 1. The Cubs are the champions of the NL Central Division: It
wasn't pretty for Cub fans this week. A three-game sweep at the
hands of the worst team in the NL -- the Florida Marlins -- made
many a Cub fan worry and lose some shut-eye at night. But thanks to
our friends to the south -- the Cardinals -- the fast-charging
Brewers lost steam in a hurry, and Friday night the bubbly was
flowing in the Queen City as the Cubs clinched a postseason slot.
Now it is on to Phoenix, where the Cubs face Arizona -- the team
with the best record in the National League. Carlos Zambrano and Ted
Lilly could each start two games in this short five-game series, and
maybe, just maybe, this could be the year.2. The Cardinals
finally got hot -- finished the season with five straight W's: I
know, many will say this doesn't matter a lick, but St. Louis
finishes 2007 on a roll -- winning five straight and probably
keeping Milwaukee from catching the Cubs last week. While you will
never see a No. 5 jersey on my body, I gained a ton of respect for
slugger Albert Pujols this week -- as he refused to call it a season
even though the Cards were out of it. Pujols played in these
meaningless games and really helped make a difference for his team.
The big question now is whether or not manager Tony LaRussa returns
-- if not, look for former Cub and Card Joe Girardi to take over in
St. Louis.
3. Illinois football wins their biggest game in six years:
Saturday was a coming out party in many ways for the Illinois
football team. Facing No. 19 Penn State at Memorial Stadium,
Illinois had a chance to beat a ranked opponent for the first time
in 20 tries. And this opponent was led by maybe the greatest college
football coach ever -- Joe Pa himself. And while Illinois won 27-20,
they were far from playing their best -- and that might be the most
encouraging news of all. This week, the test is even tougher --
Wisconsin comes calling -- and if Illinois passes this test as well,
look for Illinois to make the Top 25 rankings next week.
4. Notre Dame Football is really, really bad: Charlie Weis
was considered a genius with the New England Patriots -- serving as
their offensive coordinator for three Super Bowl champions. However,
his third year in South Bend is far from a masterpiece. How about an
0-5 start for the Golden Domers? And I'm not sure who they are going
to beat this year. When Regis Benn picked Illinois over ND, the N.Y.
Times said something must not be right -- even the other Regis from
New York (ND alum) raised the specter of illegal activity at
Illinois. Well, no cheating was uncovered at all, Illinois is 4-1,
and Benn is a big reason why -- think he regrets his decision to say
no thanks to Uncle Charlie and his 0-5 Domers? By the way -- Regis
was just named Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week!
5. Illini Midnight Madness is 10 days away! It's hard to
believe we are already thinking college basketball, but before you
know it, Illinois will be heading to Maui for a pre-Thanksgiving
tournament featuring teams like Duke, Marquette and Oklahoma State.
Coach Bruce Weber is taking a beating over recruiting failures, but
don't sell Illinois hoops short -- there is still some good talent
in Champaign-Urbana, and look for Illinois to make some noise on the
court this year. Look for seniors Brian Randle and Shaun Pruitt to
have great final years at Illinois.
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6. The Indianapolis Colts are the quietest 4-0 in the NFL:
All I hear about are the Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers (boo!)
and the New England Patriots, but Peyton Manning and crew are
winning games week in and week out. The defending Super Bowl champs
play the game the right way and look poised for another deep NFL
playoff run. Here's hoping coach Tony Dungy -- maybe the class of
all NFL coaches -- can muster up more playoff wins for the Colts.
7. The Chicago Bears and the St. Louis Rams are finished: If
you know me very well, you know I have a tendency to exaggerate from
time to time. But this, my friends, is fact: Both Chicago and St.
Louis -- teams with one win between them -- are cooked. They are
through -- and the curse of the Super Bowl loser continues. Chicago
especially cannot believe where they are after Week 4, as many
really thought they would be better in 2007 than in 2006. Granted,
injuries have decimated this defense, but you cannot give up 34
points in the fourth quarter to teams like Detroit (sorry, Bob
Frank) and expect to win games in the NFL.
8. The New York Mets had the worst collapse in baseball history:
The Mets led by seven games with 17 to play and lost their division
lead to the fast-charging Philadelphia Phillies. Despite their
enormous payroll, the Mets are heading to the golf course, and
manager Willie Randolph is left looking for answers. To make matters
even worse, the Mets went a combined 4-9 against Florida and
Washington down the stretch -- both among the worst teams in
baseball. And Sunday, with a chance to force a playoff with a home
win against Florida, future Hall-of-Famer Tom Glavine gave up seven
runs in the first inning and the Mets never had a chance. Somewhere
Ron Santo is smiling from ear to ear.
9. The Big Ten network has caused some problems for many Illini
fans: I've had a satellite system for the last eight years, so
this really isn't an issue for me -- DirecTV has been a partner with
the brand-new Big Ten network from the beginning. It's time,
however, for the network and big cable to get together, and in a
hurry. Fans all across the Midwest are the real losers, and both
sides need to back up and make this happen. I don't know the
specifics -- I'm sure money is the bottom line -- but it is sad when
most of Champaign-Urbana cannot watch Illinois football or
basketball games.
10. The high school football regular season is 66 percent
complete: It doesn't seem possible, but just three
regular-season games remain in the season. The playoffs begin the
weekend of Oct. 26-27. It will be exciting to see if area teams can
make a run to the playoffs -- including the 2-4 Railers, who have
three possible wins left on their schedule.
Have a great week, everyone. Let's see what October brings -- can
the Cubs finally break the curse? Time will tell.
[Greg
Taylor]
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