Wisch List

Today’s column from CBS Chicago …

(CBS) We don’t know which teams the Chicago Bears will beat this season, but we do know that throughout it they’ll be running plays to the beat of a different drummer.

Namely, Marc Trestman.

On Sunday, Chicago Tribune columnist David Haugh wrote a piece about the first man not named Lovie Smith to lead the Bears since 2003. In his column, Haugh delved into Trestman’s memoir and attempted to shed some light on the unorthodox import from the CFL who remains mostly an unknown for most Bears fans and journalists as we head into the 2013 season.

“Since Trestman took over in January, he has made an impression by being considerate, deliberate and transparent but not rash; attentive but never explosive,” Haugh wrote. “General manager Phil Emery warned me after I characterized Trestman as professorial not to underestimate his coach’s competitiveness. What fun it will be on Sundays finding out exactly what Emery meant.”

While the true fun won’t begin until the Bears’ season opener on Sept. 8 against the Bengals at Soldier Field, it’s already been plenty intriguing observing how Trestman has operated during training camp.

On July 29 in an article entitled “Chicago Bears training camp: Marc Trestman keeps it weird,” SB Nation writer Ricky O’Donnell wrote, “Sunday marked the first time the Bears put on pads in the training camp debut of the team’s new coach, but physicality was far from an emphasis.

“Forget blood, sweat and tears; the only thing that covered the Bourbonnais practice fields were exercise balls. The curse-’em-out approach has been replaced by widespread positive reinforcement. The guy who’s supposed to inspire these men to go to war for the betterment of Chicago’s civic pride thinks and speaks more like a college professor.”

And for the past month all of that has had me thinking about how Trestman, in some ways, reminds me of another offbeat coach who enjoyed a bit of success in the Windy City.

Namely, Phil Jackson.

Continue reading at CBSChicago.com …

This weekend’s Wisch List newspaper column from The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) …

The WISCH LIST

By Dave Wischnowsky

With the season opener just two weeks away, most Bears fans are wondering if Marc Trestman is actually an NFL coach or just a CFL coach posing as one and whether Jay Cutler can finally win more than he scowls.

In Kankakee County, however, Bears boosters are pondering a different question: With a new agreement to keep the team’s summer training camp at Olivet Nazarene University through 2022, can leaders finally figure out how to use the Monsters of the Midway to scare up more revenue for the region?

As a Bourbonnais native who lives in Chicago and has traveled the state, I can verify that the Bears have made my hometown rich in name recognition. But since there never has been an in-depth economic impact study done during the 12 years that the team has camped at ONU, no one knows for sure how many actual dollars the Bears bring into the area.

With the team’s nine-year commitment, Kankakee County should commission such a study to start thinking long-term about ways to better capitalize on the estimated 100,000 fans that annually attend camp. In the meantime, I reached out this week to my community of nearly 7,000 Facebook and Twitter followers to ask what ONU and the community could do to make training camp a better experience for fans.

Continue reading “Time for Bourbonnais to tackle big ideas for Bears Camp”

Friday’s column from CBS Chicago …

(CBS) I was offended on Thursday.

Pat Forde labeled Illinois as “the worst” in the Big Ten.

Now, the Yahoo! Sports college football expert wasn’t talking about Illinois’ college football team (that I wouldn’t argue about). Nor was he talking about the university itself (that I would).

Rather, Forde was referring to the city where my alma mater resides, calling Champaign the “Worst Town” in the conference as part of his “Big Ten at a glance” previewing the upcoming season.

Unlike his other league ratings – such as “Best Defensive Player” Ryan Shazier of Ohio State, about whom Forde wrote “Weakside linebacker into everything offense tried to do last year – 115 total tackles, 17 for loss, five sacks, 11 passes broken up, one interception, three fumbles forced.” – he offered no explanation for his tabbing Champaign as the pits.

All Forde offered up was a pretty photo of Memorial Stadium with fans striping the stadium in orange and blue – remarkably, the stands were full (without Photoshop!) – along with the four ugly words: “Worst town: Champaign, Ill.”

Continue reading at CBSChicago.com …

Today’s column from CBS Chicago …

(CBS) The Cubs are making their move.

You know, back to the basement.

As of Thursday morning, the Lovable Losers were back to their less-than-lovable ways, having dropped eight of their last 10 games to fall a half-game behind the Brewers and into dead last in the NL Central.

