When he stands on an NFL sideline for 16 Sundays and a few more each year, Bill Belichick is an undisputed master, with a single-minded and cerebral approach that helped him win three Super Bowls during what might still be a Hall of Fame career.It’s everywhere else that he’s had trouble.

The New England coach tried again Friday to move on from the sideline spying scandal in which he was fined $500,000 and ordered to forfeit a top draft choice — the latest misstep in a year of distractions for the coach who preaches about avoiding them.

“It’s over, and we’re moving on,” Belichick said. “Right now, all of my energy and focus and attention is on the San Diego Chargers and our game Sunday night. So, that’s where we’re at.”

The Chicago Cubs used a simple formula to regain the NL Central lead Thursday night. If only they can follow it in St. Louis this weekend.Steve Trachsel earned his first win with the Cubs in eight years and Chicago hit four home runs in a 6-2 victory over the Houston Astros.

Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez, Daryle Ward and Cliff Floyd all homered for Chicago, which moved a half-game ahead of idle Milwaukee in the division race. The Cubs open a four-game series at third-place St. Louis on Friday night.

“It doesn’t matter if you hit 10 home runs every day,” Ramirez said. “If you don’t pitch and if you don’t play defense, you’re not going to win games. You’ve got to do everything right. Everybody has got to do their job for us to be able to win games.”

Rich Hill allowed three hits over seven innings and the Cubs moved into a tie with Milwaukee for the NL Central lead with a 3-2 victory over the Houston Astros on Wednesday night.

Hill (9-8) struck out seven and walked three as the Cubs won for the third time in seven games and snapped a four-game losing streak at Minute Maid Park. They entered the day one game behind the Brewers, who lost 7-4 at Pittsburgh.

“This type of game really should get us on a roll,” Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. “You have to think that the worm has turned. You’ve got to start feeling like things are going to go your way.”

Ryan Dempster, who lost Tuesday’s game in the 11th inning when he gave up a walkoff triple, earned his 26th save in 29 chances despite allowing a run in the ninth inning.

Ozzie Guillen took the White Sox to a World Series championship two years ago. Now he’s trying to keep them from having the worst record in the major leagues.Sounds like a strange time to give him a new contract, but that’s what the team did Tuesday when it announced Guillen had agreed to an extension through the 2012 season. Guillen’s previous deal ran through next year, with a club option for 2009.

“The problems that we are having right now, I simply do not believe that they are problems that are with our coaching staff or with our manager,” general manager Ken Williams said, calling the contract extension an easy decision.

“I already said previously that I put all that weight on my shoulders. I’m the one that has to put them in a better position to win baseball games and that means going out and making the necessary adjustments to get this team where we are better and get guys back up to their normal level of production.”

Williams said he wanted the players, Guillen and the fans to know that the White Sox — who had 99- and 90-win seasons before this year’s debacle — would engage in an offseason plan to ensure there would not be a repeat of this year’s record.

The Chicago Cubs know they can’t waste too many more chances like this.Luke Scott tripled home the winning run in the 11th inning and the Houston Astros dropped the Cubs out of a tie for the NL Central lead, beating Chicago 5-4 Tuesday night.

Chicago blew a 4-1 lead, stranded 15 runners and squandered a bases-loaded threat in the 11th. The Cubs have lost four of six and fell one game behind Milwaukee, which beat Pittsburgh 6-1.

“We had some opportunities and didn’t get it done,” Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee said. “That’s a tough one to swallow.”

The Chicago Bears‘ season-opening loss to the San Diego Chargers got a lot worse one day later.The Bears on Monday placed free safety Mike Brown and defensive tackle Dusty Dvoracek on injured reserve. Both suffered ruptures of the anterior cruciate ligament in Sunday’s 14-3 defeat in San Diego.

Brown, who is the Bears’ all-time leader with seven career defensive touchdowns, suffered his third season-ending injury in four seasons.

Chicago got 17 hits during a one-game stopover at Wrigley Field, helping Ted Lilly win his 15th game and beating the St. Louis Cardinals 12-3.

“It is weird,” said Aramis Ramirez, who homered twice and had four hits. “We were supposed to be in Houston having a day off today, and we’re here playing a game in Chicago.”

Ramirez wasn’t complaining, just happy to see his teammates join him in a rare offensive outburst.

“We struggled the last couple of weeks to put runs on the board and we lost a couple of tough games,” Ramirez said. “It’s fun when everybody is getting their hits, for personal reasons and for the team.”

 The San Diego Chargers didn’t look like world-beaters. Against Rex Grossman and the bumbling Chicago Bears, they didn’t have to.

LaDainian Tomlinson and the Chargers finally took control of a sloppy season opener, with the reigning NFL MVP throwing for one touchdown and rushing for another in a 14-3 win over the defending NFC champion Bears.

With expectations high for both teams, it was far from the marquee matchup that hyped-up fans expected. And if it was a Super Bowl preview, well, imagine how bad the ratings would be.

“I told the guys that they were going to make a mistake somewhere and when they did it was our job to capitalize on it,” Tomlinson said.

The Bears, who topped the NFC last year at 13-3 before losing in the Super Bowl to Indianapolis, were nothing short of brutal with four turnovers and their fewest points since a 22-3 loss at Jacksonville on Dec. 12, 2004, during Lovie Smith’s first season as head coach. Two of the turnovers set up the game’s only touchdowns.