SID's JOTTINGS

• Gophers defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys is one of 40 coaches nominated for the Broyles Award, given to the best assistant coach in college football.

• The leaky Bears defense might be improved Sunday by the presence of defensive tackles Jeremiah Ratliff, the former Cowboys Pro Bowl player who was signed by Chicago Nov. 4 and will be playing for the first time in more than a year, and Stephen Paea, who has been sidelined because of a toe problem.

• Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Paul Martin suffered a broken leg that will knock him out four to six weeks and possibly jeopardize a spot on the U.S. Olympic team. It's the latest bit of bad luck for the former Gophers standout, who missed the 2010 Olympics because of a broken arm. "That's been my biggest disappointment as an athlete, to this point," Martin said earlier this year, according to the Sporting News. "It took a long time for me to accept the fact that I wasn't going."

• Former Vikings center Matt Birk had an interesting interview with the Baltimore Ravens website where the 15-year NFL veteran, who retired after the Super Bowl, said that even if he had known about the long-term effects of concussions early in his career, he still would have kept playing. "If I was in my second year in the NFL and all these studies came out and said you're at higher risk for CTE or ALS or Alzheimer's by playing football, I would have just filed that away and kept playing," he said. "We're all called to do something in our lives. You've got to live your life."

• The Colorado Rockies appear to be very interested in former Twins first baseman Justin Morneau, the Denver Post reported, calling him "their primary target." Morneau would rejoin former Twins teammate Michael Cuddyer with Colorado, and fill a void at first base left by the retired Todd Helton.