ScottsBigMouth

Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler!

It was quite possibly the best underdog victory in all Super Bowl history.  Saints, you have earned our respect.  What's more, you have FINALLY brought NOLA BACK to what it has deserved for SO LONG!  ScottsBigMouth salutes Chicago's sister city New Orleans on the Saints' victory tonight!

 
 

Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler!

(Something tells me NOLAPD will let 'em party without end tonight!)

Congratulations Saints!

ScottsBigMouth's "Digital Footprint" for the Chicago Marathon

That's right, guys, we'll be down in the race zone, collecting stories of inspiration and perspiration.  We're proud to dedicate our B.A. donation to the Aids Marathon Training Fund.  We hope you do too.  See you along the route! -ScottsBigMouth

Bears v. Packers Just About To Start

OOOOOHH!!! Maybe...maybe...maybe...could be.  Is this the year?  I mean, the Cubs and the Sox are both questionable for anything this year.  GO BEARS, BEAT THE PACK!!!

The Little Horse That Could Gives A Lesson In Perseverance

Did you happen to catch the Kentucky Derby on Saturday?  I have to admit, I almost missed it, but my Grandma gave me a call to MAKE SURE I was watching it this year.  She apparently knew something was about to happen that I didn't, and she focused my attention on the race, urging me to tune in.



In the biggest upset in 96 years at the Derby, 'Mine That Bird' schooled the field, even after being roughed up right out of the gate.  Post-race video analysis revealed that jockey Calvin Burrell, himself a survivor of sorts, guided 'Mine That Bird' from the back of the pack after the horses on either side of the undersized colt literally squeezed them hard out of the gate.

The effect, though, was to propel the little horse and its country boy rider like a rocket threading a needle through the pack to win in a margin that has not been seen in a generation.  Its a lesson that the "little guys" in today's world might take as a hot lesson in perseverance.

Rather than giving up while in dead last, 'Mine That Bird,' with Burrell piloting, rode the rail all the way to the front to take the Run for the Roses, shocking the sports world.

So all the little guys out there--take a lesson from 'Mine That Bird' and Calvin Burrell.  You CAN rocket to the top when all the established, moneyed, well-heeled competition is beating you up.  Most importantly, you can win the biggest race of all, all you have to do is refuse to give up.

Rather Be? Bah..."Who Would You Rather Be With?"

Sometimes I get so tired of sportswriters assuming all their readers are coming at a question exactly from the same mindset they are.  This morning's Sun-Times piece by Neil Hayes poses the classic straight boy fantasy of "Which Chicago star would you most like to be?" and runs through seemingly all the options, finally settling on the Blackhawks' Patrick Kane and Johnathan Teows as his personal "most" wannabe duo.

Strangely enough, though, in pointing out the myriad of reasons that Kane and Teows are so awesome, just like the typical homophobe jock, Hayes tiptoes around the question of "who's hotter?"  I mean what's the point of all this sport hero worship, Neil, if you're not going to go there and ask the question that your straight female and gay male readers, many of whom are equally rabid Blackhawk fans as the bellybutton-lint-hunting straight boy set, are REALLY asking?

Why can't you just go there, Neil, amidst discussing all the "wing man" potential that Kane and Toews may hold, analysis of their youth and salaries, and their local celebrity profiles?  The truth is that a lot of your readers are already asking the question in their minds even though you didn't ask it.  "Who would you rather be with?"

Neil Hayes and fellow sportswriters:  If you're going to do TMZ just to get readers, then go all the way like TMZ does.  Otherwise, stick to stats, scores, injuries, and performance.  You can't handle doing real celebrity worship, lest you be branded a homo, or worse...a real sports journalist.

Signed,

A Gay Male Fan of Kane and Toews

POST-GAME Photo from Soldier Field Mensroom

Brent Tweeted this just a few minutes ago...a lot of guys are relieved in more ways than one! "LIVE from Soldier Field, The Post-Game!"  Hilarious!

