BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN

The soap opera known as the Dallas Cowboys wrote off its Susan Lucci this week when they cut wide receiver Terrell Owens. And as is the case with any news surrounding T.O., the news received more than any other NFL off-season story thus far; falling right behind Alex Rodriguez admitting to steroid use and just ahead of Tiger Woods’ return.

So, in case Chicago Bears general manager Jerry Angelo wasn’t aware that free agency had begun—and by all indications he was given the wrong date—it is okay to sign players to a contract to improve the team.

Am I suggesting Angelo sign Owens to an incentive-filled two-year contract? No, I’m demanding it.

I get all the downfalls to having a player like Owens in the locker room. He’s worn out his welcome in three cities and pissed off his quarterback at each stop. If the Bears inked him and someone handed him a shovel around week nine I would understand if there were a rumor that he wanted to bury Kyle Orton alive.

ESPN First Take’s Skip Bayless has trademarked the creative nickname for T.O. “team obliterator”—it’s fair and nothing more needs to be said to understand all the trouble he has caused in the past.

But what if there’s not much of a team for Owens to obliterate? Nothing much in place to actually ruin?

The Bears finished 9-7 last season, though two wins came against the Detroit Lions so for all intents and purposes they are a seven-win team. You say they only missed the playoffs by one game and could get in next year? I say I have some Cubs World Series tickets to sell you for $5,000 a pop.

In actuality, the Bears have gotten worse since they were basically handed a playoff spot on the last week of the season if they could have only beaten the Houston Texans.

Angelo, whose talent evaluation of receivers is only slightly better than Ben Bernanke’s economic insight, has left the Bears roster barren at the position.



After cutting ties with Bernard Berrian, Mushin Muhammed, current Titans No. 1 Justin Gage and Mark Bradley Angelo tried healing the wounds with Marty Booker and Brandon Lloyd. Unfortunately, both band-aids are now gone and the current depth chart lists Earl Bennett of the zero catch club and two converted defensive backs—Rashied Davis and Devin Hester—ahead of him. Hester isn’t a No. 1 and Davis is barely a No. 4.

Owens would become the best receiving threat on the roster, the numbers don’t lie. And while there may not be a quarterback on the roster to get him the ball on a consistent basis, any offense with Matt Forte, Owens, Hester and Greg Olsen will score points.

The pattern with Owens is a nice honeymoon of good behavior in his first year with a new team followed by downward spiral in year two. The two-year deal here is perfect and should allow Orton to develop, the Bears to draft a QB and let him develop (hello, Graham Harrell) or a signing to compliment Owens before year two.

Worst-case scenario here is pretty simple: a below average team turns bad with “team obliterator” and wins five games instead of eight.


But if Angelo believes the Bears have the defense to win now then he needs to be all in on offense as well. Defensive stars Brian Urlacher (31 when the 2009 season begins), Charles Tillman (28), Alex Brown (30) and Lance Briggs (29 in November) aren’t getting any younger.

So, pick up the phone Mr. Angelo, free agency is underway. It’s okay. And remember, if T.O. steps out of line Olin Kreutz still controls the locker room.

In Chicago, they refer to him as “Jawbreaker.”


Speaking of criticizing general managers, I actually liked the trades Bulls GM John Paxson made at the deadline a couple weeks ago, somehow unloading half the roster and getting back decent talent and contracts in return.


Brad Miller is a decent low post presence whose contract comes off the books in time for the 2010 free agent class while John Salmons is a nice player signed to a very reasonable $5 million per year deal thru 2011.

Paxson says he has a definite plan for how to approach the summer of 2010—so do half the teams in the NBA. Forget LeBron James, for the Bulls Plan A involves Chris Bosh and Plan B involves Amare Stoudemire. If he fails to land either player then Mayor Daily needs to turn a blind eye to the tar & feathering that will take place next to the MJ statue.

The scary thing here is that I have no faith Paxson’s “plan” is the right one, do you?



Opening day is getting close and the best story out of the White Sox new spring training facility is the condition of senior citizen Jose Contreras. In all seriousness, he was supposed to be out until July after tearing his Achilles tendon last season—some feared it may have been career threatening. But he showed up in Glendale, Ariz., 25 pounds lighter and is already throwing in the bullpen. It’s possible that he will break camp on the 25-man roster. That’s terrific dedication and a great way to set the tone for the upcoming season.


Meanwhile, on the first day of Cubs camp a reporter asked Lou Piniella to name the president the last time the Cubs won the world series 100 years ago and he couldn’t. Can you? Give up? See the answer below.


The Missouri Tigers are having a tremendous season and will make their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2003. Not only is getting into March Madness a great accomplishment, but they could get a 3-or-4 seed. Hats off to head coach Mike Anderson and a group of hard working players who are refreshing to watch in the “40 minutes of hell" scheme.

Stat line to check: Dwyane Wade has been beyond ridiculous since the All-Star break, but has really been putting up MVP-type numbers all season. Do a quick comparison to LeBron and you will find some staggering results, mainly the fact that Wade is better in every category (points per game, assists per game, steals per game, blocks per game and field goal percentage). The one exception: rebounds per game.

***William Howard Taft was president when the Cubs last won the World Series in 1909.

With selection Sunday just one week away, be sure to check out Naismithlives.com before filling out your brackets!