The Earth is going to hell.

The flames will rise from the oceans and the land will turn to lava if this happens.

Peavy, Pussies and Grabow

White Sox acquire Jake "the Snake" Peavy. Okay, I made that nickname up, but Jake Peavy is now a member of the White Sox. They gave the Padres Clayton Richard, Aaron Poreda, Dexter Carter, and AdamRussell.

Cubs added two lhp's as the Pirates continue to decide that they don't want their good players anymore. John Grabow and Tom Gorzelanny are now new Cubs. They sent Kevin Hart, Jose Ascanio, and Josh Harrison to Pittsburgh.

Bobby Wade says "It is what it is" in regards to the Urlacher-Cutler situation, then he called Percy Harvin a part of the female anatomy.

Buncha people got traded today in baseball - check it out here.

Another Blackhawks f*** up? Are the fans allowed to 'boo' John McDonough yet?

Tyler Hans-don't-taze-me-brough is injured, which is funny 'cause he's bad.

And last but not least --

HAPPY TRAINGING CAMP DAY!!!

Wayne and Janet Gretzky

I don't really have anything to say about this, but when I showed it to Bellwether, he demanded that I share this picture with all of you. So enjoy --

Buehrle, Fonzy, Pussies and other things

Vikings receiver (and former Bear) Bobby Wade says Brian Urlacher thinks Jay Cutler is a "Pussy." In response to this, Jay Cutler has officially uninvited Bobby Wade to his birthday party and Brian Urlacher is no longer allowed to sit at his lunch table.

Mark Buehrle is really good, but the Sox are still bad.

You can't see Alfonso Soriano when he hits walk off grand slams. He loves John Cena.

Bartolo Colon is bad at baseball and is now on the DL. Brought up a left-hander and I'm assuming they put Clayton Richard back in the rotation.

First Brian Anderson wanted out, and he was given a trade. Now Josh Fields has been beating down Kenny Williams door telling him that he wants out.

The Mariners throw a bunch of players at the Pirates for Ian Snell and Jack Wilson.

Tim Kurkjian talks about the pitch count.

EA released the playlists for Madden 10, NBA 10 and NHL 10.

Cliff Lee is a Phillie now.

Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson dead at 68

One of the most influential coordinators in NFL history. Johnson mentored future NFL coaches and coodrinators Steve Spagnola, John Harbaugh, Ron Rivera, and Leslie Frazier. You can read his obit here and another here

This week in Chicago Sports...

The Cubs open up a four game series vs Houston in Wrigley starting with two decent pitching match-ups. Today is Zambrano vs Wandy Rodriguez and tomorrow the Cubs welcome back Ryan Dempster vs Roy Oswalt.

The White Sox are up in the Metrodome for a three game series vs the Twins. Carlos Quentin will test his foot on the artificial turf and will be in the starting line-up tonight.

Trade deadline is this Friday, still a lot of rumors flying around both teams.

Another thing that happens Friday is.... BEAR-BONAIS. Training camp is here, and so is Jay Cutler. Its about damn time.


Also:

Jay Mariotti adores Mark Buehrle's charm.

Rumors and Rants' Phillips thinks Alphonso Soriano is one of the top three "immovable players" in Major League Baseball.

The Sun Times' Brad Briggs does some Jay Cutler math.

Lisa Olson of AOL Fanhouse thinks Curtis Granderson is a good person, and drops the word 'altruistic' on us.

Here is Fox Sports' really bad NFL Power Rankings.

Baseball and stuff

Ted Lilly on the DL + Matt Holliday is a Cardinal now + rumors of Milton Bradley going to the Tigers = one effed up week for the Cubs. It will be interesting to see if the Cubs add or subtract anything from this team to bulk up for their run at the NL Central. Rumors surrounding the addition of George Sherrill and/or Adam Dunn have been making the rounds. Of those two I would put more money on the Sherrill acquisition, but I doubt either of them happen.

The White Sox have been pretty bad lately. Leaving crap loads of guys on base. Bobby Jenks has blown two big saves in a row. Scott Linebrink is either injured and sucks or is just bad and sucks. Rumors are flying around that team as well. Ozzie has said that he thinks nothing will happen, but I don't think you can ever count out the Sox making a splash while Kenny Williams is GM. Names that have been floating around have been Roy Halladay, Dan Haren, Zack Duke, and Justin Duchscherer, but for some reason I doubt the Sox add anything of substance before the deadline.


