Geovany Soto is back in there as catcher this afternoon. Soto didn't start yesterday, and Lou gave three regulars Monday off. "We rested some people the night before, and they all performed very, very well yesterday," Lou said. "We just got to continue to do that, even at the risk of possibly losing a game along the way. You can't be scared to lose in this business, I cant tell you that." That's a twist on the "lose the battle to win the war" idea, and it's one Piniella has used with both his position players and his pitchers. As far as Beleaguered Bob Howry goes, Lou says he looked at film of yesterday's monster blast Beleaguered Bob gave up to Carlos Lee.

Watch this blog for reports from Beijing on the 2008 Olympics.

When he’s tooling around in his boat _ maybe soon, maybe later _ baseball is going to miss Ozzie Guillen. When he’s no longer manager of the White Sox, his replacement is probably going to come across more like Jerry Manuel or Gene Lamont. I was around when both of them were here, and they are genuinely good guys. They just chose their words very carefully. Hopefully, Guillen’s successor won’t be the reincarnation of Terry Bevington. Words can’t really describe that guy. Ozzie’s not going anywhere for now, unless he has to declare bankruptcy following his latest fine. But nothing lasts forever, and Guillen’s time eventually will come. His legacy can already be written. Ozzie was brutally honest as a player, and he hasn’t changed as the Sox’ manager.

As expected the Cubs activated Kerry Wood off the DL at noon today, just the time when lefty reliever Scott Eyre cleared waivers. At that point, the Cubs designated Eyre for assignment. GM Jim Hendry has seven days to trade Eyre (a likely possibility). If they can't make a deal, they'll then release him. Eyre could have complained about his handling by manager Lou Piniella, but he didn't. As close as he came was this before he headed for his RV to drive home: "I think I did that to myself last year in the first half. I don't think Lou ever got over that. But that's fine. I have no ill feelings, and I mean that, truly...I like this place." Eyre became a little emotional at that point.

A spokesman for Gov. Rod Blagojevich recently said that a memo containing a swear word from House Speaker Michael Madigan to labor leaders shows that Madigan is angry and isolated.
“… it just shows how he's just isolated and a coalition of one," Blagojevich spokesman Lucio Guerrero told Daily Herald reporter Nick Shields.

Here’s a link to the full story from last week:
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=225204

Blagojevich is upset because Madigan seems to be standing in the way of the governor’s plans to expand gambling and lease out the lottery to finance billions in state-sponsored construction.
OK, time to hop in the way-back machine, back to the summer of 1988.

Let me preface this by saying that I watch Fox News Channel on a daily basis, and that I enjoy its news programming ... there's just so little of it that actually qualifies as such.

So, I'm watching "The Live Desk" with Martha McCallum and Trace Gallagher the other day when I see a promo for "The O'Reilly Factor" that pretty much goes like this:

"The No. 1 song in America is about lesbianism!"
Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl" video is briefly shown
"Bill discusses what this means for America with Jane and Bernie, tonight on 'The O'Reilly Factor'!"

A few days later, I'm watching the same show when I see this promo:

In their never-ending quest to divulge as little as possible, the Bears list two starters at each of the wide receiver positions. On the left side, it's Rashied Davis/Devin Hester. On the right side, Marty Booker/Brandon Lloyd. Both listings are alphabetical, as is the starting quarterback spot, which reads: Rex Grossman/Kyle Orton. The third-team wide receivers are Mark Bradley and Mike Hass. No other positions are split with slashes on the first depth chart of the season. Impressive rookie Matt Forte is listed ahead of veteran Adrian Peterson at running back, although they have both been getting reps with the first team. At tight end, Desmond Clark is listed as the starter with Greg Olsen No. 2, although Olsen could wind up getting more snaps.

Closer Kerry Wood met with manager Lou Piniella and pitching coach Larry Rothschild this afternoon, and it looks like Wood will come off the DL tomorrow. Wood threw a sim game Sunday, and originally, it looked like he might be back by the weekend series against the Cardinals. But things appear to be looking better. "We look to activate him in the next few days," was all Lou would offer. "I think it's probably quicker than that (the weekend), but we'll see." Wood likely will pitch in a middle-relief role for at least one appearance once he comes off the DL. "He's the manager; I'm going to do what he says."

• "The Dark Knight" is well on its way to $500 million, and the idea of matching "Titanic's" $600 million haul is becoming more and more plausible. But, as reported by the AP, "TDK" would need to do about $900 million to equal the number of tickets sold for "Titanic," which means James Cameron's much-maligned epic still stands as the great filmgoing phenomenon of our time.

• "The X-Files: I Want to Believe" is probably going to be gone from theaters in a week or two, which is a shame since it's such a love letter to us long-suffering X-Philes.

First-round offensive tackle Chris Williams appears nowhere near close to returning to the practice field, let alone challenging for the starting job on the left side currently being occupied by John St. Clair, who has been a full-time starter in just two of his eight previous NFL seasons, the last time in 2004. Starting left guard Terrence Metcalf, who still has to prove that he belongs with the first team permanently, has missed the last two days of practice with a bruised knee. That has given first-team reps to Josh Beekman and Anthony Oakley, neither of whom is qualified to start. That scenario led a high-ranking member of the Bears' front office to admit, “We have a long way to go and a lot of work to do. This is definitely a work in progress.”