By Marty Gangler

At this point in the season, the Cubs are essentially like that proverbial car accident that you slow down to look at just to see if there is anything interesting going on and then you speed up quickly and go on your way.
We slowed down during the Nationals series, for example, to watch the benches empty because bench coach Jamie Quirk and catcher Steve Clevenger were being babies about Washington was still trying with a 7-2 lead in the fifth inning.
And how ’bout that play by Brett Jackson?

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Posted on September 10, 2012

By Mike Luce

Western Kentucky head coach Willie Taggart took exception to the Vegas line which opened with the Hilltoppers as 37-point underdogs against #1 Alabama and has since risen to 39, calling the spread “a bunch of bologna.”
Taggart went on to say that WKU is going to play to win, not to “lose by 39 points.”
Coach, some people would really prefer that you lost by 40 points or more, while others are hoping you only lose by 38.5 points or less. See what you can do.

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Posted on September 7, 2012

By Don Best TV

From our two favorite YouTube prognosticators.
1. Emory Hunt, the Czar of the Playbook, for Football Gameplan:
If the Colts can run downhill on the suspect Bears interior defense, they could have some success. But the Bears have the edge at too many positions.

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Posted on September 6, 2012

By Dan O’Shea

This week, I present the last chapter in my fantasy football preseason draft guide. Not that my list of tight ends can help you at this point, since the season starts today and all leagues have drafted, but I guess you can still check your own results against my rankings for posterity and satisfaction (mine, that is).
My top 12 TEs (after the first 12, it’s mostly just a crap-shoo):

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Posted on September 5, 2012

By Jim Coffman

Backup quarterback Jason Campbell not playing for the Bears against the Browns in the final exhibition game may result in my bowing out of season-ticket ownership. Cubs season-ticket ownership that is.
Upon further review (NFL football begins in less than 36 hours people! Time to adopt a proper mindset), I suppose I should acknowledge that the previous correlation isn’t exactly direct. But the two items in that previous sentence are potentially related and I’m happy to break down why.

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Posted on September 4, 2012

By Marty Gangler

The most interesting thing that’s happened lately to the Cubs has nothing to do with the Cubs. It has more to do with the Dodgers and Red Sox, but it certainly relates to the Cubs. What is becoming clearer is that teams in major markets make an ass-load of money.
The Dodgers proved that as a team that somehow could barely make payroll last season went out and got a quarter-billion dollars worth of contracts. Do they do that if they couldn’t make that back somehow?
And what about the Red Sox? A team that could take on that kind of payroll just decides to give up on the cornerstone of the deal (Adrian Gonzalez) and throw in a few other horrible contracts.
So how does this relate to the Cubs?

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Posted on September 3, 2012

By Roger Wallenstein

“Buen trabajo, mi amigo,” Ozzie Guillen might have texted to fellow countryman Miguel Cabrera after Saturday’s 5-1 pasting of the White Sox as the lame Cabrera had three hits and drove in a couple of runs. “Two bad ankles, but, hey, it’s a big series. You showed ’em, kid.”
When Ozzie was guiding the Sox, he made no secret of his friendship and admiration for the Tigers’ MVP candidate. I never quite understood that. After all, since he joined the Tigers in 2008, the Sox have had little luck getting Cabrera out. He absolutely slays our team.
To think our (former) manager was pals with the guy rubbed me the wrong way. I much preferred his relationship with another Venezuelan, Magglio Ordonez, who played for Detroit after his days with the Sox. Ozzie once called him “a piece of shit.”

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Posted on September 3, 2012

By Mike Luce

Welcome to another season of The College Football Report, featuring once again contributions from the Beachwood Sports Seal, the College Football Report Free Range Chicken, and other crackerjack members of the CFR staff.
The Saturday kick-off to the season is upon us, bracketed by Navy vs. Notre Dame (played in Dublin, Ireland) at 8 a.m. and #8 Michigan visiting #2 Alabama at 7 p.m. We do not recommend you fill any of the eleven hours with drinking games. Remember, it’s a marathon, not a sprint. Kristen Saban would agree.
We have been diligently tracking some of the hottest stories in the sport during the offseason. To get caught up, see below. Remember, dear reader, we are here for you.

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Posted on August 31, 2012

By The Beachwood Lame-Ass Affairs Desk

It’s hard to tell right now which of our local franchises is the lamest. Here are the contestants:
The White Sox: “The White Sox have struggled to fill the seats this season and the team’s latest move finally embraces a real (but painful) solution: cheaper tickets,” Crain’s reports.
“The Sox announced Tuesday that they’ll offer discount tickets throughout the next three home stands (Twins, Royals and a critical four-game stint with the Tigers). That includes two ‘Value Mondays’ on Sept. 3 and 10, when upper-deck seats will start at $7 (normally $16) and lower-level seats at $17 (normally in the high 30s).”
The White Sox hold a three-game lead over the Tigers in the AL Central. So how lame is that?

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Posted on August 31, 2012

By Dan O’Shea

If you wanted to completely disregard preseason fantasy wide receiver rankings, you could probably do pretty well just trying to draft WRs from Green Bay, New England and New Orleans, the teams with the most talented and prolific QBs.
Or, maybe you wouldn’t. With one exception, none of these teams has a wideout ranked as a fantasy top 10 WR (and while that exception makes the top 10 on my list, you won’t find him that high on many others).
Actually, if you want to make things simple for yourself, you should focus on limiting your WR selection to two other teams – Atlanta and the New York Giants.
My top 20 WRs:

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Posted on August 29, 2012