December 4, 2008

WHAT??

Of course being “the man” behind the bar means that I get asked a lot of questions. Most of them are “work” related and some of them are not:

What do you think about the situation at Notre Dame?

After I stop laughing, I say it couldn’t happen to a nicer university. As a youngster growing up outside of Philadelphia, I’ve rooted for Penn State Football as long as I can remember. I could never understand guys in the neighborhood who rooted for ND. It was kind of like those who rooted for the Cowboys. You have no connection, why do you root for them. Oh, I get it, they win a lot. I guess for that reason and their smug attitude (don’t get me started) Notre Dame was always a villain to me. Anyway, even though the schools have played only sporadically over the years (most recently a 31-10 win by the Nittany Lions in 2007) my lack of affection has never waned. Upon my moving to Chicago, I discovered that I was in a Fighting Irish hot-bed, and I couldn’t have moved here at a better time. The sloppy end of the Holtz-era, the never quite “up to standard” Davie-era, the George “we never got to know you” O’Leary-era, the “abbreviated” Willingham-era, and now the “I’m better than you are” Weis-era have provided me with constant bar-fodder. The one thing that I can’t get past is that this program has gotten worse with this guy at the helm. His 2 best years were with Willingham’s players! Any college coach should be given at least 4 years so that he could (presumably) see his 1st group to graduation.(stop laughing) Years 3 and 4 should be where you see the fruits of a coaches’ labors. Well, what you see is what you get, 9-15 in the last 2 years and that is inflated by the fact that they beat some god-awful teams(Michigan, Washington, San Diego State, Stanford, Navy, Purdue, wait, they were all god-awful!) this year to achieve a .500 record. Not exactly waking any echoes. Couple that with “the attitude” and you have one gi-normous mess. So what do I think? Keep Weis for the whole 10 years of his contract, because for all those that love ND that come into the bar, just as many than that come in to bash them, and when they’re happy, everybody’s happy, if you know what I mean. Kick ’em when they’re down!

What do you think the Cubbies will do this off-season?

I’ve been of the mind that financial considerations will play the biggest role in all of the off-season maneuvering. I don’t think this precludes them from having a very competitive team, it just means that Jim Hendry is going to have to get creative to build the roster he wants. Because the team is for sale, by a guy that is leveraged to the hilt, in the worst economic climate in memory and several key members of the team have contracts with escalating salaries, something was going to have to give. Hello Kevin Gregg! I have to admit even I hated to see Kerry Wood go. He was a CUB. He was one of those guys that you always envisioned being on the team when they won it all. But like Gracie, Ryno and the Hawk, he’ll have to see someone else take that place in Northside lore. But, as almost always is the case, it’s not who spends the most. It’s who plays the best. So what do they need? Changes in their everyday line-up, including that much talked about lead-off hitter with speed. The 2 things that the Cubs have to deal with in their lineup is that it’s too right-handed and too slow. I think that these will both be dealt with very soon, like during the Winter Meetings next week. But don’t look for Jake Peavy. I’d be stunned if he became a Cub, San Diego is not about to take Jason Marquis for him. It’s time to get a lead-off hitter. Do you think he’ll play 2nd base?

Are the Bulls worth watching?

Yes they are. And that is for 1 reason only: DERRICK ROSE! This guy is the real deal. The move he made against the Sixers (ouch) Andre Miller was an all-timer. (Can you say “poster-a-zation”?) The entire bar was buzzing. More impressive is that it was during a Bears game and people in the bar were actually paying attention.

Can the Bears actually do it?

Sadly, in today’s NFL, yes they can. I think that 8-8 will win their division and they’ll be the only team in it to achieve those “heights”.

Where’s the restroom?

Go down the hall and turn left at the cow, it’ll be on your left. That gets a reaction every time. Always go with a smile.