RANDOM THOUGHTS: TIME OFF IS GOOD FOR PACK, NOT BEARS:
Random thoughts while wondering where former Cubs right-hander Mark Prior will end up -- other than on the disabled list:
• • Green Bay Packers fans are excited because the team will have the first round of the playoffs off. Compared to Bears fans, who are much more subdued even though their team will have the first round off, as well as the second ... and the third ... and ...
• • Left-hander Andy Pettitte apologizes for using HGH to recover from an injury in 2002 when it was not banned by baseball. Roger Clemens' lawyer is upset that his client is linked to the sport's steroids scandal. Can't wait for Clemens to file a lawsuit. Either that or to hear an apology for Clemens' actions -- the apology most likely coming from Pettitte.
• • Few athletes are in a class with Minnesota Vikings rookie Adrian Peterson (as if Bears fans don't know). Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy is. He has signed a multiyear deal with CytoSport Inc. to endorse Muscle Milk, a nutritional product that Adrian Peterson also endorses. Miami Heat center Shaquille O'Neal endorses the company's Mighty Milk. Not to be confused with Bears fans who endorse tackling opposing running backs.
SIMPSON'S FAULT: Cowboys fans have a local Yoko
Absence may make the heart go wander.
Presence may make Cowboys fans less fonder.
As far as quarterback Tony Romo's girlfriends showing up for games against the Eagles.
Last year, country singer Carrie Underwood was on hand for a December loss against them.
On Sunday, singer/actress Jessica Simpson witnessed the Cowboys' 10-6 loss in a pink Cowboys No. 9 jersey (Tony Romo's number). It caused quite a reaction:
• • The 'Boys Blog, a Cowboys fan site, noted: ''Is Jessica Simpson the football version of Memo Paris, the blonde bombshell who was kryptonite to Roy Hobbs' Wonderboy in ''The Natural''? ... If Tony Romo plays like this next week, Jessica Simpson will become the most hated celebrity significant other since Yoko Ono.''
• • People.com quotes a ''source close to Simpson'' saying, ''He played a great game on Thanksgiving, and she was there.''
• • Simpson's Texas Stadium host, beer distributor Barry Andrews, told the Dallas Morning News: ''I think that bandage around Tony Romo's thumb at the end of the game had a lot more to do with the outcome than the guest in our box.''
FASHION STATEMENTS: Joakim Noah's strolling on Clark
Joakim Noah's shoes are meant for walking -- in nice weather.
As the Bulls rookie was dressing Friday night after the team's victory against the New York Knicks, he took care with his footwear.
''Clark Wallabies,'' he told Quick Hits. Relatively lightweight black fabric, although they could have been navy blue (the lighting not exactly fashion-show-runway quality in the Bulls' locker room).
''How about when winter really gets here?'' Quick Hits wondered, unaware that low temperatures would hit so soon.
Joakim Noah needs to give those shoes the boot for something warmer.
''Warmer than the Clark Wallabies?'' he said.
Certainly. Maybe something fleece-lined, such as the pair of Ugg clogs the generally fashion-challenged Quick Hits had on (a bargain purchase at a discount store a few years back).
''There's fleece in there?'' Joakim Noah said. ''I like that. I got some Uggs. The thing about the Uggs is they became such a fashion style for girls. But I used to wear them. My father [former tennis star Yannick Noah] used to bring them back from Australia when I was young. And I used to wear boots. But now all the girls wear the boots, so like guys, if I wore Ugg boots and wore them to practice, I would get killed.''
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