ESPN

Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall won't face charges due to an incident in a nightclub in New York. Will Marshall be a distraction for the Bears?

• markvacc1i: "If you have a track record of acting a fool in the past, then it is expected you will act a fool in the present and future."
• cutlermartz: "Marshall put up 1200 yards in Miami. MIAMI! Not only do defenses have to worry about him, but they also have to worry about Jeffery, Bennet in the slot who catches everything, and Hesters speed. Bringing in Marshall will make every other WR better"
• White Sox South Side: "Mom always said.....'Nothing good ever happens after midnight.'"
• tebowski666: "Future headline. "'Ticking time Bomb catches 4 TD's in win over Pack.'"
• goonerdp: "Now the trade for Marshall for just two 3rd round picks is looking liking a brilliant steal even more."
• drunkbull19: "I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that Da Bears will be the 2nd best offense (behind the Pack) in the NFC North this year."



Join the conversation or respond by signing in or creating a profile and blogging.

Lovie Smith thinks Matt Forte will be back this season for the Bears, despite a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee that usually takes two to six weeks to heal. But even if Forte hits the short end of that timetable, should he play? The 25-year-old runner is without a contract beyond this season, mostly because the Bears didn't want to give him the same kind of deal fellow backs like Chris Johnson and Adrian Peterson received.

• "Take your time, Matt. The Bears don't care about you. Angelo has never cared about any player. Why rush back and risk your future? Especially when every defense in the league now knows you're the one bright spot on the black hole that is the Bears' offense." -- SN commenter mmader1
• "This makes Chris Johnson look like a genuis and sends a message to superstars to hold out until you are paid your fair market value." -- SN commenter theglasskey14

We should be debating Jay Cutler's place among the NFL's elite quarterbacks Monday morning, but instead we're talking about his place alongside Matt Schaub on the shelf. Cutler will reportedly miss the remainder of the regular season with a thumb injury sustained while throwing for 286 yards and two touchdowns in a 31-20 win against the Chargers to lift the Bears to 7-3. Are the Bears still playoff material with Caleb Hanie?

• "Oh great, now more talk about how he isn't tough. Well, at least we have Caleb Hannie, played well against the Pack in the NFC championship, so I'm not totally worried (just slightly worried)." -- SN commenter Bearsman10
• "Hanie might be able to manage the games well enough to win them three games, which should be enough to get the Bears into the playoffs. Their schedule seems very favorable with only the Packers being difficult to beat." -- SN commenter GreenDragoon12

The first game of the NFL season kicks off in a little more than 24 hours, and we'd be lying if we said we weren't at least a little excited. Pro football can be a messy affair at times -- see the entire labor battle during the offseason -- but it's a glorious sport at its heart. Most every team's fan base has something to look forward to this weekend, although Colts fans may be dreading a future without Peyton Manning after the news that he'll miss at least his first game with a neck injury.

• Rank: Is Peyton Manning still in the MVP race? | Which are football's best teams?
• Vote: Which teams are the favorite to win each division?

• Rank: Which team do you have as football's best?

We can understand if you don't want to take the time to grade your tech-support help on the other end of the telephone, but when we're talking about the dollars and emotion you've invested in sports, we think it's worth the effort. It's time for ESPN The Magazine's Ultimate Standings, in which SportsNation grades organizations on everything from ticket prices and stadium experience to the talent on the field, court or rink. Which team will end up on top this year? It depends on what you say.

Take part in the 2011 MLB survey
2010 MLB Ultimate Standings
1. Los Angeles Angels (Overall: No. 3)
2. Tampa Bay Rays (Overall: No. 6)
3. Colorado Rockies (Overall: No. 13)
4. Minnesota Twins (Overall: No. 14)
5. Atlanta Braves (Overall: No. 15)

Take part in the 2011 NFL survey
2010 NFL Ultimate Standings
1. New Orleans Saints (Overall: No. 1)
2. Indianapolis Colts (Overall: No. 4)
3. Green Bay Packers (Overall: No. 9)
4. Arizona Cardinals (Overall: No. 19)
5. Baltimore Ravens (Overall: No. 20)

Take part in the 2011 NBA survey
2010 NBA Ultimate Standings
1. Orlando Magic (Overall: No. 2)
2. San Antonio Spurs (Overall: No. 7)
3. Cleveland Cavaliers (Overall: No. 10)
4. Dallas Mavericks (Overall: No. 24)
5. Oklahoma City Thunder (Overall: No. 25)

Take part in the 2011 NHL survey
2010 NHL Ultimate Standings
1. Pittsburgh Penguins (Overall: No. 5)
2. Detroit Red Wings (Overall: No. 8)
3. Washington Capitals (Overall: No. 11)
4. San Jose Sharks (Overall: No. 12)
5. Chicago Blackhawks (Overall: No. 16)

• Vote: Do you believe Jay Cutler quit? | ESPN Chicago Bears chat, noon ET
• Rank 'Em: Is Jay Cutler still a franchise quarterback? | Michael Wilbon chats, 1 p.m. ET

It's safe to assume most Bears fans didn't wake up Sunday morning thinking Caleb Hanie would hold their quality of life for the next few weeks in his hands that afternoon against the Packers. It might be safe to assume a decent percentage of Bears fans woke up Sunday unaware there was a guy named "Caleb" on the roster.

But when Jay Cutler left with a knee injury in the third quarter (and Todd Collins bombed in a brief appearance), Hanie took the field and a lot of notable football folks took to Twitter to question the nature of Cutler's exit.

• "All I'm saying is that he can finish the game on a hurt knee... I played the whole season on one..." -- Maurice Jones-Drew
• "HEY there is no medicine for a guy with no guts and heart." -- Derrick Brooks
• "Folks i never question a players injury but i do question a players heart. Truth" -- Deion Sanders

Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher stuck up for Cutler after the game, and an MRI may give the quarterback all the proof he needs to fend off charges of quitting. But would quitting under the pressure of the moment be a bigger sports sin than quitting because you didn't get a play called, as Scottie Pippen demonstrated in another memorable Chicago moment?

• Pick 'Em: Which team is your favorite to win the Super Bowl?

• Rank 'Em: Did the Seahawks move up in the rankings? | Who's the best QB remaining?
• Vote: Jets-Patriots | Ravens-Steelers | Packers-Falcons | Seahawks-Bears

Ignore for a second that the Seahawks have zero Pro Bowlers. Cast aside their regular-season record of 7-9. Overlook the fact that their uniforms are honestly a little ugly. On Saturday, they beat the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints and advanced to the next round of the playoffs.

We're not going to call this the greatest upset of all time, but it's got to be in the conversation. It definitely had one of the greatest runs of all time, as Marshawn Lynch delivered a 67-yard run that left Saints defenders cast about like bowling pins. We saw one YouTube dub that compared Lynch's run to acquiring an invincibility star in Super Mario Brothers. In a coming weekend that features two big-time rivalry matchups (Jets-Patriots, Ravens-Steelers) and one exciting contest of young teams (Packers-Falcons), it seems like Seahawks-Bears actually has a good chance to provide the most excitement.

• "The multiple hail marys, the incredible run by Lynch, the solid-as-ever SB Champ Drew Brees throwing for over 400 yards... and losing. In an honest showdown, to the biggest underdog in playoff history, headed by an older SB vet who came to prove that he isn't a has-been. Games like that don't happen every day. I know I wasn't about to turn it off." -- fisquid
• "Seahawks playoff game the highest rating in two decades. Their week 17 game was the highest rated Sunday night game in approximately 10 years. NFL maybe you want to schedule them for a prime time game at least once" -- MGramling15