• Last night's White Sox loss was their typical pattern against a contending team.  They have opportunities, but can't score runs and then the other team dominates in the last three innings.  If the White Sox want to be thought of as a serious contender and if they want to beat out the Twinkies, who now lead the central, this must change.  This continual crap of Ozzie saying "we played bad today" is not going to cut it now or in the playoffs. Hopefully today's game on national television (except here in Milwaukee where we get Tony the Useless vs. Bobby Cox) jump starts the offense again.
  
• The White Sox didn't do themselves any favors in the wild card race, either.
• 11 excellent observations from the White Sox Blog. (White Sox Blog)
• Here's a comparison of how far the White Sox have or haven't come since their last meeting with the Rays. (South Side Sox)
• Jim shares information about the human laugh track known as Juan Uribe (Sox Machine)
  
• We told you yesterday, no one saw the Rays turnaround coming.  Okay, maybe one guy did.
• Don't you just love it when former Sox players torment the Cubs?
  
• I'm not as concerned about the Bears as everyone else seems to be.  Pro teams put little stock in pre-season games, keeping their game plans vanilla and their players focused on getting a little contact.  The Bears defense was humbled, which is good in pre-season because you still have time to correct it.  The special teams looked formidable and the offense looked like it might be able to move the ball.  So really, forget the second half, if the defense gets it together, the Bears have a chance at competing in the weakest division in football.
• Another take on the Bears from Rickhouse, live from the scene (Tremendous Upside Potential)
  
• I wonder if J.T. O'Sullivan will be sending the Bears defense a fruit basket, thanking them for all they've done for his career.
• Hey Cheeseheads. Maybe Ted Thompson isn't so dumb after all.
• I think it's way too early to know if Carlos Quentin is going to be a one year wonder or a superstar. (Bus & Cranks)
• With instant replay in baseball a reality, here's some other ideas on how to modernize baseball. (Deuce of Davenport)
• The love affair with the Elderly Hillbilly continues, only now he's in the country's biggest media market where people will write about him every minute of every day, even if it is for no apparent reason.
  
• Stu Scott finally accepts reality (Serious Sports Network)
• Another installment of Wade vs. Jerry, this one over Wade's personal day. (Kissing Suzy Kolber)
• A fine tribute to the late Gene Upshaw.  Tasteless, but fine. (Kissing Suzy Kolber)
• Honestly, when I saw just the headline on this story, I thought it had to do with the NBA and my second thought was "guess he won't be buying the Cubs."  This is why Mark Cuban will never own an MLB franchise, because someone would actually would believe it was him for a second.  The original headline was "Cuban kicks ref in face, banned for life."  Maybe, to protect his reputation, he should change his last name to "Estonian."
  
• In honor of Barrack Obama's curious selection of convicted plagiarizer Joe Biden as his VP candidate, here's Time Magazine's list of the worst veeps ever.
  
• Today's List: The 12 annoying guys you meet at football parties (Yard Barker)

PROGRAMMING NOTE: Get your pencils and score cards ready, Butkus D. Dogg's Friday Fearless Forecast returns this Friday!