Middle Buffalo

Crickets are really dumb.

I've always maintained that a man needs two things to be truly happy in life. He must be in love with his work, and he must be in love with his wife.

It would have been nice to see the goal line view of the Eddie Lacy TD a time or two. Every time they showed the play, it was from a slight angle near the end zone. Replays were bad all night. I wonder if the NFL wants cooperation from TV to no show controversial plays over and over because of the amount officiating has been criticized this year.

The biggest problem I have with Cutler is when he's not having success, he always seems to have an INT where he just says "eff it" and tries to squeeze the ball in to someone. He gets sloppy. The great thing this year has been the patience. Even when they aren't converting mulitiple first downs, they've kept games close. Hopefully they rebound from the bad throw and regain the patience they've had all season. Cutler is a "win with," not "win because of" QB. But, I do believe they can win with him.

These all green ND uniforms are very ugly. I wonder what it costs to outfit football teams in new uniforms several times every year. It seems like it's a waste. I'm surprised the NCAA doesn't prohibit the number of uniforms a team uses. It seems like it might be a Title IX issue as well.

QUOTE (winninguglyin83 @ Nov 9, 2015 -> 04:21 AM) olt, turner, renteria. Quite a trail of Cubs' cast offs. Who's next -- Corey Patterson? Hopefully a petting zoo.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Nov 9, 2015 -> 08:37 PM) Seems every time there is a big college rape story it unravels and it's ultimately bulls***. Duke, Occidental, UVA and I am sure I am missing more. It's sad. I read Jon Krakauer's book "Missoula:Rape and the Justice System in a College Town" about the culture of sexual assault at the University of Montana. It was a pretty interesting book. Worth a read.

So, am I the only one who thinks the players wearing goggles in the post game celebration is dumb looking? I imagine getting champagne in your eyes isn't a great feeling, but it seems like the lockerroom celebration is over orchestrated - not unlike the cutting down of the nets in the NCAA tourney. Is there any spontaneity allowed in sports anymore?

QUOTE (GoSox05 @ Nov 2, 2015 -> 03:41 PM) @AdamSchefter This guy is such a dork at this time of year. I've heard him on radio shows on trade deadline day, and he's so distracted by trying to be the first to tweet out trade info that he can't even pay attention to the interview. Adam (I'm sure he'll read this), it's not that important to be first.n just get the right info out.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Oct 28, 2015 -> 12:58 AM) "It's the World Series," Young said. "If you were in the World Series you'd be throwing harder too." This is great.

I think I'd prefer to see the Mets, but I really don't have a preference. I like the Mets pitching, and I think their situation in NY is similar to the Sox. I'm not crazy about this Royals team, but I've always liked George Brett. Great story teller, better player. Just hoping for a good series.

I listen to Chocago sports podcasts sometimes when I'm at work, and here's a summary of what I heard this week: I downloaded the waddle and Silvy show from Tuesday (on location with Urlacher). Kaplan, Silvy & Jesse Rodgers were all pretty confident that the Cubs would win game 3. Waddle's assessment of Schwarber in the outfield was that he isn't as bad as everyone says. Silvy is upset that Sox fans were not rooting for the Cubs. He says that he was pulling for the Sox in2005. I'd love to hear those shows so I could verify that myself. On the score, listening to Bruce Levine after the series was comical. He's about as bad as the worst dumb caller when it comes to possible trades. According to him, Solef is an AL player because he's prone to injuries. Castro is a guy that a few teams really want and he can be a good SS. Schwarber is a really hard worker, so he'll improve in the field wherever that play him. The Cubs will target Shark (who Levine has a total stiffy for) because he will be much less expensive than some other guys out there. I heard him on two different shows (I listen to the score interviews podcast), and he was in full fanboy mode. I've managed to avoid mocking my Cub fan friends, but I'm so happy they lost because of all the douchebaggery in the media.

QUOTE (Iwritecode @ Oct 23, 2015 -> 06:30 AM) We completely gutted and remodeled our kitchen about 5 years ago. We made sure to get a permit because we know our asshole neighbor would call us in the second he saw a contractor's truck in our driveway. i have the same problem. Everything I do at home has to be by the book because of my neighbors.

