Driving down the bumpy streets of Cicero the last thing I expected to see was the majestic building and grounds of Hawthorne Race Course. My fellow CLTV producer Lindsey Nesselbush and I, along with two Executive Producers, Jeimmie Nevalga and Frava Burgess, were invited to watch CLTV anchor/reporter Monica Schneider act as the "celebrity guest announcer" for one of the horse races.

I got a kick out of her being called a celebrity -- which I guess to the average person she is, but to me- her producer, she's just Monica (this must be how Angelina Jolie's assistant feels).

By JERRY RILES

Cubs fans said goodbye to another year of not reaching the ultimate goal. Another season of saying “wait ‘til next year”. The 101st time the franchise will look toward another season of trying to get that monkey off their backs.

In one of his final press conferences of the season, Cub manager Lou Piniella told reporters that injuries were the main reason the Northsiders struggled in ‘09. It had nothing to do with a lack of production regarding pitching or hitting.

So, I ask the question, why was hitting coach Von Joshua brought in to boost the team’s offense? He replaced Gerald Perry midway through the season in hopes of lighting a fire under a group of so called sluggers who could barely hit the side of a barn.

The only real bright spot for the Cubs offensively was second baseman Ryan Theriot. At one point during the first half of the season, the little spark plug had cranked out something like four homers in a five game span.

That all slowed down after a local writer simply asked the innocent question about rather or not The-riot was under the influence. The influence of possibly engaging in performance enhancing drugs.

Of course Theriot isn’t engaging, we believe, but the newspaper article appeared to have some type of effect on him. He began to struggle at the plate along with the rest of his teammates.

By JERRY RILES

Hey, Miguel Cabrera you can try to blame it on the alcohol as Jamie Foxx would say. Unfortunately, I don't think you'll get off that easy.
I don’t mind if you have a nice cold one or two after work with co-workers and/or friends, but to hang out with the team who’s chasing you in the division and attempting to help eliminate the Detroit Tigers from the playoffs, man that’s cold.
To make matters worse, you get to the house at about 5am in the morning and began to get into it with your wife. If she’s upset with you for staying out all night long and then coming home intoxicated, the only thing you needed to do was man up.
“I said I was sorry for what I did,” said Cabrera, who sat in front of his locker with a contrite look.

That’s it? All this commotion as the team makes a playoff run and you can just say to them I’m sorry? I don’t think skipper Jim Leyland is going to accept that kind of apology sitting down. You guys have to play 163 games this season to get into the playoffs. Talk about selfish. Despite a 2-run blast off the end of your bat, the Tigers are going home and the Twins will face the New York Yankees in the first round of the ALDS. Talk about timing. You got caught with the three Ds. Drunk, Domestic, Defeat. What a tough week.
I must commend your wife Rosangel. She did not put up with your crap. How dare you begin yelling and fighting with her after staying out all night with a White Sox player in a Birmingham (Detroit suburb) hotel? She had every right to scold and kick you out of the house.
Now, you were the only two in the house, so I don’t know if she hit and attacked you or not, but police felt they had to remove you from the residence to prevent any further confrontation.
I don’t condone hitting women. Just be a man and step away. I know in your state it must have been somewhat difficult.

By JERRY RILES

Here come the Hawks. Man, here come the Hawks.
What a tremendous performance by Coach Joel Quenneville’s bunch. The Blackhawks skated to a 6-5 come from behind victory over the Calgary Flames over at the United Center.

The comeback, as you’ve heard by now, was for the record books. Trailing 5-zip in the first period, the sluggish boyz ripped off six unanswered goals in the next 45-minutes to knock off the Flames in front of a spirited UC crowd of 20,000.

Brent Seabrook scored the game winner :26 into the overtime period. OVERTIME! This was the second time in two games the Hawks needed extra time to win.

Saturday it took a club record nine-round shootout against Colorado to claim that amazing 4-3 victory off an Andrew Ladd goal. It would be the longest shootout in team history.

Last night’s overwhelming win would be the Hawks biggest comeback in the team’s history as well.
Some hockey experts around town believe the guys on skates have a better and more exciting game than the guys on the hardwood. What do you think? Back-to-back history making performances supports their argument.

The Bulls are still trying to figure things out without their star player and second year head coach Vinny Del Negro.

Derrick Rose has yet to lace them up this early preseason due to a bad wheel. If you ask me, both the NHL and the NBA are pretty good and exciting. Could they both improve…of course?

Jonathan Toews believes if the Hawks stay the course and reach their short term goals throughout the season the bigger picture of advancing to the Stanley Cup will happen for sure.

“To win our division or make the playoffs, even, is going to be a tough task,” the captain explained.

“We have to not try to bite off more that what we can chew at any given time. If we keep everything short-term and worry about that, the long-term goals will take care of themselves.”

With Toews, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, Duncan Keith and the rest of the boyz it should make for a fun and exciting season.

Don’t count the Bulls out either.

By JERRY RILES

Three turnovers, nine penalties, and a loss once again to the hosting Atlanta Falcons down in the Georgia Dome was not what Lovie Smith and his Chicago Bears were looking for, but it’s what they got.

The Bears beat themselves 21-14 falling to the Falcons for the second straight year. Last year it was a Matt Ryan deep pass coupled with a Jason Elam game winning field goal.

On Sunday night, it was a combination of coaching, poor execution and just bad judgment.
Running back Matt Forte fumbled the ball twice inside the red zone with the Bears knocking on the door.

That should not have happened. Offensive coordinator Ron Turner should have called a Jay Cutler dive at the one for the touchdown instead of handing to Forte. The running game wasn’t clicking based on the play selection.

Did the Bears drop this contest because of the lack of creative play calling by Turner? Did Lovie and his coaching staff fumble the ball in game planning? Was it Cutler trying to do too much, or was the offensive line just bad?

Smith admitted during the post game comments that the blame for the lost starts with him. He’s absolutely right. It starts with the top man. The coaching staff should’ve been prepared. Turner wasn’t.

Cutler was indeed too cocky. When you try to thread the needle between three defenders down the middle of the field to get the ball to the tight-end, that’s simply being too cocky. Play smart. I’m not against taking chances, but do it intelligently.

The play of the offensive line was not up to standard as well. Future Hall Of Famer Orlando Pace was called for a false start on fourth and one during the Bears last drive.

Defensively, rookie middle linebacker Nick Roach, filling in for the injured Brian Urlacher and Hunter Hillenmeyer, got brunt several times simply because he has very limited experience.

Defensive coordinator Smith and sideline guy Urlacher should’ve assisted the Northwestern grad in recognizing some of the Falcons lineups and formations.

They didn’t and Matt Ryan and Tony Gonzales hooked up for a 10 yard touchdown strike in the back of the end zone.

Now the Bears are tied for second in the NFC North with rival Green Bay. Both at 3-2 with Minnesota leading the division with a 6-0 slate.

Next up, former teammate Cedric Benson and the Cincinnati Bengals in Ohio. Benson will be ready. He had a disappointing game against the Texans rushing for 44 yards on 16 carries. Let the games begin.

It’s time to regroup fellas.