Pixote

The Pick'ems Contest is Ready for Signups. The WebSite Address is: http://www.talkbears.com/Contests/index.htm To Sign up go to the rules page and follow instructions The Rules Page is accessable with the links at the top of the home page or go to: http://www.talkbears.com/Contests/rules.htm I have sent private messages to all who responded to the first thread about the contests. The Contest is FREE - Prizes for all 3 contests!! Sign up ASAP! You are offically invited to join, LOL. Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions. Thanks, Pixote - John

Can't say any of us should be surprised. I wonder if we go after someone as a possible Backup to Forte in case on injury? Isn't Kevin Jones still out there? I also would like to know how this will effect our cap space.

A lot of Personal attacks going on in this thread. Forum members do not like censorship so I am trying to refrain from doing so. Calling others raging alcoholics and Nazis is getting, IMO, very much out of line. Referrences to "Were you an intern to one of O.J.'s defense lawyers?" is kind of borderline. There is no reason this should get out of hand. Just stop the personal attacks. It was a good thread when it started.

It has certainly caused me to step back and reevaluate my thinking on the Boating incident. I was optimistic at first that Benson's side of that incident was "closer" to the truth. Now, this has led me to change my opinion and I am beginning to think he may have been indeed under the influence of alcohol during the Boating incident. I am also beginning to wonder if he may have a dependency problem with alcohol. If so, it would explain his irrational behavior in this second incident. I know from experience in observing my brother Phil, who died in a boating accident when under the influence of alcohol, how an alcohol dependency can be a cruel and controlling aspect of one's behavior.

Bears Online Pro Shop Just click on the link above to check out all the items and prices. You can enlarge the pictures to see them more clearly.

Exactly Right - You nailed it! As far as I am concerned a jay walking ticket, a littering violation, or a parking ticket would have been stupid at this point in the game. He was already warned to stay clean. He knew he had pending issues with the state of Texas. How dumb can you be?

I just now see that the Offical Bears Site is offering for sale the new "Traditions" items mentioned earlier on the forum by another poster. Bears Online Pro Shop Some of my favorites:

Ok, I DO NOT DRINK alcohol - had a brother who died of alcoholism related event - I refuse to risk it I have NEVER been drunk I have NEVER therefore driven under the influence of alcohol I walk with pain with every step (since 1978) after a drunk driver hit me and fractured my right hip I agree, innocent until proven guilty However, the fact is his behavior in this last incident still shows a lack of judgment in that he should never have put himself in this position. He knew he needed to refrain from any form of "risky behavior". As a Bears fan I was looking forward to a two headed monster of the midway - Benson & Forte Now I will settle for Forte to step up and kick ass and pick up a good backup for protection What a waste of talent. All because of his lack of mental awareness & his psychological makeup

LOL, If we picked up Henry, who has had his share of off the field problems (including 9 kids by 9 different women) to replace Benson because of his off the field problems, WOW, man would that be as stupid a move!!

My question is if we dump Benson now and Forte gets injured or does not play to the expectations we have of him (which is very high in my case) then who do we have as a starter? AP is a good backup but I would not want him as a full time starter. Wolfe is a good change of pace "prospect" but certainly not a full time starter, IMO. I think if we dump Benson, we look to still bring in a 4th RB as a potential starter if Forte gets injured.

Does it really matter? I do not know of a die hard Bears fan who does not know. I am anxious to see what they come out with. I have been wanting a cool Bears Leather Jacket. I have been searching around and everything I find are items I have seen many fans wear. I want something a little unique. If anyone knows of somewhere I can find a high quality Leather Jacket that you think would fit my needs, please let me know. Again, I am looking for leather, high quality, and not something you are going to see a dozen Bear fans walking around in the next time you go to a main event.

Article from ChicagoBears.com

I know it isn't going to happen.... And I know most of you do not agree... But I sure wish the Bears would consider picking up Simms from TBB and have him as our #3 (he may be better than Rex or Kyle). I honestly think he is an outstanding young prospect at QB. Yes, he had a severe injury but it was a spleen, not a knee or shoulder, or ankle, etc... Last time I checked a spleen is not necessary to be a good QB, you do have to have a heart and a brain, that Simms has, along with, IMHO, talent.

I will be running Fantasy Football Leagues for the forum this year. I am not sure if I will go with Yahoo or CBS but I assure you it will be free to the poster entering. Until I decide which site to use, CBS or Yahoo, the only thing I can give you for details for sure is: I like to run 12 team leagues with HIGH SCORING, in other words, points for just about everything, LOL. I usually run it with team defense/st. I usually have multiple flex positions and LARGE rosters. I INSIST ON A LIVE DRAFT!! So if you join, I hope you will be in the draft room on time!! Nothing is worse than having a team auto drafted during a live draft and selecting players who are already on the IR or retired, ughh. Obviously, there are times when something comes up and you just can not make it. That is fine, just make sure you set up your auto draft que so that you do not wind up with a player who was originally rated by the site as a top 10 and is now in prison playing ball with Vick, LOL. How many leagues will there be, well, it depends on how many of you want to participate. I will set up as many as we can fill. HOWEVER, please do not respond to this post and say you want to sign up unless you are serious! Everyone here knows how a league can be ruined for all playing if league owners do not show up and manage their starting rosters. It really sucks to have lame duck owners. Once I am notified that the sites are beginning to accept team sign ups, I will update with details and a cut off date for joining. Don't miss out, this is usually a lot of fun and the bragging rights and trash talk during the season is worth the price of admission, ZERO, LOL. If you have questions PM me or start another thread please.

