By Rev. Jesse Jackson

A century later, a deserving man has been pardoned and his memory and reputation set free.
Thanks to all of those who worked so hard for this day to come, the day Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight champion of the world, was pardoned for the crime of defying the laws and taboos of Jim Crow and American apartheid.
Johnson was convicted in 1913 of transporting a white woman – his girlfriend, whom he married – across state lines “for immoral purposes.”
He eventually served 10 months in federal prison. His spirit, however, stayed forever free.

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Posted on May 30, 2018

By Jim Coffman

There ya go Cubbies. Oh, and Clint Hurdle sucks.
About 18 hours after Tyler Chatwood screamed at himself when it became clear he was going to have another rocky night on Sunday (and that was right after the first inning and therefore before he walked the Giants’ pitcher twice in the next two innings), the North Siders had bounced back as well as a team can bounce back to wrap up a highly satisfying Memorial Day Weekend of baseball fun.

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Posted on May 29, 2018

By Roger Wallenstein

Since Major League Baseball established a drug policy in 2004, 59 major league players, including six who got caught more than once, have been suspended anywhere from 10 days to a lifetime. Hundreds more minor leaguers also have been benched for violating the policy.
But none has hurt the White Sox as much as the 80-game ban handed down last week to catcher Welington Castillo.
Make no mistake. Castillo is not on the level of the game’s elite catchers like Yadier Molina and a few others. However, the lack of his veteran presence behind the plate, guiding young pitchers such as Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Carson Fulmer, certainly won’t help their progress especially, since the catching corps now is comprised of the bumbling Omar Narvaez and the unknown Alfredo Gonzalez.

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Posted on May 28, 2018

By Jim Coffman and Steve Rhodes

Overmanaging, defensiveness and arrogance at all-time high. Plus: Honoring Hossa; Golden Knight Moves; Bulls Blew Bell; Golden State’s Non-Indigenous Warriors; The Boston Irish; This Is Why They Kneel; Chicago Bears (And Their Toadying Media) Offensive To Bears; Say It Ain’t So, Welington Castillo; and Schweinsteiger!

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Posted on May 25, 2018

By AP

“Olympic swimmer Ariana Kukors Smith sued USA Swimming, alleging the sport’s national governing body knew her former coach sexually abused her as a minor and covered it up.”

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Posted on May 22, 2018

By Jim Coffman

Joe is gonna Joe.
The Cubs manager will do things his way. Maddon will sit down a hot Kris Bryant on Sunday despite the fact that he has the next day off and another one three days later. He’ll bring in reliever Steve Cishek to pitch the ninth up 10-0 in the second game of a doubleheader on Saturday after Cishek also pitched in the first.
He’ll do it his way and if his players bail him out, like his hitters did during his mismanagement of the last three games of the 2016 World Series, everything will be fine. And after a good week last, the Cubs turn their attention to a two-game series with Cleveland starting Tuesday with a 25-19 record. They are a game-and-a-half behind the Brewers in the NL Central but only because the Brewers have played (and won) three more games.

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Posted on May 21, 2018

By Roger Wallenstein

A chilling breeze was whistling through the ballpark last Thursday evening as two last-place teams, the White Sox and Rangers, faced off in the first of a four-game series. The temperature was mired in the mid-50s on this school night. Starting pitchers James Shields for the Sox and Doug Fister for Texas are both in their mid-30s with far more baseball behind rather than in front of them. If ever there was a ho-hum match-up, this was it.
Was there any rational explanation why 17,666 fans showed up as witnesses? Was it the “Ricky’s Boys Don’t Quit” t-shirts? Or the opportunity to see if the Sox could break out of their slump at home where their record was 3-15?

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Posted on May 21, 2018

By Thomas Chambers

It’s a mantra, alright.
And like the best chants, you are required to repeat it, for true attainment is elusive, making its fulfillment the most satisfying moment.
The Beachwood gang even asked: “Can he win the Triple Crown?”
Like the Magic Eight Ball, the best I had was “all signs point to . . . ”

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Posted on May 20, 2018

By Jim Coffman and Steve Rhodes

Meanwhile, Mad Joe Maddon is driving us mad. Plus: Bulls: We Stanks; Captain Kane; Ryan Pace Still Sucks; Last Year Was Supposed To Be Rock Bottom; Mike Trout, GOAT?; C’mon, Ricky, More Nicky!; and Schweinsteiger!

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Posted on May 18, 2018

By Jennifer Roberts/The Conversation

On Monday, the United States Supreme Court invalidated the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, a federal law that prohibited states, aside from a few exemptions like Nevada, from allowing sports betting operations.
The court ruled that the law unconstitutionally interfered with states’ ability to implement their own legislation on the issue.
So now what? As someone who studies sports wagering and gambling law, I’ve been following the case closely. While the decision marks an end to years of legal action to challenge the federal law, it also now creates a host of issues for states, including Illinois, that are considering sports betting legislation and regulation.

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Posted on May 16, 2018