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Sunday smorgasbord: The good news for the Chicago Bears is they have Sunday off as a bye week. Meaning more time for injured players — quarterback Jay Cutler, linebacker Lance Briggs, etc. — to heal without missing more games than they would if the Bears didn’t have a bye week. Also meaning some of us actually have time to tend to chores that might otherwise go undone. Hint: Those fallen leaves aren’t going to rake themselves. Maybe so, although some of us will welcome any gusts of wind that do the job instead.
Good call: A photo of Allen Craig trying to run home or of this lovely?
* It may be slightly premature to contemplate — in that the Boston Red Sox trail the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1 in the best-of-seven World Series — but can any Boston fans imagine Game 3 starter Jake Peavy having the same role for Game 7? And if so, how comfortable would they be with that prospect. Not to worry, of course. The Red Sox have Ryan Dempster as an alternate choice or to replace Peavy if need be early in the game. Or Jon Lester on two days’ rest?
* The Cardinals 5-4 Game 3 victory at Busch Stadium was the first game in history to end on an obstruction call. Nowadays when people talk about obstruction plays, it tends to be about politics and impeding government rather than about baseball and impeding a baserunner. All that said, something says Cardinals pinch hitter Allen Craig, who scored the winning run, could run for any political office in the St. Louis area and win in a landslide (not to be confused with a hook slide).
* Speaking of impediments, Northwestern University’s 17-10 overtime loss at Iowa means the Wildcats are 0-4 in Big Ten Conference competition this football season. It also means NU (4-4) needs to win a couple of games to be bowl eligible. If it’s any consolation to Northwestern fans (and the guess here is that it is, even if it is minimally), the Wildcats do have a game at Illinois remaining on their schedule. Also at Nebraska and home games vs. Michigan and Michigan State. Something says coach Pat Fitzgerald’s team just might be spending December spending time with textbooks rather than playbooks.
Playboy Cybergirl Leanna Decker has some football selections just for you — well, and anyone else who views her video.
* Speaking of the Illini, let the record show that they led 3-0 in what would become a 42-3 loss to Michigan State. Leavinf Illinois 3-4 overall and 0-3 in the Big Ten. No need to wonder whether that brief lead was of any consolation to Illinois fans.
* From the fine folks at Bovada (www.Bovada.lv, Twitter: @BovadaLV):
Will the Chicago Bears make the playoffs?
Yes: +200 (2/1)
No: -300 (1/3)
Bears’ Total Wins in the 2013 Regular Season
Over/Under: 8
Will Minnesota coach Leslie Frazier be fired during the Regular Season?
Yes: +140 (7/5)
No: -180 (5/9)
Well, as long as we’re going to do some projecting NFL stuff, the least we can do is run video of Playboy Playmate Leanna Decker providing her pigskin picks for Week 8:
Here is where to go for a daily dose of non-gratuitous video (thanks to the editorial and video departments that don’t know the meaning of taking a day off — and quite possibly don’t know the meaning of “gratuitous”):
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