Way to bear down, Panthers!

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Sunday, Robbie and I went to our first Panthers game.

Yep, that's me rockin' the Keyshawn Johnson

jersey I got on eBay for 16 bucks!

We were joined by Ben, who was in town from Chicago to root on his Bears. Ben and I made a bet: If the Panthers win, he would have to wear my Panthers shirt when he "guest coaches" my middle school basketball team at Monday's practice; if the Bears win, I'd wear his shirt to practice.

He'll look good in black and Panthers blue, baby!

For much of the game, it seemed I'd have to wear his "Ditka is God" t-shirt, though, as the Bears took advantage of a bunch of Panthers mistakes to race to a 21-7 lead.

But when Robbie Gould shockingly went wide-right on a 35-yard FG late in the first half and then Cam Newton marched the Panthers downfield for a TD pass to Greg Olsen seconds before halftime, I began to think my adopted team had a chance.

As it turned out, it was just a matter of waiting for the inevitable screw-ups by Jay Cutler & Co. A horribly thrown pass by Cutler with about 6 minutes left was intercepted and led to a FG that tied it at 24. On Chicago's very next offensive play, Matt Forte fumbled and the Panthers recovered. Newton and Olsen connected in the end zone again, and the Panthers had the lead with just over 2 minutes to go.

The Bears' last hope ended with Cutler getting sacked and fumbling. The stadium was rocking, with Panthers fans out-shouting the thousands of Bear backers who showed up.

Up in Section 535, we were surrounded by Bears fans - including the guy in front of me who for some reason decided to wear his Olsen #82 jersey. Really, this yahoo wanted to be reminded about the awful trade that gave away one of the NFL's best tight ends? In an interview last week, Jerry Angelo finally admitted the trade was a bad one.

Thanks, Jerry! No wonder you're now an ex-GM.

I wasn't surprised the Bears imploded - especially Cutler, who has won one playoff game in his entire career and whose job title should read "Coach Killer Extraordinaire." I was a little surprised by the screw-ups of Gould and Forte, two of the few reliable Bears.

I am happy for good-guy Panthers coach Ron Rivera, who spent his entire playing career in Chicago and, as defensive coordinator, helped the Bears reach the 2007 Super Bowl. This season, Rivera has beaten both his former team and Lovie Smith, the now-Bucs coach who inexplicably fired Rivera after the Super Bowl so he could hire his incompetent buddy, Bob Babich. Hey, Rivera was too good for Lovie the Loser, anyway!

While the Bears prepare to fall to sub-mediocrity, "my" Panthers are alone in first place in the NFC South ... at least for a week. The brutal upcoming schedule includes these next three games: at Cinci, at Green Bay and home vs. Seattle.

So playing the Bears at home represented a must-win situation. And thanks in great part to the Bears' largess, win the Panthers did.
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Cutler's haul, Lovie's comeback & Metrodome memories

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My wife and I were having dinner at a restaurant tonight when she saw Jay Cutler on the TV in the bar. "What did he do now?" she asked.

I squinted hard and saw exactly what he had done: signed a $126 million contract that includes $54 million guaranteed.

And so, one of my biggest NFL offseason questions -- What would the Bears do about this coach-killing, talented-but-never-quite-good-enough QB whose contract was about to expire? -- was answered before the playoffs even began. (Playoffs for the other teams, of course. Cutler failed to get the Bears there for the fourth time in his five Chicago seasons after going 0-for-3 with Denver.)

I suppose the Bears couldn't let such a talented player simply walk away. But now they have tethered themselves to this enigma for most of this decade.

I wouldn't have done it. I'd have franchised him and seen how he played in 2014. But what do I know ... except that he has one career playoff victory, that he never has thrown 30 TDs in a year, that he attempts at least a half-dozen stupid passes just about every game, that he goes through head coaches and offensive coordinators faster than some guys go through a buffet line, that he turns 31 in April and that he has become injury-prone?

Anyway, the Bears have their man for several more years. Just as they had him for the last five. And we saw how good that turned out to be.

+++

And speaking of coaches that Cutler chewed up and spat out ...

Lovie Smith is back, this time with the Buccaneers.

If he's given some talent to work with, Lovie will do a good job. He no doubt learned a lot about what worked and what didn't. There are many examples of guys who struggled in their first job, got fired and came back to be outstanding coaches; Bill Belichick and Pete Carroll leap to mind. And Lovie had a lot more success in his first job than they did.

