Took Her Sons To A Race To Discourage Them; Didn’t Turn Out That Way

“Melissa Harville-Lebron, a 47-year-old single mother raising her three biological children as well as her siblings’ four kids, started her career in the entertainment industry as an intern at Sony Music,” Black Enterprise reports.
“In 2005, she launched her own music label while working for New York City’s Department of Correction office. Nearly a decade later, she suffered from a severe asthma attack that forced her into early retirement and inspired her to take the risk of launching a multifaceted entertainment company, W.M. Stone Enterprises Inc., in 2014.
“She created E2 Northeast Motorsports under the umbrella of W.M. Stone Enterprises, Inc. The E2 Northeast Motorsports team became the first multicultural team to race competitively in NASCAR, with four black and Latino drivers – two in the camping world truck series and two in NASCAR’s Whelen All-American Series. Two of the drivers are brothers and Harville-Lebron’s sons, Eric and Enico.”
Here’s Harville-Lebron on Sway in the Morning this week:

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Posted on April 11, 2018

By Roger Wallenstein

While Ricky Renteria’s outfit and Sox fans shivered through snowflakes and 30-degree temperatures last week, consider all the thousands of Chicago kids who play baseball and softball on school teams in March and April. You think the Abreus and Moncadas of the world have it tough? None of the local youngsters have the luxury of at least playing away games in Florida, California, Texas, or in heated domed stadiums.
Guys who played baseball in Chicago in the early spring have painful memories of episodes like hitting a fastball off the handle of the bat without the benefit of batting gloves as the wind whistled in their faces while an occasional snow flurry drifted by.
(See The White Sox Report: Cold Predictions.)

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Posted on April 9, 2018

By Thomas Chambers

The Kentucky Derby is America’s biggest race and so typically absurdly American. Yet, it’s our biggest single race, a race that really does bring people together. A chance for every red-blooded male to be an American wiseguy for a day in a room full of decked out dames, and who doesn’t love that?
Saturday was a golden opportunity to get acquainted with many of the Derby players, ammo for the Derby party.
If I run into anyone who prepped their Derby Day experience by watching these, it’ll be a blush wave of happy.
There were no surprises Saturday as Aqueduct, Keeneland and Santa Anita all dodged bad weather and gave us more to go on for horses who are now Pricelining tickets to Churchill Downs.

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Posted on April 9, 2018

By Jim Coffman and Steve Rhodes

Candlesticks always make a nice gift. Plus: White Snox, Bulls Stank, Scrubs, Shohei Goodman, Blackhawks Bigwigs Back, and just a little Schweinsteiger.

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Posted on April 6, 2018

By Steve Rhodes

“Loyola University Chicago finished the 2017-18 season ranked No. 7 in the final USA Today Coaches Poll, which was revealed this week,” LoyolaRamblers.com reports. “Loyola ranked behind only Villanova, Michigan, Kansas, Duke, Virginia and Texas Tech.”
That sounds about right.
“During this season to remember, the Ramblers knocked off four nationally ranked teams, disposing of No. 5 Florida, No. 22 Miami, No. 13 Tennessee and No. 24 Nevada.”
The Florida win came in December, while the others were in the NCAA Tournament. Still, it is remarkable that Loyola was never ranked this year – until now.

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Posted on April 4, 2018

We Can’t Wait For You To Get Here

“Illinois lawmakers held a Senate hearing Tuesday to consider the legalization of sports betting across the state,” NBC Chicago reports.
“During the hearing, legislators discussed what platforms might be used, what state regulations would be put in place, and how the bets would be taxed.
“There is currently a federal ban on sports betting, however the U.S. Supreme Court is considering a decision to overturn it.”
*
“Major League Baseball’s representation at the hearing, Bryan Seeley, said that ‘if Illinois is going to legalize sports betting, there are some important things that need to be in the legislation,’ namely, giving the league the ability to talk to bookmakers. Representatives for the Chicago Cubs and White Sox were also in attendance at the hearing.”

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Posted on April 3, 2018

By Jim Coffman

Everybody enjoy that extraordinary sports weekend?
Yes, Chicago played in the Final Four and, yes, the local baseball teams made their 2018 debuts (hey Cubs, you need to do better than that, sheesh), but this past weekend was also about women’s basketball and, wait for it, MLS soccer.

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Posted on April 2, 2018

By Roger Wallenstein

The kid needed a ride to the ballpark on a Sunday morning last September, so my brother-in-law, Bill, a weekend Uber driver, picked him up at his downtown high-rise apartment building east of Michigan Avenue.
Later he texted me this photo asking if I knew this guy.
“Sure,” I answered. “That’s Matt Davidson. Plays for the Sox. Why do you ask?”

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Posted on April 2, 2018

By Thomas Chambers

All long days come with highs and lows.
Saturday’s trajectory was remarkably symmetric, a midday apogee of Thoroughbred horse racing enjoyment Telstarred from a flawlessly executed Carnival halfway around the world, and the nadir a half-assed, why-bother attempt at conducting a seemingly important race in the run-up to America’s most illustrious equine event. Chicken-egg validated as the national cable channel televising the race chose against even dispatching the award-winning analyst or Hall of Fame jockey to the venue. The center of American horse racing Saturday, just a day’s ride from Hawthorne, this capsule couldn’t have come near the aircraft carrier if it was on a string.
Dubai World Cup Day, the exclamation point on the Festival of Racing, starts here at 6:30 a.m. That’s early, so I didn’t get the wagering fired up until race four. But oh what a race it was.

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Posted on April 1, 2018