Bears crumble late vs Packers; lose division

With the return of Aaron Rodgers, Randall Cobb, and news that Eddie Lacy would play on his bum ankle it seemed that all signs were pointing to a easy win for the Packers in Sunday's NFC North championship.

It was far from that.

After starting the game with a three in out the Bears offense caught fire. Matt Forte played a huge role in the game rushing for 110 yards, 2 rushing touchdowns, 47 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown.

With all eyes on Jay Cutler to step up to the challenge and play a great game he did. He threw for 226 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, and had a quarter back rating of 103.8.

He did throw 1 interception but that was the hail marry throw at the end of the game.

Jay Cutler stepped up and played well, Matt Forte played great, so whose to blame for the Bears heartbreaking loss?  Its the same issue the Bears have been dealing with all season.

Defense.

The Bears offense has never been the problem this year, they average 29 points per game second best in the NFL only behind the Peyton Manning led Denver Broncos. However the Bears defense has cost them all year.

The Bears finish the season with the worst rushing defense in the league allowing 161.5 rushing yards per game. Over all the Bears had the 29th best defense in the NFL this year allowing 26.7 points per game.

There are 32 teams in the NFL.

It was the defense that cost the Bears this game allowing Aaron Rodgers to find a WIDE OPEN Randall Cobb for a 48 yard yard touchdown pass in the final minute to put the Packers up for good.

 Bears fan's often point to there offense and quarterback Jay Cutler for the source of the failures on the field, but this year all fingers should be pointed at that laughable pathetic defense.

Hopefully the Bears fix there defensive issues for the next years season because if they do they can be a Outstanding football team.

Beardown.

Tony Romo done for Season

Dallas Cowboy's  overpaid quarterback Tony Romo will miss the rest of the season due to a back injury, first reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Another source told ESPN Senior NFl Insider Chris Mortenson that Romo has  herniated disk in the lumbar region and needs surgery. Although he hasn't examined Tony Romo himself, Dr. Michael Kaplan said surgery on a injury of this nature has  "95 % predictable" with a 3-4 months recovery time span.

Head Coach Jason Garret was quick to not completely rule out Tony for Sunday's must win game vs the Eagles.

"We have not made that determination at all at this point," Garret said. "Like any other player, the day after a game you just want to see what the injury is and we've done that with Tony and we want to get him involved in treatment as quickly as we can and we started that process."

The Cowboys will turn to Kyle Orton at the quarterback position who has 69 career starts with a record of 35-34. However he hasn't started a game since 2011.

Deja vu all over again? Last year Romo hurt his Ribs in last year's season ending loss to the Redskins which kept the Cowboys from making the playoffs. In the exact same situation as last year Romo could be on the sidelines. Maybe it just wasn't meant to be for the Cowboys.

Then again, when is it ever?

Jay Cutler must come through for Bears

This past Sunday the Quarterback with the best QBR in the past 4 games was to much protest, sitting on the bench. I know what your thinking, and  yes, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning were suited up. I'm talking about Josh McCown. 

McCown through the four and a half games he played while in place for the injured Cutler was just on fire, 1,809 passing yards, 13 touchdowns , and only one interception. You can understand why when the Bears named Jay Cutler the starter for this past Sunday's game vs the Browns there was a general outcry of anger from Bear's fans.

Cutler on Sunday started the game rusty, as expected. He threw two interceptions that had me fighting to not throw something at my television. Like most Bears fan's at that moment I screamed "Put McCown in!". But Cutler, after getting his timing back had a much better second half and ended up with 3 touchdowns and 265 passing yards. His QBR was 84.7.

Cutler or McCown? As long as there in Marc Trestman's offense, who cares? Cutler is having his best year statically posting the 8th best QBR in the league. The one thing Cutler is know for however is his turnovers. He had two vs the browns but the NFL is a league about results and the Bears won, Marc Trestman didn't look like a idiot, and now they control there own destiny thanks to the heroics of Ravens Kicker Justin Tucker.

Justin Tucker hit the game winning 61 yard field goal to defeat the lions on Monday night and give the Bears sole possession of first place. If the Bears win out with victories over the Eagles and Packers, there in the playoffs.

