Midwest

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.

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brad Johnson was seen collecting change in the parking garage of the Mall of America on Wednesday. Witnesses say the 15-year veteran was sitting on the floor of the concrete lot near the entrance into the mall, with his Vikings helmet overturned, taking any and everything the mall goers would discard.