Wisch List

From the Saturday, June 25, editions of The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) …

How to do the Taste of Chicago – with taste

The WISCH LIST

June 25, 2011

It’s been a tough week for the Taste of Chicago.

And the Taste just started yesterday.

First, on Tuesday morning, with the city still jittery about the recent rash of downtown muggings by so-called “flash mobs,” new Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy was forced to hold a press conference in an attempt to soothe concerns about potential violence at the 31^st annual Taste.

In addition to the city adding more video surveillance at the Taste, McCarthy told reporters that this year, “We are deploying more undercover officers. We are not going to tell you the numbers because that would imprudent for us to do that.”

While McCarthy was clamming up, Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass was just getting started as he wrote on Wednesday that, “There aren’t alcohol wipes big enough for the Taste of Chicago.”

Kass went on to lament the food extravaganza’s sweaty masses, writing “I’ve just never been able to comprehend the lure of it all. It’s disgusting. Perhaps it’s the millions of people eating fried food, wearing fanny packs, sweating, trying out for ‘Jersey Shore.’ ”

While I agree that the Taste can indeed be a steamy boondoggle (I certainly avoid it on weekends), but it’s also not that bad. Not if you know what you’re doing.

And here are a few tips on how to enjoy the fest – and avoid its madness …

Where do I go?

Located in Grant Park, along Columbus Drive between Monroe Street and Balbo Avenue, the Taste runs through July 3. Hours are 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. every day except July 3, when the fest closes at 6 p.m. Ticket sales cut off a half-hour before closing time.

What’s the price?

Admission is free. Food and beverage tickets are sold in strips of 12 for $8, with most Taste items costing between 2 and 12 tickets each. Credit cards are accepted at ticket booths, but the cash-only lines generally move more quickly.

How should I get there?

If you can use public transportation, do that. To get the latest RTA, CTA and Metra information, visit transitchicago.com. If you do decide to drive, your closest parking options are the Millennium Park garage, East Monroe garage and Grant Park North and South garages. Check millenniumgarages.com for information.

Parking is also available for $13 at Soldier Field in the Waldron Deck garage, where you can catch a free trolley to and from the Taste that runs from 10:45 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day except July 3, when it stops at 5:30 p.m. You can pre-purchase parking vouchers at soldierfield.clickandpark.com.

When should I visit?

To avoid the craziest crowds, it’s best to visit the Taste midweek during the early-to-mid afternoon.

What should I eat?

You, of course, have your Chicago icons, including Lou Malnati’s pizza, Garrett Popcorn, Eli’s Cheesecake, Manny’s corned beef and more. But you might want to also try out Chinatown institution Lao Sze Chuan and the Brazilian-style steakhouse Texas de Brazil. Both are new to the Taste lineup and reportedly were quite popular during the event’s Daley Center preview earlier this month.

Who should I see?

The musical lineup at this year’s Taste doesn’t feature many big names, but you can catch popular 1990s band Soul Asylum at 5 p.m. today or see country music legend Loretta Lynn perform at 5 p.m. on July 1. For the full music lineup, visit explorechicago.org.

What else should I know?

Know that alcoholic beverages and glass containers are forbidden at the Taste and all backpacks, coolers, etc. are subject to search. As for those “flash mobs,” If you just stay alert and don’t stray off by your lonesome, you’ll be just fine.

From the Saturday, June 18, editions of The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) …

Take your father to some of Chicago’s hoods

The WISCH LIST

June 18, 2011

I’m haven’t yet enjoyed the experience of fatherhood, but for 35 years, I have been a son.

So, I’d like to think I know a little bit about what dads like.

For example, I know that mine likes baseball. And so for this year’s Father’s Day gift, I’m taking him to Sunday night’s Cubs-Yankees game at Wrigley Field.

Perhaps the Cubs will even be in a gift-giving mood and deliver a win.

Since Father’s Day is, well, tomorrow, I also know that it’s probably a tad late to be conjuring up gift ideas for yours. (At least, I hope it is). But if you do need a last-minute idea, or simply want to treat the dad – or dads – in your life to something special in Chicago later on this summer, here a few novel options to consider …

For the meat-loving Dad …

I’ve found that most fathers tend to be carnivorous, and if your dad fits that bill – like, really fits it – then The Frontier restaurant in Chicago’s West Town neighborhood is where he can go full boar.

