Wisch List

Tuesday’s column from CBS Chicago …

(CBS) The Chicago Bears are retiring the retirement of numbers.

On May 24, the team announced that next season Mike Ditka will become the 14th Bear to have his jersey number retired – and that he will also be the last.

With more retired numbers than any NFL franchise, the Bears apparently need to make sure that they have enough numbers to field a team in the future, something that Hall of Famer Dan Hampton understood.

“It’s simple math,” said Hampton, whose No. 99 isn’t retired – and apparently never will be. “This is a franchise with so many great players. If everybody’s number got retired, it would diminish the honor in a way. I understand. The trap of it all is that if you played for the Bears, you’re one of many. If you played in Tampa, what is there, a handful of guys?”

Two, actually. Lee Roy Selmon (No. 63) and Warren Sapp (No. 99, like Hampton) are the only Buccaneers who have had their jerseys taken out of rotation. Perhaps you knew that, or perhaps you didn’t. But either way, here are some other things you might not know about retired numbers.

To continue reading, visit 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

The Rolling Stones may have grown out of London.

But it’s in Chicago where their roots actually lie.

Back in 1960, former childhood pals and classmates Keith Richards and Mick Jagger bumped into each other at a railway station in Dartford, Kent. In his hand, the teenaged Jagger was clutching a collection of Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters records, which revealed to Richards a mutual interest and, in turn, sparked a budding musical partnership.

Over the next two years, the pair went on to meet a handful of like-minded young musicians in London, and in 1962 formed an R&B band dedicated to playing the Chicago blues. Of particular interest was the gritty urban brand of the genre promoted by Chicagoan Muddy Waters, the legendary Chess Records artist who wrote the song “Rollin’ Stone.”

According to Richards, Brian Jones – the guitarist who he and Jagger had linked up with in London – christened the band in June 1962 when a reporter from Jazz News asked during a phone interview what the fledgling group was calling itself. Pondering that question, Jones spotted a Muddy Waters LP lying on the floor in front of him and told the reporter that the band was named “The Rolling Stones.”

The rest, as they say, is history – as well as the present.

On Monday night at the United Center, I was in attendance for the third and final Chicago show of the Stones’ “50 and Counting Tour.” Midway through the concert, the ageless Jagger told the crowd, “I want to thank you for coming for so many years. We’ve been coming here since 1965.”

Continue reading “In Chicago, the Stones’ history rolls deep”

Saturday’s column from CBS Chicago …

(CBS) The Cubs still need great pitching.

But in the first round of Thursday’s MLB Draft, the team instead got a potentially great third baseman in San Diego slugger Kris Bryant.

And that could be great. But, as the Chicago Sun-Times’ Gordon Wittenmeyer wrote on Friday it’s “a move that might suggest the timeline on the Cubs’ rebuilding is getting moved back again (as) the Cubs passed on the top power pitcher in the draft Thursday to use their No. 2 overall pick on Bryant, a power-hitting third baseman who answers a top everyday need but does nothing for the organization’s top need: pitching.”

And no, it certainly doesn’t. But that’s a topic for another day.

What I’m instead wondering today is what Bryant’s presence might mean for Starlin Castro’s future. Because from my view, the arrival of a stud third base prospect very much could impact the fate of the Cubs’ 23-year-old shortstop – and not just because he might stand next to him on the field.

Continue reading at CBSChicago.com …

Friday’s column from CBS Chicago …

(CBS) In the entire country, there is no nonconference college basketball rivalry better than Illinois-Missouri. But in all of America, there was no nonconference college football rivalry worse than Illinois-Missouri.

Nevertheless, the St. Louis Sports Commission wants to rekindle the series that saw the Illini and the Tigers clash on the gridiron at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis six times between 2002 and 2010, with Illinois losing each and every game.

On Thursday, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that “College football is a priority for the St. Louis Sports Commission, and the possibility of creating a bowl game or neutral site matchup continues to garner consideration and analysis from time to time. But the pursuit above all others for president Frank Viverito is to revive the Missouri-Illinois rivalry, and discussions have started in a bid to make that happen.”

Personally, I hated the Illinois-Missouri football games, one of which I attended in person. And once was enough. Unlike the incredible Illinois-Missouri Braggin’ Rights basketball game – which truly provides a neutral court setting with the Scottrade Center crowd split evenly between Illini and Tigers fans – the football series was always decidedly pro-Mizzou and not nearly as much fun. Especially with all the losses.

To continue reading, visit CBSChicago.com …

Tuesday’s column from CBS Chicago …

(CBS) When the Illinois basketball team headed down to Texas for the NCAA Tournament this spring, the eyes of Illini Nation weren’t just fixed upon them. They were fixated.
When the Illinois football team qualifies for a bowl game – even if it’s only the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl – the news makes its share of headlines and the TV broadcast attracts its share of eyeballs.

But when the Illinois baseball team played in the NCAA Tournament in Nashville over the weekend – winning one game before losing two to be eliminated – it barely created a blip on this state’s sports scene.

Let alone the national one.

That condition, of course, is hardly unique to the University of Illinois. It’s the same way in the vast majority of states and at most schools across the country as we live in a world where college baseball simply doesn’t come close to capturing America’s imagination in the same way that college football and basketball do.

With college hoops, fans go mad about brackets each March. And with college football, they gripe about the BCS – and will surely find a way to gripe about a playoff system, too. But when it comes to college baseball’s postseason, most average Americans barely bat an eyelash.

