Six years of bad baseball in Anaheim and when I say bad baseball I'm Talking about the players around Shohei Otani. A player of his talent and arguably one of the best players beside him in Mike Trout and neither of them in 6 years saw the playoffs. Now Otani is signed with the Dodgers. Good for him. But I hope he's ready for the let downs when they win 100 games and don't get to the Worlds Series or lose the series. Can you imagine a man who can pitch a full game and turn around and hit the game winning homerun? 

With the understanding he wanted to play in the American League with the DH and now the entire league has the DH. 

What bothers me is sports can be like political polling. Always some rumor. Things can go one way or the other. At one time I'd seen Otani coming to the Cubs because they already have another Asian player. He would fit right in. And last week some fool report he was going to Toronto. That made no sense to me because he wanted to stay on the west coast. 

The Cubs sign Craig Counsell and then what? Does that mean the division is in our laps automatically? There may have been a reason Milwaukee let go of Counsell. Sure he could win some division Championships. Make the post season and be one of the first teams out. As Harry Caray would say, "Holy Cow." the Cubs have so many holes to fill and so far none of the other division teams are making a splash so the Cubs might have a chance. 

This is the same case in all sports  whichever city you're in: what is my team going to do to get better? You know they have holes to fill but you watch the good free agents come off the board or you sign a guy for a year and he has a career year but walks in the off season (Cody Bellinger). Or an annoying habit baseball has which is to trade players for a guy who is going to walk at the end of the season. G©

“Man it makes me so happy just knowing my career isn’t going down the drain.” Former Bear linebacker Roquan Smith on his time in Baltimore more beneficial than his time in Chicago and if Chicago had given him the money he wanted to be the highest paid linebacker in the league. Truly after his departure the Bears defense fell apart. Since 2018 there have been a number of notable departures from the Bears acquired by draft or trade. And the thousand yard stare and the losses pile up. With constant change in front office administration and a need to turn over the roster. Since the end of the Lovie Smith/ Brian Urlacher time in Chicago the Bears are a hot mess. Up and down since the 90’s. However Lovie Smith was the last coach to get the Bears to the Super Bowl in ‘06/’07. Even then it was a cluster fuck particular at quarter back which is clear when you make it to the Super Bowl with Rex Grossman under center. Maybe not the reason they lost the Super Bowl but reasons why they didn’t win. Football is a physical sport. Probably the most physical of all American sports. How much can a body take in constant losing without guaranteed contracts as in other sports? Regardless of sport it’s hard to watch one of your star players walk or get traded particular when there’s genius in acquiring that talent. The last few years if you want a linebacker the best place to go is the University of Georgia. Smith is the second Georgia linebacker in the last few years after Leonard Floyd who ends up winning a Super Bowl with the Rams in ’21. It’s like saying “get out while you can.”  Even if you don’t play linebacker, Ahem, Justin Fields. Really baseball and basketball are sports where an athlete is willing to go through a rebuild. The NFL you want to get past your rookie contract and sign a big contract with a team on the verge of winning and they’re willing to pay. Sports being a business so you’re not playing for one team in a league with 32 sets of eyes. Each week is an audition. The last thing you want is to feel is your career is going down the drain. Which if considered is a rough thing to say about any team in any sport. Smith did say, “it was bittersweet to be traded.” He knows the regard for the position of linebacker in Chicago. Certainly he would have been a legend here. But how many coaches would he have to suffer before he’d reach the success he’s had in Baltimore? There is no burying the lead in this one. But Brian Urlacher was in Chicago for 13 years and might have a problem with that statement. And the recently passed Dick Butkus. With that in mind we have been hurt by linebackers leaving. Does anyone remember Wilber Marshall?  

 The Cubs let go of David Ross after four tough seasons at the helm of the Cubs including seeing the club through covid. There is a lot of love on the North Side for "Rossy" because he was a pivotal part of the 2016 World Series winner Cubs. Including hitting a homerun in game seven of the World Series against the Cleveland Indians/Guardians. It can be said that under him the Cubs got rid of their core of Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Wilson Contreras and Javier Baez. They weren't winning and the only one who ended up on a winning team was Rizzo with the Yankees. Can we say that is "Rossy's" fault? I don't know but one trend I did see under him was the team would start off looking like they're going to compete in a bad division where the Cubs ended up in second place and still end up missing the playoffs. 