Literally.

Located at 1072 N. Milwaukee Avenue, The Frontier opened earlier this year, offering a unique array of meaty fare amidst a backwoods Wisconsin cabin atmosphere.

On the menu, you’ll find duck tacos, venison cheesesteak sandwiches, elk shepherd’s pie and bison steaks. But, if you really want to make a night of it for your dad – and about a dozen family or friends – you can call the restaurant five days in advance and arrange for its “Whole Animal Service.” That means that they’ll spit-roast an entire pig, lamb, goat or wild boar and let you feast like a king.

In this case, Henry VIII.

For more information, visit www.thefrontierchicago.com.

For the music-loving Dad …

On December 4, 1956, the stars aligned and rock legends Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins all rolled in to the famed Sun Records in Memphis at the same to time to hold their first – and only – recording session together.

For the past couple of years in Chicago’s Lincoln Park, that star-studded jam session has been brought back to life through “The Million Dollar Quartet” musical at the Apollo Theater (2450 N. Lincoln Avenue).

Featuring hits such as “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Great Balls of Fire” and “Folsom Prison Blues,” the show is certain to satisfy the musically inclined father, both young and old.

For more information, visit www.milliondollarquartetlive.com.

For the beer-loving Dad …

In the Midwest, Milwaukee and St. Louis might be better known for their breweries, but thanks to Goose Island Half Acre the Windy City can hold its own when it comes to suds.

Both Goose Island Brewery (1800 N. Clybourn Avenue) and Half Acre Beer Company (4257 N. Lincoln Avenue) offer tours, offering a spirited experience for your dad.

Reservations are recommended for the Goose Island tour and required for the Half Acre Beer Company tour. For more information, visit www.gooseisland.com or www.halfacrebeer.com.

… And for the spa-loving Dad?

If your dad is tired of meat, music and beer, you can instead consider treating him to a day at the spa.

Yeah, really.

Located at 5151 N. Clark Street, Chicago’s SIR spa bills itself as the place “Where Men Get Their Go” and offers an array of men’s grooming and spa services, such as fully appointed lockers, rain showers, a relaxation lounge and a grooming club room.

I don’t really know what any of those things are, but if you’d like to find out visit, www.sirspa.com. Date packages to include moms are also available.

Today’s column from The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) …

The Cubs need a shakeup — and I have the ingredients

The WISCH LIST

June 11, 2011

It rained again in Wrigleyville this week.

And then it poured.

By this point, though, I’m used to it. Both literally with the buckets of precipitation that the city has swallowed this spring and figuratively with the myriad miscues that the Cubs keep pumping out.

And I’m hardly the only one.

Fact is, if things keep going the way they have so far for the Cubs this season – which, by the way, is on pace for nearly 100 losses – the seagulls at Wrigley Field might outnumber the fans by September.

Or August.

Maybe July.

Yes, on the North Side of Chicago, it’s dark days – even when the sun shines – as the Increasingly Less Lovable Losers continue to bumble their way out of contention and into Chicago sports oblivion.

If you want hard evidence on how much cachet the Cubs are losing, ponder this: In 2009, the average attendance at Wrigley Field was a robust 39,610. In 2010, it dropped to 37,814. And now, after 31 dates in 2011, it stands at just 34,818.

If that keeps up, the team will draw nearly 390,000 fewer fans this season than it did just two years ago. And all those empty seats? Well, they add up to a whole lot of money.

Maybe even as much as Alfonso Soriano makes.

Clearly, with losses piling up and fans steering clear, the Cubs have to do something. Cages must be rattled. Straws need to be stirred. But, as FOXSports.com senior baseball writer Ken Rosenthal wrote earlier this week, “The worst thing about the Cubs? You can’t even blow them up.

“Left fielder Alfonso Soriano, immovable. Third baseman Aramis Ramirez, immovable. Right-hander Carlos Zambrano, movable only if he is in the right mood to approve a deal.”

