The Bears Draft So Far

"I can see clearly now the rain has gone...

I can see all obsticles in my way..."

The Chicago Bears have made two good picks, thus far in the draft. They grabbed Chris Williams to save their weak and aging offensive line. He is from Vanderbilt, is quick, strong, and smart. All of which makes a good deal for the Bears.



They also picked him so they can move John Tait over to the Right side where he plays his best. Again, thinking of the team and how to help.

In what I considered a startling move, the Bears drafted Matt Forte in the second round. He is a running back from Tulane. Hey Cedric Benson, hear the footsteps? Yeah, I thought so.



Even in an interview Jerry Angelo is quoted as saying: “Maybe he’s (Benson) not the featured back we thought he’d be,” Angelo said of Benson. “He played well as a complementing back with Thomas [Jones]. When we thought we were starting to see a little something [last season], then he breaks his ankle.”

No, Bright-guy Jer, he’s not even close to the back you thought he was. He is a bust if he does not break out next season.

I was so glad the Bears did not draft the smallish Mendenhall from the U of I. I am all for local talent and he had a banner career in the Big Ten, but the Bears have a smallish running back in Garret Wolfe, and let’s see what he can do first.

The Bears also selected Earl Bennett, a wide receiver from Vanderbilt. I wonder if he will make the team that has Marty Booker, Brandon Lloyd and Mark Bradley? Hmm…you think?



Anyways, I suggest sometime today, the Bears snag a safety and a quarterback. More news to follow…

Talk About Loyalty

“We're loyal to you, Illinois”
--The University of Illinois Fight Song.

Wow. Talk about loyalty, I experience it.

You want to see some kinda pissed off fans, look no further than 50 minutes from Bloomington Normal southeast at the University of Illinois and their Fighting Illini teams.

Now as an ISU grad (Go Redbirds), I can honestly say that the majority of us ISU alums really do not follow their athletic programs. We cheer when they win, we encourage positive attitude, and personally I send my brother a headline on the rare chance that ISU beats Bradley in basketball, but realistically: it does not matter.

Those Champaign-Urbana people bleed orange and blue: and we are not talking about the Chicago Bears here, either.

I went to the Spring Scrimmage yesterday and had a great time. I really do not understand the Spring Scrimmage Orange and Blue Game point system; but basically the first and second and briefly third string Offense plays the first, second, and briefly third string Defense. The seniors play a final tribute on their field; there is a half-time program that awards most improved, best attitude—that kind of thing—for the players; they run new plays and give the players a practice before finals and they go off to their summer lives.

At then end of the game, everyone cheers, parents wave to their kids who played (kind of like high school), and the coaches meet with the media.

All is well and good at the University of Illinois except for one thing. You take away their Chief Illini symbol and those people will gang up and beat the hell out of you.

I mean it, too; I have never heard such a collective slew of angry fans in my life. They had “official” U of I merchandise available at discount prices and the fans wanted not much to do with it. I think the majority would rather wear a ripped up, tethered, and moldy Chief Illiniwek shirt that had been washed 100 times and was showing a faded peach color instead of orange than to ever consider wearing a bright, vibrant, Florida-orange colored, new shirt.

My God; how insane. Oh and mention how the University of Illinois might have been a bit demeaning to Indians and you may just have a reenactment of the Battle of Little Big Horn all over your ass.

So Jen and I went: she wore her U of I sweatshirt; I wore an orange fleece I had (our tickets said “wear orange”) and a blue U of I hat that I had acquired over the years; and we had fun.

I really do not understand their fans in another area as well. In our section, people were commenting negatively about an early lack of production by the offense, but I was cheering on the defense. Why don’t they understand: DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS. Their offense can be great, but if the defense blows; so does the team. Behind us sat some U of I coaches in residence as they commented on every play. Yawn…experts like that bore me (complete irony on my commentary on the Chicago Bears over the years is noted).

After the game, we went to Radio Maria’s (28 beers on tap) for a glass of wine for Jen and an IPA for me; and then we ducked across the street to the Blind Pig (incredible 28 beers on tap--go here to see this very cool dive: http://blindpigco.com and I say dive in the best way because this is a place I would visit every chance I could if it were here in Normal—they have 28 beers on tap as well) where I imbibed in a delicious Delirium Tremens and another Belgium Strong ale. Dan’s influence on me, I suppose as he recommended us to the bars. Can you image 56 beers (some are repeated as both have Pabst Blue Ribbon: PBR for the novices out there) in the same block.

