The Bears’ many frustrations continued today, as they dropped yet another game to a team they probably should have beaten. Unlike the previous losses this year, coming up short against the Lions has playoff implications as both teams are in the NFC North. Then again, I guess it’s a bit premature to think about the playoffs, especially when the Bears are just 1-3 on the season and can’t seem to turn things around.

This game was hard to watch. The Bears were leading 13-3 in the 4th Quarter and still managed to throw it away en route to a 37-27 loss. Brian Griese threw for 2 TDs as Rex Grossman’s replacement at QB, but also threw 3 INTs, including a critical one in the 4th Quarter that was returned for a TD to give the Lions the lead. Devin Hester provided a spark by running back the kick for yet another return TD, but the defense couldn’t hold on.

The Chicago running game was once again non-existent, with Cedric Benson gaining just 15 yards on 15 carries. The Thomas Jones trade looks worse and worse as the season goes along. We have yet to see Benson demonstrate that he can carry the load by himself.

The defense has been decimated by injuries, but there’s still no excuse for giving up 34 friggin’ points in the 4th Quarter. That was unreal.

I’m too much of a Bears fan to give up on the team, but things are getting pretty bad. Oh, well: here comes another week of bitching and moaning from all my fellow fans….

It’s the end of the month, which usually means I have to scramble to fit in as many writing assignments as I can in order to meet my income goals. But this month I’ve already surpassed my goal, so instead of pushing on to earn as much as I possibly can, I’ve decided to just take the weekend off. There’s one assignment with a non-negotiable due date that I have to complete, but other than that, I’m just going to watch football and DVDs, and go shopping.

Oh, and I have to go to a friend’s house for one of those “parties” where you’re expected to buy stuff from the person selling. The girl is selling skin care products, which I need anyway. I usually don’t like going to these get-togethers because I hate it when I’m expected to buy stuff, but I’m making an exception this time. After this, however, all bets are off!

And one more thing: my husband and son are going to be gone almost all day on Sunday, so I’ll get some quality quiet time to myself! I can’t wait!!

Buy a Friend a Book Week is October 1-7 (as well as the first weeks of January, April, and July). During this week, you’re encouraged to buy a friend a book for no good reason. Not for their birthday, not because it’s a holiday, not to cheer them up –- just because it’s a book.

And, if you’re feeling generous enough–head on over to Amazon and actually send one on its way!

I used to give books as presents quite a bit, but I haven’t done so in recent years because it seems that people would rather get other things, ya know? Like gift cards and whatnot.

Anyway, one of my favorite books to give away is The Little Prince by Saint-Exupéry. It’s such a wonderful story that can be enjoyed by people of all ages, and is especially fitting for close friendships.

I also like to give anthologies (both poems and short stories), as well as some coffee table books here and there.

Other than that, I don’t really like to give books anymore unless I’m 100 percent sure of the recipient’s tastes in literature. I would never presume that anyone likes the same stuff as me!

It’s official: Brian Griese will start at QB for the Bears in this Sunday’s game against the Lions. This announcement comes just three days after head coach Lovie Smith gave his standard “Rex Grossman is our quarterback” line following the team’s embarrassing loss to the Dallas Cowboys in front of a national television audience. Apparently, there was some “evaluation process” that the coaches went through in order to arrive at the latest decision.

Whatever, as long as Wrecks is no longer taking snaps in critical situations, I’m fine with the reasoning.

Look, I’m definitely not saying that Griese is the long-term answer to the Bears’ problems on offense or anything like that. I mean, the guy’s career stats aren’t going to land him in Canton, so he’s certainly not being viewed as a savior. The Bears will probably take a “don’t screw up the game” approach to offense this weekend — and that’s fine by me. There’s no question the team needs a spark right now, and maybe this kind of change will help.

