Da Dos

Author: ButchDeadLift

  • Rock, Flag and Eagle! [2025]

    Rock, Flag and Eagle! [2025]

    Right about now most are experiencing an onslaught of emotions, but I surmise the main one is American angst

    It doesn’t even matter where you align. If you’re a fiscal conservative you might be stressing about the trillion dollar deficits we keep increasing. If you’re pro-2nd amendment you’re worried about dem taking away your guns. If you lean the other way, you’re dreading the next cuck blasting away kids with an AR. You’re brooding about the borders, wars in the middle east, neo- robber barons suckering the poor, work, values…

    Even if you’re totally a-political, I bet you’re on some level dealing with shit costing too much, the education of your children or medical care of yourself or a loved one.

    Then throw all that into a 24-hr news cycle blender of CNN, FOX, Youtube, Twitter, and voila:

    American Angst

    It’s no wonder we come across stories of seemingly random violence. It’s a minor miracle it actually doesn’t occur more often TBH

    Then every 4rth of July we sorta agree on collective amnesia for a day, bbq, and blow shit up.

    With that in mind, I’d like to share some “4rth of July” movies, music and quotes.

    “Dazed and Confused” often gets discarded as merely a “stoner movie.” However, it’s much more. It’s not a “4rth of July” movie per se, but it covers a lot – from absurd HS rituals, politics, coming of age, small town football culture, and yes, sex, drugs and rock-n-roll. It’s also car-porn!

    To boot, it has one of my favorite lines from any movie:

    “Well, all I’m saying is that I want to look back and say that I did I the best I could while I was stuck in this place. Had as much fun as I could while I was stuck in this place. Played as hard as I could while I was stuck in this place… Dogged as many girls as I could while I was stuck in this place.”
    If you want a fun, semi-deep, 4rth of July flick with cool soundtrack, throw on some “Dazed and Confused.”

    It’s hard to imagine the liberal teacher in Dazed sharing anything with Jackie Cogan [played by Brad Pitt], an ‘entrepreneurial ‘ contract killer in “Killing Them Softly,” but both actually express similar cynicism on the “American Dream.” The difference is that Jackie Cogan doesn’t try to change the system – he embraces it.

    “Jackie Cogan: My friend, Jefferson’s an American saint because he wrote the words, “All men are created equal.” Words he clearly didn’t believe, since he allowed his own children to live in slavery. He was a rich wine snob who was sick of paying taxes to the Brits. So yeah, he wrote some lovely words and aroused the rabble, and they went out and died for those words, while he sat back and drank his wine and fucked his slave girl. This guy wants to tell me we’re living in a community. Don’t make me laugh. I’m living in America, and in America, you’re on your own. America’s not a country. It’s just a business. Now fucking pay me.”

    “Killing Them Softly” is a bit more grim, a slow-paced vignette of post-recession U.S. , but an interesting watch nonetheless.

    On that note, here are three 4rth of July protest jams.

    Butch, you’re killing my buzz, scro!

    Alright alright.

    On a more positive vibe, here’s two great quotes from the immortal Thomas Paine:

    “Every age and generation must be as free to act for itself in all cases as the age and generations which preceded it.”

    “Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigues of supporting it.”

    Some other non-sensical 4rth of July clips for shits and giggles.

    In the end, “South Park” sums it up best:

    So get in your shorts, sandals, wife-beater, fire up the grill, knock back some beers while the neighbors try to blow up the block with highly illegal fireworks.

    Enjoy.

    ‘Merica!

  • Bears sign UDFA DE Xavier Carlton

    Bears sign UDFA DE Xavier Carlton

    Signing a UDFA this late into camp likely isn’t going to turn many heads, but hey, it’s a Bear move and piques my interest. He’s not a RAS champ, that’s for sure, but at 6’5, 273 with 34″ arms, gives something Dennis Allen can mold.

    Here’s some pertinent twits on him:

    Here’s Slim Sports interviewing Xavier Carlton

  • Movie Monday: The Penguin

    Movie Monday: The Penguin

    Nothing is really moving and shaking in the Bears’ world besides some Caleb speculation and forever ‘Will Bears sign another DE/HB/LB…’ banter

    That’s ok. A quiet camp is typically a good camp. Just ask the Bengals.

