Bears Land Cutler

Jay Cutler has finally been traded. And the Windy City is Cutler's new home.

From Chicago Sun-Times Reporter Mike Mulligan:

"The Bears acquired quarterback Jay Cutler today for No. 1 draft picks in 2009 and 2010, a No. 3 pick this year and Kyle Orton, the Sun-Times has learned. The Bears receive the Broncos' fifth-round draft pick this year.

Cutler, 25, is coming off a Pro Bowl season with the Broncos, but he became disgruntled and wanted a trade after learning Denver was considering a deal for quarterback Matt Cassel."

This is a shocking move considering the history of the Bears organization. They never trade for big named players, and more specifically they never go after talented quarterbacks. Now they have both. You know I'm a Bears fan, so I'm thrilled to see this. But still, a shocking development.

Finally, a quarterback for the Bears, for the first time since Sid Luckman.

Calipari Is Impressive

John Calipari was introduced yesterday as the head coach at Kentucky. He's obviously an impressive coach, as he's taken both UMass and Memphis to the National Championship.

What I realized though watching his press conference is he's also a very impressive person. Watch the press conference, and feel free to comment if you feel the same way.





I have been to many press conferences in my time covering sports. The only other press conferences that gave me the same feeling were seeing Tim Brewster, the University of Minnesota football coach at Big Ten Media Day in 2007, and also Jim Tressel, the head football coach at Ohio State that same day.

Add Calipari to the list. What an impressive guy. I hope he does well at UK.

Is There Anything More Boring Than When Your Team Takes An Offensive Lineman In the First Round?

Since ESPN's favorite sport is football, I've been hearing a lot of draft discussion lately.  Granted, I'm not a NFL Draft fan.  I actually think it is one of the most boring television events, period.

But since there's so much hype about it, and I'm always watching sports, I become inherently interested in what happens to some degree.

Then again, is there anything more boring than when your team drafts an offensive lineman in the first round?  Especially when you've already waited two and a half hours just to get to your pick at number ten.  Listen, I understand the importance of a good line, and I realize that no football team can be successful without those guys.

But offensive lineman are in a position in football that unless you're one of the Mark Schlereth's of the world, it's hard to track their progress.

Sure, you can watch them, and the average fan can figure out if the guy is letting up a bunch of sacks.  But if he's not, how else do you measure whether he's good, pancake blocks?

The offensive line is the most disguised part of a football team.  When they're doing well, you don't notice them.  When they're not, you might notice them.  Thus, it makes their jobs the least exciting of any other team in the NFL.  

So if my team is drafting a Jason Smith out of Baylor this year, or a Jake Long last year, or any of these other guys, don't expect me to be excited.  Could those players ultimately help my football team?  Absolutely.  But it's not fun to project the future for a guy who's going to be blocking the rest of his career.

With a receiver, a quarterback, or a running back, you can watch old highlights of them on YouTube and start to dream about how they would fit into your offense.  Same thing with any great defensive player.

Yet you can't turn on a game of Madden so you can play as your team's newest offensive lineman.  And if you could, how boring would that be?

April Fool's Day

Where exactly this "holiday" came from, I have no flipping clue. It's hopelessly stupid, and every year, without fail, I'll come across someone that tries to pull some sort of poorly conceived prank or joke.

Now, I know that the first of April isn't much to celebrate, but, in honor of the big day, I present to you a few things in the sports world that, if you heard them, you would almost certainly be waiting for a loud, "APRIL FOOLS!"

New York Yankees Front Office: In light of the recent economic downturn, we've decided to scale back ticket prices. Tickets that originally cost nearly $2600 will now cost approximately $100 dollars. In fact, even when the economy rebounds, these more realistic prices will remain.

Gary Sheffield: All I want is for the team to get better. If that means me losing at-bats so that some of the young guys on this team can develop, I'm all for it. Honestly, I don't care if I ever get to 500 home runs. Winning comes first for me.

Barry Bonds: Alright, alright. You caught me. I did it. I took steroids. Phew, that feels like a load off, you know? Why I thought this whole aloof, tough guy thing would play well in the media, I have no idea. Can I just get back to playing the game I love so much now?

Gary Bettman: We really don't feel as if the strike hurt our league that much. In fact, we think we've come back stronger. More people that watch Versus on a nightly basis watch our sport than any other sport.

