I'll say it right from the start: Curtis Painter might be the worst 4 year starting senior QB in the history of college football. If he breaks the all time BT career passing yards mark, it will be a travesty and be a perfect example of a QB benifitting from "they system" and not from his talent.

We were dominated by a weak Notre Dame team yesterday. Our QB missed his recievers, threw at their shoe tops, and tried the "100 mph throw for a 3 yard route" with expected results. The first quarter, the ND secondary could not cover Orton and Hardy, and you think "we can do this all day". But Painter couldn't. Locking into his first option, as he has his entire career, he threw into coverages that had no openings or simply threw it where it was't catchable. The kid has not grown from last season. At all.

Not to say that the defense wasn't exposed yesterday. Playing nickel back the whole game wouldn't be a bad strategy, but when your linebacker (Holland) is overmatched and built more like a safety, and your line is dominated by sheer size, well, you could run all day on us. And the secondary didn't come to play. Not one impact play in the secondary. Continually beat on long pass plays. I never understand why we play 10 yards off the reciever every freakin down. Blitzes didn't work, line penetration non-existent.

I just don't see a win in the BT Season. Maybe we can outscore Minny and IU, because their defenses seem as bad as ours, but Penn State and OSU the next two weeks on our schedule? We will be dominated and humiliated.

The talent on defense isn't there. The 4 year starting QB hasn't gotten any better. If it wasn't for Korey Sheets, we'd have no weapons at all on offense. (Him being helped off the field near the end of the game proved to be a shoulder problem, not the broken collarbone it looked like. He'll be back. )

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WXRT played this song just a minute ago. From a live performance in Chicago in August. The inspiration, as Tom Marker the DJ told it, was that Vedder was in Mesa this spring and was introduced to Ernie Banks, who only knew he was a musician by way of introduction. "Write me a song", Ernie said jokingly. Eddie was inspired, said that looking in Ernie's eyes were like "looking in the eyes of Wrigley Field", and wrote this song in his hotel room that night.

It's like an old Irish pub song, with a sing a long chorus, just Eddie and his guitar. I thought the DJ said the song wasn't available commercially, but I'm sure XRT will play it a lot (streaming at 93xrt.com). I found the lyrics on some guy's blog (which one I can't remember, so let's just credit the lyrics to Eddie Vedder):

"All The Way"

Yeah, don't let them say that it's just a game.
Well, I've seen other teams and it is never the same.
When you go to Chicago, you're blessed and you're healed, The first time you walk into Wrigley Field.
Heroes with pinstripes and heroes in blue, Give us the chance to feel like heroes do.
Whether we'll win and if we should lose, we know Someday we'll go all the way.
Yeah, someday we'll go all the way.

We are one with the Cubs, with the Cubs we're in love.
Hold our heads tall as the underdogs.
We are not fairweather, but farweather fans.
Like brothers in arms, in the streets and the stands.
There's magic in the Ivy and the old score board.
The same one I stared at as a kid keeping score.
In a world full of greed, we could never want more.
Someday we'll go all the way.
Yeah, someday we'll go all the way.

Here's to the men and the legends we've known.
Giving us faith and giving us hope.
United we stand and united we'll fall
Down to our knees the day we win it all.
Yeah Ernie Banks said, "oh, let's play two".
I think he meant two hundred years.
Playing at Wrigley, our diamond, our jewel.
The home of our joy and our fears.
Keeping traditions, and wishes anew,
The place where our grandfathers' fathers they grew.
The spiritual feeling if I ever knew.
And when the day comes for that last winning run, and I'm crying and covered with beer.
I look to the sky and know I was right today.
Someday we'll go all the way.
Yeah, someday we'll go all the way.

I have been critical of you most of the year. You really haven't been a very good pinch hitter for us this year. But I wanted to apologize because I was wrong. If you don't get another PH for us the rest of the year, last night's homer was enough for me to support you as long as you're a Cub. That one clutch hit will shut up my criticism of you the rest of the year. And after listening to your post game interview---you admitting you have struggled, you saying you're still working hard, you showing what a leader and good teammate you are----well, I can't quit you, Daryl Ward. You're a class act and I hope last night's hit is just the start of some special moments for you and your team the rest of the year.

Your friend,

Carmen Fanzone

PS: you crushed that ball!!!!!

Two pretty cool sites on past Cubbie scorecards and pocket schedules. I love the artwork of the 60's and 70's.

And now I'm just trying to get in the 75 words that are required of a fan post. And hopefully this is now enough of those words that I am trying to fill in. Do Dee Do. La Dee Da. But now I'm only at 63, so I will mark on young christian soldiers, marching on to war. War, what is it good for. absolutely nothing. Say it again.