Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura (the former pro wrestler) says, ''In the early '90s, the federal government came into pro wrestling and tried to put Vince McMahon in prison for steroid use of wrestlers. My question is: They've now determined 104 baseball players failed their steroid test in 2003 -- 104! They indicted Vince McMahon, why aren't they indicting Bud Selig?'' Well, at the very least, they ought to have McMahon take on Selig in a cage match.
Random thoughts while still wondering how the White Sox are a better team without a healthy Joe Crede at third base -- other than from a cost-savings perspective:
How local (or is that loco?) might the 2016 Olympic Games be if Chicago wins the right to host? Well, some of the soccer venues could include Minneapolis, the Meadowlands in New Jersey, the Rose Bowl in California, Philadelphia, St. Louis and Landover, Md. Quick Hits thinks spreading the contests nationwide is genuine genius by the Chicago bid committee -- provided that taxpayers in those locales will help foot the bill for what otherwise might fall on the backs (and into the pocketbooks) of Chicagoans.
Some people have all the answers; others have all the questions. Quick Hits has a little of each (although not necessarily the answers to the questions). All of which means it's time for another quick quiz:
Michael Jordan celebrated his birthday Tuesday. No. 46. Or, as some of us like to think of the man who led the Bulls to a pair of NBA title three-peats: two No. 23s. Although some of us realize there always will be only one No. 23.
Random thoughts while predicting at least one Cubs player and/or team official will make a prediction despite manager Lou Piniella's desire to the contrary:
Chicago should hold a town-hall meeting regarding hosting -- and funding -- the 2016 Olympics. Because Quick Hits thinks you would be hard-pressed to fill a town hall with people who would want to pay higher taxes to cover cost overruns. For some reason, Quick Hits is skeptical about private donations being the solution. Let's all hold our breath waiting for all the politicians to put their campaign war chests in escrow to cover additional Olympic costs. Then again, anyone who wants to pay higher taxes for the privilege (and the price) of showcasing the city and surrounding areas that will serve as venues (such as Madison, Wis., for cycling and St. Louis for some soccer) should be free to do so -- just not at everyone else's expense.
Having survived his rookie season, Cubs right-hander Jeff Samardzija still is aware of cutdown dates.
In case Rod Blagojevich is looking for employment, the Joliet JackHammers have offered the deposed governor a roster spot. ''We figured with his vast knowledge and love for the game he would be a great addition to the team,'' JackHammers executive vice president/general manager Kelly Sufka said in a release. ''[Manager] Wally Backman will do what he can to get him as many at-bats as possible, but he may have to work hard in spring training to find himself a regular spot in the lineup.'' Given Blagojevich's potential legal woes, it's unclear how free the free agent might be.
Random thoughts while trying to figure out the difference between bipartisanship and buy partisanship:
The Bears will not raise ticket prices for the 2009 season. As if their 2008 performance would justify an increase. Of greater interest will be whether the 2009 Bears boost their level of play.
The MLB Network has hired Bob Costas, who will continue to work for NBC Sports while HBO has said goodbye to the broadcaster extraordinaire. If a new network can land such a heavy hitter, you wonder what's taking the Cubs and White Sox so long to land one on their roster.
For the record, record numbers watched Sunday's Steelers-Cardinals Super Bowl. Nielsen Media Research said Tuesday 98.7 million people on average watched the game. Not the 95.4 million it reported Monday. The previous record was 97.5 million who tuned in for the 2008 game. Nielsen said the 3 million-plus viewers previously unaccounted for were watching on some digital tier networks that Nielsen didn't know were televising the contest. The totals presumably do not include any replay official viewing the Cardinals' last offensive play.
Random thoughts while waiting for the Arizona Cardinals' last offensive play in Sunday's Super Bowl to be reviewed and a ref on the field to issue a ruling:
Those folks who think it should be Super Bowl Saturday rather than Super Bowl Sunday (so that everyone would have sufficient time to party/socialize/whatever and subsequently recover before returning to work) might be on to something. Even better would be to make the Monday after the Super Bowl a national holiday.
Shannon Miller -- the first American gymnast to win Olympic gold on the balance beam (1996 in Atlanta) and most decorated U.S. gymnast (seven Olympic, nine World Championship medals) -- was in town Monday and Tuesday. She took time to chat after an event Monday at the Buehler YMCA in Palatine:
The Lingerie Bowl -- to have been shown on pay-per-view at halftime Sunday of the Super Bowl -- has been canceled. The reason: lack of clothes -- regarding spectators, not the players. The game was to have been played at a nudist resort. A spokeswoman for the resort said: ''Caliente is a luxury, clothing-optional resort. We ran into conflicts with the Lingerie Football League wanting more areas of our resort restricted to clothing required than we could accommodate.'' Quick Hits thought objections to the the game might come from close-minded types, not clothes-minded ones.
