chicago Page 131 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Chicago Magazine Writer Loves Him Some Jay Mariotti
By his own count, Jay Mariotti wrote more than 3,000 columns in his 17 years as a Chicago Sun-Times columnist. But now that that's all over, and being an ESPN jabbering noggin is his main gig now, how does a professional contrarian stay relevant in a world that's swiftly passing him by? By grabbing ...

Brian Cuban Would Like You To Know That His Brother Is Not Martha Stewart
Thanks for attempting to clear that up Brian, but I always thought it was obvious by the way Mark dresses. Black pullovers in the spring? Sheesh. Anyway, Brian Cuban, Dallas attorney and brother of the mercurial Mark Cuban, is firing back on his own blog at meanies who have been emailing him with va...

96 ... 97 ... 98 ... 99 ...
Most Cubs fans know that since 1995, the Lakeview Baseball Club has maintained a Cubs Futility Odometer on its building on Sheffield Avenue, across the street from Wrigley. The sign marks the number of years since the Cubs have won a division title, NL pennant and World Series; the latter number, of...

Happy Halloween From Drew Gooden
If you're looking for last-minute costume ideas for tonight, you could do worse than this. Tarantula? Upside-down view of Don King's hair? Witch's broom? Let your imagination be your guide. (Tattoos optional). Or if this doesn't appeal to you, why not go as Roy Williams? (Costume following the jump)...

So Rick Telander Meets Jay Mariotti Sweaty and Nude...
The long-standing feud between former Chicago Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti and current CST columnist Rick Telander has been well-publicized and generated notoriety given its potential for violence. Once Jay quit, the yelps of joy from inside the Sun-Times' newsroom could pretty much be heard (or...

The Summer That Didn't Quite Last Forever
Walter E. Smithe is a Chicago furniture store whose management figured that they'd cash in big when the Cubs finally broke 100 years of frustration with a World Series championship. So sure were they that this was the year, actually, that they produced a commercial, complete with former Cubs greats ...

Mocking The Cubs: America's Fun New Sport
Some may say that the rest of America is piling on the Chicago Cubs and their fans; making too much sport of their misery. But is not our gentle mocking really a welcome distraction from all of the really serious problems in the world? I say that the Cubs are actually keeping this country sane. Witn...

Revenge Is A Dish Best Served On The Front Lawn
This is how they settle disputes between rival baseball fans on the mean streets of Chicago, yo. A White Sox fan, who had been mocked all season by a Cubs fan, got ultimate revenge when the Cubs were rudely ousted from the playoffs by the Dodgers. The best part I believe is the fact that this prank ...

Uh Oh. This Can't Be Good
Unless a T-shirt surfaces linking John McCain with the Milwaukee Brewers, Barack Obama should consider his campaign in deep do-do. This is not meant to be ironic, by the way: Home Run Derby found this shirt back in August, when Cubs' and Obama fans alike shared the audacity of hope. Now there seems ...

'Shrine To Futility' Growing Outside Of Wrigley Field
As we chronicled this morning, Cubs fans passed through the anger phase of their playoff mourning ritual, and are now seemingly on to acceptance. A solemn 'Shrine of Futility' outside of Wrigley Field has been growing by the hour, as Cubs fans leave notes and artifacts lamenting their team's failure...

In Which Cubs Fans Look To The Heavens And Ask, WTF?
If God is a Cubs fan, as some people say, He has a really sick sense of humor. So many reasons to be optimistic this season; only to fail once again. Mere words cannot describe the 100 years of frustration suffered by the North Siders, although some of the following blog entries come close. Come wit...

30 Previews In 30 Days: The Chicago Bulls
NBA training camps have begun; the season is rapidly approaching. Can you dig it? I knew that you could. And so we continue our previews: 30 of them in 30 days. Up next is a team that wants you to love it live: The Chicago Bulls.When last we saw them: Finished 33-49, fourth in the Central Division a...

Some People Still Don't Believe That "Fukudome" is Not A Dirty Word
Last week it was revealed that one Oklahoma woman was asked to remove her Kosuke Fukudome jersey during work hours because the F-U-K-U letters may be offensive to some. The Fuk-u problem is still rampant — even in Chicago, apparently — as a 15-year-old sophomore at Elgin High School named Jill Howe...

Cubs Fans Accept Latest Loss With Usual Grace And Aplomb
Well, blessing the dugout didn't seem to help, so the Cubs turned to a sleep doctor for Game 2. This is true. The doctor suggested that the Cubs spend the night in Chicago on Thursday instead of taking a late flight to Los Angeles for Game 3, so that the team could get its proper rest. Problem was, ...

NLDS Game 2: Dodgers-Cubs
If you're looking for a game that will be interesting for more than two innings, perhaps you've come to the right place. Carlos "Capital Zed" Zambrano and Chad "Nickname Withheld" Billingsley will pitch. Guys like Ryan Theriot and Casey Blake will be hitting and fielding. Nasally-sounding Hall of Fa...

Rays Take Game One
Evan Longoria hit two home runs and had three RBIS and James Shields pitched ably as the Tampa Bay Rays won their first ever playoff game, defeating the Chicago White Sox 6-4. Paul Konerko led off the 9th inning with a solo shot, but the White Sox were unable to crawl back and defeat the scrappy Ray...

Cubs Renounce Satan, Still Lose Game One
The Cubs have yet to get a handle on this curse business, no matter how hard they try. While a priest was furiously blessing their dugout (this is true) before their Game 1 NLDS showdown with the Dodgers on Wednesday, outside of Wrigley Field another drama was unfolding. A man by the name of Jim Sch...

ALDS Preview: Rays Vs. White Sox
The Tampa Bay Rays are in the playoffs. Let it roll off your tongue. Toss it around. Swish it a bit. Look at the sentence closer. It might be a palindrome. The Tampa Bay Rays Are In The Playoffs. Everything's freaking NUTS, people. Series Schedule Game 1: Thursday, October 2, 2:30 p.m. Chicago (Vaz...

Black To The Future
This is the year of the coin flip. Just as Two-Face decided if you'd live or die by the flip of his lucky dollar in The Dark Knight, so did Major League Baseball in deciding where the AL Central play-in game would be held. U.S. Celluar, where the Twins were 2-7 this season? Or the Metrodome, where t...

AL Central Tie-Breaker: Twins vs. White Sox
The funny thing about tonight's game is that if either one of these teams had mustered up the intestinal fortitude to win just one more game against the Indians or freakin' Royals, we wouldn't be here tonight. (Sure, your middle infielders are real tough against the Tigers, but what about some real ...