The [Wednesday] Papers

In January, the Tribune published a giddy story headlined "White Sox Believe Scoreboard Project 'Will Change Game Experience.'"

On Tuesday, the "centerpiece" of the project was unveiled - and the giddy Tribune was there.

But Baseball Prospectus's White Sox correspondent Chris Lamberti has a different, more important take today:

As the White Sox take the field for the home opener this season, new outfield video boards will gleam and sparkle above them, and we will be awed.

The video boards will seem in that moment - in all of their high-definition, altitudinous glory - to be money well spent by the state of Illinois.

But, in that moment, we should also take time to ponder the gift of video boards in the larger context of the politics of state funding for things.

For example, we might ask what kind of world we live in, where we can pay for $7 million worth of state-of-the-art digital technology at the White Sox baseball stadium, but we can't pay for computers in our classrooms?

The answer is that Jerry Reinsdorf has a much better deal with the state than our schools. Illinois ranks lowest among states in education spending, but is near the top in stadium money giveaways (to my knowledge, the Sox still enjoy the cheapest rent in the league).

Moreover, the US Cellular Field lease agreement requires the state pay to replace "any obsolete component of the Stadium with more modern replacements which may in the future become in use in at least seventy-five (75%) percent of Major League Baseball stadiums."

Go read the rest.

*

I don't mean to pick on the Tribune - I'm not sure any other local media really picked up on this angle.

For example, Danny Ecker reported the story this way for Crain's in February:

"The experience of going to a Chicago White Sox game is about to drastically change, and it has nothing to do with what's happening on the field.

"The three massive video boards going up this offseason at U.S. Cellular Field are not just a much-needed upgrade from the antiquated dot matrix boards the publicly owned stadium has sported for more than a decade.

"They're also going to allow the South Siders to showcase sponsors, stats and video, and to interact with fans in real time like never before."

Only at the end of his story did Ecker add that "Chicago taxpayers are to thank for the improvement."

-

Adventures In Tax Avoidance
"The unprecedented leak of millions of documents - known as the Panama Papers - from tax haven law firm Mossack Fonseca prompted me to pick up an old book on my shelf. Written in 1969, Adventures in Tax Avoidance (with 120 Practical Tax Hints) by Peter Clyne presents 'the adventure' of tax avoidance as a game 'played by experts, locked in a perennial battle with the revenue authorities' team of experts.'"

Seemingly related:

BP Can Take Big Tax Deduction On Big Chunk Of Its Oil-Spill Settlement.

-

Zodiac Animal Heads Alert
Ai Weiwei's installation is coming to an end here.

Four Reasons To Watch ONE: GLOBAL RIVALS
"The pressure that comes with being Ben Askren is felt each time 'Funky' steps inside the cage."

-

BeachBook

Obama's Most Dangerous Drone Tactic Is Here To Stay.

*

Union-Hating Retailer Vows To Not Build Store As Long As Obama Is President.

*

United Flight Attendant Uses Evacuation Slide - To Escape Parked Plane.

*

Why Therapists Should Talk Politics.

-

TweetWood
A sampling.

Neolibs: bush's droning was terrible

Progressives: Obama expanded it

Neolibs: you hate Obama 😒

— Benjamin Dixon (@TheBpDShow) April 5, 2016

*

Rename #Chicago neighborhoods if they were underwater: https://t.co/C2EiXuYkVI | #LincolnShark #LoganSpongebobSquarepants

— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) April 6, 2016

*

Power Wars 183-184 @Thomas_Drake1 @BradMossEsq pic.twitter.com/fpHUGZlwLr

— Charlie Savage (@charlie_savage) April 6, 2016

-

The Beachwood Tip Line: Re-authorized.

© 2006 - 2018, The Beachwood Media Company