Good morning or good evening, wherever you  may be. It is just past 5:00 a.m. in "The City."

I got up around 3:00 a.m.when a certain little dog whose initials spell Ginger, woke me by licking my elbow. That's her signal that she wants to go out. Since I was downstairs anyway, I did some dishes and once STWD joined the party, I made her go out too. A quick doggie-treat of a biscuit for each, and it was back here to my desk.

Unfortunately, my computer decided that it was time for a restart, so I had to wait through that routine. If you don't do a restart regularly, the performance of a computer, at least mine, slows noticeably. All better now.

I'll start with a quick weather update. We have a current temperature of 51° under partly-cloudy skies. Once the sun rises @ 7:57 a.m., today's high is forecast by the NWS to reach 56° before the sun settles slowly in the west @ 7:03 p.m. As of now, that Small Craft Advisory is still in effect until 4:00 p.m. this afternoon.

Speaking of this afternoon, I have a date to play political-operative for the Democratic congressional candidate who is running to take the seat of our long-time GOP Congressman. I won't mention his name, but it is time for him to find a new way to earn a living that my tax dollars aren't paying for.

In sports, the only bad outcome was the loss by my beloved Red Sox to the Astros, 2 - 7, in their best of seven ALCS game. Usually reliable starting pitcher, Chris Sale, was a "No Sale" as he seemingly couldn't get anyone out. He was replaced by fire-balling relief pitcher, Joe Kelly, but he wasn't all that sharp either. Suffice it to say that the Sox need to get behind today's starter, David Price, to stay on track to make it to the World Series™. However, Price is getting older and hasn't been all that effective of late.

College football was interesting. The Spartans of MSU traveled to Pennsylvania to meet the Penn State Nittany Lions. The Spartans were listed as underdogs, but they won the game, 21 - 17, to go to 4 - 2. which matches the record of the Nittany Lions.

In my last blog, I incorrectly had the Wolverines of Michigan traveling to WI to meet the Badgers. I should have noted that the Wolverines were in Ann Arbor to host the visiting Badgers. The Wolverines crushed the visitors, 38 - 13, to move to 6 - 1, while the Badgers dropped to 4 - 2.

Next Saturday, the Wolverines are scheduled to meet the Spartans in a noon game. Here in Michigan, that's a big deal and the bars will be jammed as will most of the fraternal clubs, like the Eagles, the Elks, the VFW and the American Legion.

The Huskies of Northern Illinois eked out a win over the Bobcats of Ohio, 24 - 21, to go to 4 - 3, while the Bobcats dropped to 3 - 3.

I have to toss in some news on the Cubs. Hitting coach, Chili Davis, will not be back next season. The Cubs got off to a good first-half start hitting-wise this year, but they trailed off badly in the 2nd half. Is it the Davis' fault? Who knows, but you can't fire the whole team, so...

In addition, the Cubs have several players eligible for free-agency this year, including infielder/outfielder, Daniel Murphy, a late season addition for the Cubs. I'd keep him, if possible. Also on the list is ineffective left-handed reliever, Justin Wilson. I don't think he could get himself out, so I'd lose him, even thought left-handed pitchers are hard to come by. 35 year-old reliever Jesse Chavez was solid, so he should be a keeper. 37 year-old reliever, Jorge De La Rosa should be allowed to retire. 35 year-old back-up catcher Bobby Wilson didn't get much playing time, but if he can be had at the right price, keep him.

The Cubs should also opt to keep pitcher Cole Hamels if they can get him under contract at a reasonable price. He is 34 years-old and had a good run with the Cubs after they traded for him, so he should be a keeper. Outfielder, Justin Heyward could opt out of his huge contract with the Cubs and I believe they should let him go. He is a Gold-Glove outfielder, but seemingly cannot hit in the clutch, nor apparently at any other time either.

I installed that hinge yesterday and collectively, Mary and I applied our waning math/measuring skills to get that new spice shelf installed. We often say that collectively, we are a wit. In the case of the shelf, we were barely that.

Today, as I mentioned, I am off to that play-date as a political-operative. Mary will be enjoying some time without me, I'm sure. Ciao.