You gotta dream big.

This may sound absurd. But I'm predicting the Chicago Cubs will go all the way this baseball season. Into the play-offs, into the World Series. Winning it all. Of course, I've been making such predictions for a long, long time. Ever since I was a kid. The Cubs last won a world championship in 1908. Even before my father was born. But he had the good sense to be a Chicago White Sox fan. My mother was the Cubs fan. And she introduced me to my addiction. To the Cubs. I have a better feeling about the Cubs this year than I had last. Because the Cubs seem to do their best when the experts say they don't have much of a chance. When they are expected to do well, they invariably flop. I'm optimistic because the Cubs closed on an upbeat streak last season. Going 24-13 under a new manager. Sure, they finished in 5th place in their 6-team division. But I like the players' attitudes as they go into spring training in Arizona. And baseball is very much a mind game. You gotta dream big. --Jim Broede