rawhide... !

The hilarity out of the north side of Chicago is reminiscent of B4 (i.e., before '04) of bleaker days ('72, '75, '86, '03, etc.). The invective spewed and uttered on Broad Shoulders Radio via ESPN is understandable, especially after Cubs fans were made to endure Ryan Dempster discovering the Yips, walking the bases loaded in the 5th, and then choking up his two-run lead by way of a James Loney moonshot salami. And, oh hey, was that Manny or Tiger Woods 3-ironing one deep into the bleachers later?

But enjoy it while you can, Cubs fans! No really! There is a certain cachet in bandwaggoning loveable if perennial losers -- once you win it all, yer nothing special hanymore! A 100-year slide even beats 86.

Assuming, for the sake of argument, my beloved Carmine Hose maintain their dominance over the Anaheim Rally Monkeys, I'll be rooting for the White Sox, meanwhile, to beat the Rays. I'm a traditionalist and have a deep antipathy toward dome baseball, and the Rays, while the Cinderella of the Ball this year, have a remarkably bland color scheme as it pertains to watching baseball on TV, I strongly feel a Sox/Sox ALCS would be far more aesthetic.

And which is why I root for the Brewers to go quickly. Is there possibly a blander town than Milwaukee other than Detroit? And having said what I said about the Cubs, I still prefer them over a Manny/Nomar revenge scenario, again assuming either of those teams can boot the Phillies.

Prediction: Carmine Hose to win 3rd Series this early 21st Century.