Bears vs. Giants is usually a bruising battle. Just ask Jay Cutler, who suffers an NFL-record nine sacks in the first half alone and a concussion. Then the Giants offense comes alive to secure a victory.

EAST RUTHERFORD—Back to reality? Was the Bears offense brought back to Earth? Well people have been saying since Training Camp that the Bears offensive line was going to “get Jay Cutler killed”. Well not quite yet, but they did get him sacked only two times less than he attempted passes.The Giants were barely better,but they handed the Bears their first loss of the season 17-3. And it was much uglier than any score can indicate.And a nice effort by the Bears defense went to waste.The Bears offensive line was a no show in the first half,and so as a result was the Bears offense.Cutler was sacked 9 times, and as a result,the Visitors only managed 2 first downs(the Giants had just 4) in the first thirty minutes of play.Amazingly,the Giants could do little with their chances and only led 3-0 at the break. The first half was as bad as having lots of teeth pulled without Novocain.It was absolutely BRUTAL! Daniel Manning returned the opening kickoff 29 yards to the 39,but the Bears started with a false start on Patrick Mannelly.That set the series back,and after Cutler was sacked on third down, Brad Maynard’s punt was muffed but then recovered by Darius Reynaud at the NYG 16. On a third and three,Ahmad Bradshaw was stopped just short of a first down by D.J.Moore. The snap to Punter Matt Dodge was a bad one,but he rolled to his right and got the kickoff where it fair caught at the Bears 32,but an ineligible man down field started the Bears at their 37.But after the Bears picked up a first down, Cutler was sacked and again Maynard had to punt-which he did into the end zone for a touch back.The Giants moved down field with Eli Manning’s passing and Bradshaw running.The key plays were a 20 yard run by Bradshaw and a 10 yard pass from Manning to Hakeem Nicks, which a holding call against the Giants was overturned as they picked up the flag. The Momentum continued from there.On a third and seven,Manning found a wide open Nicks for 23 yards to the Bears 12.On third down,Manning hit Steve Smith but he was stopped at the four by Moore,so Lawrence Tynes converted a 22 yard chip shot to cap the drive with 3:29 left in the quarter.The Bears started their third possession on their own 21.On a third and five,Cutler launched one into double coverage and Terrell Thomas picked it off at the Bears 28,but the Bears,despite a neutral zone infraction,were able to hold and force Tynes try a 38 yard field goal which he blew it wide left.The Bears dodged a bullet,and took over at their 28.After yet another false start on the Bears,the listless first quarter ended 3-0 NYG.The Bears faced a third and six,Cutler was hit by Osi Umenyiora as he rolled right,the ball popped out,but right to Olin Kruetz.Maynard then punted the Giants to their own 30.On first down, Manning was sacked on first down by Isreal Idonije for a ten yard loss.That in effect killed the NYG drive and Dodge punted to Devin Hester who returned the 37 yard kick 6 yards to the Bears 35 where he was forced out of bounds.On first down,Cutler was sacked for a fourth time,but Hester recovered for a 7 yard loss,plus five more where the ball was recovered at the 23.On third down,Umenyiora got to Cutler and knocked the ball free, Deon Grant recovered for the Giants at the Bears 29.But the Bears again held,and forced a punt,which went into the end zone. After an 8 yard run by Matt Forte, Greg Olsen jumped for the Bears third false start of the first half. Cutler then ran under pressure and was sacked for a yard loss,then sacked again on third down.Maynard punted from his end zone,and shanked it out of bounds at the Bears 47.On a second down, Julius Peppers got to Manning from behind and knocked the ball free. Idonije fell on it at the Bears 48. Giants Coach Tom Coughlin threw the challenge flag,claiming that Manning hand was going forward,but the ruling on the field held up.Cutler was sacked yet again on first down to kill that opportunity,and on a third and 18,Cutler was flushed from the pocket and threw it out of bounds.After another Maynard punt,the Giants took over at their 27.Again,the Bears defense did the job,forcing a three and out,but after a nice return by Hester on the punt,a clipping penalty forced the Bears to start at their own five with 1:41 left in the half.Following a Cutler to Olsen pass and a Chester Taylor run got them a first down to the 19, Cutler was(you guess it)sacked for the 9th time in the half for a seven yard loss.He suffered a concussion. The half mercifully came to an end.

