The average pencil is seven inches long, with just a half-inch eraser - in case you thought optimism was dead. ~Robert Brault
Both optimists and pessimists contribute to our society. The optimist invents the airplane and the pessimist the parachute. ~Gil Stern
The nice part about being a pessimist is that you are constantly being either proven right or pleasantly surprised. ~George F. Will
According to a lady I met at the bus stop yesterday, the Bears will finish 13-3. She also advocated concentration camps for immigrants and publicly controlled eugenics. But it was her take on the Bears that caught my attention. She claims that the Bears will roll over their three division opponents and that the Pats and Jets will be playing scrubs to prepare for the playoffs.
Oh sure, that whooshing sound you heard was logic jumping out a window, but it was fun to listen to her. Since we were the only two white people on the stop, I can also assure you that everyone else was deeply amused by her take on things.
I should note that she had a voice like a fog horn. It was kind of hard for anyone to ignore her.
Fortunately for the police blotter, everyone was laughing too hard to get mad at her. Some folks just illicit that kind of response.
Or, as one young man put it, “13-3? Lady that may be the craziest s**t you’ve said yet!”
Even so, the Bears are 8-3 and find themselves knotted in a tight race for the playoffs. BRADD BIGGS at the Tribune takes a more realistic view of the games to come.
While the Soldier Field crowd erupted to the video board broadcast of Matt Bryant’s 47-yard field goal that lifted the Falcons over the Packers before Sunday’s Bears’ game, Lovie Smith said someone had to inform him of the news in the locker room.
“They told me Green Bay lost before we played,” Smith said Monday afternoon at Halas Hall. “But we were just kind of concentrating on Philly, if you believe that.”
Given the significance, it would be more believable if Smith had said he was glued to a television underneath the stadium. When the Bears did their part to gain sole possession of first place in the NFC North, it surely led some fans to start checking airfare prices to Dallas for the first weekend in February.
The Bears are 8-3, a game behind the Falcons (9-2) for the best record in the NFC.
They’re riding a four-game winning streak for the first time since 2006, with a trip to Detroit (2-9) next. With five weeks to go, it’s shaping up to be a terrific race in the NFC.
There are seven teams with seven wins or more in three divisions — the Bears, Packers (7-4), Eagles (7-4), Giants (7-4), Falcons, Saints (8-3) and Buccaneers (7-4). Two of them will not make the playoffs. If the postseason began this week, the Bears would have the No. 2 seed and have a bye before hosting a divisional-round game as they did in 2005.
The road ahead is still treacherous. The Lions are 2-3 at home and two of the losses were by three points before they squandered a double-digit lead to the Patriots on Thanksgiving. The Bears then play host to the Patriots (9-2), travel to face the Leslie Frazier-led Vikings (4-7) on Monday, Dec. 20, host the Jets (9-2) on a short week and close the season at Green Bay on Jan. 2.
“Do we talk about home field for the playoffs?” Smith said. “We talk about winning every game each week. We talk about winning our division. We have the same goals each year. We realize the landscape right now. This late in the season, you need to pay attention to that a little bit. Those things take care of themselves if you continue to win.”
Here is what is certain: The Bears control their own destiny in the division. If they win out, they will be NFC North champs for the third time under Smith.
“That’s all you can ask for in this league with everything being so close,” tight end Greg Olsen said. “When things are in your hands you say, ‘Hey, it’s up to us.’ If we fall short, it’s no one else’s fault.”
The Packers control their own destiny too. If Green Bay wins out, the worst it could do is finish tied with the Bears atop the North at 12-4. The Packers would be crowned division champs based on the fourth tiebreaker to determine division champs — conference record. That’s just one reason why home losses to the Seahawks and Redskins could haunt the Bears.
In terms of the wild card, the Bears win a tiebreaker over the Eagles after the win and lose a tiebreaker to the Giants. All three South Division teams have a better NFC record than the Bears, and that would be the first tiebreaker used.