Lovie and I definitely were not close during the years I covered him. I disagreed with many of his decisions and I thought he needlessly made excuses for his players. They seemed to respect him, however, and he did win a lot more games than he lost -- not something many Bears coaches can say. He also got to a Super Bowl, another accomplishment that has eluded every Chicago coach not named Ditka, my friend.

Smith deserved a second chance as much as anybody.

+++

The Metrodome -- that great pimple on the Minneapolis skyline -- has hosted its last sporting event and soon will be demolished.

It was a horrible place to watch baseball games and was as sterile a football environment as could be found anywhere, but I'll always have a lot of fond memories of the stadium in which I covered Twins and Vikings games from 1985-94 It was my first full-time sportswriting job, and the AP office was located right across the street from the Dome. I spent a lot of hours in that dump!

A few Metrodome memories that immediately pop into my head:

Game 6 of the 1987 World Series. When Kent Hrbek hit a grand slam to give the Twins a 10-5 lead over the Cardinals, I have never heard a more deafening din in a stadium.

Game 6 of the 1991 World Series. The late, great Kirby Puckett put the Twins on his back and carried them to an 11-inning win over the Braves.

Game 7 of the 1991 World Series. What a game! Jack Morris pitched 10 shutout innings and Lonnie Smith made one of the biggest baserunning blunders ever to cap off perhaps the greatest World Series ever.

Scott Erickson's no-hitter in 1994. It was the first no-no I ever covered. What made it especially amazing was that Erickson had allowed more hits than any other pitcher over the previous two seasons. That's right: The most hittable pitcher in baseball threw a no-hitter. I love that.

Herschel Walker's Vikings debut in 1989. When Walker returned the first Green Bay kickoff 51 yards, the Metrodome was up for grabs. Then, on his first play from scrimmage, Herschel went 47 yards -- the final 15 after his right shoe fell off during a defender's futile attempt to tackle him. By the time the day was done, Walker had rushed for 148 yards and the Vikings had a rare victory over the Packers. History shows that the Cowboys easily "won" the famed Herschel Walker trade, but that's not what the national pundits were saying after Walker's Vikings debut. More than a few were saying Vikings GM Mike Lynn had fleeced Jimmy Johnson.

Ditka rips Harbaugh in 1992. With the Bears leading 20-0, Jim Harbaugh audibled out of a running play and threw an interception that Todd Scott returned for a touchdown. Ditka went ballistic on the sideline. And after the Vikings came back to win 21-20, the coach was still fuming in the interview room: "I'll just say this: 'If it happens again, there will be changes made and they will be definite and they will be permanent.' I'm not gonna put 47 players' futures in the hands of one player who thinks he knows more than I do." How priceless is that?

The 1992 Super Bowl. I don't remember much about the game, in which the Bills got whipped again (this time by the Redskins). What I do remember is that I had just returned to work after missing nearly two weeks with a horrible case of the chickenpox, which I had caught from my son. My face still looked like the lunar surface and I still felt like hell. The game was the middle leg of an incredible seven-month run for the Metrodome that began with the '91 World Series and ended with the '92 Final Four.

Yep, even dumps can create some wonderful sports memories.
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Bears finally sack Lovie The Genius

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Here's my favorite story from my five years covering Lovie Smith:

During the postgame press conference that followed a particularly horrific performance by the often-horrible Rex Grossman, the media found four different ways to ask Smith why he didn't switch to Brian Griese, the high-priced QB the Bears had acquired just in case Rex got hurt or got bad.

Four times, Lovie dismissed the questions: Rex was his quarterback; the Bears were 10-2; we were morons.

This is what happened next, as chronicled in my Dec. 7, 2006 column:

My brain was about ready to explode. Because I need my brain to think about food, Jack Bauer's plight on "24," golf, Scarlett Johansson and other worthwhile subjects, I could sit silently no longer.

Me: "You did win 10 games with (Kyle) Orton as your quarterback last year and made a change. So, I mean, it's not unprecedented ... "

Lovie, interrupting: "This year ... "

Me, interrupting right back: "I understand that. I understand. It's not an unprecedented thought, that's all. We're not coming out of thin air with this thought."

Lovie: "That doesn't mean a lot to me, though. I'm telling you what I'm going to do. Right now, we're 10-2 with Rex as our quarterback. THAT's not unprecedented."

So there!

He might as well have come back with: "Your momma's not unprecedented!" That would have made as much sense.

Too funny, eh?

I rarely had public debates with those I covered, but that day, I simply couldn't take Lovie's crapola any more.

Tom Landry and Chuck Noll and Bill Parcells and John Madden and countless other championship coaches throughout the years had benched ineffective quarterbacks.

