I was just wondering if anyone in Wrigleyville is getting any sleep while the Cubs field undergoes “Extreme Makeover: Ballpark Edition.” It wasn’t even a year ago Rick Renteria was hired, in part, because of his ability to develop young talent. Now the big beef against him is he’s not Joe Maddon. Chicago Cubs president Theo Espstein must be planning a splash on the free agent market, or he has a ton of faith in Maddon. By the way, did anyone else notice the resemblance between Maddon and Harry Caray in the news conference yesterday? Especially when he offered to buy the first round? With Maddon at the helm, will James Shields come on board to provide the same clubhouse leadership on the North Side as he did in Kansas City? Let the Hot Stove League begin! If Notre Dame plans on playing in the first ever big-time college football tournament this January, they’d better start playing to their standards, rather than to the competition. They’re all must-win games for the Irish, but after last week’s relatively close call against Navy, they need to pull a can of “Whoopum” from the pantry every week. But with another Irish loss, will the talk of the conclusion of the Florida State game end? Please? All the discussion regarding who will make college football’s Final Four is mildly interesting, but at this stage is pointless. There’s too much to be played out to reach any kind of conclusion. I’m glad there’s finally, finally, a playoff. Expand it to 12 teams and now we’ve got something. Then we could justify more than two teams from the Southeastern Conference. Many major sports organizations would try to downplay a fight amongst competitors. NASCAR? Nope. They offered a full, edited sound for swearing video of the incident between Jeff Gordon and Brad Keselowski on their website, almost immediately. The cursory fines are on the way, but I don’t think that will turn down the temperature, already at about 210 degrees, for Sunday’s race in Phoenix. A little help here, please. If a race is 312 miles and 312 laps, why do they call it the “Race For Heroes 500?” And as I’m writing this, Sports Editor Dale Hubler has let me know that it’s 500km. Good thing there’s a race fan in the department. Speaking of Little, as in Jamie Little, pit reporter for ESPN, I have to give credit where it’s due. I’m not a big fan of sideline reporters in general, but she didn’t shy away from the melee on Sunday. I’m pretty sure, given a choice, I would have. She’s also not a part of the story, which is always excellent reporting. To Tell The Truth: Given the history of the Bidwell family in running the Arizona Cardinals with a tight fist, who among us would have guessed that, in a division with San Francisco and Seattle, they would have the best record in the NFL at the halfway point? Yeah, Colts fans are grateful for Bruce Arians’ work there two seasons ago when head coach Chuck Pagano had his well-documented health issues. Colts fans knew Arians would make the Cardinals tougher, and they wouldn’t be a doormat under his watch. My guess is the only people betting on Arizona being 7-1 at this point have a DeLorean with a flux capacitor. Is Trent Richardson ever going to pan out? The discussion on national radio and television centers around Andrew Luck’s record setting passing yardage pace, and justifibly so. But without it, are the Colts even a .500 team? Richardson said before the season his goal was to rush for 1,000 yards this season. At this point he’s less than halfway. He came at a high cost, and makes good money, so the Colts won’t give up as easily as I’d like them to. Then again, what are the alternatives for this season? Can anybody tell me when the last time an NFL team had a shutout and was shut out in the same season. I mean, before San Diego completed the feat Sunday. To Phillip Rivers, regarding my fantasy team; thanks for nothing! Shout out to Grace College men’s head basketball coach Jim Kessler on his 700th career win. It was refreshing to have a sports discussion about “700” and not hear the word “steroids.” I’ve been thinking quite a bit lately about what sports and elections have in common. Three things for certain; the higher the level the more intense the competition, people are very loyal to their favorites, and there’s always someone very happy when the season ends.
