So much on my mind

As I sat down with my laptop to begin working on this week’s column, I realized that I had no clue what I wanted to write about.

First I was thinking about a Cubs season recap. But with the leaves starting to fall and the temperature cooling, I wouldn’t want to ruin these first days of autumn by reminiscing on a horrible summer.

Then I thought, maybe I’ll do an NFL first quarter report card. The only problem is that I haven’t really been able to see many teams due to my busy schedule.

Maybe an MLB playoff preview? Unfortunetly I started writing this kind of late for that, so that wouldn't really work.

So what should I do? Instead of writing a bunch about one subject, I’ve decided to cover a plethora of topics in a super-sized version of ‘Random Thoughts’.

1-How about them Bears! The stomping of Green Bay and Detroit was expected. The comeback win against Minnesota was exciting. But to completely annihilate the defending NFC champs 37-6 on National TV. Let me repeat that once more. 37-6. That’s not a few lucky breaks. That’s not just home field advantage. Don’t give me that ‘Without Shaun Alexander, the Seahawks are a different team’ garbage. When you beat a previously unbeaten team by more then four touchdowns, you have flexed your muscle and shown the entire country who the best team in the NFC (And dare I say the entire league) is. And the scary part about it is, that was the tough part of the schedule. Now they have Dick Jauron’s Bills, at Arizona, a bye, and home versus Miami and San Francisco. There’s no reason the Monsters of the Midway shouldn’t be 8-0 heading in to their three game East Coast swing on November 12.

2-Rex Grossman and the offense played well, but the real stars of Sunday night was the defense. All of last week, the newspapers and sports-talk shows were concerned with Seattle’s potentially ‘explosive’ offense, which featured a previously unseen four wide receiver formation. Throw in backup running back Maurice Morris, who for some reason got some people more scared then they would be if Alexander had played, and you would have thought the Bears were going up against one of those All-Pro teams on ‘Madden’ where everybody has all 99 ratings. Instead it was just another pathetic attempt to fool Lovie, Riviera and the ferocious Bears D. Ricky Manning Jr made a great first impression on the Windy City, (I guess it would actually be a second impression, since he left his first one on some guys face at a Los Angles Denny’s a week after the Bears signed him) rookie Mark Anderson showed flashes of being the next great Bears pass rusher, and Tommie Harris jumped up to the top of the Defensive Player of the Year leader board.

3-My only cause for concern with the Bears actually has nothing to do with the team or coaches. It’s the fans. And the hype. Already I’m reading people declaring a 16-0 season is realistic, and that it’s a good possibility because we have a Griese at quarterback. Or the sportswriters bragging about how they will be able to spend the first week of February in Miami because this team is definitely going all the way. Can I just say that it’s only been four games. We are only one fourth of the way through the season. And don’t people learn from history anymore? Last year the Colts won there first 13 games, and they didn’t even win one single playoff game. So before the talk about recording the Shuffle Remix starts, let’s just focus on the week ahead.

4-In other news around the NFL, I’m actually excited for this Terrell Owens back to Philly game. I saw one report that said ‘Expect a downpour of D-batteries to be in the forecast and that the halftime entertainment will be the city of Philadelphia honoring J.D. Drew and Mitch Williams for their service’. That honestly wouldn’t surprise me, though these things never seem to happen the way we predict them too, so really, anything can happen. But the real excitement should be on the field, since the Eagles and Cowboys are two of the top teams in the NFC. Donovan McNabb is playing like an MVP, but he’ll need someone else on his offense to step up to beat Dallas’ top-notch defense. As for the Cowboys, the have talent on offense, but I’m still not sure that Drew Bledsoe can win the big game. If he has a poor performance, the ‘Boys have almost no chance of winning. I still haven’t decided on a prediction, but I’ll have it by Friday.