That very well may be true, and I don’t expect many roster changes right now – although I do expect plenty when as much as $50 million comes off the Cubs’ books after the season.

Beyond the lineup, though, I think Chairman Tom Ricketts – who so far has succeeded only in erecting a Toyota sign at Wrigley Field – needs to make major changes to the team’s management to get disenchanted Cubs fans to buy back in. Mike Quade and Jim Hendry aren’t cutting it.

And there are two names I’d be most interested in seeing replace them and breathe excitement back into the ballclub in 2012:

Ryne Sandberg and Greg Maddux.

Now, did that wake you up, Cubs fans?

Last fall, I thought the Cubs made a mistake when they hired Quade as manager instead of Ryne Sandberg. I felt that Ryno had done everything asked of him by the organization and deserved his shot. I still do.

And while I hardly blame all of the Cubs’ current woes on Quade, I’m pretty sure that Sandberg wouldn’t be doing worse. In fact, judging by the 37-22 record and five-game first-place lead that his Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs were enjoying as of Thursday, it’s entirely likely that Sandberg would be doing better.

Either way, the Cubs would be more interesting.

And the same could be said if Maddux replaced Hendry. Now, currently, the four-time Cy Young Award winner is in just his second season as Special Assistant to the GM, so Maddux might be considered too green to run a ballclub just yet.

But I’d love to see what kinds of moves one of the most cerebral ballplayers of all time would make. And I know that a Ryno and Mad Dog would make me interested in the team again.

Which is a lot more than I can say right now.

Today’s column from The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) …

The best Chicago fests June has to offer

The WISCH LIST

June 4, 2011

One month ago in this column, I gave thanks because the sixth-wettest April in 141 years of Chicago recordkeeping had mercifully come to an end.

Little did I know that it was to immediately be followed by the third-wettest May in the city’s history.

Fool me once …

But, now that the calendar has flipped to June – and summer has unofficially gotten underway – I figure that the weather in these parts has to turn around for good at some point.

Then again, look at the Cubs.

Nevertheless, I’m betting (cautiously) on warm weather sticking around this month, and with that wagering that you’d like some ideas about ways to enjoy the Windy City on weekends in June. Well, there’s no better option than Chicago’s famed street festivals. And here are this month’s best …

June 4-5: 57th Street Art Fair

Hyde Park is known as the home of the University of Chicago, President Barack Obama and, once upon a time, Amelia Earhart and Hugh Hefner.

But the historic neighborhood is also home to Chicago’s oldest juried (that is, panel-judged) art fair, held from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on June 4 and from 10 to 5 on June 5 between Dorchester and Kimbark avenues on 57th Street.

At the fair, visitors can chat up artists from across the country who specialize in everything from glass, jewelry and leather to photography, painting, sculpture and more. Family-friendly and alcohol-free, the event offers playgrounds for kids and a diverse array of food vendors.

For more information, visit: www.57thstreetartfair.org.

June 10-12: Ribfest Chicago

Twelve years ago, it began as a humble block party in Chicago’s Northcenter neighborhood. Next week, it’s expected to draw more than 45,000 people.

Who will dine of 50,000 pounds of ribs and BBQ.

Ribfest Chicago, held from 5 to 10 p.m. on June 10 and noon to 10 on June 11-12 at 4000 N. Lincoln Ave., is one of the city’s most anticipated – and delicious – summer festivals. Besides its food, Ribfest is also a nationally recognized music festival featuring indie, pop, rock and country bands. A “Kids Square” area offers inflatables and games for children, while revelers can also catch RibMania, the Midwest’s only professional rib-eating contest.

For more information, visit www.ribfest-chicago.com.

June 11-12: Wells Street Art Festival

The 57th Street Art Fair is a dry (no-alcohol) event. The Wells Street Art Festival is not.

And, as a result, the lively fest, held from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on June 11-12 on Wells St. between Division St. and North Ave., is known for both its art (ranked among the nation’s Top 10 art fests by Sunshine Artist magazine) and its revelry (the event attracts many 20- and 30-somethings to Chicago’s Old Town neighborhood).

In addition to 300 exhibitors, the fair also includes more than 20 food and drink vendors, a live-entertainment stage and an elaborate silent auction.

