Well, you cannot call it a show-down, because neither team is good enough. But what the heck, here's some of the pre-series coverage from the Chicago papers, including one hilarious story about all of the things Seattle has given Chicago lately, from the first non-Seattle Starbucks location to Boeing's corporate HQ.

But on to more happy things: where to have the Sports-Friendly Slog Happy after the game on Thursday? My preference is for the Triangle (the one in Sodo, not the now-closed one in Fremont), but I will bow to the majority will. So, if you plan to attend (the Slog Happy, not necessarily the game. . . ) put in your nomination in the comments, and we'll have a Scientifically Sound and Legally Binding Slog Poll tomorrow about where to gather to talk World's Cup (nod to Ring Lardner here, who always called the World Series the World's Serious) and which bad baseball team managed to win this series. Because one of them has to. . . .