 Now, back to the wide
world of sports that so many of us follow closely. Several items
jumped out at me over the past seven days, including these:1.
Are the Illini really that good defensively? Granted, Western
Illinois isn't Penn State, Ohio State or Wisky (although they might
be better than Michigan), but the Illini really looked good on
defense. This was a nice change from the disaster last Saturday in
St. Louis, and hopefully Illinois can carry this over to their next
game at Syracuse this Saturday. J. Leman is really starting the
season off strong, and what about true freshmen Josh Brent of
Bloomington and Tez Wilson? -- they are going to be all-conference
and maybe more before their careers are finished.
2. Is Juice Williams the answer to Illinois' offense questions?
Man, I love Juice! In many ways he is the Dee Brown of Illinois
football -- their personality, etc. But he is going to have to do a
better job throwing the football. If Juice cannot connect against
1-AA WIU, how is he going to make plays against Wisconsin or Iowa or
Purdue? Juice has the best freshman receiver in the nation in Regis
Benn, but he has to do a better job of getting him the ball. Juice
needs a big game this week on the road.
3. Is there a more unlucky NFL player than the Bears' Mike Brown?
Here's hoping his knee injury isn't season-ending, but it doesn't
look good -- and those are Mike's words, not my own. I love this guy
-- he is exactly what an NFL safety should be -- but he can't stay
healthy. To compound matters, the Bears traded two defensive backs
during training camp, and if Brown is gone, the position goes from a
strength to a weakness.
4. Don't the Cubs or Cardinals want to play in October? The
answer in terms of play on the field would appear to be "no." The
Cubs haven't played good baseball consistently in well over a month,
and the Cardinals had opportunities to win all three games over the
weekend in Arizona and instead lost all three. This weekend in St.
Louis, when the two teams meet for four games in three days, may end
up just being a battle for second unless one or both teams get
going.
5. Are Michigan and Notre Dame really both 0-2? I know -- I
shouldn't find pleasure in the struggles of others -- but I'm
absolutely loving this. Funny, I haven't heard from any of the Irish
or Wolverine faithful lately. And you know what? Neither team looks
like they are going to do much anytime soon. Here's hoping the
Illinois high school studs are paying attention and will think
orange and blue instead of maize and blue or the golden dome.
6. Who is this Rick Ankiel -- Roy Hobbs or Barry Bonds, Mark
McGwire, Sammy Sosa? I'll be honest -- I don't know what to
think about the article in the New York Daily News about Ankiel and
HGH. My Cardinal friends insist if he used his one-year
supply at all, it was for medical reasons only. The rest of the
world is giving me the wink-wink when I explain where my friends are
coming from. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle -- and
that's not good news for Ankiel.
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7. Do people really want Bruce Weber to be fired? To read the
message boards and hear fans talk, you would think we were back in
the Lou Henson era. I mean, do people realize Weber has more wins
the past four years than anyone in all of D1 basketball? Anyone! It
doesn't matter -- the hate is flying and people are ready to replace
Weber with coaches we've never heard of. Talk about the ultimate
"what have you done for me lately"!
8. When, if ever, will Rex Grossman get it going? I've always
been a huge Grossman supporter and would like nothing more than for
him to really make a positive statement in 2007. However, I'm
beginning to wonder if Brian Griese won't be starting at QB by
mid-October. Rex has all the tools, and the needed attitude as well
-- but he has to start getting it done on the field. Otherwise, the
Bears' Super Bowl dreams will remain just that -- a dream. Come on,
Rex!
9. What happened to the "Greatest Show on Turf"? Remember
Warner and Faulk and Bruce and Holt -- the Super Bowl appearances
following '99 and '01? No team in the NFL was more fun to watch on
offense -- and I could barely stomach what I watched from noon to 3
on Sunday. Stephen Jackson coughed up the ball repeatedly and Marc
Bulgar couldn't deliver when he needed to most. A new era has
arrived for the Rams -- and it's not looking pretty.
10. Will anybody be able to stop the Indianapolis Colts in 2007?
We have to end on a positive note -- and the Colts' opening night
domination of New Orleans was the most impressive 3 1/2 hours of
football I've seen in a while. Reggie Bush, Drew Brees and crew
looked like the 2007 Michigan Wolverines, and the Colts, behind
Peyton Manning, looked ready to repeat. If Indy can bring the
defense game-in and game-out, the Colts are going to be really tough
to beat. Now if only the Bears can kick it into high gear!
Upcoming games:
-
Cubs at Cards --
Four weekend games: 7 p.m. on Friday, Comcast Chicago and
Fox Sports Midwest; noon on Saturday, WGN and Fox Sports
Midwest; 7 p.m. on Saturday, Comcast Chicago and WBUI 23; and
1:15 p.m. on Sunday, WGN and WBUI 23.
-
Illinois at
Syracuse -- 11 a.m. Saturday, ESPNU
-
Kansas City Chiefs
at Bears -- 3 p.m. on Sunday, WCIA, Channel 3
-
Colts at
Tennessee Titans -- Noon on Sunday, WCIA, Channel 3
-
San Francisco 49ers
at Rams -- Noon on Sunday, WRSP, Channel 55
[Greg
Taylor] |
