Kids' Cub conundrum: It's a school night

Bedtime at the Martins' Aurora home is 8:30 p.m. Period.

Not even the Chicago Cubs' playoff berth tonight will change the lights-out rule, mom Ruthann Martin said.

This from a woman with a dog named Wrigley, cats called Clark and Addison and a wedding band engraved "Cubs fans together forever."

"I hate to say it, but school is more important," Martin laughed Tuesday. "I don't even think I'll be able to make it. … Who knows? The adrenaline may be pumping, but I still have to function the next day."

Tonight's 9:07 p.m. opening pitch in the matchup between the Cubs and Arizona Diamondbacks challenges bedtimes across the Chicago region -- for pint-sized fans and fully grown ones, too.

Parents must decide whether to bend the rules or hold firm.

Leslie and John Butler of Oswego will make an exception for the Cubs' October run. So long as homework is done, their three kids will pile onto the couch at 9 p.m.

"Chances are, they won't make it the whole game," Leslie Butler said.

Eleven-year-old Carly Butler -- who auditioned for a chance to sing "Take Me Out To the Ballgame" at Wrigley Field this summer -- needs to be awake, dressed and sitting in class at 7:40 a.m. Still, even if the game goes to extra innings and sees the far side of midnight, she said: "I'll stay up and watch it."

Teachers, meanwhile, brace for sleepy-eyed students who watch the full nine innings.

Elizabeth Riggio expects to drag a bit herself.

The second-grade teacher at Roselle's Nerge Elementary School showered her classroom in Cubs gear. All but two of her 21 students root for the North Side crew. One boy cites player statistics "I don't even know," Riggio said.

Her Cubs-crazed students are in luck. School dismisses early Thursday for parent and teacher conferences. On Friday, class is canceled entirely for additional conferences.

Riggio gets no reprieve.

"I'm going to be tired," Riggio said. "But I'm a big Cubs fan. My whole family is."

She can pin any lethargy on the intricate web of cable network broadcast rights, rules against overlapping games and an East Coast heavy lineup of division series games.

Turner Broadcasting Systems exclusively will air division series playoffs. The East Coast hosts two games: Colorado plays in Philadelphia and the Boston Red Sox face Los Angeles at Fenway Park. The triple-header lineup pushed the Cubs in Arizona into the later time slot.

The good news? Bats start swinging at 5 p.m. Saturday at Wrigley Field for Game 3. If necessary, Game 4 will begin at noon Sunday.

Margaret Boghossihan, of South Elgin, mentions this often to her two sons, both ardent fans, reminding them there will be games they can watch without restriction.

Until then, their 9 p.m. bedtime will not bend to accommodate the Chicago Cubs. At least, not yet. TV rules could change if the boys in blue still are playing later this month.

"That would be history," Boghossihan said. "Ninety-nine years in the making, we might bend the rules then."