All of these topics are covered by the Trib, but I thought I'd give everyone a chance to discuss them in the comments.

Steve Stone returns
Apparently, management realized it wouldn't be wise to fire their most popular employee. Stone will likely be back, and I'm pretty happy about it: we get at least another year of his sharp, biting, and sometimes clairvoyant commentary on the game. Hopefully next year we'll hear fewer statements like, "Someday Sammy will actually hit the cutoff man" or "That play makes a lot of sense" when a pitcher does the third-and-first fakeout. I hope this not because I want Stone to tone it down -- I just want the Cubs to stop making stupid plays.

Pat Hughes isn't joining Stonie
Radio play-by-play man Pat Hughes apparently won't become Stone's right-hand man in the TV booth. Hughes would have been my second choice (behind pipe dream Jon Miller), but I also recognize that our beloved man Santo would've had a real rough go of it without Pat helping out.

The Cubs will walk the walk
As we've noticed since Jim Hendry took office, it's no longer a fantasy to envision the Cubs pursuing the big names in the free agent market. I've heard the Cubs will pursue Carlos Beltran in the offseason, and why shouldn't they? He's the prize, and he may just have priced his way out of Houston with his performance this postseason. Remember, Houston is going to have to shell out a ton of money to Bagwell and Pettitte in addition to re-signing Clemens and forking over a huge arbitration payment to Berkman. The good news: Beltran is at least open to the idea of playing in Chi-town.

Discuss amongst yourselves.