Hester is holding out!

Devin Hester, arguably Chicago's best offensive weapon, has decided to hold out for a new deal. Given that the guy is one of the greatest KR/PR in league history and the value he brings to the Bears and having proven it for two consecutive years, he seems entitled to a pay raise. If he doesn't get a new deal, he is only expected to make less than $450K this coming year. Pretty outrageous for the value he brings. If I am Bears management, I want to lock the guy up now and make him happy.

The one issue at hand is that the Bears have no one to compare salaried to. Hester wants to be compensated as a top receiver but the Bears are looking at top paid special teamers. Hester has to be upset and feel disrespected by the lack of money he is being paid. Bears better pony up or Hester won't stick around.

This all goes to my point from a couple of years ago that success breeds egoes and that in turn will cause the Bears to have to pay up. RobsObs countered with the Bears will be perennial winners because they draft so well and those players that walk can be replaced easily. However, you are starting to see the issues I was referring to. Vasher and Tillman got big raises. Briggs needed to get paid. Harris needed to get paid. Urlacher needed to get more money. Now Hester wants a big pay raise. This is the NFL today.

The People have Spoken!

In ESPN's preseason NFL rankings, sports nation voted and said that the Redskins were ranked 14 and the Bears were ranked 21. About what you would expect. Still, Robsobs believes the Bears are going to compete for the Super Bowl. Given all of their issues, I find that very hard to believe. Still, crazier things have happened (not too often though),

NFL's worst owners

From an article on Yahoo sports (http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ms-ownersrankingspartone072208&prov=yhoo&type=lgns):

26. Chicago Bears – Virginia McCaskey (Michael McCaskey, Ted Phillips): By all rights, this should be one of the richest and most successful franchises in sports. The Bears have the NFL’s second-largest market all to themselves, a recognizable brand steeped in tradition and a refurbished stadium. They even played in the Super Bowl two years ago, though it’s hard to remember after last season’s harsh comedown. And yet? “What a disaster,” one owner says. “They should be first or second in revenues; they’re lucky if they’re in the middle of the pack.” With Michael McCaskey, who was publicly declawed by mother Virginia after mismanaging the team back in the ’90s, back in charge of the family business (Phillips is technically the CEO and president), there’s not a whole lot of promise on the horizon. McCaskey, the nominal head of the league’s Super Bowl committee, takes that role very seriously: Before the most recent vote he reminded his fellow owners how important it was to be polite during the presentations, earning eye rolls throughout the room. As for the lagging cash flow, one owner suspects that the Bears intentionally turned down a marketing deal, citing a supposed conflict with one of the league’s national sponsors, in an effort to keep profits low enough to avoid contributing to the league’s revenue-sharing pool. And you thought finding a quarterback was the Bears’ biggest problem.

Landry to stay at free safety

I like this move. Landry has tremendous speed an instincts and played well at the free safety spot when he took over the position after Sean Taylor's death. He is the right size for the position as well. He will certainly get his INTs and punishing hits this year. I also like that Reed Doughty has the inside track on the strong safety position. He too stepped up big time last year having to be the new defensive player after Taylor's death. Apparently he carries a lot of respect from the team for stepping in and filling in admirably. He was a star Division I-AA player and he showed last year that he is capable of playing at the highest level. I think the issues with his child have just made him stronger and more hungry to be successful.

Welcome Mr. Taylor!

Thank you Phillip Daniels! Sure, I don't wish injury on anyone and it is unfortunate the Daniels suffered the injury on the first play of 7 on 7 drills on the first day of training camp but that is the way the cookie crumbles. The good news is that the 'Skins acted quickly and got an All Pro impact type player that can change the complexion of the game in Jason Taylor. The defensive line was already pretty weak to begin with and many people hoped that we would have addressed the situation in the draft but it all worked out in the end. We really didn't have to give up too much for the guy either (next year's second round pick and our sixth pick in 2010). I am willing to give that up for on of the game's best DEs. Now we have too solid pass rushing DEs on the team that can create havoc for opposing teams QBs. I am really starting to like the makeup of the team. The big questions now are the coaching abilities of Zorn and the installation of his west coast offense and how well the team is buying into it. Also, the maturation of Jason Campbell and the growth of the two rookie WRs and the rookie TE. If it all comes together, we have a very good team.