In a column for NFL.com, Pat Kirwan, a longtime league executive, scout and coach, predicted the Bears will miss the playoffs with a 10-6 record. They’re on a roll right now and are confident they haven’t peaked.
“We’re in great position,” defensive end Israel Idonije said. “We’ll look at who’s the best and all those other things later.”
Kind of like a scene from Mad Max, isn’t it? 7 will enter, 5 will leave.
Maybe not.
No one can say that the Bears haven’t been a vastly improved team since the bye week. But does that make them akin to the best rapper in Utah or a legitimate contender for a hit? I’m not sure, but I do know I’ll be watching every week to find out.
CLICK HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE SUPERBOWL
Click here to buy Superbowl tickets
Follow us on Twitter!
Tweet
Okay, fun’s over. No, really. Just tell me who those guys were wearing Bears’ uniforms yesterday? Was that really Jay Cutler making smart decisions and handling the offense like a charioteer? Was that really Mr. 3 Yards and a Cloud of Dust, Matt Forte, scampering for double digit yardage more than once? Was that the Bears’ offense in the red zone actually scoring? Was that Tommie and Chris Harris, not to be confused with a Harris -vs- Harris remix, combining to pick off the unpickable Michael Vick? Was that the Bears defense actually removing the word “bend” from their “bend but don’t break” mentality? Was that really the vaunted Eagles’ team that showed up on Sunday?
C’mon. You can’t kid a kidder. Prove to me beyond a shadow of a doubt that those were the Bears we’ve seen all season and I still won’t believe you.
Yet, I have to.
By half time fans knew this was over and the Bears were going to win. Barring a meltdown of epic proportions, they were manhandling the Eagles in every facet of the game, this was in the bag. And you knew, as I knew, that said meltdown just wasn’t going to happen. Whatever Lovie slipped into their pre-game Gatorade, this was the most focused any of us have seen the Bears in years.
RICK MORRISSEY at the Sun Times saw the same game we did and swallowed the same crow.
This had nothing to do with luck or a soft schedule or sidelined adversaries or the possibility that Michael Vick’s body clock was set to Kazakhstan time.
This had everything to do with a Bears team that, finally given an opportunity against a real, live, talented opponent, rose to the occasion and made us naysayers say, in so many words, yea.
With a 31-26 victory over the Eagles on Sunday, the Bears proved they belong among the top teams in the NFL. Will they stay there or are they just on a day pass? That’s beside the point right now, considering the abuse they took from those of us who had suggested a fraud investigation of the 2010 Bears was in order.
They were for real Sunday. And there’s every reason to believe they’ll keep it real the rest of the season.
They put on a dominant performance against the Eagles, who had beaten the Colts and the Giants during a recent three-game winning streak.
What Sunday taught us nasty doubters is that the Bears weren’t in position to do anything about the friendly schedule they had been given for their first 10 games. They played whoever showed up, weak as those teams might have been, and they beat most of them on the way to a 7-3 record. We judged them on what we saw, and we didn’t see much.
What we saw against the Eagles was as complete a game as the Bears have played in awhile, perhaps in years.
‘’Just keep doubting us,’’ wide receiver Earl Bennett said. ‘’We’re just going to continue proving y’all wrong.’’
The Bears play Detroit on Sunday, so there will be only trace amounts of doubt. And you’d have to be concussed to doubt the Bears when they play the Patriots at home the following week. Too many good things happened at Soldier Field on Sunday to not believe in this team moving forward.
You decide which of those good things was the best thing:
Matt Forte’s 61-yard run in the first quarter?
Vick’s first interception of the season, after a Tommie Harris tip into the hands of Chris Harris?
The long kick returns by Devin Hester and Danieal Manning?
Or how about the monster 17-play, 83-yard drive that burned 10 minutes, five seconds off the clock in the third quarter? It resulted in a measly 23-yard field goal, but it threatened to suck the soul right out of the Eagles.