    On that note, “The Penguin” isn’t technically a movie, but it’s one helluva show!

    I’m somewhat picky when it comes to shows. I guess I get easily bored, so only the really interesting ones [Deep Space Nine, GOT, Breaking Bad, The Sopranos, Always Sunny…]make me want to binge, and “The Penguin” was definitely binge-worthy.

    It’s technically in the “super-hero/villain” genre, but not really. I mean, if you ask me, it’s more realistic than all the John Wick flicks I watched last week.

    It’s gritty, superbly acted, action-packed, and psychologically captivating. In other words – it’s fun!

    It’s on HBO Go or Max, or whatever the hell they’re branding it now, though I’m sure you can find plenty of outlets to watch it unless you wanna kill time reading depth chart reports in July…

    Strongly recommend it.

  • Relentless

    Relentless

    Johnny Manziel interviews Brian Urlacher.

    You may not like either of these guys on a personal level, but at least they squeeze out some interesting sport’s talk.

    Some Spark-Notes from Lach

    ‘I loved playing against Michael Vick, Culpepper, or any QB who can move really, to show off my stuff’

    I still recall Lach chasing down a prime-Vick. It was a sight to behold. Lovie Smith’s Cover-2 was almost custom made to stop running QBs. Everyone attacked their gaps. ‘DE just had to get a hand to slow down QB’. All 11 eyes were in the backfield, so the second a QB split, all 11 rallied to the ball, and under Lovie, they closed with good angles and tackle discipline. On top of that, any runner had to worry about getting Peanut-punched by every defender amped to create a turnover.

    This might be why the Cover-2 is back in fashion with so many running QBs though they’re a bit more exotic than the Lovie-2

    ‘Favre would give us 2-3 chances [for INTs], but he threw it so damn hard, hard to pick-off sometimes’

    ‘Rodgers knew our checks. You play any team enough, they’re gonna know. So we had to change our pirate checks [that started with “P”]…so one play Lance [Briggs] starts yelling, “Big Pussy! Big Pussy!” and Aaron just started laughing before the snap.”

    ‘2006 was unbelievable…but I think we had a better team in 2010’ [the year Jay Cutler messed up his MCL vs GB in the NFC Championship and Caleb Hanie came off the bench]

    Who did the media get wrong? Jay, Bmarsh?

    ‘Julius Peppers. The media [in 2010] put out a narrative that he didn’t practice hard or took plays off. That dude showed up to work every day and busted his ass off in practice’

    ‘Bmarsh said some crazy things, but a lot of people do. He was out there on the jugs machine 45 minutes before the game. Jay simply didn’t care, so it doesn’t matter if the media got him wrong’

    Dooooon’t Caaarrrrrre…

    Lach talks about hating players kneeling during national anthem, and how he tuned out of the NFL during that time.

    ‘2005 we had four players who got Defensive Player of Year votes. Me [Lach], Briggs, Alex Brown and Nathan Vasher”

    “There’s pre-season, regular season, and post-season speed”

    ‘SB, opening kickoff, Devin Hester takes it to the house. Then, Chris Harris picks off Peyton Manning on their opening drive. Then, we just shit the bed’

    ‘Some fans accuse Rex Grossman of playing badly, but he didn’t play that bad. We gave up 250 yds passing, and 190 yds rushing. That’s not good, not when all season long we were giving up like 300 total.”

    I’m a little surprised by this, but perhaps I shouldn’t be. For starters, Lach is a leader, and not about to throw anyone under the bus. But, c’mon, Lach, there’s a reason Sex Cannon washed out of the league.
    Too bad Manziel didn’t mention Lovie’s baffling decision to stop running Thomas Jones and instead insert Cedric Benson who proceeded almost immediately to fumble it away…

    “I had 21 different QBs in my 13 seasons”

    ‘Lovie was like your dad, a guy you wouldn’t want to disappoint. In one game when we were down to the Lions with a backup QB, at halftime, Lovie said ‘crap, darn and dang’ in the same sentence, and we knew it was go-time. We beat the crap out of them in the 2nd half.’

    “They should’ve never fired Lovie”

    ‘I didn’t like the way they [Halas] handled the offer they made me though I’m glad I didn’t return [to endure the Marc Trestman era].’