Don Shula benched Earl Morrall at halftime of the 1972 AFC title game -- even though the score was tied and even though Morrall had led the Dolphins to 11 straight wins in place of an injured Bob Griese during the team's perfect season.

Nevertheless, Lovie had so little respect for the media -- not to mention the millions of fans who were clamoring for a QB change -- that he considered us idiots for suggesting Lovie The Genius even consider removing Rex The Unbenchable during a bad performance.

Well, Lovie is now the ex-coach of the Bears.

His dwindling ranks of supporters say he didn't deserve to be canned because the team had played mostly decent football during his time in Chicago and because he led the Bears to only their second Super Bowl appearance ever -- a game they lost to the Colts partly because of the frighteningly bad play of Rex The Unbenchable.

The facts, however, sealed Lovie's fate.

Smith's team reached the playoffs only three times in nine seasons -- and only once in the past six years. Since losing to the Colts in the '07 Super Bowl, Lovie's lads won one division title while finishing third three times and last once.

Lovie always said beating the Packers was No. 1 on the list of things the Bears had to do. Since Jan. 2, 2011, the Bears were 0-6 against the Packers, including a loss in last year's playoffs.

The Bears opened this season 7-1 but folded as soon as the schedule turned tough, dropping five of their next six games. What seemed a sure playoff berth was gone, and even wins in their last two games couldn't save Smith's Bears ... or Smith's job.

Like Rex in the Super Bowl, Lovie couldn't deliver.

Unlike Rex in the Super Bowl, Lovie got benched.

---

There will be much debate about which players deserve which awards in the NFL, but one thing is obvious:

John Elway is the Executive of the Year.

Despite immense public pressure to build around the inexplicably popular Tim Tebow, Elway traded the most overhyped player in recent NFL history to the Jets and brought in Peyton Manning.

Manning threw for 37 TDs and the Broncos ended up with the NFL's best record at 13-3. Tebow couldn't even get on the field for the Jets.

Elway, one of the 10 best QBs ever to lace up cleats, knows Manning belongs on that list, too. Elway also knows Tebow is a train wreck of a quarterback, with neither the physical ability nor mental acumen to play the most important position at the highest level.

Meanwhile, were there an award for Incompetent Executive of the Year, it would go to the Jets brain trust of owner Woody Johnson and GM Mike Tannenbaum.

After signing overrated Mark Sanchez to a contract extension, they wasted a fourth-round draft pick to bring the distracting Tebow Circus to New York. Sanchez fell apart, Jets coach Rex Ryan realized in training camp that Tebow couldn't play and never used him during the season, and what was supposed to be a contending team finished 6-10.

Tannenbaum was fired Monday, in part because the owner couldn't fire himself.
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New Bears GM will be stuck with Lovie

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So Jerry Angelo is gone, but the McCaskeys are too cheap to fire Lovie Smith, who still has two pricey years left on his contract.

When will these people -- and I'm not just talking about the McCaskeys, but all owners and GMs in pro sports -- learn not to give a contract extension to a non-championship coach who has time remaining on his previous contract?

You have to do that in big-time college sports because you have to keep the recruits from defecting. But in pro sports? What's the rush?

Were the Bears really afraid that some other team was going to sweep in and steal Lovie Smith away? (And Dick Jauron before that? And Dave Wannstedt before that?)

OK, so let's say the McCaskeys sign Matt Forte to a long-term deal and that Forte, Jay Cutler and the team's other key players stay healthy next season. And let's say the Bears somehow go 10-6, make the playoffs and maybe even win a postseason game.

If Jupiter aligns with Mars and all that good stuff happens, will the new GM and the McCaskeys seriously consider extending Lovie's contract again -- even though Lovie will have another year to go?

Only if they're foolish.

Which probably means there's at least a 50-50 chance.

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Here's the deal: Make Lovie wait for a new one

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There are four reasons to extend a pro coach's contract when he still has a year remaining on his current deal:

1. His lame-duck status would distract the team.

2. He should be rewarded for consistent excellence.

3. A team is worried that another club will swoop in and steal him.

4. He is so popular with the fans that they'd revolt if he left.

Now, let's see how these apply to Lovie Smith.

1. As in most cases, the "distraction" angle is a media fabrication with zero relevance. If anything, the players love Smith because he's an enabler and a coddler and will play extra hard to "win one for Lovie."

2. Lovie has been the Bears' coach for 7 years. They have missed the playoffs in 4 of those seasons and have won a grand total of 3 playoff games on his watch. This is not what one would call runaway success. If anything, he is one of sport's most overpaid coaches.

