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!