By The National Wrestling Hall Of Fame

The National Wrestling Hall of Fame announced Monday that the Class of 2019 inductees are Distinguished Members Carl Adams, Rich Lorenzo, Brandon Paulson and Townsend Saunders, Meritorious Official David Errett, Order of Merit recipient Dr. David Curby and Medal of Courage recipient James McCloughan. The Hall of Fame will announce its Outstanding American honoree at a later date.
Dr. David Curby helped found and serves as the director of the International Network of Wrestling Researchers, which has more than 500 members in 75 countries, and also serves as the editor of the International Journal of Wrestling Science, the organization’s official publication.
His website, INWR-Wrestling.com, is the world’s foremost website on the scientific aspects of wrestling. The INWR has organized and conducted scientific symposiums at the World Championships since 2010.
Curby, who has compiled a library of more than 2,800 published scientific articles on wrestling, helped found and serves as secretary for United World Wrestling’s Scientific Commission.
He served as executive director of Beat the Streets Chicago and also coaches a youth wrestling club at St. Sabina.

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Posted on October 31, 2018

By Roger Wallenstein

Let me put this in context.
My first job out of journalism school at the University of Iowa was at Hollister Newspapers (later Pioneer Press) covering primarily high school sports on the North Shore. While I no longer go to many games, I’ve always enjoyed prep sports for their unpredictability, excitement, and a freshness and innocence not usually integral at the college or pro level.
Lake Forest, the Scouts, qualified for the state 6A playoffs by rallying to win its final two games for a 5-4 season record. They drew Wendell Phillips High of Bronzeville, the defending 5A state champions, as a first-round opponent Saturday at Gately Stadium on 103rd Street.
I know an junior interior lineman on Lake Forest – his dad is my nephew from a previous marriage. I saw the kid play once as a freshman and an earlier game this season.
And I’ve been curious to see Phillips play ever since their coach Troy McAllister turned them into a powerhouse of the Public League and eventually into state champions. I frequently drive past the school on Pershing Road (39th Street) on my way to be with some wonderful young people who meet on South State Street in a program called Camp of Dreams. I’m president of the board.
I’ve met a couple of Phillips alums and know that the school has an illustrious history beginning in 1904. Nat King Cole went there. So did Gwendolyn Brooks, Herbie Hancock, Dinah Washington, Sam Cooke and a number of athletes who went on to play professionally. Originally the school’s demographic was overwhelmingly white, and Wendell Phillips himself was a white person who was a champion of abolition at the time of the Civil War.
The Great Migration attracted African Americans to Bronzeville, which became a cultural center for black people, and Phillips morphed into a school serving primarily black families. It also fell on hard times, and in 2010 became what is known as a “turnaround” school, meaning CPS basically cleaned house by firing the principal and all the teachers, who then could re-apply with the new administration. Say what you will about this re-do, but the fact of the matter is that Phillips today remains very much in business – as opposed to many schools on the South Side which are shuttered forever.
Suffice it to say that Lake Forest High has never been a “turnaround” school, nor can anyone envision such a scenario.
Which brings us to Saturday.

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Posted on October 30, 2018

By Jim Coffman

If the NFL tries to fine safety Eddie Jackson for the hit that gave the Jets brief life in the second half of Sunday’s business-like 24-10 victory for the Bears, he will have a slam dunk appeal.
After he scurried in from the sideline after making that ridiculous call, you could see the ref mouth the words, “It was over his head.” What he meant was, the ball was clearly uncatchable and therefore he threw the flag for a personal foul.
Small problem for the zebra: the pass in question went right through the receiver’s hands. Jackson was a step-and-a-half away from him when it happened and it was obviously incorrect to penalize him for delivering that hit. It was another lousy call by refs who know the league gets most pissed when they miss roughing penalties.