OK, this is the official sign up thread for this year's Pick'em Contests. DBDB has said he would give me access to upload the contest to the internet. It will be awhile before the software for 2008 is available for me to purchase and download. So, this is just an early sign-up thread that will continue until approximately a week before the season begins. The cutoff date will be announced later. Those of you from Bearstalk are all aware of the contests that I have been running for many years now. "Pixote's Challenge" is an office pool that is absolutely free to the poster participating. I have not decided if there will be any prizes. Usually, it is just for bragging rights. Maybe we can work out something with DBDB where if you win it can somehow be added to your profile, or maybe we can start a page showing the winners from each year as we did on Bearstalk. Unfortunately, when my system crashed without a backup, I lost all the awards pages I had for the previous years I ran this. I want to keep it simple this year. Last year we had 3 different pool sites going. This year it is going to be just one pool site with 3 contests you will be entered into. You will go to the main page of the web site for the contest and will have access to all types of resources showing information you can use to help make your selections and view the weekly results as well as the year's standings for each contest. You will make you selections on an internet picksheet and submit it to me. Your selections will not show up until the deadline for picks are completed, this way no one can copy your picks. I have to upload each players picks using the program interface so it is not something done automatically on the internet. I assure you I will try and keep everything updated quickly but if I am a bit slow at times do to work I would hope you would understand. Contest 1: Pick'ems Against the Spread: The main pick'em pool will be a contest where each week you will select the teams you think will win AGAINST THE SPREAD. In other words, if the Bears are favored by 9 and they only win by 8, if you choose the Bears to win, since they did not cover the spread, you lose that game. If you chose the Bears' opponent, since they "covered the spread", you win. The player who has the highest winning percentage of wins after the season is over wins this pool. Tie Breakers will be announced later. Contest 2: Survivor Pool: Pick one team each week to win. 3 losses and you are out. You can only pick a team once. Example- In Week 1 you pick Detroit- you can't pick them again in this pool. If you do, it will be a loss. In case of multiple "deaths" at the last a tie breaker will be used. Tie Breaker - The longest "winning streak" of games picked of those players. THIS POOL IS STRAIGHT UP, NO SPREAD!! Believe me, it is tough enough to survive in this pool without having to cover the spread. Contest 3: Margin Pool: You pick one team to win and receive the "Margin" or points that game is won by. You also lose those same points if your team loses. All games are straight up, NO "Spread". Winner is the person with the most points at the regular seasons end. For example, if you pick the Bears and they win by 8, you win 8 points, if they lose by 24 (more likely) you lose 24 points. You may only pick a team one time for the season. Duplicate picks or picking a team for the second time or missed. Anyone interested, please respond to this thread. If you have questions, please PM me or post it in a new thread and I will answer your questions asap. Thanks!

Has he satated he would be unwilling to play special teams for the Bears? He may have refused this role in the past but knowing this may be his last chance to keep his career in the NFL, he might be having a change of attitude.

If this is the case and he is traded, what do you think we would get? My guess is a conditional 5th or 6th rounder. Last time we made a trade like this when we thought we had depth at a position we wound up regretting it later. Biggs is an idiot, but he makes some good points in the article. Article from Chicago Sun-Times

I am getting anxious to see these guys in preseason games. I think they will both turn out to be excellent WRs for the Bears and turn our WR corps into a very respectable one. ProFootbalolWeekily.com The Way We Hear It - NFC North

Gotta agree, If our OL plays average or better than average this year, (I feel last year they were one of the worst in the league) and Rex & Ced still play like crap, then I will give up on them. Until then, as far as I am concerned, the jury is still out on both of them. It is hard to see a receiver laying on your back or looking out your helmet's ear hole. It is hard to hit the hole as a RB when a defensive player is standing 5 yards in your backfield ready to shake your hand as you are handed the ball.

Wow, the escalating salaries in the NFL are mind boggling!

I like the way Angelo continues to reward players when possible and keeps them happy. Sometimes the marketplace with the new era of exculating Caps and Free Agency does not allow this but Angelo has done a fine job with the challenges presented to do so.

The Bears Site just put up an article: Bears Team Site Article

Chicago Tribune Article Link Chicago Bears Team Site Article Great Job JA!!

I would agree, we need to keep all 4 RBs, AP, Wolfe, Benson, & Forte. They all fit certain roles and all can be valuable to this team (and yes, I think if our OL is solid this year, Benson will be a solid RB also.).

I agree with you Grizz, the key is self control. I have certainly used my share of 4 letter words when upset or joking around in certain situations but only in private or when with friends who are doing likewise and I know would not be offended. I certainly have the self control not to use this language in the work environment, around my grandchildren (or any children), when in a restaurant or store, etc...