Jay Cutler, who i'm sure will be seeking a long term deal with the Bears at season's end must earn it.

You want that contract Jay? Lead the Bears to the playoffs. 

Return of the Mamba: Kobe Bryant plans to make Sunday's game debut

After a long 8 months full of therapy workouts, lifting and more that we could ever possibly understand, Kobe Bryant announced today via his Facebook page that he will return Sunday Dec 8th vs the Toronto Raptors.

The video showed his No. 24 Lakers uniform hanging in mid air being battered by the elements of rain, snow, wind. and much more. The jersey gets torn right down the middle presumably symbolizing  his ruptured Achilles.

One can only imagine the fuel Kobe has  to prove his doubters, and  haters wrong and show them, and the world  that he can return to his basketball form of greatness.

Kobe returns to a Scrappy .500 Lakers team at 9-9. The Lakers are only 1.5 games back of a playoff spot in the competitive western conference and with Steve Nash and Jordan Farmar sidelined this news must be exciting for the Lakers organization to hear.


The game will be televised on NBA TV nationally(9:30 pm ET) and Time Warner sports Net locally.

Go get em Mamba.

Pathetic Packers chewed up by Lions

After losing star quarterback Aaron Rodgers in early Nov to a fractured collar bone the Green Bay Packers can only hope to tread water while they await his much anticipated return. Instead they've been drowning. Deep.

The Packers have lost 4 of 5 games without Rodgers and there only non loss wasn't even a win. They tied the Minnesota vikings. The cheese heads now trail the Lions and Bears for the NFC North division crown with 4 games left and with a clouded timetable for Rodger's return, the Packers outlook looks grim.

Traditionally the Packers  have never had quarterback troubles. With Farve and now Rodgers at the helm, a situation such as this one must be foreign to them. I'm assuming this explains why they look like a  unprepared, dysfunctional, pathetic football team.

Okay I get it Rodgers isn't out there, but too only have 56 yards of offense with 4 minutes left in the 4th quarter in yesterdays game vs the lions is ridiculous.

The Packers defense looks a mess, the offensive line is mediocre at best and the players they are throwing out on the field at the Quarterback position our laughable. I mean these guys are flat out scrubs. They cant play let alone throw.  Seneca Wallace, Scott Tolzien and  Matt Flynn.  Should I try out for them too?

Head coach Mike McCarthy was asked today if he thought Aaron Rodgers would return vs there next opponent the Atlanta Falcons. He replied "I don't Know".

He doesn't know if they'll make the playoffs either.

The only slim hope the Packers do have is to win out the rest of the season which McCarthy  addressed.

"Ok were in a hole," he said. "We felt like we were in the hole going into the Detroit game. We've got two division losses and a tie. That's not where you want to be". I would think we have to(win out) yes".

I think even if they win out they still wont make the playoffs.

Maybe next year cheese heads.

Lightning strikes twice: Bulls guard Rose Tears meniscus will need surgery

Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose missed all of last season recovering from his torn ACL in his left knee. After being criticized for not returning sooner to help last year's bulls team compete in the playoffs, the whole city of Chicago was more than thrilled to see Rose back and healthy on the court.

Through 11 games in this early 2013-2014 NBA season Rose is only averaging 15.9 points per game but more  importantly Rose has showed he has his explosiveness back. Cutting, dunking, spinning, Rose looked good as new,some rust, but he looked strong.

I was getting the vibe the Bulls were just biting there time until Rose got his rust scrapped off, and they made a run for the top of the eastern conference standings.

All that changed for worse in Friday's nights 98-95 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. The former MVP injured his knee during the third quarter  and left the court hardly putting any weight on his injured leg. Rose left the arena on crutches and was said to be in considerable pain. Bulls Head Coach Tom Thibodeau was worried.

"I'm concerned, anytime someone goes down you're concerned," he said.

Its been reported that Rose has a torn meniscus and will require surgery. If Rose and his doctors decide to remove the meniscus recovery time could be up to 6 weeks. If they decide to reattach it, recovery time can be up to 4-5 months.

