Life With LuDo

A blogworthy break

2008-03-16T23:59:00.001-05:00

Five things I found blog-worthy during Spring Break

While most of you spent your Spring Break in a warm weather location, I went north to drink heavily chill out in my parents’ basement after spending Friday night in St. Louis for the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.

I found these noteworthy things during Spring Break.

5. SIU men’s basketball team won’t be joining the madness this March. Northern Iowa’s upset victory against the Salukis in the MVC Tourney ended SIU’s chance to extend its NCAA Tournament appearance streak to seven years. Instead, the Dawgs will get a second chance to dance Tuesday night as they host Oklahoma State.

4. It seemed as if everyone was talking about the possibility of the Cubs playing 81 games at U.S. Cellular Field in the event of the reconstruction of Wrigley Field. ChiSox manager Ozzie Guillen said he would embrace the move, adding it would give Cubs fans the opportunity to see a real ballpark. If it were to happen, it begs the question: how devastating would it be to chairman Jerry Reinsdorf’s ego if the Cubs drew more fans to The Cell than his beloved White Sox?

3. Watching Saturday’s Big Ten Tournament semifinal game between Michigan State and Wisconsin was reminiscent of SIU basketball. Painfully slow with a hint of poor officiating. The Badgers’ slow and methodical pace threw MSU in a funk, and to add insult to injury, MSU big men collecting their fifth fouls on three consecutive possessions aided Wisconsin in the come-from-behind victory.

2. WTF happened to Chicago radio while I was gone? Seriously, it sucks! The three major stations (103.5 KISS FM, 96.3 B-96, 107.5 WGCI) play the same 15-20 songs over-and-over again to the point where you could turn on each station and they would all be playing the same song.

• ‘GCI is still my place for hip-hop and R&B because it rolls out some of the best tracks by some of Chi-town’s finest. However, the station has lacked a legit morning show since ‘Crazy’ Howard McGee left town. As funny as Steve Harvey is, he alone cannot carry a nationally syndicated morning show. The station sorely misses the Bad Boyz, a night shift staple that consisted of Mike Love and ‘The Diz,’ who are now gone.

• If B-96 attaches itself to the rising stars of ‘Styles and Roman’ who host the afternoon show, the Killer Bee could find itself back at the top of Chicago radio. The morning show of Eddie, JoBo and Erica is nothing to what Eddie & JoBo (with the help of Karen Hand) had back in the 90s. It is clearly a knockoff of KISS FM’s morning show (which I’ll get to next).

• One of the things I look forward to when I come home is listening to DreX in the morning. Despite losing “Petersworth”, the show’s producer and one of the station’s most popular personalities, the show has continued to stay fresh. The addition of ‘The Lotion Hour’, a segment where callers discuss off-the-wall topics (ex.: my mom/dad uses me to hit on my friends, my man is a wuss in bed, witchcraft ruined my marriage, etc.) keeps the free spirit of that show alive.

1. This vacation’s local food recommendation is ‘Ghetto Fries’, which you can only find at Max’s Italian Beef on Western, south of Peterson. In addition to fries (topped with cheddar cheese, chopped and grilled onions, Italian Beef gravy, jalapenos, etc.) Max’s offers the second best Italian Beef sandwich in the city (Al’s Beef is #1). Trust me, the combo is worth the $8.19 I paid for lunch.

Damn, it sucks that school resumes in the morning.

Letsgous!

2008-03-06T19:52:00.000-06:00

The word of the day here at the Daily Egyptian sports desk is letsgous.

One word.

Letsgous.

The SIU Salukis have their work cut out for them, needing to win the Missouri Valley Conference tournament to ensure its seventh consecutive NCAA tournament bid. However, it’s not uncharted waters for the Salukis.

SIU turned the trick in 2006 as the No. 2 seed in the Valley tournament, upending Evansville, Northern Iowa and Bradley.

The Salukis have six members of that squad in tow for this year’s run, including senior forwards Randal Falker and Matt Shaw and junior guard Bryan Mullins. ‘The Big 3’ will likely need to play near-flawless basketball if they want to win their second conference tourney.

If the 2008 version of SIU wants to win, it will have to play like 2006 team did. The Salukis limited opponents to an average of 49 points per game. That type of stifling defense, nicknamed ‘Floorburn U,’ will need to make its presence known this weekend.

When the Salukis have the ball, they will need to capitalize on each possession, limiting turnovers and taking smart shots. When SIU shoots when time is running down on the shot or game clock, it usually results in an ugly look that nets no points.

If games become a shootout, the Salukis will need to establish their inside-outside game. Ether Falker and Shaw must establish themselves on the block or Mullins, Wesley Clemmons and Joshua Bone must hit some early outside shots to extend the defense.

Either way, the SIU offense needs to be hitting on all cylinders.

A sense of urgency has returned to SIU basketball, and if it fails in St. Louis, the NIT will likely be waiting.

A whole new (blog) world, take 2

2008-03-03T02:17:00.002-06:00

Alright, I've come to the realization that I am a very fickle human being.

OK, so that isn't much of a realization. It's more like an admission. So anyway, this blog is going to take (another) new direction.

This will be my one and only blog. No more gimmicks, no more "other" blogs. By one and only, I mean one and only.

And by "one and only" I mean that I will still contribute to armchairgm.com as its Chicago Cubs beat writer, and to Jeff Engelhardt's Daily Egyptian Sporting News Sports Blog.

Now that I've gotten that out of the way, let's get down with the funky stuff, shall we?

You (the reader) will be getting a variety of posts on this site. Topics may include:

• SIU Athletics (Baseball, basketball, football…and whatever else I cover this semester)
• Chicago Cubs Baseball (100 Years Of Futility, and someone’s gotta write about it)
• Chicago Bears Football (From NFC champs to chumps, and back???)
• Chicago Bulls Basketball (If Chicago was a basketball town, John Paxson would have been chased out of there after failing to land Kobe)
• Sports Journalism (Including my pseudo-battle with Indianapolis Star columnist Bob Kravitz)
• Inside the life a college sports reporter (The life and times of being the low-man on the totem pole.)
• And finally, stuff you’ll find on any college kids livejournal or myspace blog (hopefully without depressing stuff)
• Oh and anything and everything in between.

Get it? Got it? Good!

Consider yourself dismissed!

Editor's Note: Blogger is f*cking up! Why can't I use editing tools? Where can I use my hyperlinks?

Someone's gonna get their @$$ whooped--OK enough censorship--FUCK!

My ArmchairGM stuff:
http://www.armchairgm.com/Category:Opinions_by_User_LMedina86

The DE Sports Blog:
http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/Jeff%20Engelhardt

Thank goodness for 4-day weekends

2008-02-24T22:26:00.003-06:00

My world has been turned upside down since this semester began. Mostly because of my work with the Daily Egyptian, the student newspaper of SIU.

I'm starting to get a hang of balancing school and work, but I'll admit that it's tough because working at the DE is almost like having a full-time job. Maybe I'm too dedicated to the cause (because I'm always thinking about my next story) or maybe covering men's and women's swimming, track and field, tennis and golf might be considered quite a handful for a first job.

So when I realized we'd have a four-day weekend because C-Dale was "iced out" and that I wouldn't have a story in the newspaper 'til Tuesday, I just thought that I'd let loose for the first time this semester.

So basically I spent my Friday doing another fantasy baseball draft and getting Cubs bleacher tickets and my Friday night getting wasted. There was a lot of people I got to see this weekend that I hadn't seen in a while and that was cool.

I spent my Saturday afternoon watching SIU stomp Nevada during ESPNU's O'Reilly Auto Parts BracketBuster Saturday and that rocked watching SIU defeat a team with a projected second round pick who was averaging 20-something points per game and a 7-footer that is a projected first round pick in 2009.

Long story short, SIU guard Tyrone Green shut down Nevada's Marcelus Kemp and Randal Falker made UNR big-man JaVale McGee look like Patrick O'Bryant.

Unless there is a gigantic snowstorm that hits SIU overnight, it will be back to work for me and the rest of the student body in Carbondale.

Hey, life has to resume sometime.

Live from the MVC Swimming & Diving Championships

2008-02-16T18:42:00.000-06:00

2:42 PM In a move that might lead me into future endeavors, I've decided to 'live blog' day three of the MVC Swimming & Diving Championships. As most of you may know, I cover men's & women's swimming and diving for the Daily Egyptian at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

I've never 'live blogged' before, and something like this may inspire me to spawn a SIU-only sports blog. I've dabbled with a focused blog before, but the since-deleted Cubs blog failed because school and work got in the way. But when school, work and something I love come together, it might come together in a very awesome way.

Finals starts at 4 p.m.

Background:

SIU is going for its second consecutive MVC Championship, and is currently in second place with 519.5 points. Missouri State starts the day with 591 points. I talked to Coach Rick Walker last night, and he reminded me that this isn't unchartered water for the Salukis (pun intended). SIU entered the final day of the meet behind MSU last year and came back to win the whole darned thing.

Here's hoping the Salukis can do it again.

3:02 PM

Current Standings:

Missouri State University- 591
Southern Illinois University- 519.5
Illinois State University- 461.5
University of Northern Iowa- 240
University of Evansville- 209

3:46 PM

Currently, they're honoring the seniors. One of the things I love about college sports is honoring the seniors. Four years of the balancing act that is being a student-athlete is impressive and each member deserves to be honored.

3:58 PM

The National Anthem has just been sung and the meet will soon be underway. Sidenote: I love SIU's pre-game jig is great. The only way to describe it is fun to watch. The one thing I do know is that it's done in a bunch of different languages and that in itself makes it cool!

4:26 PM

MSU's Matana Wellman wins the 1650 yard freestyle with an un-official time of 1726.17. SIU's Karin Mullendore finishes 7 with 18:17.01.

4:32 PM SCOREBOARD UPDATE

MSU- 672
SIU- 531.5
ISU- 490.5
UNI- 254
UE- 228

4:40 PM

SIU junior Kelly Dvorak wins the 200-yd backstroke with a time of 2:02.28. Dani Quarry finishes 6th with a time of 2:08.44.

4:49 PM SCOREBOARD UPDATE

MSU- 717
SIU- 570.5
ISU- 516.5
UNI- 280
UE- 247

4:54 PM

SIU sophomore Therese Mattsson won the 100-yard freestyle, with teammates Isabel Madeira, Tovah Gasparovich and Emily Duerringer finishing in third, fourth and sixth place respectively.

5:02 PM SCOREBOARD UPDATE

MSU- 746
SIU- 627.5
ISU- 554.5
UNI- 293
UE- 265

And the question is: where can SIU get 118.5 points? Only time will tell.

5:14 PM

SIU senior Julie Ju picks up a victory in the women's 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:15.99. Teammates Marcela Teixeira and Keli Kramer finished in third and seventh places respectively.

Blogger's Note: I guess now would be a good time to note that all times posted here are unofficial.

5:21 PM SCOREBOARD UPDATE

MSU- 780
SIU- 675.5
ISU- 603.5
UNI- 309
UE- 272

5:31

SIU swimmers Lisa Jaquez and Abby Blank finished in third and fifth places respectively in the 200-yard butterfly. Unfortunately for the Salukis, MSU's Breanna Hollar picked up the top spot with a time of 2:06.04. The Bears are inching towards the MVC title with only two events remaining.

5:38 SCOREBOARD UPDATE

MSU- 840
SIU 714.5
ISU- 633.5
UNI- 316
UE- 291

Whispers of SIU being mathematically eliminated sadden me. I'm not sure SIU can make up 125.5 points in two events. If that is the case, congrats to MSU. Time for diving, that means time for an extended break.

6:27 UPDATE

We're back and we're live from Carbondale. The Salukis are down 125.5 points heading into the women's 400-yard freestyle relay. It's not over, but it's over enough to crown MSU as the champions.

SIU's 400 yard freestyle relay team finishes the meet on a strong note, finishing first with an unofficial time of 3:27.06.

6:42 FINAL SCOREBOARD UPDATE

MSU- 942
SIU- 774.5
ISU- 715.5
UNI- 346
UE- 335

Those are your official scores. Congrats to the Missouri State Bears--2008 State Farm/Missouri Valley Conference Champions in Women's Swimming & Diving.

That's it, for now. Goodnight, from Carbondale!

The Obligatory Valentine’s Day Post II

2008-02-15T01:29:00.005-06:00

Since I am a journalism major, I guess it would only be right that I write a little post-game blog after Valentine’s Day. So here goes nothing:

First, I’d like to send my best wishes to Northern Illinois University. I know NIU was on my “enemies list” after hiring former SIU head coach Jerry Kill, but all jokes aside, my thoughts are with those that attend school in Some lunatic opened fire, wounding students and had me (and many of my friends and colleagues) worried about NIU. It’s sad that things like this continue to happen anywhere, let alone college campuses.

Next, I’d like to say V-Day went without much glitz or glamour. I didn’t do anything special, I didn’t even get a chance to eat my Fannie May chocolates that I got from my mother. The last two years, V-Day has just come-and-gone without much fanfare and I have not minded one bit!

I’d also like to take this opportunity to say that I hope that everyone had a happy V-Day! No matter if you hate it or love it, I hope that you have good days everyday—no matter what “holiday” is or is not taking place.

The majority of this blog now turns its attention to my Valentine, Erin Andrews.

Erin Andrews is almost perfect. I say almost because her only flaw is that she is a fan of the Green Bay Packers, but I can get over that (that coming from the guy who has fallen in love with girls who were Cardinals and White Sox fans.) Seriously, there’s something sexy about a girl who not only knows her sports, but can break it down and look good while doing so.

Anyway, I bring it up because of a newsworthy interview EA does with some Philadelphia sports talk radio station. Blogsite Awful Announcing has the perfect headline and some intriguing notes:

“I’m sure the next hot blonde is going to walk in the door and take my job.” I guess that’s the nature of the beast, but EA is kidding herself if she doesn’t think she is the Gold Standard of sideline reporters
A Michigan State student asked Andrews to leave the outgoing message on his cell phone. Another too little, too late idea after EA has left C’dale. Can you imagine my voicemail saying “Hey, this is Erin Andrews. Luis is busy right now, he’ll get back to you as soon as he can. Thanks for calling, bye…” I’d call my own phone just to hear her voice lol.
“I’m absolutely dating…but I’m not exclusively dating.” YES! YES! YES! That means there’s just an off chance that on V-Day Erin was thinking “I wonder how that kid from Carbondale is enjoying his Valentine’s Day?” If you must know, I spent my day wishing EA was here with me.
David Wright is a “good friend.” There’s one less guy to consider as competition. Take it from me, any time a girl says a guy is just a “good friend”, it means he’s the kind of guy that stays up late with her chatting about her life aspirations, how her day at work was and how crappy her exes are. Trust me, being a “good friend” is the kiss of death because no matter how perfect you are for her you’re just not good enough!
“I’m looking for a guy that it’s okay that I’m on the road.” I’m OK that you’re on the road as long as you’re OK that I’m a 21-year-old college student who is turning into a stat junkie that spends too much time on Deadspin, The Big Lead, Awful Announcing and SalukiTalk.

All jokes aside, Erin Andrews rocks and I hope she finds happiness with whoever (especially if that whoever is me).

I’d like to end the Post-V-Day blog with a shout out to those who are deserving of one. So Happy Valentine’s Day to:

My family: Mom, Roy, Titi, Mama, Kristin, Jessica and everyone near and far I didn’t mention. I hope you enjoyed your V-Day.
My friends: I’d name you all, but if I forgot to name one of you then I’d probably end up in trouble—so I’ll cover you all with a blanket by saying “Happy V-Day to y’all!”
Erin Andrews: see above!
SIU basketball: Despite your 13-12 overall record, the SIU Arena is still my favorite non-alcohol serving place in Carbondale! Go Dawgs!
and finally, my true love: the Chicago Cubs. If there’s anyone who needs a hug, it’s a team that hasn’t won the big one in 100 years. I often say that being a Cubs fan is like being in a tortured relationship, but if my significant other didn’t bring me the big one, they probably wouldn’t be my significant other for long (and you can take that in any context you’d like).

Goodnight, from Carbondale!

2008 Chicago Cubs Preview: Spring Training Edition

2008-02-14T18:01:00.001-06:00

I’ve come to the realization that previews aren’t always accurate, especially ones written before Spring Training even starts. Since projections made this early can be thrown out the window because of a trade or an injury or the meteoric rise of a hot prospect, what’s the point of making one?

So I’ve decided to make my Chicago Cubs 2008 preview a two part series. An initial look at the team begins with this issue, by breaking the team down position-by-position and looking at the team as constructed right now. Then, before Opening Day, I would look and have a more accurate preview—of course having looking at what happened during Spring Training would be beneficial to making a more accurate projection.

So, without further to do, my 2008 Cubs preview, Spring Training Edition.

The Cubs strength is with their corner infielders. The anchor of the infield defense is first baseman Derrek Lee. His combination of range, athletic ability and baseball IQ are part of the reason he is a three-time Gold Glove winner. Offensively, 2007 was a down year for Lee posting only 22 home runs and 82 RBIs, despite posting a .317 batting average and .400 on-base percentage.

Even though Chicago sports journalists report the contrary, Aramis Ramirez is improving on the defensive end, in fact, Ramirez might be the best defensive third baseman in the Central Division or—dare I say—the entire National League. Offensively, Ramirez is a game changer even though he only hit 26 HRs and 101 RBIs. From 2004-06, Ramirez averaged over 30 HRs and 100 RBIs and was one of the Cubs best hitters.

As for the middle infield, the Cubs have a couple of question marks—and for different reasons. Ryan Theriot enters 2008 as the Cubs starting shortstop after posting a .266/.326/.346 line in his first full season. His hustle and versatility are two things he has going in his favor, but the jury is still out on if he can be a productive everyday shortstop.

For now, Mark DeRosa enters the 2008 season as the Cubs everyday second baseman, even though 47% of his starts came at positions other than second base. “DeRo” posted a .307 batting average and an .848 OPS as a second baseman and proved to be the Super-Utility man that Cubs fans thought they were getting when he signed in Chicago. He might return to that role full-time in 2008 if the Cubs acquire another second baseman.

The trio of Alfonso Soriano, Felix Pie and Japanese import Kosuke Fukudome provide manager Lou Piniella with the athletic outfield he has been craving. Soriano enters his second year with the Cubs and should be in a more focused mindset since he won’t have to acclimate himself to a new team or a new position. Fukudome is the left-handed hitting, high-OBP outfielder the Cubs desperately needed to add to their outfield. His career .397 OBP should translate well to the major leagues. As for Pie, Cubs fans would feel better about him if the line-up 1 through 7 was stronger. Unfortunately, it isn’t. Pie’s redeeming quality is his stellar defense.

The ultimate wild card in the everyday line-up is catcher Geovany Soto, who provided the Cubs with their only home run of the post season. Soto is a solid defensive catcher who could move up to the 6 th spot in the order if he hits like he did at Triple-A. Backing him up is defensive specialist Henry Blanco, who might be one foul tip away from calling it a career.

The Cubs starting rotation is solid, but not spectacular. Starters 1 through 3 will have to carry the load if the Cubs want to repeat as NL Central champs. Carlos Zambrano will have to get off to a better start and keep his emotions in check, Ted Lilly will have to continue to be the pitcher that went 9-1 after Cubs losses and Rich Hill will need to find a way to go deeper in games. Jason Marquis, Ryan Dempster, Jon Lieber, Sean Marshall, Sean Gallagher and Kevin Hart will fight for the final two spots of the rotation and whoever loses out might end up traded before Opening Day.

Power arms in the bullpen have me convinced that the ‘pen is the stronger half of the Cubs pitching staff. Right-handers Bobby Howry, Carlos Marmol and Kerry Wood will compete for the closers role, and whoever doesn’t make the cut will be used as shut down set-up men—so it seems like a no-lose situation for the Cubs. The addition of hard-throwers Jose Ascanio and Tim Lahey give the Cubs additional depth.

The Cubs bench may not seem deep, but what they don’t have in players, they have in versatility. DeRosa can play each of the infield positions and both corner outfield spots, Theriot can play the middle infield spots and right field, and Matt Murton and Daryle Ward are players that can play both corner outfield positions, too. The wild card on the bench is Sam Fuld. The fan favorite known for his hustle and grit was the Arizona Fall League MVP and could end up as the Cubs everyday center fielder.

Of all the intangibles, the one that will stand out the most is the ongoing storyline of the 100-year drought. That story will be told in many different ways, by different sports writers and columnists and probably in different languages. It will be up to each man and woman up and down that organization to keep the players focused. Remember, you can’t be held accountable for what happened (or what hasn’t happened) for the last 100 years.

Note: This was originally posted by me on ArmchairGM.com

The Obligatory Valentine's Day Post

2008-02-14T09:26:00.004-06:00

As much as I want to ignore Valentine's Day, I just can't. I'll stay away from the typical bashing of the "holiday" by not referencing it as a "Hallmark holiday" or "Single's Awareness Day" or any of those clever and witty sayings. I have my own Valentine's Day reflection.

Feb. 14, 2008 marks the 10-year anniversary of one of the saddest four-day periods of my young life.

Chicago Cubs broadcaster Harry Caray, who took his wife Dutchie out to dinner on V-Day, collapsed at a restaurant and would die four days later.

Caray was an icon on both sides of Chicago, but in St. Louis as well--that's quite a trifecta to be able to have icon status for three sets of different fandoms. But not only was he a Chicago icon, he was my idol.

Personally, I credit Caray and analyst Steve Stone for teaching me all I needed to know about baseball and life. "Stoney" would provide in-depth baseball analysis "for all you little leaguers at home", while Caray would give classic play-by-play calls with a dash of random commentary about cute blondes and Budweiser.

Before I wanted to become the next great sports journalist, I wanted to be the next Harry Caray.

I'll always remember the time I met him with my mother at the Cubs Convention as he stood by the elevators. I told him I wanted to be just like him when I grew up and he told me "You'll make it, kid" and he gave me an autograph I will always cherish.

And even though the Cubs have had some decent broadcasters since the death of the man I knew as "Uncle Harry", watching a Cubs game hasn't been the same.

I hope those of you that enjoy V-Day go out and have a rockin' good time. I'll try to do so myself, just because I know Harry would want me to.

NOTE: Harry lives on, being the inspiration on my main quote: “Booze, broads, and bullshit. If you got all that, what else do you need?”

SIU downs Drake, ends Bulldogs' bid for Valley perfection

2008-02-13T23:13:00.002-06:00

~~Somewhere in Miami, the ’72 Dolphins are popping champagne.~~ Oops, wrong sport. Let’s try that again.

Wednesday night’s game against Drake can be summed up in just four words: Not In Our House!

Drake guard Leonard Houston had a chance to tie the game with a last-second three, but the shot misfired, giving SIU the 65-62 upset victory over the No. 14 Bulldogs.

The victory kept Drake from celebrating a share of the MVC regular season title, for now. Allow me to paraphrase SIU broadcaster Mike Reis, who said it best in the post-game show: “If anyone’s going to clinch a title at the SIU Arena, it’s gonna be the guys in the white.” The victory also kept the Salukis undefeated at home, and improved their record to 60-1 at the SIU Arena against MVC foes in the past seven years.

Player of the Game: Senior forward Randal Falker, who led the Salukis with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

THREE UP:

Fans at the SIU Arena. Despite crappy road conditions, frigid temperatures and a .500 team, Saluki fans came out and acted like they were out in full force, despite an estimated crowd of 5,700 people—and the sixth man acted like it was in front of a national televised audience, to boot. Kudos to the Dawg Pound, though I do take exception to chanting “Overrated!” with less than three seconds left—those fans obviously missed how the SIU-Butler game ended.
Bench play. The key to SIU’s victory was its bench play. Joshua Bone, who has started a majority of the games for the Salukis this year, came off the bench to score 9 points. When Bone’s shot is falling, it forces defenses to stretch, which either gives Falker more operating room in the post—or Bone more room to shoot behind-the-arc.
Falker dominates the offensive glass. There’s no way good ol’ #14 gets a double-double without his seven offensive rebounds. Teams that grab offensive boards win games, it’s as simple as that. Crashing the offensive glass allows teams to get second chance points, while also keeping the ball away from the opposition. Remember, you can’t win if you don’t score…and they can’t score if you have the ball!

THREE DOWN:

Referees. Yeah, they were bad. I’ve come to the realization that the MVC will never get quality refs unless it combines with the Big 10, making a super-duper conference like the Big East. All jokes aside, it’s hard enough to get quality ref’s because of A) the pay [or lack thereof] B) the job itself [really, who wants a job where you spend two hours getting your life threatened and sexuality second guessed by a bunch of college kids?] or C) the travel schedule [think about it, these guys probably have to go by bus or on their own across the Midwest—and that doesn’t sound like fun in the winter months]. Still, there was no reason to call SIU broadcaster Mike Reis for a blocking foul when Drake forward Jonathan Cox went diving onto the broadcast table (Kudos! to Salukitalk for that nugget).
“Overrated” chant. I’ve got two problems with that chant. Problem #1: It came waaay too early. I wish fans would realize that “it ain’t over, ‘til it’s over!” Problem #2: Drake’s good, really good. Realize the fact that the Bulldogs are a quality team deserving of that #14 ranking, but they ran into a team that plays like a pre-season top-25 team at home—and the game happened to be in Carbondale, Ill. tonight.
Points off turnovers. Even though SIU won where it really matters—in the final score—but it’s hard to ignore Drake’s 20 points off TO’s, especially when SIU only scored 12. SIU had too many turnovers, and that could have easily cost them the game. But understand, the Salukis are operating with only one true point guard. I’m still waiting for Dion Coopwood to be freed by Coach Lowery. He’s not a star, but damn it, he’s a true point guard and if he can give me five quality minutes of feeding the post, then I’d be happier than with Bone—a pure shooting guard—playing out of position, running the point.

