One of the main reasons that I have the scrolling “hated” teams at the top of this site is because of that team’s fans. Notre Dame alums are obnoxious and the fans who couldn’t spell Notre Dame if you spotted them the Notre Dam, are in many ways worse. (of course, the way the “Domers” are playing, their fans are pretty quiet, which is a very good thing!)
Unfortunately, success has only emboldened the fans of two of the teams. Everyone knows that I grew up hating the Green Bay Packers; my grandfather had Chicago Bears season tickets, so the hatred for the Packers is almost imbedded in my DNA. But they are Super Bowl champions and the only undefeated team in the NFL which means that the Packer hats and shirts and car decals, carefully displayed when the Packers are bad or mediocre, or when the Bears are better, have come out in full force. (Fortunately, the Brewers lost in the baseball playoffs and Prince Fielder may leave in free agency; and the Wisconsin fans are much quieter after their football team lost two straight games. So, be quiet “Bucky.”)
Now, we have to listen to the Cardinals fans because their team, all but dead in August, staged an improbable comeback to win the World Series.. As I told a fellow White Sox fan over the weekend, the only time I root for the Cubs are when they play the Cardinals. Their fans are mostly rubes, who used to come to town when I worked at Wrigley Field acting boorish and obnoxious. Even the sedate Cub fans would get sick of the hicks and the fights would start. These were the only series when Wrigley field resembled old Comiskey Park in that there were going to be some fights, it was just a matter of time.
Like the Brewers, the Cardinals face losing their first baseman, and in this case, of course, the Cardinals could lose Albert Pujols, the best hitter in baseball over the past 20 years. With Tony LaRussa retiring, it is entirely possible that we won’t have to worry much about the Cards for some time. Unfortunately, we will have to listen to their boasting all winter.
Given Chicago’s proximity to both teams’ hometowns, this means that we will get the lion share of the taunting and boasting. Ugh!

Probably knowing that he couldn’t do a better job bringing a mediocre ballclub to a World Series title, Manager Tony La Russa announced his retirement, just hours after the St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series title.
La Russa, who began his major-league managing career with the Chicago White Sox and has always been rumored as returning considering his continued friendship with Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, made the announcement today in a morning news conference.
“Other than some of the personal attachments, I feel good,” La Russa said and posted on the Chicago Tribune website. “I feel good that this is the right decision.”
Of course it is – for years it has been rumored that his relationship with general manager John Mozeliak was nonexistent at the best of times and down right poor at other times. Plus, of course, the Cardinals may be losing first baseman Albert Pujols to free agency. The Cardinals are “damned if they do, damned if they don’t” when it comes to Pujols, probably the best hitter of his generation. Pujols wants an Alex Rodriguez size, $100 million plus contract, but at 32-32 years of age, do you risk paying for the inevitable decline in production?
Signing Pujols would be a PR coup in St. Louis, but, as a smaller market team, do you pay so much for one guy that you can’t compete? And if he leaves, you will have to rebuild.
So, all things considered, it’s not much of a surprise that LaRussa wanted out of St. Louis. The bigger question is: will he stay retired or will the right situation bring his retirement to an end?

