The Bears are 4-6 this season and are 1-3 against the Vikings since they lost the Super Bowl XLI in 2007. They lost to the Eagles 24-21 in their last home game.

But if you check with Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway and defensive end Jared Allen, the Vikings expect a tough game Sunday at the Metrodome.

"You know, records don't seem to mean anything this time of the year," said Allen, who had 4 1/2 sacks against the Bears last season. "It's Bears versus Vikings, that's all that matters. They're going to come in and we're going to get their best, and we're going to have to come with our best."

Allen made it clear that this isn't like playing the Lions.

"You know what? Anything can happen on any day, but I think as long as we take the right mindset and we approach it, this isn't going to be a game where we're going to be lax," he said. "This isn't like you're going to Detroit overlooking an 0-and-whatever Detroit at the time; this is a game we're going to prepare for and we're going to prepare hard for."

Greenway, who like Allen is having a fantastic season, agrees with Allen.

"We're just treating it like a one-game season," said the former Iowa star. "You have to do that. At this point we're sitting at 9-1 and they're sitting, I think they're 4-6. It doesn't really matter.

"We know they're going to come in here and try to win this one game regardless of what the situation is; as far as records, you've got to throw it out. They're going to come in and play a tough game. They always play us tough, so if we go in with the attitude that we just want to win this one and not look ahead, we'll be OK.

"They have good players, there's no doubt about that. You can say that every week in the NFL, and you can continue to say it this week.

"Yeah, I mean our run defense hasn't been as good as it has been the last few years, so we've tried to continue to work on that, and I feel like it's become a strength again for us. The biggest thing is, you want to prevent the big plays down the field and you don't want [them to throw] over the top."

Yes, I agree with Allen and Greenway. Childress is 3-3 overall against the Bears, and with the bad year they are having and people calling for coach Lovie Smith's job, a victory over the Vikings would do a good job of clearing the air for them.

Studwell honored Scott Studwell, one of the great all-time Vikings linebackers and now doing a fantastic job in making sure the team drafts the right players, will be honored today when he will enter the Vikings Ring of Honor.

"He was a low draft choice," recalled Bud Grant, who was the Vikings coach when Studwell was drafted ninth out of Illinois in 1977.

"When we drafted him, I kept looking at his statistics, and he had a lot tackles. I kept asking our scouts what about this guy, and they said, 'He isn't big enough to play.' But two things that stood out were that he played every game, never missed any with injuries, and led the team in tackles. He had an enormous amount of tackles. Anybody that can play every down and make that many tackles has to be worth something."

Studwell not only is the all-time Vikings leader in tackles, but his total of 1,981 is, unofficially, the most in the NFL.

"We finally did draft him, and it was one of the best drafts we ever made," Grant said. "He was outstanding. He played with Jeff Siemon here, and he took over and had an outstanding career. He was a very durable, durable player. My kind of player."

Studwell's reaction to the honor: "Extremely humbled, very flattered, and very appreciative of the opportunity that this organization has given me for the last 33 years."

Nobody deserves the honor more this guy, who will go down as one of the great contributors to the Vikings as a player and now an executive.

Jottings The Twins season ticket base stands at 18,500 full season-ticket equivalents (FSE) as the team remains on pace to surpass the 20,000 mark for the 2010 season. The club's previous season ticket record was 11,000 FSEs during the 2009 season. The payment deadline for current Twins season-ticket holders is Dec. 11. ... The Twins and M.A. Mortenson Co., the lead contractor for Target Field, continue to discuss the timetable for the stadium's completion. It now appears that the ballpark could essentially be completed on or around Jan. 1 -- more than two months ahead of schedule. The Twins front office plans to move from the Metrodome in late December and commence business operations at Target Field on Jan. 4. ... The Twins are working with the Minneapolis to rename a portion of 3rd Avenue N. near Target Field to Twins Way. ... The Twins-Cardinals exhibition games -- scheduled for next April 2-3 -- will feature a matchup of baseball's reigning MVPs: Twins catcher Joe Mauer and Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols.

Single-game seats to the Twins inaugural season at Target Field are scheduled to go on sale March 13.

Ray Hitchcock, the former Gophers and Redskins center and now the offensive line coach at Cretin-Derham Hall, winner of the Class 5A state football championship game over Eden Prairie, watched son Brooks Hitchcock catch a touchdown pass and account for 152 yards of the 216 passing yards by Raiders quarterback Mark Alt. Alt, who Hitchock said played with a broken collarbone, has committed to the Gophers hockey program as a sophomore. But he now has a lot of opportunities in football, according to his father, John Alt, the former Pro Bowl offensive tackle who played for the Kansas City Chiefs. John Alt said that, 30 years ago, he played on a Columbia Heights team that beat Richfield 8-3 in the state Class 2A championship game played at Parade Stadium.

Seantrel Henderson, the Cretin-Derham Hall lineman who is ranked by many as the top football recruit in the country, said the Gophers are still on his list. He will visit Southern California and Florida in the near future.

Gophers receiver Eric Decker and offensive lineman Jeff Tow-Arnett were named CoSida Academic All-District. You need a 3.3 grade-point average, and both are eligible for Academic All-America accolades. They will be on the national ballot for that distinction. Decker has graduated, and Tow-Arnett is on track to graduate next month.

Sid Hartman can be heard weekdays on WCCO AM-830 at 6:40, 7:40 and 8:40 a.m. • shartman@startribune.com