Here's your wakeup call -- a combination of newsworthy andor interesting tidbits -- for Monday, November 19:
AUTO RACING
Ladies and gentlemen, your Sprint Cup champion for 2012: Brad Keselowski. (AP)
Dodge sure left NASCAR in style. (AP)
This week, the only fight between Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer was for first place. (AP)
BASEBALL
Zack Greinke may be staying in Los Angeles. Only it's the real version, not the ersatz "of Anaheim" kind. (NBC's Hardball Talk)
Hiroki Kuroda has apparently narrowed his choices to the Yankees or Japan. (Hardball Talk)
And Juan Pierre has narrowed his to the Marlins, of all teams. (AP)
I guess times are tough: No one wanted to bid 258,600 for Pete Rose's copy of the 1990 agreement in which he accepted a lifetime ban from baseball. (AP)
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Whoa. Maybe it is a new era at UConn, after all. And not in a good way. (AP)
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
After a weekend of upsets, the only thing standing between Notre Dame and a berth in the BCS championship game is Saturday's trip to USC. (AP)
And Brian Kelly likes what he's hearing -- or not hearing -- out of his troops. (CSN Chicago)
When the Trojans take the field Saturday, they'll have the hopes of Oregon, Kansas State and countless other BCS wannabes with them. (Like Georgia.) But they won't have starting quarterback Matt Barkley, who'll miss the game because of a strained right shoulder. (AP)
No surprise here: Tennessee fires coach Derek Dooley. (AP)
GOLF
Rory McIlroy says he wants to lighten the load in 2013. (AP)
HOCKEY
So much for the two weeks off: Labor talks resume today. (AP)
But Sportsnet's John Shannon doesn't expect anything except more "rhetoric and posturing" since, as he puts it, "There is nothing to indicate that either side has had an epiphany." (NBC's Pro Hockey Talk)
The AHL owners are probably saying, "What's the rush? Stay out longer!" (Pro Hockey Talk)
Whenever they do return, it'll probably be without Senators defenseman Jared Cowen; he underwent surgery for a torn labrum in his hip Saturday and will be sidelined six to eight months. Of course, if the lockout wipes out the season, he might not miss anything. (AP)
The danger of playing in Europe during the lockout is that you might get hurt there . . . like the Capitals' Brooks Laich. (CSN Washington)
PRO BASKETBALL
Coach 'Sheed?? Just when you think you've heard it all . . . (NBC's Pro Basketball Talk)
Hard to believe Kevin Durant never had a triple-double before last night. (AP)
They're old hat to Kobe Bryant, though. (AP)
It's tough enough staying healthy on the basketball courts of America. But Andrew Bynum couldn't survive its bowling alleys. (CSN Philly)
This is seven knee surgeries, and counting, for Brandon Roy. (Pro Basketball Talk)
PRO FOOTBALL
To quote Peter Gammons, Byron Leftwich me no Byron Leftwich: It was a win in Pittsburgh, and the Ravens will take it. (AP)
The Steelers hope -- or pray, if last night's any indication -- Ben Roethlisberger will be back when they have their rematch with Baltimore in two weeks. (NBC's Pro Football Talk)
And hapless Cleveland Browns me no hapless Cleveland Browns: It was a win, period, and the Cowboys will take it. (AP)
If you can't beat 'em one way, beat 'em another. Right, Texans? (CSN Houston)
It helps if your quarterback throws for 527 yards . . . especially when he's never come close to anything like that in the past. (CSN Houston)
Bart Scott's media mutiny didn't last long, as calmer -- i.e., saner -- heads prevailed. (Pro Football Talk)
Matty Ice's five picks couldn't stop the Falcons from beating Arizona. (AP)
TENNIS
The Czech Republic wins its first Davis Cup -- as an independent nation, that is -- with a 3-2 victory over Spain. (AP)
Sexual abuse charges have cost Bob Hewitt his spot in the Tennis Hall of Fame. (AP)
What do retired tennis stars do with themselves when their playing days are over? If they're Chris Evert, Lindsay Davenport and Justin Gimelstob, they make guest appearances on 'CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'. (AP)