A sports blog by and for Midwest Sports Fans
Contrary to popular, frustrated belief, there is a reason to go to a baseball game in Chicago! Not surprisingly, it has nothing to do with the city’s two underachieving teams.
It’s a young buck known (at least on YouTube) as “Little Drummer Boy”. From the name, you can probably guess what the kid’s skill is, but you have to watch he and his pops perform to truly appreciate their ability to entertain.
Fittingly, in a city with more than enough one-way streets, Illinois and Northwestern will be playing one-way football this Saturday in a scenario never seen before in the NCAA.
A kind MSF reader, Susan York, passed along a tip to her blog where she posted pictures from her visit to Wrigley Field on the Cubs’ home Opening Day yesterday.
After a rough 2-4 start in six road games to open the season, the Cubs beat the Brewers 9-5 yesterday.
Susan did some nice camera work, so I thought I’d post the pictures here for your enjoyment.
This is awesome.
Much thanks to YouTube user rairjordan and a big hat tip to the fine folks over at Mouthpiece Sports for this incredible trip down memory lane today. I loved it so much I wanted to share it with you all here at MSF.
Michael Jordan. The White Sox. The Cubs. Wrigley Field. Harry Caray. Jordan getting two hits and a couple of RBI. (Video after the jump.)
That’s right, you read the headline correctly. Two organizations defined by their tradition of perpetual sucking losing are in talks to merge their “lovable” losing together.Â
Apparently Northwestern is attempting to schedule a football game or two at Wrigley Field during the 2010 and 2011 seasons. Naturally, the proposed opponent for the game appears to be the Illinois Fighting Illini and their water-skiiing maniac of a coach Ron Zook.
Zook Eyes Game at Wrigley Field – (ESPN Chicago)
Zook, appearing on the “Waddle and Silvy” show on ESPN 1000 on Monday morning, said he would love the chance for the two Big Ten rivals to square off in the “Friendly Confines.”
“Well, to be honest with you, we were there last night and walking around with the people there and I just think it would be an awesome venue,” Zook said. “Obviously, until just a couple years ago, there had been more NFL games played in that stadium than any other stadium, and there hasn’t been a game played there since 1970.
“And can you imagine the national media? I think it would be great to have that opportunity. I’m probably speaking out of turn, the higher-ups make the decisions, obviously.”
Playing a football game at Wrigley would certainly not be unprecedented, as the Bears played there from the 1920s through the building of Solider Field in 1970. Additionally, Northern Illinois played Iowa at Wrigley Field back in 2007.
Northwestern Pushes for Football Game versus Illinois at Wrigley Field — (Chicago Tribune)
We are continuing a dialogue with Illinois,†Phillips said. “Within the next month or so, we’ll decide if it’s something that can work. There are a lot of moving parts, but it’s something I will pursue aggressively.


“I thought of how good the Northern Illinois-Iowa game was at Soldier Field. This may be the next great venue for a special game.â€â€¨â€¨
As NIU’s athletic director at the time, Phillips was the point man for the Huskies-Iowa game, which sold out Soldier Field on Sept. 1, 2007. Iowa won 16-3, and Hawkeyes fans filled at least two-thirds of the 61,500 seats.
Among the details still to be worked out (ALERT! Someone please notify the AP that I am about to link to them and send traffic their way…) for any Northwestern-Illinois game at Wrigley are the financial considerations and the logistics of turning Wrigley Field into a stadium where the home team actually wins venue fit for a college football game. One of the biggest questions is about player safety and about whether there is enough space behind the end zones and on the sidelines to ensure the well-being of the players.
We’ll see what happens with this one. All kidding and Cubs hatred aside, I think this would be a pretty damn cool thing for Northwestern, Illinois, the Big Ten, and sports fans in Chicago. Plus, no one would have to worry about Northwestern or Illinois winning a National Championship and spoiling the history of home team futility at Wrigley.
* – Football at Wrigley Field photo credit: Tribune File Photo
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Just when you think the Cubs’ season can’t get any worse, it did.
Geovany Soto will now be on the DL due to a left oblique strain he suffered during batting practice Wednesday. Soto will be the 13th person that the Cubs have had to put on the DL this season. There are now questions about who will be the backup to Koyie Hill, who started Friday and will start most of the games while Soto is out.
Jake Fox is currently the backup, but Lou said they are looking outside the organization to add depth at the position.. Mark Johnson is the catcher in Iowa that has Major League experience, but he is on the DL so that doesn’t seem like a logical answer. Steve Clevenger is another catcher, but he is new to the job after being converted from shortstop. Chris Robinson, who they got from Detroit and is currently in Iowa, looks like to be the most logical internal answer.
The Cubs’ season has been nothing but disappointment, and they can’t seem to get away from injuries. A day after activating Aramis Ramirez, Reed Johnson, and Angel Guzman off the DL, the Cubs had to put Ryan Dempster on the 15-day DL due to a broken toe. Believe it or not, the Cubs are not totally out of the division race. Before Friday the Cubs stand just 3.5 games out of first place. Even though the Cubs are not out of it, there is no “This is the Year” feeling.
Lou Pinella said that there is really nothing you can do about injuries, and while that is true, players can still be careful what they do. The Cubs might not win the World Series this year, but this year is not a total loss. This a learning year for the Cubs and their management. The Cubs should learn from the Milton Bradley signing. Never sign a player who is not a proven player. Bradley has never played the whole season, he has
had only one good year, and he has had problems with previous players and coaches.
What the Cubs have never had was a great farm system. Very rarely do the Cubs have a rising star. The only one I can think of is Randy Wells. Most of their first round draft picks have been busts (like Prior due to injury, or like Felix Pie due to lack of production), or they have never made it to the big leagues. With all these problems the Cubs need an overhaul. The only way to get better is to trade away some guys, and recruit potential All Stars. They need to stay away from players that get hurt. (Rich Harden and Bradley come to mind.)
Another huge problem are the fans. One year when Dusty Baker was managing the team the Cubs were playing the last home stand, were 20 game out of first, and they still managed to get 40,000 to show up. Even worse was when the Cubs came back to win the game in the 9th, the fans went insane like they were playing in the World Series. Cubs fans seem to be living in there own little baseball world. If no fans showed up maybe the team would do something different, but no matter how bad the Cubs do they always sell out at Wrigley.
Until things change, the Cubs will continue to go nowhere in the next few years.
* – Lou Piniella photo credit: AP Photo/Paul Connors via Sports Maven
by Jerod Morris
With only a few days before the calendar turns to September, the likelihood of a White Sox-Cubs World Series is still possible. It is so rare to have both teams in contention for playoff spots this late into the season. Thus, you will have to forgive White Sox and Cubs fans if they jump ahead of themselves a bit and daydream about a Windy City Series.
Who would have the advantage in a South Side-North Side battle? Let’s go to the tale of the tape, knowing what we know right now, for a completely objective, totally unbiased, and unequivocally fair analysis:
[Update: If you do not take the following opinions expressed by our author seriously, perhaps this opinion will sway your thinking. That's right, none other than our future President agrees wholeheartedly that the White Sox are better than the Cubs. Just thought you should know. Now on the with the Tale of the Tape!]
Current Record: Chicago White Sox 74-56 | Chicago Cubs 80-50
Advantage: White Sox.
Now, you may wonder how an analysis claiming to be objective could reach such a conclusion. It’s very simple: The AL is better than the NL. 74 wins in the American League is actually the equivalent of 82 wins in the NL. Don’t believe me? There is plenty of sabermetrics to back me up. Click here Cubs fans…it is verified fact.
Manager: Ozzie Guillen | Lou Piniella
[Read more...]
