the air

March Madness is in full swing and the 2007 NCAA tournament brackets are out. The official NCAA bracket is available here. I’m rooting for the Florida Gators and they had better win. The Purdue Boilermakers have finally made it into the NCAA tourney after a long drought and are hungry for some victories. Unfortunately, they are facing some stiff competition from Arizona in the first round. Good luck to all the teams and to all of you who are participating in the brackets.

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What started out as a great game quickly turned into one of the worst performances by the Chicago Bears. Devin Hester has been nothing short of spectacular this season and quickly scored on the opening drive just 14 seconds into the game. Later on, Muhsin Muhammad scored to make the game 14 - 6 and the Colts started to rack in points. The Bears entered the game as underdogs to the Colts even though they had the better record. However, what set the Indianapolis Colts apart from the Bears was the high-powered offense behind Peyton Manning. Head to head, Manning is simply a far superior quarterback and is easily one of the best players in the NFL.

It would be very imprudent of me to blame Rex Grossman for the Bear’s abysmal performance. The celebrated Bears defense started the game with a level of ferocity that reminded everyone why the Bears deserved to win. However, as soon as the 2nd quarter rolled around, the Bears defense was quick to make amateur mistakes and let the Colts’ offense control the tone of the game. As such, the Bears quickly proved to be ineffective on both sides of the ball. In a way, once Manning found his rhythm, the Bears had no chance of victory.

On the bright side for all Chicago fans, Rex Grossman is now fully experienced. He has played an entire season up to and including the Super Bowl. I believe that Rex will only grow as a quarterback and he will be much better next season. In addition, the Bears defense will also work out some of their kinks and injuries and will have a new spirit and drive to collect the Vince Lombardi trophy. However, I would like to take the time and point out that the Bears must release Ron Turner from his duties. I have a strong suspicion that Ron Turner is the person to blame for all the inadequate performances by Rex Grossman. Lovie Smith is justified in keeping Rex Grossman as his starting QB, however, he should support the removal for Ron Turner, who is notorious for damaging the Fighting Illini’s own football team.

As the off-season begins, the Bears should take some well earned time off and simply relax. There is no point in reflecting right now since it will not change anything. However, the Bears should look to the positives and I know they will be hungry for that trophy that was so close yet so far from them.

Source: Yahoo! Sports

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The Chicago Bears are headed to Superbowl XLI (41 for those of you who are un-talented in Roman numerology) to face the Indianapolis Colts. It also marks the first time that the coaches will be African American. It has been 21 years since the Bears have set foot in an NFL championship game and the first time Peyton Manning is going after some disappointing losses in the past few AFC Championship games. The best part is that the Bears manhandled the Saints late in the game and ensured that New Orleans would be denied a trip to claim the coveted Vince Lombardi Trophy. The final score was 39 - 14, Bears.

Rex Grossman has been scrutinized and criticized for inconsistent performance throughout the season and finally showed his critics why Lovie Smith kept sticking with him. He finished the game 11 of 26 for 144 yards and 1 touchdown with no turnovers. Drew Brees, another fine QB that has had a stellar year with the Saints, finished the game 27 of 49 for 354 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. Although the Saints had 370 total yards, it was the Bears Defense that really instilled fear in the eyes of Bush and Brees. At one point, Reggie Bush taunted Brian Urlacher while running towards the endzone and pointing a finger at him. Happily, Urlacher had the last laugh and exclaimed that Bush is fast but not fast enough. The Bears still struggled to convert on third downs and reach the endzone multiple times. I know that it is unfair to say this but the Bears offense is still lacking in consistency. If it was not for the stringent Bears defense, the Saints would have rolled over the Bears en route to Superbowl XLI.

Congratulations to the Bears and I cannot wait for Superbowl XLI. I won’t be going to Miami to watch, but I will be heading to my friend’s place in Indiana to cheer on the Bears and denounce the Colts.

Source: Yahoo! Sports

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For the first time in over a decade, the Chicago Bears are headed to the NFC Championship Game and will host the New Orleans Saints. The road to this epic game has not been easy and the Bears continued to struggle throughout this game. The Bears defeated a formidable Seahawks team 27 - 24 in OT. As usual, Rex Grossman did not produce a stellar effort, but did facilitate Robbie Gould’s 49 yard game-winning field goal.

Grossman was 21 of 38 for 282 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception. Tommie Jones contributed two touchdowns and rushed 21 times for 66 yards. Robbie Gould was 3 for 3 in field goals and 2 for 2 in extra point attempts. Luckily, the players that needed to play well did play well. And for the forth time this season, the Bears defense struggled to contain Shawn Alexander. However, even with effective running, Hasselbeck felt the intense physical and mental pressure the Bears defense brought against him.

At halftime the Bears led the Seahawks 21 - 14 and had great positive momentum going in. However, the Seahawks instantly rebounded back after halftime and quickly tied the game. After taking a momentary 24 - 21 lead, the Bears responded with a field goal to tie the game. During the last 5 minutes of the 4th quarter, the Bears defense struggled as well as the Seahawks’ offense’s inability to convert on third and forth downs. As the game escalated to over-time, the Bears were able to stop the Seahawks at their 48. Needless to say, Grossman struggled to move the Bears forward, but just enough for Gould to kick his game-winning field goal and send the Bears to the NFC championship game.

Next week, the Saints will be visiting Chicago to vie for the NFC crown and a ticket to the Superbowl. In addition to rooting for the Bears this season, I also admire Drew Brees, as I have a special fondness for his skills. I’m conflicted as to who to root for, but my heart and soul is always with Chicago. So I’ll be rooting for the Bears and rooting for Drew Brees to remain healthy in the face of the demeaning onslaught brought by the Bears defense.

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The Florida Gators easily routed #1 Ohio State 41 - 14. After the opening drive and the first OSU touchdown, the Buckeyes had no chance and didn’t even come close to challenging the relentless onslaught brought on by the Gators.

Florida came into the game as an underdog and was critically blasted by many critics as a team undeserving of a national championship. However, critics of Florida were put to shame as the Gators manhandled the Buckeyes and ran away with their second national championship. Florida finished the game with 372 total offense yards compared to the measly 82 yards posted by Ohio State’s critically acclaimed offense.

Chris Leak finished the game 25 of 36 for 212 yards and no interceptions. Troy Smith, the 2006 season Heisman winner, was 4 of 14 for 35 yards with 1 interception. I’m not sure how much of an impact this will have on his draft stock, but you can clearly expect that Smith will have to put up impressive numbers at the NFL Combine later this year.

Unfortunately, I was one of the odd critics that felt that Florida was not a good match up for Ohio State and that Michigan deserved another shot at Ohio State. The entire Florida team came into this game with the mentality that they were not going to let some critics blast them without any proof. I know for a fact that I myself have much more respect for this team than the Buckeyes. Florida came in and took command of the game early on and forced the Buckeyes to play follow the leader. You could literally see the determination the team had, tackling players without their helmet and pushing themselves to keep fighting.

Congrats to the Florida Gators and I AM THRILLED!

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