• Word over the weekend that starting right tackle John Tait is thinking retirement. This leaves ‘rookie’ Chris Williams and undrafted free agent Cody Balogh as the only tackles signed to the roster. Methinks free agent tackle John St. Clair’s price tag just went up.

• The Bears cut ties with wide receiver Marty Booker and veteran safety Mike Brown. Book was largely ineffective in his return to the Bears last season, but did make this highlight reel catch against the hapless Lions earlier this season:

• Meanwhile the oft-injured Mike Brown spent more time in recent years on the sideline than on the gridiron. I’ll never forget the back-to-back INT returns for scores in overtime games back in 2001. I was at the Cleveland game and had all but given up. Check out this Best of Brown list here. Thanks for the memories Brownie!!

These departures  highlight a few of the areas where the Bears need to add depth during this offseason. Hopefully GM Jerry Angelo can make better adjustments to his draft plan than his coaching staff can make to their game plans. If not, it could be a rough 2009 season.

• Meanwhile, over on the Free Agent QB carrousel, add former Buc Jeff Garcia to the mix.  I’ve never been a fan of Garcia from back in his days in San Francisco and the journeyman signal caller certainly is not the long term answer, but if he’s looking for a place where he could start right away…
• Over at the Tribune, David Haugh suggests including face-of-the-franchise middle linebacker Brian Urlacher in a trade to get  Cardinals receiver Anquan Boldin here.  A few years ago, I probably would have gotten in my car and driven down to Tribune Tower to slap David silly.  It’s not such a crazy idea now, but I guess my only thought is that the Bears might be selling low.  ‘Lach for Boldin straight up – take it and don’t look back.  Urlacher and their first round pick for Boldin and I might be more hesitant.

I’ll be “out of the office” for a couple of days as Mrs. Boomer will be delivering the newest Bears fan within the next day or two, so most likely the next time I check in, it’ll be as “Papa Bear” Boomer.  Wish us luck!

But while we wait for Favre’s legacy to be edited predictably once again—how long before a bookmaker releases odds on Favre becoming a Viking?—Wednesday’s development immediately created a ripple effect felt in Chicago.

Without Favre, none of the three quarterbacks on the Jets’ roster— Kellen Clemens, Brett Ratliff and Erik Ainge—has played a full season. Expect the front office to be aggressive in pursuing a starter for new coach Rex Ryan. As the Bears know from seeking a veteran to compete with Kyle Orton, the most acceptable, available options are dwindling by the day.

So the already thin quarterback market just got a little thinner.  Add the Jets to the long list of teams looking for help under center.  For added excitement, they pick #17, one slot ahead of the Bears for anyone that thought the Bears might entertain the idea of taking a QB with their first round draft pick.  With earlier news that Chris Simms favors a return to the Titans and the signings by David Carr and Luke McCown, I’m glad that Jerry Angelo finally decided to target this offseason as the right time to stabilize the QB position for the Bears.  W

Free Agent wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh appeared on ESPN 1000′s Waddle and Silvy show on Thursday morning and chatted up his upcoming free agency on the morning show.  So the question that all Bears fans want answered:  Is he coming to Chicago?  Great question.  The answer, however, is not so simple.  Here is the Tribune headline for Vaughn McClure’s article:

Houshmandzadeh appears open to playing for Bears

and this headline from Brad Biggs’ Inside the Bears blog post:

Houshmandzadeh sounds off and it sounds like Bears aren’t a match

So which is it?  Both articles have an excerpt of the transcript from the interview. (more…)

Who is the worst Super Bowl MVP?

Add Pittsburgh WR Santonio Holmes to the list of the Super Bowl MVP’s.   Lots of big names and Hall of Famers in the bunch, but there are also quite a few one-hit wonders on the list.  (more…)

Dent’s time is definitely coming and I have no doubt that he will take his rightful place alongside teammates Mike Singletary and Dan Hampton from the vaunted ’85 Bears defense. The Colonel was a 4-time Pro Bowler and 1 time All Pro. At the time of his retirement, he was third all time with 137.5 sacks, behind Hall of Famers Reggie White and Bruce Smith.

Michael Irvin will host the yet-to-be-named show set to debut in the Spring on Spike TV, as 12 contestants compete for the right to join the Cowboys preseason roster.  For details, go here.   And for your weekend warriors who still think you have what it takes,  download your application here.  Did Michael Irvin type this  up on a typewriter himself?  Put a little effort into it, would ya? Here are a couple of my favorite questions:

ARE YOU CURRENTLY PLAYING FOOTBALL AND WITH WHO?  IF NO WHY NOT?

…

DO YOU HAVE A FOOTBALL MOTTO THAT YOU LIVE BY?  WHAT IS IT?

…

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT PERFORMANCE ENHANCING DRUGS?

I’m in favor of them.  Seriously, what would anyone with half a brain cell answer to that question???

On top of that, T.O. is getting a show on VH1 to join the ranks of Flavor Flav, Bret Michaels and other celeb wannabe’s.  The Terrell Owens Project will follow the megalomaniac Cowboys receiver during the offseason.