For more information, visit www.chicagoevents.com.

June 17-19: Taste of Randolph

Want to sample all of the top-rated restaurants in Chicago’s trendy West Loop neighborhood, but don’t have the time?

(Or the money?)

Well, then the Taste of Randolph, held from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. on June 17, 2 to 11 on June 18 and 2 to 10 on June 19 at 900 W. Randolph St., is the street festival for you.

The 15th Annual Taste features restaurant vendors such as The Girl & The Goat (owned by Bravo Top Chef winner Stephanie Izard), Indian-themed Veerasway and Italian-focused Vivó. And in addition to tantalizing tastebuds, the event also delights eyes and ears with two stages featuring live cooking demonstrations and musical entertainment.

For more information, visit www.starevents.com.

Today’s column from The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) …

Heat check: Derrick Rose gets his own ‘Bad Boys’

The WISCH LIST

May 28, 2011

Twenty-three years ago, No. 23 became “Michael Jordan.”

But Michael Jordan didn’t yet become a champion.

In 1988, the Chicago Bulls star proved himself officially super as he averaged 35.0 points per game to earn the NBA’s MVP and Defensive Player of the Year honors. In the playoffs, “His Airness” then dashed, dunked and tongue-wagged the Bulls into the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Where they met the “Bad Boys” of the Detroit Pistons.

And Jordan learned their rules.

The aggressive (and, yes, dirty) Pistons bullied MJ and his inexperienced teammates, winning the series in five games before Detroit rolled on to capture the conference title.

In 1989, the Bulls and the “Bad Boys” clashed once again, this time in the Eastern Conference Finals. And, once again, Jordan tasted bitter defeat as Detroit took the series 4-2 before storming their way to the franchise’s first-ever NBA title.

Come 1990, it was déjà vu all over again for Jordan as the Pistons beat Chicago 4-3 to capture the Eastern Conference championship and repeat with yet another NBA crown.

The next season, however, having suffered enough pain, heartache and frustration, Jordan made like Sir Edmund Hillary in sneakers and finally scaled his own personal Everest. And he did it in delicious fashion, as the Bulls swept the “Bad Boys” to win the 1991 Eastern Conference title and catapult themselves toward the first of six NBA titles.

This past Thursday night, after he crumbled down the stretch in the Bulls’ 83-80 loss to Miami in the deciding Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Derrick Rose – the Bulls’ first MVP since MJ – sat dejectedly in the interview room at the United Center.

“At the end, it’s on me,” he told the horde of reporters. “Everything is on me. Turnovers. Missed shots. Fouls. If anything, learn from it. That’s all I can do right now.”

And here’s what we should learn from this blistering series loss to the Heat:

Derrick Rose needs his “Bad Boys.”

And Chicago does, too.

Let’s be honest, since Michael Jordan retired from the Bulls in 1998, pro basketball hasn’t existed in Chicago. Not really. Certainly not in the way it once did.

But, this season, with Rose emerging as one of the game’s greats and LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh galloping through the playoffs clad in black hats – and black jerseys – things have suddenly become interesting again.
With Bulls-Heat, we have the makings of the next great NBA rivalry. And now it’s up to Rose to find a way to conquer the King.

In an old Nike commercial entitled “Rise” (watch the Jordan-LeBron James mash-up here), Michael Jordan narrates as images from his youth flash across the screen. He says, “Maybe it’s my fault. Maybe I led you to believe it was easy, when it wasn’t. Maybe I made you think my highlights started at the free throw line and not in the gym.

“Maybe I made you think every shot I took was a game-winner. That my game was built on flash and not fire. Maybe it’s my fault that you didn’t see that failure gave me strength; that my pain was my motivation. Maybe I led you to believe that basketball was a God-given gift and not something I worked for – every single day of my life. Maybe I destroyed the game …

“Or maybe you’re just making excuses.”

After failing against Miami, Rose offered no excuses. And now we can clearly see what his future promises.

Yes, Derrick Rose needed his “Bad Boys.”

Now, let’s get him his “Scottie Pippen,” too.