The Giants were held ‘three and out’ to begin the third quarter,and Dodge punted out of bounds at the Bears 29. Todd Collins started the third quarter for the Bears,handed off three times,and the result,another punt which resulted in the Giants starting on their 16 but did nothing,and when Dodge’s punt went out at the Bears 43,a huge creshendo of boos when off. This time Collins threw one pass-to Hester for 7,but they still were stopped and the busy Maynard kicked out of bounds at the 19,but a holding penalty of the Giants pushed it back to the ten.But they finally got to the Bears worn down defense and with the running of Bradshaw and two key passes from Manning to Smith for six yards and to Nicks for 21, they went 90 yards in just eight plays.Bradshaw had a huge 25 yard left end run to the Bears 3,and then he took several tacklers with him into the end zone on the next play to make it 10-0 with 2:48 left in the third.Two possessions later,the Bears got their 3rd first down of the game on a Hester 11 yard run as the third quarter ended.Their 4th fresh set of downs came as a result of a late hit penalty on Jonathan Goff on the first play of the fourth period.Collins then hit Olsen for to the Giants 35. But two plays later,Collins overthrew Olsen and Grant picked it off at the 8. The Giants Brandon Jacobs ran the ball to the 29,but fumbled it and is was recovered by Chris Harris at the Giants 29,giving the Bears their deepest penetration,but the failed on a third and three so Robbie Gould kicked a 40 yard field goal to get the Bears on the board with 10:58 left.It appeared as though Bradshaw was about to ice the game when he broke free for 30 yards,but Zach Bowman knocked the ball away at the Bears 6 and recovered it at the 1,but of course the Bears did nothing and Maynard’s punt was returned to the Bears 32. Manning hit Nicks at the Bears two and Jacobs took it in on the next play to put this one completely out of reach. Collins was shaken up after completing a pass to Earl Bennett. He walked off on his own,but third QB Caleb Hanie entered and promptly hit Johnny Knox on his first snap for 26 yards to the Giants 42,but a false start moved them back five yards.On a third down,Hanie became the third Bears QB to be sacked(by Justin Tuck).He hit Bennett next about 11 yards short of a first down, thus turning the ball over on downs.The Giants got inside the Bears five,but showed mercy by having Manning take a knee twice to run out the clock and end this fiasco.

NOTES—The Giants introduced their Ring Of Honor at halftime…..Of course the Bears ae now 1-1 in prime time games this season, 1-1 on the road.

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Tomas Kopecky and Jonathan Toews each had a goal and and assist, and the Blackhawks beat the St. Louis Blues 4-3 on Sunday in the preseason finale for both teams.Troy Brouwer and Marian Hossa also scored for the Hawks (3-4-0). The Blackhawks open the regular season Thursday in Colorado.B.J. Crombeen, T.J. Hensick and Patrik Berglund scored for the Blues (5-3-0), who open at home against Philadelphia on Saturday. Ty Conklin stopped 20 shots.Marty Turco, who will start the season as the new No. 1 goalie, stopped 20 shots. One of the NHL’s most-active puckhandling goalies, Turco helped set up Toews’ goal with a long pass, but also enabled Hensick’s with a giveaway.The Blackhawks lineup included nearly all of their regulars. he Hawks had 25 players on their roster Sunday; NHL teams must trim down to 23 this week.Blackhawks defenseman Brian Campbell, who suffered a right knee sprain against Pittsburgh on Friday, didn’t skate on Sunday and will miss four to five weeks. Niklas Hjalmarsson, Campbell’s defense partner for most of last season, was paired with 19-year-old rookie Nick Leddy.St. Louis coach Davis Payne used a lineup of mostly younger players. Sitting out were several top returning Blues players, including Andy McDonald, Brad Boyes, T.J. Oshie, David Backes and Erik Johnson.After a scoreless first period, the Blackhawks opened a 4-1 lead in the second, scoring their first three goals on consecutive shots.Kopecky’s power-play goal score, a deflection of Duncan Keith’s shot from the point opened the scoring at 8:43 of the second. Brouwer made it 2-0 just over 3 minutes later when he connected from the front of the net after Jake Dowell forced a Blues turnover.Hossa deflected in a shot by rookie Jeremy Morin for a power-play goal with 6:55 left in the period. Crombeen cut it to 3-1 with 3:02 to go in the second by lofting in a rebound.Toews replied 38 seconds later, completing a rush that was set up by Turco’s long pass from near his own crease to center ice.Turco’s giveaway set up Hensick’s goal at 1:51 of the third that cut it to 4-2. Behind the net, the goalie dished the puck right on to the stick of Brad Winchester, who fed Hensick in front of the goal.Berglund completed the scoring with 2:09 left.

