By The Beachwood Ad Hoc Committee On Cubs Affairs

An e-mail exchange.
From: Steve Rhodes
Sent: Monday, September 13, 2010 1:38 PM
To: Don Jacobson; Marty Gangler
Subject: Sandberg
On management style, he said: “The Minnesota Twins have a way they want to play that is taught to every player in their system and that is what I want for the Cubs if I am the manager. Players have to know what is expected of them and what will not be accepted before they get to Wrigley Field.”

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Posted on September 14, 2010

By Jim Coffman

How many people viewing the first replay of the Lion offense’s third-to-last play Sunday knew quickly that it was an incompletion?
One in a thousand? One in ten-thousand?
But a majority of the officials knew Calvin Johnson hadn’t lived up to the letter of the law and so did analyst Brian Billick. Amazing. Of course the rule requiring a receiver to complete “the process of the catch” and therefore control the ball even beyond having both feet – and his butt and his hand for goodness sakes – down in the end zone is screwed up and should be changed. But it won’t happen during the season. And while you would think there might be a quiet meeting of the NFL Rules Committee in the spring or summer of 2011 in which the language defining a catch receives a needed tweaking, don’t bet on it. Other obviously ill-conceived bits of NFL regulation remain on the books. Speaking of which . . .

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Posted on September 13, 2010

By Marty Gangler

The big news this week was the Billy Williams statue being unveiled in front of Wrigley Field. Although that isn’t really that big of news to anyone under, like, 60. The more interesting news is that there are going to be more statues coming. And, well, it makes one wonder, who is actually going to be next? The Cubs really haven’t won very often so I mean, what statues are they going to make? With this in mind we here at The Cub Factor would like to speculate on what statues might be coming.

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Posted on September 13, 2010

By Mike Luce

Last week, the buzz surrounded the Top 10 matchup between Boise State and Virginia State. The game lived up to the hype but the larger implications were almost more interesting than the game itself: the loser was certain to be eliminated from the BCS title, while the winner would springboard into the national championship picture. Week Two features three games between Top 25 teams with national title consequences and a fourth that may determine the SEC East.
We aren’t often treated to this many high-stakes games in the second week of the season. Further, the Football Gods saw fit to spread the kickoff times from 11AM to 6PM Central. Let’s pray for miserable weather on Saturday to help us feel better for spending the day in front of the television.

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Posted on September 10, 2010

By Mike Luce

A Note To The CFR Faithful
Some of our farthest-flung readers (hello, Anchorage!) may suffer from bouts of seasonal depression each winter. We can sympathize. The College Football Report has a patent pending on a set of 3-D goggles permanently tuned to ESPN Classic for those long summer months.
Thus, please understand if we need to check the schedule before making any commitments each autumn. This is college football season.

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Posted on September 9, 2010

By Dan O’Shea

Predictions for what will happen in the fantasy football world during and after Week 1:
1. Visanthe Shiancoe, TE, Minnesota, will catch two touchdowns against New Orleans on Thursday, and may still be available in your league because everyone was too embarrassed to attempt pronouncing his name during the draft.
2. Rookie Dexter McCluster, RB/WR, Kansas City, will emerge as a hot waiver wire pickup after breaking 100 total yards against San Diego, and will be christened the new Larry Johnson, much to his chagrin.
3. Devin Aromashodu, WR, BEARS, will be ridiculous, while teammate Devin Hester will be merely unbelievable. Unfortunately, Jay Cutler will throw more often to Greg “Catch and Take a Dive” Olsen.

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Posted on September 8, 2010

By Marty Gangler

Okay, so the Cubs are 9-4 under Mike Quade. Which is good of course but I have a question. How are we supposed to tell if Mike Quade is any good at managing?
I mean, if it was all based on wins and losses then there should be this groundswell of support for a second coach Q in Chicago. But there isn’t. Which once again means I need to ask, how can we tell?

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Posted on September 7, 2010

By Andrew Reilly

Winning seven in a row means picking up half a game, neither the Sox nor Twins can rattle off their respective winning streaks forever and this, I think, is going to be the sad, lonely dance of September: the Sox will win just enough to go nowhere. What else could the state of White Sox baseball possibly point to?
Now, it could be that the Twins are just having a bit of a lucky streak here. They’re not going to play the Royals every day and won’t always benefit from nonsensical umpiring calls going their way. They can’t expect Jim Thome to make the highlight reel every time up, nor can Carl Pavano possibly be as good as advertised.

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Posted on September 7, 2010

By Jim Coffman

The number is 6.5.
Pick the Bears to pull out more victories than that and you’re an optimist. Pick them to finish with less and you’re a realist . . . I mean pessimist . . . oh, no I don’t. If you’ve got them winning seven or more, God love ya’ and I hope you’re right. But it isn’t going to happen.

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Posted on September 6, 2010

By Mike Luce

Welcome to Part II of the College Football Report’s Preseason Special. Last week, we caught you up on the major storylines of the offseason. Below, we offer our fearless (and bluntly biased) projections on the upcoming season. After a long look at each major conference, you will be treated to the Report’s preseason predictions. We’ll identify the Broncos, Tigers, Horned Frogs and other wildlife worthy of your hard-earned money. At the same time, we hope to help you avoid the Buffaloes, Cougars, Owls and various endangered species (has anyone started a Save the Terrapin Fund yet?) to avoid.
Together with a network of relentless researchers, the insights from no fewer than four publications (Lindy’s Sports, Athlon Sports, Phil Steele, and The Gold Sheet), news from numerous websites, plus rumors, hints and downright hearsay, our crack staff here at The College Football Report has . . . no idea what will happen this year. Then again, the odds are good that neither do you. Welcome, true believers, to the 2010 season.

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Posted on September 4, 2010