Maybe it was because it was John Cleese’s 72nd birthday (happy birthday John!!), but yesterday was a “Ministry of silly walks” day, at least in sports. The big story of course was St. Louis’ comeback last night, down to their last strike twice in game 6 of the World Series, Texas ready to celebrate their first title ever, but big hits kept the Cardinals in the game until David Freese hit a walk off home run in the 11th inning.
My question is – if Texas loses game 7 tonight, will the pitchers be vilified? Will Mark Lowe gain the same notoriety as Bill Buckner’s Game 6 ball between the legs that has been immortalized? Will he be as big a goat as Mitch Williams who gave up Joe Carter’s walk off winning home run in 1993? I guess that depends on who wins tonight.
But there was a hockey game last night just as strange. I was letting the Indignant Children play a little later than usual and I found the Winnipeg-Philadelphia hockey game on television last night (thank goodness for NHL Centre Ice). By the time I tuned in, Winnipeg led 6 to 4 in the second period, but the Jets had led 5-1 and 6-2 until the Flyers made a comeback. Before long, the Flyers had tied the score and took the lead 7-6.
The Jets, 2-5-1 in the games before last night, have not had a good start, which I guess is what one would expect from the former Atlanta Thrashers, but I admit that I’m rooting for them – two former Blackhawks – Andrew Ladd and Dustin Byfuglien – are on the team, and as this is the return to Winnipeg after 15 years without a hockey team, it is one of the feel good stories of the NHL.
The Jets came back however, scoring two quick goals to retake the lead 8-7. Philly, which has also not had a good start to the season, tried again to rally before the cold out home crowd, and they did, tying the game with about 3 minutes left. By this time, I’m riveted to the screen – I need to know how this one plays out. The Indignant Youngest Daughter wanted to play with Daddy, so I’m tickling her and watching the game.
With 1:06 left, Ladd is left alone in front of the Flyers’ net and he buries another goal to give the Jets a 9-8 lead.
As you would expect, the final minute was crazy – empty net for the Flyers, the Jets trying to hold on to the lead. Fortunately, there were only 66 second left after the goal, and the Flyers were bearing down on the Jets’ goaltender, but time ran out.
What a night!

After tip-toeing around the subject for months, NCAA President Mark Emmert is backing a proposal to allow conferences to increase grants to student athletes by $2,000, “to more closely approach” the full cost of attending college, beyond the athletic scholarships athletes receive for tuition, fees, room, board and books.
Emmert told the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics yesterday that the proposal will be finalized this week and he’ll ask the NCAA Division I Board of Directors to support it at their meeting Thursday. He noted that student athletes have limited opportunities to work outside the classroom and playing fields, and that the current model of athletic scholarship hasn’t changed for 40 years.
Emmert said he expected all of the Bowl Championship Series conferences to adopt it: at least those six that get automatic bids to BCS bowl games, because they have the revenue stream to afford it.
Mark, they aren’t the only teams that can afford it – every school in a conference that is changing rosters, or has a television network, can certainly afford it. What the story doesn’t say is – will all members of football and basketball teams get money? What about the “non-revenue sports?”
Will this stem the tide of illicit payments? Maybe some. Will it keep gamblers away from the kids? Probably not, but at least now the economic realities are coming home to roost. And a big of the plantation – slave relationship that has been college athletics for decades is cracking a little bit.

Despite the Chicago Bears preparing to play in London, England Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, most of the talk this week has been on an incident caught by television cameras in last Sunday night’s game against Minnesota.
Quarterback Jay Cutler was captured on camera saying “Tell (Mike Martz) I said (blank) him.” Of course, some fans look to hang Cutler for every move he makes on, and off the field. The usually even-handed Chicago Tribune columnist Dan Pompei ripped the quarterback saying that Cutler gets an “F in Leadership.” I didn’t see the incident, but tthe Bears have squandered timeouts this season as the play-calling system has broken down. There have been instances when the headset in Cutler’s helmet has malfunctioned, and calls from Martz in the coaches’ box to quarterbacks coach Shane Day on the sideline to Cutler have been late at other times.
Even with that, Martz’ scheme has not yielded the results that Bear management and fans have expected. The team is weak at wide receiver and on the offensive line, which has made Cutler, a Pro Bowl caliber quarterback, take far too many hits and forced him to throw off his back foot, leading to incompletions and interceptions. The long routes and seven step drop backs that are Martz’ favorites plus the times when Martz forgot about running the ball are getting Cutler killed out there.
So, Cutler said what he did. When’s the last time you muttered an expletive at your boss or bosses? Of course, your comments aren’t on television (nor would you want them to be, if you wish to remain employed). And there have been these incidents before in sports. What about the often contentious relationship between Mike Ditka and Jim McMahon? Both wanted to win and they butted heads. What about the epic fights between Reggie Jackson and Manager Billy Martin with the Yankees back in the late 1970s.
I know that people are starting to think that I am Jay cutler’s apologist, but I think the kid is a good quarterback on a team that doesn’t know how to use him effectively.
And Dan – those teams survived. I’d rather have someone passionately wanting to win than just rolling over.

