Another top draft pick of the Chicago Bears bites the dust. No more Miller time in Chicago as the keg ran dry after the first season. Wide Receiver Anthony Miller was drafted by the Bears in 2018 in the second round out of Memphis University. Miller lasted three seasons in Chicago and the Bears finally found a taker for his services. The Houston Texans. The Texans will get Miller and the Bears’ 2022 7th round pick. Meanwhile, the Bears will get rid of a guy they don’t want and get something like a 2022 5th round draft pick. This is the second year in a row the Bears traded away a guy they drafted in the second round. Last season, it was tight end Adam Shaheen who was traded to the Dolphins. Shaheen earned a 2 year contract extension with the Dolphins for his play last year. I applaud General Ryan Pace for landing Justin Fields in the draft months ago. I applaud him for getting something for Anthony Miller. We can not forget this, another high pick from Ryan Pace that did not work out.

‘Anthony Miller’s rookie year in Chicago was awesome. Miller had 7 touchdown catches that first season in a Bears uniform. Miller caught 33 balls that first season for 423 yards but had the knack of finding the end zone. Last season, Miller caught 49 balls for 485 yards; not much after the catch. Miller hauled in two touchdown catches. Miller had 7 touchdown catches his very first season and only 4 in the last two seasons. Career-wise, Miller has played in 47 games for the Bears catching 134 balls while gaining 1,564 yards with the 11 touchdowns. What bothered the Bears fans and the coaches was Miller had some easy catches that turned into big drops. Plus Miller’s attitude was all wrong and the effort was not always there on any given Sunday. Everyone remembers Miller was ejected in that wild card loss to the Saints in the first round of the playoffs for throwing a punch at New Orleans safety CJ Garner-Johnson. The same guy that took a punch by Miller’s teammate another receiver, Javon Wims, in the regular season match up between the Saints and Bears. The Bears coaching staff warned their guys all week not to fall for CJ Gardner-Johnson tricks. Miller got suckered into it, lost his cool, and like a baby you tell not to do something, he or she will still stick their finger in the electric socket anyways.

The Bears have added some wide receivers to the roster in the off season. Bears added veterans Marquise Goodwin and Damiere Byrd. Bears drafted Dazz Newsome in which they are high on his talents. Last year’s rookie, Darnell Mooney, was very impressive in his first season with 61 grabs for 631 yards with 4 touchdowns. Let’s hope Mooney does not go down the same path as Anthony Miller. Then the Bears franchise tagged Allen Robinson so they may not work out a long term deal with him, but at least he will play one more season in Chicago. Then the Bears will give Riley Ridley one more chance. If only we can get his brother instead, out of a Falcons uniform and into a Bears. Bears still have Javon Wims who I would have sent him packing long ago. The Bears have plenty of options to easily replace a receiver that is not consistent and on a downward spiral since the 2018 season concluded.

Anthony Miller can talk with the Texans Defensive Coordinator, Lovie Smith, about which pizza place they like better in their Chicago days. Miller joins a decent receivers’ room with a few veterans, Brandin Cooks and Randall Cobb. The Texans drafted Wide Receiver Nico Collins in the second round months ago. Houston stars like Will Fuller and DeAndre Hopkins are gone. Will DeShaun Watson even play this season for the Texans? Watson has had problems with the massage therapists. The ones that will not go the entire ten yards for the first down. Plus, Watson still wants out of Houston. If anyone who can thrive with a bad quarterback behind center, especially if Tyrod Taylor gets the nod, Anthony Miller might be the guy. Adding the shit to the shit show in Houston may not be the perfect Texan recipe for winning football games.

I had enough of Anthony Miller in a Bears uniform. Miller was a guy that needed to go. New scenery will help him. Miller will have a chip on his shoulder, after being traded. Miller is also playing for another contract as well. You watch… Miller will find a way to have a pretty good year. All these Bears draft picks find new homes and do well. Bears have so many problems developing them. Look at Leonard Floyd. Rams have Floyd playing well and extended his contract. Is it Ryan Pace? Does the Bears GM get the right guy, but the coaching staff can’t develop them. We will see the next time Mitch Trubisky gets game action in the NFL, how he looks. I still say the Bears should have cleaned house and fired everyone in the office and the coaching staff. This is a typical day in the off-season as a Bears’ fan. The good news is they finally cut ties with a player that has struggled. The bad news is it’s another high draft pick heading out the door. Bears fans are always used to the double edged sword, getting screwed on something that may be good. What Next? Aaron Rodgers is returning to Green Bay?

