Talking Points: Not everyone fit for Wrigley booth

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Maybe it was race driver Jeff Gordon’s shout out to the fans at “Wrigley Stadium.” Or Ozzy Osbourne, who decided the lyrics of “Take Me Out to The Ball Game” were not nearly as interesting as the mostly unintelligible words he’d picked out for himself.

Whatever the reason, the Chicago Cubs have decided to make the broadcast booth at Wrigley Field, and more importantly, the microphone, off limits to the likes of Vanna White, Erik Estrada and Mickey Rooney. Marion Ross apparently will be the last member of the “Happy Days” cast to sing during the seventh-inning stretch.

“I think the last couple of years we had gotten away to a couple of people who weren’t tied to Chicago,” said Jim Oboikowitch, the Cubs in-game programming director in what might be a bit of an understatement after more than a decade of Peter Frampton, David Cassidy, Barbara Eden and Frank Sinatra (Junior) leading the Wrigley faithful in song.

— The Associated Press

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With the 49ers trading Alex Smith to the Kansas City Chiefs, San Francisco now has 15 picks in the upcoming NFL Draft, and five of those are within the first three rounds. The 49ers came within inches of winning the Super Bowl, and a couple of wise draft picks could make them even better.

Which means the Seahawks need to be on their toes. At the end of last season, Seattle might well have been the best team in the NFL (remember the 150 points in three weeks?) If the Seahawks hadn’t gotten off to a 4-4 start that resulted in back-to-back playoff games in the Eastern time zone, they might have hoisted the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the season.

But they still need to improve.

Our guess is that the two best teams in the NFL will be in the NFC West next year, and that should make for an epic rivalry.

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As reported by Deadspin.com, we may have finally gone too far with these motivational slogans. From a sign in the Alabama weight room: “Sweat is just your fat crying.” Somehow, we think “Just do it” would be a little more inspirational.