Jay Cutler played superbly and under control—there might be a correlation there. Offensive coordinator Mike Martz stayed level-headed. But let’s face it, this is a different game if Forte doesn’t go off on that long run in the first quarter. It made Philadelphia respect a running game that hadn’t warranted respect much of the season.
Defense? All I know is that Julius Peppers caught Vick from behind in the fourth quarter, and what looked like the potential for late-game heroics turned into a one-yard gain. A 6-7, 283-pound defensive end chasing down one of the fastest players in the league? OK, if you say so.
Anything else? As a matter of fact, yes.
It wasn’t enough that Chris Harris intercepted Vick in the second quarter. And it wasn’t enough that he told himself before the play he was going to pick off the pass. He told himself how he was going to pick off the pass. You can’t teach that.
‘’I was talking to myself, and I said, ‘Chris, this ball is about to get tipped, and you’re going to get one,’’’ he said.
And then there was Cutler, who threw four touchdown passes, two to Bennett. He was almost as good at avoiding pressure as he was at throwing the ball.
The Bears find themselves alone in first place in the NFC North. They are the owners of a four-game winning streak. They had a chance to serve crow on a plate to yours truly after Sunday’s victory, but many declined.
‘’We’re not out there trying to get revenge,’’ tight end Greg Olsen said. ‘’We take a lot of pride in playing well and playing hard and doing everything we can to win, regardless of what goes on and what’s said. To say it adds fuel to the fire, I think we have a lot of pride to play well with or without that.’’
I’ve criticized coach Lovie Smith for his laissez-faire sideline approach, but the only thing that matters is that his players respond to him.
The Bears have fewer enemies now, but they know they’re out there, even in the stands at Soldier Field.
‘’I guarantee you if we would have lost, they probably would be saying we suck,’’ Forte said.
Now that’s the Bears I know. But they earned the right to crow.
Okay, show of hands please. Who picked the Bears and Bulls to be in first place in their divisions at this time of year while the Hawks are struggling?
Okay, now, only those who don’t own tinfoil hats.
Thanks. That’s what I thought.
One thing the Bears made clear yesterday is that they aren’t who we thought they were. More importantly, with 5 games left in the regular season, they’re hitting their stride and getting better. David Haugh at the Tribune even dared mention “Super Bowl” without irony. Since he’s been the team’s sole supporter during the tough times, I’ll cut him some slack.
Then again, who knows? He may be smarter than all of us. After all, he’s been the true believer.
Follow us on Twitter!
Tweet
I started, and trashed, 5 different articles about the Bears today. Every single subject lead me to talk about something else. I was beginning to feel as though I needed those special meds to turn off the radio in my head. Things became exasperated when I noticed that my friend Marice is celebrating her 21st year as host of Behind the Lyric. That lead me to re-watch one of my favorite videos that she did. There’s something about scantily clad women and kitchen utensils that drove me even further off topic.
I can’t imagine what.
Like The Ex Senators opine, I was suffering from that “A.D.H.D. deficient mind disease.”
Somehow I was able to return to the topic at hand. Well, more correctly, I was able to discern what should be the topic at hand. I picked “The Bears.”
With that out of the way, I began scouring the papers for something that would provide useful information without fawning over their current record. Much to my surprise, I found it.
The Tribune’s DAN POMPEI popped open his mail bag today to talk with fans about their concerns. Since they mirrored, nicely, many of the concerns voiced by bloggers here, my problem was solved.
I might be nuts, but with the Bears defense returning to Pro Bowl caliber, I think they can have success against the Eagles and Mike Vick. The main reason I feel this way is the way the Bears linebackers have had success against Vick in the past. The have good outside containment and usually Brian Urlacher has been able to shadow Vick effectively. Do you agree? Steve Cserpnyak, Arvada, Colo.