Today’s column from The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) …

Chicago’s undisputed King of Beers

The WISCH LIST

May 14, 2011

As he slid me my glass of Belgian beer, I sent back to my American bartender a pop quiz.

“How long have you been working here?” I asked the guy with the bushy beard working behind the upstairs bar last weekend at a popular nightspot on Chicago’s far North Side.

“You mean, tonight?” he asked, as I took my drink. “Or overall?”

“No, overall,” I replied with a slight chuckle.

“Five years.”

“And, so,” I inquired, unspooling my quiz question, “how long did it take you to memorize all the beers on the menu?”

With a smirk and a wipe of the bar with a rag, the barkeep who had just served me a glass of Grimbergen Blonde pale ale answered: “I still don’t know all of them. Every time I come in to work there are, like, 50 new beers.”

And with that, you’re welcomed to Michael & Louise’s Hopleaf Bar – better known as just “Hopleaf” – a thriving pub in Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood that during the past two decades has developed a cult following thanks to its remarkably extensive list of beers.

So extensive, in fact, that even Hopleaf’s bartenders can have a tough time keeping up it. Although you can hardly blame them, considering that, according to the Chicago Bar Project, Hopleaf (5148 N. Clark St.) offers more beers than any other bar in the Windy City.

And, believe me, that’s a whole lot of bars.

But we’ll get to Hopleaf’s grand total of available beers. Let’s first spend a few minutes learning more about the bar itself, which since 1992 has been located near the corner of Clark and Winona streets, just south of Foster Avenue, in the relaxed environment of Andersonville.

Featuring nearby street parking but most easily reached by cab, Hopleaf features an exterior that’s nondescript but easy enough to spot if you keep your eyes peeled for the hand-made sign above the front door that depicts a red, three-leafed hop plant that has become the bar’s familiar logo.

It’s an icon that’s become well known among hops aficionados nationwide, as people have been known to travel thousands of miles simply to sample the laundry list of brews at this beer lover’s paradise.

What they find upon entering Hopleaf is a dimly lit front room with wooden tables and green vinyl-padded wooden booths filled with members of the bar’s devoted – and ever-growing – following.

The pub is actually much more spacious than it appears on first glance, as Hopleaf also features an upstairs bar – where a smaller, but still huge, selection of beers are available – as well as a two-level dining room in the back. In 2003, the bar’s kitchen opened and has since become known among foodies for serving perhaps the best mussels in all of Chicago.

Throughout Hopleaf, the walls are adorned with original German art deco beer posters from the 1920s, featuring exotic brands such as Solanis and Biere Titan. But it’s above the long wooden front bar where visitors will find the most important wall ornaments of all – a pair of large chalkboards upon which Hopleaf’s stunning menu of beers are scribbled.

And at last count, that menu featured 308 different beers, including 41 on tap (mostly of the Belgian variety) in addition to 267 more craft brews and imports in bottles. Or in other words, enough to drink a different one every day until next St. Patrick’s Day.

Per the Chicago Bar Project, Hopleaf offers 31 more beers than the 277 available at The Map Room in Bucktown, making it Chicago’s undisputed King of Beers. Although, don’t order a Bud at Hopleaf.

You’ll get laughed at.

This week’s column from The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) …

If no Bears, what’s the reason for the season?

The WISCH LIST

May 7, 2011

This past weekend at Soldier Field, people were sipping beers, scarfing down hot dogs and snapping more photographs than paparazzi at the annual Bears Expo. But this year, the Bears’ big offseason event featured a brand-new twist.

No Bears.

“It’s still cool being here,” 35-year-old Ruben Ledesema, of Lawrenceburg, Ind., said on Saturday as he relaxed in a 100-level seat at Soldier Field and watched kids – both little and adult-sized – run around stadium’s sun-splashed turf conducting football drills.

“But,” Ledesema continued, with a bit of a pained look, “this is the first time not seeing any of the current players here. This lockout is a bummer.”

Millions of pro football fans across the country – perhaps, including yourself – no doubt muttered the same thing this morning when they rolled out of bed knowing that the NFL’s labor drama is about to spill over into yet another week, with no clear end in sight.

