I Guess Cubs Games are Boring

The Cubs actually won last night but it wasn't exactly exciting. A 2-1 victory that lasted over 3 hours and didn't end until a walkoff by Nate Schierholtz. So can you really blame the out of town scoreboard operator for falling asleep?

Poor guy. The Cubs are so boring they're putting him to sleep. Hopefully the Ricketts family doesn't fire him for falling asleep on the job.

(Via @bubbaprog)

The Cubs Don't Care About Your Curse

The Chicago Cubs haven't won a world series since 1908 and haven't even been to the world series since WWII ended. Whether the Cubs are cursed or just have bad luck, don't tell that to the players. Yesterday the Chicago Cubs players wore t-shirts that said, "F**k the Goat" a playful reference to the Curse of the Billy Goat. Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune has the rest of the story.

Several Cubs players donned T-shirts Tuesday that read "(Blank) the Goat" on the back and had a cartoon goat with the international no symbol on the front.

Bringing up the so-called curse of the billy goat was a way for the players to poke fun at the legend that began during the 1945 World Series.

"Do you embrace this, or go we don't want to talk about this?" manager Mike Quade said. "Me? I don't care. … I find the whole conversation comical. I'm not Dr. Phil. Do you embrace it? Do you want to laugh at it? Do you want to hide from it? To me, I come to the park every day. The Girl and the Goat is a restaurant, and that's all I ever think about. Somebody like (Kerry Wood or Ryan Dempster), guys who have around that deal with this all the time. … OK, so they come up with a slogan. This is how we're going to do this.

"I have news for you. When you take the field, nobody is thinking about the goat, whether they're wearing the T-shirt or not. That's the way I look at it. I'm sure it makes interesting conversation around town. I hope the T-shirt is right."

Will some take it the wrong way, with the Cubs bringing up the curse during a losing season?

"Why?" Koyie Hill said, "I think it's just kind of a loose, fun saying that came up, and it was funny as hell, and now we have T-shirts. Basically, that's all it was. It was an awesome joke. Everyone laughed. And now I have an extra large on."

Too bad the Cubs players can't put this kind of creativity in their play on the field. They would be undefeated on the year! 

The Links

Jessica Burciaga to start the mourning..... Kids taught to praise Obama..... Michael Vick is ready to play.... Hasselbeck wants to play despite broken rib.... Nazi soccer team brothers, bury the hatchet..... Sad testimony from John Travolta..... Jude Law is a baby making machine..... Ammunition sales continue to spike..... Marcia and Jan Brady still don't like each other.... This was an actual test in a class room. This is the exact reason why a lot of people didn't want Obama to give that speech to our children at school.

Bobby Cox deserved another year to be the Braves manager (AJC)

Michael Cameron to the Cubs? (MLB Daily Dish)

I keep telling Mookie that Greg Knapp is an idiot (Field Gulls)

Hines Ward has no plans to comply with the rule named after him (PFT)

Does sex improve an athletes performance? (The Big Lead)

Reading this article makes me wish I could play for the New Jersey Nets (YahooSports)

The New Jersey Nets have just become of the most interesting franchises in all of sports (NJ.com)

Don't blame Tony Romo for just being an average quarterback (Austin Statesman)

Why Bruce Bochy refuses to play Buster Posey (McCovey Chronicles)

Kimbo Slice vs. Roy "Big Country" Nelson next week on TUF (Cageside Seats)

Kayne West has taken time out of his schedule of calling people racists and interrupting and belittling little girls to make basketball picks (Slam Online)

Linda McMahon's first political ad (HHR)

Baseball Update: An Open Letter To Cubs Fans

The Baseball Update is a look at the happenings around Major League Baseball

Instead of looking at the entire NL Central this week, I thought I would write an open letter to all the Chicago Cubs fans.

Dear Chicago Cubs fans,

Let me start by saying I feel for you. You haven't seen a World Series win by your team in over 100 years and haven't seen the team in the series since 1945. Trust me I feel for you. Since the Giants moved to San Francisco they haven't won a World Series. Sure they have been to three of them in San Francisco ,but they didn't win. They were robbed by Bobby Richardson and the Yankees in 62, robbed by an Earthquake in 89, and robbed by Dusty Baker in 02(see we do have common ground, we both hate Dusty Baker). Like yourself, I want to see my team win a World Series badly. Like you, I keep telling myself if the Phillies can win one so can we. But unlike you, I realize my team isn't going to win the Series this year.

