Chicago -
By Jim Coffman and Steve Rhodes
A lot of things, it turns out. Plus: The Good News And The Bad News About Hawk Harrelson; MLB Standings Review; Ryan Pace, Secret Agent; The Patrick Sharp Dominoes; Pens Up; Warriors Golden; and Schweinsteiger!
Posted on June 2, 2017
By Shereen Lehman/Reuters
Injury rates among elite young female athletes may be higher than what’s been reported, new data suggest.
“Most studies define injury as time loss from participation, whereas many athletes with overuse injuries continue to participate despite pain and reduced performance. When time-loss definitions are used, about 90 percent of overuse injuries appear to be missed,” researchers write in the journal BMJ Open Sport and Exercise Medicine.
Posted on June 1, 2017
By Galen Clavio/The Conversation
In late 2016, a sports championship event was held in Chicago, drawing 43 million viewers during the series finals. That was 12 million more people than watched the 2016 NBA Finals.
It wasn’t soccer, or football, or even the World Series of Poker. Instead, it was the League of Legends World Finals, an esports competition.
Video games have been popular for more than 30 years, but competitive gaming, or esports, has recently emerged as a spectator activity that can draw thousands of attendees and viewers. Major sports networks such as ESPN, Fox Sports, MLB Advanced Media and the Big Ten Network have started broadcasting esports competitions, often partnering with major gaming companies like EA Sports, Riot and Blizzard. What is driving this phenomenon, and where is it taking us next?
Posted on May 31, 2017
By Jim Coffman
One thing we can all agree on: The Anchorman theme for the current road trip is a miserable failure.
One other thing that is becoming apparent: Joe Maddon is a great manager who has been on an amazing multi-regular season roll, but he has no idea what sort of extracurricular activities inspire better play from defending champs.
Posted on May 30, 2017
By Roger Wallenstein
Although the clock read a few minutes past eight on a lovely spring evening on Saturday with the tying run on third base in the bottom of the ninth, the Union Pacific could easily have navigated a freight train through Sox Park without putting anyone in grave danger.
That’s because only a few patrons remained from the announced crowd of 26,327 who showed up for the Sox-Tigers’ doubleheader that began about seven hours earlier. Had it not been for the Detroit faithful who made the drive over for the Memorial Day weekend, the place would have been near empty.
During the first game the ballpark was alive as Tyler Danish, called up from Charlotte to face the Tigers, pitched five scoreless innings – followed by four more by the bullpen – to get the win in his very first major league start as the Sox triumphed 3-0.
So where did the people go? Apparently the vast majority of Sox fans had alternate plans. Doubleheaders simply aren’t on the fans’ radar these days. None have been scheduled in the major leagues since 1996, so the Sox and Tigers were tangling twice only because they had to make up a postponement from April 5.
Decades ago doubleheaders were scheduled almost every Sunday in addition to Memorial Day, the Fourth of July and Labor Day. The twinbills outdrew single games, and – get ready for breaking news – the owners were looking for greater revenue. A typical schedule would feature night games Tuesday through Thursday before another club came in for a night game Friday, a single day game Saturday, and a “big doubleheader on Sunday,” as legendary Sox announcer Bob Elson used to say. Rarely did the Sox play on Monday.
Posted on May 29, 2017
By Jim Coffman and Steve Rhodes
Please, no more cereal, no more themed road trips, no more hero worship of mundane acts. Plus: The Quintana Question; John Fox Is The Sean Spicer Of The Bears; Preds-Pens; and Schweinsteiger!
Posted on May 26, 2017
By Thomas Chambers
After a couple of emergency sessions with the urgent care psychiatrist these past few days, I’ve gained many insights into my addled state after Cloud Computing’s gutty win by a head in the Preakness Stakes last Saturday.
I found out I may simply harbor some latent maniacal tendencies toward the horse’s name, although I’ve been assured I have no apparent propensity to act out violently.
It took me some time to find out how this horse, the son of Maclean’s Music – who supposedly showed a lot of speed in his one and only race – with A.P. Indy on his dam’s side, really got his name.
Posted on May 26, 2017
By King Of TV Bowling
Make that Wrong Foot Louie vs. The Fireball Kid.
Match-game competition!
From the beautiful Olympia Lanes in Chicago Heights.
Posted on May 23, 2017
By Jim Coffman
The Cubs are alright.
And then some. And then some more. They are what we thought they were going into the season – ridiculously loaded.
When your ninth-best position player (let’s make Javy Baez No. 8) is uber-prospect Ian Happ, you are out-of-control talented. When No. 10 is center field wunderkid Albert Almora . . . I mean, come on.
Posted on May 22, 2017
By Roger Wallenstein
The kid had such a warm, endearing smile, to say nothing of his speed, power and confidence. When he was just 16, he hit .337 playing professionally in the Cuban National Serie, the same league that spawned Jose Abreu.
In the spring of 2008, he and his intrepid family clandestinely left Cuba in a boat bound for Mexico. That winter the White Sox were ecstatic to sign Dayan Viciedo to a four-year $10 million contract.
Spending the 2009 season at Double-A Birmingham, Viciedo did nothing to tarnish the promising picture the franchise painted for the aspiring youngster. He hit a respectable .280 with a dozen home runs and 78 RBI for the Barons. Playing third base, the 20-year-old prospect made 30 errors, but he was just learning, and, sure enough, when he was called up to the Sox on June 20 of the following season, Viciedo had committed only three errors in 26 games at the hot corner.
Viciedo joined that 2010 Sox team which wound up missing a post-season wild card berth by a single game. Omar Vizquel, 43 at the time, was filling in at third base after guys like Mark Teahen, Brent Morel and Jayson Nix failed to impress. The stage was set for Viciedo, who had just reached the legal drinking age, to become the White Sox third baseman right then and there and far into the future.
Funny how things sometimes don’t work out as planned.
Posted on May 22, 2017