    “I had TOO much fun spending $ in college” – Johnny Manziel
    “I was happy when my mom gave me quarters for laundry. Now kids are getting $100K a month”

    Same here, Lach. I always hoped an extra quarter or two slipped in so I can play Shinobi or Double Dragon! 100K? I could buy the whole damn laundromat with that.

    “What are dos and don’t of training camp?” Manziel
    Lach, ‘You learn what to take up there, what to do in your off-time, what you shouldn’t be doing. We first went to Platteville about 4 hours away. Then Bourbonnais. I liked going away.’

    ‘I knew I wasn’t going to be a 6’4, 250 lb safety. They first tried me at SAM, but I was terrible. Rosi [Roosevelt Colvin I’m guessing] beat me out in 2 weeks. They had me line up directly over the TE and jam, but I didn’t know how to use my hands. I’m now a draft bust. Barry Minter gets hurt in week 2. Greg Blache [Then current Bears’ DC] says, ‘Go in and play MIKE’, I told him, “I never played MIKE’
    Blache, ‘just run to the ball and we’ll figure it out’
    Lach, “and I started every game after that at MIKE’

    Reminds me of the saying, “don’t judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree”. To the outside world, SAM and MIKE seem nearly identical, but those few yards were the difference between a draft bust and a HOFer. In college, Lach’s coach played him at Rover, which allowed Lach to show off his athleticism and versatility.
    Something to think about with Bears’ new coaching staff and life in general

    ‘I wasn’t even going to run the 40, but Greg Blache challenged me, and I ran a 4.56 at 258 which opened a lot of NFL eyes at the combine.’

    ‘I love Caleb. If you put him in a different situation like Jayden with Klingsbury or Bo with Sean Payton, I think Caleb could’ve been ROY’

    ‘Ben Johnson’s the man’

    ‘Before Lovie got there, we played fast, but once he was HC, we played hard and fast. He kept track of loafs. You know how embarrassing it is to get in front of the whole team and be called out for loafing?’

    Manziel, “One word to sum up your prime”

    Lach, “Relentless.”

  • PFT: NFL Collusion

    PFT: NFL Collusion

    Still slow. Nothing really to report . Only real “news” is that Colston Loveland is expected back sometime during training camp. What that means – who knows? Doubt Loveland is full-go from the start.

    However, a big story dropped that no one really seems to care about [no, the OTHER story].

    The NFL has essentially been found to be colluding, though no ‘smoking gun’ was definitely discovered , so they keep on trucking.

    —–
    “In a decision dated Jan. 14, 2025, Judge Christopher F. Droney, head of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, concluded NFL teams did not collude with one another to ensure other veteran players did not get similar fully guaranteed deals in the aftermath of Deshaun Watson’s $230 million contract with the Cleveland Browns.

    However, he did clarify: “There is little question that the NFL Management Council, with the blessing of the Commissioner, encouraged the 32 NFL Clubs to reduce guarantees in veterans’ contracts at the March 2022 annual owners’ meeting.”

    https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/how-language-agreed-upon-by-nflpa-cost-it-a-verdict-in-collusion-battle-with-nfl-over-fully-guaranteed-deals

    —–

    I mean, is anyone shocked? What’s more telling is that the NFLPA hasn’t aggressively used this for some sort of leverage, even if it’s just PR ammo for down the line when they have to renegotiate.

    I imagine NFL owners meeting like the NY Five Families, speaking in code to avoid prosecution. Maybe they should hold their future meetings at their lawyer or doctor’s office like the “Sopranos”

    Mike Florio, a former actual lawyer, over at PFT has been on it like white on rice.

    If you want a layman’s [and sometimes not so lay] explanation of it, here’s his take:

    In some sense it DOES pertain to the Bears because ole Butcho strongly suspects ‘passive collusion’ in the owners trying not to pay guarantees to 2nd rounders, three of which are unsigned by the Bears as of today.

    I’m curious how this issue will get resolved. It only takes one owner to cave – could it be George McCaskey with the most to lose?

  • Bill Burr on LT

    Bill Burr on LT

    I love Bill Burr. He’s a funny fuck. I could link a thousand clips of him, and not just his stand-up but even his interviews.