3. If Lovie gets angry and bolts after the season, would it really be that difficult for the Bears to find a coach at least as good? If anything, several accomplished coaches would line up for the opportunity to replace him, with Bill Cowher likely first in line.

4. That's a good one. If anything, Lovie might be the only guy associated with the Bears capable of losing a popularity contest to Jay Cutler. (Actually, it probably would be a tie.)

Conclusion: There is not a single decent reason for the Bears to throw a whole bunch of cash at Lovie and guarantee his continued employment for four or five more years.

Why not wait to see how the team performs in 2011? What's the stinkin' hurry?
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Today's High 5 - NFL Edition

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5. Interesting strategy by Lovie Smith: preparing for the playoffs by letting the Bears' QB get pummeled again and again and again in a meaningless game. Maybe he was thinking that if Jay Cutler gets smacked upside the head often enough, he'll stop throwing the football to the other team.

4. Several other coaches whose teams previously had clinched playoff positions didn't play their QBs the whole way and gave numerous starters the week off. Every year, there is a debate about which strategy is the best, and the evidence is pretty inconclusive. Still, were I in this situation, I would minimize the risk to my QB and other important players. But hey, I'd also make my players stop carrying guns into nightclubs, so what do I know?

3. How would you like to be a Panthers season-ticket holder? The owner, Jerry Richardson, threw away the season by employing a lame-duck coach and letting some of the team's best players leave last offseason without getting any compensation in return. A contrite Richardson thanked fans for their loyalty and said he'd make it up to them by building a team they can be proud of again, but I'm guessing he won't reduce ticket prices. He's also one of the hard-line owners in the fight against the union that could cancel the 2011 season. Yep, a real man of the people. Makes me proud to be a Carolinan.

2. Eagles-Packers is going to be a great first-round playoff game. Mikie Vick is fun to watch and the Eagles have a lot of offensive talent, but I wouldn't want to be playing the Packers right now. They bring it on D, and have a pretty good QB themselves.

1. Given that Brett Favre looked 41 going on 65 this season, I finally believe him when he says he is retiring for good. In many ways, it's a shame he didn't leave after last season, when he was sensational, but it's hard to blame him for returning to try for an encore. Although Favre came out of 2010 looking like a scumbag for some off-the-field shenanigans, nothing that happened on the field diminished his legacy as one of the great QBs and competitors of all time. I'll miss watching him play.
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Of Bear Weather and a bearish wait for the next Dexter

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The Bald Truth

"Bear Weather."

Is there a bigger myth in all of sport?

About once every three years or so, the Bears play a late-season game at Soldier Field against an inferior, warm-weather team ... and when that team pisses down its collective leg, all we hear about is "Bear Weather."

But how many times does what happened Sunday against the Patriots happen? How often are the Bears overwhelmed at Soldier Field in conditions supposedly made for the home squad? More often than I can count.

In this case, Tom Brady and the Patriots were coming off an emotional victory over a division rival only six days earlier. They had every reason to suffer a letdown against a Bears team that supposedly was ready to prove doubters wrong. And to top it off, it was snowy and windy and very, well, Bear Weatherish out there.

Then the game started. And pretty much ended by midway through the second quarter. Bear fans couldn't even muster the energy to boo the home team.

Hey, that the Bears aren't as good as the Patriots isn't exactly a stop-the-press declaration. Once again, the Patriots are football's best team ... and it really isn't close.

Still ...

Being humiliated on your home field in "your" weather? Well, that has to be almost too much for Lovie's lads to bear.

The Balder Truth

Here in Charlotte, CBS turned off the Patriots-Bears game in the third quarter and switched to Dolphins-Jets.

If only my friends back in Chicago could have been treated to such mercy.

THE BALDEST TRUTH

On a much sadder note ...

With Sunday night's finale, another season of Showtime's Dexter has come and gone. And now we must go months and months without TV's most complex character - portrayed brilliantly, as always, by the spectacular Michael Hall - and his incredible supporting cast.

Bummer.

Dexter truly is one of the great shows in television history, so every season is great. With sensational guest-star turns by Julia Stiles and Peter Weller and with more twists and turns than the Blue Ridge Parkway, this season was especially thrilling.

Which, of course, makes the wait for Season 6 all the more excrutiating!
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When winning equals losing

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Wondering if the recent success of their favorite teams has the fine denizens of Bear Country and Illini Land happy or sad about the long-term implications.

After all, another win or two, and it's contract extension time for Lovie and The Zooker!
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