed window?" interesting.

governor quinn is going to get squashed in november.

mark kirk may have lied himself out of a senate seat. idiot.

my dad would have been 88 on september 30th. i still miss him.

enjoy the fall weather. adios for now.

baseball things i've learned this year

tom ricketts is following his business plan to a 't'. as predicted here, he has continued to cut payroll and is down to around 110 million. more to come.

are the cubs really drinking the zambrano kool-aid? do they really think that he's 'turned the corner' and is now emotionally strong? stop it.

the yankees are living proof that money can buy happiness.

do the tigers collapse every year? even when they made it to the world series, they gagged it away because they couldn't field a bunt. a very strange organization.

happy retirement to bobby cox. i'll miss his scowl.

is bobby valentine really going to get a manager's job? he's great as an analyst on espn but maybe even better as a manager.

does interim manager mike quade have a shot at the job? probably not. remember, the cubs have historically played well after the pressure is off.

for whatever reason, gm jim hendry doesn't want ryne sandberg. he's just the person to boost the sagging mood of the fans but hendry wants former marlins manager fredi gonzalez. why?

it's this kind of b.s. that has made me dump my cub tickets. it's just not worth the aggravation anymore.

the minnesota twins are just better. period. year after year.

paul konerko would win the mvp if his team won the division. what a year.

buying a house in chicago would be a bad idea for carlos quentin. or manny ramirez. or bobby jenks.

speaking of ramirez, it was the correct gamble with bad results. manny is a 39 year old head case with greatly diminished power since he got caught cheating with hormone injections.

finally, good luck to lou piniella in his long overdue retirement.