The Bears front office needs to be shaken up as well. Someone is clearly not doing a very good job in scouting quarterbacks. The last two Bears first-round quarterback picks have been major busts, first Cade McNown and now Grossman. Yeah, I’m counting Grossman as a bust. He’s been around for five years, but hasn’t improved very much at all.

Unless something drastic happens later on this season, you can pretty much count on Wrecks being out of Chicago by next year. When a guy can’t even be motivated to play well when he’s going to be a free agent after the season, then you know he’s got problems.

Being the huge sports fan that I am, I was excited to learn about a new website called TriviaFix.com. TriviaFix is a unique sports trivia site that features thousands of questions about the four major professional sports leagues here in the United States (MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL). I filled out the quick, easy, and FREE registration form about an hour ago, and spent some time poking around the site to see how it works. Here’s what I learned.

The questions are categorized in several different ways, which means you can choose to answer based on sport (for example, Football), conference (AFC or NFC), Division (NFC North, NFC South, etc.) or team (Bears, Packers, etc.). You get points for each question you answer correctly, and you lose points for incorrect answers.There are leader boards for each category, so you can see how you stack up against other players. I played through the Chicago Bears trivia section and moved all the way up to second place on that particular board!

I have to say that I really like the way TriviaFix.com works. There is a very nice mix of questions that deal with both the modern era and past eras, which I think keeps things challenging. I personally find that if trivia questions cover events that are too recent, then the game becomes too easy and boring. Similarly, if the questions focus on things that happened too long ago, then the game usually becomes too difficult to play.

I think one reason TriviaFix.com has such a great mix of questions is that the site is largely based on user-generated content. Players get points for submitting questions, and once those questions are verified, then they become part of the regular rotation. I’ve got three Bears-related questions pending as I type this.

TriviaFix also offers monthly prizes to the top players in all the sports categories, so that’s something else to shoot for. It would be cool to win something from there!

Anyway, I’m already hooked on TriviaFix.com, so you can bet I’ll be going back to the site every single day. You should sign up too and let me know your screen name so we can compare scores!

I just saw on the Chicago Tribune website that Bill Wirtz, the owner of the Blackhawks died this morning. The official cause is listed as complications arising from cancer. Wirtz was 77.

When I was a kid, hockey was my favorite sport and of course the Blackhawks were my favorite team. I remember having their schedule taped to my desk so I could see when their games would be on TV. That way I could get my homework done early to make sure I’d be able to watch the game without my parents nagging me.

We couldn’t afford to go to too many games when I was young, but my parents made sure to take me at least once a year — usually around my birthday. I clearly remember the best seats I ever had at a hockey game was when we went for my 11th birthday. We were in the second row in the corner behind the Hawks’ goal. During the pre-game practice, Ed Olczyk, Chicago’s No.1 draft pick that year, scooped up a puck and tossed it over the glass to me. You can imagine how thrilled I was when that happened!

Anyway, I know Wirtz had a bad reputation in Chicago for refusing to air Hawks home games and for refusing to go after big-dollar players, but I still have a lot of good memories of hockey and the Blackhawks.

I haven’t been a fan in years (that has more to do with the NHL in general than strictly with the Hawks), but am still saddened by this news.

A couple years ago, I read the John Grisham novel Skipping Christmas. Unlike most of his other work, this novel wasn’t about some powerful attorneys engaged in a high-profile legal battle. Instead, it was about a couple of regular people who decide to skip all the hullabaloo surrounding the holidays and just go on a cruise instead. Ever since I read that book, I thought that would be something I’d like to try as well!

Just out of curiosity, I started checking around to see what kind of ship cruises are available and what the going rates are. I ended up on a website called Holiday Hypermarket, where they had some amazing cruise destinations to choose from. For example, there’s a 12-night cruise that goes to Egypt and the Greek Isles, which would be my dream vacation for sure! I have always wanted to go to those two places, and doing so on a cruise would be ideal.

