Bears
- Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune reports that the Bears have signed a CFL star wide receiver Andy Fantuz to a futures contract. How big of a star? He’s got his own cereal in Canada:
- But you know when you’ve really made it? When you have your own dandruff shampoo (the video was made by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats).
- Biggs continued his excellent positional analysis series with the running backs. I thought this was an interesting choice of words:
“Harvey Unga faced an uphill battle to make the 53-man roster as an addition in the supplemental draft and the Bears found a convenient way to redshirt him with a hamstring pull in training camp.”
- Biggs points out that , as usual, what to do with Garrett Wolfe is an issue that has to be addressed. And of course, both he and Sean Jensen at the Chicago Sun-Times highlight the problem of what to pay Matt Forte, who is entering the last year of his rookie contract.
- Bears safety Chris Harris writes a piece for the Chicago Sun-Times about the key to the Super Bowl matchup.
- Jensen points out that the Bears need to get younger and deeper. When he asks where the Bears have ailed to put themselves in this situation, its no surprise where he puts the emphasis:
“Kevin Colbert, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ director of football operations, noted that nearly three-quarters of Pro Bowl players were selected in the first three rounds.
‘‘’So it’s very important that you get those players right,’ Colbert said, ‘and we really emphasize making sure we don’t make mistakes on the 1’s, 2’s and 3’s. If you get lucky on the later rounds, great. But the 1’s, 2’s and 3’s, if you miss on them, they can set you back for some years.’’’
- Illinois governor Pat Quinn flew the Packers flag in the governor’s office yesterday as part of fulfilling his bet with Wisconsin governor Scott Walker.
- Michael Wilbon at ESPN writes in favor of former Bear defensive lineman Richard Dent‘s Hall of Fame candidacy. But its hard not to notice that Dent isn’t mentioned in Adam Schefter‘s HOF beak down in this video. This could be another disappointing year for Dent.
Elsewhere
- Pittsburgh defensive end Brett Keisel has been growing his beard for seven months. He thinks it gives the Steelers’ “Super Bowl powers”. From Sam Farmer at the Los Angeles Times.
- NFL commissioner Roger Goodell addresses the negotiations with the Player’s Union in this video as he answers a queston from Chad Ochocinco:
- ESPN‘s NFC North blogger Kevin Seifert addresses the problem the Vikings have with defensive end Everson Griffin. Griffen was arrested twice in three day in Los Angeles, once on suspicion of public intoxication and the second time for allegedly assaulting a police officer following a traffic stop. Not good.
- Seifert also points out the one thing that bugs me about picking the Packers. The many times they’ve failed to finish in close games. I don’t think there’s much doubt that the Steelers know how to do that. I don’t know who is going to win but I’d be surprised if this game was a blow out.
- This little tidbit from CNET.com (via BenMaller.com) is interesting. Pete Walsh, head of technology for the Cowboys, said his team and at least a “couple” of others are currently considering abandoning their playbooks in favor of iPads. The iPad is more secure because it can be remotely wiped.
- The FBI finally arrested the Arizona man who is allegedly responsible for using a computer to interrupt a local telecast of the 2009 Super Bowl with a 37-second pornography clip. You can take down those road blocks now.
- Mark Oppenheimer at The New York Times explains why FOX has rejected a 30 second Super Bowl spot that explains the meaning of John 3:16.
- Benedict Carey, also at the Times, explains how to treat Super Bowl stress syndrom.
- In what has to be one of the dumbest ideas I’ve heard yet, the NFLPA has discussed getting potential draft picks to boycott the NFL Combine later this month with agents. The union is hopeful such a boycott would disrupt teams’ scouting of college players, but it’s unlikely to get widespread support from the agents whose first duty is helping their clients get selected high in the draft.
One Final Thought
I am not going to pick the Super Bowl game, especially against the spread, because I think its too close to call. But in what I consider to be a good sign for the Steelers, most of the money in Vegas is coming in on the Packers.
Most of the bets aren’t in yet. But MGM Resorts International, which operates 10 sports books on the Las Vegas Strip, said about 70 percent of the money bet so far in its casinos is for a Packers victory. Bookies aren’t in the business of losing money.