• Despite having a sour old man like Nolan Ryan running the team, it’s hard not to root for the Texas Rangers in the World Series. Of course, the franchise has never won a World Series, and they have a lot of good young, compelling players. Plus, they are playing the St. Louis Cardinals, who once again backed into the playoffs and rode to the Series. They aren’t the best team in baseball, despite what the deluded faithful in Missouri would tell you. They have the best player in the game (or at least they will until Albert Pujols hits free agency in about a week) and a good manager, but they really think they’re great. Even if they win, they would be one of the weakest championship teams in recent memory (much like the Cards were when they won the Series in 2006.)
• One has to feel for former Chicago Bear center Olin Kreutz. Less than three months after declining to return to the Bears, his only team up to that time, to go to the New Orleans Saints, Kreutz reportedly has walked away from the team. According to The New Orleans Times-Picayune, Kreutz decided he didn’t have the same passion any longer to play the game. For a player who always played with passion, that would be the end. Good luck Olin, whatever you decide.
• You can’t go anywhere without mentioning the capture and death of Libya’s leader for 42 years, Muammar Gaddafi. Gaddafi’s evils are too numerous to count and it is a good thing to have had the people rise up and crush his regime. But do we need to see the pictures of his deal body?
• Speaking of politics, why is it that the only black people who come to prominence in the Republican Party are men who hate black people? Herman Cain and Clarence Thomas are two black men who hate other black people passionately through their comments and actions (like the Tea Party?). Maybe it’s the self loathing party, what with all of the Republican lawmakers getting caught in homosexual trysts despite espousing the most anti-gay speech?
• Sadness personified – the 2-year-old Chinese girl who was hit by a car and bystanders went about their business as though nothing happened, died today. Maybe I’ve gone soft since the Indignant Girls were born, but I remember seeing a kid when I was in Toronto a few weeks ago walking too close to a busy street while her father wasn’t paying much attention, and I was ready to reach out and snatch her if she went into the street. I would hope that someone would step up if something happened to my girls.

I know that coaches hate when the public or the media play “Monday Morning Quarterback” on their decisions. I usually question when the on-air announcers blast a coach, since they are often wrong. However, the announcers on the Ohio State-Illinois game last Saturday were absolutely right, and Illinois Head Coach Ron Zook once again proved that he is a poor football coach.
Here’s the situation – less than 2 minutes left in the game – Illinois down 17-7, fourth down and 2 yards to go at inside the OSU 15. What’s the call? You’re down 10 points: a touchdown and a field goal, so, you take the field goal and lone up for the onside kick. Simple, right? The field goal takes almost no time off the clock, then you try and get the ball back, and if you do, you’re near midfield and you still have over 1 minute left to go for the end zone.
But not Zook; they go for it on 4th down, the receiver was running an up pattern, the quarterback though he was running a sideline out. Incomplete – game over. I don’t know who the announcers were on ESPN/ABC, but they were right on the money – they put down the call, saying that if you don’t make that 4th down play, the game was over. With a field goal, your team still has a sign of life.
Long time readers know that I am no fan of Ron Zook, but this was the WORST OBVIOUS CALL I’ve ever seen. I thought about it – I’ve been watching football since at least 1965 (I vividly remember seeing Dick Butkus and Gale Sayers as rookies on television with my grandfather), and I have to say that I’ve seen some bad calls before, but never on a “gimme” like this one.
(The Chicago Sun-Times writer must be related to Zook in some way, because he took a pass on second guessing the call. The writer said that Illinois needed “a miracle” anyway, so no one should be second guessing the call. Why not? Maybe Illinois was going to lose anyway, but the field goal gets you within one score, and while I agree that the onside kick is a long shot, at least you have that shot. Makes me wonder if the writer ever watched a football game in his life?)