Chicago

Dusty Baker and George Bush seem to have a lot of obvious common traits, but perhaps the strongest is their affinity for nonsensical nicknames.

Most people were happy about the Cubs 14-6 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday, but not right fielder Jacque Jones.

When Ted Holdman found out the cabin he and three others would be staying in had a DVD player, he thought it would be the perfect chance for his friends to watch a critically acclaimed movie. Unfortunately, as Holdman admitted later, watching "Deliverance" the night before a big canoeing trip was not a very good idea.

Ending a season-long controversy, Cubs manager Dusty Baker has been offered a new three-year contract, not with his baseball team but with Motorola, who will retain Baker's services as their pitchman.

Fighting desperately for a spot in the playoffs against division rivals Detroit and Minnesota, the Chicago White Sox were looking forward to a visit from the AL West-bottom-feeding Seattle Mariners this weekend. The expectation was that the four-game series against Seattle would help the Sox get their postseason campaign back on track.

At a site traditionally seen as a house of horrors and a really ugly one at that, the Bears pulled out a rare win at the Metrodome Sunday. The defense came up big as usual. Adawale Ogunleye recovered a Chester Taylor fumble to set up a last-minute Rex Grossman 24-yard strike to Rashied Davis for a 19-16 win. The Bears (3-0) took sole possession of first in the NFC North with the win.

The White Sox wasted a golden opportunity on Thursday night, falling hard to the Seattle Mariners, 9-0, at U.S. Cellular Field. The Sox failed to pick up ground as last night's slate of games also saw the AL Central-leading Tigers and AL Wild Card-leading Twins lose. The Sox trail Detroit by six games and Minnesota by 5.5 with just nine games remaining on the schedule.