Shaquille O'Neal: From now on, I promise not to make mountains out of molehills, flop, or do anything else to stir the pot unnecessarily to bring my name back into the headlines. I will simply let the fact that I'm still playing at a high level (actually, true) speak for itself, and hope that does enough.

Albert Haynesworth: Yes, 100 million dollars for a defensive tackle is a bit steep. OK, it's down right ridiculous. Especially when you consider I've only really tried hard the last two years.

Jay Cutler: Josh, my bad. I've acted a little immature. Truth is, I can kind of understand the idea of wanting Matt Cassel instead of me. No big deal. I'll be there in a little bit.

LeBron James: I don't know what New York is getting so excited for, I'm actually going to go and play in Europe when my contract's up. Poland's where it's at, y'all!

David Stern: We truly believe that this year, it's anyone's game. Sure, the Celtics and Lakers are playing well, but it's not like we're rooting for them to make the Finals or anything.

Any Cubs Player In The Last 100 Years: No, the pressure never gets to us. Just bad luck and bad circumstances. We don't really buy into the whole "curse" thing.

The list of these is potentially endless. Any others in mind?

30 Teams In 30 Days

Arizona Diamondbacks: If Only This Team Could Hit

(Over the next 30 days, BERNing on Sports will be previewing every team in the Majors, yes, even the Royals. Only one a day, every day, so try not to get too hooked)

The Starting Staff Is Great...

Brandon Webb, Dan Haren, Jon Garland. 'Nuff said. But since this is a preview and you'd like to see more than names, allow me to explain. Webb didn't win the Cy Young last year but was a serious candidate all season. He won 20 games for a team that barely scored 20 runs all season, and consistently has an ERA below 3.50. For three consecutive years he's had an ERA at or below 3.30, and he has won at least 16 games per season during that stretch. Haren has finally developed over the last two years, winning at least 15 games a year during that span and has posted strikeout totals near or above 200. And Garland? After bursting onto the scene in 2005 as an integral part of the White Sox world series win in 2005, his numbers have dipped a bit, as his ERA has been above 4 each of the last three years. But he's a pretty good option as a third starter. Doug Davis and Yusmeiro Petit figure to finish this rotation, which is pretty good for Arizona, especially when you consider Davis was the number two starter for the 2007 outfit in the post season. This rotation is deep, and potentially excellent. It's the only thing keeping Arizona from being a complete and utter disaster.

...But The Starting Lineup Stinks

It really is terrible. I invite you to check out this depth chart on Yahoo! Sports and give me one name that you would want in your team's offense. If you can't find one, I don't blame you. Do they have some potentially good young talent? Sure. Chris Young is a potential star, if only for the reason that he's speedy and can rip home runs from the top of the lineup. The problem is he doesn't hit for a high enough average nor does he have the on base percentage to warrant hitting at the top of the card. Justin Upton could end up being an excellent player (more on this shortly) but he's not there yet, and Mark Reynolds is a strikeout machine (fanned 204 times last year) even though he can put up good power numbers. Connor Jackson doesn't put up the power numbers to be an effective first base option in the major leagues even though he's a nice hitter. And as far as Steven Drew is considered, I like him, but he's not a player that can carry the offense. This offense is an elephant-sized Achilles heal for Arizona.

Why Justin Upton May Be The Better Upton

Scott has been enamored with Justin's older brother B.J. ever since he was drafted. He loves B.J., and last year's playoff power explosion for him will have Scott and others projecting magical seasons from Justin's older bro. Yet I think Justin will be a better player. He's only played 151 major league games, but he has already belted 17 career home runs. Not a huge total, sure. But he's got speed, he's got the defensive prowess of his brother, and he'll have better home run power. He's basically B.J. with more power and while he won't put up 50 steals in a year, Justin will be the better all around guy. The rivalry of Upton brothers has started here on BERNing.

Eric Byrnes Should Stick to Being Jeanne Zelasko's Side Kick

He really should. He's a nice player who hustles and makes a great diving catch a few times a year. He put together a couple of statistically solid seasons in 2006 and 2007. But he was a really good television sidekick for Jeanne Zelasko on FOX's baseball coverage while injured or while the D'Backs were out of the playoffs the last couple years. And since he's really not all that great as a ballplayer, why not just start the new career now? Plus, Byrnes long flowing locks are the male hairstyle version of Zelasko's monster hairdo anyways.