EXTRA POINTS:

While Matt Shaw’s free-throw gave the Salukis the three-point lead it would end up holding on to, one could argue SIU doesn’t win the game without Tyrone Green’s surprising three-pointer. “Greenie” isn’t much of a shooter, but he’s in there to play defense and to provide energy. What he gives you on the offensive end is pure bonus.
With SIU’s win and Creighton’s loss to Evansville, the Dawgs are back in a tie for third-place with four conference games remaining. One of those games is against second-place Illinois State.
The Salukis will look to pick up their second road win of the year Saturday as they hit the road against Wichita State. SIU beat the Shockers 63-52 Jan. 19 in a game that should have been a laugher.

‘Til then, goodnight from Carbondale!

An Open Letter to Saluki Nation

2008-02-13T11:07:00.002-06:00

Next in the "Open Letter" series, a message to Saluki Nation.

Dear Saluki Nation:

A simple request from one of your own for tonight's basketball game: Be there. Be loud. Be Proud.

The Salukis host MVC leader Drake tonight at the SIU Arena in a pivotal match-up. While it might look like the Salukis have nothing to play for, that assumption would be wrong. Beating Drake, the No. 14 team in the country, would keep Drake from clinching a part of the MVC regular season title on our home court and keep our undefeated record against conference opponents in tact.

I believe that home court advantage is one of the key aspects in college basketball and being supportive of your team can really pick up the spirits of a team struggling to stay afloat and be competitive with a record hovering around .500.

So Saluki fans, I know the weather is tough--but get out there and support your Salukis! You might get a chance to play a role in something special.

Sincerely,

LuDo

Snowed In!

2008-02-12T12:13:00.001-06:00

For the first time since 1984, weather has closed down Southern Illinois University. Yes, that means we've got a Snow Day in Carbondale! I'm pretty sure we never had a snow day while I was a student in the Chicago Public Schools system, so I'll enjoy it thoroughly.

And by "enjoy it thoroughly", I mean I will trap myself in my apartment and stay out of the snow and cold. But that's not all that bad, it gives me time to catch up on my blog, acquire new music, clean my room (NOT!) and start writing a skeleton of my Thursday article which will preview the women's swimming MVC Championships which are going to be held Feb. 14-16 at the SIU Rec Center.

Well, at least that means I'll be busy on Valentine's Day. Ahhh, good ol' V-Day! It deserves a post of its own and will likely get it because there is nothing I like more than a good ol' fashioned blog bitching about Valentine's Day. Don't worry, I'll have something up my sleeve.

While it's freezing up here, I'm imagining warmer temps out in Arizona where the Cubs will be kicking off Spring Training in just a few days. Manager Lou Piniella is in his second year with the Cubs and will try to take another crack at ending the longest championship drought in Major League Baseball.

Hmmm, it seems as if a Cubs preview deserves a post of its own. I know I've been promising one for a while, but it will get done.

As for the SIU men's basketball team, yuck! They just can't win on the road and that just means it's a mental thing. 9-2 at the friendly confines of the SIU Arena, but only 1-9 on the road. Even if SIU is 4-5 on the road, they would be 16-8 and looking like a much better team.

12-12 is a looong fall from a team that was only a few buckets away from knocking off the Kansas Jayhawks in the Sweet 16 round a year ago. I knew the Dawgs would miss Jamaal Tatum and Tony Young, but without one of the most dynamic backcourt duos in SIU history, the Salukis look lost--especially on the road.

That takes us to a little bit of a preview of Wednesday's game (weather permitting, of course) against the No. 14 Drake Bulldogs. Drake, who was picked to finish 9th in the MVC according to the pre-season poll, is the class of the MVC this year and has shocked the college hoops world by winning 21 straight games.

That means it is up to SIU to A) stop the streak and B) not allow Drake to clinch anything at the SIU Areana.

Me thinks that topic deserves a post of its own too. Guess what, it will!

That's all for now, sorry for not keeping up, life is busy (to say the least). I'll leave you with some quality linkage:

Fire Joe Morgan hops on my bandwagon, statistically proving why Ryan Theriot shouldn't be at the top of the batting order. Note: I really like Theriot, but the Cubs aren't going to win a World Series because of him, who knows if they can win one with him batting lead-off and playing 150 games at shortstop.
I know we ridiculed Latrell Sprewell for rejecting a $21 million extension because he had mouths to feed, but now aren't we looking foolish? Sprewell's yacht is gone and his home might be next.
Don't look now...seriously don't look. ESPN's got themselves another gimmick: "The Greatest Highlight." Don't you miss the days of Keith Olbermann and Dan Patrick and "The Big Show"--friggin' SportsCenter you could watch all morning??? I know I do. This is gonna suck--and it's hosted by Chris Berman and he's a tool! (Not to be confused with Plies!)
One of my favorite baseball blogs Bugs & Cranks has two pieces comparing the 2007 Patriots choke to not one--but two--different chokes!
This high school girl is an absolute beast in the post. She's committed to Baylor's women's team--so look out for them in the future.

And finally the two "must see" links of the day:

SIU head coach Chris Lowery makes an appearance at deadspin.com, and it's not a good thing.
Sometimes I have no sex life, but this guy has absolutely none...wow, that's all I can say.

Quotable:

I never thought I'd pull a quality quote from a site dedicated to the profiles of hot chicks on facebook, but alas:

“Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. So love the people who treat you right, forget about the ones who don’t and believe that everything happens for a reason. If you get the chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said that it would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.”

Here's the link, enjoy yourselves a pretty girl today.

SIU beats Indiana State, bad weather

2008-02-06T10:21:00.000-06:00

Even though it looked like Indiana State would benefit from a short weather delay, taking a half-time lead, but SIU would respond with a dominating second half to win 80-69.

The Salukis picked up the tempo in the second half, scoring 47 points in the process.

The Salukis were led by senior forward Randal Falker's 20 points and 15 rebounds and junior guard Byran Mullins' 22 points and 5 assists.

THREE UP:

Senior leadership. Seniors Randal Falker, Matt Shaw and Tyrone Green combined to score 42 of SIU's 80 points. Green did his damage coming off the bench attacking the basket and hitting five of six free-throw attempts.
Not having to rely on the three. The most impressive stat from Tuesday night was SIU's 50% shooting from beyond the arc. The Salukis made 5-of-10 three-point opportunities, a vast improvement from the 6-for-24 they shot in the loss at Northern Iowa.
Bench production. "Greenie" as Coach Lowery affectionately calls him scored 11 of SIU's 17 bench points, but the Salukis bench put forth a quality effort in Tuesday night's win.

THREE DOWN:

Joshua Bone's production. Joshua Bone is slumping. Even though he played well in the first half of the Northern Iowa game, Bone struggled in the win over Indiana State. Bone scored 1 point (which came on a made free-throw) in 24 minutes. JB needs to be productive, because when he's on, his outside shot can stretch defenses to where Falker gets more down low opportunities.
Free throw shooting. SIU needs to hit the freebies, end of story. An 11 point win is nice, but if SIU hits its free-throws, this game would have been a laugher.
Weather delays. I might have been the only one who noticed ISU's mini-run that came after the weather delay concluded, but if you were paying attention, you would have noticed the Sycamores grab momentum from that point until half-time.

Notes:

The combination of SIU's win over Indiana State and Illinois State's loss to Drake, the Salukis move into a two-way tie for third place and stands only one game back of second place.
The Salukis and Sycamores have combined for a grand total of 2 MVC road wins, ouch!

SIU gets a chance to separate itself from Creighton in the standings if they can pull of the win Sunday in Omaha.

SIU Bracketbusted, Dumb Reporters & Super Bowl Hangover

2008-02-04T23:35:00.000-06:00

Let's start off with something that doesn't involve the biggest upset ever.

SIU is back on BracketBusters. The Salukis will host the Nevada Wolfpack in this year's BracketBuster match-up. Last year, SIU was the top draw of the made-for-TV match-ups when the Salukis visited the Butler Bulldogs. The Bulldogs are back in the top spot again hosting SIU rival and MVC leader Drake.

The real story of SIU's match-up is the return game to Reno. Personally, I'm going to start saving now and hope the return game takes place during Thanksgiving Break or Winter Break. I wonder how many of my fellow reporters can I keep in my hotel room in the MGM Grand in nearby Las Vegas.

On BracketBuster weekend, SIU will need to find a way to stop two 7-footers, and senior guard Marcelus Kemp. It could be the last hurrah for the Salukis.

Quality Linkage:

This will be a new segment of this blog. I'll provide links of things I find "newsworthy." Sounds simple enough, doesn't it?

Baseball blog Bugs & Cranks provides a different perspective on Super Bowl XLII.
Busted Coverage has got newspaper covers on lock.
On 205th has a commercial that I don't remember either (I think I would remember this one)
The Big Lead has three. awesome. angles. TBL is my favorite sportsblog for a reason!
Someone can't find Illinois on a map. Thankfully, I can.

State of the Blog: 2008

2008-02-04T00:18:00.000-06:00

State of the Blog: 2008

Inspired by President Bush’s “State of the Union” address, I now present to you the inaugural State of the Blog.

Today is a new day…well, yes and no. A “new day” began Jan. 15, 2008 when I made my debut as a sports reporter for The Daily Egyptian. It was a day that was four years in the making. It was a day that I thought would never come, but now that it’s here, I’m cherishing every moment. Even though I am only covering swimming and track (and soon tennis), it is the jumpstart I’ve needed for years.

So what does that moment have to do with the future of this blog? A lot, actually. Notice that blogging has become less frequent in the last month, mostly because if I’m too busy with newspaper stuff and school stuff to think about the Cubs or even my personal life.

Crazy, I know. But that’s going to change (among other things).

First, take note that I’m not moving the site. I’ve done that before and really don’t feel like doing it again (though maybe I should for another fresh start). OK, I’m not going to do that. Instead, I’ll be making changes to this blog.

First, I’m changing the layout of this blog. I’ll be experimenting with color schemes, fonts, etc. I’m also going to expand the content of this blog. Granted, that was the idea in the first place…but really, let’s put this into perspective. I’ll be posting thoughts on the following: SIU athletics, life as a sports reporter, presidential candidates, Chicago sports, my favorite athletes, music, movies, hot girls, blogs I like, life as a college student, and more. The key is the “and more” part.

Actually the key is how these things will be presented. You will no longer get long, drawn out blogs (much like this one). Instead, you’ll get shorter material that gets you straight to the point. For example, check out my recent recaps of Saluki basketball. It consists of a paragraph recap of the game, three highlights, three lowlights, three “notes” (which are usually stats) and who SIU will be playing next.

I’ll be keeping it simple in 2008.

As for rants, they’ll be saved for special occasions—like when Ryan Dempster gives up five runs in the first inning of his first start and I’m ready to run him out of town. Or when some girl breaks my heart (hey, it’s happened before so it’s bound to happen in 2008). Actually, most of my recent rants have been answered by my cousin, so no need to post them here.

So what can you (the reader) look forward to in 2008? How about the following:

· Previewing the 2008 Chicago Cubs

· SIU sports coverage (beyond basketball)
· Politics (You know we get to pick a new leader in Nov., right?)
· Music (Good songs, bad songs, album reviews, etc.)
· Movies (I don’t go to the movies much, so we’ll see how that works out)
· Other blogs (I’m going to be linking a lot more to my favorite blogs—for it is their work that is inspiring me to do this.)
· More You Tube video (You can’t go wrong with cool videos)

And more. 2008 is gonna be special, whether you like it or not!

I didn't think 18-1 would be so disappointing.

2008-02-03T22:02:00.000-06:00

The New York Giants just did the unthinkable. The New England Patriots are perfect no more and the only thing I can say is un-freaking-believable!

As Mr. Stat of the Day, I have to acknowledge the many stats that went out the window a few moments ago. Tom Brady undefeated in the Super Bowl. Not anymore. Bill Belichick never losing after a bye week. That’s over with. The last four teams to win the coin toss lost the Super Bowl. Not anymore. The AFC had won the last four Super Bowls. The key word there is had.

And to think, Brady and Belichick did all that work to blow out the crap out of teams and when it came down to it they pulled the biggest choke job in the history of sports. It begs the question, what the heck happened?

Where they distracted by Brady’s boot? SpyGate II? Randy Moss’ off-the-field allegations? Seriously, this was the Patriots to win and be immortal, and they failed.

While ESPN will spend from now until the NFL Draft picking apart every aspect of this game, I can do that by using a few bullet points.

· The Patriots couldn’t stop the Giants on 3^rd down.

· Bill Belichick choosing to go for it on 4^th and 13 instead of going for a 49-yard field goal cost the Pats there. (I think if Vinatieri is still on the Pats he’s out there kicking).

· The Pats couldn’t stop the Giants front four.

· The Giants outplayed the Pats. Plain and simple.

You know who I feel good for? Brandon Jacobs, that’s who! The Southern Illinois product who was stuck as a third-string running back behind two top-5 picks at Auburn (Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams). Good ol’ #27 spent some time behind Tiki Barber and in his first year as a starter, he put up a 1,000-yard season and won a Super Bowl. While Eli Manning won Super Bowl MVP, he couldn’t have done it without Jacobs’ first-down plunge on 4^th and 1.

You know who I don’t feel bad for? Tiki Barber, that’s who! Barber basically quit on his teammates for an early start as a broadcaster. He threw his coach and quarterback under the bus as he walked out the door. And now, his dream has been fulfilled by his teammates. And Tiki gets none of it!

Don’t cry Bostonians, it’s gonna be alright. You still have the World Series champs. You still have the best team in the NBA. But you lost to New York twice this week. You lost Johan Santana to the Mets, and now you lost the biggest game of your lives to the Giants. I guess you were foolish for trying to patent 19-0, huh?

Somewhere there are old men in Miami poppin’ champagne and Mercury Morris is making a new rap. Somewhere in New York, Jets fans are confused. Somewhere there’s a Giants blogger writing the headline: ‘Cheaters Never Prosper’. And somewhere in Boston, I’m sure you can hear a pin drop.

New York 17 New England 14

Un-freaking-believable!

What kind of blogger am I?

2008-02-03T16:54:00.000-06:00

With changes on the horizon, I would be remiss if I didn’t offer a Super Bowl prediction and an endorsement of a presidential candidate.

Like I said: the times, they are a-changin’!

With the Super Bowl only hours away, I’m pledging my fandom for one day only to the New England Patriots. As a student at Southern Illinois University, I got to see New York Giants running back Brandon Jacobs run over and past opponents and I have supported him ever since. However, the Pats are too good and I just do not think Tom Brady and Bill Belichick will lose the biggest game of the year after going undefeated.

As for presidency, I’m running a split ticket. I believe that Barack Obama is the kind of candidate that can bring change to a government that needs change. I don’t care if he’s black, white, pink, purple…Obama is the type of candidate who can rebuild George W. Bush’s mess.

On the Republican side of things, I’m supporting John McCain. I’ve come to learn that you can’t vote straight ticket because sometimes there are candidates in other parties that represent your views. McCain is the type of candidate with the military experience that the future president will need to get out of the military conflicts the country is currently going through.

Change is coming soon.

Floorburn U Flashback

2008-01-30T01:06:00.000-06:00

It looks like SIU is reverting to its old ways and that’s a good thing.

The Salukis beat the Evansville Tuesday night by a score of 59-39. Evansville made only 15 shots from the field, shooting a woeful 35.7%. This comes only days after the Salukis held the Creighton BlueJays, the MVC’s highest scoring team, to 44 points Saturday night.

The Salukis were paced by Matt Shaw’s double-double. Shaw scored 15 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in SIU’s victory and Randal Falker chipped in with a game-high 16 points.

THREE UP:

• Randal Falker’s free-throw shooting. Falker has been much maligned—and deservedly so—for his poor free throw shooting. However, Falker went 8-for-10 from the charity stripe. Hitting free-throws in tight ballgames could be important to SIU’s second half run. Yes, I understand this was a blowout, but you’ve got to be encouraged any time Falker converts on the freebies.

• Matt Shaw’s rebounding. Shaw has collected 28 rebounds in his last three games (9.3 rebounds per game.) He’s also chipped in 16.3 points per game. Shaw is also stepping up on the court vocally, which has to be good for team morale.

• SIU’s defense turns back the clock. The Salukis allowed 44 points Saturday and 39 points Tuesday night. SIU’s calling card this decade has been its stifling man-to-man defense. If SIU can keep up the pace and continue to play like Saluki Nation has come accustomed to seeing, the Dawgs may be back at the top of the MVC before you know it.

THREE DOWN:

• Three point shooting. The Salukis were only 3-for-15 (20%) from beyond the arc. The great thing about college basketball is that the three-point line is the great equalizer. The Salukis will need to shoot higher than 20% from three-point range if they want to get back in the race for the MVC crown.

• Joshua Bone’s 0 assists and 3 turnovers. When Bryan Mullins is out, Bone shifts to the point and SIU’s offense suffers. One of SIU’s glaring weaknesses is that its bench is without a true back-up point guard. Someone needs to step up, Mullins can’t play 40 minutes at such a high level every night.

• Bench production. I might be too harsh on our bench, but I think I may have a case here. I understand the bench’s job isn’t necessarily to score points. And I realize that SIU’s bench outscored Evansville’s bench. But the trio of Tyrone Green, Tony Boyle and Carlton Fay has to do better than 7 points on 3-of-10 shooting.

NOTES:

• As of this posting, the victory gives SIU (11-10 overall, 6-4 in conference play) sole possession of third place in the MVC.

• SIU held an opponent below 40 points for the first 2006. (Def. Louisiana Tech 50-36 on Nov. 29, 2006.)

• 8 of SIU’s 11 wins have been by double digits.

The Salukis will be in action Saturday night in Cedar Falls, Iowa to take on the University Northern Iowa Panthers.

Salukis turn back the clock in win over Creighton

2008-01-27T23:37:00.000-06:00

Floorburn U made a guest appearance in the Salukis 48-44 over the Creighton Blue Jays.

This year’s version of SIU played like the teams that helped build the program to what it is today. The Salukis played like the team that ESPN thought they would see when they chose SIU to host College GameDay.

In front of a packed SIU Arena, junior guard Bryan Mullins that starred for the Salukis. As former backcourt mates Jamaal Tatum and Tony Young watched from the crowd, Mullins willed the Salukis to victory.

THREE UP:

• Mullins strong play. If everyone on the Salukis played like Mullins, SIU wouldn’t be 10-10 and 5-4 in conference play. Mullins scored 13 points to go along with 4 assists, but that was just the beginning. Mullins is the Salukis go-to-guy and there are no ifs, ands or buts about it. He makes clutch baskets, he makes smart decisions with the basketball, and he is SIU’s most fundamentally sound player.

• Matt Shaw shows up. Shaw came to play in his last home game against the Blue Jays, leading the all scorers with 16 points. Shaw’s lack of consistency has drawn plenty of criticism from Saluki Nation, and it has been well deserved. Shaw’s back-to-back threes brought the Salukis within two points and revived a quieting SIU Arena. The way Shaw played last night is the way everyone thought he’d play all year.

• SIU fans rock The Arena. Saluki Nation was in full force last night, decked out in maroon. They were loud and proud and very much into the game. The Dawg Pound was pretty good, however some members (more to come in ‘Three Down’).

THREE DOWN:

• Guards not named “Bryan Mullins”. Saluki guards not named Bryan Mullins struggled against the Jays. The combination of Joshua Bone, Wesley Clemmons and Tyrone Green combined to score 6 points on 3-for-13 shooting (23%).

• Officiating. It seems as if officiating complaints come after SIU games but the refs were bad at this game. I know that MVC refs have better things to do on a Saturday night, but there is no reason not to have the best refs for this game. Poor officiating left ESPN analysts Jay Bilas and Digger Phelps shaking their heads after several blown calls.

• Certain Dawg Pound members. To quote fellow sports reporter Matt Hartwig, “What is this, amateur night?” The one problem I have with these nationally televised games is that it brings out the fair-weather…dare I say…dumb Saluki fans. Dumb freshman that want to storm the court and throw things at security guards among other things. Rushing the court is reserved for unranked teams beating ranked opponents, not for teams that were ranked No. 11 as recently as last year. We’re been to the mountaintop, let’s act like it.

NOTES:

• SIU held Creighton to 44 points in the entire game. Kansas scored 44 points in the first half of its victory over Nebraska. The Salukis only scored 48, but 48 was good enough to win the ballgame.

• That brings me to my next stat. SIU (finally) picked up its first win when not scoring 63 points. Prior to Saturday’s game, SIU was 0-10 in games when they scored less than 63 points. The magic number stat is no more.

• Kaleb Korver, younger brother of NBA three-point specialist and Saluki killer Kyle Korver, was held scoreless in his first game against the Salukis. Korver didn’t do much in his 5 minutes of playing time, and I hope that trend continues for the next four years!

SIU’s win over Creighton put the Salukis in a three-way tie for third place. The Salukis will be in action again Tuesday night when they host the Evansville Purple Aces.

Are You Ready For ESPN's College GameDay?

2008-01-25T16:33:00.000-06:00

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Pass it on to anyone you know going to the game!!!!

This is the kind of game I've been waiting to see for four years. It's too bad that it came under these circumstances.

The six-time defending Missouri Valley Conference champion SIU Salukis will host the first ever ESPN College GameDay not to be hosted by a school in one of the "big six" conferences (Big 10, Pac 10, ACC, SEC, Big East, Big XII).

Unfortunately, SIU isn't playing like a team that has been to the Big Dance for the last six years. The Salukis enter tomorrow's game with a 9-10 record overall and a 4-4 conference record. They are currently in a three-way tie for fifth place.

Still, this is a prime opportunity to show that SIU is for real. The Salukis and the Creighton Blue Jays have been the class of the MVC since I can remember, so this just might be ESPN's way of acknowledging a rivalry that can only be described as the midwest's version of Duke-North Carolina.

With that said, I hope everyone was able to get their tickets because if they don't, they are S.O.L. and will be stuck watching the game on ESPN2.

If you are fortunate enough to go to the game tomorrow, you have several duties.

Duty #1 is to wear your maroon. It's a MAROON OUT, people...rep it!

I, for one, will be wearing my new "I H8 CR8N" shirt from Pinch Penny Pub, it was only five bucks. Even my mom in Chicago will be repping her "BEAT CREIGHTON" shirt I got her last year.

(Yes, I've got my family on the SIU bandwagon!)

Duty #2 is to be there in the morning for the GameDay morning show. (Wearing your maroon, of course!)

Seriously, it's free to the public and the show is from 10-11 a.m. and will air on the original ESPN. If you go, represent SIU to the best of your ability. We're a very knowledgeable basketball school, let's act like it!

Let's show the college basketball world that there is life outside of the ACC!

Duty #3 is to be loud and proud!

The Dawg Pound is arguably the best student cheering section in the section. They're smart. They're witty. They're right on top of the court. And the way the SIU Arena is set up, you can hear EVERYTHING! If you're an opposing player, you're going to hear any insult thrown your way.

To be fair, the Salukis have to play their part. They have to give the fans something to get excited about.

Duty #4 is simple: OOOOOOOH!!! PIG! SOUIE! RAZOR-BACKS!!!

After the college hoops season ended last year, Creighton head coach Dana Altman accepted the Arkansas job after Stan Heath was canned. After coming to his senses, Altman returned to Omaha, Neb. and re-joined the Blue Jays.

Saluki Nation, let's not let him forget what he did. Attached in this "note" is the press conference from when scumbag Bobby Petrino took over as Arkansas head coach.

Let's practice this and when Creighton is introduced tomorrow, let's hit 'em with a lil' bit of "Oh Pig Souie!"

GO DAWGS!

P.S. Let's try to sing real lyrics to our school fight song. The song doesn't go "Go Southern Go! That's all the words we know!"

http://www.lyricsondemand.com/miscellaneouslyrics/fightsongslyrics/illinoissouthernfightsonglyrics.html

P.P.S. Not only will Carbondale be hosting ESPN Gameday, they will also host the most beautiful sideline reporter (and one of the most gorgeous women I've ever seen) Ms. Erin Andrews.

I'd love to meet her and maybe, JUST MAYBE, get a picture with her!

It'd be my profile pic for a looooong time!

Not Shocked at all, SIU beats Wichita State

2008-01-19T21:36:00.000-06:00

SIU is now playing like it realizes that a seventh straight NCAA appearance isn’t guaranteed to anyone.

The Salukis victory over the Shockers of Wichita State University put the Dawgs at .500 overall (9-9) and moved them to 4-3 in Missouri Valley Conference play.

SIU was led by senior forward Randal Falker, who scored 13 of his game-high 15 points in the first half. And even though he only scored two points in the second half, Falker impacted the game by getting two of WSU’s big men to foul out, shortening the Shockers bench.

