It's that time of year again, you know, time to max out those credit cards, hang the lights....hang the lights again after three sets inexplicably quit working, keep the cat out of the tree, etc. Of course, it's Christmas time, a time when little kids' wishes come true. A time when "I got it, I got it!" can be heard for miles on Christmas morning. It's tough to get older and still enjoy the holiday season nearly as much as we did when our biggest concern this time of year was whether or not we would make it to December 25 th without spontaneously combusting from anticipation and excitement.
It usually wasn't too difficult a task to sit down and write down a "wish list" for mom, dad, relatives, and of course the big guy...Santa Claus!! I mean, a kid could sit down with the Toys R Us flier or J.C. Penney Wish Book and jot down say, 30-40 different items of desire. Didn't always mean we got em' all, but darn it, we tried. Now, as I find myself approaching the big 3-0 sooner rather than later, it gets tough to give out good ideas for prospective gift giver's. I still play video games like a 12 year-old jacked up on Mountain Dew, and I love official jerseys, whether they be Cubs, Bears, throwback, etc. But man, that stuff is expensive, and at 28 years old and married, not exactly the Webster's definition of "practical." So I thought I'd write up a fantasy sports wish list this year. You know, a dreamer's fantasy tucked neatly within the world of sports. Here goes....
1. A Chicago Cubs World Series title. Yeah, I know, I might as well ask for a dinner date with Pamela Anderson.
2. Brett Favre retirement. It's insanely tough to dislike this guy. He has absolutely murdered my beloved Bears for the past 15 seasons, and he plays for the communist regime that is the Green Bay Packers, but you've got to admire the dude's talent, desire, work ethic, and toughness. He's one of the all-time best. I just wish he'd hang it up and head back down to Mississippi to film additional Wrangler Jeans commercials.
3. Michael Jordan's return to the Chicago Bulls organization. No, I don't want #23 to put his Air Jordan's back on and try and rescue the floundering Baby Bulls. Everyone gets too old....but he never should have been let go by the evil Jerry's. It should have been a major priority for Mr. Reinsdorf to get the savior of the city involved with the Bulls in one capacity or another when he quit for the final time in 2003. Minority owner, GM, whatever...Michael Jordan should never be seen in another NBA arena rooting for anybody other than Da Bulls, let alone the Charlotte Bobcats.
4. Wil Ohman for Albert Pujols. Think the Redbirds would fall for that one?
5. Midwest blue chip recruits gobbled up by Bruce Weber. Anybody else having as hard a time as I am watching Derek Rose and Eric Gordon put up 25 a night in another state? They would have looked really nice playing in January at Assembly Hall.
6. A Chicago Cubs World Series title...wait, I already said that.
That's all I got, pretty straight forward and to the point I think. I don't think any of those requests are unreasonable...Santa, if you want to pack along a right fielder and a starting pitcher with that World Series trophy in your sleigh, I won't be mad.
Leave your sports fantasy wish list demands below in the comment section. Have a good time with this. I'd love to see what you're pining for this Christmas. Have a good holiday everyone!!
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Should We Do This?
Should another poor, unfortunate, young soul be exposed to a debilitating, painful, heart-wrenching disease without his consent? A life of disappointment, sadness, and frustration awaits young Jack Willoby. Jack is my new nephew. Born to my sister Ashley and her husband Jimmy the first week of October, the little guy wasn't fully cooked when he first saw the light of day. You see, Jack wasn't due until darn near Christmas. So yeah, he's kind of starting out life behind the eight ball already. Don't worry, he's progressing nicely. Gaining weight by the day, gradually growing bigger and stronger. He'll soon leave his little incubator, be brought home, and fawned over endlessly. He'll be loved, raised right, and be given every advantage a lot of children around the world aren't privy too. But he's already behind in the count you see, 0-1. He took a called strike low and away the day he was born, because, unbeknownst to him, he'll be a fan of the Chicago Cubs.
Now I already know what you're going to say..."Why expose such an innocent, pure, being to this illness?" Honestly, I really don't have that good of an answer for you. Many are the day when I asked my dad why he didn't pick the Cardinals or Yankees, or Red Sox, or...."anybody but the Cubs!!!" I was born into it, my dad was born into it, and I imagine my grandfather was also born into it. Some families pass on a genetic predisposition to heart disease, diabetes, or male-pattern baldness....the McCullough's pass on Cubdom.
