There are lessons to be learned, especially in the worst of circumstances. Take the Bears' uninspired 1-3 performance in the preseason. Many important messages were conveyed. Here's a look at some morals of the preseason story. They just might pay dividends once the regular season starts next Sunday at Indianapolis:
Q: What are your thoughts on four preseason games? It's a topic that's gaining a little momentum each summer. Is it too many?
With the start of NFL and college football seasons about to collide with baseball's pennant races, a pair of Cubs are among the few who can say they've savored both -- well, soon enough, anyway, for one of them, rookie pitcher Jeff Samardzija, the former Notre Dame All-American receiver. Second baseman Mark DeRosa, the former Ivy League quarterback, joins Samardzija among the top current two-way baseball-football talents in major-league sports -- a list of current MLB players that also includes Houston's Darin Erstad (punter for Nebraska's 1994 national champion), Colorado's Todd Helton (Tennessee quarterback who once started ahead of Peyton Manning) and Arizona's Adam Dunn (signed as quarterback at Texas before quitting to play baseball full-time).
The Blackhawks faced a long climb back to relevance and, to this point, haven't missed a step. To this point.