THREE UP:

• Falker’s play. Falker did the things that senior leaders are supposed to do. He led the Salukis with 15 points, got the Shockers in foul trouble and got his teammates involved by passing out of low-post double teams.

• The SIU Bench. Tyrone Green, Tony Boyle and Carlton Fay played effectively as a unit, and that is going to be a key for the Salukis down the stretch. They combined to outscore the Shockers bench 18-14.

• Joshua Bone. Bone went 4-for-6 from the field and 3-for-4 from the three-point line. His outside shooting ability is one of those things that can carry SIU when he’s on.

THREE DOWN:

• Matt Shaw’s 0-fer beyond the arc. SIU head coach Chris Lowery mentioned in the post game show that Shaw has recently struggled behind the arc, but still wants him to shoot because he’s “earned” it. That irked me a bit, seeing that Dusty Baker used to say that his vets “earned” starting spots despite struggling and being on the downside of their careers. But Shaw isn’t a Baker guy, he’s a SIU guy…and if it’s one thing I know about Matt Shaw is that he WILL break out of his slump and contribute to SIU’s success.

• Chris Lowery’s Technical Foul. Not that it was a bad thing, but if C-Lo would have burst out later and got a second ‘T’ he would have been gone. I’m not sure how the Salukis would manage without their head coach.

• Whoever fouled PJ Couisnard in the closing seconds. Fouling a three-point shooter is a bad idea, no matter where it happens in the game. It’s unacceptable…unless you’re fouling Shaq or Ben Wallace, of course.

NOTES:

• Bryan Mullins is becoming the undisputed leader of this team. Mullins posted 11 points, five assists, and two steals. He’s also becoming Mr. Last Second Shot for SIU. That doesn’t surprise me…knowing that Mullins has beaten a few teams with last second shots…including my personal favorite against Creighton, in Omaha, Neb.

• SIU is giving up 62.1 points per game in Valley games, a far cry from what they did last year. SIU is going to need to step up its ‘D’ down the stretch.

• With their 63 point effort this afternoon, the Salukis moved to 9-0 in games in which they score 63 or more points. Again, it looks like 63 is SIU’s magic number.

The Salukis are in action again on Wednesday when they travel to Springfield, Mo. to face the Missouri State Bears in the last game the Dawgs will play in the Hammond Center. Thank God!!!!

SIU picks up first road win at the expense of Evansville

2008-01-16T10:51:00.000-06:00

Now, that is how a pre-season top-25 team is supposed to play on the road.

The Southern Illinois University Salukis picked up their first road win of the season with its 80-67 victory over Evansville University's Purple Aces thanks in large part to its hot shooting which ignited a 15-0 run to start the game.

THREE UP:

· After only scoring 4 points on 1-for-3 shooting in SIU’s loss to Indiana State, Randal Falker showed why he was a pre-season Wooden Award candidate by stuffing the stat sheet with 16 points, nine rebounds and a team-high five assists.

· The Salukis as a whole made significant strides since their Saturday night loss to the Sycamores. SIU shot 53% from the three-point line and 59% overall.

· The Salukis sported a balanced scoring attack with eight different players scoring including Bryan Mullins and Wesley Clemmons, who chipped in with 14 points each and Matt Shaw, who added 8 points.

THREE DOWN:

· After a strong first half, Shaw was held scoreless in the second half, going 0-for-7 field.

· In the 2006-07 season, the Salukis were one of the top defensive teams in all of college basketball, limiting their opponents to about 56 points per game. Tuesday night, the Salukis gave up 67 points to the Purple Aces, and are giving up almost 64 points per game in Valley play.

· I can’t come up with a number three, so that’s a good thing!

It looks like the Salukis might have to find a way to win some shootouts if they want to finish in the top three in the MVC this year. Falker, Shaw and Mullins will have to lead this team down the stretch and get some help from Clemmons, Joshua Bone and the SIU bench.

NOTES:

· SIU moved to 8-0 in games in which they score 63 or more points.

· SIU put up its third 80+ point effort of the season, its first since the 88-78 victory over Western Kentucky

· In its three MVC wins, SIU is averaging 78.6 points per game. In its losses, SIU is only averaging 53.3 points per game. It looks like if SIU isn’t blowing teams out, they aren’t winning the close games.

The Salukis are in action again Saturday afternoon when they host the Shockers of Wichita State University.

SIU Basketball: It's not over, but...

2008-01-13T00:57:00.000-06:00

…it might be getting to that point.

The Indiana State University Sycamores 64-62 double overtime victory against the Southern Illinois University Salukis is a microcosm of the Salukis 2007-08 season. Tonight's loss puts SIU at 7-9 overall and 2-3 in Missouri Valley Conference play while putting the Salukis' six year NCAA tournament appearance streak firmly in jeopardy.

THREE UPS

Bryan Mullins led the Salukis in scoring with 18 points, including a three-pointer that gave the Salukis a brief 62-61 lead.
Matt Shaw added 16 points and 14 rebounds and looks to be coming out of his early season funk with solid play in recent games.
Tyrone Green chipped in off the bench with 14 points and nine rebounds, seven of which were offensive boards.

THREE DOWNS

The pre-season MVC player of the year Randal Falker struggled tonight, scoring only 4 points on 1-of-3 shooting.
One game after Carlton Fay put up 11 points in 18 minutes in a victory over Bradley, Fay struggled in the loss against Indiana State, scoring 0 points in 11 minutes.
SIU probably would have won had it shot better than 20.8% from three-point range. SIU only hit five three point shots (24 attempts)

SIU BY THE NUMBERS

Tonight's loss keeps SIU winless in "true" road games (0-6), winless in games in which they score less than 63 points (0-9) and winless in games decided by less than 10 points (0-4)
SIU averages 75.57 points per game in wins, but only 51 points per game in losses
In wins, SIU beats their opponent by an average of 14.57 points
In losses, SIU is beaten by an average of 10.78 points

Needless to say, SIU has its work cut out for them and will need to go on a lengthy winning streak to get themselves back in the hunt.

SIU is playing like a Jekyll and Hyde act with a 5-2 record at the SIU Arena and a 2-7 record away from Carbondale. SIU is 2-1 in games played on a neutral court.

To get back into NCAA tournament consideration, SIU will likely need to win out at home and find a way to finish with at least a .500 record on the road. If not, they will face the daunting task of having to win the MVC Tournament in St. Louis to punch a guaranteed ticket to the NCAA's.

The Salukis' next game will be on the road against the Purple Aces of Evansville University. Evansville sports a 0-5 record in MVC play and is 5-10 overall. If SIU can't beat the Aces on the road, they will take another significant step backwards.

An Open Letter To: Saluki Basketball

2008-01-07T16:15:00.000-06:00

One of my favorite segments on the blog has been the “An Open Letter To…” series which began on June 4, 2007 when I wrote a letter to Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo after he broke up with Carrie Underwood. I would later go on to write “open letters” to St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa and Chicago Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano.

Today’s open letter goes to a group near to my heart, the Southern Illinois Salukis men’s basketball team.

Dear Salukis,

I see that conference play is underway and that we currently sit at 1-2 in Missouri Valley Conference play and 6-8 overall and that is quite disappointing, and that is why I am writing this letter.

6-8 is unacceptable for a program that was preseason top 25. 1-2 in MVC play is unacceptable for the six-time defending MVC champions. And to be honest, I’m not sure where you have gone wrong.

You guys have Chris Lowery, the two-time MVC coach of the year leading the way. You have two seniors in the front court that should be leading the team in Matt Shaw and Randal Falker (who was the pre-season pick to win the MVC player of the year).

You have one of the most unselfish point guards in the country, Bryan Mullins who also is a lock down defender. You have Joshua Bone, a jump shot specialist who can light up the scoreboard in the blink of an eye.

And yet, we find ourselves here at 6-8 looking up at the MVC. But you know what guys, all is not lost. There are plenty of games to play.

If you can go 8-0 at home and 5-2 on the road in your remaining games, you can finish with 19 wins and would likely be crowned with another MVC regular season title. At this point, I’d just like to see some more points scored and for you guys to get on a bit of a hot street before Arch Madness in St. Louis.

In closing, this can be turned around. This is SIU…this is Floor Burn U. We don’t do NIT! We find ways to make the NCAA tournament. Remember two years ago when you guys won the MVC tourney with your backs against the wall and no one outside of Carbondale, Ill. had you guys in the tourney?

I do. I believed it could happen then, and I believe it can happen again.

Sincerely,

Luis C. Medina

(Speaking on behalf of Saluki Nation)

Unheralded NFL Prospect Alert, SIU's Nick Hill

2008-01-07T13:46:00.000-06:00

People laughed at me when I suggested that the Chicago Bears should take a look at Southern Illinois running back Brandon Jacobs in the 2005 NFL Draft.

It might have been the “homer” thing to say at the time, but when I saw Jacobs play during my freshman year at SIU in the fall of 2004, I believed that I was seeing something special. Jacobs shredded Div. 1-AA defenses while on offense and on special teams as a kick returner.

This season Jacobs became the New York Giants feature back after Tiki Barber retired after the 2006-07 season. He capitalized on his opportunity, rushing for over 1,000 yards and six total touchdowns (4 rushing, 2 receiving).

In Sunday’s 24-14 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jacobs scored two touchdowns helping the Giants win their first playoff game under Coach Tom Coughlin and quarterback Eli Manning.

And when the 2008 NFL Draft rolls around, I’ll be leading the charge for the Bears to take a look at SIU quarterback Nick Hill.

If Hill isn’t granted another year of eligibility at SIU, his career as a Saluki is over and he will be eligible for the NFL Draft. By no means is Hill a blue-chip prospect, but he is a player that should be given serious consideration to make an NFL roster.

I won’t go as far as to suggest that Hill is the next Tony Romo, a product of Div. 1-AA Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Ill. who made good as an undrafted free-agent with the Dallas Cowboys. But Hill could be the type of quarterback that could manage a game and lead winning teams like Brad Johnson or Jeff Garcia.

Hill stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 210 pounds, and in 2007 he lead the Salukis to a 12-2 record and an appearance in the semi-finals of the FCS (formerly Div. 1-AA) against the University of Delaware. He had a terrific year, throwing for over 3,000 yards and 28 touchdowns and gained over 350 yards in the ground game with four rushing touchdowns.

Two other things that make Hill appealing to NFL scouts are his accuracy and his ability to protect the football. In 2007, he completed over 71% of his passing, while only throwing 7 interceptions (3 of which came in a 30-24 loss to then No. 1 Northern Iowa).

The FCS quarterback that will likely get the most attention is Delaware’s Joe Flacco. Flacco looks like your prototypical NFL quarterback, he stands 6-foot-6 and weighs 220 pounds. In 2007, he passed for over 4,000 yards with 23 touchdowns and only five interceptions. He is projected to be a second or third round pick and could be the steal for the right team.

There’s plenty of time between now and the NFL Draft, but if Presidential campaigning has taught me anything, it’s that it’s never too early to throw a quality candidate out there for the people.

My Teams 2007 Review, 2008 Preview

2008-01-01T21:13:00.000-06:00

CHICAGO CUBS: (2007: 85-77, NL Central Champions. Lost to ARZ 3-0 in NLDS)

My favorite moment of the 2007 Cubs season was Lou Piniella's dirt-kicking tirade on June 2. In an attempt to deflect attention from the "Slugout in the Dugout", Piniella picked a fight with third base umpire Mark Wegner after a close play at third base. After that, the Cubs had one of the best records in the NL and went on to win the NL Central for the first time since 2003.

My least favorite moment was when the Cubs were swept in Florida in the second to last series of the season. It looked like it was going to be another classic Cubs collapse at the hand of the lowly Florida Marlins, which would have only been fitting, seeing that it was the Marlins who did you know what to you know who in 2003. The Cubs would go on to win the NL Central in the first game of the next series against the Reds.

Storylines to follow in 2008:

· The 100 Year Anniversary and the questions and stories that will follow.

· Will the Cubs have a new owner in 2008? Sam Zell says it could happen before Opening Day.

· On the field, the story to follow will be right fielder Kosuke Fukudome's transition to big league ball.

CHICAGO BEARS: (2006-07: 13-3, NFC Champions. 2007-08: 7-9, missed playoffs)

My favorite moment was Devin Hester's return of the opening kick in Super Bowl XLI. Since then, it's been all downhill for the Bears who went from NFC Champs to chumps in the blink of an eye. Hester's ability gives Bears fans a glimmer of hope, no matter what the situation.

My least favorite moment was when the Bears gave up 34 points in the fourth quarter in a loss to the Detroit Lions. That was one of two losses to the Lions, who played like world beaters against the Bears.

Storylines to follow in 2008:

· How will the Bears improve their offense? The Bears have a tendency not to spend money in the off-season, which is a shame seeing that they need a quarterback, a running back and a big play wide receiver.

· Will Lance Briggs get that contract extension he craves? In a sense, he does deserve it because he's been one of the best players on the team. However, the Bears have a quality replacement in Jamar Williams and probably could put that $7.2 million into a need area.

· Will the coordinators return? Bob Babich is a Lovie Smith guy and he will likely return. Ron Turner could return only if he burns the John Shoop playbook he used for most of the season.

CHICAGO BULLS: (2006-07: 49-33; lost in Eastern Conf. semis. 2007: 11-17)

My favorite moment from the Bulls was when they swept the defending NBA champion Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs. At that time, it looked like the Bulls were ready to take the next step in the post-Jordan era with rising stars Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon and Luol Deng.

My least favorite moment from the Bulls was the NBA Draft. It would have been easy to pick one of the bad losses or the firing of Scott Skiles, but I was not a happy man on draft night. The Bulls could have (hypothetically) used a combination of youngsters and their first round pick to acquire a bonafide star like Kevin Garnett or Kobe Bryant. Instead, they drafted Joakim Noah—who is playing like Tyson Chandler, circa 2004.

Storylines to follow in 2008:

· Who is going to be coach in the future? Will Jim Boylan get the job full-time after his stint as the interim head coach? Will the Bulls bring in a high-profile guy like Larry Brown? Will Scottie Pippen get a chance to coach in the NBA?

· Will the Bulls acquire a low-post scorer or the type of go-to-guy they desperately need?

· Will the Bulls make the proper adjustments and make a run at a playoff spot again?

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS SAUKIS FOOTBALL (2007: 12-2; lost in FCS semi-final)

My favorite moment from Saluki football was the 34-31 come from behind victory against in-state rival Northern Illinois University. It was the second straight year that SIU came from behind to beat a FBS (formerly Division 1-A) school (they beat Indiana University in 2006). Down 21, the SIU comeback began with an interception returned for a touchdown and two touchdown passes from Nick Hill.

That prompted a phone call to my friend at NIU who taunted me prior to the game. The message was simple: "Earlier you asked 'What's a Saluki?' Well, it just kicked your ass!"

My least favorite moments from the year were SIU's two losses. The loss to the then No. 1 ranked University of Northern Iowa was a tough loss, especially since SIU fell six-yards short from what could have been a game winning touchdown. The loss to Delaware in the FCS semi-final was more painful, having to be there.

Storylines to follow in 2008:

· Will QB Nick Hill be given another year of eligibility by the NCAA?

· How will new head coach Dale Lennon implement his system at SIU?

· How will SIU do in the new look Gateway Football Conference?

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY MEN'S BASKETBALL (2006-07: 29-7, MVC champs, Sweet 16; 2007-08: 6-6)

My favorite SIU hoops moment was Senior Night at the SIU Arena. SIU's 76-69 victory over Evansville served as a great sendoff for senior leaders Jamaal Tatum and Tony Young. Young scored 17 and Tatum added 15, including his first dunk in front of the Saluki faithful. Junior forward Randal Falker provided the oxymoron of the year, quietly pouring in 30 points.

I have three least favorite moments; two of them involve road trips that ended in SIU losses against Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind. and Creighton University in the MVC tourney championship game in St. Louis. The other was the heartbreaking loss in the Sweet 16 against Kansas University. Coming up a distant fourth was SIU's loss to Indiana University on Super Saturday in Carbondale.

Storylines to follow in 2008:

· Can SIU shake off an early 6-6 start to come back and win another Missouri Valley title and make another NCAA tourney appearance?

· Will seniors Randal Falker and Matt Shaw lead SIU the way that SIU combos Tatum and Young and Darren Brooks and Stetson Hairston have in recent years?

· Will SIU find consistent guard play with Bryan Mullins, Joshua Bone & company.

Year/Semester In Review (Fall 2007)

2007-12-28T02:59:00.000-06:00

On the long drive back from SIU’s game against Indiana University in December 2006, I decided to write down a list of things I learned during the fall semester and decided to put it on my blog. In addition, I decided to note highlights, lowlights and other year-in-review stuff.

With that said, it’s that time of year. Let’s take a look at the lessons I learned in the fall semester 2007.

4 THINGS I LEARNED

It’s okay to expand your horizons. This semester, I broke one of my golden rules of writing (write what you know), but because of that I feel that my writing is better. I got an ‘A’ in my news writing/reporting class without writing one sports story and an ‘A’ on my poetry portfolio (which you can read online) by writing a majority of my poems about topics other than being a heartbroken college student. That’s impressive if you ask me!
Be careful who you fall in love with. There is no escaping the topic of love in my blogs. Consider this lesson learned a public service announcement. Be careful who you fall in love with, because if they don’t love you back then you’re going to be stuck in a situation you do not want to be in, plain and simple. Maybe it’s better just to not fall in love at all; it’d probably eliminate a lot of sleepless nights and other symptoms that come with unrequited love.
Money can’t buy me love, but it can buy beer…and that’s good enough. And when unrequited love is just that, there isn’t a better remedy than a cold one. Whether it be Miller, Bud, Coors or other—a six-pack of your favorite brew can solve your problems (at least for one night).
Hot, blonde, southern…and usually dumb. Referencing one of my most infamous quotes “Hot, blonde and southern, that’s the way I like ‘em”, I’ve come to the conclusion that “dumb” is the word that should come next in that correlation. For example, Jessica Simpson’s presence caused her boyfriend (Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo) to have his worst game of the year against the Eagles, the Cowboys’ arch-rival. Former hot and blonde southern chick Britney Spears spent most of her summer flashing her cooch to whoever was willing to look. Her little sister, who would have fallen into the category (if she was of age), got herself pregnant at 16!!! And don’t even get me started on Carrie Underwood, who is rumored to be romantically involved with Bears kicker Robbie Gould.

3 UP, 3 DOWN (THREE HIGHLIGHTS & THREE LOWLIGHTS OF 2007)

3 UP:

The success of my favorite sports teams. SIU’s men’s basketball team won another Missouri Valley Conference title and made its first Sweet 16 appearance since 2002. SIU’s football team made it to the semi-final of the 1-AA playoffs. The Bears kicked off 2007 by beating the New Orleans Saints, clinching their first Super Bowl berth since 1985. The Bulls swept the defending NBA champion Miami Heat out of the playoffs. After a $300 million spending spree which netted a new manager (Lou Piniella) and superstar (Alfonso Soriano), the icing on my 2007 in sports was the Cubs winning the NL Central.
Good grades. Finally, I’ve got my priorities in check—and my rising GPA is proof of that. Two A’s, two B’s and one C this semester is the way to kick off my “senior year”.
Turning 21. Turning 21 was the overall highlight of 2007. 5 days in Vegas drinking and making it rain with my friends and family was the best thing to happen to me (probably in my life, to this point.)

3 DOWN:

When sports teams lose. SIU’s men’s basketball team lost in the MVC championship game to Creighton and lost to Kansas in the Sweet 16 game. SIU’s football team lost in the semi-final game to Delaware. The Bears lost to the Colts in the Super Bowl. The Bulls lost to the Pistons in the second round, and have gotten off to a 9-17 start which has resulted in them firing head coach Scott Skiles. The Cubs were swept by the Diamondbacks in the playoffs.
Still single. Despite all of the highlights that occurred in 2007, I’m still single and it’s still a soft spot. I’m not happy being single, but at this point grades are my no. 1 priority and if the right girl happens to come by (again) then I’ll make sure to jump on the opportunity this time.
Still jobless. Well, when it comes to writing for a publication at least. Though I do write for the fan site armchairgm.com, I’d like to write for the Daily Egyptian before I graduate SIU.

FAVORITES

QUOTES:

“Plies is a useful tool…” In an interview with Vibe magazine, rapper Plies explained his intriguing nickname by allegedly saying, “Plies is a tool. You can use it to put the squeeze on things, like I'm doing to these niggas in the rap game. I got the squeeze on them real tight, they feeling the pressure, or you can use it to pull things out….It also a word you can use in terms of things goin' on in yo life, ya dig. You may hear something I say and say that it plies to me. Plies straight to me."
“I’m a man, I’m 40.” In response to a newspaper article, Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy went on a tirade in defense of the student-athlete featured in the said article. Enjoy one of the best sports tirades of 2007.
“Love is blind, and she’s retarded.” That quote comes from my roommate Steve, and if there’s one thing I learned this semester (that I didn’t mention above) is that you have to attribute your sources (ask SIU President Glenn Poshard). And really, there is no need to explain this quote because it can stand on its own (and because I don’t remember the reference behind it).

MUSIC ARTIST: Rappers Lil’ Wayne and Andre 3000 get some consideration, mostly because of their hot verses in guest roles (see Wayne’s verse in DJ Khaled’s ‘We Takin’ Over’ and Fat Joe’s ‘Make It Rain Remix’ and Andre’s verses in Lloyd’s ‘You Remix’, DJ Unk’s ‘Walk it Out Remix’, Rich Boy’s ‘Throw Some D’s Remix’ and Outkast’s newest song ‘The Art of Storytellin’ Pt. 4).

However, the artist of the year goes to T-Pain. Pain’s vocals (enhanced with a vocoder) were found on a slew of hit singles, including two off his best-selling album “Epiphany.” His guest spots on Chris Brown’s “Kiss Kiss”, Baby Bash’s “Cyclone”, DJ Khaled’s “I’m So Hood”, Plies’ “Shawty”, DJ Unk’s “2 Step Remix”, Flo-Rida’s “Low (Apple Bottom Jeans)” and Kanye West’s “Good Life” made those songs hits and guaranteed that you would hear his voice at least once whenever you went to the club.

And, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that his use of the vocoder inspired Snoop Dogg to use it in his new single “Sensual Seduction” and Lil’ Wayne to use it in his verse on Shawty Lo’s “Dey Know Remix”.

ALBUMS: Jay-Z’s “American Gangster”, Kanye West’s “Graduation”, Timbaland’s “Timbaland Presents: Shock Value”, DJ Khaled’s “We The Best”, Maroon 5’s “It Won’t Be Soon Before Long” and Chamillionaire’s “Ultimate Victory.”

MOVIE: The Simpson’s Movie

SONGS: Rihanna/Ne-yo’s “Hate That I Love You” gets half of my vote because it just sums up so much. The other half of my vote goes to Kanye West’s “Can’t Tell Me Nothing”, which I think is word-for-word, the best rap song of 2007. One punch-line after another, Kanye puts his best foot forward in this piece which tackles so many topics; you have to listen to it for yourself just to get a grasp of the concept.

UNANSWERED QUESTION OF THE YEAR: “What is Britney doing with her life?” –Mike Patrick, ESPN.

After Alabama kicked a field goal to get a lead in overtime, ESPN’s Mike Patrick decided to ask the fateful question “What is Britney doing with her life?” Check out the whole thing here.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

That's it for 2007. It was a great year (minus the failures) and I have a good feeling (stop me if you've heard this before) that bigger and better things are to come next year.

I'd like to close with this: Dear Carrie....DATE ME!!!!!!!!!

;-)

:-)

If I Could Be Santa

2007-12-25T22:58:00.000-06:00

I was inspired by this piece and thought to myself, "If I could be Santa, what would I get for my friends and family?" It's Christmas Day, so it's time to answer my own question.

First, please do not be offended if I do not mention you by name, I don't know what I'd get for each of you individually. For those of you who I don't mention by name, I wish that I could give you all that you want, and $1,000 cash for the holiday season.

FOR MY FRIENDS:

I wish I could get my roommate Steven an endless supply of milk, so he can have his own endless supply while the rest of the apartment splits the normal gallon that we get.

I wish I could give my other roommate Marcus all of my knowledge of sports video games. That includes (but is not limited to) recruiting for NCAA College Basketball games, trades for MLB games and how to blow out opponents by 10 or more runs in MLB The Show.

I wish I could give Kristin and her baby Leium the gift of a healthy and happy holiday season, and beyond.

I wish I could give my buddy Mike Carter the Chicago Bulls play-by-play job. Mike has been a great friend to me and deserves to land his dream job.

I wish I could give Steve Schucker the gift of being Mr. Carter's partner as his color commentator, if only just because I know it'd be the most entertaining broadcast in sports.

I wish I could give my cousin Tony enough time off to take a trip to Carbondale and make his yearly visit. In fact, I wish I could do that for all of my friends.

And finally, I wish I could give all of my friends in college their diplomas and a high-paying job as soon as they graduate.

FOR MY FAMILY:

I wish I could give my mother the pay raise she rightfully deserves. There is no one that does more with less and she deserves more than I can give.

I wish I could give my father a sample of all that I have written this semester, so he can maybe comprehend all of the work I'm doing at SIU.