“Heaven, I’m in heaven…”

Oh and by the way, before you rip on it; PBR is very good cheesy, cheap beer.

After watching the game, I think U of I has a good team albeit a small quarterback who is only a sophomore and an equally small back-up QB who is a freshman. Jen reminded me that in her opinion both are better than Grossman. Yikes! I watched a defensive end--#92--who is a stud and a half. Their corners are good as well, and their kick returner ran one back, ala Hester. They also had a great punter, which I mentioned to Jen (apparently too loudly) that they will need because of their lack of a running game; I seemed to feel some anger from those U of I fans near us.

Good thing I never mentioned the Indian symbol.

More Thoughts on the Peoria International Beer Festival

More thoughts on the beer festivals:

Anyone who says the flavors do not eventually run together is a complete liar.

They do.

Still, it is a good place to meet folks and see people one would not otherwise see except for the semi-annual event.

When Dan and I started going, the beer festival was $3.00 to enter; fifty cents for a four ounce sample. This year it was still fifty cents for the samples, just $13.00 to enter. So I spent $18.00 on my ten tickets and my fees: four dollars for two hot dogs; and of course you bump into people who give you tickets or you know people at tables who give you an extra bit of the brews.

I bumped into my former carpet cleaner guy who is branching out on his own. Everything he is doing is eco-green friendly; so I will hire him.

I bumped into Tom Gardner: now a distributor for Duvel Beer (Good guy to know) as Tom and I were college friends twenty some years ago. Tom married a girl on our floor (much the same as I did) and the difference is he is still married and has a son. Tom once worked for Sprecher.

I saw Keith and JC and Tisha there for a brief moment as they were entering as we were leaving. Always good to see them.

Any meeting/festival type of event brings out the best in all of us, as I am amazed at how many folks you recognize. I am also amazed that (and perhaps this is because we go early at 1:00 PM and leave around 4:00 PM before the crazies show) how well behaved everyone acts. There are lots of “excuse me” and “pardon me’s” as one makes it across the exposition floor. I am equally amazed that in going perhaps twelve of the sixteen years of this event how I have never, and I mean never, seen anyone throw-up or hurl their beer in a bucket. I mean it, never.

Today, as I read my festival book (which at earlier festivals was a sheet of paper), I am amazed further at the detailed descriptions of the beers and the countries and the breweries that fill the pages. The nice thing is Home Brewer Clubs (Galesburg, Peoria, Bloomington, Burlington Iowa and Macomb) are represented to sample their efforts. So many American Micro-Brews were represented, it would be impossible to list them all. My favorites are of course: Avery, Flying Dog, Left Hand, Two Brothers, Atwater, New Holland, Founders, Ommegang, Hoppin’ Frog, and Abita. From the international arena: Abbye Des Roca; Greene King, Kalnapilis, Okocium, Youngs, Erdinger, Ayinger, and so many more.

Safely stated, if you could not find a beer to your liking; you are either dead or you just hate beer—either of which is a shame.

Oh, and no gout as of yet and no hangover. Thank goodness.

another Beer Festival

“More beer, more beer…

All I want is more beer.

More beer, more beer…

All I want is more beer, more beer.”
--by Fear from the lyrics of “More Beer.”

Dan, Danny and I (Uncle, Cousin and me respectively) went to the 16th Annual Peoria International Beer Festival today.

Now before anyone jumps my case, I had the Cardiologist approval (reluctant as it was from Jim McCrisken) to go. Granted he was not fond of the idea, however I think he views me as a misguided son who has an amazing freewill. At some point, one just has to let the terror go. Now in all seriousness, he told me to limit myself (which I did) and to eat while there (which my two hot dogs prove). Good thing I am working on that cholesterol.