Luol Deng addressed the possibility of Rose missing significant time. "We've been there before. We just got to pick it up, obviously it would be a setback not having him but we've been there before so we just got to play together".

The Bulls will have to win games with hustle and scrappy play as they await the return of there MVP. As we await more news on Rose he has to know he has the whole NBA world is supporting him. Get back soon Rose.

I'll be rootin for ya.

Are NASCAR Drivers athletes?

As the clock ticks away on the 2013 NASCAR season concluding at Homestead this weekend, a hot debate has been brought up.  Jimmie Johnson is likely to be crowned with his sixth Championship on Sunday. That'll make it a whopping  6 championships in 8 years which is in  most eyes, and astounding accomplishment.

As the sports world looks back on Jimmie Johnson's remarkable success in his career it has been debated if he is the most dominate athlete of the decade. To those who disagree with such a statement they've made it very clear why. They don't believe drivers are athletes. Ex football star turned Fox Sports 1 analyst Donovan Mcnabb had this to say Friday night when asked  where he ranks Jimmie Johnson on the list of "Greatest athletes" of this decade.

"I put him third and I like what he has been able to do you gotta give him a little credit Do I think he's an athlete? Absolutely not". Charissa Thompson obviously taken back by such a statement asked for clarification. Donovan didn't hold back. "He sits in a car and drives that doesn't mean your athletic".Donovan went on to say he thought Jimmie was "extremely talented" and "elite". He went on to rank Jimmie behind Tiger Woods and Kobe Bryant.

Elite is right. Since entering the NASCAR Sprint Cup series in 2002 Jimmie Johnson has racked up 4 Brickyard 400 wins, 2 Dayton 500 wins, 66 wins(8th all time) and 5 straight championships(only trailing Richard "the king" Petty and the iconic Dale Earnhardt Sr). Assuming he wins the championship on Sunday that would give him 6 championships trailing Petty and Earnhardt only by one.

Jimmie Johnson cant fly through the air like Michael Jordan, He isn't a athletic monster such as the 6'8 250 pound LeBron James. He doesn't hit game winner after game winner as Kobe Bryant does. He isn't taking hits on the football field as all NFL players do. He isn't throwing 99 mph fastballs or scoring the next winning hockey goal or soccer goal, He is driving a car.

If you came to me and told me drivers such as Travis Kvapil or Danica Patrick our athletes I'd most likely laugh in your face. But as elite as Jimmie Johnson? Yes. I know the work Jimmie Johnson puts in, I know the 40 miles he runs every week, the weight lifting he does, the constant information he studies and learns about each track. He knows every detail about  his race car there is to know and  feeds that info back into his partner in crime Chad Knaus. Jimmie is one hard working man.

Jimmie Johnson and all elite NASCAR drivers have the concentration and patient to race a car at 200 mph for 4 hours or more every Sunday. That's talent. That's skill. That's an athlete. Maybe Jimmie Johnson cant jump shoot or throw like the athletes Americans enjoy but that doesn't make him lesser of an athlete than other men/woman who do different sports. He just uses different skills in his sport. There needs to be more respect for the sport of NASCAR which at times is questioned wither it is a sport or not. Every professional sport has its challenges and NASCAR's is different than most.

Do I think all drivers are athletes? No I do not. Is Jimmie Johnson? yes he is, and a darn good driver too.

Xavier Henry's explosive dunk in the Lakers win over the Pelicans

Lakers staying competitive through Scrappy play

Entering the 2013-2014 NBA season the Los Angles Lakers's expectations from me and around the nation was at a all time low. Without Kobe Bryant(Achilles injury), a ailing Steve Nash, and a coach in Mike D'antoni who has a reputation for horrible defense, The expectation was for this team to lay eggs every night. Well boy was I ever wrong.

The Lakers defeated the New Orleans Pelicans Tuesday night 116-95 at Staples Center. After getting blown out by the Timberwolves on Sunday the Lakers recovered nicely with a win. That seems to be the formula for them so far this season win one, lose one. Without Kobe Bryant and now Steve Nash, who is dealing with back issues, the Lakers are a young energetic group that shares the ball using there defense to create offense.

