THE BIG SHOWDOWN STARTS TOMORROW. 

YANKEES vs ASTROS!!!! 

YOWSA!!!! 

now that the dodgers have been eliminated, the overwhelming favorite will come out of the AMERICAN LEAGUE. whoyagot?
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i stilled so pissed off at the bears that i can't see straight but some thoughts on the monsters.

When i was a kid, the CHICAGO BEARS had great defensive teams and absolutely sucked on offense. the specific reason? quarterback.  Luminaries at the position included BILL WADE, RUDY BUKICH, JACK CONCANNON, the immortal BOBBY DOUGLAS & VIRGIL CARTER. these five started at various times for twelve freaking years. do any of those names scare you on defense? do you even remember them? 

Which brings us to right now. mitch tribisky.The bears are doomed with this mutt at quarterback. his accuracy is that of a blind pirate and he's already getting the reputation as being fragile due to being hurt in consecutive years on non-contact plays.

So what does tribisky do well?  HE RUNS. take a guess how long a fragile running quarterback lasts in the NFL? the bears need to realize their mistake and move on.  their defense is too good to get a high draft choice so get ready to make a trade. and next time, don't pass on DESEAN WATSON and PATRICK MAHOMES in the draft to draft a dog who had only played 13 college games.

  RYAN PACE, start packing your bags.
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So the cubbies are scrambling for a manager and anyone in their right mind would sign JOE GIRARDI but it appears that tv broadcaster DAVID ROSS has the inside track.  nice guy but no managerial experience.  careful, careful.
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the cubs have a lot of spots to fill with the sooon to be departures of COLE HAMELS, BEN ZOBRIST, NICK CASTELLANOS (he ranf the cash register every day for two months and i don't think the cubs will pay up) PEDRO STROP, BRANDON KINTZLER AND BRIAN DUENSING. Then add in the horrible contracts for CRAIG KIMBRELL @ 16 million , YU DARVISH @ 22, JASON HEYWARD @ 23 !! a fading over the hill JOHN LESTER @20 per year. that's 81 million in dead money next year which brings me to the final point.

JAVY BAEZ or KRIS BRYANT??? you can't afford both of them when they become free agents after next year SO YOU HAVE TO TRADE one of them during this off season or run the risk of having them walk away as free agents.  my guess is kris bryant will be wearing a different uniform next year.
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and congrats to the washington mystics of the WNBA!!! just kidding, no one cares.

adios. have a good weekend.

Here's a very scary fact entered into the record yesterday by REPUBLICAN SENATOR MITCH McCONNELL, the senate majority leader. read closely: "Any attempt to remove donald trump from office thru impeachment will be firewalled by the republican held senate."

Does that sound strange to you? NO MATTER WHAT THE FACTS ARE, mcconnell will instruct the republican senators to not move forward with impeachment. read below on possibilities:

1) house impeaches trump.

2a) mitch mcconnell stymies the articles with legal         manuvering and they don't come to a vote.

2b) mcconnell releases the articles and instructs senate to
        vote 'no' without discussion

2c) mcconnell ducks out of the way and releases the articles with no instructions to anyone other than to discuss and vote.  this bails old mitch out and he can say he did his job....and he would be correct.
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EVERY POLL in America, no matter who conducts it (including fox news) is in favor of impeachment. the president's recent tweets have done harm to him but he's too crazy to realize it.
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Books released on RICHARD NIXON showed him becoming more and more unstable to the point where he was talking to the pictures of former presidents hanging on the wall. in a pre-tweet world, nixon hated the press and as the pressure mounted, he just simply stopped talking to them, which made him look even guiltier.

trump, on the other hand, chooses to do open battle with the press on a daily basis and looks more childish & incompetent after every exchange.

did you see the battle trump had with a reporter the other day? the reporter was doing his job and asked trump a follow-up question regarding what trump requested from a foreign leader. trump just looked around for a few seconds and then snapped, "are you talking to me?"  the reporter answered yes and trump pointed to a visiting foreign leader and said "ask him a question."   this went back and forth 4 times before trump just pointed to another reporter for a different question. .
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his recent tirades about his impeachment have included: "a coup" "witch hunt" "the stock market will crash" "taking away the people's vote"   "treason" "will not cooperate" and my favorite "look for a civil war if i'm impeached"
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the man has jumped the rails. his presidency is over. it's just a matter of when he walks out the door.

