Bring Me the Head of Aaron Rodgers

I don't have too many useful football thoughts, but here are some more.

Sunday's 3pm game vs the Packers may be rendered meaningless in terms of the Bears' playoff position if either the Saints or the Falcons win earlier in the day. But I think the Bears need to do whatever they can to knock the Pack out of the playoffs.

Yes GB has been decimated by injuries, but in the last three weeks the team that has been on the field has been playing much better in spite of missing players on both sides of the ball and having an o-line as questionable as that of their rivals from Onion Town.

By the way, I may start marketing giant onion heads to rival those damn cheese hats.

Fuck them hats.

I don't hate the Pack like the Damned Twinkies. I have said multiple times during the season to those who indulged my useless pigskin musings that I admire what McCarthy has built up there and what he has done to lead this team through all the shit they faced with injuries to key players including the very very good and getting better all the time Aaron Rodgers.

If the Bears have nothing to play for and start resting guys to prevent injury that is understandable. Football seasons seem to be about keeping as many of the core guys as healthy as possible going into the playoffs and putting them in position to make plays.

If the Bears' thought is to rest guys and not show their hand either on offense or defense in a meaningless last game of the season, so be it.

But they should be mindful that the Packers are a dangerous rival, and not just because they are from Wisconsin or some dopey reason like that, but because they have a dangerous big-time talent at the most important position in football.

They should take advantage of the weak Packers o-line and the fragile state of their quarterback and blitz on as many plays as possible with whoever is in the game. Marinelli should invent some stupid blitzes, run the 46, do whatever he can to raise hell in Mister Rodgers' neighborhood. I don't want to see anyone's career ended, but it's football. It's a physical game. If there's nothing for the Bears to play for don't even try to stop the shitty Green Bay running game.

Bring the house and let the chips fall where they may...

The chips, in this case, being Aaron Rodgers' head.

Post-Christmas Ass-Bust

Lots of product back from the labs. Worked my ass off all day, managed to listen to everything but haven't even sent a quaarter of all the shit back to customers. No big deal. I will just have to kick more ass on Tuesday.

It can be done.

Good news on the Rav4...all the shit with the brake lights was sound and fury signifying nothing.

Well, not nothing - just a bad sensor. Thanks and much love to our friends at Illini Tire for sussing that out for us.

Fuck all dealers, always and forever.

Watching the Saints and the Falcons with the chihuahua. She looks a little nervous.

If I know our Cookie, she's got 50 bones on the Saints in the Georgia Dome and she bet the over.

Christmas Lights

Within 24 hours of realizing we probably spent a little too much on Christmas this year...esp after just redoing the living room and hallway floors...

warning lights flashed on both vehicles.

The Pontiac looks like the intake manifold gasket is the problem. It is now referred to as the intake money manifold motherfucker.

Multiple brake lights flashed on the Rav4 and as everyone knows you need whatever braking power you have when those things accelerate unintendedly.

I'd say I took it all in stride, but that's a lie. I never take anything in stride. I don't think I ever strode into anything or anywhere in my life. It's just not my style.

I put it behind me, did the shopping for Kim's Christmas Day meal, which was fantastic as usual. Enjoyed time with the family and am currently building a giant-ass Lego castle with the boy.

Life is good...

...at least until I get the bill.

Leaders and Legends and Dumbasses

What the hell is wrong with people?

The Big Ten tries to pick the most neutral, boring, conflict and partisan free name for its two divisions and everyone is up in arms because the names "Leaders" and "Legends" are vanilla and meaningless!

My biggest problem with the two divisions is I keep adding up these lists of schools and I get fucking twelve.

Delany and his cronies need to do at least this much - change the name of the whole damned thing to The Big Ten Base 12 (which still doesn't make much sense but at least it is amusing to me) and then change the names of the two divisions to "Losers" and "Laughingstocks" - BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT THOSE DUMBASS TEAMS WILL LOOK LIKE IN FOOTBALL IF THEY COME BUT AGAINST ANY OF THE POWERHOUSES IN THE SEC OR PAC 10!

I'm sending Alex to Kish.

