FanHouse Chicago Tribune

And it ain't pretty. Perhaps sensing an opening to take shots at the Notre Dame coach after the new athletic director had to issue something resembling a vote of confidence this week and Jason Whitlock took to calling him college football's "Pear Bryant", the Tribune fired off several more volleys at the ego of the Irish coach.

The Tribune's college football writer Teddy Greenstein delivers a virtual treasure trove of anecdotes and quotes hammering at Weis' seemingly limitless ego. An appetizer:

When [Jeannette PA football coach Ray] Reitz told Weis that [recruit Terrelle] Pryor might attend a USC quarterbacks camp, he remembers Weis replying: "Why send him there? If he's with me for one day he'll be good, two days he'll be great and three days he'll be incredible."

Later, unprompted, Weis asked the Jeannette coaches if they wanted to take a picture of his Super Bowl ring.

What, no request to kiss the ring as well? Ask Pitt what it thinks about Jimmy Clausen after two years with Weis.

In the wake of Josh Hancock's death last week, the Cardinals decided to ban alcohol from their clubhouse. A lot of teams have begun to adopt this philosophy, and some even wonder whether or not baseball should make it a universal rule.

It's not necessarily the kind of rule that Ozzie Guillen is against, but he's not very happy that his name keeps coming up in these discussions. In a column that ran in Wednesday's Chicago Tribune, Guillen feels he was singled out for no reason.

That is, unless they happen to play for the Oakland A's. Billy Beane, as progressive of a GM as there is in baseball, banned beer from the Athletics' clubhouse during the 2006 season. He instituted the rule shortly after pitcher Esteban Loaiza was stopped for drunken driving after leaving the clubhouse.

Ozzie Guillen, the White Sox manager, mocked the A's for putting in the rule, which Beane explained was the result of the team's liability concerns

I remember Ozzie's "mocking" of the A's rule, and it was along the lines of "Oh man, what am I gonna do without beer!?" A joke, nothing else. So understandably Guillen is a little upset with being labeled a fan of drunken driving.

I have to say that the idea of the Twins trading Johan Santana has never crossed my mind, but it's definetely swirling around in the Chicago Tribune's Phil Rogers' mind. From his column in Monday's paper:

Before contract talks broke off between Johan Santana and the Twins, baseball's best pitcher is believed to have had put the team on notice that he wants a contract at least as long as Barry Zito's eight-year deal with San Francisco. Why wouldn't he?

"I'm going to be honest," Santana told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "I would like to stay here forever. Now, how many years would they be willing to offer? Hopefully I could do lifetime. That would answer your question because that's what I would like."

There's no urgency to these talks, as Santana is committed to the Twins through 2008. But you can bet GM Terry Ryan will carefully handicap his chances of doing a long-term deal as he decides whether to let him go the distance in Minnesota or trade him when his value is highest.

If the Twins fade by the July 31 deadline, he can ask a king's ransom for Santana and center fielder Torii Hunter, a free agent after this season.

I just don't see it myself. At the same time, if Santana is looking for a Zito-esque contract I'm not sure the Twins could offer him that kind of money. At least not if they wanted to keep anybody else on the roster.

The biggest asset of the Twins organization has always been their ability to develop new players, but I'm not sure trading Santana wouldn't cause a revolt amongst Twins fans. When you're building a new stadium to play in the last thing you want to do is trade the teams best player and alienate fans because no matter how beautiful a new stadium is, they always look better with butts in the seats.


Previously at the Fanhouse:
Johan Santana Denies Cutting Off Negotiations
Johan Santana Cuts Off Contract Talks With Twins
Breaking News: Johan Santana Is A Lot Better Than You
Johan Santana Would Prefer An Extension Soon, Thank You
The Twins Unveil Their New Stadium

There are plenty of stereotypes among and about Chicago's baseball fans. For example, Cubs fans are yuppie idiots who go to Wrigley Field to get soused on Old Style, not to watch baseball; and White Sox fans are "ghetto" or "low class" or any of the other far more insulting words used to describe Chicago's less affluent south side.

It's no big surprise such stereotypes are usually bogus. There are plenty of "blue collar" Cubs fans, just like there are plenty of "suburban" White Sox fans. What's more, today the Chicago Tribune reports that the "Friendly Confines" of Wrigley Field -- long seen as the haven of the apathetic Cubs fan -- is not so friendly anymore.

The days of going to Wrigley Field, having a good time in the sunshine and not fretting about the outcome of the game has been supplanted by great expectations since the near-miss in the 2003 National League Championship Series.

"Chicago might be a good place to play, but it is a tough place to lose, one of the toughest," Pierre told the Tribune last month.

"They love their Cubbies in that town, and they sell out almost every game at Wrigley. We lost almost 100 games and the fans voiced their opinion.

That's all well and good, but the Tribune asks a valid question: is an increased nastiness hurting the Cubs?

Fun: unfounded trade speculation!

The Chicago Tribune's Phil Rogers weighed in on the Carlos Zambrano contract situation a couple of days ago, and says if the Cubs can't reach a deal with Zambrano eventually, Cubs GM Jim Hendry could consider a trade:

Hendry would need an iron fortitude to deal Zambrano, no doubt about that. But there are ways that could work out.

The Cubs could be as good with Zambrano as without him. It sounds crazy, but for as well as Clemens pitched a year ago, the Astros were only 10-9 in his starts. And the Philadelphia Phillies mysteriously started winning after trading their best hitter, Bobby Abreu. It's baseball, and silly stuff happens.

The most likely way a Zambrano trade could work is the return on the trade itself. These types of deals generally benefit the seller, and a smart organization can use a bargaining chip like Zambrano to add strength.

Rogers later mentions Ichiro, among others, as a player that might serve as a viable trading piece for both teams. The one obstacle is probably Seattle's newfound desire to steady their payroll after it jumped over $100 million for the first time ever this offseason.

Lost in the Ivy over at Sweet Home Sports, has an interesting analysis:

If the Cubs did swing this trade, their lineup would look like this:

1: Ichiro Suzuki
2: Mark DeRosa
3: Alfonso Soriano
4: Aramis Ramirez
5: Derrek Lee
6: Michael Barrett
7: Matt Murton
8: Cesar Izturis

As a Cubs fan, let me tell you, that lineup does indeed make me feel all tingly. And that, my friends, is why trade speculation, even without merit, is fun: it's like real-life fantasy baseball. (I hear the Cubs are also going to organize a three way trade for Johan Santana, Albert Pujols, and A-Rod. More on this breaking report later.)