I sampled a few beers that I will share with my devoted readers:

Hoppin’ Frog Mean Manalshi Double Bock (very strong)

Karlovacko from Croatia (we toasted the memory of my Grandmother)

Erdinger Champs

Erdinger Dunkel Weisse

Ommegang Three Philosophers Belgia Style Quad (thanks good friend Tom Gardner—who was the distributor for this tasty ale)

Monkman’s Slaughter Strong Bitter (from England—I had to sample for the name)

Bishoff Falkenstein Hefe Dark—from Germany

The AbNormal Brewers (local guys)—Belgian Triple Play (with a Led Zeppelin Houses of the Holy emblem on the tap).

America’s Brewing Company Walter Payton Pilsner (which I tasted for the name and which was absolute crap).

Destihl Roggenbeir—Local Normal Beer at our new Brewpub-=-it is their much sought after Rye Beer.

Bastibe Brewery, Michigan—Bectar Des Dieux Triple (also very strong).

Breckenridge Agave Wheat—I read about it; sampled it; and decided that drinking piss from a goat would taste better.

Left Hand Brewery Widdershins Barley Wine (strong but not overpowering).

O’Fallon Peach Wheach (get the pun)—Complete crap volume II.

Atwater Voodoovator Doppelbock—A great dopplebock with a nice flavor.

Mahr’s Weisse—a nice clove/banana flavored Wheat Beer from Germany.

Floreffe Tripel from Belgium (Dan said less of a Tripel and more of a licorice-flavored batch).

Hirter Morchl Dunkel Lager—A dark Lager from Germany.

White Winter Sweet Mead—a nice flavor

White Winter Raspberry Mead—a nice flavor volume II.

I had the Meads at the end of the evening/afternoon as to cleanse the pallet o “beer flavors” and have something unsettling and sweet on the taste buds.

My favorite of the beers was probably the Hoppin’ Frog Mean Manalshi Double Bock, the Mahr’s Weisse, or the Atwater Voodoovator Doppelbock.

Usually I limit myself to wheat beers (Weisse) but I expanded my horizons this year. We’ll see if the gout or hangover haunts me tomorrow.

Cash Confusion

“They say the best things in life are free;
But you can tell that to the birds and bees
I want Money…”

I have to admit that I am somewhat of a stupid schmuck when it comes to money; I really do not understand it. Two scenarios have occurred which makes me feel more than foolish.

I entered one of those NCAA Basketball Pools at work. I know about as much about college basketball as I do brain surgery; but I picked some games, I knew Kansas was/is good; so I figured what the heck—give it a shot. In the south section, I won every game; in whatever conference Davidson is in I, like everyone else, was burned a bit; but I still had Kansas winning. The other two conferences, I guessed well enough. In any event, I was in first place as of Monday when I came back from break and as of this evening, I am still in first place.

If Memphis wins, I get third and if Memphis loses, I get first. Huh? Shouldn’t I get second? Just curious. Anyway, first place is $118.00; second is $50-something; and third is $18.00 or something like that. Go Jayhawks.

Hell, I have no idea how I did that well.

I also entered a bizarre scenario with my house. The mortgage rates dropped and I was told that if it drops ½ a percentage point, you should refinance. OK, so it did since November and I contacted my mortgage broker and she said the refinance was free. Then we figured the payments and how I would save about 20-18 K over the thirty year loan (a loan which I will shorten). However, this “free re-finance” was going to cost me $3,000.00 that I would “get back.” When I called to inquire as to how, no one called me back.

I somewhat figured it was time to cancel that deal. If the rates continue to drop (and as long as our boy George is sitting on the toilet seat next to the oval office it will), why not wait until it drops a whole point and THEN pay $3,000.00 in like October or something.

I figured out the mortgage broker is getting a cut—with some explanation from my Dad and his friend’s website. His friend is some sort of mortgage professional at a bank and his site showed that at the time of my re-finance, the rates were actually a quarter point lower than what the mortgage broker told me.

Since the divorce I have had to figure out my own finances, which has been a pain in the neck; but I am doing better.

I have always earned money well; the trick is to control it.

So I decided to cut back on eating out—as I need to lose weight; splurging on big ticket items—although I usually do not buy them; backing off buying CD’s; and wasting cash. I have also, over the last year backed off the comics; so all of the money should be pouring in soon.

Now for the real challenge—selling stuff I no longer need nor want on eBay.

I will be putting up the Kiss album collection soon. Any takers?