Too many times I've seen Chicago players leave Chicago and end up on a team from the division. It is funny to see a division rival come here. I didn't think it would be Craig Counsell who I remember from his playing days in Milwaukee. And it took him several years for the Brew Crew to become relevant under him. And then he dominated a bad division except the years the Cardinals made things interesting while the Brewers slapped the Cubs around. 

I do think David Ross has a right to be angry. He's finally given players to win with and a minor league system that is ranked in the top 5 in baseball. And he has one season with this on his side. Unfortunately after having a three game lead for the second wild card they choked. This has to be the reason they chose to remove him. Not to say he wouldn't have dominated going forward but the Cubs felt they had to take this chance on Counsell. I must say that Counsell has not really fared any better then Ross other than having the players to make the playoffs. 

Since joining the division the Brewers have been a thorn in the Cub's side. I can remember '07 when the Brewers started the season with a nine game lead. These were the Ryan Braun days. The cheater Ryan Braun. But they languished long enough for the Cubs to come back and win the division. This is the way it went for several years until they finally became like the Packers owning the Bears. 

Milwaukee's success has been recent and never sniffing the World Series. It seems like we're trading one "Rossy" for another. Perhaps Ross didn't handle the pitchers well it has been said. And maybe a few other mistakes but sports is all about the bottom line and when you have a chance to make the playoffs after management gave you more than they have in the past you have to take advantage. That is my opinion. There is no fact in that as I don't know what makes Counsell better than Ross. 

Hell Yes there is a quarterback controversy at Halas Hall. But first congratulations to Tyson Bagent and the Chicago Bears for winning a big game of backups. Against a former Bear Quarterback who hasn’t won a game since he left the Bears. It’s a great story like the kid who hits a grand slam his first major league at bat.

Bagent played well in a way that showed the coaching staff went into this game with a game plan to win this game. There is a Quarterback controversy at Halas Hall because Bagent was hardly touch during that game. The offensive line was nearly perfect. The defense played well. It was a complete team win. Bagent wasn’t put in there to manage the game and try not to make mistakes like they do most rookie or backup quarterbacks who don’t get a lot of reps during the week. They opened the play book and let it loose. If they had the same game plan for Justin Fields he’d have won more than 6 games in his career. Admittedly if I was Justin Fields I would be furious. None of his games seemed so smooth. For once they looked like and actual NFL team.

The Bears would’ve won that game no matter who was at quarterback. Not to  say that Bagent doesn’t have any talent but it was the best game for him to make his debut. If Jimmy Garropolo had played the game might have either been closer or the Bears might have lost.

 I’m not one to speak on a mans job but I think the Bears should move on from their current coaching situation or some of the coaches on the offensive side of the ball. The Bears have a franchise quarterback where other teams have drafted more than one. Look at the Vikings. They’re holding tight to a former back up because they realize there isn’t much out there and Colin Kaepernickis persona non grata  whether or not he’s willing to accept it. I suggest to save Justin Fields career he request  a trade to the Jets or New England both teams which recently drafted quarterbacks.   

I said Deion Sanders should not rely on rivalries to drive his team. I was wrong and right. I was wrong because criticizing him and the Property values of Boulder, Colorado goes up. Driven by disrespect catch you on the wrong side of the score board. I was right because the teams that learn not to kick dirt on the midfield logo. They could have set themselves up on a chance at the conference or division championship. And a step closer to bowl eligible. Then we'd really get to see how Colorado fans travel. 

This is year one and after a five year contract he can pick where he wants to go and no one will turn him down. Remember Deion keeps receipts. Again with the chip on the shoulder gets you to penalties at pivotal points in the game. When you're no longer underdogs do what you do best. When his boys are gone from Colorado, hopefully in the NFL, and he has roster he has to further turn over be prepared for the moments when they are  a mainstay in the top 25. G©

Deion Sanders says he would never coach in the NFL because he cannot deal with players getting paid big money before they play a game. Yet his son, Quarterback Shedeur Sanders got a 10 million NIL deal before he took the field against TCU. I have always been for paying players beyond their educational costs and I remember when boosters would pay players under the table but nowhere near what they're getting now. I understand at football schools it is king. And players are putting their bodies on the line like Travis Hunter, two way player for the "Buffs who got injured against Colorado State. In my opinion the 'Buffs haven't seen the hardest part of their schedule yet and Sanders is being admonished by The G.O.A.T. Tom Brady for buying a Rolls Royce when he should be in the video room trying to get better. Sanders response was, "I saw you have one so I bought one." 

