It’s July 4th – a holiday that actually means something. Say what you want about most of the shit we celebrate in this country but this is one that has to resonate if you’re living on American soil. This video still gives me goosebumps.
Let’s start by saying this: no matter how you feel about the design, I like it less than you. But we’ll get a site we’re comfortable with by the time the important stuff starts happening for the Chicago Bears.
Hello My Loyal Friends,
So I let you all know last week that we’ll be transitioning this site, with the remainder of ChicagoNow, in the coming few days. The site will look much different, much sparer, kinda ugly, but we’ll be fixinfg things as we move forward.
Here is what you should know:
Have patience with this transition, folks. It’s not going to be pleasant for anyone and there’s a lot of behind-the-scenes reasons for its occurence. Ultimately, things will remain fundamentally the same: I will write thoughts, ya’ll will bitch and moan and we’ll have a wonderful NFL season.
Proposed CBA Details
Details of a proposed collective bargaining agreement being pitched to NFL owners Tuesday, according to sources:
Players get 48 percent of “all revenue,” without extra $1-billion-plus off top that previously had been requested by owners.
Players’ share will never dip below 46.5 percent, under new formula being negotiated.
Teams required to spend minimum 90-93 percent of the salary cap.
Rookie wage scale part of deal but still being “tweaked.”
18-game regular season designated only as negotiable item and at no point is mandated in deal.
New 16-game Thursday night TV package beginning in 2012.
Owners still will get some expense credits that will allow funding for new stadiums.
Retirees to benefit from improved health care, pension benefits as revenue projected to double to $18 million by 2016.
— ESPN’s Chris Mortensen
No vote today. Meeting may take place tomorrow or next week.
Unless you are a fan of TheOtherSports (shameless plug) I’m not sure what you’re doing with your weekends. Taking the wife to the circus? Watching the kids hit a ball off a tee? Nonsense. The U.S. Open is this weekend! Four Gold Cup quarterfinal matches, including the United States meeting Jamaica at RFK Sunday at 3! Cup racing at Michigan! A full slate of MLS action! Or you put ProFootball up on your screen and keep hitting refresh until things get resolved in the NFL.
DaBearsBlog Design
Next week DaBearsBlog and the entire ChicagoNow network are undergoing severe design changes. Since I’ve not done any of the necessary work entailed in such changes, things will be messy in these parts for ten days or so. Once we make the change, feel free to email me and complain about it. It’s going to be simple, yet elegant.
Player-Run Training Sessions Are a Terrible Idea
When I heard Jay Cutler was running offensive training sessions with some receivers and backs, mirroring what it happening around the league, I had one thought: are these guys nuts? Haven’t we learned how brittle the human knee can be when making the stops and cuts required of the typical NFL athlete? Why would these players risk injury without the protection of an NFL franchise’s contract and an NFL franchise’s doctors? Does anybody believe the Giants will be better because Eli had a catch with Mario Manningham at Hoboken high school? This is the kind of thing the players are doing to carry favor with the fans. Look at how much they love to play! Let the kids dance! I ain’t buying it.
Urlacher Repeats: Bears Better Than Packers
So said #54 and so PFT gleefully reports. Ironically this was reported on the same day the Packers received their Super Bowl rings. So I guess the point goes to the Wisconsin folks.
A Sad Story About My Fandom
“I see no reason why the Bears wouldn’t at least consider taking a look at him unless they feel he’s too similar in size, stature and style to receivers such as Johnny Knox and Devin Hester who are already on their roster.”
At a bar recently I was asked a very pointed, very specific question: “At what point will you stop caring about the 2011 season?”
I thought about it before answering. It was shocking to me in that moment that I’d never considered the question before. I had never considered a moment in time wherein I would hold my hands up in the air and declare an NFL season unimportant to me. For almost the entirety of my existence on this earth the Chicago Bears have marked my calendar, defined the second half of my year. For almost the entirety of my existence Sundays have been holy days and I don’t belonng to a church.
What if there is no training camp? What if there are no games in September and October? Would I ever be able to know the Chicago Bears were playing a football game that counts and not care about it? Would I be able to avoid the third seat from the end at Josie Woods? Would I be able to abandon the relationship I’ve developed with all of you on this blog over the years?
The answer is “no” on all counts and perhaps this is the eternal power of the NFL. Even if the entire 2011 season is missed, I’ll be right back on that barstool for opening day in 2012. I have a severe emotional investment in the Chicago Bears. I want them to win every time they touch the field and a Super Bowl title would mean as much to me as a bank account with a mysterious $25,000 placed in it. And while I’m disappointed to not be discussing free agency and mini-camps, while I’ll be disappointed with every day of training camp missed and every minute of game action skipped, I don’t take these things personally.
I will protest, though, however quietly. I won’t be at Soldier Field in 2011 for the first time in a decade, spending my money at concessions like a sailor on leave. I won’t buy a single piece of Chicago Bears paraphenalia this season. I don’t have DirecTV but if I did, I’d cancel the Sunday Ticket and go to the local tavern and watch the games anyway. I will not spend a nickel on the National Football League. It might not matter to the billionaires. But if enough of us took steps so minor, it would have a lasting impact.
So to answer his question, it doesn’t matter from here on out. I’ll watch every single of action once they return to the field. They just won’t be opening my wallet.
What about you?
Since Collinsworth is now taking high school coaching gigs and conceding the NFL will miss half their season, I thought I’d continue the Chicago Bears in High School Video Series. Here’s Jay Cutler’s montage of his time at Heritage Hills. He can also dunk a basketball. (Watch and see)
Jumped onto PFT this morning and found this quote from Cowboys celebrity owner Jerry Jones:
No, Jerry, you did not. But you and thirty-one of your colleagues have the opportunity to ensure there are football games played in Cowboys Stadium, Soldier Field, Lambeau and that 1.6 billion dollar disaster in the New Jersey swamplands. (If I ran DaJetsBlog.com, I would never stop complaining.) But I’m willing to forgive ownership groups in Carolina (Richardson’s an ass), Tampa (Glazer is London-obsessed), Jacksonville (Weaver would rather own a team in any other American city) and New Orleans (Does anyone trust Benson?). The bulk of responsibility for this continuing lockout and looming missed season rests squarely on the shoulders of the ownership elite.
