The rivalry is back

For those of you who read this space frequently, you know that a couple weeks ago I was pretty critical of the Chicago sports scene. I noted how the Cubs had blown another chance at the playoffs, the White Sox were continually bad, the Bulls were ridiculously young, and the Bears and Blackhawks were both teams in turmoil with no hope for the near future. \nWell, in the last few weeks, I have been proven wrong on some of those accounts. The Blackhawks have gotten off to one of the best starts of the season in the NHL, being the only team not to have lost a home game, pending the outcome of their game against San Jose Sunday night. And then there are those mighty monsters of the midway, Da Bears.\nComing into Sunday's action, the Bears had won six games in a row and were holders of the best record in the league, along with the Oakland Raiders and St. Louis Rams. This is a team that was picked by many to be one of the worst in the NFL, and they were blowing everyone out of the water with their play. The last two weeks, the team pulled off miraculous comebacks to send their games to overtime, where starting free safety Mike Brown intercepted a pass in each game and returned it for a touchdown, something that has never happened in the history of the game. All of this set up a huge matchup with the Green Bay Packers Sunday.\nThe Bears and the Packers, a storied matchup in the lore of the NFL, a rivalry that dates back to the origins of the NFL's beginning. And for the first time in a long time, this game once again meant something. The Packers were 5-2 coming into this game, meaning the winner would be in first place in the NFC Central. \nThe game was close throughout, but in the end the Packers triumphed over the Bears 20-12, shutting down the Bears on fourth down deep in Packer territory late in the fourth quarter. So, the Packers escape from Chicago with first place in the Central Division based only on a tiebreaker with the Bears, setting up what should be an exciting conclusion to the season. Do the Bears have enough offense to go along with their great defense and win the Central Division title and maybe more? Or have the miracle finishes the past few weeks only masked a greater problem the Bears have that will be unveiled in the next couple weeks? Is quarterback Brett Favre back to his old self and ready to lead the Packers back to the promised land? Is there any other team that might threaten in the Central and take away the championship from either of these teams? \nAll these questions are sure to be answered in the next couple weeks, but I think the winner of the next matchup between these two teams Dec. 9 will be the team that walks away with the Central Division title when all is said and done in January. Which team is it that will walk off the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field that December day with the victory? Da Bears, of course.