What  bothers me is a student athlete making that kind of money while those who cannot throw a ball or anything to do with a ball struggle to pay their tuition and student loans while these athletes walk out of school whether they have a future in sports with no debt. Ten Million is ridiculous. I've also noticed that no one knows what his major is or if he's even going to class. I get that schools make different rules for athletes and it might not be the school who is paying this money. Sanders has definitely put up some great numbers and probably has a future in the NFL but as I said he hasn't played the hardest part of the 'Buffs schedule yet. Regardless how the rest of his time in Colorado goes he's going to be able to say what very few students can say while the Biden Administration is trying to give aid to those who have large educational debt Shedeur Sanders will drive away in style and owe nothing for his "education." 

Do What You Do

I would warn Deion Sanders not to let the chip on his shoulder get to be too big. You have maybe 11, 12, games in a season are you going to find something in every one of those games to piss you off? No one should be surprised that The Buffaloes are winning. While I never figured Sanders for a x's and o's man he certainly got it down with over 900 hundred yards passing in two games. Deion Sanders is not going to let anyone out work him no matter who he pisses off along the way. He is an Icon and a hall of fame athlete who really does not need to be doing any of this. But he was asking if people believe in his program after one win. The same amount the last coach won. Then he had to beat Nebraska who is absolutely terrible and heartbreaking from what they were in the eighties and nineties. Now the real coaching begins. The difference between Jackson State and Colorado is he needs to win just 6 games to be bowl eligible. 
I said that when he left Jackson State every coach in the Pac 12 (soon to be defunct) got a tape of all his games. The one thing they didn't see on that his tapes is his ability to inspire and compete. Take a difficult situation and turn it around. Forget the plays and the schemes, there isn't a coach in college football right now that is doing what Deion is doing. Please Deion take that chip off your shoulders you have/had nothing to prove from day one. Let the pundits trip over their tongue in judgement of you but you knew something they didn't know whether they played college football or even professional football no coach in history ever prepared their team to take the field better than Coach Prime and it shows. I've heard players and coaches alike say we had a great week of practice and they still got blown off the field. Personally I would let my kids graduate and go back to coaching high school football, remembering I have nothing to prove. The Colorado Buffaloes will not get anywhere near the national Championship and they don't need to. But Sports writers have memories like elephants and they will remember how great Deion is as a coach but as well the feathers he will ruffle especially if he starts calling out teams that do not show up for the Colorado pro day. I am not saying turn down the passion but turn down the side show and do what you do.         

I am a big fan of David Ross of course for all the members who were on the team that broke the Cubs 100 plus year drought. Since he’s taken over the Cubs have been entertaining even at their most painful points because we just didn’t have the players to win with. I’ve noticed that Ross’s teams start off well and then settle into what they will be. 2023 being no difference and with the amount of money the Cubs spent in the off season I’m not surprised they are around .500 right now. A new team almost but the talent to at least make a wild card game/series. After a weekend series in Minnesota where the Cubs gave up 27 runs in two games my affinity for Ross is starting to wane because for a while were scoring like crazy and winning games to now giving up runs like crazy and not getting to see what the new players can do when you get down big early. One of the strengths the Cubs were touting this year was the pitching and up until the Twins series were doing just smashing. Now who do we blame? The pitching or the hitting? If your pitchers are giving up runs early the hitting never gets going. If the hitting is doing nothing something’s got to give. We love to say it is early and anything can happen in the early months of baseball. It is the only sport we say that about. You cannot win a world series in April/May but you can lose one. Right now we’re playing way below our talent in a bad division. Staying on this path we’ll be in last place soon and start to hear about players only meetings and then public fights in the dugout if we follow the NBA way of doing things. I say do something now if that means star the rumors that Ross is on the hot seat. If teams know that all they have to do is have one big inning and the Cubs won’t fight back that spells doom and the good feelings will be gone fast and the next time we see David Ross is years from now when they’re celebrating the 2016 team.  

