Fire Ryan Poles | Fire Ben Johnson

August 1st, 2008

Wow. That was a long time ago. I do tend to repeat myself, but this place is really fantastic.

We’ve pissed people off, some of them, famous folks in Chicago sports (Hi, Sarah Spain). We’ve also pissed off some of the lesser-known folks on the internet.

We’ve seen a lot of friends come and go on this site over the years. If I try to list everyone, I know I will forget some of them. But I have to thank my good frendt, Genrebuster, for helping out on the site. I had the pleasure of meeting him back in March. He’s a good dude.

Our friend Ernie mentioned this a while back, but I’ll reiterate it: This is a place where all of us can just forget about the bullshit in the real world and just talk sports. It’s really the only escape. Oh, and bar skanks. That can always be discussed as well. I love them and I am sure most of you love them too.

I seriously didn’t even imagine this site going this long. I started it three months or so after college while entering adulthood. I lived in four different apartments and one house in that span. Needless to say, I am done moving.

You guys all rule and I mean that sincerely. Even you, Yeti, whom I’ve met up with several times over the years. Just please, shave that beard. You look like you are going to scope out the high school near you when school starts again.

Thank you everybody.

As you can see, the header as been changed as we are now, Fire John Fox. I have given up on the Bulls attempting to make any kind of change whatsoever in management. John Paxson and Gar Forman will never be fired. I bet if John Paxson tells a homeless person to get a job with all of the news stations in the city broadcasting it, the idiot will probably be given a raise by the old and senile, Jerry Reinsdorf. Fuck this.

Now, the focus shifts to John Fox and the Chicago Bears as training camp has just begun. As the bottom of the header says, we are just getting a head start on the inevitable. It will be like the Bears when injuries begin happening and Ted Phillips goes on TV to tell the whole world that he likes what he sees. I want Ted Phillips to be fired and be seen working at a White Castle. I swear to God, he looks like a manager at a White Castle. It’s time for him to live up to that.

http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/wisconsin-woman-arrested-after-mowing-lawn-topless-police-richfield-387940542.html

Heh. I doubt she was hot anyway.

…let’s not pollute Fro’s thread on Mr. Tillman any further…have at it, my frendts!

I missed the press conference on Friday out of just not being aware, but did hear the news the day before that Charles Tillman was going to sign with the Bears and retire right after.

I wasn’t always his biggest fan, mainly because of his play on the field for quite a few years. However, towards the end, I felt I could support the guy. When he was a rookie, I will never forget the interception he just ripped out of Randy Moss’s hands on a cold day at Soldier Field in December. The Bears, obviously out of playoff contention as they usually are in December, had a game against the Vikings. I believe Culpepper was doing what he did at the time and just drove them down the field. In the final minute or two, the Vikings were at the goal line. A pass was thrown right for Moss when Tillman jumped in and took it away.

Yes, play on the field for a certain amount of years frustrated me. The whole “Cover Who” bullshit pissed me off and part of that was Lovie. He would have a bad game or two at the most inopportune times.

But Charles Tillman, the person, is what also I want to show my gratitude for. From the family man to charity work he has done and continues to do, the man is high on the scale. He cares. He cared about the game. I can remember in 2014 on the Sunday Night game against the 49ers. When someone told him on the sideline about his injury, you could see tears go down his face. That’s someone who gives a shit. When it comes to off-the-field things, he helped with charities and spoke out about health conditions with his daughter.

It sucks more guys like him aren’t really around in sports anymore. It’s almost like an extinction now. Sure, some guys do some good things. But Tillman has been one of the most respected football players of the last decade both on and off the field. Nobody really had a bad thing to say about him. One thing I really enjoyed was him coming on The Score to talk to Laurence Holmes. He was on the other day and it was a good listen. In the past, Laurence would let him stay on the air when he wasn’t supposed to be. He talked about things other than football too.

So, to #33, thank you for the memories and sorry about the awful “fuck you” at the end of your name through the early part of this decade. You’re cool, though.

Enjoy it, my man. You are already becoming my favorite Bull!

What an amazing night. Sitting there, watching the Bulls come back and show the NBA what it’s all about. I thought after 1998, I would never see the Bulls win a championship ever again. This summer, they didn’t let me down. Congratulations to Jerry Reinsdorf, the best owner fans could ask for. And major credit to Gar Forman and John Paxson for proving all of us wrong and putting together a championship team. What an unbelievaBULL season! And the best part? They beat ThomASS’s team, the Timberwolves for the title. REVENGE.

Now that my sarcasm is out of the way, this was pretty impressive. The Bulls went undefeated in the Summer League. They were down in the last couple of games and came back. They were lead by Bobby Portis, Cristiano Felicio, Jerian Grant and rookie, Denzel Valentine. All four contributed in a big way and Grant was named Most Valuable Player.

Denzel impressed me the most. The dude hit a game-tying three with 0.2 seconds left in regulation. Then, he hit the game-winner in overtime at the buzzer. He was absolutely clutch. Bobby Portis has improved and is starting to hit three point shots. If he gets that going, he is a dual-threat player on offense, meaning he can hurt you from outside or down in the post. Felicio is proving he can play center and play it well. And Grant, well, it’s early, but the guy can be valuable off the bench (if used properly).

I know. I know. These Bulls played young guys on other teams. But I was very happy to see that.

I am not sitting here saying the four guys I mentioned above are going to be All-Stars, but it would be nice to see these guys start/play significant minutes. I still feel signing guys like Wade and Rondo delays what really needs to happen: a rebuild from top to bottom.

So, yes, I went nuts celebrating the game-winner from Valentine on Monday. It may be the most fun I ever have as a Bulls fan for the foreseeable future. I have zero faith in the front office or Fred Hoiberg to rebuild this team the way it should be.

To be clear, I’m not panicking.

Plus: Arrieta pitched well.

Minus: Another bullpen FAIL. And to make it worse, then loading the bases with no outs and FAILING to score one run (for the tie), or more.

Our friend ernie has offered the following…I think he’s been watching the Cubs longer than I have, I’m happy to feature his thoughts here:

(from another blog): “Sorry… but if your closer blows a hold or save in 4 out of his last 5 or 6…AND then you can’t score a single run with bases loaded, no one out…You ain’t a legit playoff team. It’s that simple. THIS is why you don’t give up the farm to go “all-in” this year.”

ernie: “Hey, Genre, this might be a good post for the near future. Do the Cubs go “all-in” this year? I agree with the poster, this team is not ready to make a serious run for the playoffs this year. Forget trading valuable farm pieces for a Chapman or a Miller. Play out the year, see what you can get in Winter Meetings, and see if this club matures enough in 2017 to be a legit contender. They aren’t there yet, that’s a fact.”

Back to me. You see this guy? I would NOT trade him.

Have at it.

After Dusty Baker’s mistake, the Nationals face yet another test of their resilience

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/nationals/after-dusty-bakers-mistake-the-nationals-face-yet-another-test-of-their-resilience/2016/07/17/a60c0ad0-4a95-11e6-acbc-4d4870a079da_story.html

Yours truly made a spur of the moment trip down to Nashville earlier in the week for work. Apologies to loyal reader and good friend, “Pie In The Sky” for not giving him enough notice to meet. It would have been difficult given I only had two days. My last night in the city, I finally had some free time to roam the city. Not only did I jokingly piss off Nashville Predator fans with the shirt I was wearing (I promise they came at me first), but I ended up finding this pay phone. Of course, it reminded me of my younger days when I had to use one of these.

With that being said, if any of you have any humorous captions for the photo above, whether it be about sports or anything else, feel free to add it in the comments.