Holiday Hypermarket has fantastic vacation bargains, including last-minute travel deals and all-inclusive holiday packages, so it’s definitely worth checking out their site if you’re based in the UK.

As for me, I’ve got to keep looking for a place that has similar deals for USA residents!

I just read that Kiefer Sutherland was arrested on DUI charges at about 1:10 a.m. today. There weren’t many details released about the arrest in the AP blurb, so I went to TMZ.com figuring they would have more answers.

Sure enough, the TMZ post was a lot more specific. TMZ’s “sources” said Kiefer was pulled over at the corner of La Cienega and Beverly at 1:35 a.m. for an illegal U-turn, failed a field sobriety test after allegedly blowing twice the legal limit of .08, was booked at 4:09 a.m. and was released on $25,000 bail at 5:42 a.m. Wow, they have good sources inside the LAPD, don’t they!!

Anyway, after the post there was rampant speculation about what Kiefer’s punishment might be, since this isn’t the first time he’s been busted for DUI. There’s talk that a bit of jail time could be involved.

I’ve been reading about Kiefer’s alcohol problems for years. Remember that YouTube video of him attacking a Christmas tree in a hotel lobby?! I think it’s time for someone to step in and get this guy some help.

The game’s not even over yet (well, not officially), but I’m already beginning this post. My god, the Bears offense is terrible! For the third straight game, they couldn’t move the ball at all. The defense kept the team in it for the first half, but couldn’t stop Romo and the Cowboys offense in the second half.

Grossman just plain sucks. There’s no way to sugarcoat it, nothing else you can say about him. He can’t sustain drives, evade sacks, or make anything positive happen when he’s out on the field. Tonight he has thrown three interceptions so far, and has looked terrible all game long. You’ve just got to wonder how long Lovie Smith will persist in sticking with Grossman this season, especially with division play starting next week.

From a fan’s perspective, this is so frustrating to watch. The Bears D was all over the field in the first half, and momentum was definitely on Chicago’s side. But all the offense could muster was three pathetic points, which allowed Dallas to hang around until their own offense got into a groove. Hell, on one drive, the Bears started on the Dallas 46 — and couldn’t move the ball 15 friggin’ yards for a decent field goal attempt!!

Well, it’s over now. 34-10 was the embarrassing final.

Come on, Lovie. It’s time to shake things up.

(Getty Images/Jonathan Daniel photo)

I’ve been playing in the same fantasy football league for four years now. When I first joined, up, I didn’t really know any of the other people who were participating. I just answered an open call for members on a message board that I frequent, and things took off from there. Now, several of the other players have become real friends, to the point where we exchange 2-3 emails per week during football season and even keep in touch throughout the year.

Anyway, one of the guys in the league is a big Chargers fan who lives in Southern California. Every single Sunday from September to February, he hosts a tailgating party in his backyard. He’s got an outdoor kitchen, so it’s easy to gather everyone for burgers and beer before kickoff. Then when it’s game time, they move indoors to watch the Chargers on his 50-inch plasma TV, while the food and drinks keep coming.

That sounds like an awesome time, and I really hope my husband and I can make it out to San Diego someday to join in on the fun!

I think it’s safe to say that I won’t be wasting any more Saturday afternoons watching Notre Dame football. They lost yet another game today, this time to MSU by a score of 31-14 to start the season 0-4 for the first time in 119 years. Dating back to last season, the Irish have now dropped 6 in a row — and suddenly Charlie Weis doesn’t seem like the savior he once was when he took over two years ago. And that 10-year contract extension? Doesn’t feel like such a bargain now, does it?

I’m not even going to bother going into specifics about this latest debacle. With just 203 yards of total offense, you could hardly have expected the game to turn out any differently.

(AP/Michael Conroy photo)

For the last seven years, I’ve been living in a subdivision where all the townhouses look exactly the same. Before moving to this townhouse, I lived in a different subdivision where the homes were one of three designs. This uniformity never bothered me before, but recently it’s been grating on my nerves a bit. I would love to live in a more rural setting someday, one where my house would be unique from all the others around it.