THE SPORTS WORLD!!!

What was the NFL thinking when they scheduled the BEARS/RAIDERS game in london? a year ago, superstar KHALIL MACK was involved in some hard line ACRIMONIOUS negotiations on his contract and was eventually shipped to the BEARS with hard feelings on both sides. obviously, the league schedulers knew the story but still sent the game overseas rather than let both teams duke it out in oakland with mack having revenge on his mind.
DUMB.
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If you like playoff baseball and didn't watch the nationals/brewers game tuesday night, you missed a classic that kept your attention from the first inning on, which is very unusual for baseball. 

MAX SCHERZER didn't have his best stuff and gave up three runs in the first and with the score 3-1 in the fifth, scherzer faced a situation which would put the game away for the brewers. two on and one out............mighty max throws smoke and got two consecutive strikeouts to end the inning and give the nats a chance.

But no problem for the brew crew who still led 3-1 in the bottom of the eighth when JOSH HADER,  the world's best closer implodes and walks one batter, hits another and gives up a broken bat single to load them up with TWO OUTS and bring a 20 year old to the plate. BAM!!! first pitch line drive base hit to right, misplayed by TRENT GRISHAM, who was filling in for MVP CHRISTIAN YELLICH and the bases are cleared. game, set and match and vacation time for the brewers.

In contrast, the next night was a snooze fest with TAMPA BAY handling OAKLAND 6-1 out in california. now we get to see 10,000 fans at every home game at tropicana field where the capacity is 26.000.
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Mystery of the week: ROQUAN SMITH of the chicago bears doesn't play for "personal" reasons last sunday and 'NOBODY KNOWS NUTTIN' in the coaches room.  let's dissect: if it was a DUI or domestic abuse which would require police involvement, it would have made the media. My guess is a) depression with a suicide scare and the bears got a call. in this case, they could get him to a private counselor for therapy and nothing gets released due to patient confidentiality or 2) a substance problem was discovered on bears property and they handled it in-house, again with private therapy. just hope he's ok because he's got a heck of a future in the NFL.
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I don't know about you but i was very comfortable with CHASE DANIELS at quarterback on sunday. it's becoming  VERY apparent that MITCH TRIBISKY has brittle bones and that's twice in consecutive years that he's been hurt on a non-contact play. NO BUENO.  and to think the bears passed on DESEAN WATSON and PATRICK MAHOMES and gave up draft choices to get this mutt.
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Before you cub fans get all ga-ga over JOE GIRARDI, remember that he had great teams during his 10 years with the yankees and won...................ONE world series.
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BULLS announcer NEIL FUNK will retire after this season after doing chicago broadcasts for 28 years and calling the NBA for 43 total years. great to listen too and a great human being. give 'em hell your last year, FUNKSTER.
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whew! i'm tired.  later.

enough with politics!

Let's climb out of the cesspool in washington and talk sports of all sorts.
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Last year, the BEARS surprised everyone with a 12-4 record and making the playoffs before the dream died with the infamous double-doink. But their success had this town juiced about the 2019 season but is the weight of the long journey too much for MITCH TRIBISKY? the defense is awesome but it's up to mitch to put points on the board ON A REGULAR BASIS.  tough test sunday against the vikings so cross your fingers.
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Is it me or is ANTONIO BROWN the worst business man in the world? he pisses away millions of dollars because he just can't shut up in both pittsburgh and oakland and lasts one game with the patriots before his ghetto thuggery comes to light with sexual assault accusations. the sad part is that no matter how many times he's accused, he'll continue to get signed because he can catch a football. 
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It was sooooooooo nice to see the face of AARON RODGERS following the last minute interception on thursday night. can someone tell me how the packers can run eight plays inside the ten yard line in that 4th quarter and NOT score? sheesh.
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JIM HARBAUGH makes 9 million for coaching a team that can't beat OHIO STATE or win a showdown game, ala WISCONSIN last week. out!

