Sunday Morning Five

It's sunny and close to 60 degrees at Soldier Field as a few Bears jog around in their T-shirts and shoes. There's a massive pink banner taped to the west stands that reads "A Crucial Catch: Annual Screening Saves Lives" dedicated to the eradication of breast cancer. Various Bears will be wearing pink cleats, gloves, etc. and there are pink pads at the base of both goalposts. Anyway, on to the Five:

1. Soldier Field's turf looks much better than two weeks ago, when you could see the seams from each sod roll. We might even have few slips and falls for a change.

2. Here's an example of the growing disconnect at Illinois: The Department of Intercollegiate Athletics promoted Saturday's game against Penn State as this season's "Orange Out," which asked every fan to wear orange to Memorial Stadium. The team wore blue jerseys and white pants.

3. Gary Barnett was at Memorial Stadium on Saturday as part of USA Network's broadcast. While waiting for the Illini to start, he went out of his way to find a TV that was showing the final minutes of Northwestern's rally that beat Purdue.

4. The White Sox head into today's finale at Detroit with a 79-82 record. They'll have either the 13th or 14th pick in next June's draft, depending on how they do today and how Milwaukee (79-82) does at St. Louis. Either way, the Sox' first-round pick is protected during free agency, so they can sign a Type A free agent without losing that No. 1 pick.

The Cubs are at 83-77 going into today's finale with Arizona and still have a shot at having one of the Top 16 picks, which would also protect them should they seek a Type A free agent.

Here's their clump of teams in the 15- to 17-pick range:
Seattle 84-77 (home vs. Texas)
Tampa Bay 84-77 (home vs. Yankees)
Cubs 83-77

Basically, if the Cubs lose, they ensure the No. 15 pick.

5. For those who don't pay attention to prep football, check out Cary-Grove. The state's No. 1 Class 6A team is 6-0. The Trojans have scored 283 points. They've allowed 6.

Cary-Grove is tied for the IHSA lead in fewest points allowed. Brown County, the state's No. 2 Class 1A team, allowed its first 6 points in the fourth quarter on Friday night.

LW