Wisch List

Today’s column from CBS Chicago …

(CBS) Come November, Wrigleyville is usually pretty dead.

It’s usually pretty dead in October too, mind you. But that’s for different reasons.

However, the powers that be on the North Side of Chicago (aka Tom Ricketts & Theo Epstein) want to change that – and not just by putting a baseball team inside Wrigley Field that’s actually built for the fall.

Earlier this month, the Cubs secured approval from the Chicago Landmarks Commission to move the brick wall behind Wrigley’s home plate this offseason and add 56 prime box seats. Just as significantly – if not more so – the team will also convert a section of the wall near the home dugout so a regulation football field can fit inside the ballpark.

Two years ago, of course, Northwestern and Illinois clashed at Wrigley for the first football game at the ballpark in four decades, but were forced to play in just one direction because of space limitations and safety concerns. This new removable 12-foot section along the third base line is expected to rectify that problem and transform Wrigley into a viable football venue that’s as unique as any in the nation.

Not surprisingly, since that news broke, rumors have begun to fly about potential future football games at the Friendly Confines.

To continue reading, visit CBSChicago.com …

The Saturday, Oct. 20, Wisch List newspaper column from The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) …

The WISCH LIST

By Dave Wischnowsky

It’s known as the city of Big Shoulders, but if nothing else, Chicago is also a city of big ideas.

From the tip of Navy Pier to the top of Willis Tower to all those tints reflecting off “The Bean” on a sunny autumn afternoon, you can see those ideas in action throughout town – especially downtown.

And someday soon, we could see another one come alive.

That is, If we’re lucky. And if Chicago can find the cash, which of course, is the biggest “if” of all.

Last week, city officials publicly unveiled a bold vision to create another iconic Chicago venue along the lines of Millennium Park when they proposed a $100 million build-out of the Chicago River riverwalk stretching from State to Lake streets.

The project, while only conceptual and with no current timetable, still offered a clear vision for the riverwalk, an area that despite its incompletion I called the city’s best-kept secret in a column last year.

Last week, the riverwalk plans presented by the mayor’s office featured distinctive names and themes for each of the project’s six blocks. These include “The Boardwalk” with wood planks and floating gardens, “The Jetty” promoting river ecology, “The Swimming Hole” which may some day even feature swimming in the actual river, “The River Theater” with landscaping and shade trees, “The Cove” with kayak rentals, and “The Marina” with restaurants and public seating for guests to relax while watching the river traffic lazily float by.

“This plan is a thoughtful way of interpreting the wildness and naturalness of the river and connecting it into the center of the city,” explained Margaret Frisbie, executive director of Friends of the Chicago River. “Great public spaces have a lot going on. The Riverwalk has that possibility.”

Continue reading “With new riverwalk proposal, Chicago still thinking big”

Today’s CBS Chicago column …

(CBS) When it comes to replacing Bob Brenly in the TV booth, the Chicago Cubs don’t just need a color man for 2013.

They need a colorful man. Very colorful.

After all, for the Lovable Losers, next season has the looks of another lean one – and, by this point, that’s hardly lovable. Considering that another triple-digit-loss season is a strong possibility and the dearth of star power on the field, it’s crucial for the Cubs to replace another star alongside play-by-play man Len Kasper up in the booth.

Because, if the team is hoping for fans to tune in to watch a game in August with the Cubs 20 games out, they need a compelling reason.

Or, even better, an entertaining one.

On Friday in his column for the Chicago Tribune, 670 The Score’s Dan McNeil astutely observed that, “We have a much more intimate relationship with those behind the microphones for our baseball teams than other sports. For six months, on an almost daily basis, baseball announcers become our companions. They are guests in our living rooms. Our cars. Our headphones.”

The last things Cubs fans want is a dull summertime companion. And the last thing the Cubs can afford is an analyst incapable of taking the attention off the on-field product when the team is stinking up the joint.

Thus far, in regards to potential replacements for Brenly we’ve seen the likes of Cubs icons Mark Grace, Rick Sutcliffe and Kerry Wood names thrown around. We’ve seen ESPN’s Doug Glanville and Comcast Sports Net’s Todd Hollandsworth and MLB Network’s Dan Plesac have their names pop up as well, along with White Sox analyst Steve Stone and Fox Sports’ Steve Lyons.

But on Friday, my long-suffering Cubs fan buddy Ryan tossed out a name that I haven’t seen yet when he emailed to say: “I’ve never heard his name mentioned, and doubt it would ever happen. But John Kruk would be a hoot.”

And, jeez, wouldn’t he be?

Continue reading at CBSChicago.com …

Thursday’s column from CBS Chicago …

(CBS) Down in Champaign, where these days things are far more blue than orange, the Fighting Illini football team is a woeful 2-5 in head coach Tim Beckman’s first season.