About it, or the sport itself. Why is that?

Continue reading at CBSChicago.com …

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

By Dave Wischnowsky

The WISCH LIST

June is here, so summer must be.

Of course, that’s what I thought about Memorial Day too.

But while we may still be waiting for the weather to truly get – and stay – nice, Chicago’s famed summer street fests are waiting for no one.

They are, however, open for everyone.

And with the calendar now flipped to June, the city’s street fest season is in full swing, even if summer doesn’t quite seem to be just yet. But surely it will be soon, and with those warm thoughts in mind here are some of the best street fests to visit this month in Chicago.

Chicago Blues Festival
June 6-9

The largest free blues festival in the world is also the largest of Chicago’s Music Festivals. Spread over three days and five stages, Blues Fest annually attracts more than 500,000 blues aficionados to Grant Park and Millennium Park.

This year, the festival celebrates its 30th anniversary and kicks off at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 6, at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion with singer Semekia Copeland headlining along with special guest, 14-year-old blues guitar prodigy and Buddy Guy collaborator Quinn Sullivan.

For more information, visit cityofchicago.org.

Continue reading “Chicago’s street fests set to put summer in swing”

Saturday’s column from CBS Chicago …

(CBS) In life, there are precious few win-wins.

But when one does actually come along? Well, it’s a shame to not take advantage of it.

Nevertheless, that appears to be the path that the University of Illinois is choosing to take when it comes to the issue of Chief Illiniwek, who could return as a reinvented tradition that would be a win-win for all stakeholders – alumni, students, fans, the university and, most significantly, the members of the Peoria Tribe.

But instead, based on comments made this week by university leaders following a meeting in Chicago, they seem to be lost on that point.

And, sadly, their mindsets seem to be stuck in neutral.

Early last month, news broke that the Council of Chiefs – a group comprised of the men who once portrayed the university’s banished symbol – had submitted a plan to the U. of I. administration that would bring back an adapted version of Chief Illiniwek for twice-a-year, on-field appearances for a two-year trial basis.

The twist to this new proposal was that the Peoria Tribe of Oklahoma – one of the original Native American tribes of Illini Confederation – had expressed willingness to be involved with adapting the Chief tradition, if the university was on board the idea.

Continue reading at CBSChicago.com …

Today’s column from CBS Chicago …

(CBS) When it comes to numbers, I don’t trust the city of Chicago.

And the more numbers that come out regarding DePaul University’s proposed $173 million basketball arena near McCormick Place, the less I find myself trusting them.

Earlier this month, I questioned just how much the city and school could realistically expect to secure for corporate naming rights, as well as concerns about just who will cover overruns for a facility that will use millions of dollars in tax money to help build a venue that’s intended to primarily benefit a private school.

The project’s numbers seemed iffy.

And now its math looks downright fuzzy.

On Wednesday, Crain’s Chicago Business reported that DePaul’s men’s basketball team would have to more than triple its annual attendance to meet the estimates made by the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (McPier) for the new event center.

“Attendance at Blue Demons home games in suburban Rosemont has averaged around 2,900 over the past three years, according to Allstate Arena ticket records obtained by Crain’s,” wrote columnist Danny Ecker. “That’s about 35 percent of the school’s reported numbers and 30 percent of what McPier officials are projecting for the new arena.”

Continue reading at CBSChicago.com …

Tuesday’s column from CBS Chicago …

(CBS) Over the past few years – and months – Notre Dame has taken its share of big hits. But what the university hasn’t taken is big responsibility.

Until this weekend, that is.

On Saturday night, news broke that Notre Dame starting quarterback Everett Golson, who led the Irish to the BCS championship game in January, would not be playing for the team this year. Following an offseason during which the Irish had already dealt with the fallout from their blowout loss to Alabama, coach Brian Kelly’s flirtations with the NFL, and the bizarre Manti Te’o fake girlfriend saga, word that Golson would now be gone for the upcoming season was nothing short of stunning.

It was also quite shocking. After all, over the past three years, Notre Dame has been accused of mishandling two accusations of sexual assault involving football players, dodging responsibility for a tower collapse that killed student videographer Declan Sullivan during a windstorm, and failing to suspend star receiver Michael Floyd for any games in 2011 following a DUI arrest that was his third alcohol-related brush with the law.

So, considering how eager the school has seemingly been to protect its football players and team reputation, what could have possibly driven Notre Dame to actually suspend its starting QB for the entire season?

Continue reading 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

It’s famous for being a pizza city, a hot dog city and an Italian beef city. But these days, with local craft breweries such as Revolution, Atlas and 5 Rabbit gaining steam and Goose Island turning 25, Chicago is gaining another reputation to help wash down its longstanding ones.

Welcome to Chicago, beer city.

On May 16, the fourth annual Chicago Craft Beer Week got underway. Founded in 2010, the event attracted minimal buzz in its first year, but has now grown to boast a schedule featuring almost 400 events spread throughout the city and suburbs.

And the “week” has been stretched into 11 days.

That’s good news for beer aficionados as CCBW specials and celebrations are still taking place throughout Chicagoland this weekend. For a full schedule of events, you can visit chibeerweek.com, but the following are a few ways to indulge in the area’s budding beer offerings and enjoy Memorial Day weekend in style.

Continue reading “Craft a beer experience in Chicago this weekend”