The latest news this week was that a federal appeals court has agreed to a speeded-up schedule to hear the NFL’s appeal of the order that lifted the lockout last week. But that “speeded-up” schedule won’t even take a next step until June 3.

The speed of the legal system isn’t exactly like Devin Hester’s.

And as more and more weeks tumble off the calendar this spring and summer, the likelihood of a 2011 NFL season this fall becomes less and less certain.

So, last Saturday, with that distasteful prospect in mind, I took a trek down to Bears Expo, which did feature Bears legends such as Richard Dent and Dan Hampton and perhaps a future one in first-round pick Gabe Carimi, but showcased no current Monsters of the Midway.

My mission was to quiz Bears fans about what they’ll do to pass the time in the event of a pigskin Armageddon this fall. And what I discovered is that when it comes to the lockout, ignorance – much like a win over Green Bay – appears to be bliss.

“I honestly try not to pay attention to that stuff,” said Matt Swacina, 32, of Grand Rapids, Mich., who was dressed like a 1980s-era Mike Ditka, complete with the mustache, aviator sunglasses and blue-and-orange Bears sweater. “So, I really don’t know what’s going on with (the lockout). There’s just no sense in worrying about it.”

Although, I think my questions made “Da Coach” start doing just that.

“But there better be a season,” Swacina said. “I don’t even want to think about that not happening. If it did, I would probably spend a lot more time watching European soccer.”

Now, that’s no Bears fan’s goal, including Ledesema – such a big Chicago sports fan that he named his children Payton and Jordan – who also hadn’t done much thinking about how he’d pass the time if the NFL season is canceled. But he shuddered once did.

“I would probably work more,” Ledesema said with a laugh. “I’m the general manager at a Best Buy, but I have my Sundays off so I can watch football. I guess, though, I’d go into work instead.

“But it’s just un-American. You have baseball and you have football on Sundays. I might have to start following rugby.”

Meanwhile, Chicagoan Julie Hatmacher, who attended Saturday’s Bears Expo with her cousin, Kate, said the fall would simply be far less festive without pro football.

“We’d have less of a reason to drink,” she said, chuckling. “Really, it’s something I haven’t thought much about. But, wow, if there was no NFL season?

“Wisconsin and Illinois might actually have to get along.”

Today’s column from The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) …

Sports still reign over Chicago during wacky April

The WISCH LIST

April 30, 2011

After today, April is over.

Thank goodness.

Because, while peeking out from beneath umbrellas and behind windshield wipers, we’ve seen enough rainfall – and lack of sunshine – this month throughout Chicagoland to make Seattle blush.

The final numbers are still dripping in, but at Midway Airport, this has been the wettest April in at least 12 years and the sixth rainiest since the airport started measuring back in 1928. Beyond that, according to WGN-Ch. 9 meteorologist Tom Skilling, this has also been the cloudiest April that Chicago has experienced since sunshine observations started way back in 1893.

But, hey, you know what they say, April showers bring May flowers.

Like a (Derrick) Rose.

Hopefully, we’ll see the Chicago Bulls’ point guard fully bloom – along with, you know, the forecasts – during the next several weeks.

But, today, with Illinois wrapping up an interesting April (both for weather, and sports) and with the Bulls and Blackhawks having hogged the headlines lately, I thought I’d weigh in with a few thoughts about some of the occurrences involving our state’s other sports teams this month.

Richmond a ‘sure’ thing for NBA?

I don’t think that Jereme Richmond is ready for the NBA.

But the controversial former Fighting Illini is headed there after just one rocky season in Champaign. And, this week, one NBA scout I spoke told me that he’s “sure someone will take Richmond” in the first round of this summer’s NBA Draft.

I’m skeptical of that. But we’ll see come June.

As for where the slender, 6-foot-7 Richmond would play if he does make the NBA?

“He’s best as a mismatched three (small forward),” the scout told me. “He’d be able to post-up and play … and pass and rebound to facilitate for others. Shooting is the question mark offensively.”

Big cities, bad baseball

So far this season, baseball in Chicago has been something of a snooze with both the Cubs and the White Sox having gotten off to sluggish starts.

At best.

