Illinois

Then loses credibility by taking Bears WR

Die-hard Bears fan Doug Wendlandt of Schaumburg has a storied history of drafting Bears quarterbacks each August in his local fantasy draft. And, for the past 15 seasons, he has been the subject of laughter and ridicule from his fellow participants. But this year's story was a little different.

After Ted Lilly, the Cubs lone All-Star, spent nearly a month on the disabled list with inflammation in his left shoulder recently, GM Jim Hendry decided to take advice from his uncle, car mechanic John Hendry, who suggested the general manager simply piece together a single healthy pitcher from a hodgepodge of healthy limbs from the rest of the staff.

From Mel Rojas to Dave Smith to Antonio Alfonseca, the Cubs have had a long line of awful closers over the past 25 years. Kevin Gregg officially overtook them all as Most Hated Cubs Closer in History (MHCCH) Monday night when he blew another save in walk-off fashion.

New Bears QB Jay Cutler was unimpressive by most standards in his preseason debut against Buffalo Saturday night, but by Chicago's historical standards he was amazing. Cutler's 30.8 percent passer rating now ranks him second all-time among Bears quarterbacks. Only Jeff Blake's 40.9 percent rating ranks higher.

Carlos Zambrano and Milton Bradley recently joined an exclusive club of Chicago sports icons, including Michael Jordan and Greg Maddux, by appearing on the box of a popular breakfast cereal. Unlike their predecessors -- who can be found on Wheaties boxes -- the Cubs duo will instead appear on a limited production of Kellogg's Froot Loops.

Steve Weinstein of Lakeview made it to his ninth Cubs game of the season Saturday. Unfortunately, he doesn't remember any plays from the Cubs 3-1 win over Pittsburgh because he spent most of the afternoon on his iPhone.

As last month's trade deadline approached, the Pirates held their annual fire sale of everyone on the team with any value whatsoever. This year, however, Pittsburgh GM Neil Huntington might have gone just a little too far.