Yes and no. The Bears have never played against the new and improved Michael Vick. He is a different animal now and a much better passer. If he plays the way he did against the Redskins two weeks ago, there is no defense that is going to contain him. That being said, if any defense can match up with Vick, it’s the Bears. They have very good team speed. They have disciplined pass rushers. They excel at playing zone, so defenders will be able to keep their eyes on him. They have good tacklers in the secondary. I don’t think I would use Urlacher as a spy on Vick, as some have suggested. If the Bears want to spy Vick, Danieal Manning is the man.
Am I the only one that thinks Jay Cutler holds the ball to low (near his hip) when he’s setting up to pass which leads to a long throwing motion (see Randall Cunningham) and fumbles because on sacks it’s easy to pin his arms against his sides and then strip the ball (check the first sack/fumble in Thursday night’s game)? The long throwing motion also gives defensive backs more time to react so the interceptions are not surprising to me. It seems to me he and the team would benefit if he would learn a more classic setup holding the ball close to shoulder height like Peyton Manning or Dan Marino for instance. Tony Yager
Football coaches are never going to point to Jay Cutler as an example of textbook technique. I agree with you that he does hold the ball low. And he would be better off holding the ball higher. But if no coach has been able to get Cutler to pay more attention to technique up to this point, it’s probably unlikely that any coach ever will get through to him. There have been many quarterbacks through the years that don’t do it exactly the way you are taught to and have gotten away with it. Cutler is just one of those guys. As long as he makes good decisions with the football, he can get away with less than perfect fundamentals.
Jay Cutler seems to fumble every time he is hit. What is his hand size and is it below average for an NFL QB? Dave, Dubuque, Iowa
Cutler has a hand span of 9 3/8 inches. Those are average sized hands for a quarterback. But he does fumble a lot. He has eight fumbles this year, and 48 in his 62 NFL games. For comparison sake, Aaron Rodgers has no fumbles this year and 23 in 49 NFL games. Cutler’s fumbles probably are more attributable to the fact that he often holds the ball low (see above), and he tends to take some big hits.
What would it take for a 10-6 or an 11-5 team to miss the NFC playoffs this year? And could that be the Bears? And if it is the Bears, would that cost Lovie Smith his job? John McPherson, Champaign
Let’s assume the Bears finish 10-6 but finish second in the division to the Packers. That means they need would need to make the playoffs with one of two NFC wild card spots. Now, let’s assume the Eagles, Falcons and Seahawks will stay on top of their respective divisions. That means the Bears’ primary competition for a spot likely be the Bucs, Saints and Giants. It is entirely possible that two of those teams could have tiebreakers over the Bears. The Giants already have the head-to-head tiebreaker, though the Bears have one more victory at the moment. It is not uncommon for a team to win 10 games and miss the playoffs, but an 11-win team is almost guaranteed a spot. In terms of whether or not Smith would be fired if he wins 10 or 11 and misses the playoffs, that’s a tough question, and it’s one only the owners of the Bears can answer. But it’s starting to look like the chances are very good that Smith will remain the coach of the Bears next year.
Is there such a thing as an offensive face mask penalty for a stiff arm? I have seen it called on lineman but it seems running backs and wide receivers get away with what I would consider a face mask penalty on stiff arms frequently. Charlie Johnson, Sarasota, Fla.
If a player twists, turns or pulls a facemask, he is hit with a 15-yard personal foul penalty. But if he just pushes a facemask, there is no penalty.
I watching an interview with Charles Tillman on WGN and noticed he had red eyes. Hope he is not sick, and this is just a left over from his Thriller Halloween costume. What’s up with that? Mitch, San Diego, Calif.
Tillman wears performance lenses during games that make his eyes appear red. They are supposed to reduce glare and make moving objects easier to track. It’s definitely a freaky look, though.
With the obvious need to address the offensive line in the offseason, how does this upcoming draft look in regards to depth at the position? Joe, Chicago
From the looks of it now, there aren’t expected to be a lot of top of the draft blockers available. It’s not a great year for offensive linemen. There are a number of prospects who could go late first round or in the second round however. If the Bears keep winning, they could be in position to take an offensive lineman in that range.
