When you look up the definition of journeyman type of player, they have to show a picture of Josh McCown. The man has a closet filled with multiple jerseys from throughout the NFL. A few years back, his children were wearing his different jerseys for Halloween. You might need quarterback Phillip Rivers’ services, who can mass produce children, to keep up with the towns McCown has played for in over a 17 year career. That’s ten NFL cities. You can include the United Football League as number 11 as he played for the Hartford Colonials. Perhaps that league was renting the uniforms to stay above water. McCown, like a band on a tour, might have performed in your town at some point and put on a good show. He’s hanging up the spikes for good and calling it a career in the NFL

Josh McCown is no Tom Brady. He’s a guy that was a late bloomer when it comes to his performance on the field. He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in 2002. He is officially the last player from the 2002 draft. Oh are we all getting too old. After 4 years in cactus land, then to “motor city.’ He then hung out with the people from Mad Max in Oakland. Next, across the country to visit Carolina. Sharpen up his skills in Hartford in the UFL. Then went back to California to hang out with Uncle Jesse at the bay for the 49ers. Finally he reached Chicago for stuffed crust pizza. It was Chicago where he really resurrected his career. You could say he even arrived in this league as a guy that can be a starter.

In 2013, as we go back in the time machine to the dark days of Chicago football. Back when Jay Cutler was the starting quarterback for the Bears. Jay Cutler was showing people he was a guy that does not have any heart or desire to lead your team to the promised land. It was a town divided with this bar stool conversation every week. Half of the people said Jay Cutler was hot garbage while the other half were delusional. Most of Chicago still has never seen a quarterback. You have to go back to Jim McMahon. Then of course Sid Luckman, from a very long time ago.

Jay Cutler got hurt that season. Then came Josh McCown and he was brilliant. The team went up and down the field. The team won games. It was the way he handled himself in the pocket. The way he commanded the huddle. Some people were like, “Who the hell is this guy?” Some people did not like what was going on, especially the Bears brass. The locker room was divided and they rushed Jay Cutler back on the field. They even gave Jay Cutler a contract extension. If the Bears rode the hot hand the rest of the season, perhaps they could have made the playoffs. Then maybe the Bears would have never extended Jay Cutler’s contract and those black clouds above Soldier’s field would not have haunted this team. They brought more years to come of lousy football with a guy who did not even give two craps about your team or your city. He was happy to cash the checks. Surprises me still today that there’s a few of those Jay Cutler people that have a blind eye to who he really was and how he played with the tools he had.

Since the Bears’ stupid front office at the time locked up Jay Cutler, they could not bring back Josh McCown. Being in the Bears uniform and the way he played did Josh McCown well, because then he got a big contract with the Buccaneers. He got hurt down in Florida. Then he went to Cleveland. So Josh McCown can say he played for two cities that were starving for decades at the time for a quarterback, Cleveland and Chicago. The way players behind center rotated in and out every season to be on a never-ending Santa Clause list in Cleveland and Chicago. Josh played well in Cleveland, but they did not have a balanced roster of quality players. Many holes. Just like in New York where the Jets signed Josh McCown to his final team and city on that long journey through the NFL.

McCown got more starts at the end of his tenure, than in the beginning. He had some monster games. He brought his team back and had some great winning drives as the field general. Could this whole journey as a back up most of his career and still seeing many games as a starter continue to help him after his playing days? Plus filling in when your number is called due to injury or the ineffectiveness of someone else’s play. Plus he was the only guy to be actually friends with Jay Cutler as a quarterback teammate. Cutler did not like anybody in the room besides himself. Then how he helped the young Sam Darnold in New York develop. This journey will not be the end of Josh McCown as he might go down a road as a coach. He could be a broadcaster.He knows the x’s and o’s of the game. He lived on the bubble trying to make a team’s roster. He can break down other quarterbacks’ mechanics like their foot work and their throws. Maybe he could be the one to develop the next Patrick Mahomes. He might be on your television breaking down the play of your city’s quarterback next season. Whatever he does, he will do it with heart and desire, which he showed you during 17 years performing live in your town on Sunday afternoons.

