Keep bringing misery
CHICAGO — On behalf of a stalwart band of Chicago South Side Irish who just happen to revel in Golden-Dome misery, we earnestly implore Notre Dame’s Board of Trustees to extend Charlie Weis’ contract an additional 20 years so that our Sunday-morning Tribune can bring continued, unbridled joy in our reading of failures of historical proportions for our remaining years on this earth.
— Ed O’Donnell
Show him the door
NAPERVILLE — Charlie Weis … Move him on!
Charlie’s right when he said “and with a good portion of these guys now with two years under their belt coming back for next year, you’d have to say you have a chance of being pretty darn good!” No argument there.
However, while acknowledging current player maturity and game experience that should help that statement to come true, where does coaching come into play, and what value should we expect the head coach to add? I’m thinking maybe any player progress that we see this year, might just be due to the natural process of the passing of some time, not coaching.
So, let’s get a coach who can motivate 18-19 year old kids. And, maybe teach them fundamentals. Send Charlie back to the pros. And hope he finds another Tom Brady to help him fill up those other fingers and, perhaps, land another silly 10-year contract (shame on you Notre Dame) somewhere down the line.
— Tom Priddy
Mediocre Bears
LAKE FOREST — Lest Bears fans get too giddy over their 6-5, first-place team, consider the following:
*The teams the Bears have beaten are a combined 20-45, while the teams that have beaten the Bears are a combined 38-17.
*Their highly touted and overpaid defense has no pass rush (except against the 2-9 Rams), a below-average secondary, and only one decent linebacker (not Brian Urlacher).
*They have no legitimate wide receivers, an average quarterback, and an aging and ineffective offensive line, not to mention an overpaid kick return specialist who no longer returns kickoffs.
Lovie Smith does the best he can with the hand Jerry Angelo has dealt him, so the fans should get off Lovie’s back and place the blame where it belongs — in the GM’s lap.
— Bob Karlblom
Forte does it right
BARRINGTON — I just watched Matt Forte run for a 47-yard touchdown and when he got to the end zone, he didn’t act like a fool. How absolutely refreshing to watch a class act in professional football.
— Randy Rigby
Find new trophy
PARK RIDGE — I am not an alum of either Northwestern or Illinois and, as a taxpayer of Illinois, I have found the tradition of Chief Illiniwek to be embarrassing. I was relieved by his demise.
However, I am sorry to see of the end of the “Sweet Sioux” trophy, since that type of rivalry can be a lot of fun. I think there is an easy way to save it, with a new tradition and a trophy found in Illinois. Representatives of the two schools should simply go to the Field Museum and select a replica of the museum’s famous T-Rex. The one named “Sue.” Perhaps she wasn’t particularly sweet during her heyday, but that was eons ago.
The tradition would then continue as “Sweet Sue,” centered on a significant artifact based in our state.
— Cynthia N. Schneider
Trade Gordon
CHICAGO — John Paxson, after all your major blunders (not keeping LaMarcus Aldridge or not drafting Brandon Roy, dumping Tyson Chandler in favor of major bust Ben Wallace and not trading Ben Gordon to Charlotte two draft days ago when Michael Jordan salivated over him and would have “given you the house”), you have a chance to redeem yourself.
With the Clippers’ recent addition of Zach Randolph and their need for a big-time scorer, you can once and for all dump Gordon for some major value (i.e. Chris Kaman). The key is timing.
— Scott Sargis
Stick to real issues
DEERFIELD — President-elect Barack Obama stated in an interview that the BCS championship should be settled by a three game-eight team playoff to determine the national championship. “It would add three extra weeks to the season. You could trim back on the regular schedule. I don’t know any serious football fan of college football who would disagree with me on this.”
I am a serious fan of college football and I disagree. You cannot cut back everyone’s schedule to benefit eight teams. The schools need the revenue of the eliminated games to help balance the athletic budget. Men’s football and basketball programs (maybe college hockey where it is played) are probably the only athletic programs that make a profit and are expected to support the entire athletic program. We don’t need more deficit spending. President-elect Obama, stick to national politics. The BCS is fine the way it is.
— K. Ashley
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