Perhaps more significantly – for the franchise’s future prospects, at least – the Cubs also moved to within 5½ games of the Marlins for the No. 2 spot in the 2014 MLB Draft. (The Astros, on pace for a staggering 109 losses, pretty much have the No. 1 spot locked up yet again.)

Meanwhile, on the South Side of Chicago, the last-place White Sox are streaking – in the right direction. With Wednesday night’s 5-2 victory over the Royals, the Sox have surprisingly won five in a row and seven of their last 10. But the question is, will their hot stretch carry on long enough to lift the city of Chicago out of the depths of ignominious baseball history?

Two months ago, I wrote about how the Cubs and White Sox were actually eyeing a record season in 2013 – for combined losses. At that time back on June 21, the both ball clubs were mired in last place (just like now) and on pace to drop 95 games apiece.

Continue reading at CBSChicago.com …

Wednesday’s column from CBS Chicago …

(CBS) Last year, Fenway Park celebrated its 100th birthday. Come next year, Wrigley Field will do the same.

In Boston, Fenway capped its century mark with the completion of a 10-year, $285 million renovation of the majors’ oldest ballpark. Soon, a $500 million overhaul is set to begin at the Second City’s second oldest one. And last week, my wife and I visited both baseball icons during our “mini-moon” in Chicago and Boston following our wedding on Aug. 10.

In between hot dogs, drinks and pitches, I spent some time pondering what was at Fenway, what is now and what could be at Wrigley. And much like Boston is not Chicago and Chicago is not Boston – despite both being fantastic cities – it’s important to first note that Fenway is not Wrigley and Wrigley is not Fenway, despite both being fantastic ballparks.

However, as the Cubs prepare their plans to make over the “Friendly Confines,” the franchise would be wise to follow some of the steps that the Red Sox took to both preserve and transform “America’s Most Beloved Ballpark.”

But not all of them.

The following are five of my thoughts about Fenway’s finished renovations in relation to Wrigley’s upcoming, which hopefully will one day help turn the Cubs into what the Red Sox have already become: World Champions.

Continue reading at CBSChicago.com …

My Aug. 17 Wisch List newspaper column from The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) …

The WISCH LIST

By Dave Wischnowsky

A couple of weeks ago on Twitter, Big Ten Network anchor Mike Hall started a #GreatChicagoAccentWords hashtag that evoked responses such as “Sox,” “Cicero” and “Comiskey,” as well as “Sausage,” “Sears” and, simply, “Chicago.”

Go ahead and say them yourself in your finest “Superfans” impersonation. Fun, right?
As much as it’s a city of streetscapes and skyscrapers, Chicago is also a city of words – and the birthplace of many of them too.

Chicago Magazine selected the city’s “Top 40 Contributions to the English Language,” providing origins and definitions and of that list, I’ve picked my 10 favorites – along with my own commentary about each.

As a Chicagoan and a words guy myself, I could hardly resist.

Continue reading “Chicago’s colorful contributions to the English language”

My Aug. 10 Wisch List newspaper column from The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) …

The WISCH LIST

By Dave Wischnowsky

You can have the rest of the roads in the country.

I’ll take Lake Shore Drive.

Although, five decades ago, that’s just what Chicago tried to do – take Lake Shore Drive.
In 1960, Mayor Richard J. Daley proposed that the city’s iconic thoroughfare be widened and turned into a “real” expressway that would have run south through Jackson Park, zipping behind the Museum of Science and Industry and eventually leading down Stony Island Avenue to the Chicago Skyway.

According to the Chicago Reader, many Hyde Park residents protested the plan, with some going so far as to tie themselves to trees along the proposed route. That prompted Daley’s surrender – one of the few high-profile defeats in “Da Mare’s” storied political career.

And thank goodness it was. Because if Daley and the Chicago Planning Commission had gotten their way, most of Grant Park between Buckingham Fountain to the east and Columbus Drive to the west would have been bulldozed too.

What today is a swath of tranquil green space home to tennis courts, baseball fields, the Art Institute’s Modern Wing, Lurie Garden, and Maggie Daley Park would instead be covered by concrete. The area that’s now Millennium Park would neighbor a noisy expressway, meaning sounds of the symphony would be replaced by sounds of cacophony.

Fortunately none of that happened. And here in 2013, Lake Shore Drive, much like rush hour traffic on a Friday, isn’t going anywhere. However, the 7-mile northern stretch of LSD – as picturesque a drive as there is in the country – does need to be rebuilt due to age.

And it could end up being altered, perhaps dramatically.