The Toronto Raptors are your newest NBA champions of the 2018-2019 season. They knocked off the defending champs from last season in the Golden State Warriors. Plus the Raptors could possibly ended the Warrior dynasty for good, with their rise to the top. The Raptors were a playoff team last season and they were able to get passed the first round. The Raptors have been a making the playoffs regularly but had never been able to get to that championship level, until this season. It was the play of Kawhi Leonard who was the biggest factor, that helped the Raptors win the whole enchilada. To get a Kawhi Leonard they had to sacrifice one of their own to make it happen. Raptors sent two players to the San Antonio Spurs with a draft pick, to pry Leonard from them. It was a certain virgin the Spurs wanted to make this deal happen. A virgin with lots of miles on the body. Raptors sent Demar DeRozan to the Spurs, as the sacrificial lamb that helped the Raptors win the championship.

The other player the Raptors sent to the Spurs in that trade that got them Leonard was Jakob Poeltl. Both of these players from the Spurs have to be angry and pulling their hair out their heads. They were the ones that helped their former organization win a championship. Yep, your old team had to get of rid you so they can get further in the playoffs. So they could win the first ever championship, in Toronto history. Both of them probably happy to see former teammates and life long friends win an NBA championship. It has to feel like a knife in the back at the same time. The heart of these guys have to be in pieces because they missed out. They were dealt and the results are in, the trade benefited their old team. Are the Spurs even close to a championship again? The two guys that got Kawhi Leonard were like lambs or goats sacrificed by the Vikings for the Gods, so they can win a championship. The feeling like their heads lopped off could now seek answers from the Alamo. A place with rich Basketball history. Also a place where people were slaughtered for the given good of the franchise, America.

Watching Chicago sports all these years and I saw the same thing happen over and over. The sacrifice of the virgins that propelled the Chicago sports landscape to greatness. The Chicago Bulls axed Doug Collins for Phil Jackson to coach them. Doug Collins had the Bulls close and very deep into the playoffs, year after year. Phil Jackson takes over the Michael Jordan team and wins six championships. Remember Charles Oakley, he played for the Bulls when Michael Jordan arrived in Chicago. He was traded to New York. Bulls got Bill Cartwright from the Knicks and he helped the Bulls win a few of those championships. While Charles Oakley never won a championship for the Knicks. In 2005, the White Sox traded slugger Carlos Lee to Milwaukee for Scott Podsednik. A trade you thought was crazy at the time.They also declined to resign slugger Magglio Ordonez and the White Sox with other moves win the World Series. The team broke an 88 year drought. Then you have players like Todd Bell and Al Harris two defensive guys who held out for the Bears in 1985. Two pretty good players we talking about.The hold outs lasted all year. The Bears defense that year is considered the best of all-time. That unit helped the Bears win Superbowl title in 1986. Still the only Superbowl the Bears have won. You can say Al Harris and Todd Bell it was their own fault. Without them the Bears obviously did not need them.

Every championship team has to make the one move, the one cut to get another player that will put them over the top. It has been happening for decades and it will never stop. Some people are lucky while others are very unlucky in these sticky situations. Jacob Poeltl only played two seasons in Toronto. He just completed his third season in the NBA. How would you like to be Demar DeRozan? He played nine seasons for the Raptors. He played in 675 games for the team, who drafted him. He averaged 19.7 points per game while in Raptor uniform. His points per game went up in San Antonio but he missed out on a historical NBA championship. Toronto obviously did not win with Demar. We do not know if Demar will ever win a championship with San Antonio, or any other team. He will always have a foot note in Toronto history. He most likely be the forgotten soul of the team. The guy that got the Raptors that title is Kawhi Leonard. The NBA is such a soap opera anyways. Perhaps Demar can red rover his way to another team that needs his basketball skills. Perhaps in a situation where his now 21point average per game will help a team win the big game in another city. The NBA way of course. Maybe he should face book Lebron.

