Greg Couch: It's good to see Cubs fans getting so worked up, so tense. It's a historic moment, actually, because I think the whole ''lovable losers'' thing is finally over and gone. Let's bury the word ''Cubbies,'' too. And don't get me started on ''Cub Nation.''
Greg Couch: I believed in Rashaan Salaam but never Curtis Enis. Anthony Thomas, briefly. Cedric Benson? OK, I'll admit it. Yes. Belief. The Bears have this town on an amazing emotional string. They dangle a new running back whom everyone gets excited about.
I'm sorry. I got caught up in the moment. I justified it to myself as trying to be my best. I was wrong.
Greg Couch: In China today, they're planning to celebrate. The countdown sign near Tiananmen Square goes to 100. Today is 100 days until the start of the Beijing Olympics. One hundred singers will perform a song marking the final countdown, and 10,000 runners are expected to compete in a marathon.
The new Volkswagen Beetle gets 20 mpg in the city and has integrated mirrors and heated washer nozzles. Heated washer nozzles!
If you throw away some pants because they don't look good on you, do you replace them by buying the exact same pants again?
Greg Couch: Throw another name on the Bulls coaching search pile: Tom Izzo. Rick Carlisle, the Scott Skiles clone, already has interviewed. And now — according to Yahoo! Sports — the Bulls are considering Izzo, the Michigan State coach. So where does this leave Bulls GM John Paxson in his search?
Greg Couch: Before the season, silly me, I thought Jose Contreras had gotten way too old to be a top pitcher. But now, with the Sox in first place, well, maybe I was wrong. ''He has lost some [power] now,'' White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper said before Tuesday night's game against the Yankees.
Some things are true. Some things you accept with an inner wink just because you want to. But then there are moments that cross over the line so blatantly, make you wonder if you heard right, interrupt the normal flow of things. You stop short and think: Wait a minute.
Michael Phelps has no trouble talking about Speedo, that's for sure. He's paid to wear the company's new swimsuit and will win a half-dozen gold medals, or more, in the Beijing Olympics this summer.
The original $57 million didn't seem to bother anyone. It was a little high for Brian Urlacher, but he had the potential to be a big star. And he got there, too. When athletes land these contracts, for the most part the big bucks are celebrated.
He has a big house in the suburbs with a 25-meter pool in the backyard. He has a beautiful wife he has loved for nearly 25 years, four kids, all swimmers, and a part-ownership in a downtown commercial real estate firm. So it doesn't seem to have ruined David Sims' life.
Greg Couch: Bill Self walked off the court as national champion, cut down the nets and then said the magic words: He wants to renegotiate his contract. He also wouldn't rule out his dream job at Kansas for Oklahoma State, where some oilman named T. Boone is waving tens of millions of dollars.