A lineup change saw Jordan Hill inserted into the starting  unit where he thrived scoring 21 points  and hauling in 11 boards. Steve Blake had 10 assists, Paul Gasol had 14 points on 6-10 shooting, and Nick young and Xavier carried the bench load with 15 points for Henry and 17 for Young. By the way did you see that Sick dunk by Xavier?

Along with guys like Jordan Farmar adding 9 points and Chris Kaman with 8 points the Lakers are competing and aren't the laughing stock the NBA expected them to be. Now I know a 4-5 record is nothing to brag about but hey in the Lakers's situation I'd say it is. With Impressive wins over the crosstown Clippers and hated Rockets(because Dwight Howard plays for them) the Lakers are making some noise. As we all await the return of Kobe Bryant don't sleep on this Lakers team, there a scrappy bunch.

Fools Gold.Head coach Trestman blows game as Bears fall to Lions

The Chicago Bears entered Sunday's noon match up with the Detroit Lions on a emotional high. Coming off a victory over the hated Green bay Packers, the Bears woke up Sunday in a three way tie for the NFC North between themselves, the Lions, and Packers. 

With the Packers loss of Aaron Rodgers and the supposed return of a healthy Jay Cutler, talk around the league was that it was really a two team race for the division. The Lions, already defeating the Bears in Week 4, had the opportunity to sweep the season series with  Chicago and gain that oh so important tie breaker.

In the first half of the game everything seemed to be going as expected. Cutler was playing decent, throwing a touchdown to his best friend Brandon Marshall, and the Lions not to be outdone had a touchdown of there own. The score was 7-7 entering half time. Then everything began to go down hill from there. Starting in the third quarter it was pretty noticeable that Cutler wasn't moving right. He wasn't mobile,  he couldn't get out of the pocket, he flat out couldn't use  his legs to make plays and it was affecting his throwing. Perhaps he re-aggravated his groin injury? 

Cutler admitted to just not feeling physically healthy enough in this game to help the team win. "I felt really restricted in the pocket with what I was able to do" Cutler said. The ball wasn't getting out as quick. Some of my throws didn't have as much on them as I wanted. I knew Josh was ready to go and I just didn't want to get to the point where I was hurting us more than I was helping us".

The Bears claim that Cutler injured his ankle in the first half right around the time he had a pass tipped and intercepted in the end zone. That diagnosis has come under fire throughout Sunday evening with some fans wondering if that's just a cover up for a re injured groin. Wither it's Cutler's ankle or groin shouldn't be the question. The real question all Bears fans should be asking is why in the world did head coach Marc Trestman keep Jay Cutler in the game so long knowing he wasn't 100 % ready to go.

We have a more than reliable backup! The whole world saw what Josh Mcown did to the Packers on Monday night football at the frozen tundra. It was obvious Cutler wasn't healthy why didn't you put Josh in Trestman? "I didn't want to take him out unless he felt he couldn't do the job," Trestman said. I thought it was a very courageous performance through out". Unbelievable. If Josh Mcown replaced Cutler in the third quarter I believe the Bears would've won that game.

When Josh was finally put into the game to replace Cutler It was a valiant effort, leading the Bears down the field for a touchdown, but he came up just short as the Bears fell by two points 21-19. The Bears can beat the Lions, and would've beaten them today but questionable judgement by head coach Marc Trestman caused them the win. Let's see how the Bears handle Cutler's injury this time.

Dying system destroying NASCAR'S Nationwide Series

On Saturday afternoon the NASCAR Nationwide series dropped the green flag on there second to last race of the season in Phoenix. The Nationwide series is in the midst of a thrilling championship battle between Austin Dillon and Sam Hornish Jr.

Entering the race, Austin Dillon had a slim 6 point lead over Penske race car driver Sam Hornish Jr. This is more than what NASCAR could possibly ask for. Two races left and six points between two competitive drivers racing for the championship. What Could go wrong? Everything and NASCAR has no one to blame but themselves.

