Good morning, Bears.
I see interim coach Dick Jauron and team President Ted Phillips listed on the agenda in the ad for the Bears fan convention this weekend. But not personnel boss Mark Hatley.
Oh, wait. I know. I’ll check the agenda for the fan convention held by the Redskins.
– A word about the XFL’s 10.3 overnight rating and 17 share for its debut on NBC: When the United States Football League debuted in March 1983, it drew an average rating of 14.2 and a 33 share–and that league turned out to be worth three bucks.
– An e-mailer who failed to leave a real name suggested the XFL’s camera angles are the work of the people who made “The Blair Witch Project.”
– Some oddsmakers in Las Vegas have raised the $1,000 limit on XFL games.
“And we could possibly see over-unders next week,” said Bob Scucci, assistant manager of the Stardust sports book.
Oh, goody, we’re moving closer to making it worth someone’s financial while to fix a game in a league run by people who have made millions at scripting endings.
– E-mailer John Henker: “The only sellout the Chicago Enforcers will see this season is Dick Butkus.”
– How can a Chicago team never be in Chicago? I mean, the Enforcers not only haven’t played so much as one down here, but they don’t live here, don’t practice here, don’t offer lame excuses that quarterback Tim Lester gives them the best chance to win. This is not our team.
No, wait. They don’t win. Yep, they’re ours.
– E-mailer Mike Thompson: “Can we get Bill Wirtz a job playing in the XFL? He can put his nickname on his jersey: `They Hate Me.”‘
– The NBA wants to promote its “Stay in School” program, and I’m thinking, tell players if they come out Jerry Krause might draft them.
– What do you get for the NBA fan who has everything? Try the floor to be used for the NBA All-Star Game at the MCI Center in Washington. Out the door for a mere $250,000, according to the NBA’s catalogue, the floor will be picked up after Sunday’s game and installed at the location of the buyer’s choice.
– The Knicks and Mavericks played two overtimes. Neither team reached 100 points. The NBA is in trouble.
– Heat coach Pat Riley figures the Lakers eventually will return to form because coach Phil Jackson knows how to summon mystical forces to win basketball games: “I’m sure Phil will go into his teepee and figure something out.”
– During this week’s “Beyond the Glory” on Fox Sports Net, Karl “The Mailman” Malone’s wife, Kay Malone, tells about the first time she met Karl: “He was signing autographs and I just kind of looked over and said, `Who is that guy?’ `Well, that’s The Mailman.’ So my first thought was like, OK, the first black postman in Utah.”
– Rating college recruiting classes of high schoolers is as silly as rating NFL draft classes of collegians. Nobody really knows how any of this will turn out . . . other than the Bears will blow their choices on offense, I mean.
– Sammy Sosa wants Andy MacPhail to pay him about $20 million a year, which is about the entire payroll for MacPhail’s old team, the Twins.
– The New York State Racing and Wagering Board delayed granting Yonkers Raceway a new license. Seems the board asked the raceway what its emergency plan would be in the event of “fire, natural disaster or other acts of God” and the response was: “We are developing a plan; presently, our No. 1 option is to say the rosary.”
– The end: CBS “Late Night” host David Letterman, on the XFL: “If I wanted to watch pretend football, I’ll just watch the Jets.”