Chad Qualls Is This Team's Closer

I don't think I need to spend time explaining what an atrocity this is. Bob Melvin better hope his starters set a modern day record for complete games. Because while Qualls has served as a mediocre middle reliever for years, he does not have closer stuff.

Bold Predictions

While I did spend the first paragraph of this post praising the D'Backs pitching staff, it's hard to consistently pitch well when the offense isn't going to score a lot of runs. It ranked in the bottom half of the National League last year and if it doesn't improve the starters won't be so effective. That's why I think the starting staff will struggle this year.

Justin Upton will hit above .270 and will hit 20 homers and drive in 80. Long live the little bro!

And, the Diamondbacks will finish 3rd in the NL West, behind the Dodgers AND the Rockies.

Up next...Thursday, Giants.

Aren't You Supposed To Be Injured?

This photo was taken Saturday of injured Lakers center Andrew Bynum who was in attendance at a Playboy Mansion party.  Here he is seen doing squats to help rebuild strength in his knees.

Hump Day Headlines

In this April Fool's Edition of Hump Day Headlines, no fooling anyone in the AP All American Picks, the Broncos have finally decided to trade Jay Cutler, coaches not named John Calipari get new deals, and how far did the Notre Dame basketball program fall in just one year...

• The AP First Team All-American team was announced yesterday, and all five picks seem obvious to me. Oklahoma's Blake Griffin was a unanimous pick (shocker!), while North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough, Davidson's Stephen Curry, Pittburgh's DeJuan Blair, and Arizona State's James Harden rounded out the rest of the first team. All five players are obviously deserving, and they show that while the college game has lost some great players to the NBA, there are still some fantastic players at the top in college basketball. How good these guys will be at the next level? It's hard to say. Blake Griffin will probably be the top pick in the draft, and figures to be an impact player right away. Scott was clearly not impressed with James Harden. Tyler Hansbrough's draft status is unclear, Steph Curry may or may not go pro this year (and if he does, is he the next J.J. Redick?) and DeJuan Blair might be too short to be an impact player as a back to the basket 6'7" forward. Whether they're good or not though at the professional level, let's enjoy the fact we got to watch these guys be great college hoopsters. As an avid college hoops fan, I enjoyed watching all of them.
• The Denver Broncos soap opera released its latest episode today: the news that they will in fact deal their star quarterback somewhere. Jay Cutler will be on the move, and it appears that there are at least six teams that will be involved in some capacity to try and acquire the Pro Bowler's services. The Jets, Buccaneers, Bears, Lions, 49ers and Browns are all apparently interested, and the Jaguars "may" be interested. (You know who I'm rooting for in that sweepstakes.) There are also reports circulating that the Redskins might be interested even though they have Jason Campbell. Before you start complaining that this story is getting annoying, let me remind you one simple fact: at least we're not talking about T.O. or the Cowboys.
• Missouri Head Coach Mike Anderson was awarded with a new seven year contract worth between 1.3 and 1.5 million dollars per year. This comes after he impressively took the Tigers to the Elite Eight this season. The former UAB head man has shown why he always had the Blazers competing down there and now at a bigger school his coaching efforts have realized their potential. Good for him. Another coach rewarded for his success was former Washington State head coach Tony Bennett, who has moved on to the ACC and the University of Virginia. Bennett will be paid $1.7 million annually after he lead Wazzu to a 68-30 record in three seasons out west. People need to start getting used to the fact that the football and basketball coaches are now the highest paid people at many Division I Universities.
• Finally, remember when Notre Dame was a top ten team at the beginning of this college basketball season? This must seem like eons ago, because the Fighting Irish finished off a highly disappointing season by losing in the NIT Semifinals to Penn State. Notre Dame finished just 21-15, and Mike Brey must be searching for answers after he had second team all-American Luke Harangody (overrated, but still) Kyle McAlarney, Ryan Ayers and Tory Jackson on that team. Far too much talent to finish the way they did. Maybe Mr. Mock-Turtle himself should be considered for the hot seat? What a horrific year for Notre Dame sports teams. First more mediocrity from Chuck Weis, now this.