The Cubs are slow-walking toward the playoffs, the White Sox are trying to avoid 100 losses and the Bears are still the Bears, just with a different coach.

It’s great to be alive and well in Chicago.

With summer fading and the leaves starting to turn, it’s a perfect time to sit in front of a television all weekend watching sports instead of enjoying the nice Midwestern weather.

Here’s what we discovered while zoning out in front of the tube.

The NFL RedZone channel is a Bears fan’s best friend on days like Sunday, when the game is out of hand and you can safely watch the rest of the action without missing anything of consequence.

My only quibble with RedZone is when it goes to two or three games at the same time, making the action too small to see, even on a big-screen TV. Stick with one game at a time, please, and more often than not we’ll see the big plays we really need to see.

What were the odds of Anthony Rizzo getting his hands on Moises Ballesteros’ home run ball while sitting in the Wrigley Field bleachers during his retirement party Saturday?

Even though he muffed it, the moment serves as a lasting testament to Rizzo’s reputation as the center of attention on all things Cubs. Maybe he’ll even get a statue now.

The Detroit Lions averaged 8.8 yards per play Sunday, the highest rate the Bears have allowed in a game since Nov. 19, 1961, when the San Francisco 49ers averaged 10.1 behind quarterback John Brodie while racking up 536 yards in a 41-31 win at Kezar Stadium. That Bears team was coached by George Halas, so new coach Ben Johnson already has something in common with “Papa Bear.”

That 1961 season was also the year the 49ers introduced the shotgun offense, which Halas thought was a gimmick that wouldn’t last. He wrote in his autobiography, “Halas by Halas,” that he schemed a defense around linebacker Bill George to foil the new offense, which he said led to a 31-0 Bears win over the 49ers in October at Wrigley Field.

“The following week the Steelers, using our defense, played the 49ers and also walloped them,” Halas wrote. “The 49ers put their shotgun into the chest with other failed inventions.”

Halas didn’t mention the rematch in which the Bears gave up those 536 yards, skipping right to the 1962 season. Comparing NFL offenses from 1961 to 2025 is kind of like comparing a rotary dial phone to an iPhone — but the shotgun is still here and the Bears are still capable of embarrassing themselves on any given Sunday.

Fox Sports gave viewers a treat Sunday with “bonus” coverage of the Dallas Cowboys-New York Giants game that went into overtime, ignoring the start of the Super Bowl rematch between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs.

Amazingly, Fox stuck with the Cowboys-Giants game to the end and had no commercial breaks until the two-minute warning of overtime. Instead of taking a “brief timeout” after every change of possession, we got to see how quickly the game moves without all of those interruptions for ads. Imagine how much better watching an NFL game would be without those constant stoppages that kill the flow of the action.

White Sox shortstop Colson Montgomery runs to the dugout after the Sox shut down the Royals in the sixth inning Aug. 26, 2025, at Rate Field. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

Getting swept by the Cleveland Guardians over the weekend will make the White Sox sweat a little as they try to avoid the 100-loss mark. But the 2025 season is already a success because there haven’t been any controversies surrounding the team, the manager or the announcer; Pope Leo XIV is a Sox fan; billionaire Justin Ishbia is an owner-in-waiting; and the Colson Montgomery era has begun.

The Sox also can affect the playoff seedings of the San Diego Padres and New York Yankees in the final stretch, making them must-watch TV on the Chicago Sports Network. Too giddy, or not giddy enough? It’s your call.

The Notre Dame-Texas A&M thriller provided great theater, and the superb broadcast duo of Noah Eagle and Todd Blackledge made it even better, no matter which team you were rooting for. There was none of the Notre Dame shilling we’re used to hearing, even as NBC televises the Irish home games.

When Aggies coach Mike Elko got upset with his defense and threw a chair, Eagle said: “That chair, we’re going to have to check on, because the well-being doesn’t appear to be super high.” Eagle might be the next Jason Benetti.

It’s understandable NBC wants to promote Peacock’s new show, “The Paper,” over and over on its college football and “Sunday Night Football” telecasts, but I wish they’d stop saying if you liked “The Office” you’ll love “The Paper.”

One of them was the best show on TV, and the other is a lame copy of the same premise with one of the same characters. The only way to make “The Paper” funny would be to bring in Creed from “The Office” to be the managing editor.

LSU coach Brian Kelly apologized after berating the media following Saturday’s win over Florida.

“It’s important to understand that my standards, relative to how we work with the media on a day-to-day basis, need to be higher,” Kelly said. “And I take responsibility for that and I’ll be better in the future.”

Kudos to Kelly for being able to deliver a prewritten statement from the university he obviously doesn’t believe with a straight face.

The WNBA playoffs have begun, and the Chicago Sky are missing. Raise your hand if you believe Angel Reese will still be on the Sky one year from now.

Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon takes notes on the sideline during a game against the Broncos on Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Zach Bolinger)

Indianapolis Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon got a lot of attention Sunday for wearing a headset on the sideline and taking notes, which some believed was “micromanaging” of the coaching staff. But Irsay-Gordon told Colts.com reporter J.J. Stankevitz over the summer it’s really a commitment to trying to understand the football team she now runs after the death of her father, Jim Irsay.

“You could say, ‘Oh, that person ran that route wrong,’” Irsay-Gordon said. “When you learn to find, ‘Oh, someone tagged the wrong wide receiver, and it wasn’t really the player’s fault — it was the person that called it.’ That’s been very valuable because it also helps us be able to know: ‘Where do we need to make tweaks? What resources do we need? What do we need to fix?’
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“So much of it comes down to just how we operate and how things work, and the headsets — I would suggest it for anyone else that has to pay coaches and general managers millions and millions of dollars. It helps you make a less expensive mistake potentially.”

We can only hope and pray we’ll get to see Bears Chairman George McCaskey in a headset on the sideline Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/09/16/chicago-sports-tv-bears-cubs-white-sox/