With all that being said and with the MLB trade deadline getting ever so closer, I thought I would share these two gems with you guys:

Jerry Crasnick grades nine blockbuster trades in response to the "Roy Halladay Sweepstakes."

Sports Illustrated gives us 25 of the best deadline deals.



Bears training camp is less than six days away...

Perfection!

"Never thought I'd throw a no-hitter, never thought I'd throw a perfect game, never thought I'd hit a home run. Never say never in this game because crazy stuff can happen." - Mark Buehrle

Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

Top 100 players in MLB

The other day I posted an article from Sporting News on who, in their opinion, are the top 50 players in MLB. Well here is another one of those, except this one is the top 100 players in MLB according to Joe Posnanski from Sports Illustrated. His top ten:

1. Albert Pujols, 1B, Cardinals

2. Joe Mauer, C, Twins

3. Hanley Ramirez, SS, Marlins

4. Zack Greinke, SP, Royals

5. Chase Utley, 2B, Phillies

6. Alex Rodriguez, 3B, Yankees

7. Tim Lincecum, SP, Giants

8. Dan Haren, SP, Diamondbacks

9. Johan Santana, SP, Mets

10. Roy Halladay, SP, Blue Jays

The rest of the list includes two Sox players and two Cubs players: Mark Buehrle at #49, Jermaine Dye at #59, Aramis Ramirez at #80 and Carlos Zambrano at #92.

It was the best of times...

It was the worst of times... News has come out that newly acquired Blackhawk Marian Hossa has been battling a shoulder injury since last season's Stanley Cup Playoffs. Surgery has not been ruled out.

The best offensive lineman on the Bears is?

Roberto Garza apparently. According to KC Joyner of ESPN Roberto Garza scored the highest in his run-blocking metric system.

"The numbers showed that right guard Roberto Garza not only was the Bears' most efficient run-blocker last season, he was one of the best guards in the game, ranking ahead of the three Pro Bowlers whom Joyner has final numbers for: Chris Snee, Leonard Davis and Alan Faneca."

Last year's starting offensive line scored as such:

LT John St. Clair: 79.5
LG Josh Beekman: 85.7
C Olin Kreutz: 81.5
RG Roberto Garza: 88.3
RT John Tait: 84.6

New LT Orlando Pace scored 83.5 with St. Louis last season.

Check out the rest of the article here.

Also - apparently David Haugh knows 10 things about the Bears.

The Top 50 Major League Baseball Players

According to Sporting News has only two Chicago ball-players, both named Carlos: Carlos Quentin at #40 and Carlos Zambrano at #48.

The top ten is as follows:

1. Albert Pujols, 1B, Cardinals

2. Alex Rodriguez, 3B, Yankees

3. Johan Santana, SP, Mets

4. Manny Ramirez, LF, Dodgers

5. Hanley Ramirez, SS, Marlins

6. Chase Utley, 2B, Phillies

7. Roy Halladay, SP, Blue Jays

8. Derek Jeter, SS, Yankees

9. Mariano Rivera, RP, Yankees

10. Chipper Jones, 3B, Braves

Not sure how much of this I agree with. The rest of the list is interesting, it can be found here.

EDIT: Alfonso Soriano is at 27th on this list. I read it eight times and I missed it every single time. Kinda Like Fonzy and curveballs ... HEY-O.

Holy Awesome Meltdown Batman!

In the wake of the Bellwether's comments about Terrell Owens' asperations of becoming an A-list movie star, I thought I would bring this to everyone's attention: SHAQ VS

I will watch this TV show. Mark it.

With any luck, it will be as awesome as this

This could be the start of something awesome...

or terrible, probably terrible, but I can't read this

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2009/07/19/tos-post-football-career-officially-begins-monday-sort-of/

"If I'm going to really consider doing acting after football, this a great start to let me get my feet wet," [Terrell] Owens said last year in connection with a cameo appearance on a little-known sitcom starting Flavor Flav. "For an actor trying to become an A-lister, I think I'm on the bottom of the pile. I'm a D-lister."

