By Mike Luce

To think, just last week we were caught up in the last gasp of BCS controversy. Debate raged. Hypotheticals proliferated. Questions swirled.
With a win over ‘Bama, could Auburn leapfrog Ohio State for a berth in the national championship? (Florida State’s bid was a foregone conclusion.) What if Missouri won the SEC championship over Auburn; would they deserve consideration?
How weak was Ohio State’s schedule, anyway? Missouri, Auburn – same question.
Who plays for Northern Illinois other than Jordan Lynch?
Why isn’t the Pac-12 nationally relevant?
Can we veto UCF’s automatic bid to the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl?

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Posted on December 13, 2013

By Carl Mohrbacher

Thanks, Dallas!
I wish all Bears opponents would utilize the kind of strategy the Cowboys brought to the frozen lakefront.
And by “strategy,” I mean use an implausibly successful running game to lull the Bears defense into a false sense of ineptitude, only to unleash a passing attack that consists of nearly a dozen total completions.

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Posted on December 12, 2013

By Dan O’Shea

In a week when many fantasy football leagues opened their playoff slates, wintry weather had a major effect on almost every game played. The result: Probably more than a few top seeds suffered upsets.
If you were a winner, you very likely had one of the following surprise Week 14 stars on your team. Can you continue to count on them in Week 15?

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Posted on December 11, 2013

By Jim Coffman

Hey Jay Cutler, let’s be clear about one thing. You need to be perfectly healthy if you are going to return to the Bear lineup. It won’t a problem if Josh McCown goes back to the bench if a 100 percent fully recovered starting quarterback is replacing him.
But that guy who took the field against the Lions a few weeks ago? The one who wasn’t completely healthy at the start of the game and then got worse as the contest went on, especially from the start of the second half on? We better not see that guy again this season after McCown, who had been very good so far during his run replacing Cutler, was great against the Cowboys in a 45-28 win last night.
In becoming the first Bears quarterback since Jack Concannon in 1970 to pass for four touchdowns and run for a fifth, McCown posted his seventh (7!) consecutive 90.0-plus single-game quarterback rating. Plain and simple: Cutler has never put together a streak like that.

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Posted on December 10, 2013

By The Harlem Globetrotters

No green screens were used – it’s the real deal!
The Globetrotters – founded in Chicago by Abe Saperstein in 1926 – will play two games in Rosemont on Friday, Dec. 27, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

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Posted on December 9, 2013

By Mike Luce

In case you’re curious, The College Football Report uses the Associated Press rankings.
This is for no other reason than how ESPN shows the W/L record – we prefer to see both the total record and in conference play. In contrast, CBS Sports uses the BCS rank* but only shows the total record – although CBS does display the point spread. Let’s just say we rely heavily on the ALT+Tab** keyboard shortcut.
There’s also the Deadspin rankings, complete with Deadspin-like commentary, and the “Best Worst Ten,” which ranks the worst teams in college football – always a good time.

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Posted on December 6, 2013

By Carl Mohrbacher

Hm? There was a game last week? I watched the Redskins-Giants football match. It must have slipped my mind the Chicago Athletes played . . . oh, right right right. Chicago Bears. Got it.
Heh, you know what’s really weird guys? How Jay Ratliff suddenly wants to be called “Jeremiah.”
That’s noteworthy!
You know what else is astounding? Matt Forte officially passed Neal Anderson for fitting the most Cracker Jacks in his mouth at once.

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Posted on December 5, 2013

By Dan O’Shea

As many fantasy leagues head into postseason first-round match-ups this week, fantasy owners may feel there is not much left to do but ride your regulars as far as they can take you in the playoffs. That’s one approach, but another is to try finding a hot fantasy player with a few strong match-ups of his own over the last few weeks of the season.
Denver rookie running back Montee Ball might be one such option. After a pretty quiet start to his career earlier this year, the University of Wisconsin product has been very good the last couple of weeks. Even though he is the clear No. 2 RB for the Broncos, he had 117 rushing yards in Week 13. His late season build-up could continue in Week 14, when Denver plays the Tennessee Titans. The Titans have an above-average defense overall, but actually has allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to running backs this year, according to Yahoo! stats.

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Posted on December 3, 2013

By Jim Coffman

Coach, you must know the saying, “if you don’t acknowledge your mistakes, you will repeat them.” Oh, and we can add that you will infuriate Bears fans and hasten your departure from our fair city?
I also know, coach Trestman, that you love to get into analytics to explain decisions and your almost-two-minute treatise on why various, shifting probabilities caused you to eschew a timeout late in Ravens game regulation a few weeks ago was a classic in the form.
Maybe the problem here is that the specific analytic involved in the decision that drove fans around the bend on Sunday was too simple. Clearly the idea that a kicker is more likely to hit a shorter field goal than a longer one lacks the sort of complicated sizzle that would make it appealing to the ultra-smart, or at least to those who love to play smart on TV.

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Posted on December 2, 2013