I’ve been following the NFL free agency market a little bit this offseason, and was surprised to see that the Bears lost both of their starting wide receivers. Muhsin Muhammad went back to Carolina, while Bernard Berrian bolted for NFC Central rival Minnesota.

Everyone expected to lose Muhammad because he’s getting up there in age and hasn’t been the impact player that the Bears thought he would be when they brought him in a few years ago.

But Berrian? Did GM Jerry Angelo even try to retain Chicago’s primary deep threat? Or is he just hanging around in a Vegas hotel playing blackjack while other teams sign premium players.

While it’s true that the Vikings completely overpaid for Berrian ($42 million for 6 years), Angelo and company could have helped their own cause by trying to negotiate Berrian’s contract before the free agency period even started.

Oh, well. At least the Bears were able to retain linebacker Lance Briggs (who, incidentally, signed for less than Berrian!).

I’m a big fan of Charles Dickens, and would love to be able to get my hands on some authentic memorabilia. There’s going to be an auction of rare Dickens’ items at Christie’s on April 2, but there’s no way in hell I’d ever be able to afford this stuff.

For example, a single page from the original manuscript of The Pickwick Papers is expected to sell for somewhere between $150,000 to $250,000. Wow!

An original illustration of Bill Sikes from Oliver Twist could sell for as much as $18,000.

I wonder who’s going to snap this stuff up??