Now realistically, being a Cub fan never ended any one's life prematurely like a serious illness has countless times, although a few North-Sider's would argue that their lives we're shorted about 5 years every June. I just wonder if this is the right thing to do? Should a young boy have the right to choose? Let me think a minute.........naw. If we have to endure a seven month hardship every spring, summer, and fall, then buddy, so do you.
So yeah, I can imagine a day 10 years from now when little Jack is wearing his first Cubs hat, sitting next to his dad, uncle, grandpa, great-grandpa, and others watching a rare Cubs post-season appearance where the good guys drop another one in dramatic fashion, looks up at us all, and asks, "Why did you guys pick the Cubs?" We'll look back at him with a smile, maybe a tear included, and say, "Kid, the same reason you picked em."
Now I already know what you're going to say..."Why expose such an innocent, pure, being to this illness?" Honestly, I really don't have that good of an answer for you. Many are the day when I asked my dad why he didn't pick the Cardinals or Yankees, or Red Sox, or...."anybody but the Cubs!!!" I was born into it, my dad was born into it, and I imagine my grandfather was also born into it. Some families pass on a genetic predisposition to heart disease, diabetes, or male-pattern baldness....the McCullough's pass on Cubdom.
Now realistically, being a Cub fan never ended any one's life prematurely like a serious illness has countless times, although a few North-Sider's would argue that their lives we're shorted about 5 years every June. I just wonder if this is the right thing to do? Should a young boy have the right to choose? Let me think a minute.........naw. If we have to endure a seven month hardship every spring, summer, and fall, then buddy, so do you.
So yeah, I can imagine a day 10 years from now when little Jack is wearing his first Cubs hat, sitting next to his dad, uncle, grandpa, great-grandpa, and others watching a rare Cubs post-season appearance where the good guys drop another one in dramatic fashion, looks up at us all, and asks, "Why did you guys pick the Cubs?" We'll look back at him with a smile, maybe a tear included, and say, "Kid, the same reason you picked em."
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
My How Things Have Changed!
What the heck is going on in the NFL? Yeah, the Patriots are still head and shoulders better than everyone else, in fact, they're probably the best sports dynasty since the Bulls of the 90's, but what has happened to potential SuperBowl contenders in Chicago and New Orleans? And just as sure as the Bears and Saints have fallen apart early, teams like Green Bay and Dallas have emerged as teams to be reckoned with.
Such is life in the National Football League. Blink, and you'll miss a chance to see a long-term winning streak by your favorite squad. Witness the Saints or Bears. Gone is Thomas Jones, and BAM!!! the Monsters of the Midway all of a sudden aren't so darn ferocious. The honeymoon period in New Orleans ends after the excitement of a return to the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina, and BAM!!! the Saints are getting smoked by the Bucs and Titans. It's unbelievable how short your window in the NFL to compete really can be. It slams quite quickly. Let's face it, it's an extremely violent game, and players get hurt. (See Mike Brown, Dusty Davoracek, Tommie Harris, Deuce McCallister.) With injuries and a stringent salary cap, a contender can become a pretender awfully darn fast.
On the flip side, you've got teams like the Packers and Cowboys. Brett Favre looks like a 25 year-old kid again who's having the time of his life in 2007. Tony Romo and a happy(temporarily) Terrell Owens have made America's Team, well, America's Team once more. It can happen in an instant. Stay healthy, get good play, have a few rookies step up, and all of a sudden you find yourself back in contention.
Since early February, all of seven months, the Bears went from SuperBowl XLI to the toilet bowl in the NFC North. More so than any other sport, pro football can rip your heart out in an instant. And with only 16 regular season games, you can be out of it a month in. It's not like baseball, where a bad week, shoot, a bad month can be rectified two months later when there's still 100 games left to play. So my advice is this, if your team is winning, and staying healthy...appreciate it for all it's worth. You just never know when the party can end. Will the Bears bounce back? Perhaps. Can the Saints find the magic from 2006? Perhaps. Should the Packers make reservations to SuperBowl XLII? Perhaps. That's the point, in two weeks, Green Bay could fall apart, and Brian Griese could be a cult figure in the Windy City.