Paul Konerko had two hits in what could be his final game with the White Sox, manager Ozzie Guillen got his 600th win and the South Siders closed out a winning yet disappointing season with a 6-5 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Sunday.Alexei Ramirez homered in the first inning and capped a three-run second with an RBI double. Juan Pierre had three hits and drove in three runs, and Edwin Jackson (4-2) got his first win in more than a month. Chris Sale worked two innings for his fourth save in as many chances, despite giving up a two-run homer to Drew Sutton with two outs in the ninth.The White Sox ended the season on a 9-2 run and wound up with 88 wins while finishing second in the AL Central after so many twists and turns. Between the slow start, the 25-5 run into the All-Star break and a late fade that knocked them out of the playoff race, this would have been a wild year even without all the drama surrounding Guillen and general manager Kenny Williams.They have apparently worked out their differences at least for now, and Guillen will be back next season, something that was not a given a week ago.Whether Konerko and A.J. Pierzynski will return is another issue. Both have expiring contracts, and could be nearing the end of a run that included a championship in 2005.They were showered with cheers during pregame introductions, when they stepped to the plate and when they were lifted.Pierzynski, who was 0 for 2, came out just before the start of the fourth inning. Fans roared as he walked off the field, and there were hugs and high-fives from teammates and coaches in the dugout.Konerko got similar treatment when he got lifted with one out in the seventh, the crowd chanting “Paulie! Paulie!” as he walked off the field.By then, he had singled twice, leaving him with a .312 average. He finished one of his best seasons with 39 homers and 111 RBI.For the Indians, it was a fitting end after they won just 69 games in their first season under manager Manny Acta.The White Sox wasted no time jumping on Justin Germano (0-3), with Pierre singling on the second pitch in the first inning and Ramirez making it 2-0 when he drove the next one halfway up the left-field foul pole for his 18th homer.The Tribe got an unearned run in the second, but the White Sox responded with three in the bottom half.Pierre hit a two-run, two-out single and came around on a double by Ramirez that made it 5-1.That was enough for Jackson, who had gone 0-2 in five starts since beating Cleveland on Aug. 31. He gave up five hits, including a leadoff homer to Luke Carlin in the fifth and a run-scoring single by Trevor Crowe that chased him with two out in the sixth.Jackson finished 10-12 overall in Arizona and with the Sox.With no starters available because of a doubleheader on Wednesday, the Indians went with a committee of relievers.Germano lasted two innings, allowing five runs and seven hits in his first start since May 2008 with San Diego.

NOTES—The Indians held Shin-Soo Choo out of the lineup. He finished with a .300 average and .401 on-base percentage. … Besides Konerko and Pierzynski, closer Bobby Jenks has an uncertain future with the club after a shaky season. He’s eligible for arbitration, but Williams gave him a less-than-ringing endorsement. “As I sit here right now, that is something that we really have to evaluate strongly because I’ve been disappointed on a number of levels,” Williams said. “There are certain things that I’m not going to talk about right now, but I will say is Bobby Jenks has been good for a long time.” … The White Sox honored longtime organist Nancy Faust with a video tribute after the top of the first. She is retiring after 41 years.

HOUSTON—Long time Cub killer Carlos Lee homered and Tommy Manzella drove in two runs to lead the Houston Astros to a 4-0 win over the Cubs in their season finale Sunday.The victory broke a three-game losing streak for the Astros, who matched their run total from the previous three games combined. They went 59-52 since June 1 after going 17-34 through May.Nelson Figueroa (7-4) tossed six sharp innings of six-hit ball and struck out a season-high eight. He was pitching on three days’ rest after Wandy Rodriguez could not make his scheduled start because of back spasms.Brandon Lyon worked a perfect ninth to complete the shutout after Fernando Abad and Wilton Lopez combined for two hitless innings.Cubs starter Ryan Dempster (15-12) yielded nine hits and three earned runs with seven strikeouts in six innings.Lee hit his 24th homer, a solo shot to the Crawford Boxes in left field to push Houston’s lead to 3-0 in the third. Brett Wallace led off the fourth with his first career triple and scored on a single by Manzella.Chris Johnson singled and scored on a single by Manzella to make it 1-0 in the first inning. A single by Figueroa and an error by catcher Koyie Hill allowed Humberto Quintero to score later in the inning and put Houston ahead 2-0.Figueroa retired eight of his first nine batters before walking Blake DeWitt with two outs in the third. Darwin Barney singled after that, but Marlon Byrd, who finished 0 for 4, struck out to end the inning.The Cubs got consecutive singles by Aramis Ramirez and Xavier Nady with one out in the fifth. Figueroa intentionally walked Hill to load the bases before striking out Dempster to escape that jam.The Cubs took the first two games in Houston and won eight of 12 series after interim manager Mike Quade took over.

