Another 'This is SportsCenter' winner

For however many years they've been doing the spots (at least since the days of Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann), ESPN's "This is SportsCenter" spots have consistently been among the funniest commercials on television (with the Y2K parody featuring Charley Steiner the leading contender for the best one of the bunch).

Recently, they scored another winner, this time with football analyst John Clayton.

Iowa fans party in Chicago

Iowa football fans have a reputation for being hard partiers, and they brought that rep with them to Chicago this past weekend for the Hawkeyes' game against Northern Illinois at Soldier Field. A grandmother-type woman partied hard against the Hawks squeaked out an 18-17 win over the Huskies, taking a 24-ounce beer bong in her fan before being driven off. (Thanks to SI.com's Hot Clicks for the link.)

Is Brian Urlacher ready?

Source: Sports Grind Entertainment

"It's nobody's business."

That was the response of Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher to a question on ESPN Radio 1000 's Waddle and Silvy this morning in response to whether he had secret surgery on his knee in Germany during the offseason. The knee has been a source of constant problems for the 12-year veteran during this training camp, even causing speculation that he is washed up and the Bears need to replace him.

Let's start with that speculation: Despite the argument of the Sun-Times' Rick Telander that the Bears could have cut him before Sunday's season opener against the Colts, he needs to hang around, even if he isn't the same guy he was five years ago. He still plays hard. He is still the leader of a highly ranked defense, and he still contributes in much of the same way he has in the same tradition of great Bears middle linebackers going from Bill George to Dick Butkus to Mike Singletary.

He has been cleared to play by the Bears' medical staff. Even if he was blowing smoke on Waddle and Silvy by saying the sunburn he got the other day while out boating hurts more than his knee, he still knows his body better than anyone out there. There is a certain amount of trust one has to give a player to know when to say to when.

Plus, despite the good play of Nick Roach in his absence and the coverage of Lance Briggs, Urlacher still provides that spark that powers the Bears' defense. No Urlacher, and the Bears start falling even more than they did at the end of last season.

That said, the Bears' brain trust should perhaps bring Urlacher along a little slowly to start the season. If the Bears wind up blowing out the hapless Colts Sunday at Soldier Field, then he should be the first player to leave the game early. This will keep him fresh and ready for the big games, including the Thursday nighter in Green Bay on September 13.

The Bruce Lee bobblehead has no fear...

This might arguably be the best promotion of the baseball season.

Courtesy of the San Francisco Giants, it will be Bruce Lee Tribute Night this upcoming Tuesday for their game against the Diamondbacks at AT&T Park.

Break out the tissues...

Videos of reunions of returning soldiers and their loved ones always are something special to see. This is one of the latest, featuring a soldier returning home from Afghanistan and providing a surprise for his mother, courtesy of the Greenville (NC) Drive, a Single A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox in the South Atlantic League.

Houston, we have a problem...

With the Cubs in rebuilding mode for at least this year and most likely through at least 2014, we here at Wait Til Next Century say we are going to miss the Houston Astros when Houston moves to the American League West next season. The 'Stros have stunk just enough to keep a very bad Cubs team (currently riding a six-game losing streak, which is one of many such streaks this year) out of last place. Last night, they provided yet another example of how bad things have been at Minute Maid Park:

Three Blind Mice...

Here's something you don't see every day: the DJ at a ballpark getting ejected from a game by the umpire.  This happened last night at the Cubs' minor league affiliate in Daytona Beach, Fla.