Some Thoughts For January, 18th

OK, so today I have nothing huge to talk about, but I had a few thoughts on some things. This is probably what will happen on days that I want to write, but don't have a huge topic to cover. I'll just hit you with some thoughts, and go from there. If you ever watch "Rome is Burning" on ESPN, it is kind of like the first segment on his show. Just a bunch of random thoughts on things that I am "burning" on. OK, here we go.....

1. First thing I want to cover is the brutal attack of my Chicago Bears. Now, as I touched on yesterday, I know that there are issues. I will also admit that this team would most likely lose to the Seahawks of last year and will (and should be) an underdog to the Colts or Patriots. I know that the NFC is bad, and the NFC North might have been the worst of all of them (although I think the West was) so there schedule might not have been as impressive as some other teams. I know that their defense is not the dominant force it was earlier in the year.

I know these things, but I don't care. This is a good team. I know all the "experts" are busy bashing them, and it appears that it is fashionable to bash the Bears. Here are the facts though, their defense is still ranked higher than any of the other teams left in the playoffs. Other than Indy, none of the remaining defenses are playing all that well. Ask yourself honestly, if you could take one of those four, which would you take? I think most people, assuming they could look at this evenly, would take the Bears. Without Tommie Harris and Mike Brown they are not the unstoppable force they were early, like the Ravens are now. However, they still have more talent on that side of the ball than anyone left, and they still make the stops when they have to.

I would bring up last years Super Bowl winner, the Pittsburgh Steelers. Is there anyone in the world that thinks they were the best team in football last year? I think most people would agree that they got hot at the right time, and had some things go there way (good cut there Nick Harper!). Why didn't people call them out last year like they are calling out the Bears? What is different? This is a good team. Were they the best team throughout the year, no, but they were at one point. After week 5 would anyone have said that the Ravens or the Chargers were as good as the Colts or Bears? I doubt it. At the end of the season, would anyone say that the Bears or Colts were close to the Ravens or Chargers? Again, not likely. However, what two teams are still playing? People just need to deal with whatever it is that bothers them about the Bears. It is very rare anymore that the "best" team wins the championship. That's just they way it is. Deal with it, and move on. Now, all this being said, I still don't think the Bears are going to beat the Saints, but this was just bothering me.

2. Now, I want to move on to something that is a big, pleasant surprise for me and that is how good the Indiana Hoosiers basketball team is playing so far. This was supposed to be a year of transition, with the bringing in of Kelvin Sampson, but it is starting to look like one of the more successful years in recent memory for the Hoosiers. They are a team full of guys that most people haven't heard of. The only top player is DJ White. The rest of the team is a bunch of middle-of-the-road players from around the country. However, this team is now playing as well as anyone in the Big 10 not from the state of Wisconsin. Their only loss in conference was in Columbus to the top 10 Buckeyes, and they actually led at one point in the second half. Their 4 losses are all road losses to top 25 teams (Butler in Indianapolis, @ Duke, @ Kentucky, and @ Ohio State). They are now killing people. Their defense is crushing, and they are shooting the lights out. Now, do I think they will continue to play this well? Probably not, but they are going to be a team that is very, very scary to play at the end of the season. There is a very good chance that they will be a top 3 seed in the Big 10 tournament, and they could also be a top 4 seed in their region of the NCAA tournament. If you had told any average IU fan that we would make the tournament, and maybe win a game, they would be thrilled. I'm going to up the ante. I think this is a team that will go to the sweet 16, at least, and they will be one of the 3 or 4 scariest teams in the nation come March. Write it down!