I wish I could give Roy an endless supply of Coca-Cola, so we don't run out of it when we're getting "All Jacked up!"

I wish I could have two clones. One to spend time with each of my grandmothers, each of whom adore me.

FOR MY FAVORITE SPORTS TEAMS:

I wish I could give the Chicago Cubs the gift of a new owner that would be accountable for the team and would do anything to bring a winner to a fan base dying for a championship. Enter stage left, Mark Cuban.

I wish I could give the Chicago Bears an offense that puts points on the board. That includes a game-breaking running back, a big play wide receiver, an offensive line that isn't offensive and a quarterback with Brett Favre's rocket arm, Peyton Manning's accuracy and Tom Brady's smarts. Ooh, and an offensive coordinator that isn't stuck in the mid '90s.

I wish I could give the Chicago Bulls a new coach and an elite player—unfortunately, the duo that I have in mind for that gift are in Los Angeles.

I wish I could give the Southern Illinois Salukis football team a coach that will carry on the tradition that Jerry Kill started.

I wish I could give the Southern Illinois Salukis basketball team the ultimate motivational speech so they can turn around this 5-5 start and turn it into another Missouri Valley Conference championship and another trip to the NCAA Tournament.

That's all for tonight, folks. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Welcome to the enemies list, NIU

2007-12-13T23:34:00.000-06:00

After hiring Southern Illinois University’s football coach Jerry Kill to the same position, Northern Illinois University joins my enemies list (university edition).

This comes less than a week after Kill lead the Salukis to the FCS semifinals and within three points of the championship game. Kill will inherit a mess at NIU. The Huskies are coming off a 10 loss season; of course one of their losses came at the hands of Kill and the Salukis.

All is not lost for Kill who will get a substantial raise at NIU, not to mention the top-notch facilities that come with a D-1 football program (including a new stadium). Coach Kill will also receive some great health benefits, which SIU fans can appreciate especially knowing about his health history.

Coach Kill will also get the (well deserved) full attention of the athletics department because NIU is definitely a football school unlike SIU, which is considered to be a basketball school.

Still, it doesn’t stop me from putting NIU on the list. They were already on my “un-happy list” for putting me on a waiting list for entrance to their university, which is fine by me because SIU has much more going on in the journalism department than NIU ever will.

And honestly, if it wasn’t for its proximity to the Chicagoland area, NIU would be nothing but cement in the middle of a cornfield. And don’t even think about saying Carbondale is the same because technically, SIU is in the middle of a national forest.

There are so many reasons that coach Kill should have stayed a Saluki. He built this program into a perennial championship contender that has produced productive NFL players such as Baltimore Ravens linebacker Bart Scott and New York Giants running back Brandon Jacobs.

At one point, the SIU football program was on the brink of being eliminated before Kill came to town and turned around the Saluki football program.

I have two concerns about Kill’s hiring at NIU.

My primary concern is the Salukis. Where do they go from there? Athletic director Mario Moccia said that there will be a nationwide search for Kill’s replacement, though I have no clue where SIU would start. It was a much easier transition for the basketball team when Bruce Weber’s top assistants Matt Painter (who since has moved on to Purdue) and Chris Lowery stepped in after Weber left for the University of Illinois.

The basketball program has one of the nation’s most notable coaching trees which starts with Weber and branches off with Painter and Lowery. It is a coaching tree that could branch out more if top-notch assistants Rodney Watson and former Saluki star Brad Korn are offered D-1 jobs.

I digress. Next concern.

What if he is unable to revitalize the Huskies? I don’t doubt that he can, his body of work at SIU can speak for itself. However, it’s a different ballgame recruiting D-1 talent, especially up north where he will be battling Ron Zook and the Fighting Illini for the top recruits. What if his health gets in the way of his coaching or recruiting?

If somehow Kill fails, all you will hear from the pundits up north is that Kill was a terrible hire who was out of his league at a D-1 school. However, all of southern Illinois will know about how coach Kill saved a program that was nearly wiped off the map.

And really, why leave SIU? The Salukis lost two games in 2007. The Huskies won two. Besides, the Saluki is a much cooler dog than a Huskie.

For your entertainment, the enemies list (university edition):

Duke University men’s basketball. I’m a big North Carolina fan. Had it not been for cost, I would have attended UNC-Chapel Hill instead of SIU. Both have top journalism programs.
Ohio State University football. I’m also a big fan of Michigan football, mostly because it seemed like they were on TV every week and winning big games. It’s called a rivalry, and they’re at the top of the list.
University of Illinois basketball. They took Bruce Weber from SIU, which started three consecutive years of SIU having a different head coach. They also will not play SIU’s men’s team, and really have no reason not to.

Poem #17: We, The People

2007-12-12T12:40:00.000-06:00

We, The People

We feared
the end was coming.
It never came.
We believed
The stories you told
of a better world.
We waited
for change.
It never came.
We failed.
It won't happen again.

Finally, we've come to the end of my fall 2007 poetry portfolio. In my opinion, there is so much to like about "We, The People" I don't know where to start.

First, to explain the assignment. This assignment calls for a poem of parallel structures. The best way to construct a poem of parallel structures is to use repetition.

As for the poem itself, I used repetition with phrases that start with "We..." because I feel that repetition is one of the most powerful tools a poet could use.

I also liked writing this poem because it was a different type of poem for me. One of the things I've learned this semester is that you can't always write about being a heartbroken college student (hint: that year end list is coming soon).

So with this poem I decided to jump on the Bush-bashing bandwagon in a subtle way. And it's really not "Bush-bashing", it's meant to be an analysis of how I feel about the government as a whole.

Also, I like how this poem can be applied to things other than politics. If you use your imagination, you can apply the concepts and ideas of this poem to other things in life.

But I'll let you, the reader. Interpret for yourself.

Thanks for reading!

BREAKING NEWS: Cubs sign outfielder Kosuke Fukudome

2007-12-12T00:20:00.000-06:00

The Chicago Cubs and Japanese outfielder Kosuke Fukudome have reached an agreement to bring him to the North Side of Chicago. Details of the contract have yet to be disclosed but the deal is reportedly worth $48 million or $50-$56 million over four years, depending on your source.

This comes the same day that Fukudome announced his intentions to “accept the challenge” of playing in the major leagues. He had spent the last nine years playing for the Chunichi Dragons where he lead them to their first Japan championship in 52 years while posting a .305 career batting average and .397 on-base percentage.

Fukudome had been fielding offers from the Dragons and the Yomiuri Giants, who are comparable to the Yankees of Japan before choosing to come to the major leagues where he was rumored to have drawn interest from the Cubs, White Sox, Padres, Giants and Rangers.

Fukudome, the Cubs top off-season priority, is the type of player that satisfies both the new school and old school philosophies of the Cubs organization.

From all accounts, Fukudome is a legit five-tool outfielder who is fundamentally sound in all facets of the game. In addition, Fukudome is the left-handed hitting on-base machine that was lacking from a right-handed heavy, free-swinging line-up. He could see time in the second, fourth, fifth and sixth spots in the order. Manager Lou Piniella described him as a mix of Ichiro Suzuki and Hideki Matsui.

He is an athletic outfielder with a strong throwing arm who can play all three outfield positions, which could prove to be important seeing how Piniella likes to mix-and-match line-ups.

Fukudome will likely be used primarily in right field, possibly giving the Cubs their first prime-time right fielder since Sammy Sosa famously quit on Cubdom when he walked out during the final game of the 2004 season.

The signing is without risk though, especially when taking into consideration his last season in Japan was cut short because of right elbow surgery that removed bone chips from his elbow.

What is it with the Cubs and guys with arm surgeries? I digress.

It is also worth noting that Fukudome is truly untested in the Major Leagues, despite playing against Major League-talent in the World Baseball Classic.

Another issue that may come up is Fukudome’s stamina. He has never had to take part of the rigors of a 162 game schedule, let alone the disproportionate amount of day games the Cubs play.

The biggest issue could be the transition period that Fukudome will be going through in his rookie year. He will be adjusting to a new league, playing against better competition, in front of bigger crowds, with new teammates. Not to mention the question of whether or not his offensive numbers will translate from Japan ball to big league ball.

Regardless, for the second straight off-season the Cubs get their man, signing a top-flight free-agent in his prime.

Poem #16: It's Over

2007-12-11T17:48:00.000-06:00

It's Over

My open ear listened
to your closed-minded thoughts
and my ideas went ignored.
Unwelcome words I spoke
were shredded strands of failure.
I'm through with you.

"It's Over" is one of two poems that I consider to be "closing statements" of my Fall 2007 poetry portfolio. It was derived from a poem that I wrote last year called, called "Down, Not Out."

When I wrote the original poem, I was going through a rough time in my life where I felt like I was being manipulated, so I wrote a poem describing how I felt about the situation at the time.

However, this assignment asked for me to write a different type of piece. It was meant to be an emulation of Robert Frost's "tell it like it is" style by using simple words and "saying what you mean" in blunt statements.

I tried to keep it short and simple, in fact, "It's Over", which consists of six lines is a much simpler form of "Down, Not Out" which consisted of 11 lines.

Basically for this poem I took what I liked and kept it. I thought those lines were the most powerful, and since I couldn't find anything as powerful to end with, I used the line "I'm through with you" to end it.

I think the thing I like most about this piece is the change of the ending, which seems to coincide with the changes I have gone since I wrote that poem.

I hope you can enjoy and appreciate this piece.

Poem #15: Scholastic Sestina

2007-12-11T13:11:00.000-06:00

Scholastic Sestina

In my dorm, across the hall, live two girls.
Tomorrow marks the first day of school.
I hope they are in some of my classes.
I hope this year I get some good teachers
that do not make me buy a lot of books.
My goal for this year is to get good grades.

I know I have to work hard for good grades.
I must not get distracted by these girls.
I hope my teachers do not use their books
or assign work on the first day of school.
Knowing my luck, I'll have crappy teachers
who give homework in all of my classes.

I would rather not go to my classes,
but that would lead me to getting bad grades.
I would get no sympathy from teachers,
and being dumb does not impress the girls.
I really do not want to go to school
tomorrow, or pay for expensive books.

Eventually, I'll buy my school books
and take them to all of my classes.
Now, I really do want to go to school,
because I want to get really good grades.
After classes, I will talk to the girls,
after I do work assigned by teachers.

I have homework to do, thanks to teachers.
Unfortunately I don't have my books.
Maybe I will ask one of the cute girls
even though they are not in my classes.
This year I really need to get good grades,
I cannot afford to drop out of school.

You know what, I will not drop out of school.
Maybe I will suck up to my teachers
in an attempt to get some better grades.
Or maybe I will read all of my books
and study hard for all of my classes.
Or maybe I will party with those girls.

School would be much more fun without the books,
teachers, or having to go to classes.
Grades are important, but so are the girls.

One of the most challenging poems I had to write all semester was the sestina. Sestinas consists of six six-line stanzas and a concluding tercet. All-in-all it is a 39-line poem.

In addition, when writing the sestina you use the same set of six words ends the lines of each of the six-line stanzas, but in a different order each time. Then, number the first stanza's lines 123456, then the words ending the second stanza's lines appear in the order 615243, then 364125, then 532614, then 451362, and finally 246531.

For my end lines I used "girls", "school", "classes", "teachers", "books" and "grades." I used some of my college experiences and feelings as inspiration for this piece.

I know it's long, but it is fun to read and it was fun to write.

Assignment #14: Haiku

2007-12-10T19:27:00.000-06:00

Falling

The colored leaves fall
to the ground. Just like I do
after a few drinks.

Snow Day

Unwrinkled white sheets
covering all you can see.
Call it a snow day.

Sunshine Will Come

The cold is now gone
eventually snow melts.
Sunshine will come soon.

School's Out!

Put your pencils down
hand in your tests as you leave.
School's out for summer!

SENRYU

I.
Attempting to spread
stupid, unfounded rumors.
Beware of the truth.

II.
Obscene desires.
Excessive love for others.
Jonesing for a kiss.

III.
Loves me, loves me not.
I learn from a children's game
unrequited love.

In today's segment of poetry, enjoy the treat of haiku. And yes, the plural of haiku is indeed haiku. They are fun to write because of what goes into a haiku, such as implementing elements of the natural world.

To appease my professor I wrote four haiku describing each of the four seasons, with a twist.

As an added bonus, I've added four senryu. Senryu are poems that are in the 5-7-5 haiku form, but are about human nature instead of the natural world. And yes, they do not have titles because senryu poems do not have traditional

I hope you enjoy these works.

Poem #13: Guys I Know

2007-12-10T01:10:00.000-06:00

Guys I Know

I know a man whose name is JackCracker.
He insists you don't call him that,
be reminded he was the one who shotBuck.
He lives with his brothers JackFlap and JackLumber
who rollbank all day. Their boyTom eats stringham
and fishjelly all day in his manchair.
His friend BillyHill claims to be a mindmaster,
While his cousin BillDuck stays out late
drinking shots of manscotch at the tenderbar.
His friend DaleGlen sings for a wagonband
called Devildare. He goes by the stage name, warmLuke.
You can find them all if you rideover a stonemile
to a town called FortFrank.

This was one of the most fun poems i've had to write this semester. This piece was inspired by the Jabberwocky poem. *I'll link it at the bottom of the page.*

The assignment, called Sense and Non-Sense, called for the writer to turn around compound words and use them in a poem.

See if you can find them and make sense of this piece of non-sense.

*http://www.jabberwocky.com/carroll/jabber/jabberwocky.html

Poem #12: Foolish Princess

2007-12-09T17:52:00.000-06:00

Foolish Princess

Behind designer frames is a woman
with a heavily make up face,
wearing an expensive dress and stilettos,
dismissing suitors with a wave of her hand.
Wanting someone rich and handsome,
refusing to settle for less.

Until the day a wrinkle appeared
and her beauty began to fade;
Her prince finally arrived
to take her hand in marriage.
At the wedding, she smiled at her groom.
Handsome as ever, he smiled back.

On their honeymoon, she noticed a change.
His teeth were suddenly long and sharp,
his smile became a nasty snarl,
and he sprouted horns and a tail.
In bed he pulled out his pitchfork, it was too late
for the princess. She married the devil.

As this semester winds down, this semester's portfolio continues to do the same. This poem is based on and inspired by a Puerto Rican folktale about a rich princess who rejects a lot of good men, and when she finally finds her special someone, he turns out to be the devil.

It sounded like something that I could turn into a poem and I did. In this piece, I really wanted to tell the story in a condensed form with some modern additions such as stilettos.

The original piece had this in two 10 line stanzas, but after revision I changed it to three six-line stanzas. (Yes, 6-6-6...though I didn't do it on purpose).

Poem #11: At The Breakfast Table

2007-12-05T14:59:00.000-06:00

At The Breakfast Table

Corrupt politicians on TV,
wishing I could change the channel.
“Where’s the remote?”

How did Friday night turn
into Monday morning?
My phone rings—who cares
breakfast is ready.

It’s a text from my ex.
We haven’t spoken since
she did you know what,
with you know who.

She wants to reconcile.
At breakfast I reconsider
dating a cheater.

This was one of the assignments I truly enjoyed. The assignment was to take a piece of prose or a prose poem that you have written in the past and break up the poem with line breaks.

This task was quite easy, seeing that I already had a prose poem in my back pocket.

I used "Monday Morning Phone Call" as my piece to break up (no pun intended). I found it difficult, at first, to break up the prose because each word meant so much to me.

So what I did to break it up was take statements that I felt did the most for the prose poem and use those and separate them with line breaks.

I think now the poem is easier to read and is better because of the line breaks. I think the content is more clear and the points that I really wanted to jump out at the reader actually do so.

Well, at least that's what I think

BREAKING NEWS: Stephen A. Smith Hates The First Amendment

2007-12-04T23:00:00.000-06:00

Pardon the interruption: I'd like to take a break from posting my poetry to address something that has been bothering me all day.

It seems to me that ESPN's Stephen A. Smith hates the following things:

The Internet
The First Amendment

In a recent interview, Smith had this to say about the internet:

"And when you look at the internet business, what’s dangerous about it is that people who are clearly unqualified get to disseminate their piece to the masses. I respect the journalism industry, and the fact of the matter is ...someone with no training should not be allowed to have any kind of format whatsoever to disseminate to the masses to the level which they can. They are not trained. Not experts."

When I read that, I was in complete shock. Not really, Stephen A. Smith is nothing more than a loudmouth who gets paid to say dumb things on the ESPN family of networks.

Now that I've got that out of the way, I'd like to break down what he said.

First, I'd like to address the idea of "people who are clearly unqualified get to disseminate their piece to the masses."

I wonder if Stephen A. ever learned about the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, which states:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press..."

How does Stephen A. ignore the First Amendment, after all, it is the same amendment that allows him to speak and write what he wants.

But wait, there's more!

"Someone with no training should not be allowed to have any kind of format whatsoever to disseminate to the masses to the level which they can."

Thankfully, I am in training because I am a journalism major at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, which is one of the best journalism schools in the country. It boasts the award winning student newspaper, the Daily Egyptian.

But seriously, just because I'm a professional (yet) doesn't make what I have to say valid?

And really, how am I supposed to reach out to the masses without putting my work out there? It's the ultimate catch-22 and I've been there before. Last year I was not hired to work for a Cubs blog because of my lack of experience.

How can I get experience when no one will hire me because I have no experience.

I digress. Next topic.

"They are not trained. Not experts."

Does that mean that the fans that call into your radio show shouldn't be calling because they are not experts? I didn't think so.

Furthermore, I'd like to reference Stephen A.'s cameo in Chris Rock's movie I Think I Love My Wife. According to Stephen A.'s logic, he should have never been close to the, seeing that he is not a professional actor.

Maybe Stephen A. hates the internet because of sites like this, that criticize guys like him. Maybe he hates the internet because there are guys out there with opinions and beliefs that are different than his. Maybe he hates the internet because there are guys like me on sites like this that will one day take his job.

Maybe he hates guys like me who don't have to scream just to get a point across.

In closing, I'd like to finally welcome Stephen A. to the United States of America. A country that allows you to say what you want, when you want as long as you are not slanderous or libelous.*

And always remember: just because you're loud, it doesn't make you right!

*Thank you JRNL-332 (Journalism Law) for teaching me something!

Poem #10: My Hate For Valentine's Day

2007-12-04T14:21:00.000-06:00

My Hate For Valentine's Day

I hate the colors red and pink, I do.
They bring me to despise this winter day.
You ask me what is love, I have no clue.
It's one day out the year I feel this way.

Flowers and chocolates being exchanged
he spent so much, I can't believe my eyes.
I really mean it, he dropped major change,
must be the price to get between her thighs.

I do not want to hear another song
about love on my way to class.
This guy singing could not be more wrong,
whoever wrote this crap can kiss my ass!

Please excuse me, I have just one last whine:
screw you true love, I hate you Valentine!

Yes, this is a reposting of a poem I did last year. I wrote this around Valentine's Day of 2007 (as if you couldn't tell) and was inspired by the pure frustrations that come over me that time of year. There is nothing like expressing your true feelings without having to pay for a doctor.

This was written during the time of my life where every poem I wrote could be categorized under "Poems of a heartbroken college student." This year though, I've tried to expand from that.

I made a few minor changes, such as punctuation. Other than that, I have no new insight to add here.

Enjoy pure frustration and borderline depression formulated in a poem.

Poem #9: Monday Morning Phone Call

2007-12-03T03:05:00.000-06:00

Monday Morning Phone Call

Some story on television about corrupt politicians…wishing I could change the channel…wondering where is the darn remote? Trying to piece together what happened this weekend. Not sure how Friday night turned into Monday morning. The phone rings, but I do not care. I do not take phone calls while I eat. It is a message from my ex. I found this odd, because we have not spoken…not since she did you know what, with you know who. In the message, she said some things she knew would make me smile. I think she wants to reconcile. The reason I had to leave her is because I did not want to date a cheater. And as nice as it was between her thighs, I no longer wanted to put up with her lies. I decided not to return the call.

Look, I'm posting these poems in the same order as they are in my portfolio. I'm doing in hopes that people will see my work as the story I try to portray through the order that they are in.

So it's only coincidental that I posted the "Ma's Margarita" poem on Friday and the "Monday Morning Phone Call" poem this morning.

'Phone Call' is in the form of a prose poem. And despite the fact that prose and poetry are opposites, poetry in prose form is basically poetry in paragraph form. I enjoy writing prose poetry because it is a lot like writing a short story.

When writing in traditional poetic forms, I use a lot of fragments in my work. However, in prose poetry, I generally try to use prose poetry.

If you've read my work before, you know that you have seen this piece in the past. I cut out a lot of unnecessary words and tried to tighten up the story by taking out elements of poetry that I thought took away from the poem.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This poem is part two of "The Georgia Series," which is a series of poems revolving around a girl named 'Meg.' The series is yet to be completed.

Poem #8: Annemarie

2007-12-02T12:53:00.000-06:00

Annemarie

I'll never find another you
with hair so soft and eyes so blue.

Now you're gone, I don't know what to do.
I'll never find another you.

Not knowing where you are, wishing you were here.
Knowing you made me better when you were near.

Wondering why you aren't here with me;
Guess you wanted to be free.
I no longer control you, Annemarie.

This is my rendition of a blues poem, and it was one of the more difficult assignments from this semester. I have my issues writing a blues poem because I find emulating the classic blues style and trying to capture the voice of blues poetry, so instead I try to write from one of the topics seen a lot in blues poetry, heartbreak.

This falls under the category "write what you know" and know one knows heartbreak like I do. So since I didn't capture the blues voice, I added other elements of poetry to enhance my work such as rhyme and the use of couplets and a tercet to end my poem.

In the future, I would like to work with this poem and extend it by giving more of a description of "Annemarie." Because if I can describe "Annemarie" to a better extent, then I can really capture how much of a heart breaker she really is.

Author's note: The original title and name used in this piece was "Majorie," and the poem was inspired by a character from the former ABC television show "What About Brian?" which I jokingly claimed was based off my life. Her character was the inspiration behind this piece.

Poem #7: Grandma's Purse

2007-12-01T13:48:00.000-06:00

Grandma's Purse

A majestic purse once hung on a proud arm
for thirty years. Filled with hair combs, lemon drops
and a pocketbook full of nickels for smiling children
who said please. It is now just an ornament.
Its pea-green exterior, worn from being gripped and hugged;
and gold clasp too difficult for knotted hands to open.
Now the purse is empty, it has not seen outside
the nursing home in many years.

Grandma's Purse was the first poem I wrote for my ENGL 382 class. The assignment for this piece was to make a poem (with line breaks) out of a piece of prose writing. It was a bit of a challenge, seeing that it was the first assignment. What I tried to do was take out anything that I thought took away from the poem. I cut out superfluous (unnecessary) words and re-arranged some lines to create this piece.

This poem was one of the more controversial ones I've written. A lot of the people who read this poem thought that I killed off Grandma at the end. I'd like to go on the record and say that was NOT my intention.

I know that in this country, senior citizens get ignored once their pocketbooks go dry and I think that's wrong. That's what I was trying to say. Not that Grandma was dead, but that Grandma was now poor and no one loves you when your poor.

But I can't be held accountable for what the readers think. That's why I love writing poetry!

'The Greatest Weekend in SIU History' (hopefully)

2007-11-30T22:25:00.000-06:00

I have been looking forward to this weekend since before officials in the Southern Illinois University athletics department coined this weekend as 'Super Saturday.'

Back in late October/early November I was already coining this weekend as potentially 'The Greatest Weekend in the History of SIU.' Well, at least since I've been at SIU.

I know those are some big expectations to fill, but I have full confidence that the events this weekend has to offer will leave everyone who was here for them with a sense of satisfaction.

But before 'Super Saturday,' one must note what a Friday night in Carbondale can bring, seeing that the very popular cover band Mike & Joe kick-off this weekend's festivities by playing at the Copper Dragon.

When you wake over from your hangover, then you can officially start thinking about 'Super Saturday,' which begins around 2:20 p.m. when the No. 4 seed SIU Salukis play the UMass Minutemen in the second round of what used to be called the Div. 1-AA playoffs.

SIU will be looking for its first semi-finals appearance since 1983, the year that they won the Div. 1-AA National Championship.

SIU's football team usually takes a back seat to the basketball team, because in all reality, SIU is a basketball school. It wasn't until head coach Jerry Kill came to Carbondale and put the Saluki football program on the map.

And despite five straight years of playoff appearances for SIU, the fans still don't come out like they should. That's why I think it is important that Saluki Nation heads out to McAndrew Stadium and support their Salukis.

After the football game, you can head to The Strip and take in one of the finest traditions in Carbondale, the annual Lights Fantastic Parade. The parade will run between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m.

As for the main event, SIU men's basketball will host 15 Indiana University at the SIU Arena at 8:30 p.m. This is the second game of a home-and-home series between the perennial national powers of the Hoosier state and the up-start Salukis of the much slept-on Missouri Valley Conference.

But the night doesn't end there.

After the ball game, fans should be encouraged to (again) enjoy the Carbondale night life. I for one will be enjoying the sounds of 17^th Floor at the Copper Dragon.

17^th Floor is one of the best cover bands that comes to Carbondale and is worthy of any cover charge that the bar will be throwing at you. They are a cover band that combines a "party like a rock star" atmosphere with hip-hop music.

