Wisch List

From the Saturday, April 5, editions of The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) …

The WISCH LIST

By Dave Wischnowsky

No matter your city, no matter your state, no matter your climate, spring is universally regarded as a season of renewal during which everyone gets a fresh start.

Unless, of course, you’re the Chicago Cubs.

And then it probably just means more of the same.

At least that was the case to start this week after the Cubs opened the 2014 season in Pittsburgh by failing to post a run for nearly 17 innings.

The drought got bad enough on Wednesday night that I was wondering which team would score first in 2014, the Cubs … or the Bears.

Ultimately, the Cubs beat the Bears to that punch, but the punchless North Siders have a lineup that could make fans punchy all spring. With that in mind, I’m going to take a few swings of my own at the Chicago sports scene and, who knows, I might even connect with a few.

Continue reading “Spring cleaning my mind about Chicago sports”

My April 5 column from CBS Chicago …

(CBS) Should Duke’s Jabari Parker go pro? Should Kansas’ Joel Embiid? What about Kentucky’s Julius Randle, or any of the Wildcats’ other fab frosh?

Well, if they’re sure-fire lottery picks, the answer is probably yes. You don’t gamble on that kind of money.

But as a college basketball fan, do I truly want any of them to go pro? No, I can’t say that I do. And, really, I wish that they weren’t.

Ever since high school basketball players were required to spend one year in college before becoming eligible for the NBA Draft – thanks to the NBA’s 19-year-old age limit – I’ve lamented the impact that the rule has had on both kids and college hoops.

I don’t really think it does much positive for either.

Recently, new NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has indicated a desire to raise the NBA age limit to 20, essentially requiring athletes to spend two years at the college level before joining the pros. His argument is that the influx of younger players who have never had a chance to lead has had a negative effect on the league.

Continue reading at CBSChicago.com …

My April 3 column from CBS Chicago …

(CBS) For Tim Beckman, even when he’s right, it still somehow ends up being wrong.

On Monday morning after spring football practice in Champaign, the University of Illinois’ third-year football coach turned a molehill into something of a mountain when he spoke out against a recent Sports Illustrated story about the Illini.

In the article, which was posted online on March 25, Beckman was quoted in the final sentence as saying, “I want this program to get better. That’s the bottom line. And that means five or six wins.”

Personally, I didn’t have any big problems with that line or the SI article, which I found to be balanced and honest. After going just 6-18 during Beckman’s first two seasons, the program does need to get better. That’s the bottom line. And after last year’s 4-8 campaign, that would mean five or six wins, although I do think that Beckman needs six – qualifying the Illini for a bowl game – in order to survive to coach a fourth season.

In the week after the SI story went live, I didn’t see any backlash on social media about Beckman’s quote and didn’t think much of it myself. But Beckman felt a need to lash back on Monday. According to the Champaign News-Gazette, before the media could even ask a question following the end of Illinois’ practice, the coach pointed to his right wrist.

On it, Beckman apparently is now wearing a bracelet bearing the numbers “12-6-14,” which is the date of the 2014 Big Ten Championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Showing off his swag, Beckman told the assembled media that he was misquoted in the SI article, written by Chris Johnson.

Continue reading at CBSChicago.com …

Monday’s column from CBS Chicago …

(CBS) A few weeks ago in the midst of Chicago’s wicked winter, I predicted that it would snow on Opening Day.

I don’t know if I’ve ever been happier to be wrong.

Although, I do know one thing that would be please me even more than today’s spring-like weather. And that would be if Chicago baseball actually ended up being interesting this summer.

To hope for it to be truly compelling is probably too much ask.

Last Friday, using a scale of 1-10, I asked the Chicago baseball fans among my Facebook and Twitter followers to rank their excitement level for Opening Day. The numbers varied from 10 to negative-3 (that was a Cubs fan). And before this morning, with the Cubs and Sox coming off such terribly sorry seasons, I would have said that my own excitement level is probably a 2.

But now this sunshine has me thinking about summer and my love of our national pastime, so I think I have to say my level has now been bumped up to at least a 4. Perhaps even a 5. And in honor of that, here are five questions I do have for the Cubs and White Sox as we embark upon Opening Day and play ball.

Continue reading at CBSChicago.com …

 

From the Saturday, March 29, editions of The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) …

The WISCH LIST

By Dave Wischnowsky

They say that April showers bring May flowers.

But apparently March blizzards do too.

Or at least that’s the case this year in Chicago, as through April 6, Macy’s in the Loop (111 N. State Street) has transformed its 9th Floor into a wonderland called “The Secret Garden” that’s bursting with an estimated 2 million flowers and exotic topiaries.

In addition to the flora, the “The Secret Garden” also offers guided tours and features a variety of cooking demonstrations, seminars by floral experts, and fashion events to put you in the proper mood for springtime.

Even if April still feels like wintertime.

For more information about “The Secret Garden,” you can visit social.macys.com/flowershow, And for more information about other events throughout the Windy City during April, you can simply read on.

Continue reading “Spring into April events throughout Chicago”

My CBS Chicago column from March 27 …

(CBS) Tell me, what came first, the chicken or the wins?

