Midwest

White Sox fans who have been pining for the collapse of the Detroit Tigers all summer are finally seeing their wishes come true. Detroit has dropped 17 of 26 games in a tough stretch that has included the Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and White Sox.

Goodwill Industries has led the charge of Midwestern thrift stores and charitable organizations that will refuse to accept donations that might include a Sammy Sosa jersey or T-shirt. Crates of the No. 21 merchandise have been piling up in resale outlets and donation warehouses for more than a year.

It all started when news broke Saturday that Phil Nevin took it upon himself to get traded from the lowly Chicago Cubs by calling the Minnesota Twins manager and begging to play for him. Two hours later, a deal was done.

A man once told me there are two ways to tell if someone has a gambling problem: One, they bet on preseason NFL football. Two, they bet on the WNBA. That logic is totally false. The definition of a gambling problem is when you can't pick a winner. And if you have that problem, Pete has the solution … the monthly picks. Let's gamble!

A Chicago TV and radio institution, Bob Sirott shares his thoughts on the Cubs, local sports journalism and why he still hasn't got around to writing an article for The Heckler.

Dusty Baker added up the wins and losses on the season and came up with a new formula. Unlike conventional methods like Pascal, Pythagoras and the FOIL, Baker's system relies heavily on making up whatever the hell you want.

With his huge contract and bad attitude it's no secret Cedric Benson is having a hard time fitting in with his Bears teammates. However, nobody could have ever seen the latest chapter in this saga coming.