I will be the first person to admit that I know nothing about making sports bets.  If you tell me what the over/under/spread/parlay is I will tell you that I have no idea what you’re talking about and go back to playing Pai Gow (seriously!  It’s fun!)

However, I know dumb when I see it, and I just saw it.

Yesterday, Cantor Gaming released its win totals for the 2012 football season.  They put the Bears at 8.5 wins (3rd in the NFC North) behind the Packers (12) and Lions (9.5).

I mean…is this a joke?  With a healthy Jay Cutler and a newly stacked offense, the Bears can and will win more games than they did last year.  This is a no-brainer.  I don’t know who ultimately makes these decisions but putting them in the exact place they finished last season makes no sense considering the progress we’re seeing.  I almost want to book a one way ticket to Vegas because this seems like easy money to me.

Earlier today, Brandon Marshall tweeted this photo of him and teammate Jay Cutler asking, “is it Sunday yet?”  The Chicago Bears are conducting their first of 10 OTA workouts today.  Marshall also received good news recently that he would not be charged with a crime in the  March nightclub incident that happened in New York City.

This is great news for both him and his teammates.  Everyone can put it behind them and move on to focus on the task at hand – bringing the Bears back to the Super Bowl.

In an interview with “The Waddle & Silvy Show” yesterday, Chicago Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall said that he is expecting huge things this year from Devin Hester.  ”Listen to me … He has all the skills to be a great, a Pro Bowl receiver. Not a punt returner — we all know what he can do there — but a Pro Bowl receiver.”

Marshall (and I’m sure he’s not the only one) is ready to watch Devin Hester shred up some defensive lines and do some serious damage, and thinks that will be possible with Jay Cutler continuing to improve and new quarterbacks coach Jeremy Bates ready to make him even better.

The Bears have definitely made solid moves in the off-season to beef up the team’s offensive threats. To see Marshall speak so highly of his teammates gives me optimism about how the 2012 season will turn out.

Marshall also spoke about the March incident at a nightclub in NYC, where he is accused of punching a woman in the face – an accusation that made many Chicago fans weary of what his behavior would be like when he got here.

“So the situation in New York, it’s unfortunate. You never want to see anyone get hurt, but just the allegation of me balling my fist up and hitting that woman is just a lie. … When the judicial system takes its course, I’m very confident I will be cleared of any wrongdoing.”

Marshall has yet to be cleared but also admitted that his sordid past makes him a target.  We may never know what happened, but we can hope that he stays out of trouble in Chicago.  That he admits he HAS a past is perhaps a step in the right direction – knowing he won’t be able to get away with much and staying out of the spotlight (except for when he’s catching touchdown passes) is the best thing he can do.

The Chicago Bears announced on Wednesday that they agreed to terms with their newly drafted wide receiver Also Jeffery.  Jeffery, the team’s second-round pick out of South Carolina agreed to a four-year deal with the team.  GM Phil Emery said of  Jeffery, ““We saw a big, dynamic athlete, playmaker falling and we decided that we were going to go after him.”

As a senior, Jeffery caught a team high 49 passes for 762-yards and eight touchdowns.  He will be a nice addition to the team’s receiving corps of Earl Bennett and Devin Hester.  Speaking of Bennett, he blabbed to ”The Boers & Bernstein Show” on WSCR-AM 670 that QB Jay Cutler and his fiancee Kristin Cavallari are expecting a boy this summer.  The couple has yet to reveal the sex of their baby.  Way to spoil the surprise, Earl!