Thank you, dear baseball gods.

Maybe the baseball gods are on the side of the Chicago Cubs, after all. The Cubs were supposed to play three games this weekend against the Houston Astros. In Houston. But Hurricane Ike forced postponent of the games. And two of the games were moved to a neutral site, the ballpark in Milwaukee, 90 miles north of Chicago. The first was played tonight. At a time and place never imagined until the hurricane. So, what happened? Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano threw a no-hitter. First by a Cubs pitcher in 36 years. The Cubs won, 5-0. Now, if that game had been played as originally scheduled on Friday night in Houston, the timing and the circumtances would have been very, very different. Maybe the outcome, too. Yes, timing makes a big difference, doesn't it? And second place Milwaukee, meanwhile, got swept in 4 games in Philadelphia. So I'm feeling good tonight. But there's still two weeks to go in the regular season, and the Cubs haven't clinched a play-off spot yet. But still, thank you for everything, dear baseball gods. --Jim Broede