The NBA has been terrible this year. The teams that have been the standard bearers in east or west were barely over .500. I think the Milwaukee Bucks will not only come out of the east but win it all. I'm a lover of the eastern conference being a Bulls fan but it's very likely one of the top teams in the west will get upset between the play in tournament and the finals. Denver sits at the top of the west but I'm not sure they'll be in the finals and the Grizzlies will most likely get knocked out early again with Ja Morant most likely in jail rather than injured this year. That's two of the top 5 teams in the west and with Golden State being so bad on the road I don't see them there either. That leaves Sacramento, Phoenix and the Clippers.. None of those names stand out besides Sacramento because they're one of three teams with double digits wins over losses. The western conference playoffs will turn into what the east used to be with one team dominating, The Bulls, Boston, the Knicks. Regardless of matchups there has been no end to controversy with players who want to be traded to get away from Ben Simmons.  The Bulls were frustrating more often than not but no controversies. Zach Levine came on strong as the season went along while Demar Derozan fell off and his daughter getting threats  before she even left the stadium in Toronto. I'll be following the playoffs because I'm a sports fan but at a distance or down wind because of the smell of probably one of the least favorite American league at the moment. G©

I'm not jumping up and down for the moves the Bears have made so far in preseason, but my affinity for Ryan Poles has moved a notch in the right direction for the way he's gone about Free Agency. With the many holes to fill he's signed impact players that not only can play right away but are in the prime of their careers and coming off of career years with their previous teams including teams that were playoff contenders right from the beginning. With Aaron Rodgers out of the division the Bears automatically move to the head of the pack and the draft hasn't taken place yet. With the haul of picks the Bears got from Carolina. What I liked about Ryan Pace is he was a lot more transparent with the media than Poles and I never trust a coach with some gimmick principle the players are supposed to buy into and then lose a bunch of games.   

Well the league now knows whoever is going to play with Justin Fields won’t be drafted until number 9 of the first round whatever that position might be. A number of players have come out and said they want to play with Justin including a wide receiver who played with him at Ohio State. I’ve not been a fan of Ryan Poles. He’s too secretive and let his star quarterback lobby for his job before the trade with the Carolina Panthers let him know his job is safe. Even if the Bears had drafted a quarterback at number one they still have to put weapons around him. Wide receivers and offensive line. And a defense with more holes than a “Holy Cow,” (Harry Caray). When you have a talent like Fields you don’t keep people guessing especially when you’re largely responsible for losing 14 out of 17 games which is how they got the number one pick in the first place.

 The Chase Claypool deal with the Steelers at this moment looks like a dud which means they’ll have to waste a pick on another receiver and no one knows what’s going to happen to David Montgomery at the running back spot a key player in the Bears stellar running game in the 2022 season.

 I get it that new regimes want their own players but Chicago has a penchant for letting good players walk. Or trading star players who go on to get even better with other clubs or better paydays that we’re too cheap to pay them what their worth. I know Justin Fields is no Tom Brady, yet but with no losing seasons the whole time ne New England they just retooled and dominated year after year. I have yet to see a new regime come in and make the current roster better so we’ve had to see some bad teams before someone gets it right. Which in the Bears case not since Lovie Smith.

 Sports are like a wave. For a period a team will do well knowing they will eventually crash and have to start all over again. Right now it has been a steady stream of ugh. I have to laugh when a new regime has been hired and always the talk about the change in culture and how they are going to get guys to buy into the philosophy the new coach brings. Which is a coy way to say we’re going to lose a lot of games before we get it right. I doubt the Bears turn in the Jacksonville Jaguars and make an impact in the playoffs anytime soon but you can tell when someone has gotten comfortable in their job and everyone in the locker room is dead man walking.

 The thing about sports is there is a lot of waiting and speculating in slow news cycles. It’ll be weeks before the draft months before they take the field for preseason games. And anything can happen but fans like to have certainty, or as we say show and prove that you’re going to upgrade the roster not just blow it up. However you go about building this team you want to reassure your number one star that he is hands off and they’ll build around you and not try to shoe horn you into a style of play that makes you want out of Chicago as soon as possible because you know when it comes to signing a new contract you might as well start looking towards Green Bay. The words are simple: “Justin Fields is our Quarterback.” The rest is gravy. G©

Why Is Devin Hester Not In The HOF?

WHY IS DEVIN HESTER NOT IN THE HOF?! 

