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the over on this game is making a bundle today.

In a Bears-Vikings game? Huh?

and I’m pretty sure no one is—the reason I haven’t been so…rabid about posting about fantasy football this season is that my season has been pretty much meh so far. I’m 2-2, which is not bad, but almost none of my players are playing in games that are fun to watch. Except the Bears’ D, of course.

Yeah, you read that right. BEARS!! I have, as you know, the Bears D on my fantasy team, but as the damn server seems to be down, I can’t check to see what my score is right now.

is retiring, effective immediately. Read the full text of his email to Adam Schefter over at nfl.com.

Also: OMG, kickoff tonight! The wait is over. In more ways than one. It was touch and go for a bit, but I did get signed up for 2008 fantasy football in time. My draft happened yesterday, and though my roster is not stellar, it’s quite good:

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QB

Kurt Warner, Aaron Rodgers (meh)

RB

Matt Forte (!), Thomas Jones (!!), Maurice Jones-Drew (!!!)

DST

Bears (aww yeah), Redskins (meh)

WR

Laveranues Coles, Jerricho Cotchery, Wes Welker (!), DeSean Jackson

TE

Greg Olsen (!), Tony Scheffler

K

Nate Kaeding

The Bears have let Cedric Benson go, a move that should have had as much to do with his poor production on the field as his foolish behavior off the field. (Hat tip: Prachee)

So this leaves Adrian Peterson as the go-to guy? With Garrett Wolfe as the backup? You have to be kidding me. And Brian Urlacher, the linchpin of the whole team, is in the midst of some acrimonious contract renegotiations. You’ll pardon me if I’m a bit alarmed at the current state of affairs.

Well, who knows—maybe rookie Matt Forte will step up and have a great year.

I guess we both called it: the Bears drafted an offensive tackle in the first round, and a running back in the second round (which is about halfway done now). More on the other teams’ choices later…

Who the hell dressed Keyshawn Johnson today? Green checks and a pink polka-dotted tie? Yikes.

I felt like this. And since then, I have very carefully not thought about the f-word.

But like an oasis in a football-less desert, the NFL 2008 draft takes place this Saturday, Apr 26, at 2:30 PM ET, for those of you parched like I am for some pre-preseason analysis. Woo!

Other than the usual focus on building up the defense, which still needs doing (especially at safety), the Bears will need to do two things, IMO:

1. Trade for a good veteran running back, because let’s face it, Cedric Benson and Adrian Peterson are not getting it done. And Benson the prima donna has had his chance.
2. Draft a great running back, because Garrett Wolfe ain’t getting it done either.

I consider the running back problem the the most important part of staffing strategy, though the quarterback position remains an issue, and there’s the new concern over the aging offensive line. Not to mention the loss of Bernard Berrian and Muhsin Muhammad to free agency, leaving a gaping hole in the pass offense, which won’t be that much a problem unless we have a competent, consistent quarterback. Basically unless Lovie Smith makes some tough decisions this preseason, the 2008 season will be worse than the 2007 one. The picture looks grim indeed.

It may be late in the season, it may not matter in the playoff picture, but it’s supremely satisfying to see the Bears play like they care again. And how about that Brandon McGowan? Monster game from him today.

Oh, and a fantasy update. I missed 4 full weeks of football due to, first, a trip to India (more on this later), and then an unfortunately timed flight for a business trip, but the final result is that I was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. By two points. My final record was 10-5, third in the league, and second in points forced. Three of those five losses, by the way, were against the same team, the team which delivered the finishing blow to my season, and which went on to win the championship. The team with Tom Brady at quarterback. All in all, though, I had a great season, and will be doing this again next year. BEARS!