No expectations

The Hound now knows what his older siblings, aunts, uncles, grandpas and grandmas felt like as the Cubs and Sox both folded early in the baseball playoffs: No expectations.

What the &*^%$#@! happened here? Should The Hound start rooting for the Kane County Cougars or the Area 51s in Vegas? It should be noted The Hound predicted the Cubs' demise because of West Coast voodoo. The Hound didn't expect that West Coast gris-gris to include the Gulf Coast of Florida as the Devil Rays took the best-of-five series. Does one detect a satanic underpinning here?

OK, we move on and ignore the chaos theory, curses and just plain not prepared for the post-season for the second year for the Cubs and since ought five when the South Side hitmen ruled the roost. Dare The Hound utter those sorry words: Wait until next year. Or as Leo Durocher once said: "Back up the truck."

Well, the Bears are in first in the old black and blue division of the NFC --- for the time being.

As for those of you who, like The Hound, had no expectations, The Hound offers the original thanks to the world's greatest rock n' roll band:

Take me to the station
And put me on a train
I've got no expectations
To pass through here again

Once I was a rich man and
Now I am so poor
But never in my sweet short life
Have I felt like this before

You heart is like a diamond
You throw your pearls at swine
And as I watch you leaving me
You pack my peace of mind

Our love was like the water
That splashes on a stone
Our love is like our music
Its here, and then its gone

So take me to the airport
And put me on a plane
I got no expectations
To pass through here again

The Hound isthisclose to becoming a soccer hooligan.