Does every team have assistants or scouts who prepare specifically and only for their divisional opponents all year round? I think they should considering that divisional games in essence count twice as much as the other games on a team’s schedule. Clark, Palo Alto, Calif.
It varies from team to team. Typically, one pro scout is assigned each team, and he stays with that team all year. Sometimes, it’s broken up by division. That scout will often be responsible for “advancing” an opponent, as well as writing up every player on that team’s roster for free agency purposes. In the case of the Bears, two of their pro scouts take 11 teams and a third scout takes 10. That scout is assigned the NFC North division.
See? I bet you learned something today. I know I did.
One thing’s for certain, the Bears are going up against their toughest opponent of the year thus far. Despite all of the focus on the new and improved Michael Vick, the Eagles have a scary defense, solid special teams and several offensive weapons. Plus the Eagles will get fed by Mrs. Vick the night before the game. Even so Chet Coppock is advising his readers to give the points and take the Bears. Since Chet’s wearing the same fur coat he’s worn since 1978, you should take that for what it’s worth.
CLICK HERE TO SHARE YOUR KNOWLEDGE
Follow us on Twitter!
Tweet
The Circus Trip is an annual event for the Bulls. It is also an annual slate of losses. Shoved on the road for an extended period, forced to practice where ever they can and denied the comfort of their own facilities, it has never been a recipe for success.
And yet the Bulls are in first place in their division.
With Carlos Boozer out with injury and Loul Deng unmovable, many prognosticators had the Bulls hitting December with a .400 or less winning percentage.
And yet the Bulls are in first place in their division.
Forced to play multiple back to back games, against very good teams, in hostile environments is usually a recipe for disaster. See the current Miami woes as “Example ‘A.’”
And yet the Bulls are in first place in their division.
When a team is tired and sore and down by 23 points in the first quarter, it is usually a sign that the game’s over and you may as well wait for the next one. But no one told the Bulls that. That’s one reason why they’re in first place in their division.
The Sun Times’ very own JOHN JACKSON was at the Bulls/Suns game last night and can only admit amazement at what he saw.
Nearly an hour after the Bulls’ exhilarating and exhausting 123-115 double-overtime victory against the Phoenix Suns late Wednesday night, center Joakim Noah was the last player remaining in the visitors locker room at US Airways Center and was struggling with the simplest tasks.
Putting on his shirt was a major effort, as was tying his shoes.
‘’I’m not feeling too good right now,’’ Noah said after compiling 17 points, 15 rebounds, five assists and two steals in 44 minutes. ‘’I’m feeling pretty beat up. I’m pretty sore.
‘’Physically, I’m pretty low right now, but mentally, 150 percent.’’
The game wasn’t the best the Bulls have played this season, but it was the epitome of how they’ve won three of the first five games on the usually crippling circus trip for an 8-5 overall record.
The Bulls were far from perfect and made a slew of mistakes in falling behind by 23 in the first quarter, but they overcame it all with a gritty, determined effort.
‘’We’re the type of team, we’re grinders and we’re never gonna stop,” said point guard Derrick Rose, who had a game-high 35 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. ‘’We can be down 20 points, 30 points. We never want to be in that situation, but if we’re forced to be in that situation by the way we’re playing, we’re gonna come back.”
After falling behind by 23 points with a horrendous start, the Bulls began cutting into the Suns’ lead and got it down to 12 by halftime. The Bulls closed the deficit to eight early in the third quarter, but Phoenix countered and got the lead back up to 18 points midway through the third.
The game appeared over at that point, and the deficit still was 11 with less than nine minutes left in the fourth quarter.
But the Bulls kept chipping away. James Johnson (12 points on 5-for-6 shooting) had a huge three-pointer and a dunk on the fast break, and Noah stole the ball from Suns point guard Steve Nash to set up Johnson’s dunk. Rose then tied the game with two free throws with 14.7 seconds left to force overtime.
