Just to make sure this was TRULY the worst season in 129 years for Michigan, Ohio State whipped 'em good today, winning their fifth straight game - the first time in 105 meetings to win 5 straight - over the hapless Wolverines by an incredibly lopsided 42-7. Ohio State's margin was the biggest by either team in the rivalry since Woody Hayes was coach and oversaw a 50-14 rout of Michigan in 1968.

And even though Penn State has wrapped up the Big 10 Conference, by beating Michigan State and guaranteeing a trip to the Rose Bowl, 10th-ranked Ohio State is right behind them.  Both have a 7-1 conference record, but Penn State is 11-1 overall, Ohio is 10-2.  The Big 10 is certainly the powerhouse in NCAA football this year, with 4 teams ranked in the top 25:

Penn State #8

Ohio State #10

Michigan State # 15

Northwestern #24

Photo courtesy Charles Rex Arbogast/AP & MLB

Cubs catcher Geovany Soto was named National League Rookie of the Year Monday by the Baseball Writers Association of America.  Soto garnered 31 of the 32 1^st place votes cast to receive an honor well deserved.  He batted .285 with 26 homers and 86 RBIs.  He's the first catcher to win the honor in 15 years, when Mike Piazza won.

Soto is also the first Cub to win it since Kerry Wood in 1998.  Not only are his hitting stats impressive, Soto also knows how to handle a veteran pitching staff.  The Cubs finished with the 3^rd lowest RA in the National League.

"For a young catcher, he handles pitchers as well as anybody I've been around," Chicago pitching coach Larry Rothschild said.

Geovany had an unbelievable season - first rookie catcher to start an All-Star game, twice NL Rookie of the Month, first to rookie catcher to hit at least 30 doubles and 20 homers in a single season, and he caught Carlos Zambrano's no-hitter in September.  He's nothing if not modest.  "I just want to win ballgames, and this is all extra," Soto said after the historic game against the Houston Astros. "This is awesome. Enough about me, it's [Carlos'] day. He was pitching, and he deserves all the credit."

From the time he was three, Soto's dad was behind him.  "If it wasn't for my dad, I wouldn't be here," Soto said. "Sometimes it was tough love. I wanted to be riding my bike and enjoying my childhood, but he got on top of me and said, 'You need to work out, you need to stay on top of things.' Now I understand why he did it. He knew he had a son who could make it and could be pretty good. He didn't want me to throw that opportunity away.

The award is well deserved.  Congrats to you, Geovany!

Now, if we can just get Ron Santo into the Hall of Fame...

Make sure you have friends in all aspects of your life.  Friends where you work, friends where you play, friends where you hang out.  They are the most important thing in your life.  You may not realize it right now, but down the road there will come a day when something truly great or truly awful happens in your life and you will need to pick up the phone and call a friend to be there with you right now. 

As you grow older, you will understand the importance of having someone you can call your friend not just an acquaintance or someone I know from wherever.  A real, live person you can share with.

Let’s just say I had a big dose of reality from someone yesterday and I wanted to share this with you.  So, call up one of your friends and plan something for this weekend.  Go do something!  Have a great time.  Enjoy your life with a friend.

It only took a 50 hour rain delay, but the Philadelphia Phillies - the only team in MLB history with over 10,000 losses - silenced their detractors and won it all. A packed house of screaming, cheering fans dressed more for an Eagles game than for baseball rocked the house from the first pitch of the resumed game until long after Brad Lidge dropped to his knees and raised his arms in joy and relief.

The Phillies came on strong at the end of the season, and never looked back.  Good pitching, timely hitting and a determination to make it served manager Charlie Manuel's team well.  They never faltered once they were in sight of the prize.
 