Duncan Keith may go down as one of the best defensemen in Chicago Blackhawks history. Keith played 16 seasons wearing the Indian head sweater as the Blackhawks were the only team he has ever played for. Sixteen years on the ice, defending the net and his goalie, where he helped a broken franchise at the time to build a new identity. Three Stanley Cups!!! In 2010 at the rally, after winning the first cup of that dynasty, he asked the crowd “Does anybody know a good dentist?” Most great defensemen in the NHL will do anything to help their team win a game. Even throw their bodies in the line of fire from a puck cruising at 90 MPH. Sure hockey players have pads, but the puck can land in areas where the pads may not be there. Duncan Keith was like a secret service agent protecting the president who was the goalie in the game of Blades of Steel. It was not the puck that made Duncan Keith spit out seven teeth like they were sunflower seeds in a baseball dugout. It was the high stick of San Jose Sharks Patrick Marleau’s stick that got Keith right in the jaw in the 2010 post season. Duncan Keith would come back after that in the same game after the team stopped the bleeding. The words, “Does anybody know a good dentist” as Keith spoke at the parade are etched in the mind of all Blackhawk fans that season. Duncan Keith will be moving on to another chapter of his hockey career as he was traded to the Edmonton Oilers ending ties with the only team he ever played for in his entire career.

Duncan Keith only tallied up 15 total points last season with 4 goals and 11 assists. Duncan Keith, at the age of 37, was reborn last season as he changed up his workout and diet to find his former self. The last few seasons prior to last season, Duncan Keith was clinging to that no trade clause he had and to many the writing was on the wall he was washed up. With the no trade clause the Blackhawks were paying him big money and had salary cap issues as a whole with the entire roster. Keith reborn had some teams interested in his services. It was Keith who wanted to be traded closer to home to be around his son. The Edmonton Oilers will be the new home for Duncan Keith as they made a deal to land the veteran. Blackhawks get a young 24 year old defensemen in Caleb Jones who has some NHL experience under his belt with a future 3rd round draft pick. The Oilers get Duncan Keith of course and forward Tim Soderlund.

It will be sad to see Duncan Keith wear another hockey jersey. How long as fans do we have to watch this old dynasty crumble brick by brick? Last off season we saw goalie Corey Crawford hang up the skates. We saw Andrew Shaw walk away from the game due to concussions. Brent Seabrook finally called it quits after dealing with lingering injuries year after year. The Captain, Jonathan Toews, had some health issues forcing him to miss the entire season last year. The Blackhawks traded away Brandon Sadd again. Patrick Kane is the last man standing and is the only one to build another team around. The General Manager Stan “who’s not the man” Bowman has work to do to reload the Blackhawks and get the Indian head back to the post season. Bowman now can’t use that salary cap as his excuse as Duncan Keith 5.5 Million every year will come off the books.

In sports, it is hard for many players to play their game with one team their entire career. Sometimes watching these former players who are aging on your team is even more difficult like a Duncan Keith. Even though last season I applauded how Duncan Keith played but overall it is time to move on from one of the core members of that three cup dynasty team. It’s the contact, not the player in this case. If Duncan Keith was playing for the league minimum or something a tad over, I’d be like let him ride out his career. He has some gasoline still left in the tank and is a leader on the ice. When you win multiple cups, sometimes you pay dearly for many years after which the Blackhawks rewarding so many no trade clauses to that core. Duncan Keith’s next chapter means he needs to be closer to his family which I get. As a Blackhawk fan, we’ve seen him in 1,192 regular season games not counting the extended post season. Keith with that wicked slap shot from half ice as he scored 105 tallies dishing out 520 assists to many teammates in his 16 year career for 625 points. To me, all the shots he took off his body to help his team. Plus defending his goalie like he was the President. Duncan Keith is a total stand up type of guy and one my favorite players of all-time wearing the Indian Head sweater. Hope the Blackhawks use this now available space for something good. Stan Bowman should feel the mob presence behind his back with pitch forks and torches. For Edmonton, adding a veteran defense-men to go along with one of the premiere super stars in the league Connor McDavid may be a small step for this team to get further in the post season. In Chicago Duncan Keith and his entire family for generations should be able to drink free in the city of Chicago. We will miss him as well as I hope he did indeed find a good dentist during his time playing for one the original hockey franchises.