2007 he became the first NFL player to return the opening kickoff for a touchdown. He holds the NFL record for most all-time return touchdowns (punt and kickoff combined) and most all-time punt return touchdowns. In his first 13 weeks as a professional football player, Hester recorded six return touchdowns, including a punt return in his NFL debut, and a then-record tying 108-yard touchdown from a missed field goal against the New York Giants.^[20] He also returned a punt for a clutch 83-yard game-winning touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals to give the Bears the lead in a comeback win, and two kickoff returns in one game against the St. Louis Rams. It was when the league out of over caution of collisions (With the number of concussions going up in 2023-'23) during kick offs moved the kick off line back to the 35 yard line. Had that move not been made who knows how many touchdowns he would've finished his career and preferably with the Chicago Bears who drafted him. Here is what Hester had to say in 2011 about the rule change: 

"Bears return man Devin Hester thinks it was stupid of the NFL to move kickoffs up five yards, and he’s not afraid to say so.

After a Week One that saw more touchbacks than usual but also more touchdown returns than usual, Hester said nothing really changed, and that the NFL passed a rule that was ostensibly about player safety but didn’t really have an impact."

“It’s just showing the NFL that moving the line up five yards didn’t budge things a bit,” Hester told the Chicago Tribune. “They got a couple touchbacks but you’ve still got guys bringing it out and at the end of the day that rule is pointless. It’s not going to prevent concussions because guys are bringing it out five to eight yards deep in the end zone. We’re still coming out with it. And that’s taking away from some of the fun in the NFL because guys are going to bring it out regardless.”

Hester is far from alone. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell thinks more touchbacks will mean fewer injuries, but most of the players who are putting their bodies on the line seem to want to keep the game the way it is. While Hester was used sparingly on both sides of the ball, I compare it to a DH in baseball getting into the HOF and never touching the field. The NFL is more liberal in the amount of players it lets in.  Roger Goodell is as useless as Bud Selig as a sports commissioner.  

G©

Some of this piece was from other sources. 

I’m for the Chiefs winning the Super Bowl and seeing a limping and hustling Pat Mahomes made me want to come up with crazy nicknames for what he does. I know Tom Brady is the G.O.A.T. and not many quarterbacks will play long enough to touch Brady’s accomplishments. With football being a team sport Brady didn’t do it all himself. But really who were the Patriots during Brady’s years there? Most would say Belicheck was the genius first by drafting Brady and the subsequent success but seeing what’s going on in New England now I have an even greater respect for Brady. Every game I watched with him the team looked well prepared for every game. I admit I slept through a couple of Super Bowls with Brady because I love variety in my sports while I am a hypocrite because I would love to see the Bears in that many Super Bowls.

Speaking of the Bears and the subject of Quarterbacks: Trading Justin Fields would be asinine when there are so many needs they have than Quarterback, like how to keep one on his feet with a good offensive line. With the holes we have on the defense trading Fields and having to the process of having to build around him trading Fields even for more picks would turn Chicago fans off quickly. Kansas City loves Mahomes as much as he loves playing for them and they have shown they are willing to put weapons around him to help him succeed. The Bears had a chance to pick Mahomes in 2017 but moved up to number 3 to take a dud in Mitch Trubisky. We could have had Deshaun Watson but the God’s vetoed that choice thankfully. But we could have had Patrick Mahomes and his stupid State Farm commercials. 

Someone once told me that if we had drafted Mahomes Chicago would have done what most Chicago teams seem to do and that’s go on the cheap and not put him in a position to win. Let’s not do the same with Justin Fields. Let’s do what we have to do to put him in Super bowls leaving it all on the field because we’ve done our duty to protect him and bargain with him in good faith. I’m nowhere near ready to trust Ryan Poles and Matt Eberflus considering the number of slick talkers who have come through Halas Hall since we let Lovie Smith go. We’ve only beaten Green Bay twice since Lovie Smith the last coach to get the Bears to a Super Bowl. Looking at Aaron Rodgers and Pat Mahomes. Tom Brady or Kirk cousins, it proves so goes your quarterback so goes your club. G©  