Meanwhile, 335 miles away in northwestern Ohio, the Toledo Rockets are flying high at 6-1 in their first season without Tim Beckman as head coach.

So, is that stark disparity of records a sign of brighter days to come for Beckman by showing that, in time, he can build program so strong that it runs smoothly even without him? Or is it instead a frightening warning flare signaling that Illinois AD Mike Thomas hired the wrong guy?

Because, at least one Illini fan believes that this season’s results are proof that the true head coach of Toledo football during Beckman’s tenure wasn’t Tim Beckman at all. Rather, it was his 32-year-old former offensive coordinator Matt Campbell, now the current head coach of Toledo football.

This past weekend, after Illinois and Beckman were humiliated – yet again – in a 45-0 skunking in the rain at Michigan, a commenter at IlliniHQ.com by the moniker “Chitown” wrote about Illinois, “We hired the wrong coach. Just like Colorado did with Dan Hawkins, we did with Beckman. The real coach of Boise State is still the current coach of Boise State [Chris Petersen].

“Colorado got scammed with Dan Hawkins. The REAL coach of Toledo was the offensive coordinator last season and he’s now the current head coach. We got the current Dan Hawkins, aka Tim Beckman. … We are the Colorado Buffs from 3-4 seasons ago. Admit the mistake. Tim Beckman was NOT the reason the Rockets were successful. The current head coach of Toledo, former O coordinator, is the reason Beckman got the Illinois job.”

To continue reading, visit CBSChicago.com …

Tuesday’s column from CBS Chicago …

(CBS) So, big-time college basketball looks to finally be coming back to the Windy City.

Or, at least, DePaul basketball is.

But no matter how you view the caliber of Blue Demons hoops, the fact is, if reports of DePaul returning to play its games in Chicago — following three decades of self-imposed suburban exile — are indeed true, that’s great news for basketball fans throughout the city.

My only question: Is the news as great for DePaul students as it should be?

Last Friday at the Chicago College Basketball Luncheon, DePaul coach Oliver Purnell told the audience, “I’m very pleased that there are serious discussions about DePaul basketball being moved into the confines of Chicago,” according to Crain’s.

Those discussions reportedly include the possibility of constructing a new 15,000-seat arena in the South Loop near McCormick Place, sharing the United Center with the Chicago Bulls, or building a new arena near the UC that could also double as the Bulls’ practice facility.

What the discussions don’t appear to currently include, however, are talks to build a new arena within walking distance of DePaul’s Lincoln Park campus.

And, in my scorebook, that’s a bummer.

To 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

Come October, the usual refrain on the North Side of Chicago is “Wait ’til next year.” But here in 2012, as Cubs fans stand ankle deep in the ashes of a 101-loss season compiled by a lineup better suited for Iowa than Wrigley Field, it’s more like “Wait ’til the year after next year.”

Or, maybe, the year after that.

Last week, Chicago Cubs president Theo Epstein told reporters that he believes in “transparency,” and won’t “sell a bill of goods” to fans by trying to dupe them into thinking that the team is going to be much better in 2013.

“I’m not going to sit here and say, ‘Don’t worry about 101 losses because we have a magic plan to win the World Series in 2013, (that) it’s gonna happen, so be there now,’ ” Epstein said. “That’s not the case. There is a plan, there is a vision. It might be a little bit longer turn than we all want it to be, but that we’re committed to it and that there is a great reward at the end.”

If the Cubs can indeed someday win the World Series, the reward will be the greatest in sports history. I hope Epstein’s plan works and that his vision proves to be, well, visionary.

However, in the meantime, while Theo & Co. may not be selling a bill of goods, they are still expecting Cubs fans to pay for one through outrageous ticket prices for an outrageously bad product.

And in the sense of transparency, I think that stinks.

Continue reading “At Wrigley, losses and ticket prices don’t add up”

Saturday’s column from CBS Chicago …

(CBS) Dusting off the orange-and-blue almanac, one can find that since 1957 with George Bon Salle and Harv Schmidt, a total of 56 players from the University of Illinois have had their names called in the NBA Draft.

Some of them have been flops (such as Frank Williams). Others have been average (Brian Cook, for example). And a handful have been quite good (Derek Harper and Eddie Johnson to name two.)

But not a one of them has ever been a true superstar.

Not until Deron Williams came dribble-driving along, that is.

These days, “D-Will” – he of the two Olympic gold medals and the current Sports Illustrated cover – has given the University of Illinois (for the first time in its proud basketball history) a brand-name star that Illini fans can be deeply proud of.

And in the coming years, Williams – having now been christened the face of the new-look Brooklyn Nets – could also become one of new Illini coach John Groce’s greatest recruiting assets. Those signs are beginning to show.

