The Weekend in Chicago Sports

During the the weekend that was we crowned a new baseball champ (St. Louis Cardinals -- way to make the AL look good Detroit), found out one NFL team wasn't as overrated as reported (Indianapolis Colts, who as of now look to have a slightly better chance of going undefeated than a certain local team), and watched another team fall from the ranks of the unbeaten in college football (Mr. Booty, you are no Carson Palmer or Matt Leinert).

But this is a Chicago sports blog so we don't care so much about those guys.

As for the Chicagoland area teams the Wildcats were surrounded, the Blackhawks pounded, the Bears rebounded, the Irish astounded, and the Fire were dumbfounded. And the Illini still suck as a football team.

So what might you Chicagoans have missed?

• The Good: Notre Dame. They kept the NCAA's longest winning streak against one team in tact by defeating Navy 38-14 in Baltimore. This first of four straight cupcake games makes for smooth sailing and time to work out the kinks in the offense before that season-ending matchup with the now once defeated USC. Brady Quinn is back on the Heisman radar after his 18-25, 295 yards, 4 TDs (3 pass, 1 run). BCS bowl here we come!
• The Bad #1: Since injuries to their starting goalie, center and winger, the Blackhawks have been blanked twice in a row. Tuomo Ruutu's return couldn't come at a better time.
  
• The Bad #2: The Fire were eliminated from the MLS playoffs after losing to the New England revolution in -- get this -- a two game series. No, they weren't swept in a best of three series. They lost in an ironically named penalty shootout 4-2. The two game series is called an aggregate goal series, and I'm sure glad to know that a team can win a best of two. Or is it really just a 1 game series with a week long halftime?
• The Bad #3: Northwestern -- although, I'd say they handled the team that shall remain nameless better than the Irish did. In the Big House, the Wildcats lose a relative squeaker, 17-3, to the #2 ranked W--------s. Yes, that team will forever remain nameless on this blog, or at least in MY posts.
• The Ugly: San Francisco Forty-Niners. Yes, the Bears were dominant. Yes, they scored a team record 24 points in the first quarter and had the second most points scored in NFL history in a half with 41. But this game was more a product of SF's ineptitude than the Bears' prowess. But it was still fun to watch. And they're taking a cue from the Illini with the Orange Swarm thing. Orange Krush sounds soooo much better though.
• The Utterly Ridiculous: SI's Player Poll listing Brian Urlacher as the second most overrated player in the NFL. Even the claim that T.O. is the most overrated player is laughable. I'm not a T.O. apologist by any stretch of the imagination, but if he were less of a headache, he'd be, hands down, the best WR in the NFL. Back to Urlacher. If you were to see just one play to determine whether or not he's overrated, watch a clip of his interception against the 49ers. (And maybe I'll have that embedded from YouTube shortly.) Brian is talent meets preparation meets football IQ. I am of the very loud opinion that anyone who voted Brian as overrated is just jealous of his success.
• The Laughable: Illinois Football. Another day, another come from behind loss. Midnight Madness can't get here quick enough. (For the uninitiated, that's the start of the college basketball season.)