In the first OT, the Bulls went scoreless for nearly 2½ minutes, and they trailed by three with 12 seconds left. But after getting the ball back down two with 4.3 seconds to play, Noah found Rose on a nice backdoor cut for a reverse layup to tie the score at 111 with one-tenth of a second left on the clock to force another extra session.
‘’That was nice; that was just very nice,” Noah said. ‘’It should have been an ‘and-one.’ He got fouled.’’
Replays appeared to show Suns forward Grant Hill hitting Rose on the arm, but at that point, the Bulls were happy just to execute a last-second play to extend the game.
The play actually was designed for Rose to come off a screen and get a handoff from Noah on the perimeter, but Hill cheated on the top side of the screen, so Rose back-cut toward the basket. Noah, standing on the wing at the three-point line, didn’t hesitate and made a perfect pass.
‘’That’s just from playing with Jo for so long,’’ Rose said. ‘’He’s a good passer. People are denying me the ball, so all I have to do is make one move backdoor, and I should be open.”
With new life, the Bulls controlled the second overtime to secure the victory.
They flew to Denver for tonight’s game against the Nuggets immediately after Wednesday’s game, but the only team activity on Thursday was a Thanksgiving dinner at Elway’s Restaurant.
‘’It was a huge win,’’ Noah said. ‘’It feels good to win right now. The thing that sucks about the league is we can’t celebrate it for a week. That would be great to be able to celebrate a win like this.
‘’It’s not a week, but we’ll eat some turkey.’’
I think it’s nice that John Elway fed the Bulls yesterday. That’s good sportsmanship writ large.
The fact of the matter is this, the Bulls could be 3-10 or 4-9 and no one would really be complaining. They have more than enough excuses and traditionally start slow anyway. That’s why this year is catching so many people unaware. Now is not the time of year for Bulls’ watching. They can usually be ignored until mid-February and then you glance over to see if there’s any hope for a playoff shot. That’s the way it’s been for over a decade. But, suddenly, those preconceived misconceptions are being forced aside. And for a very good reason.
The Bulls are in first place in their division.
CLICK HERE TO RIDE IN OUR CLOWN CAR
Follow us on Twitter!
Tweet
Thanksgiving is the time of year people set aside to reflect on their lives and give thanks for the good things they have. Think of it as Yom Kippur for Goyem. When I was a young, little, Big Bad my aunt Ginger used to love Thanksgiving. The family gatherings, the food, all of it. I distinctly remember her wishing for four years to pass quickly so she could be “Flirty Thirty” for the holiday. Sadly that was not to be as MS took her before she even saw her 27th. Her mother, my step-Grandma, Mrs. Page, taught me the joy of singing in the bathroom to drown out the other noises. She was thoughtful that way. She also made everything fun. Even Ginger’s funeral was a celebration of her life and not a dirge. I learned a lot from them.
Had I known then, as I do now, the mental health issues that my biological grandmother had to overcome, I would have been amazed that we had any holiday at all. Yet, every year we did. Even if it meant she had to leave the house, she was severely agoraphobic, she put on her best dress and brought a pot to the dinner. When you’re six you don’t appreciate that stuff. But I’m glad she lived long enough for me to figure it all out.
They say that a man is judged by the company he keeps. If that’s true then my life has, thus far, been worthwhile. I have friends whom I’ve known for 30 years or more and each day I find new people who manage to brighten up my life. It is my sincere hope that I’m not sullying their’s.
Last year, the day after Thanksgiving, I lost my job and watched events set into motion that would end my marriage. It was, to be subtle, not my happiest moment. Yet, here I am a year later, surrounded by friends and loved ones, getting ready to enjoy a traditional turkey feast and spend a stress free afternoon watching the Lions and the Cowboys imitate professional football teams.
Life may not always be great, but it can be pretty darn good.
