Pigskin Pimpin On A Sunday Night: Bears, Salukis & Much More

Your favorite football feature that is chock-full of cheerleaders is back.

Site News: Stripped

This is going to be short, sweet and a pain in the behind.

1. We're trying to make TBDS look like a legitimate site, not just something two idiots put together over night.
2. So we've enlisted the help of some friends of the program to make this site not suck.
3. In the middle of rebuilding, said friends of the program got busy and had to leave.
4. And as smart as I can be, like Jerry Angelo, whenever I answer one problem, 10 others show up.

So, in older posts, you should click on the post title to read the entire thing.  Until then, no more "read more" tag.  We'll hopefully not have something that doesn't completely suck by the end of the week.  And by the end of the week, I mean I have no idea if and/or when this will get done.

Bear with us as we try to make the blogosphere a better place.  Until then, I hope you enjoy the picture of Mariah Carey.

The Weekender

The Weekender is a blog with links to things you should read while spending time at your computer over the weekend while I'm spending time away from it.  Must read links after the jump.  Oh, and pretty girls, too.

Building A Champion: The 2010 Cubs

Cubs fans would have a lot to celebrate if I could pull this off.

   

In mid-October, I was challenged by a friend/reader to rebuild the Cubs.  It’s not as if that is a new concept to me, seeing that I’ve played this game on PlayStation, PlayStation3, XBOX and XBOX 360 many times before. However, the catch was to do it fairly, so not to take advantage of dumb computer GM’s that don’t appreciate young talent.  

Starting Point: The Cubs’ Opening Day payroll was $134,809,000, and I was given the opportunity to bump the payroll to $150 million after negotiating out of the original $145 million projection.

When building this team, my goal was to patch some holes with long-term solutions without spending too much money.  It was a difficult task, and one that will likely go unrewarded.

When you're done, I'd appreciate your criticisms in the comments section.  Thank you.  And without further to do, the 2010 Cubs, as pieced together by yours truly using The Hartwig Plan.

Lilly Has A Bum Shoulder ... And It's Not Even 2010 Yet

I nonchalantly dismissed Ted Lilly's shoulder surgery after initial reports of it being a minor scope.  Then I read on, minor scopes don't take pitchers down through April.

Yep, you've got it Cubs fans.  Less than one day after the baseball season comes to an end, the Cubs are already screwing themselves out of next year's pennant race.

Rage after the jump.

World Series Buried Lead: Can We Have Vintage Pedro Back For One Night Only?

Tonight's Game 6 match-up is being branded as a barn-burner already.  The Yankees will send Andy Pettitte (28-22 over the last two years) to the mound in search of a title clinching win.  The Phillies will counter with Pedro Martinez, the Phightins' No. 3 starter and  he who has the most wins in playoff history, to the mound in search of one more win and one more World Series title. 

If allowed to go into an actual time machine, I would probably screw up that entire space-time continuum beyond repair.  I would invest a significant amount of money in something called The Facebook, warn Jim Hendry about why it would be a terrible idea to sign Milton Bradley to a three-year, $30 million deal and get on board and attach my bandwagon to Gawker Media and Deadspin.
 
I would also bring back a gift for baseball fans everywhere.

We'll start with classic Pedro -- the greatest pitcher to survive the Steroid Era.

This Week Inside Carrie's Box: Tom Ricketts & Good Questions About the '10 Cubs

So, why the picture of Carrie Underwood?  Only because her album comes out one day after a Carrie Muskat inbox is released.  Coincidence?  I think not.


My inbox looks something like this.  Bill, bill, with love from mom, bill, "Do you want to be LARGER?", bill, "Do you want to meet cute singles in you're area??????, "#&$% you %^&*@" ... then there's Carrie Muskat's correspondence with her fans.

Her questions.  My answers.  Your remarks in the comments section.  Everything else after the jump.

This Alexis Rios For Ben Gordon Trade Already Haunting The Bulls

Pictured above is the last image Chicago Bulls fans saw of the Ben Gordon era in Chicago.  You can name a million (or $55 million) reasons why it ended.  And for some odd reason, I will always point to Jerry Reinsdorf and his love for baseball.

Out Of Hibernation: The Segment Formerly Known As Bears Buzz

Sometime Sunday afternoon, I came up with a more clever name for the blog responsible for the Chicago Bears round-up segment.  Though it lacks the alliteration of Bears Buzz, it is name that seems to fit Bears rewind blogs -- especially after yesterday's game against the Cleveland Browns.

Pigskin Pimpin On A Sunday

Your weekly installment of football stuff and gratuitous cheerleader photos after the jump ... has been replaced for this week.