And not think of this:

In which Bellwether Meltdown deals with an unruly Amazon marketplace seller

Prologue: I ordered Mr. Show season 4 from an amazon marketplace seller last week. It was $9 listed as new and sealed. It arrived yesterday. It was not sealed, and there were fingerprints on the discs. It was in good enough condition, so I'm really not about to spend a week or more playing etag with amazon and a seller to correct this, but it's still exceedingly shitty, so I left the seller a one star feedback.

Today I received this email:


-------------- Begin seller message ---------------------

I was sorry to read the feedback you left regarding this order. Amazon strongly encourages buyers to contact seller prior to leaving negative feedback so we may have a chance to address the issue. I apologize for the error.... I sell both new and used items. Your order may have been accidentally switched with another. If you had contacted me, I would have tried to remedy the situation. Please consider removing feedback and contacting seller directly.

-------------- End seller message ------------------------

And this is my response:

In what world governed by any sort of logic is it incumbent upon the buyer to clean up for the sellers mistakes?

Upon shipping you ostensibly had three things in front of you: a listing, a printed packing slip corresponding to said listing, and an item. If you cross check the item with either the listing or the packing slip before you ship it, you would have noticed that the condition of the item in your hands did not match the listing of the item.

Now there's two possible scenarios that could have played out

A) You didn't do this.

If this is the case, you're either lazy or just bad at your job, so kiss my ass for implying that I should reconsider my bad rating

or, far more likely

B) You intentionally listed it wrong, OR you DID check the two and rather than contact me, you thought, "eh, it's $9, he's cheap, he probably won't raise a stink about it, and if he does, I can mark it new again, resell it, and I'm only out my shipping"

Well guess what, I am pretty cheap, but not so cheap to the point that I'm going to spend several days playing email tag, waiting for a return label, driving to ship it back, then waiting for some sort of resolution that may or may not result in me getting my DVDs. Since I'm a miserable, vindictive prick I figure the one star rating is far more frustrating to you than the loss of the $9 which you would have in all likelihood recouped by reselling it with a slightly higher price to compensate for the lost shipping revenue.

I wouldn't even be responding to this email if not for the fact that the implication that I was in any way at fault was incredibly infuriating and frustrating and I find e-browbeating you to be mildly cathartic.

-Your humble servant, Bellwether Meltdown, Knight of the British Empire



Yeah I'm an asshole, the question is, how big of an asshole am I?

Quick 2009 Draft Recap

I think this draft was a very good one for Jerry Angelo & Co. Bravo. Hopefully this all works out for everyone involved. Here's a quick rundown of who the Bears selected in this year's draft.

Notes: Bears traded their second round pick, 49th overall, to the Seahawks for the fifth pick in round four, the 68th overall, and the fourth pick in the fifth, the 105th overall.


Round 3
#4(68) Jarron Gilbert, DT/DE, San Jose St
#35(99) Juaquin Iglesias, WR, Oklahoma
Round 4
#5(105) Henry Melton, DE, Texas
#19(119) D.J. Moore, CB, Vanderbilt
Round 5
#4(140) Johnny Knox, WR, Ab Christian
#18(154) Marcus Freeman, OLB, Ohio St
Round 6
#17(190) Al Afalava, S, Oregon St
Round 7
#37(246) Lance Louis, OG/TE, SDSU
#42(251) Derek Kinder, WR, Pittsburgh

More to come on who these guys are, where they came from and where they fit in tomorrow... or sometime this week... or tomorrow... or Wednesday... definitely by Wednesday.

NFL Mock Draft

AWESOME NFL MOCK DRAFT SAUCE

1. Matthew Stafford, QB, Georgia
This was easy. Stafford signed a 6 year 41.7 million dollar deal on Friday night, so it's safe to say the Lions take him with the first pick.


2. Jason Smith, LT, Baylor
The Rams need help on their offensive line, and Jason Baylor is a good offensive lineman. I think they could/should pick Eugene Monroe here, but I just have a feeling this is the way they will go.

3. Aaron Curry, LB, Wake Forest
Is he the best player in the draft? Defensively, no question. He probably will have the most impact as a rookie this season.


4. Eugene Monroe, LT, Virginia
The Seahawks get lucky here at number four and pick up the best offensive lineman in the draft. If the Rams have taken him at two, the Seahawks probably take Mark Sanchez off the board.