The photo below does a nice job of encapsulating my world. Assembled for a promo shoot for Nude Hippo, which airs now on Comcast Channel 252 (NBC 2.0), by its producer Tony Lossano, you’ll find both old and new therein.
During the two decades I’ve known him, Tony’s talked me into proclaiming “I AM WOMAN!” on a live TV show and once got me to get on a fire boat at 6:00 AM without coffee. The latter moment forced a certain cable channel to revisit its rules on profanity and greatly alter them.
I am nothing if not groundbreaking. I am also not very pleasant without my morning coffee.
Nevertheless, getting me to dress up like a demented barrister - or aging boy band refugee, take your pick - wasn’t that much of a problem. For those who’ve never seen me before, that’s really me to the far left of the photo. And, no, that’s not my real hair.
The woman I am fondling is Leo Burnett’s very own Amy Zanglin. She asked me how I learned to give such good massages. I, unfortunately, answered her honestly. We’re all hoping that another couple rounds of therapy will have her right as rain. Even so, in the brief time we’ve known each other I’ve come to appreciate her sense of joy for all that life has to offer. Seated next to her is Q-101’s Tim Pogo. He’s one of those incredibly gifted, immensely talented, profoundly humble people whom you find hard to believe exist. I have no idea what he’ll end up being famous for, but I assure you that it will only scratch the surface of what he’s capable of. Standing next to him is former Fiesta Bowl Queen and Ice Crew Girl, Ashley Lobo. Ashley is one of those perfectly perky people who can be positively perky no matter the circumstance. She’s so perky that not even decaf will slow her down.
We’re talking perky on amyl nitrate here.
While I’m not a big fan of perky, Ashley’s a sweetheart and she’s grown on me. Now I can’t imagine my world without her.
Seated in front of Ashley is Nick Rosario. In the decade and a half that I’ve known Nick I’ve never known him to let anything get him down. He’s one of the nicest, and kindest, men I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. He’s the only person, besides the producer Tony, who’s been with Nude Hippo longer than me. The fact that he’s managed to retain his sanity is a testament to his character. I can sum him up this way; if you ever need a kidney, Nick’s your guy.
Directly behind Nick is JBTV host Jeff Baraka. While we’ve only met briefly, his quick wit and ready smile makes me think that he’ll enrich anyone’s life. Even mine. One thing I do know is that his boss, Jerry Bryant, has been my friend for decades and only hires first rate people. Just being there is a kudo for Jeff. The woman preparing to stab Jeff is, former Chicago Rush cheerleader and professional dating consultant, Ann Philippon-Sheehan. What’s not to like about Ann? From her deep, abiding, love of porn to her affinity for Lisa Lampanelli, Ann is the complete package. She’s also very funny and personable.
Bonus? If she wasn’t happily married to her wonderful husband she’d be rocking a scented water-bed with Ashley.
Yes, you’ll carry that image to your grave and, yes, you’re welcome. Those two take BFF to a whole new realm.
Directly in front of Ann is the voice of US 99 and WGN (AM), Gina Ferraro. Although she’s diametrically opposite me politically, I never let little things like that get in the way of liking folks. After all, Ron Paul’s Vegas campaign manager, Joe Machietto, was the best man at my wedding. Who am I to say who’s right or wrong? One thing I’ve noticed about Gina is her razor sharp intellect. Yes she’s pretty, but if you let your eyes wander up a little you’ll find a formidable brain.
Go ahead, your eyes won’t be mad. Well, not for long anyway.
As you can see, there’s a little bit of everything in this one photo.
I could go on and thank all of the other people in my life but I’m deathly afraid I’d forget one. You all know who you are and I hope you know just how much I appreciate you.
Yes, even you.
While this is more of a personal blog today, I feel safe in saying, on behalf of the admins - Hino, South Side Slim, Big Star, Toko and myself - Happy Thanksgiving!
Have a safe, and joyous, day.
Sincerely,
BigBadBill
Follow us on Twitter!
Tweet