NOTES—Starlin Castro was out of the lineup after improving his batting average to .300 on Saturday. He is the first Cubs rookie to finish a season with a .300 average since Bill Madlock hit .313 in 1974(he then won the NL Batting Title in 1975 and 1976 before being traded to SF before 1977). … Houston center fielder Michael Bourn missed his 13th straight game with a strained right oblique muscle.

NU received the second half kickoff and it was downed in the end zone for a touch back. Persa hit Charles Brown who lost the ball,then recovered it for 32 yards to the Minnesota 16.Trumpy went around RE for 11 to the five for a first and goal.Persa bootlegged and carried to just outside the one.Jacob Schmidt bowled over for the TD, but Stefan Demos,with a perfect snap and hold, missed the PAT wide left,allowing Minnesota to keep the lead 21-20.Minnesota picked up a first down on their next series,but was then stopped and punted to the NU 20. From there,the Cats picked up a pair of first downs on third down plays.Persa next tried to go deep to Ebart and pass interference on the Gophers Collado put the ball at the Minnesota 34.Persa picked up ten to the 20.After a Minnesota time out, Persa threw into double coverage and it went right to Michael Carter who picked it off and Minnesota took over at their 11, making it three NU turnovers to none for Minnesota.The fourth quarter stared with Minnesota ramming the ball down NU’s throat on the ground and the Cats defense looked helpless to stop it,giving up chunks of five yards or more per crack.On a 3rd down from the NU 25,there was yet another blown coverage-with Lair again the benefactor-being wide open up the middle and Weber hit him for the TD which with a good PAT by Ellestad,gave the Gophers a 28-20 lead.On the Cats next drive, Persa found Brown for 26 yards to the Minnesota 28.Two plays later,Persa threw a high pass that Ebert made a nice brag on in the back of the end zone, but on a two point attempt,Persa,under a rush, tossed a pass incomplete,leaving Minnesota with a 28-16 lead.After the kickoff,Minnesota started at their 23,and on third down, Weber was sacked for the first time in the game by Vince Browne, forcing a punt that Bates fair caught at the NU 36 with 6:14 left.Ebert made a 15 yard catch to midfield.On a third down, Persa ran around for 22 yards to the Minnesota 24.Persa then on a busted play ran again to the left side for 11 yards to the 13.Persa found Jones for nine yards to the four,making it third and 1.And after a hotgun formation,Persa lost a yard making it fourth down.After a delay of game penalty, Demos kicked a 27 yard field goal with 2:07 left to give the Cats their first lead of the second half 29-28. Minnesota took over at their 38.On a fourth down, Weber kept the Gopher alive with a 16 yard run to the NU 39.Three plays later it was another fourth down,this time from the 40 with :25 to go.Weber’s pass was then picked off by Ben Johnson to clinch the win.It was the only Gophers turnover of the game

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CHAMPAIGN—Terrelle Pryor returned after an injury briefly knocked him from the game, then led No. 2 Ohio State on a clinching touchdown drive in the closing minutes in a 24-13 victory over Illinois on Saturday.Pryor ran for 104 yards and was 9 of 16 for 76 yards and two touchdowns through the air, but he gave Ohio State fans a scare when he needed help off the field early in the third quarter. The star quarterback spent a couple of minutes in the locker room before returning to the game.Illinois (2-2, 0-1 Big Ten) put a scare into the Buckeyes (5-0, 1-0) with under 5 minutes to go when it marched down field, but coach Ron Zook elected to kick a field goal on fourth down that made it 17-13, rather than go for the tying touchdown.The Buckeyes responded by going the length of the field for the clinching score.

