Z-O-U!!!!

After dropping 3 straight, the Missouri Tigers are back to their winning ways. They took care of business against Colorado, jumping out to an early 33-0 lead and never looked back. The Tigers would eventually win 36-17. Sure, fans would have liked to see them run up some more points in the second half, but a win is a win at this juncture.

Blaine Gabbert finally looked decent again, completing 17 passes for 193 yards and a couple of scores. He tossed two INTs, too, which wasn’t all that encouraging. But he’s still a first-year starter learning the ropes.

The defense had a great day, holding the Buffs to 185 total yards. The D also came up with 8 sacks (EIGHT!), three fumble recoveries, and an INT. What an amazing effort!

Today is a day to proudly show off the Black and Gold. Way to go, Tigers!!

(AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

We’re all big Bears fans in this house, so we buy Bears gear whenever possible. My son has a Chicago Bears bedding set, I have a bunch of player jerseys and t-shirts, and my husband has a few odds and ends with the familiar “C” logo. Jerry definitely needs more stuff though, which is why I’m thinking of buying him a Bears PS3 Wireless Controller for Christmas.

This Bears PS3 Wireless Controller is an officially licensed product decked out in the team’s colors and logos. It works for all PS3 games, and would be especially perfect for the Madden 10 tournaments that I’m sure Jerry and his friends will be having soon. What better way to show off team allegiance and pride than with something like this?

The controller is currently on sale at Buy.com for $32.99. I haven’t even seen the product anywhere else, so of course I’m going to buy it from there. But since I’m getting it for Christmas, I’ll probably end up waiting until I can order a bunch of other gifts as well. Then I’ll get everything done all at once and not have to worry about fighting through crowds at the mall in order to do my shopping.

I better start making a list of other people I need to shop for. I’m sure Buy.com has something for everyone!

Just in time for Halloween, one of the scariest album covers I’ve ever seen (eh, sorry for the cheesy rhyme). Adam Lambert’s upcoming debut album, called For Your Entertainment, is set to feature this utterly grotesque cover. Lambert himself said that it’s meant to be deliberately “campy” (no shit), but that still doesn’t excuse the atrocity, IMO. Ewww, I think this looks utterly nasty. He is FUGLY.

A lot of people devote their garage space to their hobbies, whether it’s restoring classic cars, woodworking, or even lifting weights. So it’s not all that unusual that Anthony Toth of Redondo Beach, Calif. would set aside his garage for a specific purpose other than housing cars. What’s unusual is that he decided to build an exact replica of a Pan Am first class cabin.

Why would he want to do that? Who knows. But apparently, the project is worthwhile enough that the Wall Street Journal, the newspaper with the largest daily circulation in America, wrote about it. I guess Toth just appreciates the “golden era” of commercial flying and thinks that Pan Am embodies that spirit.

Whatever the reason, he has spent close to $50,000 on his hobby. That’s a substantial amount that could pay someone’s mortgage or subsidize their bcbsnc co-pays for a long time. Seriously, I can only dream of the day I’d have an extra $50,000 to spend on a hobby!

Well, Toth says he’s going to turn his exhibit into a museum someday. I wonder how many people that type of thing would attract…?
(Photo: Brian L. Frank for The Wall Street Journa)

One of my son’s favorite things to do is wake up early on Saturday mornings, set up a sleeping bag in front of the TV, and crawl in to watch cartoons for a couple hours. He has been doing this since he was about three, and after nearly four years, his old sleeping bag is nearly worn out from all the use and all the trips through the washer and dryer. It’s time to get a new one, and I think this Cars Sleeping Bag Backpack would be perfect!

First of all, my son loves the Disney movie Cars, so there’s no question he would love this sleeping bag, which features Lightning McQueen on the front, as well as several logos from the film around the rest of the backpack. Second, I love the way this product includes both a backpack and sleeping bag. This makes it easier to carry and store the sleeping bag for the times my son goes to his grandparents’ house for sleepovers or when we actually go camping. Plus, the backpack can be used on its own just like a regular bag, which is definitely a bonus since my son loves to carry a bunch of toys and games with him when we go on long car rides.

Anyway, this Cars Sleeping Bag Backpack is on sale for only $14.99 at Buy.com. That’s 57% off the suggested retail price of $34, and is a fair price for a licensed product from Disney. I think I’m going to buy this. The only question is whether I should give the sleeping bag to my son now or hold back on it until Christmas!

The Blackhawks beat Minnesota 3-1 tonight, which helps take some of the sting out of the Bears loss. Patrick Kane, Dave Bolland, and Troy Brouwer scored for Chicago, while Cristobal Huet turned away 20 shots in the winning effort.

The next Hawks game is at Nashville on Thursday (that will be the third time the teams meet this month), and they’ll be back at the UC to take on the Habs on Friday. Should be a great week!

What can you really say about a team that gave up 5 scores to the opposing team on 5 first-half drives? The Bears ended up losing 45-10, and even that tally made the contest seem closer than it actually was.

There’s enough blame for this debacle to go around to everyone. The defense would have trouble stopping a college team, the offense couldn’t execute, and the interceptions and fumbles didn’t help either.

But I think the bulk of the blame has to fall on the coaching staff. It’s clear that they aren’t preparing the team adequately, aren’t motivating them, aren’t instilling a sense of discipline (more atrocious penalties on offense and special teams), and aren’t making necessary in-game adjustments. Add on to these shortcomings the fact that guys like Cedric Benson and Kyle Orton positively prosper after leaving the Bears, while guys like Cutler come in and have terrible seasons, and you begin to see that it’s got to be a problem with coaching and player development.

I think it’s time for a coaching change. Sure, 3-3 does not spell doom (yet) for this season, but the losses have been so overwhelmingly putrid and the wins completely unconvincing (except against the lowly Lions) that the record masks a lot of problems. McCaskey should fire Lovie Smith and Ron Turner, and replace them with proven winners. Bill Cowher is available. Or how about reuniting Cutler with Mike Shanahan? Whatever, just give Smith and Turner a couple of all-expenses-paid orlando vacations as parting gifts and get them out of town.

I am not giving up on this season, not by a long shot. But some pretty drastic changes have to be made soon. These last two losses have exposed the Bears weaknesses in a very painful way. Yes, injuries to key players have to be taken into account, but the bottom line is that the Bears problems start at the top — with the head coach.

(AP Photo/Ed Reinke)