The return of a LB, pitcher and video game

Well, like real NFL action, I am back. My summer school class has finally ended, the Cubs are on the road and my trusty laptop has gotten the fix that it needed. But where to start? There are no less than three HUGE stories in the sports world right now (Bonds, Vick, NBA ref scandal) and I can’t possibly give them all their fair amount of coverage. (Plus that’s what ESPN is for) So instead I’m going to run down the stories that I am following in the NFL, MLB, and College Football, and not surprisingly, they all have to do with favorite teams of mine.


NFL---It sounds corny, but I just guess I’m old school. In February, right after the Super Bowl ends, I start looking forward to the start of baseball spring training. And towards the end of July, in the thick of the baseball season, my mind begins to focus on NFL training camps. Not that I don’t care about baseball anymore (see below), but it’s just something about the old pigskin that gets me jacked up. (Speaking of ‘Jacked Up’, there’s a great cover story in SI this week about big hits in the NFL and how they happen and their effects. Good stuff.) It doesn’t hurt that my team, the defending NFC Champion Chicago Bears, return nearly everybody from last season’s 15-4 squad. Or that our division is still filled with teams that have no clue what they are doing. Anyways, the biggest news heading into camp is that linebacker Lance Briggs finally came to his senses and signed the Franchise Tag offer the Bears. This is good news for Bears fans, because Briggs is one of the top linebackers in football. But it’s also good for Briggs. He considers himself to be a top-five player at his position league-wide, yet because he plays directly next to the best there is, Brian Urlacher, he doesn’t really get the credit he deserves. This year he has the chance to show the other 31 teams in the NFL that he is worth the big, long-term deal. I expect another double-digit win regular season, NFC North title and long playoff run for the Bears in ’07.

MLB---I was going to run down the stats, mention that the Cubs have the best record in the Majors since Lou Piniella’s June 2 ejection, discuss how the team has closed an seven and a half game deficit in the standing to as small as two in a month, and let you know that they have done this while not having an everyday center or right fielder, catcher and bullpen. But you already know all that, right? So what else is there to talk about? With the trade deadline less than a week away, there are some moves that I think Jim Hendry should make, as well as my opinion on Kerry Wood. First off the moves. The number one need for the Cubs, in my view, is an upgraded bench. The lineup of Soriano-Theriot-Lee-Ramirez-Floyd-DeRosa-Jones-Kendall-Pitcher’s Spot is a good one, maybe the best in the National League. But as of right now, that leaves us with a bench of Koyie Hill, Angel Pagan, Mike Fontenot, Matt Murton and Ronny Cedeno. Not the most experienced group of players. Acquiring a veteran outfielder who could sub in for Cliff Floyd a couple times a week would be nice, especially since there is no guarantee that Floyd can stay healthy for over a week at a time. It is unclear if or when Daryl Ward and Henry Blanco will get off the disabled list, so a move may be necessary. As for the bullpen, it has been kind of shaky lately. Carlos Marmol has been overworked the past few weeks, and I have almost no faith in Will Ohman to record a big out late in games. Yet all the talk from Cubs management is about Kerry Wood’s return in a week or so. While a healthy Kid K (Can we even call him that anymore?) would be nice, it’s about as likely as happy Barry Bonds. My philosophy is simple: Until Wood is on the team for a week and still feeling 100 percent, I am not going to get excited about a comeback. There have been to many prior comebacks (And Prior comebacks, but that’s a rant for a different day) that have failed for me to get pumped about this one. So because of that lack of belief in Wood, it would make sense for the team to acquire relief pitcher.

College Football---This isn’t as much about my team, the defending National Champion Florida Gators, because I will get into them in a few weeks when I do a college football preview. This is more about the un-official start to every football season, the release of the EA Sports NCAA Football video game. I have purchased the game each of the last seven years (Yeah, you read that correctly) and I have probably played over one thousand games total. So believe me when I say I know what I’m talking about. This years game, NCAA ’08, is an above average release, better than last years, but still not one hundred percent complete. The stuff they improved on from last years game, including more in-depth and realistic playbooks for each team, the dynasty recruiting, and more available defensive adjustments, make the game more fun to play. Yet there are still some things that need change. One, it is almost impossible to play pass defense. A few years back, the game had the flaw that if a receiver went out on a fly route, he would just run by the DB and score an easy TD. This year, it’s if the receiver catches a ball in space, he can easily get past a few defenders and score. Because the tackling is so difficult, there is no reason for a player to not just run short routes and just run. Second, where are the penalties? I have played maybe 30 games on this years edition and maybe seen a total of six flags thrown. And third, college football is all about atmosphere. That’s what makes ESPN College Gameday such a great show. Maybe four years ago, EA added the ‘Toughest Places to Play’ feature, making some stadiums louder and more hostile than others. If you were playing at one of these stadiums, your controller would constantly be rumbling, the screen would shake a bit, and there would be an obvious home field advantage. The ‘Toughest Places to Play’ feature is still in the game, but it has absolutely no affect on the game. Playing at the Swamp is the same as playing at Northwestern, and that’s just not accurate. Overall I would give the game a B.