HOUSTON—Casey Coleman pitched seven strong innings and drove in a run, leading the Cubs to a 2-0 win over the Houston Astros on Friday.Coleman (4-2) allowed six hits and struck out two, improving to 3-0 with a 2.25 ERA in his last three starts. He also doubled in a run for Chicago, which has won four of five.Andrew Cashner allowed one hit and struck out one in the eighth before Carlos Marmol pitched a perfect ninth to extend his career high with his 38th save in 43 opportunities. He has converted 17 straight chances and has held opponents scoreless in his last 19 outings.Bud Norris (9-10) pitched six innings for Houston, yielding two runs and three hits. But the right-hander also issued a career-high seven walks as the Astros lost for the fifth time in six games.Coleman’s two-out hit in the fourth gave the Cubs a 2-0 lead. Norris walked Sam Fuld after the double, but Darwin Barney grounded out to end the inning.Welington Castillo also doubled in a run in the second. His drive off the wall in left-center drove in Bobby Scales.Jason Michaels hit his second double with one out in the seventh but Coleman retired the next two batters to preserve the shutout.The Astros also had a strong opportunity in the fifth, when they loaded the bases with one out. Coleman then got Norris to ground into a double play. Hunter Pence hit a two-out infield single in the Houston first and advanced to second when third baseman Scales’ throw to first flew over the head of Micah Hoffpauir. A wild pitch sent Pence to third, but Carlos Lee grounded out.

NOTES—Houston LHP Wandy Rodriguez tweaked his back Thursday but was feeling better Friday and the Astros expect him to be ready to start the season finale Sunday. … Friday was the first time since 2005 that the Cubs have played a regular-season road game in October. The last time they did it was also in Houston. … Houston manager Brad Mills said he doesn’t expect to see CF Michael Bourn play again this season. Bourn has missed the last 11 games with a strained right oblique muscle.

Shin-Soo Choo hit a two-run home run, Fausto Carmona pitched six strong innings and the Cleveland Indians extended their season-high winning streak to seven games with a 7-3 victory over the White Sox on Friday.The Indians are on their longest winning streak since they won 10 straight from Aug. 17-27, 2008.Carmona (13-14) won his seventh straight start against the White Sox. He is 7-3 in his career against the White Sox in his career. The right-hander allowed two runs and five hits while striking out seven with one walk. He has not lost to the Sox since April 13, 2007.Brent Morel homered for the White Sox, who lost for the second time in nine games.

Marian Hossa scored two goals and Corey Crawford stopped 26 shots to lead the Blackhawks to a 5-2 preseason win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night.Fernando Pisani, Patrick Sharp and Patrick Kane also scored for the Hawks (2-4-0).Crawford, poised to back up veteran goalie Marty Turco this season, lost a shutout bid with 9:20 left in the third period when Pittsburgh’s Alex Goligoski converted a rebound for a power-play goal. The 25-year-old made a handful of tough saves against a Pittsburgh lineup that didn’t include star forwards Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.Craig Adams added a late goal for the Penguins (4-1-0). Marc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh’s No. 1 goalie, played the first two periods and allowed two goals on 16 shots. Brent Johnson played the third and gave up three goals on 10 shots.Brian Campbell left the game early in the second period with an undisclosed injury and did not return.The Blackhawks lineup included all of the team’s big-name stars from last year’s Stanley Cup championship team,and most of the regulars who figure to be with the club when it opens the season Thursday at Colorado.Fleury made two point-blank saves — on Viktor Stalberg and Jonathan Toews — in the scoreless first.Pisani opened the scoring at 4:20 of the second. He completed a rush by firing a one-time shot over Fleury’s glove after taking a feed from Dave Bolland.Sharp’s power-play goal made it 2-0 with 6:13 left in the period. He picked off a botched Pittsburgh clearing attempt near the right point and beat Fleury through a screen.Crawford made his toughest saves with about 7:30 left in the second, blocking Matt Cooke’s shot from the circle and Eric Godard’s rebound attempt from the crease.Hossa extended the lead to 3-0 just 19 seconds into the third by outracing Pittsburgh defenseman Simon Despres to a loose puck on the right boards and then driving to the net.Kane lofted in a power-play goal at 5:56 of the third to make it 4-0.Goligoski made it 4-1 scoring by firing in a rebound after Crawford blocked Michael Rupp’s shot.Adams closed in to 4-2 with 1:18 left, but Hossa replied with his second goal 18 seconds later.