Sounds like a fun weekend doesn't it? On paper, it looks like one of those weekends that I thought that every weekend in college would be like. But like the Cubs, once every four years you get something special like this to happen all at the same time.

Poem #6: Ma's Margarita

2007-11-30T11:17:00.000-06:00

Ma’s Margarita

One package frozen strawberries, one-third cup sugar
“Use less sugar; sugar and liquor don’t mix well with me,”
my mother says. One-and-one-half cups water,
good enough for me. I’m just trying to follow directions.
One-and-one-half cups tequila. Ma says, “Two cups.”
I look back at her. “Just do what I say.”
Four cups lemon-lime beverage. We got Sprite
downstairs in the fridge, I think that counts.
In food processor—not sure if we got one of those.
I’m gonna grab the blender in case we don’t.
Step two, combine—“Just put it all together, boy, mix it good.”
Ma insists I do it her way. I just wanna go to bed. I’ll comply.
Throw it all together and start stirring. “I think it’s done now.”
“I think you’ll get yours tomorrow night,” she snaps back.
Finally topped with carbonated beverage
it’s ready for the freezer. I’m ready for bed.

This was another fun poem to write. The assignment for this piece was to write a "found poem." Found poems are defined as "poems shaped from a collection of words or phrases found in one text." I decided to use my mother's famous margarita mix, while adding pieces of a conversation we had while making the mix one night.

I thought by mixing those two elements, I would have a poem that would be enjoyable for everyone to read. I hope that you enjoyed it. And yes, this poem has the EXACT recipe my mother uses. So use the poem wisely ;-)

...And another thing (last night's blog continued)

2007-11-29T02:09:00.000-06:00

I realized that I really didn't finish last night's blog the way I wanted to. So here comes its proper ending (a two part edition):

I forgot to mention that it was because of Vanessa's wedding shower why my mother didn't come down to visit me when DePaul came to play SIU in women's basketball. That would explain why she didn't return my calls all day and why she didn't tell me about her weekend plans.
I guess Vanessa asked where I was and my mother told her I was at school. Vanessa asked my mother if she had told me, my mother said no. Vanessa responded, "you're going to have to tell him sometime." And the thing that will stick in my head for a very long time: "Luis was just too slow with the proposal."

Ouch. The story of my life.

I also forgot to note the end of my conversation with my mother had me thinking this: "You know what this means, right? This means that I need to find myself a really superficially hot date for this."

A little more than a week later, I still have those same feelings. I kinda feel bad about it though, because really, what's that gonna prove? Frontin' that I'm happy when I really am not is wrong. Now, let's say I'm in a genuine relationship and my girlfriend happens to be my date, then so be it.

But what if I'm still single? What if I don't have a date? Do I still go to the wedding? How do I save face in front of the former girl of my dreams and a family that still adores me?

I'm not even sure anymore.

Maybe I should take two or three dates to prove that I'm happy. Maybe the idea that it would take two or three girls to satisfy me would put the "what could have been..." thought in her head.

Oh, who am I kidding. The fact that I'm even thinking about that this early in the game and to that extent goes to show that I've got some serious issues going on in my head that need to be resolved a.s.a.p.

And on top of that, the idea that I will likely have to go through these feelings at least two more times is sickening to me.

Until then, I'll quote Tom Petty to end tonight's blog:

"Yeah I might have chased a couple of women around
All it ever got me was down
Then there were those that made me feel good
But never as good as I feel right now
Baby youre the only one thats ever known how
To make me wanna live like I wanna live now

The waiting is the hardest part
Every day you see one more ca rd
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart
The waiting is the hardest part"
--Tom Petty, The Waiting

Until we meet again, good night from Carbondale.

Poem #5: Dinner Time

2007-11-29T02:06:00.000-06:00

Dinner Time

It's like she cooks for an army.
Eyes grow large and mouths water
as we sit waiting. I don't want leftovers,
I want everything, now—AHORA!

"No te llenes tus ojos antes de tu barriga."
That's grandma's saying. It means something like
"Don't fill your eyes before your stomach."
Don't eat what your stomach can't handle.

If grandma only understood one thing:
ain't no arroz con gandules in Carbondale
that's worth a damn. She looks at me and repeats,
"No te llenes tus ojos antes de tu barriga."

I'll ignore it, just like last time, and the time before that.
The next morning I'll end up regretting it.
I knew I shoulda listened to grandma.

This was one of my favorite poems to write. The assignment for this piece was to incorporate a "foreign flavor." By that, I think my instructor wanted us to use a family story and/or the element of foreign language in our poem. That's easy, my family's Puerto Rican and a lot of the better stories come from the dinner table. And really, if you take anything from this poem, you should learn that grandma knows best. And that food in Carbondale ain't got sh*t on what my grandma cooks! If you've ever been to my house, you know EXACTLY what I'm talking about!

Poem #4: Beyond The Mask

2007-11-28T17:45:00.000-06:00

Beyond The Mask

Traditional reds are made by spitting crimson
from the nuts of the betel palm tree.
Whites are made from oil and lime,
blacks from oil and charcoal.
More than carved pieces of wood,
masks represent regions, people
and stories of tribal traditions.
Like how an elongated nose
represents fertility and continuance.
Or how other masks scare children
away from initiation ceremonies.
Displayed at festivals, they conjure up spirits.

This poem is my museum art piece. For this assignment our class met at the University Museum and picked artwork to write about. I decided to write about a group of African masks.

It's hard to describe them now, since the exhibit is gone and I don't have any thing to show from it except this poem. And really, this poem does those masks no justice, seeing that I don't describe one particular mask.

Instead, I described the masks in a broad way while also describing what masks of that particular region meant. Masks do have certain history behind them and I thought I'd try to get some of that out there through my poem.

A lesson learned during Thanksgiving break

2007-11-28T02:03:00.000-06:00

I'd like to interrupt the recent blogs of poetry to get some things off my chest. Besides, that's what blogs are for, right?

Since I've opened Life With LuDo I haven't been as forward as I used to be with my blogs. I've held back a lot of stuff that I would have written here, and I'm not sure why.

Maybe it was because work and school have kept me busy. Maybe it was because the Cubs kept me happy. Maybe it's because I'm afraid people will be bothered by what I write.

Well tonight, that ends. Because I have things to get off of my chest.

First, I'd like to note that my Thanksgiving break was absolutely wonderful. It was great to be home in the great city of Chicago with my friends and family. It was also fun to be able to listen to a morning show that wasn't a complete suckfest (Yay for DreX!!!) and some quality sports talk radio (Yay for 670 The Score!!!)

My night at the bar was memorable and lived up to all of the hype I heard from my friends. I loved it to the point that I already can't wait 'til the next celebration.

Thanksgiving dinner was amazing, and that description doesn't do justice. We had deep fried turkey, smoked turkey, honey ham, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, Mom's famous macaroni and cheese, Mama's famous arroz con gandules, Roy's famous ribs, and so much more.

Having Thanksgiving at my house was a blast. And I tell you what, there's nothing like waking up Thanksgiving morning with a nasty hangover and a pain in your body because you slipped and fell while "cranking dat soulja boy."

And then there was my early X-mas gift which I am thankful for.

However, there is just one thing from my vacation that is bothering me. It's a lesson that I learned, and hopefully I can (finally) learn from my own words: "Be careful what you wish for, it just might come true."

I arrived in Chicago on Sunday afternoon after a long night of being wasted in Carbondale and settled in to watch the Bears game against the Seahawks (which they would eventually lose.) At half-time, my mother needed to go to the store and she needed her chauffer to take her there. And that's where the story gets interesting.

While driving on a cold and rainy afternoon, I should have seen it coming. My mother started the conversation with, "I've got a date for you."

"Awesome, I'll shave tonight," I responded thinking my mother had set me up on a blind date.

"No, it's a wedding date," she replied. "Oh yay," I thought to myself. I love weddings and haven't been to one in a while. I joke around with friends of mine that are in relationships that they should hurry up and get married so I can go to their wedding, get drunk and have a time of it.

My mother responded: "I know I shouldn't be bringing this up while you're driving, but it's Vanessa's."

I was shocked.

Before there was "hot, blonde and southern" there was Vanessa, the original girl of my dreams. I call dibs on that line there because I pulled it from a poem about her that I have been working on since May.

Long story short: Vanessa's mom and my mom are really good friends and always thought we'd make a good trouble. As children, we crushed on each other and had our puppy love, but nothing ever came of it. We came close in high school when I finally realized she had liked me, but nothing ever materialized.

She dated other people in high school. I didn't date anyone.

A part of my blames my mother, who knew Vanessa liked me. I wish she would have said something, then I definitely would have made a move. But who am I kidding, it's things like this that make me believe that I would have just screwed it up anyway.

So anyway, back to the story. It's Vanessa, one of those classic "one's that got away" stories, that is getting married on August 8th 2008.

That's right 08/08/08. Let me note that she's a big Cubs fan (as am I) and that date (08/08/08) marks the 20th anniversary of the first Cubs night game at Wrigley Field. Now if that doesn't tie things together in a nice lil' package, I don't know what will.

That moment there marked the end of a strange week where the Cancer women who make my life miserable broke my heart twice in a three day period.

I guess since I'm on my soap box, I might as well dive into that topic too. But I'll keep this short and brief (heck, I'll summarize it with one solid punchline.)

"There's nothing like being woken up by the girl of your dreams telling you that there is a girl that has a crush on you. Unfortunately, it wasn't her."

That's how I felt the Friday before Thanksgiving break when I got a call that a certain girl might like me. I felt terrible, because I didn't share those feelings. And as much as I say that I want to play the heart breaker because it might give me a sense of redemption after all of the times I've been rejected or heart broken....being the heart breaker isn't the role I truly wanted.

That set off the awkward confessional I had later telling "the girl of my dreams" that I couldn't date her friend (who may or may not have had a crush on me) because I still had feelings for her. And that if I dated her, all I could think about would be what coulda, woulda and shoudla been. And really that does her friend a real injustice, because she's a nice girl and doesn't deserve that.

And I didn't wanna be that guy.

Then came the well I kinda used to like you at one point, but I'm glad that we never dated because we're still great friends part of the conversation, which sent me on a "oh my gosh what have I done" trip.

Seriously, now I really get to think about what woulda, coulda and shoulda been. I've spent time in the last two weeks since that day thinking about where I went wrong. And then came the gut check question of the year: "is having a best friend worth losing the possible girl of your dreams?"

I still haven't come with a conclusion for that one.

(AND THIS IS WHERE I TIE IT UP NICELY AT THE END)

The way I see it, this girl that I'm talking about...this girl is what I thought Vanessa was going to be. What she has, I've always wanted in a girl. And the idea that I could have had it, saddens me.

Don't get me wrong, it's nice to have a best friend understands everything about you...but at what cost?

In the end, the feeling I felt when I found out Vanessa was getting married will happen twice more because of the Cancer women in my life.

The funny thing about it is that my mother loves the three of them (of course my mother herself is a Cancer too.)

Two of them have met in person, not knowing of course what each meant to me. Two of the others know about each other and what they mean to me. And then there's one that knows each story.

Confusing, yes. That is just one half-hour inside my mind on a Tuesday night that has just turned into Wednesday morning.

RANT OVER!

Poem #3: Cure For The Common Curse

2007-11-27T19:02:00.000-06:00

Cure For The Common Curse

Heart of goat, tail of black cat,
golden gloves and wooden bats.
Add shoulder slings for broken wings
of home run hitters and strikeout kings.

Time to end this dreaded curse,
lift it before it does get worse.
May it inflict our rivals worse,
it’s time to end this dreaded curse.

This poem is the second poem inspired by the Chicago Cubs.

The assignment for this piece was to emulate the style of trochaic meter, as found in the classic line "double double, toil and trouble." Part two of the assignment asked for me to write an incantation, so I decided to write an incantation that would reverse the curse of the billy goat.

For those of you who aren't as baseball savvy as I am, read further for a brief history lesson.

The curse of the billy goat has plagued the Cubs since 1945, when a gypsy and his goat sat in the bleachers of Wrigley Field during a World Series game. The goat smelled, fans complained and the ushers asked the man and his goat to leave.

They didn't want to, so on his way out the man allegedly cursed the Cubs, saying they would never reach the World Series ever again.

They haven't.

The first part of the first line ("heart of goat") was inspired by that. The second part of that line ("tail of black cat") was inspired by the infamous black cat incident. For more info., keep reading.

In 1969 the Cubs had a team of stars that held first place for over 100 games and were looking to go to the World Series for the first time since 1945. That team had Hall of Famers Ernie Banks, Billy Williams, Fergie Jenkins and Ron Santo (who should be in the Hall of Fame!!!)

However, the team swooned in the second half as the up and coming New York Mets charged for the division. Late in the season the Cubs and Mets met in a pivotal series.

During that series a black cat appeared at Shea Stadium (home of the Mets) and circled Cubs third baseman Ron Santo, who was standing in the on deck circle and then stared directly at Cubs manager Leo Durocher.

The Cubs would go on to lose that game and the division to the Mets, who would go on to win the World Series (of course).

That moment was the first of many misfortunes the Cubs (and Santo) had in that park (which will thankfully be demolished soon). This Cubs fan will never forget the time Santo's favorite hair piece caught fire in the Shea Stadium press box.

Now that I've got those two history lesson's out of the way, I hope that this will clarify any questions you had about the poem.

I hope you enjoyed it.

Inside 'The Dugout'

2007-11-26T17:34:00.000-06:00

Inside 'The Dugout'

Disgruntled players with heads in their hands.
Their ears are assaulted by ruthless fans
who rise with a ringing chorus of boos
for the rookie on deck, ready to bat.
His shoulders are slumped and his face is pale.
Another year of damned disappointments
conveyed by teammates, with heads in their hands.

The crowd gets louder with every pitch
as the rookie remains waiting on deck.
Impatiently waiting are fans at home.
Cubdom is a tragicomical group
of fans deserving of a better fate.
Ninety-nine years of tears over a team,
(their team) whose heads are buried in their hands.

This poem was inspired by artist Norman Rockwell's piece 'The Dugout', which can be viewed here.

The assignment for this class was to write a poem based of a piece of artwork. I chose this piece of art because it is one of my favorite pieces of art (mostly because the scene provides the viewpoint of Cubs fans.)

What I tried to do here was describe what was going on in the artwork. I tried describing the looks of the players, the fans in the background and really--the main thing I tried doing here was to describe the artwork as a whole.

Later, I got a little more specific, and wrote about emotions that could be drawn from this piece. I wrote about those emotions from the viewpoint of Cubs fans. It was easy to write that because as a life-long Cubs fan, it is easy to describe and write about heartbreak.

I've always said, the Cubs have broken my heart more times than any woman...and that trend will likely continue.

Dear Mr. Hughes (and intro to my Fall '07 Poetry Portfolio)

2007-11-25T19:26:00.000-06:00

First of all, I'd like to welcome all of you who read this blog to the first installment of poetry that will be submitted to my ENGL 382B class as my "Fall 2007 Poetry Portfolio."

The portfolio consists of 17 assignments and 21 poems overall. A lot of these poems will be new to my readers. Others I have used before, but have been re-written for this particular class. So if you think you've seen a poem before, you probably have...but now you're seeing it after being through workshop and re-written.

To my readers, be kind with your reviews but also be truthful as well. But don't be like "This sucks" and not have an explanation. If you have any questions, ask them? Something bother you? Tell me about it. A writer's job is to write for a mass audience.

Any changes that you suggest will be taken under consideration, but will not likely be used in my portfolio since I am under a deadline (that technically has yet to be determined by my instructor).

Now, for your feature presentation.

This poem Dear Mr. Hughes is an example of an emulation poem. The assignment for this piece was to emulate one of your favorite poets. Langston Hughes is one of my favorite poets and wanted to write something that maybe he would appreciate.

However, this is less of an emulation and more of a response to Hughes' Dream Deferred which can be read here.

Dear Mr. Hughes

What happens to a dream
deferred by outsiders
who wish for our demise?
They try to kill our self esteem,
instead we use their hatred
to power and fuel our dreams.
What happens to a dream deferred?
we make it come true.
For dreams are not just
for those with tired eyes.

Homecoming

2007-11-18T03:34:00.000-06:00

"Baby, do you remember when?
Fireworks at Lake Michigan
Oooh, now I’m coming home again
Maybe we can start again."
--Chris Martin, Homecoming (by Kanye West)

Well folks, I'll be on my way home for Thanksgiving break and I'm excited. So far, this semester has gone very well for me. The way this year has gone, I thought this is exactly how college was supposed to be from day one.

I guess this is one of those times where I note that I've learned a valuable lesson. This lesson, of course is that nothing in life comes easy.

Anyway, I'm coming home and am scheduled to arrive sometime Sunday afternoon. I'll be here until Saturday at 4 p.m. Plenty of time to do the things I need to do.

Unfortunately, I'm going to be a busy man during my vacation. I have a 7-10 page paper to write for my JRNL 332 class (journalism law.) I have a 1,200 word paper to write for my JRNL 311 class (news writing and reporting.) I also have to put together my poetry portfolio for my ENGL 382B calss (intermediate poetry.)

I also have to go to the dealership and see if I can get my job back. I also have to help my family with preparing for Thanksgiving.

The only fun I will be having will happen Wednesday night at Merkle's with my homeboys. To quote Bryan, "I saw the forecast for Wednesday, it's going to rain!!!!" Can't wait to make it rain in Wrigleyville again!!!

Other than that, I'm booked. Oh and Friday I'll be shopping with my mother. Other than that, I'm booked.

Hope to hear from you while I'm home.

Don't forget, I do DO NOT have a lot of your numbers. So you can leave me a messgae and give me your number so I can contact you.

In conclusion: I hope you all have a wonderful holiday.

--LuDo

Poetry Coming Soon & Blog Neglect

2007-11-14T23:25:00.000-06:00

If you ever read my old blog, then you know what is coming soon. That's right, poetry!

For those of you who are new, when the semester winds down I am usually putting the finishing touches on a semesters worth of new poetry. This year is no different. If you'd like to read my old poetry, you can go here and check it out. I suggest that you do.

Everyday I'm working just a little bit harder on putting together my poetry portfolio that comes at the end of the semester. When I feel I have a finished piece, I'll post it here, at my MySpace page and on Facebook.

I've got about 15 new pieces that I've written this semester. So get ready folks, cuz here I come!

What About Blog Neglect?

I've committed one of the blogging sins, and I am sorry for it. I realize that my last post here was on October 28th and that's such a long time to not post anything. I have found myself busy ever since signing on to be the Chicago Cubs beat writer for fansite armchairgm.com.

When I'm not doing school work or at my job, I'm trying to dig up all the dirt I can on the Cubs. I'm talking trade rumors, researching potential free agent signings, taking a look at minor leaguers who could impact the '08 team, etc. I'm a busy man to say the least.

I promise I'll make a bigger effort to keep this blog up to date as much as I can. I'd think about posting my Cubs stuff here, but I doubt many people would read it. But if you're willing to read it, I'm willing to write it. So tell me if you will or not. The latest Cubs news and analysis is only a copy and paste away.

Well, that's all for tonight. Nothing major to update tonight. Well, nothing I'm willing to talk about at this moment. The time will come. This blog will be back and kicking in no time!

-LuDo

Brian Griese: Upon Further Review

2007-10-28T23:42:00.000-05:00

Flip-flopping is generally reserved for politicians. Today, this sports fan reserves the right to flip-flop on Chicago Bears starting quarterback Brian Griese.

Last week, I said that I was wrong about Griese after the Bears come-from-behind victory against the Eagles. Granted, I also noted the Griese’s downfall such as his six interceptions in his first three games.

But after the Bears 16-7 defeat at the hands of the once lowly Detroit Lions, my initial feelings about Griese might have been correct.

So where did I go wrong last week?

Griese fits the mold for one of the lamest sports cliché’s, “he gives our team the best chance to win.”

Oops. It’s hard to give your team a chance to win when you throw four interceptions against a defense that allowed 315 passing yards to Jeff Garcia and 92 receiving yards to Ike Hilliard.

In Griese’s six starts, he has now thrown more interceptions (10) than touchdowns (9).

His ability to limit mistakes, as evidenced by the 0 turnovers against Philadelphia, is one of the main reasons he is starting now.

Did I mention that three of those interceptions occurred on passes in the end zone? Yikes. Turnovers in scoring position are unacceptable. If the Bears come out with three field goals instead of three INTs, the Bears would have been in a tied ballgame.

If it was Rex Grossman out there throwing four picks, there would be a mob outside willing to toss him into Lake Michigan, along with the ball that FOX kept showing every time the Lions kicked to Devin Hester.

The Bears still have issues they need to solve before they can be contenders again.

Finally, something I was right about! But wait, there is more to come.

Their running game has been terrible….Their defense is still porous…

Cedric Benson rushed for only 50 yards on 13 carries and was held out of the end zone, yet again. Kevin Jones accounted for Detroit’s only touchdown while rushing for 105 yards on 23 carries.

A 7-2 record down the stretch would give the Bears 10 wins and maybe a spot in the playoffs. If the Bears can find a way to jump start the running game, clog the holes in the defense and Griese can limit his mistakes, the Bears may be primed to make a run after a disastrous start.

The Bears are now 3-5, and based on NFL history have only a 2% chance of making the playoffs. If they were 4-4 going into their bye, they would have a 39% chance of making the playoffs.

This season, the Bears have been outperformed on offense, defense and special teams. That’s a recipe for disaster—and a top 10 pick in the 2008 NFL Draft, not a playoff run.

Confession: I Think I Was Wrong About Brian Griese

2007-10-23T02:21:00.000-05:00

After the Chicago Bears 19-16 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, I’m ready to make the following confession: I was wrong about Brian Griese.

I might be ahead of myself here, but before I completely jump on the Griese bandwagon I’d be remiss if I didn’t note Griese’s six interceptions in his previous three games. But for right now, Griese fits the mold for one of the lamest sports cliché’s, “he gives our team the best chance to win.”

In the week seven win against the Eagles, Griese completed 27 of his 41 passes (65.8%) and gained 322 yards. And with no timeouts and no radio communication in his helmet, he led the Bears on a game-winning 97-yard drive that culminated with “Moose” Muhammad’s touchdown catch with nine seconds left in the game.

In addition, Griese called his own plays.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not ready to put Griese in the Hall of Fame just yet. But I am suggesting that maybe he can take on Ron Turner’s job as offensive coordinator too.

At first, I was skeptical about the Griese starting. His career numbers state that he’s a good, but not great quarterback. He’s had health issues in the past, and one of my biggest issues with Griese was that he had never won a playoff game—let alone take his team to the playoffs.

With that said, that could happen in a weak NFC.

But if he does that, what does that say about the Bears coaching staff? What does that say about head coach Lovie Smith? It seemed like a quarterback controversy loomed every week and Lovie would come out to the podium and confidently say “Rex is our quarterback.”

However, Lovie wasn’t the only one.

I supported Rex Grossman. Even before he was drafted, I watched him put up big numbers in Steve Spurrier’s offense at the University of Florida. And when the Bears drafted him, I thought he was going to be great.

I’ve always thought that Grossman has some of the skills to be a—dare I say it—great quarterback, like confidence. And a rocket for an arm, to throw Favre-like lasers through tight coverage. And a feathery touch to throw a soft deep ball over defenders.

Now, he’s got nothing.

Early in his career, it was injuries that kept him from performing like the player Bears fans expected. Now, it looks like the pressure of big market expectations has gotten to Rex, and that’s a shame.

Now, in his contract year, he’s been relegated to the bench and won’t likely get a starting gig unless an injury occurs. It’s very likely, Rex’s career as a Bear is over.

As for Griese, he is now 2-2 as a starter and looks to be gaining a firm grasp of the offense. His ability to limit mistakes, as evidenced by the 0 turnovers against Philadelphia, is one of the main reasons he is starting now. And if he can keep that up, the Bears could make a run at a playoff spot.

The Bears still have issues they need to solve before they can be contenders again.

Their running game has been terrible. Cedric Benson has proven nothing to me, except that he is a serviceable number two running back who thrives against tired defenders. Their defense is still porous, evidenced by the Adrian Peterson show last week.

Jim Hendry Interview, Cliff's Notes Edition

2007-10-21T15:23:00.000-05:00

While doing my daily search for baseball information, I came across an MLB.com interview with Cubs General Manager Jim Hendry. And rather than having readers have to read the whole thing and try to figure out what is or is not important, I've decided to highlight four things from that interview that I deem interesting.

***Note: All quotes attributed to Hendry***

"You want to improve and you want to change things. Even if you're the World Champions, I think you come into camp next year with four or five different guys on your roster. That's the way the game is now."

It looks like the Cubs poor playoff performance isn't likely to affect the 25-man roster. However, this quote makes me believe that Hendry has his eye on some new blood in an attempt to better an 85-win division championship team. This year's free agent pool is quite shallow, but there are several quality players that can be had for the right price. It will take another smart off-season by the Cubs front office to bring improvements to this team. I'm interested in what players Hendry will target this winter.

"You can't predict somebody wants to come to your place. We've had a good track record -- people want to play here."