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Posted on October 29, 2018

By Jim Coffman and Steve Rhodes

It’s special teams, stupid. Plus: Blame Ryan Pace For Setting An Impossible Standard Mitch Trubisky Will Never Meet; Check Back On The Bulls Around Christmas; Corey Crawford Is The Khalil Mack Of The Blackhawks; The Boston Red Sox Are Ridiculous; and Gold Glove Finalists Of Interest.

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Posted on October 27, 2018

By Weird History

“Ten cents for a beer at a baseball game might sound like a dream come true. But the reality of that scenario unfolded on June 4, 1974 during a Major League Baseball game between the Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers. What transpired was a night full of nudity, violence, and total chaos.”

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Posted on October 25, 2018

By Jim Coffman

His name is Chris Tabor.
That is the identity of the Bears’ current special teams coach, otherwise known as this week’s blue-ribbon goat.
It wasn’t just that the Bears gave up two special teams touchdowns on Sunday in a 38-31 loss to the Patriots that in one fell swoop dropped them from first to last in the NFC North. And it wasn’t just that those two scores were obviously the difference in what was otherwise an evenly matched affair.
It was that the Bears were utterly embarrassed on those two plays.

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Posted on October 22, 2018

By Thomas Chambers

Now, we wait.
Play it cool, bide our time. But always alert. On the stakeout for developments big, small, or small that could get big.
As the Breeders’ Cup World Championships fission towards the Nov. 2-3 big blast at Louisville’s Churchill Downs, there’s not a helluva lot an experienced horseplayer can do except calmly keep an eye on things. Mine the increasingly banal conversations for truly unique tidbits that might be said only once. Like, Flicka was sneezing all day Wednesday. Fury had his head down all the way out to the morning jog. Or, Trigger looks like he’s lost weight. Buttermilk looks feisty and on the muscle.

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Posted on October 19, 2018

By Jim Coffman and Steve Rhodes

State of the Bears. Plus: Bulls Season Peaks In First Quarter Of Opener; What’s Up With Corey Crawford And Brandon Saad?; and AL Rules.

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Posted on October 19, 2018

By The Silent Film Channel and Wikipedia

“[Michigan’s] head football coach was Fielding H. Yost. The Wolverines played their home games at Regents Field. The 1903 team compiled a record of 11-0-1 and outscored opponents 565 to 6. The only points allowed came on a touchdown in a 6-6 tie with Minnesota. All eleven wins were shutouts. The 1903 Michigan team was the third of Yost’s ‘Point-a-Minute’ teams and has been recognized retrospectively as a co-national champion by the National Championship Foundation,” according to Wikipedia.
“Michigan concluded the 1903 season with its traditional rivalry game in Chicago against Amos Alonzo Stagg’s Chicago Maroons. The New York Times reported that the game was attended by a record-setting crowd: ‘All records for attendance were broken, fully 20,000 enthusiastic spectators braving a heavy snowfall to see the game.’ Another account placed the attendance at 15,000. The Michigan Alumnus noted that Michigan men regarded Chicago as ‘their dearest rival,’ and the Thanksgiving Day game at Marshall Field marked the culmination of the season.”

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Posted on October 18, 2018

By Jim Coffman

This one is on the defense. It isn’t even close.
Yes, the offense had two brutal red-zone turnovers and another killer fumble late in regulation of the Bears’ 31-28 loss to the Dolphins. And yes, Matt Nagy did some strange things at the end of the Bears’ final possession.
Oh, and the refs sucked, what with the “Brushing the Passer” (thank you, Steve) call on Leonard Floyd and the infuriatingly ridiculous offensive pass interference on Trey Burton in the end zone. The zebras capped it all off with a crushing unwillingness to flag obvious holding down the stretch as Dolphins obviously grabbed Bear pass-rushers Khalil Mack continuously and Aaron Lynch on one huge play in particular.
But this was a supposed better-than-average defense against a back-up quarterback with limited arm strength. And that unit stunk it up all day long. Just like the Packers game when the Bears completely failed to take advantage of a hobbled Aaron Rodgers, Vic Fangio’s unit failed to take advantage of an obvious, extended mismatch.

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Posted on October 15, 2018