Neither Austin Dillon nor Sam Hornish Jr were the story of the day in this race. Stop me if you heard this before; it was Kyle Busch. Busch led 169 of 200 possible laps Saturday afternoon absolutely dominating the race. Might as well have been a race for second because from what I could see Kyle Busch was in a league of his own. Entering the race Rowdy had won 9 poles and converted 8 of them into race wins. Did I mention he won the pole for the race?

"It's fun to drive these cars. It's nice to come to the West Coast. I get a little more cheers then I do anywhere else," said Busch a who grew up in Las Vegas. "Its fun anywhere you go and we have a great time with it". Well Kyle Busch must be having a great time everywhere he goes to race in NASCAR'S Nationwide series. This was his series leading 12th win of the season.

Now I'm not bashing Kyle Busch this isn't his fault. He's a great race car driver! A wheel man, who is doing his job which is to go out to the track every weekend and win races. NASCAR however has some explaining to do. In a series where the logo is "Names are made here" I don't believe its serving it's purpose. If NASCAR wants to improve the racing in the Nationwide Series they should ban all cup drivers from racing in the series starting in the 2014 season.

The Nationwide series should be about young drivers trying to make a name for themselves, not cup regulars dominating the race how Kyle Busch did Saturday afternoon. I don't enjoy seeing one driver dominate a race, I get enough of that in the Sprint Cup series with Jimmie Johnson( see last's weeks race at Texas).

Did you know Austin Dillon, championship points leader, has zero race wins this season? ZERO. That is absolutely ridiculous and outrageous! I'm sure he would have race wins if cup drivers weren't stealing the wins week in and week out from the Nationwide series drivers.

If NASCAR wants to improve there ratings in the Nationwide series and more importantly the racing in the series , they'll ban cup drivers from racing Nationwide. It will give us race fans something to pleasure ourselves with before watching Jimmie Johnson dominate the following day( again see last's weeks race at Texas).

It has no doubt been a year of the unexpected in NASCAR and I pray that continues with a much needed rule change with the hopes of fixing this dying system.

Chicago Bears on the way up? I'd say so

Chicago Bears Quarterback Jay Cutler has been cleared to play Sunday against the rival Detroit Lions after being cleared by doctors and coaching staff on Thursday. Cutler has been out two and a half weeks after tearing a groin muscle against the Washington Redskins on Oct. 20.
The original time table set for Cutler was for him to miss approximately four weeks.
"As soon as I got hurt I felt like I could be back sooner than they thought", Cutler said. "At the bye week, I thought that would give me enough time to make a push for this game. Last week I felt like if things kept progressing that I'd definitely have a chance for this game. Early last week I had a sense this could be a real possibility"
The good news follows the bears impressive  win over the division rival Green Bay Packers on Monday night; that saw backup quarterback Josh McCown play like a seasoned veteran as the bears defeated the Packers 27-20.

Looking at the Bears schedule I believe they could potentially win out the rest of the season if, if they can defeat the Detroit Lions on Sunday which is a game for the NFC North top spot. After the Bears face the lions they play the Baltimore Ravens, St Louis Rams, Minnesota Vikings, Dallas Cowgirls(cowboys), Cleveland Browns, Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers. Out of those teams only two of them, the Cowboys and Packers have a winning record. The Bears can beat the cowboys who are I'll admit,  a talented team but tony Romo at times seems to be color blind when playing the bears(he threw 4 interceptions against them last year). As for the Packers? With the uncertainty at the quarterback position, after losing Aaron Rodgers one of the best QB's in the NFl , to a broken collar bone they shouldn't be a problem. Seneca Wallace will  be the starting quarterback. As your reading this your probably thinking "who the heck is that?". I'll tell who he is, he's a nobody. He's a scrub, a bench warmer,  I mean he flat out cant play let alone complete a pass. I'll be surprised if the Packers finish the season with a winning record.  The Bears however do have some holes on defense they need shore up but with Marc Trestman's offense they have been able to win games. If the Bears can stay focused and more importantly healthy they'll be a team to reckon with in the playoffs. On the way up? The climb starts Sunday.