Don't bet against it.
Such is life in the National Football League. Blink, and you'll miss a chance to see a long-term winning streak by your favorite squad. Witness the Saints or Bears. Gone is Thomas Jones, and BAM!!! the Monsters of the Midway all of a sudden aren't so darn ferocious. The honeymoon period in New Orleans ends after the excitement of a return to the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina, and BAM!!! the Saints are getting smoked by the Bucs and Titans. It's unbelievable how short your window in the NFL to compete really can be. It slams quite quickly. Let's face it, it's an extremely violent game, and players get hurt. (See Mike Brown, Dusty Davoracek, Tommie Harris, Deuce McCallister.) With injuries and a stringent salary cap, a contender can become a pretender awfully darn fast.
On the flip side, you've got teams like the Packers and Cowboys. Brett Favre looks like a 25 year-old kid again who's having the time of his life in 2007. Tony Romo and a happy(temporarily) Terrell Owens have made America's Team, well, America's Team once more. It can happen in an instant. Stay healthy, get good play, have a few rookies step up, and all of a sudden you find yourself back in contention.
Since early February, all of seven months, the Bears went from SuperBowl XLI to the toilet bowl in the NFC North. More so than any other sport, pro football can rip your heart out in an instant. And with only 16 regular season games, you can be out of it a month in. It's not like baseball, where a bad week, shoot, a bad month can be rectified two months later when there's still 100 games left to play. So my advice is this, if your team is winning, and staying healthy...appreciate it for all it's worth. You just never know when the party can end. Will the Bears bounce back? Perhaps. Can the Saints find the magic from 2006? Perhaps. Should the Packers make reservations to SuperBowl XLII? Perhaps. That's the point, in two weeks, Green Bay could fall apart, and Brian Griese could be a cult figure in the Windy City.
Don't bet against it.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Are You a Fantasy Football Addict?
It's September, high school football, as well as the collegiate ranks are both underway, and we ready ourselves this week for the kick-off of another NFL campaign. We've slowly become a football nation, and along with icing down our beverages, pressing our favorite jersey, and flying our team's flag outside in the autumn air, a great deal of us also head to our computer early Sunday morning and ready our fantasy football roster for the week. One of the biggest obsessions regarding pro football today would most certainly be fantasy football.
We all know the drill by now...you study your cheat sheets, do your homework, buy your magazines, and watch your TV specials so that on draft day, you've got the inside track on all your buddies. You know the sleepers to grab, which reciever should flurish in a new system, and what QB has an injured shoulder. So then you draft.....and you couldn't feel worse about your squad....or do you? A buddy and I share a couple teams in two leagues every year (this year we're entered in just one league), and have a ball with it. Thank God for DirecTV...and God bless the "Sunday Ticket". While my wife Casey already begins to dread the long Sunday's of cheering and curse words, the boys and I can't wait. It can make for a long day. I thought I'd give you a run down of a typical "Fantasy Football Sunday" at the McCullough household as we settle into the easy chair and couch around the big screen for a pigskin marathon that can last anywhere between 6 and 10 hours.
1- Rise at the crack of 10:00 AM and read the injury reports, grab about a half hour of ESPN's NFL Countdown...and confer with my Co-GM on who we should start at reciever that day.
2- Try to look as busy as possible from 11:00 until about 11:30 without actually doing anything while the wife's look of disgust and disdain for the institution that is pro football gradually builds.
3- 11:45...The boys arrive. The fridge is loaded...the wife retires to the bedroom with the dog. Perhaps we'll begin slowly with a Bloody Mary, after all, it is Sunday. One more look of disgust and resentment creep over her normally cheerful face as the door slowly closes. The boys give me "the look"....you know the one fella's. It's the one where they're glad they're not you. Anywhere between 2 to 6 of us gather around the TV and begin flipping ferociously between the Giants/Jaguars game and the Tampa Bay/Bengals match-up. Normally games we'd care less about, suddenly have the utmost importance.
