BEARING DOWN: Rams countdown to St. Louis:...

BEARING DOWN: Rams countdown to St. Louis: Two games left? The Rams--hurting statistically on both offense and defense--are trying to break a five-game losing streak against the Bears in Chicago today (C11) . . . Actually, some in Los Angeles may want the Bears to play well. A Chicago baking company donates one case of brownies for each Bear touchdown to a different children’s hospital each week. This week’s recipient is L.A.’s Childrens Hospital.

SKIPPING TOWN? Somebody forgot to tell the whales that Orange County isn’t a popular place right now. Whale-watching season is on, and ocean buffs have seen more than one whale each of the last few days lumbering down the coast in search of Baja’s warmer waters. . . . Dana Point Sportfishing has started daily whale boat runs at 10, noon, and 2 ($12 adults, $7 for small children). Newport Landing Sportfishing starts whale runs Dec. 26.

REINVENTING NATURE: You can’t build a house in a hollowed-out rock--like architect Brion S. Jeannette is doing at Aliso Beach (E1)--without facing a few problems. Such as: replanting the original coastal sage scrub on top of the rock at the project’s finish. . . . Says Jeannette, who must duplicate the rock’s original drainage pattern: “If our drainage retains too much rain water, the plants will grow too much and the rock will look like a Chia pet.”

SANTA IN SYDNEY: When do you send your kids away for Christmas? When they have a chance to spend the holidays playing baseball in Australia. Seattle Mariners scout Myron Pines, who lives and teaches in Garden Grove, is taking a group of 30 teen-age boys to Australia this week for an 18-and-under tournament. . . . Each is paying his own way. Pines, who hopes he has enough adult escorts, suggests: “With it being Christmas, we think the boys will probably be on pretty good behavior. They’re all certainly excited.”

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Pre-St. Louis Blues

Some seasonal average stats tell the story of the Rams’ 4-10 record so far. Out of 28 teams, they rank:

PER-GAME OFFENSE Rushing: 24th Passing: 15th Points: 21st ****

PER-GAME DEFENSE First downs surrendered: 28th Stopping punt returns: 28th Holding on third down: 26th Source: Los Angeles Rams