The Bears have tried to improve their offense on Day 1 of the 2008 NFL draft. First left tackle Chris Williams out of Vanderbilt and then some competition for Cedric Benson at running back, with Matt Forte out of Tulane.

Last year, the defensive play of the year came in late September when Sam Fuld made a catch against the ivy in right field and doubled-up a runner at first. This year, the play came early, and we can safely declare the competition over.

Reed Johnson, April 25, 2008, against the Washington Nationals, courtesy of Nationals TV:

I would like to know what time was the game "Chicago Cubs vs Atlanta Braves" last June 7 (Thursday) 2007.

Also, I would like to know if that game was a doubleheader or not.

I really would appreciate your answer.

I can't find it on line!!!

Thank you,

The Sporting News' Sean Deveney writes that the Chicago Cubs may have thrown the 1918 World Series, which they lost 4 games to 2 to Babe Ruth and the Boston Red Sox. His source is a newly discovered affidavit that Chicago White Sox ace Eddie Cicotte provided to the Cook County, Illinois grand jury during the investigation over the 1919 World Series. Cicotte's affidavit states that the White Sox received their inspiration from the previous year's series.

As an admitted fixer, Cicotte is hardly the most credible source. He also did not, apparently, purport to have personal knowledge of the matter. There remains no competent evidence that the Cubs threw the 1918 World Series. In contrast, there is an abundance of evidence against the 1919 White Sox. (See Eliot Asinof, Eight Men Out.) If the 1918 Cubs had thrown the World Series, it is likely that someone involved would have admitted the fix at some point. As it is, there are nothing more than rumors, as this 2005 article by Timothy Gay in USA Today notes. Something that big does not stay a rumor if it is real.

If you are throwing a World Series, do your top two pitchers pitch 50 innings in 6 games and allow only 6 earned runs? That's what the Cubs' Hippo Vaughn and Lefty Tyler did in the 1918 series. In contrast, the White Sox' top two pitchers--Cicotte and Lefty Williams--were both in on the fix in 1919. In Game 1, Cicotte didn't throw 4 innings before allowing 6 runs.

The discovery of Cicotte's affidavit is interesting, but it does not mean much in answering the question of the legitimacy of the 1918 Series.

Sabathia struggling to find out what's wrong
By Bob Nightengale, USA TODAY

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/dailypitch/2008-04-17-sabathia_N.htm

Interesting bits of info from this article...

(He is also a former Cubs manager)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preston_G%C3%B3mez

Changing on the fly (Tom Tango, Hardball Times, April 17, 2008)

(Hat tip: Baseball Think Factory)

I renewed my MLB.TV subscription this year. Unfortunately, it is not the product it was last year. It is missing one of its best features: condensed games. Here is a copy of a letter I sent to MLB Advanced Media:

To Whom It May Concern:

This is my second year subscribing to MLB.TV. When I renewed my subscription this year, I was led to believe that the product would be the same as last year, if not improved. However, there are at least two aspects of MLB.TV that are not being offered this year or are not currently functional.

Fielder to protest sausage race with work slowdown

Published April 1, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

http://www.onmilwaukee.com/sports/articles/fieldersausageaprilfools.html