Wisch List

My Saturday, April 20, column from CBS Chicago …

(CBS) A World Series championship is coming to Wrigley Field.

At least so says Tom Ricketts, now that the Cubs owner has been given the preliminary go-ahead by the city to invest $500 million into the franchise’s iconic 99-year-old ballpark and its surrounding neighborhood.

“If this is approved, we will win the World Series,” Rickets vowed on Monday, referring to the agreement to overhaul and modernize the Wrigley Field, although the tentative plan still needs to pass through a number of Chicago landmark and planning commission hoops before it’s approved.

Considering that the Cubs are footing the bill without taxpayer money, it’s likely that it will be. And with the deal, Ricketts says that the updates made to Wrigley Field will generate new revenue streams and elevate the Cubs into the Major League’s upper crust of payroll spending year after year.

If it happens, that’s great. But it doesn’t also mean that winning will be simple. Not with the Cubs’ dearth of top-line pitching coupled with the changing face of free agency, which will make it all the more difficult for the Cubs to acquire top-line pitching.

No matter how much cash they might have.

Continue reading at CBSChicago.com …

My Tuesday, April 16, column from CBS Chicago …

(CBS) I went for a run this morning.

Thought about the Boston Marathon with every step.

And throughout the much shorter course that I covered through Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood, it saddened me to think how sports aren’t an escape from Monday’s despicable act of terrorism at the finish line of Boston’s iconic race. Rather, in this instance, they’re a reminder of it – as well as a disconcerting example of just how vulnerable we are when gathering together to enjoy a sporting event.

On Monday morning, one of my Facebook friends who studied at Boston College – which is my fiancee’s alma mater – posted a status that read, “Today is one of my favorite days in Boston. Wish I could be there cheering on the runners and enjoying the festivities.”

A few hours later, she was sending her online love to the city for entirely different reasons. And I couldn’t help but wonder if the Boston Marathon bombings might impact the way we experience sports as significantly as 9/11 impacted the way we travel at airports.

Late Monday night, the Chicago Tribune reported that shortly after the explosions in Boston, Illinois officials already were looking for clues on how to better protect the public at ballparks, races and festivals.

“The attack at the Boston Marathon comes as a stark reminder,” read the Tribune story, “that this is an age when every public gathering or event – no matter how festive – can be considered a target for terror.”

To continue reading visit 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

Last Monday during the Chicago Cubs’ loss to the Milwaukee Brewers during their Wrigley Field opener, erstwhile closer Carlos Marmol was serenaded with boos when he entered the game.

So what did the demoted pitcher do after the game? Well, naturally he promised to lead the team famous for not making the World Series to the promised land.

“I’m going to put us in the World Series and make the fans happy again,” Marmol vowed, perhaps meaning that he’d be buying his teammates tickets to the Fall Classic.

Funny thing is, the next night Marmol went and won a game out of the bullpen, giving him a win, a loss, a save and a blown save just a week into the Cubs’ 2013 season. Now, that’s versatility.

Considering how Marmol actually started his baseball career as a catcher and outfielder – he batted .258 for the Rookie League Arizona Cubs in 2002 – maybe the guy really thinks he can lead the Cubs to the World Series by himself.

Obviously, he’s “Committed,” or perhaps should be.

With this latest quirky episode, the Cubs proved once again that while they might not have the market cornered on closing out wins, they do have it cornered on maddening, oddball closers.

On that note, here are five of my favorite – or least favorite – Cubs closers from the past 25 years, a group that was as likely to open a can of worms as it was to close a door.

Continue reading “Cubs closers: Like opening a can of worms”

Saturday’s column from CBS Chicago …

(CBS) From 1994-98, I was a student at the University of Illinois, and during those four years I saw a grand total of 14 football victories.

Seven of them came during my freshman year. Five more happened in my sophomore year. I saw two when I was a junior. And during my last year on campus – which also happened to be Illini coach Ron Turner’s first – I was witness to zero W’s.

But, hey, don’t feel too bad for me.

The Class of ’99 only saw 10 wins total in four seasons.

Over the years, Illini Nation has suffered through far too many bleak ones on the gridiron. But as Illinois football prepares for the summer – the team’s annual Spring Game was held in Champaign last night – before the start of Tim Beckman’s second season, I don’t think I can ever recall a bleaker outlook for the program. Or remember the fandom’s level of hope being at a lower ebb.

Writing for the Decatur Herald-Review last weekend, columnist Mark Tupper described Illini football as “living in the shadows.”

Continue reading at CBSChicago.com …

Today’s column from CBS Chicago …

(CBS) There was no joy in Wrigleyville on Wednesday night.

No game, either.

But there was plenty of drama in the neighborhood. Isn’t there always these days? Unfortunately for Cubs fans, though, none of it seems to happen on the field anymore.

Just after 8 p.m. last night, I went for a jog around Wrigley Field. The Cubs’ series finale against the Brewers had been postponed, reportedly because of the “rain and cold.” Yet, there wasn’t a hint of rain in the neighborhood and it really wasn’t that terribly cold (41 degrees), or even windy.

