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North: U.S. men's basketball team no match for Dream Team

Time for some random thoughts on the 2016 Rio Olympics, the Cubs, the National League MVP race, Jay Cutler and more.

• Congratulations to Team USA for winning 121 medals in Rio, but the drama and lack of passion was a concern at times.

Clearly international basketball is down, which is why the U.S. team got it done easily by blowing out Serbia 96-66 to win the Gold. I can't help but think that this U.S. team would be getting 25 points against the Dream Team of 1992. These guys wanted to win, but the Dream Team wanted to dominate.

• The Cubs had what we call in the business a "hangover" game Sunday against the Colorado Rockies, losing 11-4.

I'm sure it happens every so often during the course of the year, but our Cubbies were dropping pop-ups at Coors Field. Hey, even the best have a bad day occasionally.

• I have to laugh at people that throw defense into MVP talk. While it's true that some MVP winners can do both, very rarely does a defensive MVP seize the day.

Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron were adequate in the field, but were never considered defensive studs.

For the folks clamoring for Anthony Rizzo (.295/25 HR/87 RBI) or Kris Bryant (.300/31 HR/83 RBI) for MVP, there is a guy playing second for the Washington Nationals named Daniel Murphy. Going into Monday, Murphy was hitting .345 with 23 home runs and 89 RBI.

If Ryne Sandberg or even Ben Zobrist were performing that well playing at second base, there would be no debate. But we still have a long way to go.

• I enjoyed being on "Sports Talk Live," hosted by David Kaplan with Chet Coppock and Jason McKie, on Friday evening on CSN-Chicago. A broadcast school should get the tape and teach their students that's how to host a show, especially with the crew "Kap" had to control.

• Thanks also to the website Sportsmockery.com for giving me the nickname, "Original gangster of sports radio" after my visit with them on their podcast.

• As Bears quarterback Jay Cutler returns for his eighth year, I am wondering how long-suffering fans feel about him.

Sometimes his personal stats are touted and that's all well and good, but who really cares about stats? And yes I know he will be playing for his sixth different offensive coordinator and that is a legitimate complaint on his behalf, but Cutler has been and still is one of the worst field generals in the NFL.

When a QB has no titles to his credit, you fall back on stats. Former Bears great Sid Luckman won, and Cutler hasn't. Luckman is a Hall of Famer, and Cutler is an overpaid Jake Plummer. Luckman won, Cutler can't!

Program notes:

Follow me on Twitter@ north2north, and listen to Fox Sports Daybreak with Andy Furman and myself from 5-8 a.m. Monday through Friday on Fox Sports radio, and check me out on iHeart radio or Foxsportsradio.com.

• North's column appears each Tuesday and Friday in the Daily Herald, and his video commentary can be found Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at dailyherald.com. For more, visit northtonorth.com.

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