To continue reading, visit CBSChicago.com …

Today’s column from CBS Chicago …

(CBS) In Chicago, another baseball season is in the books.

And so are the attendance figures.

Down on the South Side – not unlike Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster and Area 51 – U.S. Cellular Field continues to be a mystery as the ballpark once again this season served as the Bermuda Triangle of Major League Baseball, a place where good White Sox teams enter only to watch their fans disappear.

Conversely, on the flip side of town, the Cubs seemingly can pack Wrigley Field during a Depression (they did, in fact, more than doubling the White Sox’s attendance during the 1930s). Or during depression as more than 91 million fans have bought Cubs tickets since the team’s infamous flop of 1969. That’s about 20 million more than the Sox.

In terms of attendance, 2012 was the weakest in ages for both of Chicago’s hardball teams. The Sox, despite spending most of the season in first place and offering discounted tickets, drew less than 2 million fans (1,965,955) for the first time since 1995. The Cubs, meanwhile, drew fewer than 3 million (2,882,756) to Wrigley Field for the first time since 2003.

Nevertheless, despite logging 101 losses, Theo Epstein’s crew still outdrew Kenny Williams’ club by more than 900,000 fans this summer.

In the Windy City, the attendance disparity between baseball teams has been a burning topic of discussion for as long as I can recall. And from the economy to demography to apathy, the list of fans’ explanations (or excuses) for it seems to be even longer.

I don’t know, however, that any explanation really tells the full story about why the Cubs draw, while the White Sox don’t. The truth is murky at best, inscrutable at worst.

Two years ago, though, in an attempt to at least shed some light on when – if not exactly how – the Cubs became baseball’s Big Dog in Chicago and relegated the Sox to Second Fiddle, I conducted research for my Wisch List newspaper column by crunching decades of historical attendance figures.

I’ve now refreshed my findings. Beginning with 1920, the dawn of the first full decade in which both Wrigley Field and Comiskey Park were in use, I compared crowd numbers for nine full decades up through 2009.

And what I found is interesting. Because, the Cubs were not always dominant, you know. No, once upon a time, the White Sox held the Windy City in the palm of their glove.

But then it all changed, before it changed again. And again. And here’s that story …

To continue reading, visit CBSChicago.com …

Today’s column from CBS Chicago …

(CBS) Last December, while rooting about for a successor to Ron Zook, the ever-daffy football coach that he had just fired, University of Illinois athletic director Mike Thomas took to the Internet to address Illini Nation.

“As our search for a new head football coach moves forward, I have a strong sense of the type of coach we need to realize the potential of Illini football,” Thomas shared in his blog at Fightingllini.com.

“I intend to contact a trusted group of friends who are well respected in collegiate and professional football circles. A successful football coach at Illinois or any top-tier college program must have talents beyond the knowledge of the game, particularly for a program intent on establishing itself consistently among the Top 25 BCS programs in the country and at the top of the Big Ten. We will find this person for Illinois!”

So, as we sit here at the midway point of the 2012 season, did Thomas find this coach whose “talents go beyond knowledge of the game”? Did he find the man who will, at long last, finally “realize the potential of Illini football”?

Or did he, well, simply find Tim Beckman?

Continue reading at CBSChicago.com …

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

The WISCH LIST

By Dave Wischnowsky

In Chicago, you can find a burger almost anywhere.

You’ve got your fast food ones (at the likes of McDonald’s and Burger King) and you’ve got your upscale ones (such as the cheeseburger at Mindy’s Hot Chocolate in Wicker Park, rated in 2009 by Chicago Magazine as the best in the city).

You’ve got your run-of-the-mill ones (that can be found at any random corner bar) and you’ve got your ones with loads of pizzazz (such as those on the menu at Kuma’s Corner, the wildly popular, heavy metal-themed burger joint in the Avondale neighborhood).

But, no matter where you find a burger in the Windy City, odds are that the one you find will be made of beef.

Maybe buffalo, if you’re living on the edge.

At Hop Haus (thehophaus.com) in River North, however, the burgers get a whole lot more exotic than that. So much so that they don’t come simply made of beef, they come made of lamb.

And wild boar. And even ostrich.

Located beneath the rumbling “L” tracks at 646 North Franklin, the River North Hop Haus – there’s an additional location up in Rogers Park – is an eclectic mix of a burger joint and sports bar where signs outside boast about serving food until 4 a.m., 365 days a year. You know, just in case you have a hankering for boar while waiting for Santa Claus. Or the Easter Bunny.

Last week, I had a hankering myself, so I swung by Hop Haus after work on Friday evening and slid into a booth where I surveyed the restaurant’s impressive menu of sliders.

Continue reading “If you’re game, Hop Haus has the burger for you”