The Rich Report

Ed. Note: I've come to the conclusion that each of Rich Harden's starts down the stretch are going to be crucial. So after each start, I'll provide the line for Richard James Harden until the season ends or his arm falls off. Whichever comes first.

Harden vs. Houston 8/05 (ND, 1-1) 5.2 IP 8 hits 5 runs 4 earned runs 2 home runs 1 walk 8 strikeouts. So, the Cubs bat awaken to help Harden and in return he has his worst outing in Cubbie Blue. Still, he helps your fantasy team with eight punchouts.

That brings Harden to a 1-1 record 2.10 ERA 47 strikeouts 9 walks and a 1.03 WHIP in 30 innings pitched as a Chicago Cub.

As Brett's World Turns

Here I am preparing a post previewing the Green Bay Packers' open quarterback competition between a guy that has 441 more career touchdown tosses than his closest competitor and then the news hits the fan.

"This probably isn't going to work."

Those are words generally reserved for guys trying to break it off with a stage five clinger. Instead, with those six words, the 15-year relationship between Brett Favre and the Packers looks to be coming to an end.

Will Favre be released to the open market or seek a trade with the teams he tortured the most, the Minnesota Vikings or Chicago Bears. Or maybe the quarterback-less other team from New York or the QB collector Jon Gruden in Tampa Bay.
This is a disappointing end to a saga I was sure would end with a shot fired from a grassy knoll by an Aaron Rodgers-hired sniper.

All jokes aside, there's nothing like pushing out the face of your franchise. Ask Jerry Reinsdorf.

Now Favre, who will be a motivated gun-slinger by the time Opening Day rolls around, will be moving on and I'm damn sure he'll be looking to rack up about five TDs and 500 yards against his former mates just to spite a front office that has tried desperately to rid itself of its flip-flopping crazy-clingy ex-girlfriend.

Just Call 'Em The Brawlin' Brewers

It's almost like clockwork. The Milwaukee Brewers are led into a pennant race by a youthful and talented squad of ball players such as Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun and J.J. Hardy. And then it gets ugly.

For the second consecutive year, the Brew Crew have gotten themselves into a brew-ha-ha among each other. In Monday night's 6-3 loss to the Cincinnati Reds, star first sacker Prince Fielder shoved lefty starter Manny Parra as he headed to the showers after being lifted for a pinch hitter. Apparently, the Prince took offense to Parra hitting the showers and felt he should stay and watch the rest of the inning with his teammates.

Hence, the shove heard 'round the Midwest.

Parra shrugged it off as something that happens "all the time" in the Brewer clubhouse. I'm not surprised, and you shouldn't be either.

Let's take a trip to 2007, shall we?

Remember when manager Ned Yost picked duked it out with then-catcher Johnny Estrada? And then followed that by pelting the Cardinals' Albert Pujols in a late-September game with pennant implications. It was retalliation after Fielder was hit by a pitch a few innings earlier. Pujols scored the tying run in a game the Brewers would eventually lose 7-3 as the Cubs moved a bit closer to their division title.

The 2008 Brewers began bumbling, stumbling and fumbling their chance at catching and surpassing the Cubs during as they hosted the NL Central leaders in a four-game series at Miller Park. The North Side Nine known for leaving their bats at home turned Miller Park into Wrigley Field North, outscoring the Crew 31-11, including an 11-4 romp in which the unraveling began.

With reliever Seth McClung warming in the 'pen as the inning started, former closer Eric Gagne threw a pitch behind Cubs center fielder Jim Edmonds, who earlier homered twice, on a 3-0 pitch. Doug Eddings immediately tossed Gagne, and McClung (who was the one who plunked Pujols by the way) immediately came in to deliver two high-and-hard ones to catcher Geovany Soto.

It was apparent to anyone with baseball accumen that those were purpose pitches and that the Crew was trying to leave the Cubs with some parting shots.

And even though there's plenty of ball to be played, the Brewers open today five games behind the Cubs in the NL Central. And even though they sit atop the NL Wild Card standings, they'll be fighting the likes of the Cards, Phillies and Marlins.

And of course, themselves.

Hey There, Sports Fans

You know the old axiom about how bloggers are evil people who anonymously post from the safety of their parents basement? Well, I'm living that world as I take a few days at home in Chicago to straighten out a few situations.

So like last week, I'll be feeding you stuff out of the can until my laptop gets repaired in Carbondale.

Hope you enjoy it!

Look Who's Back

Did anyone notice that Mike North made a guest appearance in Wednesday's Red Eye?

I guess you would have to read the Tribune Co.'s newspaper for the attention challenged to have seen it.

Northy will apparently be a guest panelist in the Red Eye's five-on-five where five panelists answer...you guessed it...five questions. North has been out of the spotlight since late June when The Score 670 did not renew his contract, making him a free agent.

For those of you who aren't up to date with Chicago sports talk, North is The Godfather of WSCR, who came from the humble beginnings of a hot dog vendor to being one of Chicago talk radio's must hear voices.

So where did he go wrong? In a nutshell, he got full of himself. According to those in the industry, he orchestrated the end of the Monsters of the Midday show he co-hosted with Dan Jiggetts. Then he followed that blunder and made his two biggest mistakes.

He moved to the mornings and he stopped talking sports.

Chicago Sun-Times reporters Brian Hanley and Mike Mulligan, who cover the Bulls and Bears respectively, have vacated their mid-morning slot and moved into North's 6-10 a.m. spot. It's arguably the Score's most intelligent sounding show and is helping WSCR regain the credibility it lost during the end of the North era.

For now, North is just another shock jock priced out of a market he created.

On The Come Up

I know basketball's in an off-season, but I have one random question that desperately needs to be answered.

Who's going to make the playoffs first: the Miami Heat or the Chicago Bulls.

The reason I ask is because both teams have been relatively quiet since draft night when the Bulls went with hometown hero Derrick Rose leaving the Heat to choose Michael Beasley.

Sure, the Bulls re-signed Luol Deng to a deal reportedly worth up to a cool $80 million, but the team's major issues have still yet to be resolved.

Vinny Del Negro is still an unproven coach and under his watch he needs to find the following:

• A go-to-guy who can score at will in crunch time.
• A low-post scorer in the front court.
• A guard to team with Derrick Rose in the starting line-up.

The team's best scorer, Ben Gordon, will likely jump ship (literally?) to the Euro league. Joakim Noah and Tyrus Thomas' next low-post scoring move will be their first. And a back court of Rose and Kirk Hinrich doesn't solve the Bulls lack of height at the guard position.

As for the Heat, they have the go-to-guy, the No. 2 guy and now they have the low-post scorer. All they need is a true-PG to run the show and ease the burden Pat Riley has put on D-Wade.

Could the Bulls' draft strategy have catapulted the Heat back into the playoff hunt at a quicker rate than their own team?

In a back-asswards kinda way, maybe.

Daily Dosage: Where Am I?

Probably on my way to Carbondale. But at least I'd be nice enough to give you a little bit of Friday eye candy. And in the spirit of going back to college, I thought I'd hit you up with a Dallas Cowboy cheerleader.

Just one you ask? Fine here are more!

If I was Tony Romo I wouldn't need Jessica Simpson or Carrie Underwood. I'd be fraternizing with these gals on a weekly basis.

Oh you want some Quality Linkage too? Oh, you're so greedy!

Check out The Big Lead, Deadspin, Fanhouse, Fire Joe Morgan, Awful Announcing and With Leather.