Here’s the latest edition of Rant and Rise for October 23, 2012:

San Francisco Giants Advance to World Series 

It took until Game 7 of the NLCS, but the Giants managed to overcome the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday with a 9-0 win to advance to their second World Series in three years. Matt Cain had another solid outing for San Francisco as he pitched 5 2/3 innings while allowing just five hits and Marco Scutaro took home MVP honors after recording 14 hits in the series.

The fact that the Giants managed to go 6-0 when facing elimination games this postseason is impressive and the Detroit Tigers will certainly have their hands full when this series kicks off on Wednesday.

Chicago Bears Top Detroit Lions on Monday Night Football

Once again, the Bears’ defense made another statement that they’re one of the best in the league after limiting Matthew Stafford to just 261 passing yards and one touchdown during their 13-7 win over the Lions on Monday Night Football. For a player that has received plenty of criticism this season, give Jay Cutler credit for the brutal sack he took against Ndamukong Suh in the first half in which he appeared to suffer a serious injury.

With the win, Chicago improved to 5-1 on the year to remain on top of the NFC North.

Charles Woodson Out For Six Weeks 

Bad news for the Green Bay Packers as Woodson is expected to miss six weeks after suffering a broken collarbone against the St. Louis Rams. At 4-3, this was the last thing Green Bay needed to deal with as they look to stay close to Chicago in the NFC North standings.

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