The headline asked simply, "Next?" It appeared in this publication and referred to the Chicago Cubs' World Series hopes on the heels of championships by the White Sox and Cardinals in the past two seasons.

Now, with two weeks remaining in the regular season, the question still stands.

The Cubs hold a precarious one-game lead over Milwaukee in the NL Central in a race that seems destined to last until the final weekend. Whichever team wins could have the worst record among the eight playoff qualifiers.

Cubs fans only need to point to last year's Cardinals for proof that the playoff team with the fewest victories can win it all. But two years in a row? Probably not.

Under that logic, if the Cubs do manage to hold off the Brewers, they would just be first-round fodder. In that case, would Cubs fans rather absorb the familiar pain of missing the playoffs or the sharper pain of postseason defeat?

Either scenario would have Cubs fans once again uttering that annual refrain, "Wait 'til next year."

General manager Jim Hendry spent a bundle in the offseason to build a contender, with the underlying motive of saving his job. Now the team is barely over .500 and the franchise is for sale, almost guaranteeing Hendry's exit.

Time will tell if Hendry's financial commitments will pay off. It still could be this season. Or, maybe, next.

CBS: Concealed Bears Start

The Bears' first drive in their home opener ended on a Bernard Berrian fumble, but most viewers around here never saw it.

Instead of showing the Chicago-Kansas City game in its entirety, CBS stayed with the high-scoring, slow-moving Bengals-Browns affair. That game wasn't even supposed to be shown here, but the networked switched to it after the Colts held off Tennessee.

After replay officials finally confirmed Cleveland's win, followed by a commercial block, the Bears game was joined in progress at 3:39 p.m. - 24 minutes after kickoff - in the midst of a 13-yard run by Cedric Benson, with 3:17 left in the first quarter. Fortunately, the teams had combined for 0 points and five stalled drives, so viewers didn't miss much.

But Bears fans don't care to see Romeo Crennel or Carson Palmer when Brian Urlacher is on the field. Whether it's the network's fault or the league's broadcast rules, the problem needs to be fixed.

Patriot gamesmanship

How shocking was it to discover the New England Patriots were spying on Jets defensive coaches in their Week 1 victory? Not very.

"I'm not surprised," said San Diego star LaDainian Tomlinson.

Why not? Perhaps it's because the entire New England organization - from coach to quarterback to the guy behind the camera - smacks of stomach-turning arrogance and entitlement. They seem to think their multiple recent championships give them the right to do whatever they please.

Bill Belichick always plays by his own rules. He does everything he can to disclose as little as possible in the league-mandated weekly injury reports. On Friday, he embodied Mark McGwire at a congressional hearing, answering every question about the spying scandal with, "My focus is on San Diego."

After a home loss to New England in the playoffs last season, Tomlinson took exception to Patriots players doing a victory dance on the Chargers' Thunderbolt logo, calling the action classless and suggesting it was a reflection of the coach. Although he later backed off those sentiments, he was right.

The land of Oz

It may have seemed strange when the White Sox gave manager Ozzie Guillen a contract extension last week while the team was tied for the worst record in baseball. But it actually made perfect sense.

Most organizations tend to fire the manager as a scapegoat when the team fails to meet expectations. But the manager isn't the guy on the mound, in the field or in the batter's box. The players are the ones who produce the results.

Sox GM Ken Williams knows Guillen's an excellent manager - he's seen him produce a championship and a pair of 90-win seasons. By reinforcing the commitment to Guillen, Williams put the blame for this season squarely on the underachieving players.

Those in the Sox clubhouse better receive Williams' message clearly: Guillen's not going anywhere, so you'd better shape up.

Joe Deacon is a Pantagraph copy editor. Deacon's "Short Hops" blog is at www.pantagraph.com/blogs