5. B. J. Raji, DT, Boston College
The Browns would have loved to get Aaron Curry with the fifth pick, but they'll have to settle for the best defensive tackle this draft has to offer. However, watch for them to go with Brian Orakpo with this pick instead.

6. Andre Smith, LT, Alabama
Whether this is a good pick or not all depends on attitude. If Andre Smith decides he wants to be a good NFL player and puts in the effort, he will be. If he doesn't commit to the Bengal, look for this to be a bust.


7. Darrius Heyward-Bey, WR, Maryland
This pick is made because the Raiders are dumb. And also because they don't like Michael Crabtree's attitude. And also because the Raiders are dumb. Heyward-Bey is really really fast, but also likes to drop passes. Maybe he gets over that, but then again maybe the Raiders are dumb.

8. Mark Sanchez, QB, USC
The Jets make a trade with the Jaguars here to move up and take the quarterback they so desperately need want. If the Jets don't get this trade done, watch for the Jaguars to take Michael Crabtree or Jeremy Maclin, even if they did just sign Torry Holt.



9. Malcom Jenkins, CB, Ohio State
At this point Michael Crabtree is still the best player on the board, however I think they're focused on upgrading their defense in this draft. Malcom Jenkins is the best DB in the draft, and this draft isn't very deep when it comes to DBs.


10. Michael Crabtree, WR, Texas Tech
And the 49ers strike gold! They get possibly the best offensive player in the draft, and the best wide receiver to come out of the draft since Calvin Johnson.

11. Michael Oher, LT, Mississippi
The Blind Side gets taken here. Bills need offensive line help, and they're hoping the talk about Oher not having great work ethic is just that - talk.

12. Tyson Jackson, DE/LB, LSU
With the first of two first round selections, the Broncos go with the hybrid defensive end. He'll probably end up playing linebacker on that depleted defense.


13. Everette Brown, DE, Florida State
He has a great pass rush but will need to get better at defending the run. The 'Skins will play him on passing downs, he'll have a big impact.



14. Aaron Maybin, DE, Penn State
Everyone loves this kid, but I personally don't see it. I don't see him as an every down defensive end. He's a third down rush specialist... and you can get that in the fifth round, but who knows how this works out.




15. Vontae Davis, CB, Illinois
This, to me, is one of those high risk-high reward situations. Vontae Davis is a work-out fiend. I think he ends up being a average-to-good cornerback with the potential to be great.



16. Knowshon Moreno, RB, Georgia
In San Diego's search for 'the next LT,' they choose Knowshon Moreno. He's the best running back in this draft. Solid pick.


17. Jeremy Maclin, WR, Mizzou
The Jags, using the pick they acquired from the Jets, get someone to put on the other side of Torry Holt. He'll battle Northcutt for the second receiver spot.


18. Rey Maualuga, LB, USC
With the Broncos getting another first round pick in their trade with the Chicago Bears, many would think that they would select a QB here. I think Josh McDaniels is too proud. He'll continue to upgrade the defense here with Maualuga.


19. Josh Freeman, QB, Kansas State
Having lost out in the Matt Cassel and the Jay Cutler sweepstakes, the Bucs go with a QB here, although I wouldn't be shocked if they went DT and Peria Jerry either.


20. Brian Orakpo, DE/LB, Texas
The Lions get their QB of the future and the best pure pass rusher in the draft all in the same round. Bravo, winless wonders.


21. Brandon Pettigrew, TE, Oklahoma State
With LJ Smith gone, the Eagles have to add some offensive help for McNabb. Pettigrew can come in and immediately upgrade them at the tight end position.



22. Percy Harvin, WR, Florida
The Vikings go with the biggest high risk-high reward player in this year's draft. They either get a good receiver or a good return man here. The former means it's successful, the latter means this pick was a bust.


23. Brian Cushing, LB, USC
The Patriots get exactly what they want here - a pass rushing outside linebacker. Cushing will come into this league ready to play that position and could learn to be a more well rounded linebacker in the future.

24. Clay Matthews, LB, USC
The Falcons get the third USC linebacker with the 24th selection. He's not as good as Mauagula or Cushing, but he'll probably end up being a decent linebacker.