T.O. will be shadowed in the off-season by his best friends and publicists Monique Jackson and Kita Williams as they battle the two sides of his large personality.  Viewers will discover that behind all the braggadocio, emotional histrionics, and sculpted physique that is the outspoken media magnet known to the world as “T.O.” — there is also a quiet, sensitive, mild-mannered guy from Alexander City, Alabama…that’s Terrell.

Braggadocio?  Who makes this crap up?  What’s next, Newlyweds 2 starring Tony and “Yoko Romo” Jessica Simpson?  What’s up with these Cowboys?  You can blame HBO for planting the seed.  They featured this Cowboy team twice on their Hard Knocks series.  I guess the cameras are addicting.  What kind of circus are Jerry Jones and Wade Phillips running down there in Big D?  No wonder these guys didn’t make the playoffs.

It’s bad enough we get sports stars showing up on “Dancing with the Stars” and “The Apprentice”, but now get entire series dedicated to this crap?  And what about the last guy trying to make the Cowboys roster who doesn’t get to go to training camp because they have to give that roster spot to some reality show winner?  Why don’t we just raffle off roster spots to the highest bidder?  Hopefully, the McCaskeys don’t get any ideas.  They’re always looking for new revenue streams.

When are people going to figure out that the sport itself is the best reality show?  You can’t make up stories like the 2009 playoff run by the Arizona Cardinals or the shocking upset last season by the New York Giants over the heavily favored Patriots in Super Bowl XLII.  Reality TV is anything but that and it just doesn’t compare to the real drama that unfolds on the gridiron.  TO TV?  Only if the TO stands for Turn Off!

BOOM!!!

January 26, 1986 is a day that had a profound impact on the lives of many Bears fans and this one in particular.  It is the day the Bears won Super Bowl XX by a then-historic 46-10 margin.  This won’t be the case in two years when the Bears commemorate the 25th anniversary of Super Bowl XX, but on this 23rd anniversary of the lone Chicago Super Bowl title, there was nothing.  Did they all forget? 

Old Doc Brown is at it again to help us relive the the glory that was January 26, 1986.  The top shows back in January of 1986 were the “Cosby Show”,” Family Ties” and “Murder She Wrote”.  Yes, “Murder She Freakin’ Wrote” was a top show.  What were we thinking???    “That’s What Friends are For” by Psychic Friend Dione Warwick and “Say You Say Me” by Lionel Richie topped the charts, but not too far down the list was the ‘Super Bowl Shuffle” by the Chicago Bears Shufflin’ Crew.  Iron Eagle, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 and Rocky IV were big at the Box Office.  Two short days later, sadness cast over the country as the Space Shuttle Challenger tragedy reminded the nation that football, for all that it is, is still just a game.

I was able to find the Sports Illustrated writeup of Super Bowl XX in the SI Vault here.   The article gushes with superlatives of the ’85 Bears and the ferocious defense that devoured the Patriots.  I will always contend that if not for the early Payton fumble on a crossed up play call by quarterback Jim McMahon, the Bears would have shut out the Patriots and been the first and only team to shut out their opponents throughout the playoffs.  As dominant as any defense could be, I don’t know that any team could ever match the 10 points the Bears gave up in the run through that postseason.

A couple of interesting takeaways from the article:

At the time, the Bears set records for margin of victory (36) and points (46).

The Patriots field goal at the 1:19 mark was the fastest score in Super Bowl history until  Devin Hester shattered that record with his 14 second kickoff return at the start of Super Bowl XLI.

The article was prophetic in saying:

The events of the next few weeks and months will determine if this is the beginning of a mighty defensive dynasty (only one of the 11 Bear defenders who started Sunday’s game is older than 28) or a culmination.

Even though the Bears made a few more playoff appearances, as sad as it is to say, I guess it was the culmination.  Don’t worry Bears, I didn’t forget about you!  Happy Devin Hester-eth anniversary of Super Bowl XX.  When Super Bowl Championships are as rare as honest politicians in this town, they should be celebrated and remembered!

BEAR DOWN!!!

In case you’re not well versed in “squares” or want to learn how to set up your own pool, check out this site.  You’ll select a square from a 10 x 10 grid.   After the teams and numbers have been assigned, you have your rooting interest. The last number of the score for each team represents a number on the grid.  If you have Pittsburgh 4 and Arizona 7, and the score is 14-17 in favor of the Cardinals, you would win.   Most pools pay out each quarter, but there are many different payout possibilities, including reverse, touching squares, etc.,  so be sure to check with the pool operator for complete rules.

I found this grid that shows your odds of winning based on actual Super Bowl results.   The number inside the grid represents the number of times that square has hit during one of the previous 41 Super Bowls.  (Full disclosure – this was taken prior to the 2008 Patriots – Giants game, so it is not 100% complete, but should give  a pretty good sense of your chances.) The *’s in some boxes represent the number of times this square was a final score, when pools often have higher payouts.

So if you get a 0 or a 7, there’s a much higher probability of winning, especially compared to getting a 5 or 8.  In case anyone from the IRS is reading this, I NEVER win these things.  Have fun and play responsibly!