Apparently, I should have gone to USC

Four years ago around this time, I made the biggest decision to date, signing my letter of intent, committing to Southern Illinois University. No, I don't play ball, but I do make it rain!

OK, all jokes aside, after doing my daily web searching, I've come to the conclusion that I should maybe have tried harder in high school so I could have gone to the University of Southern California.

Note: USC is one of the schools I will constantly mention when it comes to completing the sentence: I should have gone to _____ for college.

Ladies and gentleman, I present to you Exhibit A.

Hey, even the Beach Boys wished they could all be California girls -- especially if they looked like this. And even though it's a 50-50 breakdown of the student body, I like my chances with ditzy Cali girls.

And you know what the sad thing is? That because these girls are smokin' hot, they buried all of my other ideas for today's blog story. Instead, you'll get some blurbs:

• This story might explain a lot. According to someone with too much time on their hands, "sex is for winners" and that there is a direct correlation between a fan's sexual performance and the performance of his team. If that's tough news for Cubs fans, I guess you could say Yankee fans might want to go get themselves checked out.

• In a story I will likely expand about tomorrow, Dusty Baker is making his return to Chicago and the Cubs are looking forward to it. There is no truth to the rumor that Kerry Wood and Mark Prior were plotting to jump Baker as soon as he got off the bus, but according to my sources, Reds pitchers Johnny Cueto and Edison Volquez are scheduled to meet with Wood to exchange numbers.

• My favorite story of the day is Dodgers GM Ned Colletti is jumping on the blogging bandwagon. Colletti allowed bloggers to come and cover the team, following in the footsteps of my idol Mark Cuban. Hopefully when Cuban buys the Cubs, he will carry that policy over and allow me to cover the Cubs.

That's all for now. I can't wait 'til tomorrow. Hopefully I have some good stuff about signing day for the SIU men's basketball team, some good news from the SIU women's golf team and maybe (just maybe) some Dusty Baker insight.

Enjoy your Tuesday afternoon.

The Futures Market

In a tale of two teams, which will have the better 2008?

Team A has:

• Seven stars that are able to carry teams to victory
• An award winning manager/coach known for his motivational skills
• A fan base thirsty for another year of success.

Team B has:

• A bevy of incoming young talent
• An award winning/manager/coach known for his motivational skills
• A fan base thirsty for another year of success

Basically you have the classic argument of proven talent versus potential. As for the teams: your 2008 Chicago Cubs and your 2008 Southern Illinois Salukis men's basketball team.

Cubs manager Lou Piniella has one of the most talented squads in the National League, evidenced by the former and future All-Stars that are up and down his line-up such as Alfonso Soriano, Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez, Geovany Soto and Kosuke Fukudome.

Oh, and you can't forget pitchers such as Carlos Zambrano, Kerry Wood, Ryan Dempster (yes, he was an All-Star with the Florida Marlins) and Carlos Marmol.

The Cubs have the talent to run away with the NL Central and hide. But they're the Cubs, so you know they'll make it interesting.

If they win, it will be because of the aforementioned talent. If they lose, it will be because of the lack of production out of center field and shortstop - the two positions the Cubs ignored as they tried to acquire second baseman Brian Roberts.

As for the Salukis, they will open 2008 hungry as ever after missing their first NCAA Tournament since 2001.

Coach Chris Lowery has a highly touted recruiting class coming in to Carbondale, which just might be enough to make up for the depatures of forwards Matt Shaw, Randal Falker, and guard Tyrone Green.

The Egyptian Hunting Dawgs are bringing in some of the best talent in the Midwest, including the best player in Illinois, point guard Kevin Dillard, and two of the best talents in Missouri, guard Torres Roundtree and four-star power forward Anthony Booker.

Joining Booker, Roundtree and Dillard is guard Ryan Hare, another Illinois All-State performer, from Chicago's Marshall High School.

Oh, and I can't forget about combo guard Justin Bocot. The slender lefty sat out last year, but has apparently stepped it up in the classroom to the point where he just might join in on the fun.

The Salukis biggest addition might have come not on the court, but on the sidelines. Former Saluki star Tony Young joins C-Lo's staff as a graduate assistant, while reports have Southern Methodist assistant coach Lance Irvin jumping on board as well.

Irvin is reportedly best known for his ability to recruit Chicagoland talent. If SIU can corner the market on "Chi-town's finest" and the best from "The Lou," the Salukis will be the best team in the state, hands down!

In either case, both of my teams should be fun to watch in 2008 (and beyond)

Oh yeah, and this guy is coming back for the Dawgs:



Oh and he did this to a National Champion:

Dempster Diving

I'll be honest, I've never really been a fan of Chicago Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster.

WHY?

1. He's from Canada.
2. He made me nervous whenever he pitched the 9th inning.
3. I don't funny, but this one serious comment put him in my semi-good graces.

I used to joke that the Cubs moved Dempster to the rotation so when he gave up a bunch of runs in his first inning of work, the Cubs would have an entire game to recover.

After two starts, it looks like the joke is on me

With that said, Ryan Dempster is slowly, but surely gaining praise from me. How about this line for good ol' #46 in tonight's game against the Pirates:

7 IP 1 H 0 R 5 K 2 BB (ND)

Yeah, it's against the Pirates, but I'm still a little excited. His ERA stands at 0.69, and I know it won't stay there all year, but wouldn't it be great if it did?

Lest we forget he was an All-Star for the Florida Marlins in 2000, when he went 14-10 with a 3.66 ERA.

And yes, I realize the irony of Kerry Wood blowing the save in a game where Dempster, the former closer, delivered a quality start.

I'd be happy if he went 12-12 with a 4.00 ERA. Give me some league average No. 5 starter numbers and I'd be happy.

Tonight's You Tube video comes to you courtesy of Taiwanese baseball:



Translation: Lou Piniella, you ain't got sh!t on me!