Here's your wakeup call -- a combination of newsworthy andor interesting tidbits -- for Wednesday, November 21:
AUTO RACING
Danica Patrick is divorcing her husband of seven years. (AP)
BASEBALL
The Stephen Drew-to-the-Red Sox rumor just won't die. (NBC's Hardball Talk)
Sox killer Robert Andino is on his way to Seattle. (AP)
Buck Showalter calls losing Andino "a tug on my heart". (CSN Baltimore)
If anybody's interested in Chone Figgins, he's available. (AP)
Old friend DeMarlo Hale may turn up in Toronto as bench coach. (CSN Baltimore)
Hiroki Kuroda got a short-on-time, big-on-money contract to stay with the Yankees. (AP)
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
The Big East takes another hit, as Rutgers bolts for the Big Ten. (AP)
And the exodus may not be over, as the ACC apparently is targeting UConn, Louisville, South Florida or Cincinnati as potential replacements for Maryland. (CSN Philly)
Yet more woes for the Big East: One of its teams gets knocked off -- at home, no less -- by an Ivy League school. (CSN Philly)
At least one of its football-only members isn't going anywhere . . . despite rumors to the contrary. (AP)
Some vacation: No. 9 North Carolina went all the way to Hawaii to lose to unranked Butler. (AP)
No. 1 Indiana needed overtime to pull one out over Georgetown. (AP)
The Hoyas have been contacted by Florida about finishing the game that started on the USS Bataan, which was called at halftime -- with the Gators leading, 27-23 -- because of condensation on the court. (AP)
Georgia women's coach Andy Landers recorded his 800th career victory. (AP)
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Well, well. The Notre Dame-USC game just got a little more interesting. (NBC's College Football Talk)
After 11 years as head coach, Jeff Tedford's out at Cal. (AP)
The Bears better not send any alumni solicitation letters to Aaron Rodgers in the wake of Tedford's firing. (NBC's Pro Football Talk)
UTEP's Mike Price is calling it quits, ending his 31-year head-coaching career. (CSN Houston)
Maryland is barely competitive in the ACC, so how does it expect to survive in the Big Ten? But coach Randy Edsall insists that with "what we're building here and the depth we're creating, there's no doubt we will be able to compete and do well". (AP)
If President Obama can pardon turkeys, why not Ohio State? (College Football Talk)
GOLF
Rory McIlroy will break Tiger Woods' record for earnings in a single season if he wins the season-ending Dubai World Championship. (AP)
Looks like the belly putter is on the way out . . . much to Paul Azinger's dismay. (AP)
HOCKEY
Yeah, they're going to meet again today. No, no one expects much to come of it. (AP)
While things look bleak at the moment, a deal could be struck if the NHL moves on contracting rights and the NHLPA moves on economics. (NBC's Pro Hockey Talk)
The players have stood firm so far throughout this dispute. But if they don't bend a little on the escrow issue, they may not play this season. (CSN Washington)
Believe it or not, there have been some agreements in the talks so far. (Pro Hockey Talk)
PRO BASKETBALL
The Mike D'Antoni Era in L.A. begins with a victory. (AP)
It's been a month since his knee surgery and Dirk Nowitzki still has no idea when he'll play again. (AP)
PRO FOOTBALL
Turns out Ed Reed won't have to sit out a game after all, but he's still not sure why he was suspended in the first place. (CSN Baltimore)
Tim Dobbins and the Texans didn't agree with the 30,000 fine Dobbins received for the hit that caused Jay Cutler's concussion. Turns out Cutler didn't agree with it, either. (CSN Chicago)
Cutler says he's "as normal as can be", but still has some "hoops to jump through" -- medically speaking, that is -- before he'll be cleared to play. (AP)
Ben Roethlisberger won't play this weekend, but the Steelers are "encouraged about his status" . . . whatever that means. (NBC's Pro Football Talk)
Whenever Roethlisberger returns, he'll have a newold target to throw to. (AP)
Jim Harbaugh skipped his day-after-game conference call with the media to visit his heart doctor for a follow-up evaluation on the procedure he underwent last week. (CSN Bay Area)
Yet another case of not checking those darn ingredients of an over-the-counter medication -- or so says his agent -- has resulted in a four-game PED suspension for Seahawks rookie Winston Guy. (AP)
Down in Miami, one ex-Patriot, Jabar Gaffney, is out, and another ex-Patriot, Kyle Miller, is in. (AP)
TENNIS
Rafael Nadal, who's been sidelined since Wimbledon because of a knee injury, is targeting the Australian Open for his return. (AP)