But, perhaps you can take solace in the fact that the Windy City is hardly the only major metropolitan area where the play on the diamonds was rough this month.

After Friday’s ballgames, mediocrity was the rule in the Major League’s major, two-team markets, with only the Angels (15-11), Dodgers (14-13) and Yankees (14-9) having winning records up to this point.
Collectively, L.A.’s two teams were 29-24, New York’s 25-24, San Francisco-Oakland’s 25-26, Washington-Baltimore’s 23-26 and Chicago’s 21-31.
OK, so maybe that won’t make you feel any better.

Bears Expo or bust?

The 2011 NFL season remains in flux. The 2011 Chicago Bears do, too. But, today, at the 2011 Bears Expo, it’s business as usual.

Well, sort of.

With chaos continuing to rule in the NFL thanks to the ongoing labor drama, no current Bears players are scheduled to appear today during the annual daylong Bears Expo at Soldier Field.

Instead, fans attending the Expo are supposed to get the chance to, um, mingle with the Hall of Fame busts of Bears greats Dick Butkus, Mike Ditka, Red Grange, George Halas, Dan Hampton, Sid Luckman and Walter Payton, all shipped direct from Canton, Ohio.

And, they’ll also greeted by real-life Bears legends, including Hampton and Richard Dent as well as Neal Anderson, Doug Buffone, Jay Hilgenberg, Steve McMichael, Ed O’Bradovich.

I’m curious, however, if any active Bears players decide to buy a ticket today and crash the Expo party. With NFL commissioner Roger Goodell scheduled to join Bears fans via video conferencing for a Q & A seminar during the Expo, perhaps they could quiz him a bit themselves.

Today’s column from The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) …

Rose to the top: Basketball’s back in Chicago

The WISCH LIST

April 23, 2011

During the summer, Chicago is a baseball town. During the winter, it’s a football town. And, last spring, as the Blackhawks showered the city with postseason glory, it was most definitely a hockey town.

But it’s been a while since Chicago was a basketball town.

Thirteen years, to be exact.

The last time the Windy City was truly captivated by the Chicago Bulls was in 1998 when some bald-headed dude was sizing up his sixth NBA championship ring.

But since the Michael Jordan era ended, the White Sox have won a World Series, the Bears have been to a Super Bowl, the University of Illinois has reached a Final Four and the Blackhawks have hoisted a Stanley Cup.

Heck, even the Cubs have been to the playoffs four times.

As a result, Chicago’s collective interest in the Bulls has waned. However, the city’s fandom now appears to be resurrecting itself – fitting, I suppose, for Easter Weekend – thanks, mainly, to one kid.

A Rose is a Rose is a Rose …

For seven years during my 20s, I covered high school sports. And during that time, I saw more prep games than I can count, watching hundreds of kids shoot hoops in both cavernous big-city arenas as well as crackerbox gymnasiums in towns where many people probably didn’t even know there was a high school.

Or a town.

Most of the players I saw were average. Some were good. A few were even great. But only one of them was Derrick Rose.

Back in December 2004, I saw Rose for the first time when he was just a high school sophomore playing in the Pontiac Holiday Tournament. On that night, the wiry point guard from Chicago Simeon was as raw as could be — Rose committed eight turnovers in the game — but he also flashed athletic gifts beyond belief.

And pulled off a dunk even more unbelievable.

While on a one-on-one fast break with a smaller defender attached to his hip the entire way, Rose sprinted downcourt appearing that he’d go in for a contested layup – perhaps a difficult one-handed dunk. But, instead, as Rose reached the basket, he erupted off the floor for the most unexpected two-handed slam that I’ve ever seen.

In fact, so startled was the crowd at Pontiac High School that the entire gymnasium audibly gasped in unison.

I’ll never forget that sound.

Better than MJ?

Earlier this week, during an online discussion about Derrick Rose, a friend of mine posed this question to me: “Why aren’t more people saying he’s better than Jordan was at this point in his career? Because he is.”

But I begged to differ.

At 22, Rose might be better than Jordan was at that age. Maybe. (MJ, however, did average 28.2 points per game as a 21-year-old rookie before missing much of his second season with a broken foot). But it’s difficult to compare, because – thanks to AAU basketball and entering the NBA at age 19 – Rose has much more overall game experience than Jordan did at 22.

