Events

Milwaukee lost the first game of their double header against Philadelphia this afternoon, so the Cubs' magic number is now 9. Update, 21:00 CDT: The Brewers just lost 6-1. The Cubs' magic number falls to 8, with 16 games yet to play. Later update, 21:15 CDT: The Cubs are right now schooling the Astros 5-0 in the top of the 9th at Miller Park. So despite the rain, today is turning out pretty well for the Cubs. Final update, 21:30 CDT: Thanks to a 7-inning no hitter by Carlos Zambrano—the first Cubs...

Via Calculated Risk, Lehman bankruptcy expected before midnight tonight, after Bank of America pulls out of its rescue: Bank of America Corp. abandoned talks to buy Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., according to a person with knowledge of the matter, less than three hours after Barclays Plc said it wouldn't buy the faltering investment bank. ... The U.S. government is racing to find a solution for Lehman before markets open tomorrow, two people familiar with the situation said. Barclays walked away because...

Yesterday Chicago broke its all-time one-day rainfall record of 165 mm (set 14 August 1987) with 168 mm recorded at O'Hare: And it's still falling: Here's the Tribune story: After the rainiest day in recorded Chicago history, residents across the area faced more storms, closed roads and flooded basements Sunday as the remnants of Hurricane Ike were expected to arrive. Saturday's rainfall, as measured at O'Hare International Airport, was at least 6.63 inches, breaking the city calendar-day record of 6.49...

Stuff that makes you say "huh:" The Cubs and Houston will play two of their postponed games at 7:05 p.m. Sunday and 1:05 p.m. Monday at Miller Park in Milwaukee, Major League Baseball announced late Saturday night. The third postponed game will be played only if it affects the postseason situation, and not until the day after the end of the regular season. Brewers officials said they encourage fans heading to the games in Milwaukee to purchase tickets online and use the print at home feature to expedite...

We've had some problems from rain in Chicago today, and we're anticipating getting the remains of Ike tomorrow evening: The Edens Expressway is shut down in both directions at Pratt Avenue due to flooding from heavy rains falling throughout Chicago area Saturday. ... The I-190 ramp into O'Hare is flooded and aviation officials said inbound traffic to the airport is closed. CTA Blue Line service has been temporarily shut down between the Rosemont and O'Hare stations, officials said. And the rainfall map...

The Cubs' magic number remains 11 (with 15 games left), only because the Brewers were also rained out tonight. I hope Ike doesn't hit Houston too hard tonight, and I think I'm joining all of Houston—Astros fans or not—wishing the storm had gone somewhere else.

Not the most fun day of my life—let's skip why—but arriving home and checking the blogs, I let out a guffaw at Calculated Risk's post this morning. Sadly, though, it means I'm a big nerd.

Sarah Palin is the prestige in McCain's campaign. I mean that literally: her job is to distract us from McCain's utter, complete, and frightening unsuitability for the presidency with her utter, complete, and even more frightening unsuitability for any national office whatsoever. I worried that the strategy was working for a while, but I think things might be changing. That said, someone thinking we should go to war with Russia for any reason short of, I don't know, the imminent destruction of Western...

American Airlines called me and said they're not flying to Houston this weekend, and would I like a refund? (This sort of thing is why I love American.) So, no Cubs game after all. I just hope Houston is still there when I continue the 30-Park Geas next season: Update, 22:00 CDT: MLB.com has the story, including the back-story, about the league cancelling Friday's and Saturday's games.

The Chicago Public Schools are now bribing children to get higher grades: Up to 5,000 freshmen at 20 Chicago public high schools will get cash for good—and even average—grades as part of a new, Harvard-designed test program that city education leaders are rolling out Thursday. Students will be measured every five weeks in math, English, social sciences, science and physical education. An A nets $50, a B equals $35 and a C still brings in $20. Students will get half the money upfront, with the remainder...