down the stretch they come!

the CUBS have just 34 games left and their magic number is down to 30 to reach the wild card playoff game in what has been a season of dreams for the organization and their fans. in what was initially termed a 'learning year' the cubs have benefited from every good bounce and every bad call and even profited from the only legitimate injury they had all year.

remember when MIGUEL MONTERO injured his thumb and was on the dl for six weeks?? even that injury worked out for the north siders because that injury forced the cubs to bring up KYLE SCHWARBER three months early and they caught lightning in a bottle with schwarber's ability to hit (there are no gold gloves in his future) and when montero returned, it allowed them to bench the uncoachable STARLIN CASTRO and implant ADDISON RUSSELL at shortstop, where he'll still be ten years from now. a team of destiny?  i think so.

of course, they have to survive the wild card game against the PIRATES  but if they do, i think the CARDINALS are out of gas and can be had in a five game series and then the cubs will be rooting against the DODGERS in their five game matchup against the METS because while the cubs have struggled with the dodgers at 2-4, they're 7-0 against the mets and pitting ARRIETTA & LESTER four times (and maybe five) against the weak hitting new yorkers in a seven game series would certainly be in the cubs' favor.

and now on to the WHITE SOX..................fire robin ventura.

ok, for you die hards..........the sox are JUST seven games out in the wild card race with JUST six teams ahead of them. but the exciting news is they just moved out of the cellar and have closed the gap on first place to just NINETEEN AND A FREAKING HALF GAMES! fire robin ventura.

how bad has this year gone for the DETROIT TIGERS?  they're currently BEHIND the white sox in the standings.  ouch.

so if the cubs fall short, CHICAGOANS can just start rooting for the bears, right? uh, i don't think so. this team will be the worst since 2002 when DICK JAURON coached the monsters to a 4-12 season. no speed, a very questionable defense and a quarterback who has NEVER stood up and accepted the blame.  ever. never.   isn't it strange that he's the ninth highest paid player in the NFL but his stats clearly indicate he's just a middle of the road quarterback? talk about pissing away money.  the only bright spot is this is the last year of his guaranteed money so he can be cut when the season ends but the head shaking part is he'll get signed to another monster contract somewhere.

JAY CUTLER. STARLIN CASTRO.  discuss.

what's going on with PATRICK KANE? the BLACKHAWKS golden boy did the right thing and went underground following the sexual allegations but he's keeping his fingers crossed that the case doesn't go to a grand jury. with a hot potato case like this one, the states attorney often doesn't want to make the decision on whether to prosecute so he'll throw it to the grand jury to cover his butt. no matter what happens with the grand jury, down the road the SA can easily deflect any criticism by pointing a finger at the grand jury.

 the problem for kane is if that happens, the grand jury is normally just a rubber stamp for the state's attorney and they'll surely indict him. there's almost no chance that he'll testify which means the jury will only hear the complaining witnesses' side of the story and if an indictment comes down, you can say goodbye to kane for this hockey season because there's no way the NHL lets him compete while this is pending. remember that an indictment is NOT a guilty verdict. it just means that the case is going to trial.

and continuing with bad news.............IS THERE A MORE SCREWED UP ATHLETIC PROGRAM  THAN THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS? athletic director MIKE THOMAS fires the football coach just a week before the season starts after staunchly defending him just three months ago. last spring, allegations of racism surfaced against the women's basketball coach and even the women's soccer team has pending lawsuits. while it's not the same kind of sleazy stench that permeated PENN STATE'S program, in just four years thomas has become the poster child for mismanagement and turned the sports program totally toxic.  would you send your kid to this athletic program?

 fair or not, the ENTIRE sports program is under the watch of the athletic director and it's bad enough when most of your sports programs stink on a yearly basis but when you can't control the internal problems and they continue to fester like an open sore, then you have to go because the buck stops in his office. pack your bags.

enough bad news.  adios

CUBS WIN!

I never thought that the following sentence would ever be typed by my fingers but here goes:

THE CUBS ARE GOING TO THE WORLD SERIES!

 in fact, the odds on the cubs to make it to the world series are currently 8-1 and my betting window is now open. and this is no joke. 

Do they have a cake walk to the series? absolutely not because there's a team south of here called the cardinals who have whipped the cubs like a rented mule for years and not to mention the ONE GAME wild card the north siders have to survive. but that's exactly why YOU have to risk eight bucks to win a dollar. history & performance is on your side and that's why they call it gambling.  

WHY? other than the bullpen,  the cubs remind me of last year's KANSAS CITY ROYALS who, after surviving a wild card game, came within one out of being world champs.

above average defense, the ability to score runs in bunches and starting pitchers who will shut you down big time, including JAKE ARRIETA, who is in great shape to win the cy young award.  

My bets against the cubs this year are all in the toilet but I've spent the last dozen years winning thousands & thousands of dollars off kool-aid drinking cub fans with very low baseball I.Q's (sorry for the redundancy) and now it's time to spend some of that money and make a wager, which i did today at harrahs in las vegas.  (good to have friends who live there) how sweet would that be to win at 8-1 with money initially made from cub fans?

 a perfect team? no. weak spots? yes    will they win the world series? not a chance because either kansas city or toronto will crush them in 5 games but i won't even notice because i'll still be counting my money.

people on both sides of town are going to say i'm crazy..... but i just have a feeling.......

odds & ends

So the WHITE SOX were all giddy after winning 7 of 8 and decided to stand pat at the trading deadline. COMPLETE MORONS. did anyone want to mention to the emperor those seven wins came against last place teams? they had one piece worth trading and rather than get some prospects, they're going to let him walk away at the end of the year because they thought they were 'in it.' the only thing they're in is big trouble. the yankees kicked their ass over the weekend and now tampa is continuing the beat down.      arrrrrrgh.

the CUBS decided they didn't want to play with the big boys BUT they did made two solid moves which can only help them in the race to the post season. (although i was sorry to see TAYLOR TEAGARDEN go to make room for the newcomers.  it was just fun saying his name.)  

DAN HAREN will make a perfect #5 starter for the north siders as he eats up a lot of innings and keeps you in the ball game. he couldn't get a fastball past your mother but it will save the cubs the angst of starting DALLAS BEELER or TRAVIS WOOD. the cost for haren? two MINOR leaguers not even listed as top thirty prospects in the organization. see how that works?

the cubs also learned quickly that RAFAEL SORIANO is not the answer to the closing position and picked up fireballing TOMMY HUNTER from baltimore for journeyman JUNIOR LAKE, who signed his death warrant with manager JOE MADDON for  hot dogging it after hitting a home run against the marlins in early june.  lake soon found himself back in the minors, never to see wrigley again as long as maddon was still around. so enter hunter, who can throw 99 mph on his strong nights and while his major league experience is not that of a closer, he did fine his first time out over the weekend when he got the save against the brewers.

august is the 'we'll see' month for the cubs.  SEVEN games against the GIANTS, three vs. the PIRATES, four vs the BRAVES and three vs the DODGERS.  september will bring them six each against the CARDINALS and the PIRATES but  a bunch of games against terrible teams.  split the games mentioned earlier and they're dancing in october.

only the CHICAGO BEARS..........#1 draft choice KEVIN WHITE hasn't seen the field yet because of a secret injury.  is it his shin for sure?  nobody knows because NFL teams are not required to release any injury information until the regular season starts.  i'm hoping the bears can go 6-10 this year but a national publication today released their prediction that they would be the WORST TEAM IN FOOTBALL at 3-13.  ouch.

short but sweet. see you later.