Congratulations to the Phillies and all your fans - especially my Steeple buddies  If the Cubbies couldn't be there, you're the next best thing!
 Photo courtesy of AP & Fox News
 

Okay, so the Cubs couldn't make it to the World Series...again.  Nothing new there folks, we haven't won it in 100 years, and haven't even been there in 63.  But this year, the team with the worst franchise history in all of baseball is poised to win it all.  Everyone thought they were finished back in July when they traded  for Joe Blanton.  Joe who?  Oh, you mean the pitcher who hit a home run in the 5th inning to help win Game 4?  Yeah, that guy.  The first pitcher in 34 years to hit a homer in the World Series.  How did he do it?  "I just close my eyes and swing hard in case I make contact," Blanton said. "That's really the only thing I can say."  Well, if that's what it takes for a guy with two total hits in his entire big league career, why not?

Tonight's the night to see if the Phillies can pull this one off.  Here's hoping they succeed.  Let's Go Phillies! 

As we move into Week 7 of NCAA Football, both the AP and USA Today have unbeaten Okalahoma in the #1 spot.  In fact, they both have the same Top 10.  Now, we all know that this will change as the season moves on, but it's nice to see some consensus to start this year.

Is your favorite team in the Top 25 on either poll?  Who do you pick to take it all this year?  And, more importantly, should we trash the entire BSC process?

Oh, man, if EVER a season cried out for a Yogi Berra quote, this one is it folks. It ain't over 'til it's over.  The Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers have to make up an earlier Hurricane Ike rainout to see whether the ChiSox or Minnesota Twins makes it to the playoffs.  Talk about nobody wanting it.  Sheesh!

It's been 27 years since the last time this happened, although that time was because of the weirdness of the MLB players strike and really doesn't count.  Before that, you have to go all the way back to the 1973 National League East, when the Cardinals, Mets and Pirates faced a similar situation.

All that being said, it all comes down to today's game, where the two starting pitchers were traded for each other earlier this year.

Now, the only reason the same thing isn't happening in the National League wild card race is because apparently as much as C.C. Sabathia likes to pitch, he seems to like to pitch even MORE on three days' rest.  His last three starts have been on short rest, and his ERA during that time is 0.83.

It all comes down to today's game at 2:05 ET.  Okay, White Sox, how much do you want it?
 

...is it next year yet, I have just one thing to say:

"Lalala, I can't hear you!"   

Don't you know it's not something we talk about?  Geez, Louise!!!  So what if we have clinched home field advantage throughout the playoffs.  So what if we have clinched the division (2nd year in a row) as well as the best record in the National League.  DON'T SAY ANYTHING!!! 

So, how about them Bears?  Hah!  No worries there, mate.  Quarterback is playing semi-decent but the defense couldn't hold the line if you duct taped it to their hands.  I mean, come on! 

Oh, and Mr. Favre (that's FARRRRRRRVE, not FAV-RAY) may be rethinking his un-retirement.  Sacked, sacked, sacked and sacked on Sunday, and now he has a sore ankle.  Boo hoo, should have stayed safe in Mississippi.

Speaking of retirement, what about Joe Paterno.  What is he, 102?  Actually, he's only 81, but he too has a sore leg and had to go to the press box at half-time.  He plans on being back on the sidelines when #12 Penn State faces #22 Illinois.

 
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a game I'm trying not to watch here. 
 

If you're a true, bleed Cubbie Blue, die-hard fan, you know what I'm talking about.  This time, however, there is a major difference that is working in our favor.  What's that you ask?  Why, it's the Milwaukee Brewers!  Unlike 1969, when the Mets went on a tear about the time the Cubs experienced their September Swoon, this time the next closest team in the division is 4 games back and playing with less finesse than we are! 

Although the Cubs have lost 7 of their last 8 games, the Brewers have only been able to pick up one game.  Yes, thank goodness they are equally as inept.  Whew!  Less than two weeks ago, the Cubs had the best record in baseball and were 35 games above .500.  Right now, they are 87-56, playing .601 ball and still have the best record in the National League. 

We have 19 games left - and all but four are within the division.  For once, that seems to be a good thing.  I'd keep my fingers crossed, but that's just plain superstitious.  Besides, do you have any idea how hard it is to type with your fingers crossed?