I feel more comfortable looking at their respective third seasons. And as a third-year pro, Jordan averaged 37.1 points, 4.6 assists and 2.9 steals per game for an eighth-seeded playoff team. Rose, by comparison, averaged 25.0, 7.7 and 1.0 with a superior supporting cast for this year’s No. 1 seed.

Rose should win MVP this year. But, by Jordan’s fourth year, he was named MVP and the NBA Defensive Player of the Year.

At 22, Derrick Rose is truly great, but he’s not quite Michael Jordan.

Nevertheless, isn’t Chicago fortunate to even entertain such a debate?

Today’s newspaper column from The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) …

Three playoff ‘wins’ in the Windy City

The WISCH LIST

April 16, 2011

Chicago is on a roll.

With seeds.

Postseason, that is. Not poppy.

Last spring, the Blackhawks snared the No. 2 seed in the NHL Western Conference Playoffs, and then skated to the Stanley Cup championship. This past winter, the Bears nabbed the No. 2 seed in the NFC Playoffs, and then ended up with a home-field edge in the conference championship game.

(Let’s just not talk about who they lost to.)

And, now, this spring, the Bulls have upped the city’s vertical by securing the No. 1 overall seed in the NBA playoffs for the first time since Michael Jordan was winning rings.

The Bulls’ first-round series tips off this afternoon against the Pacers at the United Center, and come Sunday night, the Blackhawks (only an eight seed, guys?) will join in on the postseason fun at the UC with Game 3 vs. Vancouver.

So, with Playoff Fever (and Spring Fever) again sweeping Chicagoland, I thought I’d share with you a three-pointer’s – or hat trick’s – worth of fun city sports bars where you can get a unique taste of the postseason action over the next several weeks.

Hopefully, the Bulls’ and Blackhawks’ runs last that long.

Joe’s Bar
940 W. Weed St.

Visiting Joe’s on gameday – pretty much any gameday – is kind of like visiting a Best Buy that serves pizza, wings and beer.

There are that many TV sets in the place.

In fact, the 20,000-foot warehouse-style venue located just off North Avenue not far from the Chicago neighborhoods of Old Town and Lincoln Park (and the North/Clybourn CTA Red Line stop) boasts more than 110 plasma televisions and high-definition projector screens.

Joe’s, which calls itself home to the Chicago chapters of 14 different college alumni groups (including the University of Illinois), is always hopping and also features a spacious outdoor patio that includes a 20-foot-tall projector screen. Of course.

My tip: If you go on a weekend, get there early. And if you really want to pay attention to a game, grab a booth in the front room. They each feature their own personal flat-screen TVs.

For more information, visit joesbar.com.

Mother Hubbard’s
5 W. Hubbard St.

If you want to go old-school sports bar hopping in Chicago, then Mother Hubbard’s is your place.
Tucked downtown just west of the Mag Mile, the bar still offers a casual neighborhood feel on a street that’s now dominated by trendy River North nightspots.

The pub features more than 40 TVs, including several of the jumbo-sized variety, and is proud of its meaty menu (burgers and ribs are specialties), bragging that Mother Hubbard’s is the place “Where the cupboard is never bare.”

My tip: If you visit Mother Hubbard’s on the night of a playoff series clincher, venture down along Hubbard Street later on. Hawks or Bulls players could be out celebrating at one of the nearby clubs.

For more information, visit motherhubbardschicago.com.

West End
1326 W. Madison St.

Billing itself as “Chicago’s Official Partner of the Blackhawks,” West End – located in the West Loop (hence the name) – is about as good a seat as you’re going to get near the United Center without actually being inside the United Center.

Last spring, the upscale-but-casual bar – and its 32 plasma TVs – was considered by many Chicagoans to be the place to watch the Hawks’ Stanley Cup run. It’s also fun place to watch the Bears, although during a Sunday visit last fall I found far too many patrons bringing babies – and even strollers – into the bar, making for a somewhat awkward scene.

My tip: Don’t bring a baby.

For more information, visit westendwestloop.com.