"Glorified Practice"
Lovie Smith would not be contradicting himself if he used that term to describe tonight's Bears/Browns meeting.
Unfortunately, he and others at Halas Hall have embarrassed themselves baking up a logical pretzel to rationalize the frightening showing against Arizona.
If I have them right, players were making mental mistakes because they were nervous about something that didn't really matter. Perhaps if coaches had informed their mentally-fragile charges of the meaninglessness ahead of time, they'd have been more at ease and better at football.
But the truth is that they took that game seriously, and told the players it was the dress-rehearsal for the real stuff. They subsequently flopped, and now they have to send the message that it didn't matter. Even if Jerry Angelo sounds as concerned as the rest of us.
And my head is spinning over which is the "good" mistake -- mental or physical. Jay Cutler and Mike Martz say some things are ok because they are one and not the other, with no consistency whatsoever in that distinction.
Fox analyst Brian Billick joins us at 3:00 today to discuss the Bears and the NFL.
We're on the Bud Light "Who Needs Two?" Tavern Tour at the Tilted Kilt in Elgin. "Who You Crappin?" is at 5:00.
The postseason odds report at www.baseballprospectus.com shows the Sox with a 10% chance to win the AL Central after last night's Twins victory. When the hard math is projected through the PECOTA algorithm, however, the Sox improve to a 13% shot. They do not project the outcome of Manny Ramirez's reported upcoming haircut in Boston.
Guess which Chicago baseball official said the following (via the Sun Times): ''Yeah, they're related,'' he said of the shortfall in 2010 projected attendance and next year's spending. ''Obviously, the more attendance, it generates more revenue; more revenue, it gives you more flexibility to look at increasing payroll."
Sounds like Kenny Williams, but it's Cubs owner Tom Ricketts. And here, fans, is what you'll miss about Tribune ownership. The old idea that staying away would "send a message" to a faceless corporation with bottomless pockets has been replaced by the new fiscal reality. That reality means an end to deficit spending -- you'll get what you pay for (you hope), higher ticket prices and all.
We're still touring tomorrow, back to The Lantern in downtown Naperville. Join Laurence Holmes and me to start your weekend with Bud Light.
