Chicago -
By Jim Coffman and Steve Rhodes
Excuses exhausted. Plus: Patrick Mannelly Great Ever; The St. Louis Bores; Astros Series Asinine; Defining Darvish Down; Contreras Can’t Catch; The Dooche; Justin Verlander Reminds Us He Wanted To Be A Cub; The Cubs’ Bill Buckner; White Sox Wild?; Burton’s Boo-Boo; Stanley Cup Finals Moves To Nation’s Most Boring City; and Why You Should Both Love Steve Kerr And Root For The Raptors.
Posted on May 31, 2019
By The American Hearing Impaired Hockey Association
Founded in 1973 by National Hockey League Hall of Fame member Stan Mikita and Chicago businessman Irv Tiahnybik, the Stan Mikita Hockey School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing-AHIHA is hosting its 46th annual weeklong hockey school for deaf and hard of hearing athletes June 8-15, at the Edge Ice Arena, 735 E. Jefferson St., Bensenville.
The Stan Mikita Hockey School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing-AHIHA is one of the most unique training and development camps for young athletes in the United States. With current and former professional hockey players serving as coaches, the hockey school uses on-ice interpreters to convey instructions and advice to players via sign language.
Posted on May 28, 2019
By Jim Coffman
My primary memory of Bill Buckner was of him lashing the ball down the right field line. It was amazing how many of those beautiful line drives one-hopped the wall near the corner. I felt like practically every time I tuned into a Cubs game in the early ’80s he was good for a double, and was pleased to confirm that he led the National League in two-baggers in both ’81 and ’83.
I will have a little something to say about the rest of his career later on.
Posted on May 28, 2019
By Roger Wallenstein
Call it a mulligan, a take-over, or a re-do. Just don’t call it a rebuild.
While the White Sox have taken one path, the Minnesota Twins – the mighty Twinkies, owners of 101 home runs in their first 50 games – have chosen a different route.
Both teams faced a similar decision after eight seasons of less than mediocre results in which neither ballclub qualified for a post-season berth. Between 2009 and 2016 when the Sox traded Jose Quintana, Chris Sale and Adam Eaton for a stable of prospects, the team finished over .500 just twice and once, in 2013, lost more than 90 games.
Meanwhile, in the eight years leading up to the present campaign, Minnesota also finished over .500 just twice, though they dropped more than 90 games five times.
Interestingly, the year before the rebuild began in 2016, the Sox were 78-84, the exact same record that the Twins posted last season.
However, unlike the White Sox, the Twins didn’t clean house with a host of trades for young prospects. Yet here they are with the best record in baseball after easily sweeping the Sox in the Twin Cities over the weekend, outscoring the local darlings 24-5.
So what happened? Can it be that the Twins have turned things around without so much as contemplating the R-word?
Posted on May 26, 2019
By Jim Coffman and Steve Rhodes
Tales of regress, progress and egress. Including: Jim Coffman Not Here For Ben Zobrist’s Divorce; Addy Is Baddy; Another Sullivan Special; Old School Cubs Lack Velocity; How Albert Almora Jr. Turned His Season Around; Salt’s Sinker; So You’re Saying The White Sox Have A Chance; and Bears Carousel.
Posted on May 24, 2019
Team Beachwood?
“[F]or the first time, the tournament is making its way to the United States, and its first stop is Chicago,” ABC7 Chicago reports.
“The tournament partnered with the Chicago Blackhawks and is hosting the tournament festival at the United Center on June 22-23.”
Posted on May 22, 2019
By Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.
Marquee Sports Network announced Michael McCarthy as general manager Tuesday. As a key member of the network’s senior leadership team, McCarthy will be responsible for driving the success of the Marquee Sports Network, set to launch in February 2020 in partnership with Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.
McCarthy served as president of MSG Network, where he was responsible for revenue and content across all platforms, winning over 75 Emmy Awards and helping launch the careers of nationally known broadcasters such as Mike Breen, Gus Johnson and Doris Burke.
McCarthy also served as vice chairman and CEO of the St. Louis Blues and was the COO of the Milwaukee Bucks. Since last August, McCarthy has served as a consultant to the Chicago Cubs in the evaluation and formation of the Marquee Sports Network launch strategy.
Posted on May 22, 2019
By Jason Bowman/American Poolplayers Association
A Chicago man is $15,000 richer after a recent visit to Sin City. But his good fortune didn’t happen in the casino. Nazario Aguilar won the 2019 APA 8-Ball Classic Pool Championship in early May in Las Vegas.
Aguilar was amongst nearly 6,000 poolplayers throughout North America who attempted to qualify for the American Poolplayers Association’s (APA) 8-Ball Classic. He was one of only 692 who advanced to the national finals at the Westgate Resort & Casino.
Posted on May 21, 2019
By Roger Wallenstein
As of this writing, tonight’s White Sox starting pitcher in Houston against the high-flying Astros will be TBD. Be not alarmed. He can’t be much worse than Ivan Nova was last Friday in a 10-2 loss to Toronto in which Nova lasted all of three innings on a yield of eight earned runs. If you’re keeping score at home, Nova’s ERA mushroomed to 7.42.
Dare we point out that in the unlikely circumstance that Nova could stick around for an entire game, pitching as he does, his teammates would need to score eight or nine runs in order to win. This is not a recipe for a winning ballclub.
Of course, placing great culpability solely on Nova negates the fact that the veteran right-hander has four quality starts in nine tries, and he’s even won a couple. It’s just that when quality is lacking, Rick Renteria’s outfit is buried even before latecomers arrive at the ballpark or turn on their televisions.
Posted on May 20, 2019
By Jim Coffman
Buckle up, Cubs fans.
Sunday saw Javy Baez diving head-first into first base after he hit a first-inning ground ball that didn’t even result in a throw to first. Later on, he twisted his foot and was forced to the bench with swelling in his heel, but the shortstop who has started every game so far said he was absolutely playing the next game. He shouldn’t play the next game. Oh, and a quick reminder – diving into first base is the single stupidest play a baserunner can make, by a lot.
Posted on May 20, 2019