I thought that this quote was important, specifically the part I put in italics. This was in response to a question asking if the Cubs were more likely to make roster changes through minor league call ups, free agency or through the trade market. I feel that Hendry's statement "people want to play here" is a good sign. I remember that under the Dusty Baker and Don Baylor eras that both of those managers were supposed to bring stars. They didn't. We'll see if the combination of Hendry's recruiting ability and Lou Piniella's managerial star power can bring in some impact players to the Northside.

"I'm happy with [Geovany] Soto. I think Soto has a great chance to be the catcher on Opening Day."

For the record, I like Geo, but I'm not quite ready to give him the majority of the playing time behind the plate quite yet. Yes, he hit .389 in limited big league action this year. Yes, he hit the only home run for the Cubs this post season. Yes, he posted a .353 average with a 1.076 OPS in 110 Triple-A games in 2007. I realize all of that, but I don't want to put a lot of faith in a catcher with such a small sample size, though you have to think some of those Triple-A numbers would have to translate to the big league level. Also, I'm concerned about the health of Henry Blanco, who didn't play much in the second half and was left off of the post season roster. Free agent catchers include Jason Kendall (Cubs), Paul Lo Duca (Mets), Jorge Posada (Yankees) and Yorvit Torrealba (Rockies).

"I believe our payroll will go up [in 2008]. I don't know how much. If it stayed the same or close to the same, I wouldn't complain about it."

According to Hendry, the impending sale of the Tribune Company shouldn't interfere with baseball opertations, and that's coming from the guys above him and John McDonough (e.g.Tribune executives Dennis FitzSimons and Crane Kenney.) That's a good sign, because this team needs to make improvements if they want to make the playoffs again, next year.

By posting this, I've saved the reader roughly 600-700 words. With that time, you can help Jim Hendry by outlining what the Cubs need for next year.

Midterm Madness!

2007-10-18T02:13:00.000-05:00

We're a little more than halfway through the semester and I am relieved.

Again, this semester has had its fair share of peaks and valleys, but I am surviving. That is where the difficulty lies in these semesters. Sometimes, they feel long and frustrating--while other times they fly by and you don't even know what hit you.

Midterms have come and gone here at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, and I am feeling good about myself. I have not missed many classes, though my goal of perfect attendance for the semester is unreachable now, I'm not hurt by the handful of classes I have missed.

CLASSES I LIKE

JRNL 311: Reporting & News Writing with William (Bill) Recktenwald

This has been my absolute favorite class, so far. Mr. Recktenwald is a Chicagoland native who wrote for the Chicago Tribune in his heyday, and his experience in the newsroom is one of the reasons I like that class so much. Someone that can teach to you from experience is more valuable than anything a book can tell you. I could honestly gush over this class for days, but won't. Bill is the type of teacher (and this is the type of class) that helps me enjoy my journalism major.

JRNL 332: Journalism in Law with Professor Hlavich

My "Journalism Law" class was one of those classes that worried me as the school year started, mostly because of my fear of the legal system. But Professor Hlavich does so much so her students understand what is going on, and it really makes the class interesting too. I've been quite successful in that class, which surprises me to be honest. It's educational and informative...AND can be applied to stuff I will need in the future.

CLASSES I DON'T LIKE

ZOOL 115: General Biology with Prof. Nsofor

I'd like to preface this by saying I hate science. Not as much as I hate math, but I hate science nonetheless. I'm not fond of the lecture in this class, though I'm doing very well in my lab section. But the lecture is quite unbearable. Nsofor's lectures are long winded, making paying attention difficult. Having the notes online is great, however, there is no substitute for a teacher that is well spoken and can simplify science for non-science people like myself.

JRNL 335: Graphic Communication with Tommy Xie

I am finding this to be the most difficult of my journalism classes, mostly because in this class I am unable to use my writing abilities to save my grade. The focus of this class is design--and that is not my strength. Everyone knows I can be sloppy and the fact I have no graphic design experience is of no help. I don't mind the lab with Heather Lose, who really simplifies things to the point where an idiot like me can make sense of the InDesign program. But Tommy, our lecturer, isn't on my happy side. Mostly because of the difficulty of the questions on his test and his lecturing abilities. He's not terrible, but he's not great either.

ENGL 382B: Creative Writng: Inter. Poetry with Alberta Skaggs

Shocked? So am I. Everyone knows how much I love poetry, and that if not for poetry I'd likely be in an isolated mental state. My two poetry classes last year help me vent about my sophomore and junior year's at SIU in the best way possible. So maybe it's because I'm not the motivated mind I was last year (albeit motivation due to frustration.) Maybe because I've resolved some (but unfortunately, not all) of my issues that go back to sophomore and junior year. Maybe it's that prolonged writer's block that has been going on since June. Or maybe it's the fact that my teacher really ahsn't done anything to motivate me. In any case, I'm not happy with my poetry class (for several reasons.) I'm not motivated, the class is unorganized, it's taught by a teacher who had never taught a poetry class before....among other reasons. Still, the poetry is coming (though not at the pace it did last year.)

LET'S TAKE A TIME MACHINE, SHALL WE?

Now that I've got "Midterm Madness" off my brain, I decided I'd take a look back at what I was writing about this time last year and lo and behold we've got ourselves something that is worth a damn. As of now it's 11:56 p.m. on 10/17/07, and on this date last year I wrote this blog found at my old site.

In summary, I took a look back at a blog from 11/15/06 in which I referenced a conversation I had with my (now former) roommate. I referenced that note only because of what happened only hours before that post.

The Chicago Bears beat the Arizona Cardinals 24-23 on Monday Night Football behind three turnovers that turned into touchdowns and a game-winning punt return by Devin Hester. That game would go on to be known as "The Monday Night Miracle" and afterwards came my response:

"2007 JUST MIGHT BE THE YEAR! Maybe then MAYBE this can be my year too."

The next night, I would write about my epiphany. Unfortunately, that World Series Championship never came to fruition. Though technically I never said World Series--I said "championship." Damn! I should have been more specific!

So anyway, the point of that whole mini-rant was to prove how much I have changed. Even though those two posts aren't the biggest pieces of supporting evidence, there has been a significant change in my life.

No longer am I the bitter, frustrated young man that some people loved (while others hated.) No longer am I throwing my computer chair around my room in disgust. No longer amI beating my bed senseless with a baseball bat (mostly because I don't have my bat anymore, but that's besides the point.)

The point is that I feel like I'm moving forward in my life. And I'll be honest, sometimes I back-track. Sometimes I'll get into a state of mind where I'll just sit lonely and thing about "what could have been" or "what should have been." Sometimes I fall into the traps that got me down in the first place.

But then I'll have a happy moment, and all is right with the world.

IT DOESN'T GET EASIER

In closing, I'd like to take a short look at what I have ahead of me. (Hint: it's not gonna be pretty.) In order to graduate in Fall 2008, I'm gonna have to pull off the following miracle: 18 credit hours next semester, and 17 the semester after that.

The reason I have to do this is because of my sophomore year, which I consider the worst year in my life. It was the most tumultuous year, and what I mean by that is that I went through a period in which anything bad that could happen to me, did happen.

I honestly have difficulties finding silver linings in what happened that year. Not saying that there weren't any (because I can think of one in particular), but I say that because the bad outweighed the good--and it was a major setback.

Now I can take a look back at that and say that for the most part, I've moved on. And on graduation day I will be able to say, I survived SIU despite that. And if there is one thing I have learned from the 2007 Chicago Cubs (yay! baseball reference!) is that if you can make it through the rough times, you'll be stronger in the end because of it.

Good night folks, and sweet dreams.

Finished @ 12:13 a.m.

Congrats To The Colorado Rockies

2007-10-16T17:46:00.000-05:00

With their 6-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Colorado Rockies won their first National League pennant and will be representing the National League in the World Series.

As much as the media types love this story because of their hot streak, which seemingly came out of nowhere, I like this story for other reasons.

For example, the Rockies and the D'Backs were tied for last place in the NL West last year and most people projected them to be at the bottom of that division again. Instead, they were the participants in this year's NLCS.

So there's that "worst to first" storyline that the big networks will market around.

Then, there's the construction of this baseball team.

The rumor mill had the longest serving Rockie, Todd Helton, traded to the Boston Red Sox during the off-season--but talks fell through at the end. If Helton would have been traded, I don't think that the Rockies even sniff the playoffs.

As for the rest of their roster, I admire the home grown talent on that squad. That's how teams used to be built, from the bottom up. It's rare enough to get a stud like Matt Holliday, but when you get several studs on a roster(Garrett Atkins, Troy Tulowitzki and Brad Hawpe) it's special.

The Rockies front office did a pretty nifty job in constructing a pitching staff as well. Guys like Jeff Francis, Ubaldo Jimenez and Franklin Morales came up through the system and look to be Major League quality pitchers. LaTroy Hawkins, Matt Herges and Josh Fogg were picked up off the scrap heap.

You have to applaud a team like this, and admire from a distance. But then I realize, it's the Rockies.

And that's when it hit me.

Everyone and their mother knows the Chicago Cubs haven't won a World Series since 1908 and haven't appeared in one since 1945. However, I can't relate to either of those teams, so I'll take a more recent look.

I was born in July 1986, since then the Cubs have made four playoff appearances (1989, 1998, 2003, 2007.) In that time, Major League Baseball has added the Rockies and Florida Marlins in 1993 and the D'Backs and Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 1998.

Of those teams, the Marlins (1997, 2003) and D'Backs (2001) won the World Series. Now the Rockies will have their chance.

As for the Cubs, they'll continue to wait 'til next year.

Moving Forward To 2008

2007-10-13T15:12:00.001-05:00

In 2008, the Chicago Cubs will be celebrating the 100 year anniversary of their last World Series championship. With the League Championship Series in each league underway, there is no better time to start talking about that team than right now.

The Cubs have a lot of guys under contract for next year, which makes things difficult when you're trying to improve on an 85-win division championship team. But despite the division championship, the Cubs have several holes that need to be filled.

The outfield seems set with Alfonso Soriano, Felix Pie and Jacque Jones from left to right. However, I'm not satisfied with that trio on paper. In order for the Cubs to improve (and the key word is improve) one of those spots needs to be upgraded.

Pie hit .362 in Triple-A last year and could make the big jump Cubs fans expected him to make this year. He's still young and relatively an unknown commodity, making him the Cubs top bargaining chip this off-season. More on this later.

The contract Jones signed in 2006 is up after next season and is no longer an albatross. After his .332 second half average, JJ could be used as trade bait. If not, a right field platoon of Jones and Matt Murton (who is a career .328 hitter against left handed pitching.)

Fan favorite Ryan Theriot won over manager Lou Piniella with his hard work and overall solid play. Fans will be clamoring for Theriot to lead-off next year, but his on-base percentage (.326) was lower than Soriano's (.337) and as much as I like "The Riot" that doesn't translate to being an everyday player, sorry.

The place where the Cubs could use the biggest improvement is at catcher. Six Cubs combined to bat .239 last year, providing a major hole behind the plate. Geovany Soto will likely make the squad after his .389 batting average in 18 games, but I wouldn't get too excited about it just yet.

The starting rotation is solid with Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly and Rich Hill at the front of the rotation. Jason Marquis and Sean Marshall are pretty solid options in the number five slot. Both were solid in the first half, but struggled in the second half. Pitching coach Larry Rothschild's biggest job will be to straighten out that duo in the second half.

Mark Prior again is a wild card, but we'll cross that bridge if we get to it.

This may surprise you, but the Cubs had one of the best bullpen's around. Closer Ryan Dempster converted 28 saves in 31 chances, despite losing the trust of the fans. Scott Eyre got out of Piniella's doghouse to post a 0.81 ERA in the second half and Bobby Howry posted a 3.32 ERA and was the Cubs most consistent reliever.

Closer-in-waiting Carlos Marmol posted "video game numbers" with 96 strikeouts in 69 1/3 innings as Piniella's bullpen ace. In limited action, Kerry Wood notched 24 strikeouts in 24 1/3 innings of work.

EXPLORING THE FREE AGENT MARKET

Last year the Cubs made major strides in improving this team in the free agent market by signing Soriano, Marquis, Lilly and utility man Mark DeRosa. Still, this team has major holes to fill, but thankfully there are free agent alternatives.

Target number one is Alex Rodriguez, who if he exercises his out clause and signs with the Cubs, could be moved to shortstop. Rodriguez has expressed his interest and man love for Piniella and his 54 homers and 156 RBIs line would look nice between Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez.

The Yankees hold a $16 million option on Bobby Abreu's return to the Bronx, and he would be the top right fielder available if he hit the market. Abreu is an OBP machine posting a .369 clip in 2007 while swiping 25 bases as well.

Also consider Japanese import Kosuke Fukudome as a potential right field fill in. For more on Fukudome, I'll link to MLBTR.

The Cubs could re-sign Jason Kendall and have a catching duo of Kendall and Soto. Kendall hit .270 with a .362 OBP in 57 games with the Cubs. The best free agent out there is another Yankee, Jorge Posada, who posted carer highs in batting average (.338) and OBP (.426) in 2007.

EXPLORING THE TRADE MARKET

In an attempt to not spend big money this off-season, the Cubs could look to improve via trades. Braves shortstop Edgar Renteria could be expendable with the emergence of Yunel Escobar.

For the Cubs to acquire Renteria, they would likely have to trade Marshall or Dempster and a mid-level prospect, for the Braves are looking to improve their starting rotation and their bullpen by any means necessary this off-season.

Miguel Tejada talks could resurface this off-season with former Cubs boss Andy MacPhail rumored to be shopping Tejada this off-season.

The biggest name on the trade market could be Twins starter Johan Santana, who becomes a free agent after the 2008 season. It would take a creative package of top prospects and a major league ready talent for the Twins to shop Santana.

My proposal is fair and as follows:

Felix Pie. The Cubs top prospect is just what the Twins need. Pie would fill their center field hole at a cheap rate for a long time when Torii Hunter leaves as a free-agent.
Donnie Veal. Veal is the Cubs top pitching prospect. Veal is a lefty in the mold of Dontrelle Wilis who projects to be a top of the line starter.
Rich Hill. I'll pause for a moment so you can wipe that shocked look off your face. Santana won't come easy or cheap, that's why you have to throw a major league ready--or in this case--a major league starter to replace Johan in the rotation.
One of the following prospects would probably put a deal in motion and help the Twins reload their minor league system: 2B Eric Patterson, SS Ronny Cedeno, SP Sean Gallagher.

That's all for now. I can't wait 'til the playoffs are over.

One last look back at the 2007 Cubs

2007-10-11T03:48:00.000-05:00

Now that I've had some time to simmer down after the premature ending of what was supposed to be "the year" I can look back at 2007 with an even temper.

Looking at the '07 team, it was much improved over the '06 team. And there were two moves that directly impacted the change of this ballclub. The resignation of President Andy MacPhail and the signing of manager Lou Piniella.

MacPhail's resignation came as a surprise, a pleasant one at that. He had quite a long tenure in Chicago and had only two playoff appearances to show for it, and that wasn't going to cut it.

Replacing MacPhail on an interim basis was former vice president of marketing, John McDonough. And in his first press conference, McDonough made clear that his soul purpose as interim president was to win a World Series.

With McDonough in the fold, the Cubs opened up the vaults that MacPhail seemed to have locked and his first move was hiring Piniella.

A lot of people thought that Dusty Baker deserved another chance as Cubs manager. Granted, many were the types of Cardinals and White Sox fans who enjoy the suffering of Cubs fans almost as much (if not more) than their own teams success.

In the first year, the hiring of Piniella proved why he was a better choice than Baker.

Dusty said he liked young players, so did Lou. The difference is that Lou walked the walk. He turned the organization upside down in an effort to put the best 25 players on the field.

Youngsters (including, but not limited to) Ryan Theriot, Mike Fontenot, Rich Hill, Carlos Marmol and Sean Marshall made major contributions throughout the year.

Piniella also installed a sense of accountability. Michael Barrett (Padres), Cesar Izturis (Pirates) and Wade Miller (designated for assignment) were shipped out because they couldn't get the job done.

Ronny Cedeno, Matt Murton and Will Ohman were sent down until they got their stuff together.

Scott Eyre and Jacque Jones were benched for long periods of times because of their lack of production, essentially handcuffing Piniella with a 23-man roster.

Free-agency is another thing that helped the Cubs make an 18-win improvement.

Alfonso Soriano (.299 33 HR 70 RBI) brought stability to the lead-off spot, despite a less than moving .337 on-base percentage. Mark DeRosa was better than advertised. "DeRo" appeared in six different positions and managed to hit .293 with a .371 OBP.

The new Cub free agent starters were good too. Ted Lilly and Jason Marquis combined for 67 starts, almost 400 innings pitched and 27 wins.

This was a good team, unfortunately, not good enough to move past the first round.

The Brooklyn Dodgers coined it, the Chicago Cubs perfected it: "Wait 'til next year."

QUESTION OF THE NIGHT

With the NLCS underway tonight, I have one simple question: Who do you love when the Cubs break your heart? I've ranted on this site (and others) about how being a Cubs fan is like being in a relationship--and once in awhile, even in the best relationships--you get your heartbroken.

I've decided to take a stand and not watch the NLCS. I'm not sure how long that is going to last, knowing how much I love watching the game of baseball no matter which two teams are playing. And they've got the ace broadcasting crew which includes former Cubs announcer Chip Caray and current Cubs announcer Bob Brenly.

However, I'm still a little upset about the Cubs first round loss so I won't be going for the D'bags. I'm sorry, Arizona is not deserving of a baseball team--mostly because as of this morning you could buy 25 tickets together for an NLCS game. I'm sorry, if you can do that then YOU DO NOT DESERVE A F*CKING PLAYOFF TEAM!!!!

I'm siding with the Boston Red Sox. Cubs fans and Red Sox fans are a lot a like. They both have passionate fans, a heated regional rival, a classic American ballpark, and cute girls represented in their fandom. Though I'll never forget that one Boston girl I met that laughed like Peter Griffin from Family Guy. I'll admit that was kinda creepy.

Whatever---baseball season ends whenever the Cubs do.

It Didn't Happen: D'Backs 5-1 win ends Cubs season

2007-10-08T15:47:00.001-05:00

NOTE: This is the first of a four part series which will take a look back at the 2007 Chicago Cubs.

PART ONE: Reviewing the NLDS.
PART TWO: Reviewing the 2007 season.
PART THREE: Looking forward to 2008.
PART FOUR: What the 2007 Cubs meant to me.

To me, there is nothing more eerie than a victory celebration in front of a silent capacity crowd.

That's what Cubs fans had to see as Jose Valverde recorded the final out of the Diamondbacks 5-1 victory.

In recapping this game and this series as a whole, I'm not sure where to begin because so much went wrong.

First, you have to give the D'Backs all of the credit in the world. I guess there was some weight behind those NL leading 90 wins. They beat the Cubs at all phases of the game.

Next, you have to acknowledge the tale of two advanced scouting departments. The D'Backs obviously took notice of every scouting report and used it to their advantage.

For example in game one, Brandon Webb threw a week's worth of slow breaking balls to a team that is a notorious fastball hitting team. Throughout the series, the D'Backs jumped on fastballs early in the count--notably Chris Young's lead-off, first pitch home run off Rich Hill.

On the other hand, that is where the Cubs failed. They failed to capitalize on the wildness of Doug Davis and Livan Hernandez, in two must-win games for the Cubs.

But that's only part of the reason they got swept.

Alfonso Soriano, Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez, the heavy hitters that carried the Cubs in September didn't hit one home run. They were out homered by Stephen Drew for crying out loud!

Drew, along with teammate Augie Ojeda will soon find themselves on the official list of Cub killers. Ojeda is deserving of the Steve Garvey Award (Post Season Cub Killing) with his .444 average, which is .212 points higher than his career average.

The only Cubs home run came off the bat of Geovany Soto--and it was the only time the Cubs scored more than one run in an inning.

Yet, another reason behind the Cubs failure.

Upon further review of this series, the only Cub to step up and do something worth a darn was Carlos Zambrano--the guy that everyone was most worried about. Think about it, Big Z was composed and dominant in the best 85 pitches I've ever seen him throw.

And now, two former expansion teams (one of which I called a sabermetrical aberration) will be competing for the NLCS, beginning on Thursday.

While the best 85-win, division championship team that $300 million could buy is sitting at home.

Waiting 'til next year, again.

Make History Or We're History!

2007-10-05T11:34:00.000-05:00

Pop quiz: When was the last time the Cubs won three playoff games in a row?

Answer: Games two, three and four of the 2003 NLCS.

I guess it's pretty hard to remember, especially when the Marlins won the next three and went on to win the World Series.

Impossible, no. Improbable, maybe. Winning the next three games against a very confident club won't be easy. But don't forget, nothing comes easy if you're a Cubs fan. Not this year, not any year.

I, for one, am surprised the Cubs are down 0-2 in the NLDS. But maybe I shouldn't be.

The Diamonbacks first two starters came into the NLDS with a combined career record of 11-6 with a 2.96 ERA against the Cubs.

I thought the Cubs would at least come back to Wrigley tied 1-1 with a pivitol game three on Saturday afternoon. Game three is still important, in fact, more important than ever!

Game three's motto is simple: "Make history, or we're history."

The last team to come back from an 0-2 hole to win a divisional series was the 2003 Boston Red Sox who beat the Oakland A's and their aces Tim Hudson and Barry Zito in games four and five.

However, no National League team has ever come back to win a NLDS after being down 0-2.

I guess it's time for the Cubs to make history in a good way.

It's not going to be easy. First the Cubs must win the ultimate "must-win game" with lefty Rich Hill on the mound and beat Livan Hernandez and the D'Backs on Saturday afternoon. Then, on short rest, Carlos Zambrano must beat Micah Owings--who is more feared at the plate than on the mound. And finally, if the Cubs can even force it to game five they'll have to send the recently shelled Ted Lilly on short rest against last year's Cy Young Award winner, Brandon Webb.

YIKES!

Being a Cubs fan has taught me one thing over the years, and that is to expect the unexpected. And usually, when I think the Cubs are out they give you a glimmer a hope.

Hopefully the D'Backs will give an inch, and the Cubs will take the mile.

Cubs Suffer In Case Of The Ex: Go Down 0-2 in NLDS

2007-10-05T11:07:00.000-05:00

A game like this is a microcosm of what Chicago Cubs baseball is all about.

And that's not a good thing.

The Arizona Diamondbacks 8-4 victory over the Cubs in game two of the NLDS was a pretty easy game to analyze, so this post should be relatively short.

The Cubs took an early 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning when catcher Geovany Soto hit a two-run home run off of D'Backs starter Doug Davis.

However, they gave it right back in the bottom of the second. And this is where the case of the ex strikes.

CASE OF THE EX PART ONE: Ex-Sox farmhand Chris Young hit a three-run home run off of Cubs starter Ted Lilly to give the D'Backs the 3-2 lead and gave White Sox fans the joy of knowing they are indirectly responsible for the Cubs game two woes.

CASE OF THE EX PART TWO: Former Cub utility infielder Augie Ojeda went 2-for-4, raising his NLDS average to .571. Ojeda hit .182 during his short Cubs career.

CASE OF THE EX PART THREE: Another former Cub, pitcher Juan Cruz, pitched 1/3 of an inning. That one-third of an inning--a strikeout of Alfonso Soriano.

ACCORDING TO DICK, GAME TWO: I'll keep this short and simple. Hey, TBS--FIRE DICK STOCKTON!!!! He repeatedly insinuated that Soriano was limping and that he was playing hurt. I've been watching Soriano since his return from the quad injury--and he looks better now than when he first came back. It's obvious to me that Stockton is out of place calling these games. This isn't mid-90's NFL on Fox. This isn't the 1980's NBA Finals. It's the 2007 MLB playoffs---there's no reason for Dick to be broadcasting these games.

The Cubs are on their way back to Chicago for game three (and hopefully four) of the NLDS. They'll send lefty Rich Hill against the crafty playoff veteran Livan Hernandez with this thought in mind:

"Make history, or we're history."

Cubs-D'Backs Preview: Game Two

2007-10-04T18:47:00.000-05:00

After Diamondbacks closer Jose Valverde recorded the final out of their 3-1 victory over the Cubs, Cubdom went into classic panic mode.

Locally, nationally and seemingly everywhere in between, the topic of the day was whether Cubs manager Lou Piniella made the right decision pulling starter Carlos Zambrano after only throwing 85 pitches.

It seems as if a majority of people out there believe that Piniella screwed the pooch on that one. The Chicago Sun-Times said it was a Lou-sing call. Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune said that Piniella's quick hook was costly, arguing that by not opting to use Jason Marquis in game four may come back to haunt the Cubs.

The verdict: I am going to side with Piniella on this one. Knowing that Zambrano is going to have to pitch game four, Piniella made the right move for the situation (being that the Cubs are going with a three-man rotation.) Piniella's been making these moves all year, at least he's been consistent and has a reasoning behind what he did--unlike past Cubs managers.

Also, take this into account. Coming into the game, Carlos Marmol, who took the loss in game one, had only given up a combined four runs in August and September. That's 30 2/3 innings with 43 strikeouts and an ERA under 1.20. It's not like he was bringing out Dave Veres, Antonio Alfonseca or Mark Guthrie.

Also take into account that the Cubs offense didn't score a run after the sixth inning. Big Z coulda pitched the rest of the game. The Cubs didn't score, and you can't win if you don't score!

