Bear Down

(Picture from http://www.1.bp.blogspot.com/)

Call me hopeful. Call me naive. Call me a Chicago fan. But I have actual reason for the hope, and the naivety. The Chicago Bears have made some noise in the first full day of free agency. Noise that I didn't think would be heard anywhere near Illinois this off season.


Starting with a move that means a lot to the Bears, Mike Martz, and Greg Olsen. The signing of Brandon Manumaleuna means a few things: 1. the Bears just landed one of the best blocking tight ends in the NFL. 2. He played with Martz in St. Louis, and will be able to come in right away and know the game style. 3. This could be the end of Olsen or Desmond Clark's tenure in Chicago. The Bears who still don't have a first or second round draft pick should be (and presumably are) shopping around Olsen. One of the suitors could be the New England Patriots who have a hefty supply of second round draft picks. As I've said before, getting rid of Olsen for any second round pick, not only should happen, but it has to happen. The Bears need some young guys on the O-line and in the secondary.

Getting That Baseball Itch

(Picture from http://www.multimedia.foxsports.com/)

Hello one, hello all! It has been way to long. Again we are sorry for the lack of posts, and we hope we can lure you all back into this site with bigger, better, and uncut posts of pure crappy opinions!

But getting to the topic at hand, as many of you know, we are now three days into March, and I must admit, the baseball itch is stronger than ever.

Ladies and gents, baseball season is almost here! Those boys of summer are close and I can almost smell the scent of Pine Tar, chew tobacco, hot dogs, and Met fan's vomit.

So here is a little Top 5 of all the headlines, stories, and players I'm interested in for the state of this season:

5. Mark McGwire's impact on Colby Rasmus, Matt Holliday, Ryan Ludwick, and the rest of the Cards:
Sure he admitted using steroids for health purposes, and yes his brother said he put on 30 some pounds of muscle for his own gain in the book her wrote. No matter the story, there is one thing nobody can take away from Mark McGwire, he can hit. I don't care about the steroid thing for two reasons: 1. A lot of people were doing it, and baseball has always been a game of cheating. It was simply another phase the MLB has to deal with. 2. Him and Sammy "Pretty Fly for a White Guy" Sosa single handily saved baseball with their home run chase. But this story is beside the point for the Cards. In his interview with Timmy Kurkjian, you can see the passion Mark has for teaching. Him and Pujols together can have a huge impact on those younger players on the Cardinals (for god sakes they have 949 home runs combined).

Hawk Talk

(courtesy of Meet Me On Melrose)

Hey Hawk fans, just a little reminder to keep up on all your Iowa Hawkeye news and needs at our sister (or brother) site - Meet Me On Melrose. Today, the Mancheeses talk NFL Combine and the performance of some of your favorite former Hawkeyes. Be sure to check it out and give your thoughts on where guys will be drafted. Check back often as the new site will be updated frequently with plenty of Hawkeye news. In the meantime, keep reading The Manchise for all other sports opinions.

Fantasy Baseball: Bring It

(Picture from britannica.com)

So we have posted this before, and for some reason we didn't get as much feedback as we thought (Andy Klumper you will get an email shortly I promise).

If you are indeed still checking out this site, and have yet to realize we've been passionately launching a new sister site (MeetMeOnMelrose.com), we have slacked at posting here. So let this be the first of many.

If you are interested in taking us on in Fantasy Baseball (we want serious players please), email us at either meetonmelrose@gmail.com, or themanchise@gmail.com, with your name, and possible team name.

Once we receive your email, we will send a confirmation back with league name and password (it is an ESPN standard league so an account there will be necessary).

Every owner will have an interview with us that will go up on the site, and we will do weekly posts about what is happening. If that is not enough, there might even be prizes (notice the word MIGHT).

Please let us know because baseball season is right around the corner!