Quit Yer Bellyachin

Let me preface this by saying most professional athletes face tons of pressure and have more difficult jobs than I do...

but I don't want to hear the damned Bears and the stupid Vikings complain about playing on a frozen field at the University of Minnesota.

YOU ARE FOOTBALL PLAYERS!

IT IS MINNESOTA IN FUCKING DECEMBER!

YOU ARE NAMED AFTER VIKINGS AND BEARS - PLAY IN THE COLD AND LIKE IT!

Sure, real bears hibernate in the winter but if that's the case they can either shut the hell up and go to sleep (and not complain about the cold anymore) or go out there and maul the damned Vikings and shut them the hell up about playing in the cold.

Dammit.

Everybody is a stupid crybaby except for me.

Sweet Winter Blues

Our house is a bloody mess but the living room is coming together. Tired. I am eating and laying around too much but it is what I always seem to do when the weather turns and winter comes to the Midwest Coast. I don't mind. There is just a little hibernating bear in me that longs to say, "Fuck the Ranger Boob! What's he ever done for us?"

Resting with Kim. We are listening to Joanna Newsome as the cold wind blows outside. Happy.

Resting Peacmaker

Richard Holbrooke died Monday after complications to repair a torn aorta. Holdbrooke served as Special Representative to Pakistan and Afghanistan and as special advisor to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Mr. Holbrooke was probably most famous for his role in the Dayton Peace Accords ending the war in Ohio.

Big Project Makes World Better

Big project going on at our house...lots of shit to do at work and at home.

Very little time for my pointless commentary.

And the world is a better place.

Without the Ball

Alex came back from basketball practice last Thursday with two stapled pages in his hands. He said, "These are our big plays, "Huskie" and "Wheel". I'm the center, I have to study the "Wheel" because I get to pick two guys."

Every night since that practice he would finish his schoolwork and then get out his two plays and review them. Sometimes I'd see him downstairs practicing how he would start on "Huskie" and where to stand for the "Wheel". He didn't even get embarrassed when I walked into the middle of his practice. He said, "Coach Dennis said it is important that we know what to do without the ball."

On game day he woke up at 7am, we showed up at the gym an hour and a half early and watched his friend Michael play. Alex couldn't wait to get out there. When he did, he played just about the entire game with his head up and in position. He scored his first basket of the season after getting an offensive rebound, because he knew where he had to be...

...without the ball.

God bless you my son. It is a privilege watching you learn and grow and take responsibility for things. You are a great kid, a good teammate and hopefully you are becoming a man who knows where and how he has to be.

This Dead Cub

...and that's as mean as this post is going to get.

I've pounded Santo pretty hard over the years for being bad at his job. I never doubted that he loved coming to the park and broadcasting with Pat, I just am not someone who appreciates a rah-rah guy for the sake of his rah-rahiness.

I recognize I am bad at my job of being a blogger but, in my defense, no one pays me for this shit.

There's no point in painting Cub fans with a broad brush re: Santo or anything. It is possible there is more to the guy than rah-rahiness and Cubbie culture or junk like that. Good people loved that man for the job he did. He brought enjoyment and laughter, and sometimes tears to decent people who turned to baseball to forget about the troubles of the world for a few hours. The fans who loved Santo represent something good in baseball and being a fan in general. The world is richer the more love that is in it.

Now let's all band together and try to at least get one of his hairpieces into the Hall of Fame for cripes sakes!

Butt-Faced Fish

Picked up Alex after work and we went to T 'n J's to study for Thursday's science test. One of the questions is: "When an animal imitates the characteristics of another animal for protection or some other purpose, this is called - BLANK"

Alex said, "Mimicry."

I looked at his study guide and said, "That's correct son. Can you give me an example of mimicry?"

"Oh yeah," he said, "There is a deadly fish in the ocean that shoots poison from it's butt. All the other fish in this part of the ocean are scared of this fish. There is another fish that doesn't have any poison but when one of its predators comes around it blows up it's face to look like the butt of the poisonous fish and that usually scares the enemy away."

Very well then. Long may you run...er, swim Butt-Faced Fake Poisonous Fish.