Enough of Ravens' whining about Bears, Angelo

You can say a lot of things about Bears GM Jerry Angelo.

And most of them have been said here.

But haven't we heard enough from the Baltimore Ravens and their draft-day debacle?

We understand the Harbaughs are intrinsically annoying, but Ravens coach John Harbaugh needs to move on already after blasting Angelo again this week.

Look, we're first to say Angelo is often delusional when it comes to his roster.

The Bears GM sounds goofy when talking about the offensive line, and even worse when discussing his receiving corps.

He sometimes sounds like even he can't possibly believe what he says about various positions on the squad.

He has handed out contracts and salaries like candy at a Fourth of July parade.

He was unfair to Dick Jauron and has allowed Lovie Smith free rein to be consistently and purposely deceptive when informing Bears fans about the team in virtually every way imaginable.

The musings of the Ted Phillips Trio drives Bears fans to drinking — and then more drinking.

But the beating Angelo is taking from Baltimore over a draft-day trade snafu is ridiculous.

He's been pounded monthly from Ravens ownership, management or coaches, with the latest ear-piercing screech coming from Harbaugh, who came right out and accused Angelo this week of being a liar and a cheat.

The Bears screwed up and they've admitted it. Angelo has apologized repeatedly for failing to get the call into the NFL to consummate a trade which would have given Baltimore a fourth-round pick in exchange for the Bears and Ravens swapping the 29th and 26th picks in the first round.

But Harbaugh says the Bears intentionally stalled when they realized they could grab Gabe Carimi without giving up a pick.

That's not Angelo. He may be a lot of things, but he's not a thief. There's no part of his past that suggests that's true.

His group has made its share of paperwork mistakes, but this sort of character assassination has absolutely crossed the line.

The Bears fouled up. They admitted it. They offered full apologies.

Baltimore wanted compensation. Can't blame the Ravens for that. The NFL looked it over and said the Bears were under no obligation to do so.

Some teams would have done it anyway, but this is the big leagues and it's not about making friends, so once the NFL said the case was closed, the Bears agreed.

Harbaugh, however, continues to wail that NFL teams will be reluctant to deal with the Bears because of this stain on their reputation, a hilarious attempt at extracting reparations.

And it's nonsense. Teams do what's best for them and if there's a deal to be made with the Bears that makes another team better, those teams won't hesitate to deal with Angelo.

So enough already. The Bears made a mistake. They fessed up. The league said the case is closed.

And no amount of vicious name-calling by the Ravens is going to change it.

So what they might want to do now is get over it.

Ivan Boldirev-ing

Not only did Stanley Cup-winning goalie Tim Thomas bring Chicago-based agent Bill Zito to the ESPYs last week, but he also led Zito onto the ice while the Bruins were celebrating after Game 7 in Vancouver.

Perhaps it's because Zito stuck by Thomas during the many years when no NHL team would even give him a look, but Thomas actually left the ice after Game 7 to find Zito and bring him out for the celebration.

For more than a decade, Thomas failed to land a job and was repeatedly released by NHL teams, before finally nailing down a starting job with Boston at the age of 32.

Throughout it all, Zito stayed with Thomas, and obviously the goaltender hasn't forgotten.

Nice.

Back to school

That's nine straight games with an error for the Cubs. Yeah, that whole stressing of fundamentals thing, along with a strong dose of teaching, is really starting to show up on the North Side.

Not surprisingly, the Cubs have the worst fielding percentage in the majors.

Dunn deal

According to ESPN, Adam Dunn celebrated the 10-year anniversary of his MLB debut Wednesday (pregame) with 1,756 strikeouts, more than any player at the 10-year mark in history. Bobby Bonds was a distant second with 1,422.

The quote

Team USA soccer goalie Hope Solo: "I'm hoping I get out of my funk in a little bit because we have Olympic qualifications. I am taking it pretty hard right now. You've just got to take it one step at a time. That is what we do as athletes. You bounce back up and go at it again."

Just grading

ABC's Jimmy Kimmel: "The United States' soccer team lost to Japan, which means we're now losing to Japan in math, science and penalty kicks."

Best headline

Sportspickle.com: "NBA schedules Bulls-Mavericks opener on Mars because, why not?"

And finally ...

S.F. Chronicle's Scott Ostler: "I hear theaters are packed for 'Moneyball,' but that's because half the seats are tarped off."

brozner@dailyherald.com

Y Listen to Barry Rozner from 9 a.m. to noon Sundays on the Score's "Hit and Run" show at WSCR 670-AM.