5-On to college ball, I’m quite nervous for this weekend. No, the Northwestern-Wisconsin game doesn’t have me all riled up, even though it should be a nice Big Ten battle. It’s the battle in the Swamp featuring my fifth ranked Florida Gators and the visiting ninth ranked LSU Tigers that has my heartbeat going faster then Garrett Wolfe. This is a huge game, not only because it’s a battle of two top teams, but also because it’s the start of a brutal stretch for the Gators. After the Bayou Bengals game, UF travels to the Plains of Auburn and face the second ranked Tigers. Then following a bye week, it’s on to Jacksonville for the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party against number ten Georgia Bulldogs. So if the Gators fall to LSU, they will need to rebound very quickly in order to stay in the SEC race. The key, as in most big time SEC games, will be who can make the big play on offense. Both defenses are very fast and athletic, so whichever side’s backs and receivers step up will be the one’s who will leave with the victory. Obviously I’m going for the Gators, but I give them the advantage because of their depth at wide out and because they are at home.

6-Isn’t there a sport in the playoffs right now? Oh yeah, it’s our national pastime. In March I picked Oakland to win it all, so I’m sticking with them now. Unfortunately my pick from the Senior Circuit, the Atlanta Braves, didn’t quite live up to my expectations, so out of the National League, I like the Dodgers, especially now that the Mets can’t find a starting pitcher who can survive pre-game stretching. So in the all California series, I’ll take the A’s in five, with Nick Swisher (who was a member of my championship fantasy baseball team) as Series MVP.

7-As for my beloved baseball team, you may have heard that the Cubs were in the news recently. On Sunday night, only hours after the final game of the season, team President Andy McPhail resigned, ridding the franchise of one of the worst baseball minds this city has ever seen. Then on Monday the team announced that manager Dusty Baker would not be returning to the dugout in 2007. So what does this all mean for the future of the Cubs? Until they rid themselves of general manager Jim Hendry, in my opinion, not much. I was never one to blame Baker for all the Cubs failures, like many others did, because he can only manage the players on the roster given to him. It’s Hendry’s job to fill that roster, and if you were paying any sort of attention this year, you would know that he failed. After 2005, when Kerry Wood and Mark Prior both spent plenty of time on the disabled list, you would think a priority of Hendry’s would be to get a starting pitcher. And I guess, in his eyes, he was successful, because he did indeed sign a starting pitcher. He inked Wade Miller, a guy who hasn’t gone an entire season without getting hurt since 2003. Sure enough, Miller gets hurt in spring training and ends up making only five starts all season, all in September during games more meaningless then Yom Kippur services. (Zing!) True, Miller’s five games were one more then Wood pitched this season, but the point of this is instead of fixing a problem, Hendry just added to it. Unless he goes out and spends every single cent the Tribune Company gives him this winter on good, productive, preferably not old players, Hendry should be fired the second he arrives to Mesa in February.

8-As for replacing Baker, three candidates names continue to come up; Joe Girardi, Lou Pinella and Bob Brenly. In my opinion, go with Girardi, but each has their plusses and minuses. Girardi is obviously a top-of-the-line manager, as showed by what he did with the Marlins this season. But it concerns me greatly that he got fired after doing such a great job. Even a complete idiot wouldn’t give a guy who won 78 games with a $19 million payroll the pink slip unless he was truly impossible to work with. Is he the guy to take over a team going on close to 100 years without a title? Sweet Lou is also a great manager, a two-time skipper of the year and a world champion with the 1990 Reds. But I’m not sure his in your face attitude is really what the North Side needs. Plus he wants a team who will contend quickly, and if that doesn’t happen, he is likely to quit. Then we're right back to where we are now. And Brenly, the current Cubs color-analyst, is also a former WS title winner. He knows the team, the fans, the ballpark. But is he a good manager? Many people think he only won because of Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson, and didn’t really have much skills from the bench. Girardi is Peoria native, Northwestern alum, a Cubs player for six years and former bench coach for Yankees manager Joe Torre. He understands both the city and atmosphere surrounding it, but also how to win, something the Cubs haven’t done much. He may be tough to deal with, but if the club wins, I honestly don’t care.