I’ve probably been to 20 Cubs games myself that were played in far worse conditions. But, nevertheless, the ballpark stood dark –although many of the rooftops along Sheffield Avenue across the street were lit up brightly. The sign outside Murphy’s Bleachers read, “The Game Is Off, But The Party Is Still On.”

This was all because Wednesday was intended to be “Wrigleyville Neighbors Appreciation Night,” an event hosted by the rooftop owners who are caught up in a high-profile turf war with the Chicago Cubs over outfield signage inside the ballpark.

To continue reading, visit CBSChicago.com …

Tuesday’s column from CBS Chicago …

(CBS) Well, the Big Ten had its chance.

But like the Chicago Cubs – OK, OK, it’s not that bad – the league’s title drought carries on.

On Monday night, Louisville and Michigan waged an NCAA Championship battle that was as electrifying as any in recent memory, but in the end it was the Wolverines who eventually ran out of juice, losing 82-76 to the powerhouse Cardinals.

“A lot of the times, when you get to the championship, the game is not always great,” Louisville coach Rick Pitino said after his team had cut down the nets. “This was a great basketball game.”

Indeed it was. And its outcome allowed Louisville to bring the national title back to the Commonwealth of Kentucky, a state that now has two more championships in the past two years than the entire Big Ten Conference has over the past 13.

“This game hurts so much,” Michigan star Trey Burke said afterward. He was talking of course about the pain being felt inside Michigan’s locker room and around Ann Arbor, but the sting of Monday’s loss actually spread throughout most of the Big Ten.

To continue reading, visit CBSChicago.com …

TheSaturday, April 6, Wisch List newspaper column from The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) …

The WISCH LIST

By Dave Wischnowsky

With Easter Sunday, April Fool’s Day and Major League Baseball’s Opening Day all falling within the same 48-hour span – when’s the last time that happened? – the month of April certainly started out with a bang.

And a brrrrrr, considering how Monday marked the third-coldest home opener in White Sox history with wind chills dipping as low as 30.

However, now that the weather has warmed up a bit (and hopefully for good), Chicago will be starting to stir and here are a few springtime entertainment options you can enjoy in the city during April.

Monday, April 8
Chicago Cubs Home Opener

If you’re headed up for the Cubs’ home opener, I have three quick tips as an eight-year resident of Wrigleyville.

First, consider parking at the lot just northwest of the “L” tracks at Irving Park and Seminary. Secondly, visit Murphy’s Bleachers to start (the big pregame crowd makes it more fun). And thirdly, dine on Southport Avenue to finish (the smaller postgame crowds make it more enjoyable).

Continue reading “See what Chicago’s April is springing on you”

My Saturday, April 6, column from CBS Chicago …

(CBS) Chicago doesn’t have a basketball team in the Final Four.

But it almost always seems that there’s some Chicago in the Final Four’s basketball teams. And this year is no different.

So, with the national semifinal games set to tip off in Atlanta Saturday evening, here are some Chicago-related reasons to pay attention to all four teams involved from Michigan and Syracuse to Louisville and Wichita State.

Michigan: Tim Hardaway

The University of Michigan’s standout junior swingman Tim Hardaway Jr., grew up in Miami. But his namesake is pure Chicago.

Born in 1966 and raised on Chicago’s South Side, Tim Hardaway Sr. was the son of a city mail carrier and Donald Hardaway, a city playground star. At South Shore Park, Tim went on to become a playground legend himself, where as a diminutive point guard his playing style was compared to Windy City great Isaiah Thomas.

Continue reading at CBSChicago.com …

Haikus for my pals during #PoetryMonth. This one is for @wischlist: "HUGE U of I fan / A Wrigley Field regular / Must be frustrating"

— SUE the T. rex 🦖 (@SUEtheTrex) April 4, 2013

Today’s column from CBS Chicago …

(CBS) Ever since Sean Higgins’ putback with just two seconds left on the clock buried Illinois 83-81 in the 1989 Final Four, I haven’t had any love for the University of Michigan.

But yet, here I am this week, rooting for the University of Michigan.

How’d that happen?

Well, in a fascinating twist of fandom, this year’s NCAA Basketball Tournament has turned the rooting interests for many Midwestern hoops followers on its head as Big Ten pride has outweighed school pride.

And, in many cases, biases.

Tom Izzo knows what I’m talking about.

Throughout March, Michigan State’s coach said that he was supporting all Big Ten teams in the NCAA Tournament. And on Tuesday, the Detroit Free Press reported that Izzo was still singing the same tune, even with archrival Michigan the only conference team remaining and just two victories away from winning a national championship.

“I do have great respect for John (Beilein) and the job he’s done,” Izzo explained. “You know, I’ll stick by my stance that nobody pulls for their rival. Mike (Krzyzewski) doesn’t pull for Carolina, and Roy (Williams) doesn’t pull for Duke. I’m not sure, but Urban Meyer’s probably not pulling for Michigan’s swim team to win, the way that thing is and everything.

“I have stood by that. I’m pulling for our conference, number one.”

Even when that conference’s only one is Michigan.

To continue reading, visit CBSChicago.com …