BREAKING: ROBBIE GOULD=MONDAY NIGHT HERO; KICKS IN OT TO WIN! BEARS 20, PACKERS 17

CHICAGO, IL; SOLDIER FIELD - In a heart-stopping final 5 minutes of the coldest NFL game hosted at Soldier Field since 1963, Kicker Robbie Gould is a hero tonight; kicking the Bears to victory and keeping the Bears' post-season hopes alive.

The -2 degree kick-off didn't stop the Chicago Bears from moving forward towards the post-season, with a 20 to 17 win over the Green Bay Packers, televised globally on ABC's/ESPN's Monday Night Football.  Gould carried the night with two repeated perfect kicks in the clutch; the first to clinch the OT over the Packers in the last 4 minutes of the game, and the second a game-winning kick.

The Bears were helped over the weekend to keep their post-season alive, with 4 different teams losing, and the Packers giving up tonight's game; the result being a win-or-die bid for the post-season berth, against Houston next week.  Between kick-off and game's end, the temperature in Chicago climbed 8 degrees from -2 to 10 degrees, and ABC/ESPN reported on-air that the game was the coldest game hosted at Soldier Field since 1963.

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Has Zell Run TribCo Into The Ground?

When Sam Zell took contol of the venerable Tribune Companies just a couple of years ago, questions abounded from columnists, politicians, and business folks alike about what it could mean for the media empire.  Based upon a report from the ChiTrib this morning, the answer may "6-feet-under."

Phil Rosenthal and Mike O'Neal broke the news in the Trib this morning that Zell and his minions are working with law firm Sidley Austin and investment bank Lazard to evaluate TribCo's options.  It would seem that Sam Zell, never one to step away from a fight, took on a heavy amount of debt in order to score a win with the Tribune buy.  The debt comes due today, and now there is about $13 billion in leveraged debt sitting on TribCo's shoulders.

One must ask what effect that a bankrupcy filing would have on the two most visible facets of Chicago life that TribCo represents. Tribune's media properties (The Chicago Tribune, RedEye, WGN TV and WGN radio), several of which recently saw "makeovers," that even to amateur observers' eyes obviously cost serious cash to execute, are the most threatened media properties in the market.  In particular, WGN TV has spent heavily to upgrade studio facilities, imaging (graphics, promo, etc), and signed big name talent Mark Suppelsa from WFLD Fox Chicago.  WGN AM 720, also in transition, announced last week that John Williams would be moving to the wakeup slot from mid afternoons, apparently under a bit of pressure.

The second, of course, is the Cubs.  So far the TribCo restructuring has not restricted Jim Hendry and Lou Pinella from doing what it takes to be competitive.  This year, though, with the threat of a bankruptcy looming, will they have what they need to hire stars and pay salaries to win a World Series?  So far "the curse" has persisted, and Zell now may have exacerbated the situation by ego-based administration.

Is Sam Zell running our favorite stations and team into the ground?  Does he really have any idea what he's doing?  I'm no expert, and would not be good restructuring companies because I actually care about the people who work with me, so I'm probably not the best person to ask.  However, it would seem to my untrained eye that Zell has so violently hacked at the newsroom's resources, put unqualified peeps in charge of the restructuring, and spent on weakening the journalistic integrity of TribCo's properties; that now it is going to affect the Cubs too.

If Zell has so weakened TribCo's overall strengths that the entire enterprise is weak, it could force the Cubs to be sold for much less than they're worth as a whole.  This effect could be a simple "star on the Christmas tree" after the little grinch has already chopped it down and it's lying in the cold wet snow.  Is anyone in the board room downtown telling the Emperor that he has no clothes on?  Someone better wake him up before there isn't anything left to sell or restructure, or whatever his master plan calls for next.

UPDATE: AS OF 2:08 PM ASSOCIATED PRESS WAS REPORTING THAT TRIBUNE CO. FILED FOR CHAPTER 11 BANKRUPTCY PROTECTION IN DELAWARE, CLAIMING $13B IN DEBT AND $7.6B IN ASSETS.  MORE INFORMATION...AT TV NEWSDAY.

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