Coach Prime may have ended up in a place, while a beautiful place, it has been a wasteland since long before there was ever a thought of a college playoff to decide the National Champion. The last time they were relevant was the early 90's which included a National Title in 1990. These days it is easier to go from 1-11 to bowl eligible. Particularly in a Big 5 conference like the Pac. 12 soon to be the Pac 10 in 2024 with USC and UCLA moving to the big ten. It used to be whom and when you beat in the 90’s when deciding on bowl participation but still having to win a number of games. Coach Prime’s Buffaloes need only to win six games regardless in or out of conference. I’m not sure he knew what he was taking on with teams like Stanford, Oregon, Washington and Utah. With a favorable non-conference schedule and a few upsets in conference I can almost guarantee there will be some calls from The NFL that he cannot ignore because he’ll keep losing assistants to other schools or the NFL. All of this for a man who coached 32 college football games. G©

Something Stinks In Jackson, Mississippi and it's not just the water.

People need to get off of Coach Primes back. If you ask me something wasn't right in Jackson, Mississippi. There are videos of Coach Prime questioning the support for the football teams in the HBCU. Meaning they go and play at power 5 schools or higher tier programs and the money made from these games weren't going to the football team. Deion Sanders played at Florida State a power five school and had no connection to HBCU's. He was trying to find a way to shine a light on these programs that these kids could be seen as the equal of any division 1 program when it comes to the draft, as well as coaches could be able to be head coaches on the college and NFL level. He mentioned them being counted in the Heisman votes. He called out the NFL teams who did not show up for Jackson State's pro Day in March 2022. An opportunity for HBCU players to be considered for the NFL draft or to be able to make an NFL roster. Their is also video of Coach Prime talking about all that he did to shine a light on HBCU's and some of the folks turning on him for leaving when a better opportunity came along. He said there is only so much he can do when he is only the football coach. Meaning he did what he could by turning around a struggling program and proving he could get recruits to Jackson State. It helps when two of those star players happens to be his own sons who are possibly going to Colorado with him. The point of it all was to not only get people of color to support these schools by donating, sending their children to these schools but those who were lucky to succeed at these schools but are in the Hall of Fame like Jerry Rice and Michael Strahan. Now you have Ed Reed who played at the University of Miami, coaching at Bethune Cookman and Eddie George, Ohio State, coaching at Tennessee State University. That is because of Coach Prime. What saddens me is that before a game during the season you could hear people saying "Fuck you Deion," on video. Is this how we treat one of our own who is trying to do for us what the US isn't? It is said that many of these schools could lose accreditation or close. Who is going to want to show up to a job interview with the name of a school they attended with pride no longer an accredited institution on their resume? It is my opinion that people at these schools or even in the state of Mississippi are crying over sour grapes. Anyone who follows college football knew that Deion Sanders was not going to be at Jackson State for very long. I am surprised he stayed as long as he did but not at the success he had. He won 27 out of 33 games in three season including whatever post season games Jackson State was involved in. He is leaving a great opportunity to take on an 1-11 team in lily white Boulder Colorado. A program he has no connection to or great love for. Many people say it's about money. With a name like Deion Sanders there isn't enough money on the planet to pay him for the task he has to take on. I know that after the signing every program in the Pac-12 got video of all 33 games he coached at Jackson state. As I said before something wasn't right at Jackson State. He could have stayed and coached and seen his children graduate. They still could graduate from Jackson State and have quality careers while there because there is no promise Shedeur Sanders is going to make the team at Colorado or have any sort of impact which is my only problem with Deion's part of this saga. 

It's been several years since the 2016 World Series win for the Chicago Cubs and since Theo Epstein and Joe Madden left Chicago. All in a matter of 6 years. With Theo gone it is up to Jed Hoyer to build a winner on the North Side. I'm not holding my breath the Cubs will be competitive in 2023 no matter who they sign. Keep an eye on the trade deadline around mid season someone will be traded and I'm thinking it might be Cody Bellinger or Eric Hosmer. No emotional goodbyes this year and I think it was a stupid idea to let Wilson Contreras walk. He was a great piece to build around. Not to mention letting him go to the rival St. Louis Cardinals. I do think the Cubs are going in the right direction after seasons of losing. The Cubs have the right manager in David Ross and I can say I see another Championship coming to the Cubs under him. But for the time being lets not worry about who the Cubs have been named in on a particular player until he actually gets here. No one wants to read such news and then they come up short because they don't want to spend the money.