The Chicago Bears want to move out of downtown Chicago and head for the burbs. Leaving the lakefront and their home since 1971, which is Soldier Field. The Bears want to purchase Arlington Racetrack and build a brand new state-of-the-art stadium on the grounds. Arlington Race track is in its last year of horse racing. The suburb of Arlington is North of the city of Chicago. The town of Arlington has made it clear they want the land to either stay a horse racing venue, a casino, or football stadium. That’s where the Bears come into play. The Bears have made a proposal for the land so you are thinking a slam dunk. The problem is the Bears would have to break their lease at Soldier Field, which has about another ten years on that deal. The Mayor of Chicago could be a problem with the idea of the Bears playing their home games in the burbs and not by the lake front. Is the interest in Arlington from the Bears a ploy to get what they want from the city of Chicago? Can you renovate a stadium once again that already had a makeover in 2002? Sounds to me like the old saying, putting lipstick on a pig. Could a move to Arlington get the state of Illinois the Superbowl?

Originally Soldier Field was called Municipal Grant Park when it first opened in 1924. Then the name changed in 1925 to Soldier Field as a memorial for troops who died in combat. I would say I’m a purist and love the old time history, especially in Soldier field which has lots of football history. From hosting the 29th annual Army Navy game as well as Notre Dame playing a season by the lake. Besides college football, Soldier field was also the host to the Prep bowl. For decades hosting the best public high school football team meeting the best Catholic high school football team. Every year both teams squared off in a big game for all the marbles. Once upon a time ago, Chicago had two NFL teams as the Cardinals played at Soldier Field one season. Cardinals played most of their years at Comiskey Park when they were in Chicago back then. Then all those other football leagues that did not last very long. The WFL in the 1970’s had the Chicago Fire and a name change at some point to the Chicago Winds. The Fire seems like a popular choice in Chicago, besides the WFL they had same nickname in the AFA. The soccer team presently is the Chicago Fire who have recently moved back to Soldier Field as they abandoned a newer stadium in Bridgeview, built for them. During the 1980’s, the Chicago Blitz of the USFL. The first XFL league, we had the Chicago Enforcers. Let’s not forget the Chicago Owls of the CFL. The Bears have the richest history in Soldier Field, especially that awesome 1985 team that won Chicago’s only Superbowl. Then the 2006 team that made it to the big game only to lose to Peyton Manning and the Colts. Love the history of that old building with greats like Walter Payton running for pay dirt. Great defenses. Still no quarterback.

Some reasons why the Bears should leave down town Chicago. One big reason is the invasion of the rats. Not talking about Chicago politicians either. Lots of big rats have taken over the streets of downtown Chicago. Since the Covid shut down, many businesses have functioned with their people at home. So why waste money on office space as downtown has become a ghost town? The rat problem is out of control. Then many of the people that walk the streets are homeless and some of them are just crazy. I hate making fun of the homeless, but it looks like the walking dead. One of them killed a young lady from the state of Maryland who was in town visiting weeks ago as she was stabbed multiple times. Let’s continue to talk about all the crime. Carjackings that turn very violent. With all those riots which led to looting in 2020, no one feels safe down there as businesses had fled to reopen in safer areas like the burbs. If I was the Bears, these are big time reasons where I say, “See you, it’s been nice.” With relocation to Arlington, you’re not going to have to deal with the downtown madness.

The problem with Soldier Field is during the renovation in 2002, is they had to rip out many seats. Soldier Field is a landmark and it should be, with the architecture of those pillars surrounding the stadium making it look Greek or Roman like. The renovation gutted out everything inside the stadium leaving those pillars and the walls of Soldier field. Then they looked like they parked the mother ship from another planet on top of the old war memorial. Soldier Field became the stadium that holds the least amount of fans across the entire NFL. The NFL and the Bears included, are all about the almighty dollar. A new state of the art facility could have many more seats and of course private skyboxes.

I feel if the Bears did leave Soldier Field they would have to build a stadium with a retractable roof. I would be crying in my beer every Sunday if I had to watch them play in a dome like the Detroit Lions and the Minnesota Vikings. Leaving Green Bay the only manly team left in the division. With a retractable roof, Chicago can still play in Bear weather.

Then the Bears can closed the roof to lure the Superbowl to Chicago. Plus, then you have have other venues in the stadium such as concerts. We come back to the Mayor of Chicago, Mayor Lightfoot. All that money the city would be losing & then seeing the Bears make out like bandits living it up in the burbs. The Mayor should be concerned with Chicago turning into Detroit; that should be her first concern. Losing the Bears to the burbs should be the least of her concerns. She may be too busy changing the name of Lake Shore Drive.

