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The Blue & Orange Kool-Aid Report: Go Fightin’ Clausens!

By Carl Mohrbacher

Marred by controversy, the week leading up to the game featured an inside source claiming that the Bears offensive woes were largely the fault of quarterback Jay Cutler and ended with a coach crying in public.
In between, Bears offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer held a press conference.
Making the big news of Week 15 caddy intra-team sniping after a Thursday night loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
While Kromer categorically denied the use of the terms “buyer’s remorse,” or “salary cap albatross” or “cocksucker who’s cost every offensive coordinator he’s worked with a goddamn,” the damage was done.

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Posted on December 18, 2014

SportsMondayTuesday: Fire Away

By Jim Coffman

Don’t feel sad. Four out of five ain’t bad.
The wrong-way Bears were back in action Monday night (a 31-15 loss to the Saints that dropped them to 5-9) but who cares? Not when the four other big-time teams in town are either piling up considerably more wins than losses or giving their fans legitimate optimism that they will do so when their seasons happen in the middle of next year. Right? Are you with me? Hell, I’m not with me.
Because of course fans do care. We can’t help ourselves. People who know Chicago sports know that there are Cubs fans and there are White Sox fans. There are Bulls fans and there are Hawks fans.
Everyone who cares about Chicago sports cares about the Bears.
And they are just killing us, aren’t they?

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Posted on December 16, 2014

South Side Hope

By Roger Wallenstein

Let’s try this for openers: The White Sox’ newly acquired David Robertson, a first-time closer due to the presence of the great Mariano Rivera, shut down the opposition 39 times in 44 save opportunities for the Yankees last year – a success rate of 88.6 percent.
At the risk of dredging up unpleasant memories, White Sox relievers last season were successful 63 percent of the time when it came to nailing down leads in the ninth inning. That’s not very good.
Now consider for a moment if the Sox had converted 88 percent of those opportunities. Had that been the case, the Sox would have finished 87-75 instead of a disappointing 73-89. All of which creates a beacon of optimism for the South Side in 2015.

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Posted on December 11, 2014

The Blue & Orange Kool-Aid Report: The Drugs Begin To Take Hold

By Carl Mohrbacher

Year-End Review
While it was one of the more frustrating seasons in recent memory, it wasn’t completely without its highlights.
Let’s take a minute to raise our glasses and salute the Chicago Bears for putting in another year of hard work. Here are the top ten moments of the 2014 season.
10. Chris Williams returns a kickoff 101 yards against the Packers in Week 10 to pull the Bears to within 60 in the fourth quarter . . .
. . . huh?
There are three more games?
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuk.

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Posted on December 11, 2014

Fantasy Fix: Johnny Fantasy Football

By Dan O’Shea

It’s been a strange season in fantasy football land, with almost nothing going anywhere near as expected. It’s been a season many of us would like to write off, but, wouldn’t you know it, the Week 15 slate will feature one of the biggest must-see games for anyone still in the fantasy playoffs or planning to play fantasy football next year.
Johnny Manziel is set to start for the waning Browns this week against the Bengals. If Mr. Football is no longer available in your league, it’s probably because someone looking for a playoff punch or a keeper for next season has already snatched him up. If he is still available and manages to score anywhere north of the 13-14 fantasy points he’s projected for, he very well could factor into some fantasy league championship games next week.
Meanwhile, for the most part, the fantasy football season is just about over, so here’s my parting shot:

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Posted on December 10, 2014

SportsMondayTuesday: If Only Kirk Hinrich Couldn’t Breathe

By Jim Coffman

What would’ve really made a difference would have been Kirk Hinrich warming up in the “I Can’t Breathe” t-shirt.
As veteran center Joakim Noah recently reminded us, Hinrich grew up in Sioux City, Iowa, which is about as pale as the Bulls’ veteran guard.
The 2010 census recorded that 80.6 percent of the population (a little more than 84,000) is Caucasian and less than three percent is African American. That is down from 85.2 percent white in 2000, so I suppose things are trending in a slightly positive direction if you believe in the whole “America has been as remarkable as it is because it is a melting pot” thing, as I do.

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Posted on December 9, 2014

The Beachwood Radio Sports Hour #28: Deja Bears

By Jim Coffman and Steve Rhodes

Team has an identity after all. Plus: The Bulls Make The Regular Season Like Lovin’ – Fun; Blackhawks Are Like Carlos Santana With Rob Thomas – So Smooth; Adam, Ricky and the Duke; and Cubs Get Their Man!

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Posted on December 5, 2014

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