Lynch suckered Bears in swap; picking Foster also smart move
Darting here and there
John Lynch, smarter than the average Bear.
It helps to have watched Hanna-Barbera cartoons in the 1960s to get that line, but it works even if you didn’t. That 2/3 swap, plus extra picks, was such a heist you’d swear Mike Ditka was in charge in Chicago.
So happy that we don’t have to spend the next 10 years typing “Trubisky.” Of course, when you’ve spent the past five years typing “Kaepernick,” anything would be an improvement.
Lynch gets it. Solomon Thomas and Reuben Foster still have to prove their worth at the NFL level, but defensive difference-makers are the players who ultimately turn around bad football teams. Improved offense then wins titles.
Foster could be a Draymond Green-like steal being selected that late if his shoulder holds up. And we worry less about the character questions with NaVorro Bowman serving as his mentor.
Trent Baalke would have traded down, too … and taken two or three more cornerbacks and maybe an insurance punter.
We don’t ever want to play the Carolina Panthers now. Cam Newton AND Christian McCaffrey to stop? The city of Charlotte has no idea how much fun that’s going to be.
So how soon before Stephen Curry shows up at Warriors practice wearing a McCaffrey jersey?
The Raiders landed Marshawn Lynch and a defensive back, the latter by far one of their most dire needs. That’s a pretty good haul to start a week, too.
Meanwhile, Jerry Jones drafted a guy named Taco in his latest gambit to win the whole enchilada.
The NFL draft is so much more compelling when you skip it altogether and just read the results when it’s over. You miss absolutely nothing bypassing all the hot air and only need seven minutes to digest seven hours.
Another reason we take a pass: We simply can’t look at Roger Goodell that many times over and over. It’s like a nightmare version of “Groundhog Day.”
And besides, we’re also boycotting ESPN even more than we usually do after its layoff bloodletting. Jayson Stark, Ed Werder, Marc Stein and Andy Katz gone, among others, and you keep “Highly Questionable?” That goes beyond highly questionable.
Classy move, Warriors sub head coach Mike Brown lamenting ESPN’s axing of Ethan Sherwood Strauss, who did a lot of fine work the past few seasons covering Golden State.
This Warriors break between rounds 1 and 2 feels like an offseason. You’d think the league could just tighten up the postseason up a tad and avoid the three-games-infour nights ordeals during the regular year.
Steve Kerr says he won’t subject his staff to coaching only when he feels up to it. His staff and everybody else may literally beg to differ, even if he has to coach from a stretcher.
The playoffs have done nothing to dissuade our belief that Kawhi Leonard is the real NBA MVP, but we leave it open for James Harden to prove differently in what should be a bang-up Spurs-Rockets Western Conference semi.
Russell Westbrook had 54 assists in the fivegame Rockets-Thunder series. The rest of the Oklahoma City team had 45.
Programming note to NBCBA and NBCCA viewers: Giants and A’s hourlong pre- and postgame shows are not to be confused with “The Happy Hour.”
Particularly with the Giants, it’s some kind of challenge for 3-4 people to spend an entire hour dissecting one run scored.
The Milwaukee Brewers’ Eric Thames entered Friday with 11 home runs. The Giants entered Friday with 15 (two of those by Madison Bumgarner).
Without Christian Arroyo, the Giants don’t win the two games they did against the Dodgers. Any more minor leaguers down there?
That Michael Morse home run almost made up for the rest of this bummer of a season so far. Almost. He might have to hit two or three more.
Checked the mirror, and yes, we’ve definitely gotten grayer awaiting the return of Sonny Gray.
In the wake of their elimination, sounds like the Sharks will get their entire band back together again, and we wish there was a lie in there somewhere.
Told ya about that Barcelona-Real Madrid game. Phenomenal. Wait, what, you didn’t watch it?