By Steve Rhodes
“Working the phones Tuesday night, I learned some interesting nuggets regarding the Chicago Cubs pursuit of Boston GM Theo Epstein and why he would consider leaving his post as the head of baseball operations in his hometown for a team that hasn’t tasted a championship since 1908,” David Kaplan writes for CSNChicago.
“First, and foremost is Epstein’s interest in a new challenge in his professional life and the lure of ending the longest championship drought in sports history is proving to be a tremendous magnet in attracting him to the Cubs. Second, is Epstein’s quickly blossoming relationship with Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts.
“Sources tell us that Ricketts laid out his plan to Epstein and offered him near total authority on baseball decisions with no one to answer to other than the Ricketts family themselves.”
Finally, Tom Ricketts does something right. Epstein certainly wasn’t perfect in Boston, but he is the kind of hire who can actually transform this franchise in a way that is always promised and never seen.
Just don’t give up Starlin Castro – or even Matt Garza – as compensation. That makes no sense whatsoever.
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And good for Boston too. Now they need to clean house.
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As for the White Sox, well, if Robin Ventura wasn’t so popular and respected as a player, the WTF factor would be ten times as loud. And the way he was perceived as a player shouldn’t enter into it.
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St. Louis Post-Dispatch: “Cubs Woo Epstein; Threaten To Win.”
Weezer Bassist
“A memorial service originally planned this weekend for the former bassist of the rock band Weezer has been postponed, his family said,” CNN reports.
“Mikey Welsh, 40, was found dead last Saturday . . . In a Twitter post September 26, Welsh had eerily foreshadowed his death.
“‘dreamt i died in chicago next weekend (heart attack in my sleep). need to write my will today,’ he wrote. Later that day, he posted another tweet that read, ‘correction – the weekend after next.’
“Darryl Baety, a Chicago police spokesman, said Sunday that officers responded at 1:45 p.m. Saturday to a call from the Raffaello Hotel regarding a guest who had been scheduled to check out, but had not.”
Rock and Roll Days Inn
But ugh.
Second City
“The largest chocolate bar in the world has been made in Derbyshire,” the BBC reports.
“The giant bar, weighing almost six tonnes, was created by confectionary firm Thorntons to mark its centenary.
“Guinness World Records confirmed the huge bar had beaten the previous record set by a Chicago chocolate maker in September.”
World Class
“A Kuwaiti woman, maddened after she was attacked by an unknown man while returning home in the Gulf emirate, decided to take it out on the police,” Emirates 24/7 reports.
“‘Where do you think you are . . . in Chicago?’ the woman yelled at the policemen at their center in the capital Kuwait City.”
Gacy’s Secrets
“More than 30 years after a collection of skeletal remains was found beneath John Wayne Gacy’s house, detectives have secretly exhumed bones of eight young men who were never identified in hopes of answering a final question: Who were they?” AP reports.
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See also: The One Thing John Wayne Gacy Would Never Admit
Occupation Update
The Hyatt ain’t kosher and Bank of America is trashy.
Occupy Kid Rock
“The 40-year-old, who has helped his hometown of Detroit recover from economic disaster, will perform in 10 small-scale venues and will donate the money to area causes through the Kid Rock Foundation,” the National Ledger reports.
“The tour begins in New York on November 16 and will hit Buffalo, Indianapolis, Nashville, Chicago, Kansas City, Denver, Magna, Boise and Spokane.”
Ewwww!
“Lice outbreaks common, harmless, experts say,” the Tribune reports. “Stigma often worse than the parasites, school officials say.”
Really? Ewwww!
“‘I freaked out a little,’ Karen Crotty, 41, said, adding that she examined her daughter’s scalp after learning about a recent outbreak in her daughter’s fourth-grade class in Lombard. ‘There were bugs living on my daughter’s head.'”
Bear Market
“The Vikings are 1-9 in their past 10 trips to Illinois. However, if you watched the mess that the Bears have suddenly become, one has to think the Vikings present a problem for Chicago,” Mark Craig writes for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
“Actually, two problems. The Vikings can run the ball. And the Vikings can rush the passer. The Bears spent Monday night’s loss in Detroit completely unable to stop the run and pass protect.
“Jay Cutler basically starts running for his life the second the ball is snapped. The only time he’s actually safe behind the line is when the officials blow the whistle for a false start.”
Is Tim Tebow The New Cam Newton?
Our very own Dan O’Shea is all in.
Marathon Delivery
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The Beachwood Tip Line: Post-natal.
Posted on October 12, 2011