if he's worth that, then NEPHEW FRANK should be making at least half of that for the way he golfs. there is no justice.
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And speaking of stealing a paycheck, what's the deal with LOVIE SMITH at ILLINOIS???? he looks like papa smurf and so far, has taught that team nothing.  out!
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the NHL season starts this week. WHAT????????????
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and the CHICAGO SKY women's team.........hah! gotcha again.
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later dude

SO MUCH TO TALK ABOUT

My head is absolutely spinning with all that's going on in the world but let's try to empty some of the gunny sack starting with politics.

The mess in DC is finally boiling over and the world is now getting a clearer view of the little man sitting in the big chair at 1600 Pennsylvania avenue. He is like a petulant child reacting after being told he's wrong...for anything. stomp your feet and hold your breath until you get your way.

He is a very scary man making friends with bad people while sending our long time allies down the road. he is a threat to anyone who disagrees with him and his no contact with the working man and woman, evidenced by his 30 day shutdown earlier this year which cost americans  between six and ten Billion dollars and his trade issue with china is killing the farmers in america because china is no longer buying agriculture products from america. crops wilting in the field because farmers can't afford to harvest because they have no buyers is not a good look for the white house.

he is a consummate liar, PROVEN & VERIFIED.  SOME SAMPLES:

ABC VIDEO MUSLIMS DANCED ON THE ROOFTOPS IN NEW JERSEY ON 9/11 

MY INAUGURATION CROWD WAS THE LARGEST EVER

I SIGNED MORE BILLS THAN ANY OTHER PRESIDENT (5 HAVE SIGNED MORE)

U.S. HAS HIGHEST MURDER RATE IN 47 YEARS

I DIDN'T KNOW STEVE BANNON (appeared on his radio show 9 times before running)

NY TIMES SENT AN APOLOGY LETTER TO IT'S READERS BECAUSE THEY WERE TOO HARD ON ME IN ARTICLES (ABSOLUTELY 100% UNTRUE)

And there are at least 50 more verified lies which is certainly something you don't expect from the man running the country.

BOTTOM LINE?  HE'S A SCUMBAG AND A PATHOLOGICAL LIAR ALONG WITH BEING A SOCIOPATH. IT IS TIME FOR HIM TO GO.

THE SAD PART? THE HOUSE WILL VOTE FOR IMPEACHMENT BUT THE SENATE WON'T CONVICT HIM AND SO WE WAIT FOR 12 MORE MONTHS.

But it's over for the orange man. you know the saying....if it smells like crap and looks....well, you know the rest.

ugly start to the season

All i heard over the last six months was how the bears got screwed when cody parkey missed an average distance field goal which eliminated the bears from playoff contention and they should have been in the super bowl.  hogwash..

When i would have the temerity over the summer to mention the inadequacies of quarterback mitch tribisky, i was assured by kool-aid drinking bears fans that it was all parkey's fault and that tribisky was the golden boy who would lead us to the promised land.

UH...................NO.  as i have mentioned numerous times, tribisky is a ho-hum quarterback who has proved NOTHING in either college or professional football and he melted BIG TIME in the glaring lights of national television on thursday night when he rolled over and played dead while losing to the packers, 10-3.  SUPER BOWL? please.  the defense is wonderful and a pleasure to watch but the offense sucks, plain & simple.

when you hold a good packer offense to ten points, you should win the game but when YOUR OFFENSE can't get into the end zone against a mediocre defense, it's time to slow your publicity roll and take a long look in the mirror, coach nagy.
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BACK TO BASEBALL. the cubs are hanging on by a thread for a spot in the post season but it looks like a wild card spot is their best chance but they would have a one game playoff IN washington against the nationals for a chance to advance in the division series. their pitching opponent would be MAX SCHERZER. google him and get back to me.
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the WHITE SOX are officially better than last year after thursday night's win but it looks like they're out of steam. win 2, lose 3. no bueno.  but it does look like TIM ANDERSON has a shot at the batting title and LUCAS GIOLITO is the best pitcher in chicago so those are positives. can't wait until next season.
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it's hard to believe but the hawks & bulls are running practices and both of their seasons will be challenges to make the playoffs.
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enough for now.  be careful about the ambush waiting for the bears in denver.....................

