The Windy City Flier

He goes by many names and phrases:

• The Windy City Flier
• The Awesome
• Any Time
• Mr. Rediculous
• Second City Speedster

He already holds or shares 5 NFL Records, and he is only in his 2nd season:

• Longest play (108 yards)* - Against New York Giants on November 12, 2006
  Most touchdowns returns in a season (six) - 2006 season
  Most touchdowns kick and punt returns in a season (five) - 2006 season
  Most touchdown returns as a rookie (six) - 2006 season
  Most touchdown returns in one game (two)** - Against St. Louis on December 11, 2006

So what makes Devin Hester so special? He didn't have the best childhood, as his mother was severely injured in a car accident before he was a teenager, and his father died of cancer. Hester's stepfather and brother helped him get his life back on track when they got him invloved in football. He started exceling in both sports and acedemics. He got a scholarship to Miami and became friends with Deion "Primetime" Sanders. It was at Miami where Devin first got the nickname "Anytime" as sort a tribute to Sanders. He's a Christian, and is very involved in helping out the Youth and donating time and money.

He became the first person in NFL history to return the opening kick of a Super Bowl for a Touchdown. Hester is also the only person in history to be given a score of 100 on Speed in the Madden NFL video games. Jeff Joniak, a play-by-play guy for the Bears coined the phrase "Devin Hester, you are rediculous" and uses it quite often.

Teams have started kicking away from Devin on both Punts and Kickoffs, but the Bears are now also working him in at receiver, and he is already showing dividends with a long TD reception against the Vikings.

I was very young when Payton was in his prime, but I remember watching him play and I remember all the things my father told me about him. Payton will without a doubt always be the most iconic Chicago Bear, but I can truly appreciate how exciting it must have been to watch him play when I see Devin out there.

You never know what's going to happen when he gets the ball in his hands, but I am very happy that he's on my team, and not playing against me.

No matter what nickname you call him, it doesn't really matter to me, because I call him a Chicago Bear....and that's the most important name he can have in my opinion.

Presenting Your 2007 Chicago Bulls

The hopes were high last year, especially after the big signing of Ben Wallace. Outsiders were picking the Bulls to go far in the playoffs, and deep down, I was too. However when I would take off my Red and White colored glasses, I could see a team that was missing a scoring presence on the inside. Would Tyrus Thomas step up? Could PJ Brown offer enough of a presence? Those were my thoughts going into last year. I knew they could get far in the East, but if they could somehow make it to the Finals, the West would probably destroy them. Well, turns out they couldn't get past Detroit. They went up 2-1 in the best of 7 series, but would wind up losing 3 in a row to a much more veterand Detroit team. Let's not forget just how young this Bulls team is. That brings us to the 2007-8 season. I have on my Red and White glasses again, and with that comes great optimism and hope. So, here is my look at the 2007 Chicago Bulls:

PG: Kirk Hinrich: He's generally overlooked when it comes to Point Guards in the NBA, but if you look closely, he's improving his game steadily every year and becoming more and more of a leader on the court. He's increased his FG% every year, with last year being his high at 44.8%. He still sometimes tends to try and do a little too much if Gordon and Deng are struggling, but he has definitely proved his worth hitting many clutch shots last season and in the playoffs. Kirk is 26, and one of the few players that actually stayed in college perfecting his game.

SG: Ben Gordon: Gordon has become the "go to" guy for the Bulls, Mr.4th Quarter. I can't count how many games Ben has just taken over, and when he is on, no one can stop him. Gordon has struggled at times, and almost seemed more comfortable coming off the bench than he was starting. He'll be starting this year and the Bulls need him to show the same fire and passion in quarters 1 through 3 that he does in quarter 4. Don't forget, Ben Gordon is only 24 years old.

SF: Luol Deng: Deng really blossomed into a big time player last year, and showed everyone what he is capable of. He's only 22 years old, and his best basketball is still ahead of him. He started all 82 games last year, the only Bull to do so, and led the team in shooting percentage just under 52%. He is a very strong defensive pplayer as well, yet rarely commits fouls...only averaging 2 per game. He's a great person on and off the court, winning the NBA's Sportmanship Award that is voted on by NBA players.

C: Ben Wallace: In all reality, who doesn't know what Ben Wallace's game is all about? He's a defensive guy that brings great energy and heart to the floor, he just doesn't have an offensive game. He's a great shot blocker and he provides some verteran leadership on the court. He's getting a little up there in age at 33, but can still provide the defensive presence the Bulls need from the man in the middle. He's on the shorter side for an NBA Center at only 6 foot 9 inches, but when is AFro is in full effect, it makes him look about 7 foot tall.

