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Chicago Cubs right-hander Jeff Samardzija threw a 120-pitch complete game in his final outing of the season Saturday in a 4-3 victory against the host Pittsburgh Pirates. It would appear he should be shut down for the season more frequently.
A picture of Colts cheerleader Sable isn't really gratuitous. Not that it matters.
* Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro stole his 23rd base Saturday (Spet. 8). He also committed his 23rd error. He also was caught stealing for the 13th time this season. That’s good enough for the big-league lead in that category. OK, it’s bad enough, but you get the idea.
* If it’s any consolation (and the guess here is that it is not), Castro also share the major-league lead for triples (11). Well, at least he avoids caught stealing standing on third.
* It’s possible the White Sox could have no batters with 100 RBI this season. Adam Dunn, sidelined the last few games by injury, has 88 to lead the team. Alex Rios has 82. The Sox (75-63) have 24 games left. If its any consolation, the Sox are the only team in the major leagues this season with five players who have 20 or more home runs: Dunn, Rios, Paul Kornerko, A.J. Pierzynski and Dayan Viciedo.
The Indianapolis Colts have cheerleaders (here's Kristine); the Bears do not.
The NFL is off to a super start (unless you happen to be a New York Giants fan) with the defending Super Bowl champion losing to the Dallas Cowboys on Wednesday to kick off the season. With that appetizer out of the way, the main course comes Sunday (Sept. 9). For what it’s worth, the 46 Super Bowl winners are 37-8-1 record in the opening game of their championship seasons.
* Since the NFL went to a 16-game schedule in 1978, 258 of the 490 teams that won their openers went to the postseason; of the teams to lose in Week 1, 116 went to the postseason.
* Since 1978, when the NFL adopted the 16-game schedule, and excluding the abbreviated season of 1982, teams that are victorious in their season opener are more than twice as likely to reach the playoffs than losers of their opening game:
* For what it’s worth (and the guess here is that it’s not much), the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers have the most victories in season openers: 52 apiece. The Giants have 49, the Detroit Lions 43 and the Pittsburgh Steelers 40.
* For what it’s worth (and again the guess here is that it’s not much), the Bears are among the leaders in opening-game winning percentage. The leaders: Dallas (35-17-1) .669, Jacksonville (11-6) .647, Denver (32-19-1) .627, Bears (52-35-5) .598 and Giants (49-33-5) .598. Ties before 1972 did not count in winning percentage.
* Longest current opening-day winning streak: New England Patriots (8). Longest opening-day winning streaks overall: Cowboys 17 (1965-81), Miami Dolphins 11 (1992-2002), Detroit Lions/Portsmouth Spartans 10 (1930-39), Bears 9 (1984-1992). Tied at 8 are the Patriots (2004-present), Baltimore Colts (1955-62) and Steelers (2003-10)
* Speaking of the Colts (the Indianapolis version), here is video of Colts cheerleaders Kristine and Chicagoan Allegra dispensing information and advice for fans traveling from Indy to Chicago. Among other things, Kristine notes the Colts were the first NFL team with cheerleaders and the Bears no longer have cheerleaders. As if Bears fans need any reminders. To view the Colts video, you can click here. To view the Honey Bears, you’ll need a good memory or a good imagination.
* Nobody asked, but the NFL ought to pass a rule that allows visiting teams to bring along cheerleaders to cities where the NFL team does not have any. Not that the fans necessarily would cheer with them, but something has to be better than nothing.
OK, so not everyone made it to Wrigley Field for the Bruce Springsteen concerts. Maybe the Cubs can figure a way to have more concerts and fewer ballgames there until the team rises to the level of mediocrity. Far from mediocre, here are some videos from Springsteen’s performances that various folks posted on YouTube:
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