My husband and I often talk about what our dream home would look like, so I’ve totally got a certain image in my head already. We want a modern place that nevertheless has a rustic feel to it, which is why we think a custom timber frame house would be perfect.

In looking for a contractor that specializes in this type of construction, I came across the website for a company called Vermont Timber Works. They had a bunch of photographs on their site detailing all the residential and commercial work they’ve done, as well as the churches, chapels, and barns they’ve framed. I was truly amazed at how beautiful the finished products are — and how closely they match the dream home I have in mind! I only wish we lived out East so we could take advantage of Vermont Timber Works’ talent.

Anyway, if you’ve got a similar project in mind and want to work with a contractor known for unparalleled quality and commitment to customer satisfaction, I suggest checking out Vermont Timber Works today.

In the past couple of months, I’ve noticed an alarming increase in the number of intrusive ads on major websites such as Yahoo.com and ESPN.com. Both have always been full of advertisements, of course, and I certainly understand the need for these ads in order to help keep the content free. But in the past, the ads have been standard, static, clickable links that the user could choose to read or ignore.

Now, both sites have extremely annoying ads that the user is forced to engage with in one way or another. On ESPN, they’ve got ads that float out and obscure the article text, forcing you to close them before you can continue reading. On Yahoo, they’ve got video ads that play automatically once an article is loaded. There’s no way to stop the ad, but at least there’s no sound unless you click on the speaker icon. Still, it’s so distracting to me to have the video playing when I’m trying to read that I have to scroll away or wait until the damn thing is done.

This trend totally sucks….!!

While my husband and I are financially stable and secure right now, we definitely worry about what will happen when we retire. My husband has been with the same company for 15 years already and should have a pretty nice pension once he hits retirement age, but beyond that we don’t have anything else to look forward to. I’m self-employed, so I won’t be reaping any company benefits at all, and there’s no way we’re going to count on social security to be available to us. What we need to do is start investing our money.

Whenever I read about the proper way to invest for retirement, I’m amazed by the rate of return quoted in the examples. Almost every piece of literature out there says you should be earning at least 10% on your money, if not more. Obviously this type of return isn’t going to come from a standard savings account at a local bank, so I’ve been looking at other options.

I’ve recently been hearing a lot about hard money investing, which involves real estate trust deeds. When done through a company like Diamond Bay, this type of investment is relatively low-risk and often yields returns in the 12% range.

I would love to be able to get 12% on my money, so I’m definitely going to do more research on this. We need to start investing for retirement now, otherwise we’re going to be in real trouble later on.

I’m not a cycling fan, but I do pay attention to the Tour de France every once in a while. So, remember 2 tours ago when the winner, Floyd Landis of the U.S., came under scrutiny because one of his urine samples tested positive for synthetic testosterone? Well, Landis didn’t like being accused of such a thing and swore up and down that he was clean. He even pushed for a hearing with arbitrators to clear his name for good.

The ruling finally came down 2-1 today — in favor of upholding the original results!!

This means that as things stand now, Landis will have to forfeit his ‘06 Tour title and will have to serve a two-year ban from the sport (retroactive to the time of the original findings). He can appeal the decision and have one more hearing, but clearly this doesn’t look good for Landis.

Obviously the ruling is a major blow to Landis’ career, but it also delivers a hit to U.S. cycling in general. Lance Armstrong’s wins were notoriously criticized by European cyclists who accused him of doping, even though none of his samples ever came back positive. So now this gives the naysayers more ammunition to whine about American athletes. Great.

It’ll be interesting to see what Landis does next. I’m not familiar enough with his career to hazard a guess as to whether or not he’ll appeal. If he loses again, he could be done with the sport for good. If he accepts the current decision, he could lose a lot of sponsors and be done anyway.