 

Some of the fireworks were computer generated; the featured ‘singer' only lip-synched because the girl with the better voice had crooked teeth; some of the Chinese women's gymnastic team are only 14; a Spanish cyclist has become the first Olympic athlete tossed from the Games for failing a drug test; and we won't even go into the censorship issues.  Is there nothing good about these Beijing Olympics?

You betcha there is!  How about the US Men's Relay team edging out the French in an unbelievable comeback to win the gold?  How about Michael Phelps himself becoming the winningest Olympian ever when he picked up his fifth gold medal of the Summer Games?   Here's what's been completed and what remains for the swimmer:

Day                        Event                               Time/result

Saturday             400 individual medley              Gold

Sunday 400         free relay                               Gold

Monday               200 free                                 Gold

Tuesday               200 butterfly                          Gold

Tuesday               800 free relay                        Gold

Thursday             200 individual medley            10:48 p.m.

Friday                  100 butterfly                        10:10 p.m.

Saturday              400 medley relay                 10:58 p.m.

Kristin Armstrong won gold in the women's cycling time trial  - only the 2^nd US woman ever to win gold in cyling - and  Levi Leipheimer won bronze in the men's event.

So far, the US leads in the medal total with 29 - 10 gold, 8 silver, 11 bronze.  We've won medals in men's and women's swimming, cycling, equestrian (silver), fencing (gold, silver, bronze), gymnastics, and men's and women's shooting. 

U-S-A!  U-S-A!!  U-S-A!!!

Yep, as reported first by Fox Sports, Brett Favre has been traded to the New York Jets.

As a Bears fan, can I ask just one thing?  Can we get on with our lives now, people?  I mean, seriously folks, he retired this spring; a grand total of about a hundred people have shown up to chant "Bring Back Brett" since he decided to unretire; it's time to move along, nothing to see here.

As announced in the Packers' Press release:

"Brett has had a long and storied career in Green Bay, and the Packers owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude for everything he accomplished.  It is with some sadness that we make this announcement, but also with the desire for certainty that will allow us to move the team and organization forward in the most positive way possible."

Yes, even the Packers are glad tis is over.  They moved on with their lives when he retired, and they just weren't ready for him to jump back into things.  Good for them. 

Yep, Chicago Cubbies are up on top.  Woo hoo!  It's almost the All Break and the Cubs have a better record than any other team in baseball.  How did this happen?  WHO CARES?  Well, really, I care.  And so do Cubs' fans everywhere.

But we still don't talk about what it might mean.  Superstitious?  Us?  Nah!  We just want to maintain a calm enjoyment of the remainder of the season.  No need to get excited.  No, this is just a wonderful sport with a bunch of fun loving guys.  

OMG! The Cubs have the best record in baseball!!!!!

Sorry, couldn't help myself.
 

...again.  Who didn't see this one coming?  This is a guy who just doesn't know how to give it a rest.  But this time, instead of welcoming him back with open arms, the Green Bay Packers response has been to ignore, and then politely decline, Favre's pleas...and phone calls...and text messages.  Yep, they have let him know they have made their decision to move forward, and that they will not jump when he calls any longer.  Move along, nothing to see here folks.  EXCEPT...

Except that now there is the possibility they may say "okay", reactivate him and then trade his sorry old butt to another team. 

Wait, did you just say Brett Favre might be available?  I mean, so what if he retires again in another year.  So what if he's old.  I mean, he's Brett Favre.  How do you think you'd look in blue and orange, Brett?  And why not?  I mean, McMahon went to Green Bay after he left the Bears, turnabout is fair play.  Besides, anything has to be better than having Rex Grossman, right?  Right? 
 