25. Hakeem Nicks, WR, North Carolina
Dolphins get a weapon here for Chad Pennington. This selection will really solidify the Dolphins' position as a potent offense next season.



26. Chris Wells, RB, Ohio State
After debating with myself for a while on whether the Ravens go offense or defense here, I, for some reason, decide on offense and Beanie. If they don't go with Beanie here they probably draft James Laurinaitis.

27. James Laurinaitis, LB, Ohio State
The Colts take the best defensive player available on the board. They get a real Road Warrior here... a real Animal.



28. Robert Ayers, LB, Tennessee
The Bills, with the 28th pick, take the sixth linebacker in this draft. I didn't think six would go, but Ayers has really flown up the charts as of late.


29. Kenny Britt, WR, Rutgers
After the Giants fail to get Anquan Boldin, they'll draft a big, physical wide out. Kenny Britt is just that: he has unsure hands, but he will give you 100% everytime out there.


30. Alphonso Smith, CB, Wake Forest
The Titans add another nice piece to that already stellar defense. Smith is probably one of the last of the good cornerbacks left in this draft (DJ Moore being another).

31. Larry English, DE, Northern Illinois
I think Larry English will be a bust. Fortunately for Larry English, I don't work for the Cardinals.

32. Peria Jerry, DT, Mississippi
Pittsburgh takes a defensive tackle here. I'm not really sure they need one, but hey, why not?




That's my first round projection. My prediction for the Bears is wide receiver Mohammed Massaquoi out of Georgia. He's a pretty big and physical wide out with decent hands who needs some polishing, but he could turn into a solid receiver for years to come.

To see Bellweather's Mock Draft - Check this out.

Opening Week

I was going to write a post today talking about the opening week of baseball. How the Cubs look good and how the White Sox look, well, not so good. How Dewayne Wise should not be in the majors, let alone leading off for the White Sox. How Alfonso Soriano looks great, no matter where in the line up he's hitting. However, after hearing today's news, all of these ideas feel oddly vacant. The escape of sports lost some of its luster today. Life is short, and its all we have. I'm gonna take some time today and reflect on what sports has done for me in helping me share great moments with the people that I love. No matter what team it is I happen to be rooting for, I'm sure I have a memory or ten of that team creating a sincere moment for me to share with family and friends. Today I'm going to remember what it is exactly that I'm rooting for and what truly makes me a fan.

Chicago Bears trade for Jay Cutler

2009 1st and 3rd round picks, 2010 1st round pick, and Kyle Orton for this guy:


Bears also sign seven time pro-bowler and future NFL hall of famer Orlando Pace.

I can break this down six ways from Sunday and I might when I have more time, but there's one point I'd like to make right now:

The Bears have added a franchise quarterback to their team.

Teams with franchise quarterbacks are NEVER bad. This doesn't mean they're great, this doesn't mean they're going to win the Super Bowl. What this means is that given good health, Jay Cutler has put the Bears at the big boys table in the NFL for the next 5-10 years. Outside of Super Bowl 42, today is literally the biggest day in Bears history since Super Bowl 20.

"Stormin" Norman Van Lier 1947-2009: Johnny "Red" Kerr 1932-2009

Funny thing about broadcasters, how they become a part of your life. Johnny Red Kerr and Norm Van Lier will always be synonymous with Chicago Bulls basketball. For years we invited them into our homes as we watched Bulls games on our televisions. Through the highs and lows they were both there with us. From Johnny screaming as Michael Jordan hits a game winning shot to Norm not being able to fathom why players these days don't play as hard as he did. Not only did we lose a coach, a point guard, and broadcasters, but we lost friends, people whose opinion we trusted on a topic that has brought this city so much joy. Johnny Red and Norm, we'll miss your stories, your laughs and your passion for life and the game. Your legacies will last and your absence will leave a void in many Bulls fan's hearts for quite a long time. Thank you for everything you gave us, because we know you gave it all.

"You wake up, put a smile on your face and go out and be the best person you can be that day. That, in my opinion, is what life is about." - Norm Van Lier

"Like us, he hung on every play those seasons we came so close. Like us he almost fell out of his seat celebrating the seasons we won it all. And like us he will never lose faith in the Chicago Bulls. " - Barrack Obama