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©