Early arrival only way this rookie got any cheers

Talk about showing up early for the big game.

Mark Patrick Pavelka arrived in Chicago three days ahead of schedule Friday night — at 8 pounds, 9 ounces — after his mother’s labor was induced to ensure that his Bears-fan dad could attend the NFC Championship Game on Sunday. “Nothing’s going to ruin this weekend — that’s for sure,” father Mark Pavelka told the Chicago Sun-Times. “If he wasn’t born by Sunday and the Bears won, I would have named him Rex.”

Sideline Chatter

Best football story since Diner when the prospective bride failed the Colts trivia exam.

[By “best” I do mean “worst.”]