Five guys on my mind

Thought of the Day

Five guys in the news these days, and my quick thoughts on all of them...

Usain Bolt: 100 meters in 9.58 seconds; are you serious? It takes that long for me to write and for you to read this very sentence. Last year in Beijing, people criticized the Jamaican star for showboating at the end of his gold-medal winning run, not hustling through the finish line. Maybe he did that not to show off himself, but to give everybody else a slight chance to hold the world record for a little while before Bolt destroyed it. Usually when world records like these are broken, its by a .01 of second or something. Bolt chopped .11 off the 9.69 he posted in China. I rarely cover track-and-field on this blog, but this is just too impressive to pass up. (Sorry, couldn't find a good video in English.)

Jay Cutler: Number 6 didn't have the most impressive debut I'd ever seen Saturday night (5 for 10, 64 yards, one pick against the Bills). Then again, it was preseason and the Bears' two best weapons, Matt Forte and Greg Olsen, didn't suit up. Still it would have been nice to see him complete some longer throws, look off defenders like I've heard he's been doing in training camp and not call out Devin Hester post-game for mis-reading a play. My excitement level for Cutler and the Bears this season is still 15 out of 10, but the Buffalo performance wasn't exactly one for the time capsule.

Tiger Woods: Just like anybody else in life, the world's greatest golfer is entitled to a bad day. Unfortunately for Woods, his bad day happened on the afternoon of the fourth round of the PGA Championship. Tiger only cares about four tournaments of the year: The Masters, the U.S. Open, the British Open and the PGA. This year he was a Aaron Miles-like 0-for-4. His 71 on Saturday was a bit of surprise, but the 75 he shot on Sunday cost him the trophy, giving it up to previously unknown Y.E. Yang. Tiger wants to be the all-time greatest, but his bad day last weekend may haunt him for a long while.

Mike Vick: I've said for a long while that Vick deserves a second chance to play in the NFL. He has served his time, paid his debt for society, and now should be allowed to put his life back together. So as you'd expect, I was pleased to hear that he'd signed with the Philadelphia Eagles. (I'd have actually prefered an AFC team for Vick, but you can't have everything) Going to a team with a stable option at QB, an experienced head coach and solid playmakers all across the field allows Vick to have a smoother transition back into pro football. He'll be a dangerous weapon for Philly, and I'd expect more than one team to regret not signing him as the season progresses.

Kevin Gregg: Nothing really to say here, other than I hate the Cubs closer more and more every time I see him pitch. Number one off-season priority for whoever owns the team this winter is finding a new closer. (And no, after the way he's pitched this season, Carlos Marmol is not an option.)