AMERICAN LEAGUE                                             NATIONAL LEAGUE                                 

East                W        L          PCT    GB                  East                W        L          PCT    GB
Tampa Bay    32        22        0.593  -                       Florida            30        22        0.577  -
Boston           32        24        0.571  1                      Philadelphia    31        24        0.564  0.5   
Toronto          30        26        0.536  3                      Atlanta             29        25        0.537  2
Baltimore       26        26        0.500  5                      New York        26        26        0.500  4
New York       26        27        0.491  5.5                   Washington    23        32        0.418  8.5
Central          W        L          PCT    GB                  Central           W        L          PCT    GB
Chicago         30        23        0.566  -                     Chicago          33        21        0.611  -
Minnesota     28        25        0.528  2                     St. Louis         32        23        0.582  1.5
Cleveland      24        29        0.453  6                     Houston          30        25        0.545  3.5
Detroit            22        31        0.415  8                    Milwaukee      26        28        0.481  7
Kansas City 21        33        0.389  9.5                   Pittsburgh       25        28        0.472  7.5
West               W        L          PCT    GB                 Cincinnati       25        29        0.463  8
Los Angeles 32        23        0.582  -                       West                W        L          PCT    GB
Oakland         29       25        0.537  2.5                   Arizona           30       24         0.556  -
Texas             27       28        0.491  5                      Los Angeles   26       27         0.491  3.5
Seattle            20      34        0.370  11.5                San Francisco23       31          0.426  7
                                                                                    San Diego       21        34       0.382  9.5
                                                                                    Colorado          20       34        0.370  10

What’s wrong with this picture?  Please look carefully.  Do you notice something in red?  Why yes, yes that IS the winning percentage for the Chicago Cubs.  No, it’s not in red because they are in negative numbers.  It happens to be red because they have THE BEST FREAKING RECORD IN MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL! 

Sorry, pardon the yelling, I couldn’t help myself.  I now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

It's May; the second month in the Major League Baseball season.  But something is seriously amiss here, folks.  Let's see, what could be the problem.

Mid-May and still dealing with frost warnings?  Check. 

Daily temps still lucky to make it to 50 degrees?  Check.

Mutant squirrels devastating every last tulip that pokes its head out of the ground?  Check.

Front lawn a lovely shade of crabgrass green?  Check.

What could possibly be wrong then?  Oh, you mean the Cubs seem to have figured out how to play baseball before it's too late?  Gasp!  It's the end of the world as we know it!  Actually, it's about freaking time!  I mean it's only been what, one HUNDRED years since they won the World Series? 

Now, now, don't panic.  After all, just because they seem to have it all together does not mean it won't fall apart down the road.  I mean, after all, there's a lovely opportunity for a June swoon or to die in July or even for the August bust (trust me, I've heard them all many, many, many, many times).  But for a change it has been great to not dread looking at the sports page in the morning, flipping quickly past the standings to read about oh, I don't know, golf or even the never-ending NBA season. 

But I've been thinking.  Maybe this cold weather has had something to do with it...

A guy from Chicago dies and goes to ...that place that isn't heaven.  (Oh, I'd say stop me if you've heard this one before, but I know you've heard it so too bad.  Just be quiet and enjoy the story.)

When he gets there, he meets Lucifer.  "Mwahahaha....welcome to Hell.  I hope you enjoy the heat."

"What's the big deal?  I'm from Chicago, I know heat."

"Oh, really?" queries Lucifer. " Well, let me make it just a bit warmer for you" and he proceeds to turn up the flames.

"Is that all you can do?  So what.  That's no worse than standing around on the platform, waiting for the L."

"Hmmph!  I'll show you!"  And he turns the heat up again.

"Blah, blah, blah, heat-schmeat.  Try working in a fifth floor office where the AC doesn't work, the windows don't open and the elevator is out of order!"

Lucifer is getting really ticked at this point, and opens the burners full blast.

"Oh, my, this is just like being stuck on the Edens in rush hour traffic and your engine is boiling over.  Meh."

"Okay, buddy" he thinks "I'll fix you!" and he flips the dial all the way down the other way.   The guy is stunned.  He's beyond belief.  He looks around and sees icicles forming and snow starting to fall.  Then he starts jumping up and down and screaming and yelling.  Lucifer begins to chuckle to himself.  All of a sudden, he realizes the guy isn't upset.  No, he's ecstatic...what is that he's yelling?  Lucifer listens closely to hear....

"The Cubs win the World Series! The Cubs win the World Series!  Hell has frozen over and we win the World Series!"

Hey, a girl has to have dreams, doesn't she?