The Oakland Raiders still have not made it to their new home in Vegas. They play their final season in Oakland in front of the black hole faithful. Last season we saw the Raiders trade away some of their talent for draft picks. The biggest surprise in the league was trading Khalil Mack, a young defensive stud, a guy you build your team around. Jon Gruden was hired back to coach the silver and black aka Chucky, and he had different ideas for how he wanted to construct his roster.The Raiders hoarded lots of draft picks and free up lots of salary to go on a spending spree. Some of the players they got back are head scratchers. Talented players indeed. Locker room dividers is the nice way of putting it. If these guys were in a apocalyptic world, they would thrive. Even beyond the thunder-dome.

Just recently they added a long time veteran guard to the mix in Richie Incognito. The same Richie Incognito that wanted to cut his father’s head off at the funeral home in Arizona after his passing away. The jury and the league are still out on that situation. Richie Incognito would probably be the perfect Gooch as the bully in Arnold Jackson’s life on the show Different Strokes. Incognito was suspended for bullying in 2013 when he played for the Dolphins. He has been well known for his racial slurs in the trenches on the NFL football field. He retired in 2017 on Twitter after his second stint with the Buffalo Bills. Tells you what the Bills brass think of him when they heard the news that they heightened security around the whole facility.

Before Incognito, The Raiders opened up their wallets and made a trade for Antonio Brown, wide receiver for the Steelers. Antonio Brown is probably one of the best receivers in the game right now. Bringing him to your locker room could be hazardous to your surroundings. You have to admire a guy that wants the ball. Great play makers usually do as they want to win the game for you. On those given Sundays if he does not get the ball enough, watch out world. He can cause havoc with his winning personality as you ask any teammates on the Steelers. Especially others that played alongside of him as a receiver. I will say Steelers quarterback Big Ben Roethlisberger added fuel to the shit storm in Pittsburgh. How will younger quarterback Derek Carr adapt to Mr. Sunshine?

Remember when the Cincinnati Bengals would sign every NFL player that was not a good citizen? Where do those players go if they leave the Cincinnati area? Perhaps behind bars. Vontaze Burfict, former Bengal head hunter, is suiting up on the Raiders defense. Vontaze Burfict’s suspensions and fines probably equal to Khalil Mack’s sack totals. Burfict takes kill the quarterback to another level. Plus, Burfict has history with Antonio Brown. Not the type of history where these two are riding a tandem bike and singing, “My Buddy.” Steelers and Bengals always have been an epic rivalry. Will the next hit to the head caused by Burfict extend a drive for the other team in a crucial game?

On paper you can see Antonio Brown scoring lots of touchdowns. Vontaze Burfict, on a good day without a cheap shot, can probably make a few good tackles and force a turnover for your defense. Richie Incognito made it to the pro-bowl his last three seasons with the Bills. He could sure up that O-line. The negative thing on paper is you’re dealing with a canister of mixed nuts here. On any given Sunday, one of these guys could create a rift through your locker room that can linger the whole season. Can that silver and black history of being the most penalized team in the league work in today’s NFL? You can say it worked for the Rams when they mugged the receiver in the NFC championship game versus the Saints. I always thought a guy with questionable personality needs a leader on the team to keep them in control for the greater good. Like Michael Jordon when Dennis Rodman arrived to the Bulls. Bulls had Phil Jackson, who was great at handling all types of personalities and egos. Can Jon Gruden do the same thing? Who is the player that will police the locker room? Perhaps they traded him to the Bears. When the inmates run the asylum, nothing but chaos. In a dark way, it is very exciting to build a team from your fans’ personalities. The Black Hole will create a quite disturbance in the force this up coming season. Will Vegas still accept this team in 2020?