Chicago -
By Jim Coffman and Steve Rhodes
Kobe Bryant’s Brand. Plus: The Kris Bryant Boondoggle; In The Wake Of The Tribune; Coach Getting Wobbly On The 49ers; Goodnight Sweet Bears Prince; Baker’s Baloney: Cubs Not Following Rhodes’ Offseason Blueprint At All; Coach Went To A Bulls Game; Illinois Women’s Basketball Teams Kicking Ass All Over The Place; The Bobby Shuttleworth Era Begins!; and AAU’s Pullman Play.
Posted on January 31, 2020
By Cara Gagliano/The Electronic Frontier Foundation
The National Football League seems to be gunning for a spot in our Hall of Shame by setting a record for all-time career TDs – no, not touchdowns, but takedowns. We’ve written before about the NFL’s crusade against anyone who dares use the words “Super Bowl” to talk about, well, the Super Bowl.
But the NFL’s trademark bullying doesn’t end there. One of the NFL’s latest victims is Zach Berger, a New Yorker who sells merchandise for frustrated New York Jets fans through a website called Same Old Jets Store.
Most of Berger’s products feature a parody version of the Jets’ logo, modified to say “SAME OLD JETS” – a phrase that’s been used for decades to criticize the team’s performance and express fans’ sense of inevitable disappointment. His other products include “MAKE THE JETS GREAT AGAIN” hats and clothing that says “SELL THE TEAM” in a font similar to one used on Jets merchandise.
Posted on January 31, 2020
By Natasha Julius
Look, we’ve all got bigger fish to fry right now and we can do it over the embers of a once-promising democracy, but dammit, JLo got screwed.
Do I like JLo’s music? No. Do I like her movies? Not really. Did I watch quite a few around the turn of the century because they played on long-haul flights and I traveled for work? Yes. Was she upstaged in Anaconda by Jon Voight’s accent? I mean, who wasn’t? Did l fall asleep during Out of Sight? I did. Did I still like it enough to watch The Wedding Planner? Uh-huh. Were she and Matthew McConaughey both charismatic and charming while playing horrible people? Yes. Was their chemistry so bad it felt like they were in different movies? Pretty much. Did I like The Wedding Planner enough to sit through Maid in Manhattan? Oh fuck no. Is that because it was too soon after Schindler’s List to buy Ralph Fiennes as a traditional romantic lead? Yes. Is it still too soon? It is. Did he screw the pooch again with his genuinely unsettling portrayal of Voldemort in the Harry Potter movies? Yes he did, it will always be too soon, brilliant actor but no fucking thanks. Are we getting off topic here? Maybe.
Posted on January 30, 2020
By Steve Rhodes
“Baseball Furies is a documentary that explores the complex relationship between baseball, music, and artists who reject the cookie-cutter parameters of the American Dream.”
Posted on January 29, 2020
By Thomas Chambers
I did worse(!) than Rosie. Sat down just in time to see Zulu Alpha win the Pegasus Turf at 12-1 or so. $176 Exacta and nearly $900 Trifecta.
The Pegasus was just what we thought it would be.
Chalk 3-1 Mucho Gusto way outside in the gate, 2019 Eclipse Award winner as top jock Irad Ortiz, Jr. sent him and crafted the win. Why not? With these pretenders, what are they going to say? Look out for . . . Oh, just GO! They said afterward he’s booked for the Dubai World Cup. Can’t wait.
Posted on January 25, 2020
By Jim Coffman and Steve Rhodes
Rickey and Ricketts. Plus: The Houston Asterisks; The Green Bay Packers Are Not In The Super Bowl; The Byzantine Bears; The Blackhawks Might Be Back!; Is Zach LaVine An All-Star?; Bulls Attendance Finally Rightsizing; Illinois Hoops It Up!; and TrackNotes: Death, Destruction & The Pegasus.
Posted on January 24, 2020
By Thomas Chambers
Lemmetellyasomethin’.
This horse racing game is really rough, and that does not include the bad beat bets.
In this installment, pay attention up top, because I may not be in the mood to elaborate the crap in the scroll down.
Posted on January 23, 2020
By Jim Coffman
The Blackhawks have done it. They have won five in a row.
Their reward? They have pulled within three points of the last playoff spot in the Western Conference. Is that all, you say? Well, it is a lot better than where they were when they started the streak.
Posted on January 20, 2020
By Jim Coffman and Steve Rhodes
The rules were clear. Plus: Pathetic Playoff Picks; Louisiana State’s Universe; Bye Bye Bourbonnais; Is Jonathan Toews Back?; Bulls Midseason Report: It’s The Underachieving That Stands Out; Red Star Rachel; Klopas Is Back; and Illinois Starts To Hoop It Up.
Posted on January 17, 2020
