Chicago - A message from the station manager

TrackNotes: The Meaning Of The Million

By Thomas Chambers

I paid my annual visit to Arlington Park on Saturday for the 35th Arlington Million, but for those of you who gang TrackNotes and consistency in the same sentence, I did not Metra up there. Thank the magic of television, which turned out to be a real trip itself.
I’d finished setting up the new Forbidden Fruit BozoPuter which, I’ll tell you, becomes real murder when you can’t remember or find your WiFi password. I should at least get some free DeVry credit.
Ready for HORSE racing, NBCSportsNet pops on with B-level NASCAR road racing from Pocono. Rant as I did, we have to swallow the fact the ponies don’t have the clout for a no-preemption clause if things run late somewhere else.
And don’t forget, Churchill Downs Inc. didn’t care and Arlington had no pull, so The Million had been relegated to local WGN-Channel 9 in some sort of time-buy deal for a number of years previous to the 2017 jump to NBC. We suffered through Dan Roan, Rich King and AP shill Howard Sudberry for what can be called Chicago’s Very Own Dark Ages. “For those of you new to the game, this is a horse,” we often heard.

Read More

Posted on August 15, 2017

SportsMonday: The Kid Is In The Picture

By Jim Coffman

I will go to my grave believing that Ryan Pace ridiculously overpaid to move up a spot and take Mitch Trubisky at the draft a few months ago. And to all the people who say “It won’t matter if he turns into a star,” well, get back to me after the Bears have an injury or two this year and are exposed as having no quality depth at virtually any position.
Oh and while we’re here, they still don’t have good enough starters at multiple positions in the defensive backfield, receiver, linebacker . . . you hear what I’m saying. The Bears overpaid because Pace got paranoid and they will pay a price for it, this year and beyond. And there is a great chance that the Bears’ myriad weaknesses will impact the speed at which Trubisky can develop.
But hey, the kid looks like he can play!

Read More

Posted on August 14, 2017

South Side ‘Stros

By Roger Wallenstein

We love underdogs. Especially when they’re right in our backyard on the South Side. Watching the White Sox, the American League’s worst team, sweep the league’s top ballclub, the Houston Astros, in three games last week was a welcome antidote for the losses that have been piling up in near-record fashion.
Houston invaded with a 71-40 record, while Rick Renteria’s outfit crawled along at 41-68. Only the Phillies and Giants have performed worse than the Sox this season. Nevertheless, the Sox won all three games with a combination of timely hitting, improved defense, and strong starting pitching, a commodity lacking in availability this season.

Read More

Posted on August 14, 2017

SportsMonday: The Cubs Are Back – To Shaky

By Jim Coffman

Willson Contreras is good enough to play a big role in the Cubs doing some damage in the 2017 playoffs. The rest of the team – not so much.
Sunday’s 9-4 loss to the Nationals, the one that gave the squad from the District a 2-1 series win and wrapped up the Cubs’ 2-4 failure of a homestand, showed again that Contreras can raise his game and do big things against big-time opponents. He bashed two more home runs on Sunday, giving him 10 since the All-Star break (and 21 overall).
It would be great if at least one teammate would start to significantly raise his game as well.

Read More

Posted on August 7, 2017

Exit Velocity

By Roger Wallenstein

Kids really do have it tough these days. Much tougher than we had it.
All we had to do was memorize batting averages, RBIs, home runs, pitching won-loss records and ERAs. If anyone wanted to know what Nellie Fox was hitting, we could immediately answer. Was Maris going to break Ruth’s record? We had the up-to-the-minute information. Was it possible that Denny McLain could win 30 games? We were the guys to ask.
The kids I hung out with, for the most part, struggled with the Periodic Table, but we sure knew how close Ted Williams was to .400.
Pity the youngsters of today. They are deluged with Batting Average on Balls in Play (BABIP), slash lines, Rbat (runs batting), Rfield (runs from fielding), and WHIP. We thought WAR meant the Russians were going to nuke us. Kids today ponder the real meaning of WAR: wins above replacement.
Baseball has always been a statistical smorgasbord, but the sabermetricians have gone slightly nuts.

Read More

Posted on August 7, 2017

Letting Our Boys Onto The Football Field Is A Losing Play

By Andre Perry/The Hechinger Report

As a former athlete in high school and college, I thought sports would play more of a role in my relationship with my son.
Athletics provided the father that I didn’t have. The daily routine of going to practice didn’t just enhance my physical abilities; I had a structured place to go when school wasn’t in session. Sports taught me how to communicate with others, especially with other boys, and instilled an appreciation of fitness that has stayed with me to this day. I learned the values of teamwork, loyalty and preparation with every practice and drill I completed, with every mile I ran. And where I’m from, it’s much better to learn courage on the field than in the street.
I played basketball and football, did track and field. Football in particular taught me how to overcome obstacles much larger than my diminutive frame could initially handle. It was coaches more than my guidance counselors who paved the way for me to go to college.
But I won’t allow my son to play football.

Read More

Posted on August 3, 2017

Leveling The Playing Field For Women

By Louise Mansfield, Belinda Wheaton, Jayne Caudwell and Rebecca Watson/The Conversation

Female athletes and leaders are undeniably more visible and increasingly successful in sport – putting in incredible performances both on and off the field.
But these achievements still occur in a male-defined sport sector where female stars have to tackle marginalization and sexualization of their sporting performance and leadership skills.
Recent research also suggests that coverage of women’s sports has actually become more sexist over the past four years – making it clear that in the current age, everyday sexism characterizes the culture of sport.

Read More

Posted on August 2, 2017

1 2