Here's your wakeup call -- a combination of newsworthy andor interesting tidbits -- for Friday, November 2:
AUTO RACING
Danica Patrick discovers that being a hit man -- or woman -- isn't as easy as it seems. (AP)
BASEBALL
Maybe if they stick him on the curb, someone will take him away. (NBC's Hardball Talk)
Goodbye Nick Swisher and hello Torii Hunter in the Bronx? (Hardball Talk)
If the Yankees make a one-year qualifying offer to Hiroki Kuroda, he just might accept it. (Hardball Talk)
Good thing Bruce Bochy wasn't this unprepared during the postseason. (NBC's Off The Bench)
The statheads are at odds with the managerscoaches who vote for the Gold Gloves over who's the best defensive shortstop in the American League. Yes, yes, I know it's an annual brouhaha, but this time -- believe it or not -- Derek Jeter's not involved. (CSN Baltimore)
Even the folks in Baltimore realize the Orioles' string of good fortune in one-runextra-inning games, the main reason for their stunning rise this season, isn't likely to repeat itself in 2013. (CSN Baltimore)
From celebrity manager to rookie skipper: The Marlins pick Mike Redmond to be Ozzie Guillen's successor. (AP)
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Nice start to the Kevin Ollie Era at UConn, if you consider a 15-point victory over AIC nice. (AP)
No. 1 Indiana probably feels better after beating its cupcake by 29. (AP)
And defending national champ Kentucky may feel even better than that, since it won by 32. (AP)
Hey, Wildcats: Syracuse will see your 32 and raise you 36. (AP)
Pat Summitt was in the front row behind the bench as her replacement, Holly Warlick, won her exhibition debut as the Lady Vols' coach, 104-44 over Carson-Newman. (AP)
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Miami has a clear path to the ACC Coastal Division championship after last night's 30-12 rout of Virginia Tech. (AP)
No one's happier about the prospect of Notre Dame participating in a BCS bowl game than the BCS itself. (AP)
It looks like Patrick Peterson's family is taking in Honey Badger. (NBC's Pro Football Talk)
The Sandusky scandal reaches two more Penn State officials. (AP)
GOLF
That's a World Golf Championship record for Louis Oosthuizen. (AP)
HOCKEY
What's this? The NHL and NHLPA might resume negotiations? Geez, what's the rush? (CSN Bay Area)
And who needs a federal mediator, anyway? (NBC's Pro Hockey Talk)
Meanwhile, word is the players are encouraging their negotiating committee to get back to the bargaining table. (CSN Philly)
But what's the point? If Don Cherry was a betting man, he'd wager they're not playing this year. (Pro Hockey Talk)
PRO BASKETBALL
What a week for the Thunder. First they lose James Harden, then the Spurs beat them at the buzzer. (AP)
Thanks to Hurricane Sandy, the Knicks didn't get to open the season in Brooklyn last night. Instead, they start at home tonight against LeBron and the Heat. (AP)
Oh, and that Nets-Knicks game? Mark it down on your calendars for Monday, Nov. 26. (AP)
PRO FOOTBALL
Scott Pioli and Romeo Crennel and Matt Cassel and the rest of Patriots Midwest can't be too happy today. (AP)
Chargers to Norv Turner detractors: Take that! (NBC's Pro Football Talk)
Andy Reid has no idea, none whatsoever, where anyone got the notion he was thinking of benching Michael Vick. (CSN Philly)
The Eagles' woes prompted one of those dreaded players-only meetings. (CSN Philly)
Another bad sign in Philadelphia: Players ripping the fans. (CSN Philly)
Good news for the Redskins: It looks like DeAngelo Hall will be fined, but not suspended, for his dustup with the referees last week. (CSN Washington)
49ers linebacker Aldon Smith appears to have been involved in . . . well, something outside a Mexican restaurant and bar in Columbia, Missouri. Just what, though, ain't exactly clear. (CSN Bay Area)
Hurricane Sandy has turned the Steelers' road game against the Giants Sunday into a day trip. (AP)
In the old days, the team would release a statement saying the operation was a success. Now the player himself informs us that "surgery went well tweeps!!" (AP)
TENNIS
It isn't often a 69th-ranked qualifier escapes match point and beats Andy Murray, but you'd have seen just that if you were in Paris yesterday. (AP)