PF: Here is where things get a little interesting. In all honesty, this should be Tyrus Thomas' job to lose. His athleticism and natural skill is unmatched by anyone on this team, he just has yet to show the heart and effort to put it all together. The also picked up veteran Joe Smith this off-season who should get some good playing time if his knees hold up. Then it brings us to two rookies, Joakim Noah and Aaron Gray. I have to admit, I wasn't happy with the drafting of Noah. I thought, we already have Tyrus Thomas, we don't need Noah. But Noah offers something Tyrus doesn't, and that's heart and hustle. Noah is an all-out energy type of player. If he had the athleticism and natural skill that Tyrus has, he would be unstoppable. Unfortunately, he has a shot that is uglier than Wallace's. Now, that brings us to Gray, who has really stepped up in the pre-season and has earned himself some playing time with great defense and even some offensive prowess. This will most likely be a platoon situation until someone steps up. I'm really pulling for Tyrus to show some fire, that kid can be special if he can put it all together.

So, that brings me to my prediction for the 2007-8 season. Can the Bulls win the East? Absolutely, I fully believe they could have last year, and they've only gotten better this year. Can they hang with a West team in the Finals? If I leave my Red and White glasses on, I say yes, and being the fan I am, I have to believe that. Their main competition in the East will come from the Cavs, Pistons, and maybe the Celtics with the big three they have now. This Bulls team is very young and has steadily improved every year, going further in the playoffs. They have a very talented and very young roster that continues to grow together. Thier coach, Scott Skiles, is a no-nonsense fiery competitor that seems to get everything he can from his players. It's taken a long time to get back to the top after the Jordan Era, but I believe we are just about to get there again.

I'm excited for this year, I can't wait for opening night.

Where did it all go wrong?

The Bears were coming off one of their best seasons in history. Everyone was returning, the offense was supposed to be improved and the defense was supposed to be just as nasty as it had been when it led them to a Superbowl. So what happened?

First of all, let me preface this by saying that this is the most disappointed I have been by a Bears team in a long time. I had huge expectations for them this year, first time I've really had expectations like this. So, let me breakdown on what I think happened.

1. Rex Grossman didn't grow into the QB that we all had hoped for. After his Nuclear start to 2006, everyone thought we finally found our QB. Then, he started turning in stinker after stinker....with a few decent games sprinkled in. It was okay that he wasn't that great because we had a scoring defense and Devin Hester to help cover up how Rex was playing. Instead of an open competition for QB this year, Rex was given the reigns, and stunk it up again. He was finally benched after the 3rd game of the year for Brian Greise.
2. Thomas Jones was traded to make room for Cedric Benson. Personally, I think Benson will start picking it up, but so far this move hasn't panned out. Not that TJ is doing anything special in NY. The O-Line has been horrible, many times Benson is being hit right as he gets the ball. With that said, there are also many runs that end to soon because he couldn't break a tackle. He is being questioned big time, and I think he'll start responding soon.
3. The Defense. To me, this is the biggest disappointment. Everyone had questions or reservations about the offense, but this D was supposed to be the best in the NFL. Well, they aren't even top 15 or 20 right now. We have so many problems it makes my stomach turn, but here are the biggest ones:

• Adam Archuleta. I wasn't too fond of signing him, and he has proved me right. He can't cover, he misses tackles, bounces off of people and finally got benched for a 7th round draft pick
• Danieal Manning. He's been moved around from FS, to SS, to CB, and honestly I just think the kid is confused. He's a gifted athlete, but never really had the chance to play and learn one position. Right now, he is lost.
• Mike Brown. Yet another season ending injury. This guy is the heart and soul of this defense, not Urlacher. When he is out, it kills us. He's a leader out there, and our secondary always looks lost when he is on the sideline.
• Nathan Vasher. Out with a groin injury for the past three weeks, and maybe a couple more. We don't have good depth here, and it's showing.
• Tackling. I know the coaches emphasize trying to strip the ball, but I lost count at how many of our players missed tackles. Tackling is essential, even above creating turnovers.

Can this year be fixed? I fully believe we can still make the playoffs, but the NFC Central is the Packers to lose. If we can fix our defense, start tackling, and get some players back we could still end the season with a 9-7 record and earn a wild-card birth into the playoffs. Greise and Benson are good enough as long as the defense starts showing up. Allowing 35 4th quarter points in one game is shameful, same as allowing a rookie RB to run for almost 200 yards and 3 TD's on you. This isn't the Bears defense that I know and love, and I sure hope the players recognize that as well. Show some heart boys, it's not too late to turn it around.

More Flag Football.....

Well, my son has played about 4 games of Flag Football now. He loves playing QB and RB, and he's learning how to use his stiff arm:He eventually got his flag pulled by another kid, but he had a good run. Later he missed the handoff to the Rb, so he took off running and got ahead of everyone for a TD!!
He's having a really fun time learning how to play the game and have fun with his teammates. They had their first loss of the year last week, so he's also learning how to deal with losing a game. He's starting to understand that as long as you play your hardest and have fun, that's what the game is all about.

His sister was very excited to learn about the TD!:

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