thoughts bouncing around in my head

If you have to have an MRI, don't listen to the b.s. that 'one size fits all' and it doesn't matter where you have it done. as someone who has had 4 in the past six weeks, i can tell you IT DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE WHERE YOU HAVE IT DONE and that the lake zurich, illinois mri has the smallest, deer park mri is a little bigger and vista in lake villa gives a big guy like me plenty of room.

 there are six protocols for a total of 31 minutes for a lumbar mri and if the technician knows what the hell they're doing, you'll be out of the machine in 35 minutes.  some have music, some don't. DON'T BRUSH YOUR TEETH the morning of the mri as that will dry out your mouth. pack 3 or 4 pieces of gum in your mouth but you have to hide them when you're going in, otherwise the tech will have you spit them out. ALWAYS take the earliest appointment.
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in other news, i see where motorcycle riding is down and it's no wonder because of car drivers texting while driving.  DISTRACTED DRIVING is a nuisance to other cars but fatal to cyclists. 
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Can anyone explain where the lightning bugs have gone? when i was a kid in Northlake (by franklin park-ohare airport) we would run around after dark having contests to see who could capture the most in a mason jar. at my house in Grayslake, we see a dozen or so at dusk and then they disappear.
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And i have zero mosquitos at my house. go figure.
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DIGITAL TICKETS. what a pain in the butt. the bulls, cubs, bears & white sox have all eliminated paper stock tickets which means if you don't have a smart phone, you're out of luck.  they're trying to eliminate the counterfeiting of tickets and i understand but many people are struggling to understand the new concept. believe it or not, I adapted right away.
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How much is a ticket to the bears-packers game on thursday night?
 i just sold 4 in the south end zone for $550 APIECE. two years ago, i was lucky to get a hundred apiece.
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The tomatoes have been wonderful this season as well as the cucumbers but the green peppers went down in defeat this year. radishes have been so-so. ANYONE WANT SOME REALLY HOT PEPPERS? lmk and i'll mail them to you. insure your lips.
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The sweet corn at STADE'S FARMS in mchenry is outstanding despite a late planting season. still time to take a trip up for the BEST sweet corn in the area.

Welcome to Stade’s Farm and Market!

Stade’s Farm & Market is located in scenic McHenry County in northeastern Illinois approximately 50 miles from Chicago. We produce 2,200 acres of fresh fruits and vegetables that we sell directly to consumers through our Farm Market.

Our farm is also popular for pick-your-own fruits and vegetables including strawberries, raspberries, tomatoes, sugar snap peas, green beans, and pumpkins. We have a large entertainment area which includes a petting zoo, corn maze, giant slides, hay rides, and a large variety of unique attractions. Our fall festival Shades of Autumn is a harvest time extravaganza featuring 30+ farm-related attractions, pumpkin picking, special events, great food and lots of fun.

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Does anyone read a real newspaper anymore? i get the sunday tribune delivered and sit in the gazebo eating an almond horn pastry from the local bakery with a pint of chocolate milk and spend a couple of hours consuming both the horn and the paper.  the other day i mentioned to a friend, "did you see that article in the sports section about the bulls?" he looked at me like i had just landed from mars and said 'nobody reads the paper anymore---it's all electronic/digital."  sad if true.

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We were chatting at the bowling alley the other day about things that were disappearing or have already disappeared: SEARS, TOYS-R-US, (although someone said they're coming back) 

MARSHALL FIELDS, K-MART, go kart tracks, land lines for phones, drive-in movie theatres (also called outdoors), cameras, locks, keys, clock radios & hotel keys. and there's plenty more for this list but i'm too tired. more later.

enjoy your short week.