    And as it so happens, Burr is an avid football fan. Not like the ‘only watches the SB’ or ‘casually for FF’ type of celebrity fan, but an actual hardcore NFL fan with tons of opinions, knowledge, and history of the sport.

    However, Burr is not some Rainman pod like Warner or Brady, so he’s a great listen.

    Anyways, I never saw this clip before. It seems everyone has a crazy Lawrence Taylor story, and his might be the most nuts!

    I won’t spoil it.

    Enjoy.

  • Quotes 1

    Quotes 1

    Good thoughts. Good words. Good Deeds.
    – Zoroaster

    Bonus round – “Bohemian Rhapsody” not just a great song but also a poignant movie.

  • So I ran, I ran so far away…

    So I ran, I ran so far away…

    So one of the perks of running a blog is I can post whatever the hell I want! That being said, I’m trying to steer away from ‘political’ posts. Some don’t want that in classrooms, Twitter, or dinners, and I totally get it. The comments are another matter; still, since I’m now the Blog Don, I’m trying to cut down even on that [I really hate that “moderator” tag!]. Besides, y’all know where I stand in most issues so no need.

    However, sometimes it’s hard to ignore politics. Growing up, my mom never discussed politics. A single-mom raising two kids has little time for anything but work. Her biggest worries were paying rent and being able to afford us new clothes and shoes every school year. Likewise, I was way too busy as a kid or teen to pay much attention to politics. Like most, I just wanted to hang with my friends, party, and talk to girls. CNN and Fox were for old fogies. I was truly apolitical

    When I attended college, all that changed. The environment itself is politically charged so hard to ignore. All the same, I wasn’t on a ‘team’ yet. I read Ayn Rand and Karl Marx all the same. Heck, I even picked up some of those Lyndon LaRouche pamphlets!

    “Just because you do not take an interest in politics does not mean politics will not take an interest in you. ”
    ― Pericles

    It took a while to sift through like 5,000 years of history and find some wobblily footing about the present. Even now, despite being much more knowledgeable and experienced, I sometimes wonder, “What if I’m wrong?”

    IMO, that’s a healthy attitude to maintain as it keeps one from becoming arrogant, complacent, or worse – dogmatic – perpetually frozen like those denizens in Dante’s lowest circles of hell.

    With that in mind, I’d like to share two YouTube channels that help keep me informed

    [Neither are inherently political in case you’re wondering. They both simply sum up and extract the most vital data in an easily digestible manner ]
    —————-

    The first I actually came across as a WWII aficionado, so if you’re looking for a great WWII channel, check out Mark Felton Productions

    Here they briefly cover the modern history of Iran

    The second channel I found thanks to our very own GP

    It’s the CapsianReport; they mostly dissect the geo-political facets of wars as well as the nuts and bolts from battle philosophies, numbers, assets, equipment to strategy, tactics and logistics. What I like about them is they tend not to sugar-coat topics

    So if you’re looking to catch up on a country we may possibly invade [or nuke], two great YouTube channels to enlighten us on the crisis.

    As for Bear news, the only real tidbit worth noticing is the on-going thirty 2nd rounders who have as yet to sign. Likely they want more guarantees and might be waiting for Shough’s negotiations to conclude to see if they can benefit.

    Leave it to the Bears to draft three 2nd rounders in a year when nearly all are holding out for who knows how long… enjoy your weekend!

  • Have you heard? Cowherd is the word

    Have you heard? Cowherd is the word

    Still not much to report, thankfully

    Colin Cowherd apparently dined and talked with Kevin Warren.
    Here’s the thing about Cowherd. He’s basically an L.A. guy now, and as such, pretty plugged in with the L.A. sport’s scene, especially USC, so he’s relatively reliable when relaying L.A. gossip. The usual is covered – Caleb Williams struggled, but still played a solid rookie campaign despite disastrous coaching, yada yada.
    More interesting is what I pointed out in my 2-part Caleb piece. Namely, that Caleb’s college bad habits indeed carried over, and perhaps worsened with terrible coaching and interior Oline.

