By Roger Wallenstein

The Yerminator has been terminated, and we should have seen it coming.
Not only was Yermín Mercedes never going to hit .300, and perhaps not even close to it, but changes in today’s game were stacked against him from the very beginning.
Please understand. When the White Sox former-Designated Hitter started the season with eight straight hits and was clipping along with a slash line of .415/.455/1.113 at the close of April, he had created a burgeoning legend. His energy, confidence, demeanor, and that strong stocky frame, energized the team and its fandom the first month of the season. He closed the gap that the devastating injury to Eloy Jiménez had left in the middle of the club’s lineup.
This was an unexpected, exciting development, and if you got caught up in the overt joy and the I-can’t-believe-it passion of it all, you were not alone.

Read More

Posted on July 5, 2021

By Jim Coffman and Steve Rhodes

Cubs suck, Sox survive. Including: Thermo-Bat!; The Captain’s Mystery Illness; Who Knew What When?; Former Bulls On Parade; Illinois Exodus; NIL Mill; Wade Grade A; Red Stars Short A Star; Fire Doused; and The Euro.

Read More

Posted on July 2, 2021

By Invention Convention Worldwide

Arlington Heights sixth-grader Lila Nanisetty was honored recently for her ingenuity at the sixth annual Invention Convention U.S. Nationals. She was among over 400 award-winning K-12 inventors from across the nation who were celebrated at a virtual awards ceremony held on June 24.
Nanisetty won the Best Engineering Award for Thermo-Bat.
“When playing baseball or softball, it is hard to improve your swing when you can’t tell where on the bat you hit the ball,” she says. “My invention changes color in the spot that you hit the ball.”
Watch Lila explain her invention in this video:

Read More

Posted on July 1, 2021

By Nicole Craft/The Conversation

LeBron James had enough.
During the press conference after Game 1 of the 2018 NBA finals, James was questioned repeatedly by ESPN’s Mark Schwartz about the mental state of teammate J.R. Smith, whose final-seconds rebounding blunder contributed to a Cleveland Cavaliers overtime loss.
Over 70 seconds and four questions, Schwartz probed for the inner workings of Smith’s mind, before James finally stood up, put on sunglasses, grabbed his briefcase and walked out through the gathered press corps.
He uttered a single sentence: “Be better tomorrow.”

Read More

Posted on June 30, 2021

By Roger Wallenstein

The downpour finally subsided, moving on to the east, and Sunday showed promise. The suspended game from the night before would be resumed before a seven-inning contest to put a capper on the day. A perfect opportunity for the White Sox to get well against a still-developing Seattle Mariner outfit.
So we headed to the ballpark.

Read More

Posted on June 28, 2021

By Jim Coffman and Steve Rhodes

We are not amused. Plus: BenZo; The YerMIAnator; Whole Lotto Nothing; Coach [Hearts] NBA Playoffs; Les Inhabitants; and Sky, Red Stars & Fire.

Read More

Posted on June 25, 2021

By John Affleck/The Conversation

The video was short and simple, but for America’s gay community it was a blockbuster event.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Carl Nassib (@carlnassib)

In an Instagram post, Las Vegas Raiders defensive lineman Carl Nassib announced from his yard in West Chester, Pennsylvania, that he’s gay and that, while he’s a private person, he feels “representation is so important.” He added that he would donate $100,000 to the Trevor Project, which offers suicide prevention services to LGBTQ youth.

Read More

Posted on June 24, 2021

By DIRTcar Racing

LASALLE, IL – It was only a matter of time before the reigning DIRTcar Summer Nationals champion Brian “The Squirrel” Shirley scored his first win of the season.
On Wednesday night at LaSalle Speedway, he did just that, leading all 40 laps green-to-checkered for his 34th career Hell Tour victory. With this win, Shirley has now won the last three tour visits to the quarter-mile oval.

Read More

Posted on June 24, 2021

By DIRTcar Racing

LASALLE, IL – Five races down, 30 to go.
Week Two of the 2021 DIRTcar Summer Nationals and Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals hits five tracks in five nights, starting Wednesday night at the quarter-mile bullring of LaSalle Speedway.

Read More

Posted on June 22, 2021

By Roger Wallenstein

In case you didn’t notice, the sun did rise again this morning. Thankfully, the rotation of the Earth is far more predictable than the White Sox starting rotation as displayed last weekend in Houston. Judging from some of the reaction on social media, this item requires reinforcement.
The consternation and hand-wringing resulting from the four-game thrashing administered by the Astros should be expected, but let’s be realistic. Had most fans been told prior to the season that on the first day of summer, despite the extended absences of Eloy Jiménez and Luis Robert, the Sox would be 14 games above .500 with a 2½-game lead in the AL Central, back-slapping, high fives, the pouring of another shot likely would have been in order.
It matters not that the team has battered opponents with less than .500 records to the tune of 26-6 while going 17-23 against the stouter fellows. A win is a win, no matter if it’s by a run – the Sox are 8-9 in those nail-biters – or a blowout of at least five runs in which the Sox are 14-5.

Read More

Posted on June 21, 2021