Moving on from last nights game with these final notes:

1-10 with runners in scoring position is not going to get it done. There is hope for the Cubs offense who hit several line-drives right at people, which prevented potential runs from scoring. Hopefully tonight those shots will find some holes.
Stephen Drew is officially on my baseball sh*t-list. Drew hit another clutch home run against the Cubs and made several Gold Glove caliber defensive plays which saved a few runs from scoring. And to top that off, he's a Drew--and with that comes BCB's great headline "Funny, he doesn't look Drewish."
I'm just gonna come out and say it now--TBS broadcasting sucks. Did any of the head honchos realize that this is the MLB playoffs, not the NFL on FOX. Dick Stockton has no place in a baseball booth. I'd rather hear Tim McCarver's nonsense than Dick's. Take note of Dick's Dumb Remarks (might be a new segment, According to Dick):

Tonight's starter for the D'Backs is Ron (not Doug) Davis.
D'Backs outfielder Chris Young led MLB rookies in home runs (Ryan Braun and his 34 HRs would disagree.)
The Cubs traded Michael Barrett for Jason Kendall. Funny, that's not how I remember it. Mikey B. was traded to San Diego for Rob Bowen in June, and in July Bowen was traded to Oakland for Kendall.

PREVIEWING TONIGHT'S GAME

I spent a lot of time reviewing game one, so I'll keep it relatively short for game two.

The Cubs will send Theodore Roosevelt Lilly A.K.A. "Mr. Neversmile" in what is definitely a must win game for the Cubs. Teddy truly has been the Cubs stopper this year with a 9-1 record in 16 starts after a Cubs loss.

The D'Backs will counter with Doug Davis. Davis is a certified Cub killer. He owns a 7-5 lifetime record with a 3.39 ERA against the Cubs. Davis out dueled Lilly in August at Chase Field, striking out eight Cubs in the process.

The Cubs will likely have a different looking line-up tonight.

Mark DeRosa (career .301 against LHP) might bat second against Davis.
Matt Murton (career .400 against Davis) will likely get the start in right field.
Jacque Jones (career .294 against Davis) will probably start in center field and bat eighth.
Kendall (career .313 against Davis) should get the nod behind the plate.

After the game ended, Cubs fan and producer of the documentary Chasing October: A Fan's Crusade Matt Liston left this bulletin on the popular networking site myspace.com:

It's only one game. This series will go all the way to game 5.

Take a breath...let's WIN tomorrow.

JUST BELIEVE,
Matt

I echo Matt's sentiments. Let's go out and win game two and shut everyone up!

Remember, "It's Gonna Happen!"

TAKING THE EXTRA BASE:

Sox fans now have another reason to hate Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti. Mariotti echoes the sentiments of people with thoughts with this simple statement: "Grow Up."

Game One Recap: D'Backs 3 Cubs 1

2007-10-04T00:36:00.000-05:00

I waited four years for this.

Four years after I suffered the most heart breaking moment of my life, the Cubs came out and lost game one of the 2007 NLDS.

Pitching on both sides dominated the game. Brandon Webb (1-0) picked up the win when the Diamondbacks scored two runs off of reliever Carlos Marmol (0-1) in the bottom of the 7th inning.

The D'Backs scored two of their runs off of long home runs from Stephen Drew and Mark Reynolds. Drew, a .238 hitter in 2007 and Reynolds--known to D'Back fans as MarKKKKK--for striking out nine-straight times--tying a major league record.

Carlos Zambrano, who is now winless in his five playoff starts, was the "Big Z" that I wish could show up for 33 starts a year. He struck out eight and only walked one while throwing only 85 pitches.

While some will criticize manager Lou Piniella for pulling "Z" after only 85 pitches, take into consideration that he has to pitch game four (which WILL be necessary) and that Marmol was dominant in his first full campaign as a reliever.

Now, after Marmol's last two outings, I'm worried that "Marmol-aid" is tiring down the stretch. His slider is hanging more often than not--and when his slider hangs it gets hit and hit hard!

The Cubs offense could only scratch out one run off of Webb. Not surprising, especially after taking into consideration that Webb had a 4-1 career record against the Cubs coming into the NLDS.

The Cubs biggest offensive problem wasn't getting people on base, instead it was driving them in. They left 17 guys on base tonight. 17 under the "LOB" column in the scorecard isn't gonna win many games (if any!)

I'll be honest, I didn't give the Cubs much of a chance against B-Webb (knowing his past record againt the Cubs) and while taking that into consideration---that makes game two even bigger.

The Cubs will throw Ted Lilly a.k.a. "Mr. Neversmile" against the D'Backs Doug Davis--whose career ERA against the Cubs is under four.

Expect some changes in the Cub line-up tomorrow night. I think Mark DeRosa will bat second tomorrow night (batting .283 against lefties) with Jacque Jones hitting 8th and Matt Murton getting the start in right field (batting .319 against lefties this year.)

Contrary to popular belief, I'm not going to get too down about this loss.

MY PREDICTION: The sun will rise tomorrow, and the Cubs will win game two!

Don't give up the faith!

Playoff Preview: NLDS Game One

2007-10-03T20:02:00.000-05:00

And then there was one.

After watching the Red Sox end their 86-year championship drought in 2004 and watching their cross-town rival White Sox celebrate the end of their own championship drought with a ticker-tape parade downtown, the Chicago Cubs will take their first step towards their first World Series since 1908 tonight at Chase Field when they visit the NL West champion Arizona Diamondbacks.

The D'Backs will go into this series with the Cubs owning the NL's best record with 90 wins, despite being outscored. Seems like a sabermetrical aberration to me--but that's another discussion for another day.

This will be the Cubs first playoff appearance since 2003, and already "Curse Talk" has begun.

This morning's edition of SportsCenter dedicated 10 minutes revisiting billy goats, black cats and Bartmans. Several mlb.com reports lead with talk about "reversing the curse." And to be honest, there are a lot of Cubs fans who are waiting for the other shoe to drop.

I, myself did not believe in curses until after the 2003 season. And I didn't even fall for it after the Bartman game.

I truly began to believe in what some would call "nonsense" after a completely healthy Kerry Wood collapsed in front of my eyes.

When Mark Prior a.k.a "Mr. Perfect Mechanics" and Wood spent major chunks of the 2004 season on the disabled list. And Sammy Sosa found himself on the DL with "the sneeze heard 'round 'The Chi'."

There was just too much evidence in front of my eyes at that point to not credit supernatural forces for what was happening to the three most popular Cubs, and what would eventually happen to the Cubs.

NOW FOR THE PLAYOFFS

Moving on from that, the Cubs have their work cut out for them.

WHAT THE CUBS HAVE GOING FOR THEM: Manager Lou Piniella has been here before, and his managerial experience should count for something. The Cubs also have the possibility of sending their two best starters, Carlos Zambrano and Ted Lilly, for four of this series. Also the Cubs possess a dangerous lead-off man (Alfonso Soriano) and middle-of-the line-up thunder (Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez.)

WHAT THE D'BACKS HAVE GOING FOR THEM: They had the most wins in the NL this year, but once the playoffs start every team starts at 0-0. The biggest thing the D'Backs have going for them is that they have the best starting pitcher (Brandon Webb, 18 wins) and the best closer (Jose Valverde, 47 saves) of the teams remaining the National League.

WHAT THE CUBS HAVE GOING AGAINST THEM: I'll come out and say it because out there some idiot already has said it. That stupid curse. As the playoffs come, so do the stupid national media types that allow this curse talk to continue. Also the Cubs possess the ultimate Wild Card in this series, the performance of Ryan Dempster. The Cubs closer has a three-something ERA in save situations, but in non-save situations his ERA is around five.

WHAT THE D'BACKS HAVE GOING AGAINST THEM: The D'Backs have loads of playoff inexperience up-and-down the line-up. They're manager will also be making his first playoff managing experience too. Also, after Webb, the D'Backs rotation doesn't look intimidating even though they do have Cub killer Doug Davis and one of the best hitting pitchers in Micah Owings.

NEWS AND NOTES:

I've got tonight's tentative starting line-up (courtesy of BCB) and I'll post it below.
ESPN doesn't want the Cubs to win the World Series, go figure. ESPN doesn't care about sports if it doesn't involve the Yankees, Red Sox or Duke Basketball.
Hire Jim Essian! gives ESPN the finger in this piece.
Not so fast, my friend. The respectable Jayson Stark plays the "Why Not Us?" card. He thinks the Cubs can win this thing!
For those of you who can't make it out to your local watering hole to watch the game, there is a Cubs drinking game. Play at your own risk!

That's all for now. Game time is less than three hours away. I'm nervous!

*Game 1 Starting Lineups*
Cubs	D'backs
Soriano, lf	Young, cf
Theriot, ss	Drew, ss
Lee, 1b	Byrnes, lf
Floyd, rf	Clark, 1b
Ramirez, 3b	Reynolds, 3b
DeRosa, 2b	Salazar, rf
Jones, cf	Snyder, c
Soto, c	Ojeda, 2b
Zambrano, p	Webb, p

I'd Like To Say That I Saw It Coming

2007-10-02T00:38:00.000-05:00

With the NL Wild Card game currently in progress and the first game of the NLDS a few days away, again I will take another look back at the 2007 Chicago Cubs.

I'd like to say that I saw this thing coming.

In February, I coined the phrase "This is the year that Cubdom strikes back," an obvious play on "The Emperor Strikes Back." However, back in October is when I began to believe.

On October 18, 2007 I posted a blog called "The Flashback, The Vision, The Prediction," which described a three-pronged event that was triggered by the Bears historic comeback. That blog is linked here for your viewing/reading pleasure. In short, here's what I had to say:

The Flashback refers to a conversation I had in which I said I'd land the girl of my dreams the day that the Bears, Bulls, Cubs and SIU win championships.
The Vision refers to a dream I had that night. In short, I was at Opening Day 2007 claiming that 2007 was the year and only myself and someone who was with me agreed.
The Predictions actually went eerily well. I shook of a "curse" that had been plaguing me, SIU won the MVC and went to the Sweet 16, the Bears won the NFC and went to the Super Bowl (and there were several Super Bowl songs about the Bears), and the Bulls did indeed knock off the Heat and advanced in the playoffs for the first time in the post-Jordan era. And the Cubs have completed phase one of their championship campaign by winning the NL Central.

THINKING ABOUT THE PLAYOFF ROSTER

With the Cubs officially in the playoffs, manager Lou Piniella has until Wednesday morning to turn in his playoff roster. The Cubs have a lot of questions to answer before then. In early September, I took a crack at what I thought the playoff roster should look like. Today, I have a different outlook.

STARTING PITCHERS (4)

Zambrano
Lilly
Hill
Marshall (if necessary)

It appears that the Cubs will go with a three-man rotation featuring Carlos Zambrano (games one and four), Ted Lilly (games two and five) and Rich Hill. But if it was up to me, I'd risk starting Jason Marquis, who was 8-3 at Wrigley Field in 2007. That would push Zambrano to game five (if necessary.) Big Z was 12-4 with a 3.06 ERA on the road compared to 6-9 with a 4.96 ERA at home.

Sean Marshall is more likely to make the playoff roster because of Marquis' recent struggles (mostly with his mechanics) and because he'd be another left handed pitcher out of the pen.

RELIEF PITCHERS (7)

Dempster
Howry
Eyre
Marmol
Wood
Wuertz
Hart

Despite his recent struggles, Ryan Dempster will likely be the Cubs closer in the playoffs with Bobby Howry and Scott Eyre as his primary set up men. Eyre has posted a stellar second half line: 2-0 with a 0.81 ERA in 28 second half games.

And despite every Cubs fan's request, Carlos Marmol will not be the Cubs closer. Instead, he will serve the role of bullpen ace when the Cubs need him in closer-like situations in the 6th, 7th and 8th innings.

Kevin Hart likely will take the spot that would have been reserved for Marquis. Hart was acquired from Baltimore in the trade that sent Freddy Bynum to the Orioles. In 11 innings of September work, Hart posted no record and a 0.82 ERA to go along with a 4.6 strikeout-to-walk ratio by striking out 13 and only walking four.

THE STARTING EIGHT (8)

Soto
D. Lee
DeRosa
Theriot
Ramirez
Soriano
Jones
Floyd

Even though I think Jason Kendall will get the starting nod, Geovany Soto is a better choice in my opinion. In his last 10 games, Soto is batting .424 (14-for-33) and has been stellar from a defensive standpoint.

Jacque Jones' play in the second half has turned him from whipping boy to center field savior. Jones hit .326 with a .369 on-base percentage with 45 RBI's. And to think, Jones was almost traded to the Marlins. My initial feelings about that non-trade is recapped here.

Alfonso Soriano, Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez will have to do in October what they did in September--and that is carry the Cubs offense by hitting the long ball. The three combined to hit 29 home runs in the final month.

THE BENCH (6)

Kendall
Ward
Fontenot
Murton
Pie
Cedeno

Configuring the bench will be the Cubs biggest challenge. Daryle Ward might not be 100%, leaving the opportunity that rookie Sam Fuld would take Ward's spot. Originally, I had reserved a spot for outfielder Craig Monroe, but upon further review I decided to give his spot to another one of the former whipping boys, infielder Ronny Cedeno who can play second base, third base and shortstop in a pinch. Matt Murton will likely start game two in right field against Diamondbacks lefty Doug Davis. Murton is hitting lefties at a .326 clip in his three year career. Felix Pie is your late inning speed and defense guy.

That's all, for now.

*Note: It is now 10:38 and the NL Wild Card play-in game/tiebreaker is still in progress (6-6 in the 12th inning)

**Editor's Note: I forgot the most important part that I really wanted to make note of. And that was something I mentioned to my mom (I mentioned it in the blog about "The Flashback, The Vision, The Prediction"):

To enforce my vision, my mother and I spoke today. I told her the following: "I was all about Joe Girardi coming to manage the Cubs. I thought that it'd be perfect that the local product, life-long Cub fan and former Cub leads this team out of a 98 year drought. But I thought about Piniella signing and I think it'd be more fitting that a guy named 'LOU' did the job." In response, my mother said "You know, I was thinking the EXACT SAME THING!"

We Are The (NL Central Division) Champions

2007-09-30T23:28:00.000-05:00

What goes around, comes around.

The Cubs 6-0 win over the Reds coupled with the Padres 6-3 victory over the Brewers made the Cubs champions of the National League Central Division for the first time since 2003.

The Cubs clinching victory came 159 games after the Cubs stumbled out of the gate in that very same Great American Ball Park. Even Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano acknowledged that.

“This one was very important to me. We started the season here. Before the game, I was thinking: Here we started, and here we finish," Big Z said about clinching in Cincinnati.

Zambrano (18-12, 3.95 ERA) pitched seven strong innings of shutout baseball, en route to his career-high 18th victory.

Left fielder Alfonso Soriano set the tone with a two-strike lead-off home run off Reds starter Bronson Arroyo. Derrek Lee would later add a two-run homer, and that is all the scoring the Cubs would need.

Meanwhile, in Milwaukee, former Cub Greg Maddux picked up the victory over the Brewers when closer Trevor Hoffman struck out Rickie Weeks picking up the save and clinching the Cubs playoff berth.

In a sense, both Zambrano and Maddux pitched the Cubs into the playoffs on Friday night. How's that for stars aligning?

Tonight, I want to reflect on this year.

Watching the 2007 Cubs was like watching a movie about the 2007 Cubs, with the multitude of story lines.

$300 million worth of new players and coaches including the new face of the franchise, manager Lou Piniella. An ownership in flux, led by interim president and former marketing guru John McDonough.

And when the season started, the Brewers raced out to a 24-10 record and the Cubs fell nine games below .500.

While some thought he was asleep at the wheel for the first two months, Piniella was really unraveling the mess brought to him by General Manager Jim Hendry and turned the Cubs into a winning ball club.

It took a hamstring injury to move Soriano from center field to left field. It took a clubhouse fight at the hands of Zambrano for the Cubs to dump fan favorite catcher Michael Barrett. The poor play of Wade Miller and Cesar Izturis combined with the positive contributions of Sean Marshall and Ryan Theriot led to Miller's demise and Izturis' trade to Pittsburgh.

And really, that's where the major difference between Piniella and former Cubs manager Dusty Baker is. Both Piniella and Baker said that they liked young players, however only Piniella walked the walk.

When things went wrong early, Piniella demanded players that could "pitch and catch the damn ball." Everyone from Cubs fans to sports talk radio hosts laughed at Piniella's expense, but in the end it was Piniella and the Cubs having the last laugh.

If not for other strong candidates for Manager of the Year, Piniella would be a shoe in. The way he mixed veteran star power, youthful exuberance and a well-timed tirade will not soon be forgotten by Cubdom.

One of the most memorable Piniella moments (besides the tirade that "kick"-started the Cubs second half run) was when he called for Theriot to lay down a suicide squeeze in the 9th inning of a 1-1 ballgame against the Chicago White Sox and their ace closer Bobby Jenks. It was successful, and the Cubs would win that game and sweep that series in one of the turning points of the 2007 season.

But the manager can only get so much credit. Really, all Piniella did was put his players in the best position to win.

Free-agent signee Mark DeRosa proved to be the Cubs MVP (Most Versatile Player.) DeRosa made at least one appearance at each position in the infield, as well as both left and right field. As the year went on, DeRosa would become one of the Cubs clubhouse and on field leaders.

Carlos Marmol, who baseball analyst Steve Stone last year said that Marmol was miscast as a starting pitcher and was better suited as a late inning pitcher, proved Stone to be right. Marmol excelled as Piniella's bullpen ace, notching 95 strikeouts in 68 and 1/3 innings.

Jason Marquis, another free agent signee, put his horrid 2006 behind him and posted a 12-9 record with a 4.43 ERA as a starter--proving (for one year at least) that his 6.02 ERA in '06 was a fluke.

Ted Lilly, who was signed while Hendry was in a hospital bed, put up ace-like numbers (15-8) and was 9-2 after a Cubs loss.

The group that won't get as much credit as they should is the Tribune Company. For years, Cubs fans (like myself) pined for the Tribsters to spend the cash that the fans put into that team. Crane Kenney and Dennis FitzSimons deserve a lot of the credit for allowing McDonough and Hendry to spend the right amount of money on the right guys

LOOKING AHEAD

The Cubs will now head out west to play the Arizona Diamondbacks, winners of the NL West and will throw out Zambrano and Lilly in games one and two of the NLDS, which is scheduled to begin on Wednesday night in Arizona.

Winning the division was only the first step. The magic number now stands at 11. 11 being the number of games the Cubs need to win in order to win their first World Series since 1908.

Miscellaneous Baseball Thoughts

2007-09-26T23:43:00.000-05:00

Miscellaneous baseball thoughts from Wednesday September 26th 2007.

AN OPEN LETTER TO TONY LARUSSA:

Dear Tony,

Thank you for beating the Brewers tonight. If the Cubs end up winning the NL Central, next time you're in Chicago, drinks are on me. And so is the cab.

Sincerely,

Cubdom

THE THREE PHASES OF THE TRUE CUBS FAN:

THE ETERNAL OPTIMIST: Yeah, the Cubs have lost the last two games but look on the bright side. The magic number is down to three. Meaning any combination of three Cubs wins or Brewers losses makes the Cubs the NL Central champions. The Brewers have to play the Padres who are fighting for their playoff lives and will likely face Chris Young, Greg Maddux and Jake Peavy. The Cubs go to Cincinnati to face the Reds who are already eliminated, and without their two biggest power threats: Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey Jr.

THE PESSIMIST: The Cubs are gonna blow it. You know why? Because they're the Cubs and they always blow it. It's what they've always done and it's what they will always do. They always find a new and interesting way to blow it, so at least we all know it will be entertaining!

THE REALIST: With four games left and the magic number standing at three, the Cubs chances at winning the division stand above 90%. The Cubs have played way below their potential and have three of their best pitchers going for them this weekend against the Reds. They also have a manager who has been in this situation before, and unlike some managers, will put the importance of the game at hand above retaliation.

RANDOM THOUGHTS:

If the Padres can somehow take three of four games from Milwaukee, Cubs fans might have to take back all of those nasty things they said about the Padres in 1984 (at least for one weekend.)
Miami's Joe Robbie/Pro Player/Dolphin Stadium is the new house of horrors for Chicago sports fans. Between the Bears and the Cubs, they are winless in their last 11 games against the Miami franchise--and are winless in 2007 in Dolphin Stadium.
If the Cubs can't beat Dontrelle Willis (who entered Tuesday's game 9-15 with a 5.32 ERA) or Daniel Barone (1-3, 5.30 ERA entering Wednesday) then how are they gonna beat Cub killers Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo?
Also, why do I have a feeling that former Cub Buck Coats is gonna come back and bite the hand that once fed him.
I know that Steve Trachsel is scheduled to start against the Marlins on Thursday. I don't think that's a good idea. Start Rich Hill on normal rest--every game counts--especially ones that could decide the fate of the NL Central.

That was one moment inside this Cub fan's head.

I've Seen This Episode Before....Part Two

2007-09-25T20:31:00.000-05:00

A week ago I posted this blog drawing a comparison between the 2007 Cubs team going for the NL Central title and the 2004 Cubs going for the NL Wild Card and how both Cubs teams had to play the Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field in a critical series.

That blog was titled "I've seen this episode before...and I didn't like the way it ended the first time." This is part two of that blog.

Tonight I will compare this Cubs team and the 2003 Cubs.

With a magic number of four, the Cubs go to Miami to play the Florida Marlins with their playoff fates in their own hands.

And today, just like in 2003, they laid an egg when they had an opportunity to move one step closer to the ultimate goal of Cubdom.

Tonight's 4-2 loss isn't as disheartening as any of their losses in the 2003 NLCS, but this could rank up there if the Cubs don't make the playoffs.

The Cubs offense, which blew up in the three game sweep against the Pirates at Wrigley this weekend, just blew tonight against Dontrelle Willis and the Marlins.

The Cubs runs came off the bat of Craig Monroe, whose eighth inning two-run homer off of Willis. But that was all the scoring the Cubs would do.

They mustered only three hits off of Willis, Lee Gardener and Taylor Tankersley who picked up his first save by getting Cliff Floyd to fly out deep to left center to end the ball game.

As of right now, the Brewers look like they'll move within two games of the first place Cubs because they're leading the hapless Cardinals 7-1.

With the magic number standing at four, it doesn't look like the Cubs will clinch against the Marlins (which would be poetic justice in my eyes.) Instead, this will likely be one of the most excruciatingly painful weeks in recent Cubs history.

It'd be quite beneficial for the Cubs to clinch sooner rather than later so they can set their rotation for the first round of the playoffs. But at this point, you've gotta get there first!

There are still two more games against the Marlins and the Cubs could conceivably win those two games and cut the magic number in half without any help from the Cardinals.

It's more likely that the Cubs will clinch in Cincy, but it won't get any easier. The Reds have set up their rotation so the Cubs face both of the Reds aces, Bronson Arroyo and Aaron Harang.

Still, the Cubs have their work cut out for them and they control their own destiny.

To quote Al Davis, "Just win, baby!"

I've Seen This Episode Before...

2007-09-18T22:22:00.000-05:00

...and I didn't like how it ended the first time.

In 2004, life was good. I was happily one month into my freshman year at SIU and the Cubs were on their way to winning the Wild Card.

Then a disasterous weekend in New York came, in which the Cubs blew the second and third games of that series.

Still, they had a lead in the NL Wild Card and came home to play the woeful Cincinnati Reds and dominated the Reds in game one. But then would go on to lose the next three games.

I'll never forget game three, Mark Prior pitched the game of his life, striking out 16 reds in nine innings of work. That was the first time I felt heartbreak in college.

The Cubs would go on to lose the Wild Card to the Houston Astros, Sammy Sosa walked out on Cubdom and Sosa's boom box was destroyed. Thus, the beginning of the end of the Dusty Baker era.

Let's fast forward to 2007.

The Cubs entered today's game with a one game lead over the Brewers, however after tonight's loss to the Reds (coupled with the Brewers win) the Cubs find themselves tied for first with under two weeks of games left to be played.

I'm not a big fan of repeating history, especially when repeating history will likely cause me to go on a major drinking binge. But I have faith in this year's Cubs team.

I have more faith in Lou Piniella handling a bullpen than I did in Dusty Baker. But that's where that faith ends.

The 2004 Cubs were more talented. They had a more prolific offense and a healthy Prior and Wood.

To make things even more stressful, playoff tickets go on sale Sunday at 9 a.m. and the idea of paying for tickets for a non-guarantee is a big risk.

But once in a while, I need to take a risk. And for the Cubs, I'm willing to take that risk. Mostly because I'm half crazy. But also, because I have faith and the last time I bought playoff tickets with the division hanging in the balance the Cubs won it in 2003.

Now that is history worth repeating.

There's plenty of games to be played. Tied for first place, the Cubs & Brewers "magic number" stands at 12.

Weekend Recap: Cubs, Cards & Other Animals Too

2007-09-16T20:22:00.000-05:00

All I have to say is: "Wow, what a weekend!" Lots to recap, let's get it crackin'!

CUBS VS. CARDS WEEKEND

In September, every series is critical but when you're hanging on to first place by the slimmest of margins. But when you're playing your top rival, everything is magnified to the fullest. Even with all that pressure on the Cubs, they still won three of four games in St. Louis against the Cardinals and maintained their one game lead over the Milwaukee Brewers.