I do not like change. Da Coach, Mike Ditka, raved that the Bears should stay at Soldier Field. Yes, it would be nice if Arlington race track would remain for horse-racing and the Bears could stay put on the lakefront. The Bears are like the United Nations in the Chicago sports landscape. Wherever they play, fans will come. I weighed the pros and the cons of this idea of the Bears mixing it up in Arlington. This move to Arlington, if it happens, could put the Bears back on the map and bring them into the modern world away from Bedrock. Arlington has so much land you can have a race track with a football stadium, which would be the best scenario. Bears could even add their headquarters and they still have plenty of parking for fans. Being a fan, Arlington would be much easier to get to, than Soldier Field. Much easier to park and tailgate. It beats trying to maneuver downtown, even on a Sunday. Most of the Bears fan base has to be adult men from all the surrounding burbs. These are the majority of season ticket holders. Then all the other NFL teams that have stadiums in the burbs, it seems to work for them. Can you picture in 5 seasons a brand new state of the art stadium for the Monsters of the Midway? Can you picture Justin Fields with 5 seasons under his belt? Could the Bears have their cake and eat it too. Justin Fields leading the Bears to the next Superbowl the year they play in the mother-ship of all stadiums. Minus the actual mother-ship parked on top of the stadium. Soldier Field would still have the soccer team, the Fire. Maybe Mayor Lori Lightfoot can get on board with a new XFL team from the Rock’s revival in 2022. I say let the Bears move to on up to those deluxe apartments in the burbs. Because beans don’t burn on the grill.

SEMI FINALS (ROUND 3 PREDICTIONS)

OUR RECORD 0-2

Islanders versus Golden Knights was a pipe dream. My thoughts were taking one upset in the semi finals and one favorite. Which did happen, with the Canadians and the Lightning now meeting up. My theory was correct, but the teams were just wrong.

2021 OVERALL NHL PLAYOFF RECORD

(7-7)

The pressure will be on to make the right prediction for the Stanley cup so we don’t go under 500.

MONTREAL CANADIANS VERSUS TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING

CUPS WON

CANADIANS (24) LIGHTNING (2)

LAST TIME EACH TEAM MADE IT TO THE STANLEY CUP FINAL:

CANADIANS (1993) LIGHTNING (LAST YEAR)

You can say this year’s Stanley Cup, played by Montreal Canadians versus the Tampa Bay Lightning is a match up of David versus Goliath. The Lightning would be David, who won it last season and are looking to be the first team to win back to back championships since the Pittsburgh Penguins did it in 2016 & 2017. The Canadians are the underdog of the tournament and would be the Goliath, looking to go down as one of the best Cinderella stories in NHL history. Canadians historically have been the New York Yankees in the NHL. However this season, the Canadians are playing the underdog role of a team that got into the tournament on last day of regular season.

GOALIES

I think when it comes to teams that reached the Stanley Cup, it’s because they have great goalies. Both the Canadians and the Lightning have terrific net minders.

Carey Price has been talked about a lot with the success the Canadians have been having in the playoffs. Price has been brilliant. The Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy has been amazing himself and doing it relatively quietly. Vasilevskiy has 4 shutouts in the playoffs in the net. Carey Price has a .928 save percentage and is allowing only 2.18 goals per game in post season which are very good numbers. I think both goalies will stand tall for their team in this series. Neither one will lose it for their team.

In hockey, it’s all about putting the puck in the net. Someone has to score a goal or more in a game to get their team over the top. Lightning have multiple snipers who can get the puck in the net. The lightning are stacked with weapons of mass destruction. The Canadians are very deep in the forward position. Especially with youngsters, Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki, for the Canadians. Can their speed counterattack versus the Lightning, let’s say Braoyden Point?

Cole Caufield reminds me of young Patrick Kane. The rookie Caufield has brought plenty of energy to the post-season along with 4 goals of his own. Brayden Point has 14 goals in 19 post-season games. Can the Canadians stop Point? Can the Lightning simmer down the rookie, Caufield?

PREDICTION: LIGHTNING IN 6 GAMES

The Lightning has far too much fire power for the Canadians to handle. I know I have picked against the Canadians every time, and they have made me look stupid each round. Many times Cinderella teams fizzle out in the championships in all sports. I’m banking on that to happen this finals as well. I like that the Lightning can score from many different players. Tampa Bay has 7 guys with at least 4 goals in the post-season. The Lightning are averaging 3.22 goals a game this post-season which is better than their regular season number as a team. The experience from last post-season for the Lightning will also play a factor. Especially goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy for the Lightning as he’s been here done that. The inexperience for the Canadians will also haunt them especially if they find themselves down by two games in the series. They might not find a way to work their way back into the series. Watch the Lightning get the two game advantage in the series very quickly.