At the University of Illinois, something along those cracked lines of the chicken-or-egg riddle is what has to be puzzling athletic director Mike Thomas this week as he announced a new initiative to double his department’s donor base to 15,000 and its annual revenue to $15 million by 2020.

With every big-time athletic department in need of cash to compete, the mission at Illinois – which includes new donor levels, including one as high as $50,000 and one as low as $50 – appears to be a worthy one. But, nevertheless, the question remains, can Thomas really expect to make an omelet without cracking a few more wins first?

On Wednesday, Champaign News-Gazette columnist Loren Tate reported that the University of Illinois’ I-Fund – the annual revenue generated from donors to pay for the scholarships of 520 student-athletes (or student employees, if you ask Northwestern’s football team) – is lagging far behind similar funds at other major-conference schools.
According to Thomas, during the past 20 years, tuition at Illinois has tripled from $10,000 to more than $30,000 for in-state athletes, and to more than $40,000 for out-of-staters (of which there are more than 50 on the football team alone).

Continue reading at CBSChicago.com …

My CBS Chicago column from March 25 …

(CBS) Michigan has two, and they’re both in the Sweet 16. Ohio and Iowa have two apiece, and all of them heard their names called on Selection Sunday. Indiana also has two, and … well, perhaps they’re not the best example right now.

Throughout the Midwest, several states have a pair of large public universities that are both members of major conferences (Michigan/Michigan State and Indiana/Purdue in the Big Ten; Iowa in the Big Ten and Iowa State in the big 12; and Ohio State in the Big Ten and Cincinnati in the American Athletic Conference), and many of them enjoy athletic and academic success.

Illinois, stands alone in that regard, but two local legislators want to change that.

Last week, state senators Michael Connelly (R-Naperville) and Matt Murphy (R-Palatine) introduced legislation in Springfield to study the feasibility of making one of Illinois’ current state universities a Big Ten school.

According to the Naperville Sun, the measure, Senate Bill 3526, passed the Senate Higher EducationCommittee on March 19 and will be called for a Senate vote soon. Both lawmakers say they are pursuing the idea due to concerns that some suburban students are leaving Illinois to attend other, high-priced Big Ten institutions out of state.

Continue reading at CBSChicago.com …

From the Saturday, March 22, editions of The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) …

The WISCH LIST

By Dave Wischnowsky

Chicago is a city of many things, including nicknames.

From the Windy City to the Second City to the City of Big Shoulders, that Toddlin’ Town has plenty of monikers. It also has plenty of neighborhoods – 77, to be exact – all of which have nicknames, too.

Last week, MentalFloss.com, which specializes in interesting facts and odd bits of knowledge, published an article entitled, “How Chicago’s Neighborhoods Got Their Names.”

The piece taught me about neighborhoods that I barely know, such as Pill Hill (named for all the doctors who once called the area home), Gladstone Park (named after British Prime Minister William Gladstone) and Jackowo (named from the Polish spelling of Saint Hyacinth’s Basilica – Bazylika Św. Jacka).

And for the neighborhoods I thought I knew well, I learned that I didn’t really know many of them well at all. To enlighten you, I wanted to share a few of my favorite facts about Chicago’s favorite neighborhoods.

Continue reading “The names behind Chicago’s neighborhoods”

Thursday’s column at CBS Chicago …

(CBS) The 76th edition of the men’s basketball NCAA Tournament begins today, and for the 76th straight year, the Northwestern Wildcats will honor the event in the only way they know how.

By following it from home.

As the only major conference school in America to never reach the Big Dance, Northwestern exists in a realm that perhaps only Cubs fans can understand, and even they know what the postseason feels like.

Like the Cubs, Northwestern also plays in an aging venue that’s in need of work. But unlike Wrigley Field – which is slated for a massive overhaul (eventually) – Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston isn’t due to get any more than a touch-up in the foreseeable future. However, if Northwestern really wants to become a perennial player in the Big Ten basketball race – and even the occasional qualifier for the NCAA Tournament – it needs to do more for its home court.

Much more.

Continue reading at CBSChicago.com …

Tuesday’s column from CBS Chicago …

(CBS) The good news for this young Illinois basketball team is that it’s playing in the postseason. The bad news is that the postseason is the NIT. And the frustrating news is that I think it could have instead been the NCAA Tourney, if only a few buttons had been pushed earlier.

And, yes, John Groce, I am looking at your trigger finger.

Overall in Year 2 of the Groce Era in Champaign, I was pleased with the Illini coach’s job. As he works to stabilize and strengthen his roster for the long term, he’s been forced to deal with a lineup that’s long on inexperience and short on shooting. Throughout this season, he didn’t allow the Illini’s spirit or effort to falter, even during an eight-game losing streak. And yet again, he has his team peaking down the stretch when games matter most.

But my beef with Groce for 2014-15 is that he didn’t peek down his own bench earlier this year. Because I do believe that if he had inserted freshmen Kendrick Nunn and Malcolm Hill into the starting lineup in place of fifth-year seniors Jon Ekey and Joseph Bertrand a little earlier, Illinois very possibly would have nabbed the one or two more Big Ten wins it needed to be selected for the Big Dance.

And while I’m surely not the only to hold that theory, I am the one who has crunched the numbers to help back it up.

Continue reading at CBSChicago.com …