QUOTE (bmags @ Oct 23, 2015 -> 07:40 AM) If he's going to throw off his back foot, fade routes into the end zone are the one place I'm fine with it. Right, but he tends to under throw that pass, as opposed to putting it out long where either it is out of bounds or only his guy can get it. Either way, what I find funny is the analysis of him is always based on the result. His form is often bad even on successful plays, but the announcer/analyst will often say that he's only one of a handful of guys who can make the pass.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Oct 22, 2015 -> 01:17 PM) Really good piece from Bleacher report by the Bronco's GM who drafted Cutler. Very interesting when you read about what Mcdaniels did and why Cutler wanted out (justifiably). http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2580349...ened-from-there That was good. It was interesting to watch the draft video and reactions of the ESPN guys. Unfortunately, many of his bad habits that were identified pre-draft (eg. Throwing off his back foot) are still evident. Actually, I thought it was interesting that both of his TD passes in the KC game were off his back foot. I heard some of the experts praising him for those throws - paying no attention to his bad mechanics. But if he throws an INT (like he did on the Jeffery pass last weekend), they point out the mechanics. I've always wondered where he got the reputation as a bad guy, because other than being aloof, I've not really seen it. It seems like that comes from Shanahan pulling Plummer (who was really popular) and replacing him with Cutler. The veterans on the team didn't like that. Then he was traded to the Bears for Orton, who was similarly popular with his teammates.

July 31, the Mets were 53-50. They added Cespedes and took off. Toronto was 53-51. They added Price & Tulo. Texas was 50-52. They added Hamels. The Sox were 49-52. They did not add, but it's not inconceivable that Sale would remain dominant, Q would run into some luck and get some wins, and Shark would have a strong second half. If LaRoche, Melky and a few others play to their lifetime averages (which means getting hot for a few months), the Sox aren't as far out of it as they ended up. Going forward, you have to hope Rodon continues to improve, and maybe Fulmer shows up and is as good as 2015 Rodon. That would put the Sox staff on par with the Mets. If they can add a few dynamic bats, who knows, maybe the Sox make a run next year. Baseball, like football and hockey, seems to be about getting hot toward the end of the season and making a playoff run.

Assuming this holds up, Sox fans should make it a point to NOT gloat. That's what Cubs fans want and expect. Say nothing. It will bother them more.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Oct 19, 2015 -> 01:51 PM) I root against the Cubs for the same reason I root against the Yankees and Red Sox--their obnoxious fans don't deserve to celebrate a championship. How'd that work out for you?

I'm finding being a Mets fan very stressful. I can't wait 'till the 2015 baseball season is over.

So, are the Yankees fans supposed to be rooting for the Mets now? I don't know all the rules for fans. I guess I'll call one of the Chicago radio shows.

QUOTE (pettie4sox @ Oct 15, 2015 -> 09:40 PM) You two obviously are never going to get along. Oh, they said that about Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis on "Moonlighting," too. Life is unpredictable.

Good read. The Chicago media is basically acts as a free marketing department for the Cubs. I listen to podcasts at work, and I had to stop listening to the local Chicago ESPN ones because it was the summer of Cubs. I looked at one twenty day stretch in July, and Jesse Rodgers or a Cub guest was on C&J 15 out of 20 shows. In the same period, Doug Padilla (their Sox beat guy) was on 5 times. At the time, the records of both teams were pretty close. The media disparity is a huge factor in the difference in fan bases. I know some people don't believe that, but I look at it like any advertising. Have a message and repeat it. The Chicago media is largely pro-Cubs, so they are covered in a positive manner. I recently heard Bruce Levine on WSCR, and they asked him a question about the Sox going forward. He gave a sarcastic reply about the new video boards solving their problems. He could hardly contain his joy when the Cubs added theirs. I'd love to see someone like Mark Cuban own the Sox. Bat the very least, they need a Rocky Wirtz like situation to revitalize the Sox. I appreciate JR, but he's exceedingly arrogant, and that's a problem for the organization.

QUOTE (Hatchetman @ Oct 9, 2015 -> 12:02 PM) Hopefully they lose in the most painful possible way. I actually said this to a coworker in 2003. She assumed that I would root for the Cubs since I was from Chicago. I told her that I didn't just want them to lose, but I wanted it to be in the most spectacular way possible. Then Bartman happened.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Oct 12, 2015 -> 06:35 AM) Science. This guy is pretty awesome Neil deGrasse Tyson ✔ ‎@neiltyson Today's @Bengals winning OT field goal was likely enabled by a 1/3-in deflection to the right, caused by Earth’s Rotation. 3:48 PM - 11 Oct 2015 4,666 4,666 Retweets 5,004 5,004 favorites "Likely" means he's just guessing.

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Oct 9, 2015 -> 05:33 AM) Maddon also has more resources with the Cubs than the Rays however. If they don't win this year (even if they do I think), they will go out and get someone. Price made comments last year about how cool it would be to win with the Cubs. That was before Maddon signed with the Cubs. Personally, I think Cubs starting 3 next season will be Price, Arrieta, Lester. You still have to win, and it is not always the best team that does it. Atlanta was in the playoffs throughout the 90's with a pitching staff that had 3 HOF, and they won once. At some point, players on the Cubs will get selfish, too. They're going to want to play defined positions and get maximum playing time. Right now, they're good with starting in left and moving to third (for example), but eventually they'll want to be full time somewhere because that's how players get paid.