LETS GO CUBBIES!!!

So the Cubbies lost out on Sabathia but just one day later they bring in Rich Harden. The Brewers have been playing well as of late and have shrunk the gap between them and the division leading Cubs to 3.5 games. Their offense is strong and they just bolstered their starting pitching by adding C.C. and they are now serious post season contenders.

However, in a counter move, the Cubs bring in Rich Harden. When healthy, one of the most dominating pitchers in the league. The operative words here are "when healthy." The guy has had issues staying healthy and being a regular starter. Cubs fans are all too familiar with young, talented starters that can't seem to stay healthy (see Kerry Wood and Mark Prior). Still, he is only 27 years old and hopefully he has put his injuries behind him. If he can, the Cubs have arguably the best starting pitching in the game. With Big Z, Lilly, Dempster, Harden, and who cares who else (either Marquis or Sean Marshall), we have a very tough staff. That rotation combined with the relieving corps of Howry, Marmol, and Wood give us one of the best pitching staffs in the league. We should be getting back Soriano soon which will give us an added burst. The Cubbies are primed to end the drought. It's going to happen...BELIEVE!!!!

Favre -- Should he stay or should he go?

What a predicament. Quite the Catch 22. If the Packers don't bring him back, they are turning away one of the all time great players in the NFL. They will annoy a lot of their fan base. They will come across as a cold organization.

However, if they do bring him back, they have to tell projected QB, Aaron Rodgers, to take a seat again after an entire off season of physically and mentally preparing to be the starter. They will have to change the offensive game plan as it was being worked to suit Rodgers. They will be an accomplice in toying with the Packers fans who have already probably emotionally separated themselves from Favre to some degree.

It is a tough predicament and not the kind of thing you want to be dealing with as you are coming off of a great season going into this year.

I don't really like that Favre put this kind of pressure on his former team. I can understand that after coming off of one of his best season's and retiring, he might get the itch back to play but he should have thought about that before. If he wasn't committed to retiring before, he shouldn't have made his decision so quickly after the season. I understand that you don't want to hold the team hostage as he did last offseason but he should've taken some time to think about it. Again, he has put the organization in a very awkward position. Frankly, I think he should just stay retired but how do you say that to a perennial Pro Bowler, a multi winning NFL MVP, and a guy that has been the face of the franchise for so many years? It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Either way, they will annoy some of their fans.

RAFAAAAAAAA!!!!!!

Now I'm not a huge tennis fan but yesterday's Wimbledon championship match between Nadal and Federer was unbelievable. Nadal seemed to have things in control being up two sets to none but Roger stormed back. Then in the fourth set tie break, Nadal had him up 5 to 2 but ended up losing it. At that point, I thought Nadal would be demoralized and Roger would take the 5th and deciding set and win his unprecedented 6th Wimbledon in a row. The 5th set was amazing. Both guys made tremendous shots and both held their serve until Nadal finally broke Roger. Nearly, five hours of unbelievable tennis, Nadal took home the championship. Again, I don't typically get into tennis but if you are any type of sports fan, this was one of the greatest tennis matches (and sports competitions) there has ever been.

Aside from the physical play of the two, you have to appreciate the rivalry they have as well as the tremendous amount of mental strength they showed. When Roger is down two sets to none, he has to be feeling pretty bad. When Nadal had the title in his grasp in the fourth set but lost it, it had to be demoralizing. It truly was an amazing match and ESPN will be broadcasting again tonight as an instant classic. The other great thing about the match was the class both guys showed after it was over. It's clear they both have a desire to be the best in the world. They both wanted the title badly. They both recognize the intense rivalry they share and at the same time show great respect towards one another.