This week, Chicago held a series of public meetings seeking input to help shape the renovation project, which likely won’t begin until 2018. Ironically, after years of Chicago investigating ways to speed up Lake Shore Drive, much of the push is to now slow it down.

Continue reading “New visions for Lake Shore Drive are forming in Chicago”

My Aug. 8 column from CBS Chicago …

(CBS) In my dresser drawer there sits a yellow T-shirt that shouts “SUPPORT DAY BASEBALL” in bold red letters on its front side, while its back sports the equally loud message: “NO LIGHTS IN WRIGLEY FIELD.”

The shirt – a throwback honoring the “purists” who campaigned during the 1980s to keep Wrigley out of the Electric Age – is something that I bought several years ago, and I wear it to Cubs games on occasion.

Although, only if I’m attending one that starts in the afternoon.

After all, I wouldn’t want to be a hypocrite.

I do love day baseball. However, it’s not that I don’t like night games at Wrigley Field too. I do, and the T-shirt is more tongue-in-cheek than anything. But, in my scorebook, the old ballpark at Clark & Addison is still built for day games and is at its best when teams are playing there under the sun, rather than under than the lights.

Twenty-five years ago tonight, however, on Aug. 8, 1988 (8/8/88), the Chicago Cubs went under the lights Wrigley for the first time when the franchise abandoned its long-held tradition of playing only during the daylight at home and took the field for (gasp!) a night game.

Continue reading at CBSChicago.com …

My Aug. 6 column from CBS Chicago …

(CBS) Stanford does it.

So does Michigan. Notre Dame, Wisconsin and Vanderbilt do it, too.

Heck, even Northwestern has figured it out.

Those schools – each ranked higher than Illinois in the 2013 National University Rankings by U.S. News & World Report – all managed to overcome rigorous admissions standards to enjoy significant football success last season, and are poised to do so again this fall.

So why can’t Illinois?

Among the Illini’s other academic peers, Texas, Penn State and Washington – the three other colleges tied with Illinois at No. 46 in the latest U.S. News rankings – all have football national championships on their resumes. The Illini, meanwhile, have a 61-95 record since 2000.

So, really, what’s the problem in Champaign?

On Monday, veteran Illini scribe Loren Tate of the Champaign News-Gazette wrote a column in which he provided his explanation for why Illinois football can’t gain enough traction to enjoy sustained gridiron success. Chief among Tate’s arguments is that the U. of I.’s stringent academic standards are severely hampering the football’s ability to thrive.

Continue reading at CBSChicago.com …

My Saturday, Aug. 3, Wisch List newspaper column from The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) …

The WISCH LIST

By Dave Wischnowsky

July is over.

Thank goodness.

Despite one sweltering stretch, this past month was one of the coolest that I can ever recall in Illinois. And while I’ve often referred to Chicago as “Summer’s Favorite City,” this time around – with all the 60-degree temps and rain – it seems to instead be Summer’s forgotten one.

But it’s not over yet. We still have August, and perhaps summer will make a late rally this month and redeem itself. If it does, there’s plenty going on up in the city for you to enjoy. Here are a few options that I suggest you consider. Best of all, they’re all free.

Chicago Hot Dog Fest
Aug. 11

Really, what says “Chicago” – and summer, for that matter – better than hot dogs?
From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 11, the Chicago History Museum (1601 N. Clark St.) will honor the beloved red hot during its first annual Chicago Hot Dog Fest. The event will include live blues music, games, a cash bar and eight different takes on the American hot dog. Food and non-alcoholic beverage tickets cost $2 each or eight for $10, while kids can get six tickets for $5.

Roosevelt University historian Bruce Kraig and photographer Patty Carroll, authors of the book Man Bites Dog, will also speak about hot dog culture in America. For more information, visit chicagohistory.org.

Chicago Air & Water Show
Aug. 17-18

It’s been Chicago’s lakefront fixture since 1959, but this year the venerable Air & Water Show will look – and sound – a little different. Due to federal budget cuts, the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds won’t perform on Aug. 17-18, meaning the event won’t have quite the same buzz.

Literally.

But there are still plenty of other airborne daredevils that will be taking part in the show, which runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day off of North Avenue Beach. If you attend, I suggest parking at the Piper’s Alley pay garage on North Avenue just west of Wells Street and walking to the beach to nab a spot near Castaways Bar & Grill, site of the show’s announcer. For more information, chicagoairandwatershow.us.

Continue reading “Chicago’s summer saves fun (and warmth?) for August”