    “The first year at USC, Caleb Williams was absolutely magical. The first 6 games in his 2nd year at USC he had 21 TD’s and 1 INT. If you look at his first 18 games at USC he was unbelievable. Then the last 6 games it was a disaster, so what happened? Notre Dame sacked him 6 times. USC had been doing smoke and mirrors in pass protection and it all unraveled against a really good coach and Notre Dame defense. That point forward Lincoln Riley knew he had the #1 draft pick and didn’t want him to get hurt. He went into protection mode with Caleb. He shrinks the playbook, didn’t allow him to run certain stuff. And then Caleb, knowing he’s going to be the #1 pick, went into survival mode. He was just trying to get into the season. He ends up in Chicago with a staff in survival mode. Caleb Williams was in survival mode. There’s no growth in survival mode. So Ben Johnson’s job in Chicago is extreme QB makeover. The talent is all there but they’ve gotta renovate the house.” – Cowherd

    Some Twitter silliness

    Of course best nickname is Sweetness! Which NFL nickname is 2nd best though?

    I’m also trying to remember best [non-gangsta…get da papers, get da papers] nickname I knew growing up

    Hmmm…I knew a guy we called Gizmo. That was pretty funny.

  • Movie Monday: Final Destination Bloodlines & The Babadook

    Movie Monday: Final Destination Bloodlines & The Babadook

    Been thinking about this installation for a while, but usually SOME Bear story breaks over the weekend; however everything as of right now is ho-hum [which is better than Bengals’ or perennial Cowboy’s drama]

    From time to time, I may do a Movie Monday – informally review and recommend a movie I have recently watched or RE-watched

    I’m not an avid movie-goer, but I have watched far too many flicks. Besides, many of the best ones are based on books, plays and graphic novels, and those I have read aplenty

    So, without further ado…

    If you have nephews, nieces or grandchildren in their teens, it’s a bit hard to find good flicks to watch together. They’re either too graphic, or cheesy, or related to comics in some way, but “Final Destination Bloodlines” is just a good ole fashion thriller-action-light comedy flick you won’t have to overthink. I went into it assuming I was going to hate it, but immediately found myself a little unnerved as it touches on an audience’s phobias through cinematic mastery. I won’t get into the specifics, but many scenes vividly depict something we may have winced at some time or other; nevertheless, it doesn’t totally devolve into a gory snuff film like the “Saw” or “Hostel” franchises

    When the credits rolled, all I could say was – that was fun! I almost regretted not being able to watch this in 4DX [those tickets were sold out to my shock, but relief to my wallet] as it may have taken the tension to another level

    The final scenes of Tony Todd [aka “Candyman”] also made this movie surprisingly poignant

    RIP TONY TODD

    So if it’s still out in theaters, and you want some fun with teens or family who fancy mindless horror, I definitely recommend this

    [Spoiler alert. Just don’t schedule an MRI appointment in the near future like my dumbass!]

    This ever happen to you? Someone recommends a movie; you’ve never even heard of it,  assume it’s new, and they inform, “Oh no. it’s been out for 10 years.”
    Well, “The Babadook” was one [of many] of those flicks for me

    I’m a sucker for Horror and Psychological Thrillers, and this subtly blends both. The watcher really doesn’t know what to make of it as it seems more like an indie drama for
    a large part of the setup. We are left ‘waiting’ for the show to start, but it doesn’t quite where one expects. About the only thing a viewer can be sure of is that kid is annoying AF!

    Yet, as the mother begins unravelling, and the mysterious episodes become more frequent, a certain creepiness and uneasiness spreads – both qualities of a solid thriller

    click for spoiler By the end of it, your alliance switches from sympathy for the mom, to sympathy for the kid, when you begin to realize that The Babadook may be all in her head – That she indeed may be clinically insane: the guilt, trauma and unrelenting social choke of being a single mom raising a hyperactive [to say the least] son only disintegrates her sanity to the point where she essentially gives up on trying to defeat the ‘demon’ once-and-for-all like in so many other horror flicks where the priest emerges victorious
    The mother must meekly cede that The Babadook can’t be ignored much less exorcised or killed. She is somewhat doomed to forever feed it, literally or metaphorically with the help of the only one who stood by her through it all
    Her son
    Which is way more relatable to the millions battling psychological disorders and the loved ones somehow vainly trying to help

    In other words, if you’re looking for a somewhat more recent horror-thriller, go watch The Babadook – preferably in the dark – alone