Merry Christmas to All, and Chocolate Chip Cookies in the Morning

Merry Christmas one and all. It'll be merrier for us when we can get the boy to sleep and shut off the lights. At this hotel. That we ended up in when the snow made it so I couldn't see the road any longer.

In all of the years we've been coming up for Christmas, this was the worst snow storm yet. My folks live less than 20 miles from here, but it's a 2-lane road between here and there, and tonight that would have meant 2+ hours of tense driving. So, we're at the Country Inn of Kenosha for the night, hunkered down with the dog, the baby, and my mother-in-law. At least they had rooms with two beds.

I'm not even complaining, actually. It would have been many more hours of tension had she pressed on and driven all the way home. We would not have slept. As it stands, we spent a little extra money, but we're safe and warm, have a cooler full of vegetables and dip (and beer!), and plenty of cable channels. Oh, and wi-fi, so the ladies can watch the Hallmark channel as I type this.

Pretty interesting first Christmas for Eli, I suppose.

Merry Christmas!

A Test to End the Speculation

Truth is, beating the Patriots wouldn't be nearly as important as beating the Lions was last week. Where standings and playoffs are concerned, beating their divisional rivals is just a fraction more weighty than a random win. And so, while beating the Patriots might fire the Bears up to the top 3 in power rankings, they still need to dominate the Vikings in the following week, and also face the Packers for the last game of the season.

Interestingly, if the Bears and the Packers continue to win, that last game might be for the division. Can you imagine a more storybook way to enter the post-season?

On a side note, beating the Patriots would be great, but if we end up going all the way and ultimately face them in the Super Bowl, it might end up working against us. As the Jets now know, Tom Brady's ability to put a whole team on his back puts Urlacher's resolve to shame. On the other hand, I can't imagine Urlacher getting all the way to the end just to lose again.

Alas, I've gotten way ahead of myself. There are four of the top teams in the league in the way of a playoff berth. A more likely scenario is, like the 90-win White Sox of a few years ago, a better-than-expected regular season and a freezeout come playoff time.

I'd love it if they bucked the trend...