I already see you are blaming the umpire for Carlos Zambrano's meltdown from yesterday. You might as well blame the umps for all the injuries on the team, because that is how ridiculous it sounds. The ump was in the wrong yesterday, he did blow that call. But Zambrano must keep his cool and not take out his frustrations on a poor and helpless Gatorade cooler. But sadly his tirade will be the signature moment of your season.

The Cubs season has been an entire meltdown. This was the year the Cubs were suppose to right the ship(of course we said the same thing last year). This was the year the Cubs had pitching(the same thing was said in 03). And this was the year the Cubs had all the offense they needed to compete with the Phillies and Red Sox. But sadly injuries have put the Cubs into a tailspin. Sure the Cubs are only four games behind the Cardinals for first place. But let's be realistic, there is no way the Cubs make the playoffs this year.

The Aramis Ramirez injury is just too costly to the offense. He was the glue in the middle of the order. Since he has went down with a shoulder injury, the Cubs offense has gone from one of the best in the league to one of the worst. Right now the team is 25th in the majors in team average. Hell even the Giants have a better team average. The other Cubs hitters have been exposed since his injury. Derek Lee's disappearing act hasn't help though.

Also though you are finding out the true story to Rich Harden's career. Harden is perennially injured. He can never spend the entire season without at least making one trip to the DL. Oakland A's fans found this out a long time ago.

So you can keep telling yourselves the Cubs will make the playoffs, even though they are really just feeding off of week opponents. Hell I keep telling myself the Giants will win the NL West(which isn't true because the f-ing Dodgers aren't going anywhere). But that's all right. Because we have both witnessed our teams over the years disappoint us, but we keep coming back to them. There is always next year. That is something I have told myself about the Giants, and HBO documented you telling yourselves that.

Hopefully we can keep in touch and maybe schedule a therapy session together. Until next time.

Sincerely, Keith

Video of the Day: Watch You Language Bob!

There are a lot of words that play-by-play and color commentators use that we constantly ridicule. My all-time favorite is "deep penetration" even though they don't mean it in a dirty type of way.

Well there is a new phrase we can ridicule a commentator for. "Jerked off" was used by Chicago Cubs commentator Bob Brenly. Watch and listen to the video....



I still like "deep penetration" more, but "jerked off" can grow on me.

You decide which one you like better?

Dead Goat Found Hanging On Harry Caray Statue

We all know the Chicago Cubs haven't won a World Series in over 100 years. We also know about the Curse of the Billy Goat.

And if you didn't know let me refresh your memory. Back in 1945 the Cubs were in the World Series. A tavern owner bought a box seat for the Series for his Billy Goat. He was ordered to remove the goat from the stands. Then he claimed that he left a curse on the Cubs and that they will never host a World Series game again.

The Cubs have promptly never hosted a World Series since then. Hell, they haven't even been in a World Series since then. They have had several failures since then. Like the teams decision to go with a college of coaches, the collapse of '69, and loses in both the '84 and '89 NLCS series, and of course Bartman.

So even if you don't believe in curses, this one could have some validity.

And then there was yesterday. When someone reminded the fans of Chicago of the curse.

"A dead goat was found hanging on a statute of Harry Caray outside Wrigley Field early Monday on the North Side. A similar incident occurred in 2007, police said.

About 2:40 a.m., police responded to a 911 call indicating a dead goat was hanging from a rope on the statue of Harry Caray outside Wrigley Field at the intersection of Clark and Addison streets, according to Town Hall District police.

The goat was hanging on one of Caray’s outstretched arms, according to police, who took the goat down and disposed of the remains. It was not known how the goat died and nothing was damaged, according to police.

There is not a "no trespassing" sign and a surveillance camera located nearby is not set on the statue, according to police, who said a similar incident also occurred in 2007, when a butchered goat was found hanging from the statue. No one was arrested in Monday's incident."

Boy I would have loved to seen that. A dead goat hanging off Harry Caray's outstretched arms. I bet that spooked the locals.

In all seriousness, I do feel for the Chicago fans. I am an San Francisco Giants fan and they haven't won a World Series since moving to the City, and haven't won a series since 1954. They have also had failures in playoff games and a certain World Series game that I'd rather not talk about.

I hope I see either the Cubs or Giants win a World Series in the Future.

Dead goat found hanging on Wrigley Harry Caray statue (Chicago Sun-Times)