Carlos Zambrano picked up the win Friday night by pitching eight innings and allowing only one run. Daryle Ward's clutch three-run pinch-hit double in the ninth was the difference in the ballgame. Ward is batting .333 against the Cards this year.

The Cubs won game one of Saturday's double header behind Alfonso Soriano's game winning two run home run in the eighth inning. Kerry Wood picked up his first win as a reliever in the contest. Soriano also hit a two-run homer in game two giving the Cubs a short-lived 3-0 lead that starter Sean Marshall could not hold. The Cards won game two 4-3.

In game four, Jason Marquis pitched good enough to earn his 12th win this year, and his second victory against his former mates. On September 1st, I mentioned that Marquis should be the most motivated Cub, seeing that the Cards left him off the NLCS and World Series roster. The Cubs should have scored more than four runs, they left 14 guys on base. They left more guys in scoring position than a prude virgin. Youngsters Matt Murton (three run home run) and Geovany Soto (4-for-5) led the Cubs at the plate in the 4-2 victory.

By taking three-of-four this weekend, the Cards fell to seven games behind the first place Cubs, marking what could be the beginning of the end of the Cardinals reign as World Champions. Currently, the Cards have a .339% chance of making the playoffs. Somewhere, Marquis is kicking dirt on a make-shift Cardinals grave.

Just call 'em the "Deadbirds."

BIG FOOTBALL WEEKEND

Indeed, it was a big weekend for my favorite football teams. Michigan stomped Notre Dame 38-0 for their first win of the season. Mike Hart led the Wolverines (1-2) rushing for 187 yards and 2 TDs, while Notre Dame (0-3) has yet to score an offensive touchdown this season.

No. 6 SIU moved to 3-0 this weekend after beating Southern Utah 44-10. Quarterback Nick Hill (who happens to be a Cubs fan) threw four touchdowns to spark the offensive attack. This coming one week after SIU's 34-31 upset victory over in-state rival NIU last week in DeKalb.

Sunday, the Bears (1-1) beat the Chiefs 20-10 at Soldier Field. In a refrain familiar to Bears fans, today's victory was sparked by the defense and a punt return touchdown by Devin Hester. Also, Cedric Benson picked up his first 100-yard game in the NFL.

A WEEKEND AT THE BARS

It's not an official weekend in Carbondale unless there is bar hopping involved, and this weekend was no exception. Friday night earned a star in my book. Gatsby's II was off the chain, mostly because of the atmosphere. Their drinks are expensive ($5 long islands, $2.75 for a Miller Lite) but the crowd and the music made up for it. Friday's DJ played all the hot current music you would want to hear while enjoying a night on the town. It was like he jacked my I-pod for the night.

Saturday, however wasn't that good---mostly because the DJ sucked. So I've come to the conclusion that Gatsby's is the place to be on Friday nights. Saturday nights, however, are still up in the air. Something will get figured out by next Saturday, I'm sure.

MISCELLANEOUS HAPPENINGS

I got a chance to work this weekend, that makes me happy because I like working...and I like getting paid. I have a newfound respect for officials. They take so much sh*t and have to put up with fans and players--it's only my first week, but it's a little nuts. In the end, I'm happy to be working again.
I'm coming home in October, and it couldn't happen soon enough. I'm missing my peeps at home and a weekend in the Chi could work wonders for my mental state. I've also planned my trip to (hopefully) coincide with what would be game 3 of the NLDS (which would be played at Wrigley Field.) Yeah, I'm a loser 'cuz I've figured out the postseason schedule a month in advance. I can only imagine how it could be in Wrigleyville on a chilly October night with playoff baseball around the corner. I guess we'll find out in about 12 games.

That's all for now, hope you rweekend was as eventful as mine.

Kanye West vs. 50 Cent: The Showdown

2007-09-11T18:11:00.000-05:00

The biggest debate in hip-hop since Jay-Z vs. NaS will be decided starting today when Kanye West's third album Graduation* goes up against 50 Cent's third album Curtis.

A lot of media types will hype this as a "Battle Of The Titans," which is correct in a way. However, the media types don't seem to be focusing on the music aspect of each album. Instead, they seem to be hyping each artist's ego.

It'd be easy for me to pile on to that debate, but since I've listened to each album completely I am going to analyze Graduation and Curtis for their value in music.

GRADUATION, KANYE WEST

Following the theme of school related titles, West fittingly drops his third album Graduation. The title fits the album well, seeing that Kanye has developed into a bonifide hip-hop star since his first album and you can clearly hear it.

His first album, The College Dropout contained a lot of old school soul samples mixed with fresh drum beats lead by singles "Through the Wire" and "Slow Jamz" while his second album, Late Registration added the sounds of an orchestra and the co-production of Jon Brien to compliment the sounds of sped up soul samples led by the singles "Diamonds From Sierra Leone" and "Gold Digger."

Now with Graduation Kanye takes his game to a whole new level, adding the sounds of a synthesizer, popularized by Timbaland's album Shock Value. Kanye's effort on this album clearly makes it his best work to date.

One of the more noticeable changes is that the album contains no skits which helps move the album along seamlessly. In addition, Kanye has guest spots by only two rappers, Lil' Wayne and Mos Def. Wayne appears on the track "Barry Bonds" while Mos only sings on the track "Drunk and Hot Girls."

With that said, Graduation is more of a dissertation with Kanye wanting the listener to focus on what he has to say rather than what supporting rappers would.

The album is headed by two hot singles, "Can't Tell Me Nothing" and "Stronger." The first single, "Can't Tell Me Nothing" is Exhibit A of Kanye's improved lyrical ability with a slew of consecutive punchlines to go along with the infections "La la la la, wait 'til I get my money right" chorus.

In addition, the pattern of Kanye being one-upped by collaborators (i.e. Common on the track "Get 'Em High or Mos Def on the track "Two Words") ends with the track "Barry Bonds", his collaboration with Lil' Wayne in which 'Ye spits punchline after punchline including the gem " I'm insulted/ you should go 'head/ and bow so hard till yo knees hit yo fo' head."

"Stronger" is more of a club banger with pounding drum sounds that remind the casual hip-hop fan of "Gold Digger." Here Kanye samples Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" perfectly providing hip-hop with a hit that could make its claim as the song of the summer.

The third single "Good Life" features T-Pain, another perfectly timed collaboration because of his recent run of hits. His use of the vocoder blends well with the track. Another intriguing collaboration occurs on the track "Homecoming" which features Chris Martin, the lead singer of the band Coldplay. Another example of Kanye capitalizing on what's hot in music now.

The album closes with the track "Big Brother" which is Kanye's ode to Jay-Z. Really, you can't have Graduation without giving credit to those who helped you get to that point. As a whole, Kanye earns an 'A' with Graduation.

CURTIS, 50 CENT

50 Cent came onto the hip-hop scene strong with his debut Get Rich Or Die Trying, riding the coattails of mentor Eminem, legendary producer Dr. Dre, and the street-banging single "Wanksta." 50 made more early waves with his very public beef with rapper Ja Rule, whose career would be ended by several Eminem and 50 Cent diss tracks.

Since then, 50 Cent's musical career has drastically changed course.

In his second album, The Massacre, 50 seemingly started to sing on tracks which was something he dissed Ja Rule about, discrediting Ja as a rapper.

Though he had several hits from the album including the Dr. Dre produced "Disco Inferno" and the Scott Storch produced "Candy Shop" and "Just A Lil' Bit", 50 felt the wrath of the hip-hop community.

Whether it was his competition who he dissed in the track "Piggy Bank" like Fat Joe, Jadakiss and NaS or former label mate The Game, 50 turned off a lot of fans with his "beefs" in the industry.

50 took some time off from the game to star in a movie loosely based off his life and the accompanying album that didn't fare too well in the mainstream.

Now, 50 returns with his third studio album Curtis challenging West in the music stores. And admittedly, the album isn't completely terrible.

Led by the hit single "I Get Money," also 50 seems to go back to his early days with tracks like "My Gun Go Off", "I'll Still Kill" which features Akon, and "Come & Go" featuring production by Dr. Dre. 50 also changes the pace with the mellow "Follow My Lead" which features R&B singer Robin Thicke. 50's best move is letting singers do the singing while he raps.

However, that is where the compliments end with this album. 50's biggest shortcoming is that he still hasn't evolved lyrically, and that is clear in the smash single "Ayo Technology" which features Timbaland and Justin Timberlake.

Timbaland drops one of his most sinister sounding beats in recent memory, not to mention he raps on the bridge too. Timberlake does his thing, crooning "Aaayooo I'm tired of using technology, why don't you sit down on top of me / Aaayooo I'm tired of using technology, I need you right in front of me."

Bass heavy beats and top-bill collaborators can only take you so far. That's why Curtis can't come close to Graduation. Kanye seems to be able to do it all. His production improves seemingly with every track. Lyrically, Kanye continues to step his game up.

And even though 50 does come up short on the lyrical end of things, hearing the name 50 Cent is almost like hearing about the Yankees--you either love them or you love to hate them--no matter what they do.

Graduation: 5-stars
Curtis: 3-stars

*"Bittersweet Poetry" appears as the I-Tunes bonus and features John Mayer. The Japanese edition of Graduation contains the tracks "Good Night" which features Mos Def and the "Can't Tell Me Nothing Official Remix" which features a new verse from Kanye and an additional verse from Young Jeezy. Those tracks were not taken into consideration when reviewing this album.

I Hate...

2007-09-06T23:16:00.000-05:00

...being a Cubs fan.

There, I said it.

If there's any feeling that is lower than this, it's probably death.

Ryan Dempster, I hate you. I've hated you since 2004 when you decided you didn't want to get any one out in that game against the Mets which LaTroy Hawkins would later blow.

Today's game had the same feeling that game had.

Great starting pitching.
Clutch hitting
A bullpen that decides to give up home runs and lose ballgames

Mr. Dempster, your assclown antics have no place in my heart or on my favorite team as long as you continue to walk the tightrope and ruin a great performance by Jason Marquis.

Daryle Ward, you're a pretty good pinch hitter....BUT STOP GETTING PICKED OFF YOU FAT F*CK!

If the Cardinals win this division, God help us all. You might as well enshrine Albert Pujols and Tony LaRussa in the Hall Of Fame immediately after game 162.

If the Brewers win, I won't feel as bad. That's a lie, I'll still feel like absolute crap who you will be able to find at the highest ledge around. But at least it's not the Cardinals.

I can't take many more games like this, let alone years like this. I'm taking a break because I have places to go (4:15 p.m.)

FIVE HOURS LATER

Now I am a lot more calm than I was around 4 p.m. when I was willing to take a six hour drive north to Chicago and put an end to the career of Mr. Dempster. However, I'm still more than peeved about the loss.

I don't hate being a Cubs fan. I hate being teased mercilessly by a team that seemingly looks for ways to piss off the most faithful fans in baseball. On to the rest of the blog...

Dempster has a million defenders, heck, I even defended him at one point. But it's hard to defend someone who makes my life miserable every time he takes the mound, whether he saves the game or not.

Had I been at the bar watching the game instead of calmly at my computer waiting for the game to end, I would have gone on a drinking spree that would still be going on.

So now I, like everyone else in Cubdom, am ready to appoint Carlos Marmol to be the new Cubs closer. Here are a list of guys I'd rather have closing out games than Demp:

Marmol
Bob Howry
Kerry Wood
Mark DeRosa (he was a QB in college, so you know he's got a rocket for an arm)

And I don't want Marmol to close just because everyone else does, I have the following statistical proof:

Only three inhereted runners have scored when Marmol enters the game
He's got 77 K's in only 55 innings.

That's a 12.38 strikeout-per-9 IP ratio

He's got a 1.45 ERA, best on the team
He's got a 1.125 WHIP
He's only allowed 2 home runs all year
He's held opponents scoreless in all but six appearances

He's got a mid-90s fastball and the nastiest slider this side of Francisco "K-Rod" Rodriguez. There is no conceivable reason that Marmol isn't closing.

Manager Lou Piniella should install Marmol as his closer, or risk blowing a chance at the NL Central title.

ADDITIONAL READING: I'm not the only one who hates Ryan Dempster!

An Open Letter To Carlos Zambrano

2007-09-03T21:20:00.000-05:00

Once in a while I find it necessary to address someone in this public forum. Today that person is Cubs starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano.

Dear Carlos:

After today's pathetic start against the Los Angeles Dodgers, I must call you out. Unfortunately, you can't take out your frustrations on me as you did former battery mate Michael Barrett--but at this point in my life I'd be willing to take the beating if it means that you single handedly bring the Cubs their first World Series title since 1908.

So, since I can't be there, I'd like to offer one of the following to be the sacrificial lamb:

Will Ohman
Ronny Cedeno
Or someone from the Brewers or Cardinals

Big Z, you were absolutely brilliant after jacking Mikey B. in the face. You dominated June and July as if you were trying to show someone in Tribune tower that you were worth something.

In August, Tribune Co. shelled out $91.5 million to keep you in Chicago 'til at least 2012, in what is most likely their final major expenditure until they are sold (hopefully to Mark Cuban.)

However, since then you are winless and your ERA is Jason Marquis-like (circa 2006) and that is just unacceptable!

In the beginning of the year, you predicted that you would win the Cy Young and that the Cubs would win the World Series. Those were bold predictions and unless you throw perfect games from here on out, your chances at the Cy Young are slim and none (and slim just left the building.)

And even though your Cy Young hopes might be dashed, you can still help carry the Cubs to a World Series title. But first you must carry them to a division title.

You've got all the talent in the world, you just have to use your head a little more often. That means:

No more breaking bats over your knee
No more swinging for the fences with every swing
No more trying to snare comeback line drives with your bare hand
No more ignoring stop signs from your third base coach

Those are just some suggestions on how to better yourself for the final month of the baseball season.

At this point Carlos, I'm not sure what else I can tell you to help straighten out. All I can do is make one more final plea from Cubdom.

Carlos, you need to get your f*cking head in the game. You know as well as I do that your heart is in it. We all know your arm is in it. Cubdom wants your f*cking head on straight so you can end this stupid f*cking curse and end 98 years of futility.

There, does this Ozzie Guillen like rant motivate you? It should! I'm sick of getting my heart broken year after year. I'm tired of investing time and money into a ball club that seemingly doesn't give a damn.

I'm sick of hearing about the damn 2005 White Sox and the 2006 Cardinals, the two biggest flukes (statistically) in baseball history. I'm sick of yee-haw creepy Cardinal Nation and their obsession with Pujols. I'm sick of White Sox fans and their "where's your ring?" bullsh*t. I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired.

And it's a damn shame too that I care this damn much about a baseball team, when I could/should be doing homework. Or maybe finding someone or something else that I could expend this time and money and energy and emotion on.

Instead, I've decided to put it all in you because since I was a kid, you have been the only thing I could really depend on. From April through September you're there for me. 1:20 day games, 7:05 night games....the Cubs have always been there whether it be on WGN, Fox Sports Net, Comcast, Fox, ESPN, etc. That's more than I can say for a lot of people.

In closing, I hope you understand how much you (Big Z) it would mean to me (and Cubs fans everywhere) if you just got your head out out of your ass. I know you can do, I've seen you do it.

Just do it, one more time!

Sincerely,

LuDo

Big Series Win Kicks Off September For The Cubs

2007-09-02T18:36:00.000-05:00

Down 5-1, it would have been easy to give up on this team. In fact, I did. I was ready to chalk this one in the 'L' column and mark one game off the lead, but then I remembered something I said the other day.

"Every time I have faith in this team, they break my heart. Every time I don't, they surprise me."

The Cubs surprised me today with their 6-5 come from behind win over the Houston Astros.

Rich Hill struggled today, likely still feeling the after-effects of Michigan's devestating loss to Div. 1-AA Appalachian State. He only went five innings giving up five runs while striking out five and walking four.

Though props to "Richie Rich" who clearly sent a message to the Astros by plunking Lance Berkman leading off the fifth inning after Woody Williams hit both Derrek Lee and Jason Kendall.

Even more props to the Cubs bullpen with another stellar outing this afternoon. Michael Wuertz, Kerry Wood, Scott Eyre, Carlos Marmol and Ryan Dempster gave up 0 runs after Hill's departure. Marmol pitched one-third of an inning and picked up the win. Dempster pitched a 1-2-3 top of the ninth earning his 25th save.

D. Lee obviously read my blog the other day and responded with a three hit, three RBI game, including the game-winning home run, a two run shot off Houston reliever Chad Qualls.

For the second time this week, Matt "The Bat" Murton "For Certain" came off the bench and hit a home run. Murton looks like he's the type of hitter who excels in the second-half of the season. At least, that's what these stats show me.

This game wasn't without its fair share of drama.

Home plate umpire Tony Randazzo tossed Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez after a questionable called third strike. In Randazzo's defense, he had been calling that pitch a strike all day. However, in the defense of "The Ram", it wasn't in the strike zone any of those times.

Jacque Jones made the play of the day with a diving catch of a sinking liner that saved a run and kept the Cubs deficit at one run. Jones dove head first between Ryan Theriot going back and in front of a sprinting Alfonso Soriano (who was playing no doubles deep in left) to make (arguably) the biggest catch this year.

Not bad for a guy who spent a majority of his career as a corner outfielder. I guess we shouldn't take for granted that he came up in the Twins organization as a center fielder until Torii Hunter came around.

I haven't been JJ's biggest fan, but he's done everything right since the All-Star break. He's stayed out of trouble with the fans. He's played Gold Glove caliber defense. And he's hit to the tune of .321 in the second half. He looks like a completely different player, this one is worth the 3-year $15 million the Cubs are paying him.

Think about it, the Cubs have 27 more games of pressure packed baseball ahead of them. Can they handle 27 games full of this much drama?

Can their fans?

And what about October.

HOW THE CENTRAL WILL BE WON

The NL Central will be decided in part by the bottom half of the division. The Astros, Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds.

The Brewers will play the Astros, Pirates and Reds nine times in the final month. They are 7-2 against the Astros and 11-5 against the Pirates, but only 3-6 against the Reds and 4-7 against the Cardinals. The Brewers play a majority of their games at home down the stretch where they are flat out dominant. However, as dominant as they are at home is as futile as they are on the road.

The Cardinals will play the Astros, Pirates and Reds 14 times in the final month. This is where the Cards can make their final push. They are 9-3 against the Reds, 6-4 against the Pirates and 7-5 against the Astros. In fact, the Cards have a winning record against all of the NL Central teams, except the Cubs. They play the Cubs four times in the final month, more on that to come.

Statistically, the Cubs look to have the toughest road to the division title. They have to play three more games against the Astros, who are 6-6 against the Cubs. They have seven games against the Pirates, who are 5-4 against the Cubs this year. The Reds pose the biggest threat to the Cubs hopes. They are 7-5 against the Cubs and host the Cubs in the final three games of the regular season.

Another important series the Cubs have against a non-contender is a three game series against the Florida Marlins (Sept. 25-27.) The Cubs will be looking to avenge a three game sweep at the hands of the Fightin' Fish earlier this season. Again, that was before the "Dugout Slugout" and "Sweet Uncle Lou's" classic tirade.

Hopefully, those games won't matter. But it's the Cubs, so I doubt it.

The most pivotal games the Cubs have remaining are the games against the Cards. Who would have thought the biggest rivalry in the National League would have such big implications down the stretch.

The Cubs have owned the Cardinals since the days that Dusty Baker came to town. The two play five times in a seven day span, including a four game weekend series that includes a Saturday double header.

This could be the biggest set of games these two have played against one another since the five game series in 2003, which marked the beginning of the Cards demise and the Cubs ascent to the 2003 NL Central title.

With the recent addition of Steve Trachsel, manager Lou Piniella will set up the rotation where Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano faces the Cards twice that week. "Big Z" will likely pitch the make-up game on September 10th in Wrigley and one of the games of Saturday's double header.

The Cubs welcome the Los Angeles Dodgers for a four game set. The Dodgers took two out of three from the Cubs earlier in the year. But that was a different Cubs team--and Dodger team for that matter. Trachsel will make his second debut as a Cub this series against L.A.

With 27 games left, I figure the Cubs need to live by one baseball adage: win the majority of your games at home and go .500 on the road. If the Cubs go 8-8 on the road and 6-5 at home it will put them at 84 wins. If the other two teams do the same, the Cubs will win the NL Central title and march on to the playoffs.

Here's hoping that it happens.

The Pennat Race, Playoff Rosters & Setpember Call-Ups

2007-09-01T10:32:00.000-05:00

The front page of Cubs.com comes with a very interesting statistic. The Cubs have entered September in 1st place only 15 times since 1900. They went on to win the pennant or division 13 of those times.

THE PENNANT RACE

Lou Piniella and his Chicago Cubs entered September in first place, a game-and-a-half over the Milwaukee Brewers and two games over the St. Louis Cardinals. It's time for them to make it 14 out of 16 and it all begins today.

Jason Marquis heads to the mound today against the Houston Astros and should be the most motivated player on the Cubs. The Cardinals left him off the playoff roster last year and should be in a mindset to remember how the Cards treated him last year and keep them out of the playoffs.

Carlos Zamrbano should be another man on a mission in September. After a winless August in which he finally received his (well desreved) contract extension, Big Z should be primed for a dominating September. If the Big Z from June and July shows up, the Cubs will win the division.

Despite what everyone says the bullpen still worries me, specifically closer Ryan Dempster. Scott Eyre and Bobby Howry are pitching now like they pitched last year, and that could provide a major lift. Carlos Marmol has been absolutely lights out and should be the closer.

Instead, Dempster walks a tight-rope time after time and personally, I would love to avoid any LaTroy Hawkins-like meltdowns down the stretch.

Offensively, it's time for the big boys to show up and play ball. Alfonso Soriano has one hit (a home run) since his return from the DL. Derrek Lee is batting .083 this week and looks like he needs a day off to clear his head. Aramis Ramirez has been the Cubs "Mr. Clutch" all year, but his power numbers are waaay down from what they usually are. Those three really need to step up in September and carry the Cubs down the stretch.

The Cubs acquired ex-Cub Steve Trachsel in a trade with the Baltimore Orioles (where ex-Cubs go to die), and now Lou Piniella will go with a "modified 6-man rotation." I guess that makes sense, with all the make-up games the Cubs are going to have to play. Trachsel is best known for two things:

THE PLAYOFF ROSTER

I like how this roster could shape up for a potential October run.

The Cubs will likely go with a four man rotation with Zambrano, Marquis, Ted Lilly, and either Rich Hill or Sean Marshall. As of now, Hill likely has the edge because he has the hot hand and because he ranks 6th in the NL in strikeouts. And strikeout pitchers are worth their weight in gold in the playoffs.

Marshall will join Eyre as the other lefty in the bullpen. The Cubs have several hard throwing righties in the bullpen including Dempster, Howry, Marmol and Kerry Wood. Trachsel will most likely be used as a long reliever/swing man in case of injury. (11 pitchers)

Around the infield the Cubs will have Ramirez (3B), Ryan Theriot (SS), Mark DeRosa (2B) and Lee (1B). In the outfield the Cubs will have Soriano (LF), a resurgent Jacque Jones (CF) and Cliff Floyd (RF).

Behind the plate the Cubs will go with the hot-hitting Jason Kendall and defensive specialist Henry Blanco.

Unlike most Cubs teams of the past, this squad is versatile. Theriot can play 2B, SS, RF & CF if necessary. Jones can play all three OF spots. Floyd can play both corner OF positions.

The most versatile Cubs is DeRosa. His versatility around the infield and outfield will make up for the Cubs having only one back up infielder (Mike Fontenot.)

1B/OF Daryle Ward will provide left handed power off the bench, while Craig Monroe will provide the same from the right side. Monroe kills left handed pitching and will likely platoon with Floyd in right, though he can play all three OF positions as well. Matt Murton also provides a strong right handed bat against lefties and a keen eye at the plate, with the ability to play both corner OF spots.

Felix Pie is the wild card off the bench. He has struggled in a pinch hitting role, but provides other uses off of the bench. He is the Cubs best defensive outfielder with the most range and strongest, most accurate throwing arm. Pie will also be used in the Dave Roberts Role (circa 2004) as a late inning pinch runner/base stealer.

SEPTEMBER CALL-UPS

With September 1 finally here the rosters can expand to up to 40 players. Most teams don't fill up with 40 men, especially not teams in a playoff hunt. However, after closely paying attention to "Sweet Lou's" coaching style, the Cubs will likely call up some useful minor leaguers including:

Sean Gallagher who can provide long relief and a spot start if necesary.
Will Ohman as another left handed reliever in a tight spot.
Billy Petrick as a middle reliever.
Carmen Pigmatello another left-handed specialist.
Geovany Soto and/or Koyie Hill as another catcher. Likely Hill for his defensive prowess.
Jake Fox is a lefty masher who can play 1B, 3B, C & OF.
Ronny Cedeno can play both middle infield positions.
Eric Patterson can play 2B and LF and could provide speed in a pinch.
There was a rumor that the Cubs could call up rising prospect Jeff Samardzija for a Septmber run. "The Shark" is a hard throwing right hander who in my eyes projects to be a late inning stopper. However at this point there is no truth the rumor.

That's all for now. Go Cubs!

"It's Gonna Happen..."
(if they want it to happen!)