4 - Now comes the tricky part, half of us would like to view a good portion of the Bears game, while the rest desire more of the Packers. We've reached a cordial agreement, if one of the local favorites falls down by more than 14, said team will only get the occasional "flip-back" to check for any semblance of a comeback.
5 - By the end of the 3rd Quarter of the noon game...let's say about 2:15-2:20 you generally have a pretty good idea of how your team is doing and how your afternoon will turn out.
4 - Time to grab some food. Casey will come out of the bedroom, ask if the games are almost over, I'll say no....we've still got the 3:15 game to get to, she'll roll her eyes, another look of disgust, and the door slams a little harder to the bedroom.
5 - Prepare for the 3:15 game...we'll be excited if we're in good shape after the noon games, or we'll wonder why in the hell we drafted Trent Green as our back-up if we're down in points.
6 - By about 5:00, a general consensus is agreed upon as to whether or not we're going to stick it out for the Sunday night game. If we're close, and have someone significant playing, it's a no-brainer. If we're down and have no shot at it, time to close up shop and call it a week.
7 - 8:30-9:00 The headache begins to set in. Whether or not this is due to a bad day on the field, or by financially supporting the Anheuser-Busch Company out, we're still not quite sure.
8 - 10:30 The day is over...perhaps we have someone going Monday night, maybe not. One last check of the league message board for any witty one-liner's or waiver wire deals is completed. Retire for the night, attempt to get a good night kiss...denied. Luckily, for Casey, there is only 15 weeks left. See you next Sunday!!!!!!!!
So tell me about your Fantasy Football Sunday. Are you typically in trouble with your signifcant other by Sunday night? Let's talk some football. Leave a comment in the section provided below. Thanks again for reading.
1- Rise at the crack of 10:00 AM and read the injury reports, grab about a half hour of ESPN's NFL Countdown...and confer with my Co-GM on who we should start at reciever that day.
2- Try to look as busy as possible from 11:00 until about 11:30 without actually doing anything while the wife's look of disgust and disdain for the institution that is pro football gradually builds.
3- 11:45...The boys arrive. The fridge is loaded...the wife retires to the bedroom with the dog. Perhaps we'll begin slowly with a Bloody Mary, after all, it is Sunday. One more look of disgust and resentment creep over her normally cheerful face as the door slowly closes. The boys give me "the look"....you know the one fella's. It's the one where they're glad they're not you. Anywhere between 2 to 6 of us gather around the TV and begin flipping ferociously between the Giants/Jaguars game and the Tampa Bay/Bengals match-up. Normally games we'd care less about, suddenly have the utmost importance.
4 - Now comes the tricky part, half of us would like to view a good portion of the Bears game, while the rest desire more of the Packers. We've reached a cordial agreement, if one of the local favorites falls down by more than 14, said team will only get the occasional "flip-back" to check for any semblance of a comeback.
5 - By the end of the 3rd Quarter of the noon game...let's say about 2:15-2:20 you generally have a pretty good idea of how your team is doing and how your afternoon will turn out.
4 - Time to grab some food. Casey will come out of the bedroom, ask if the games are almost over, I'll say no....we've still got the 3:15 game to get to, she'll roll her eyes, another look of disgust, and the door slams a little harder to the bedroom.
5 - Prepare for the 3:15 game...we'll be excited if we're in good shape after the noon games, or we'll wonder why in the hell we drafted Trent Green as our back-up if we're down in points.
6 - By about 5:00, a general consensus is agreed upon as to whether or not we're going to stick it out for the Sunday night game. If we're close, and have someone significant playing, it's a no-brainer. If we're down and have no shot at it, time to close up shop and call it a week.
7 - 8:30-9:00 The headache begins to set in. Whether or not this is due to a bad day on the field, or by financially supporting the Anheuser-Busch Company out, we're still not quite sure.
8 - 10:30 The day is over...perhaps we have someone going Monday night, maybe not. One last check of the league message board for any witty one-liner's or waiver wire deals is completed. Retire for the night, attempt to get a good night kiss...denied. Luckily, for Casey, there is only 15 weeks left. See you next Sunday!!!!!!!!
So tell me about your Fantasy Football Sunday. Are you typically in trouble with your signifcant other by Sunday night? Let's talk some football. Leave a comment in the section provided below. Thanks again for reading.
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