Wisch List

This photo of me and my girlfriend (and, well, the rest of the left-field bleacher bums) from Tuesday night’s Marlins-Cubs game at Wrigley Field is like a baseball-themed “Where’s Waldo?” poster.

Today’s column from CBS Chicago …

(CBS) Ozzie Guillen isn’t just back in Chicago this week.

It appears that the former White Sox manager is also back.

Back to being controversial. Back to being outlandish. Back to, well, being himself.

And, for that, Ozzie can thank the Chicago Cubs.

(Although, I wouldn’t exactly count on him doing that.)

Ever since April when Guillen blew fuses across South Florida with his “I love Fidel Castro” comment, the Miami Sound Machine has been uncharacteristically silent. He apologized for offending people across the map. He deactivated his ridiculous Twitter account. And he (for the most part) kept his more outrageous thoughts to himself.

But none of us believed that would last.

This is Ozzie Guillen, after all.

And wouldn’t you know it, but after three months of relative silence, all it took was an impending series against the Cubs to transform Ozzie back into the Mouth of South Beach.

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

We’re two full weeks into July, and if you haven’t discovered your beach body by now, well, you’re probably not going to find it this summer.

Sorry.

But, hey, don’t sweat it. After all, surely you’re not alone. And with plenty of warm weekends still left on the calendar, don’t let a few pesky pounds keep you from enjoying fun in the sun. Or, even better when it comes to Chicago, the sand.

One of the most amazing things about the Windy City – and most shocking to those who visit from other parts of the country – is the beauty of its beaches during the summer. Until I moved to Chicago seven years ago, I never fully appreciated just how luxurious the strips of white sand along city’s lakeshore can be.

But I’ve since come to recognize that taking a summertime trip to one of Chicago’s beaches isn’t all that different from traveling to a coast – minus the price of plane ticket. And if you let your mind wander, you can even imagine that Lake Michigan’s enormous expanse is actually an ocean – minus the scent of saltwater.

So even if your home has a sandy riverbank right outside the door, I’d still encourage a visit to one of Chicago’s beaches. Here are my favorites with tips to help you pick the one that best suits you.

Continue reading “Life can be a beach in Chicago this summer”

Today’s column from CBS Chicago …

(CBS) He’s off in Kansas now. But, not unlike the coach who preceded him in Champaign, it’ll be a long time before Bruce Weber is forgotten at the University of Illinois.

Nine years ago, Bill Self bolted the Land of Lincoln for the University of Kansas with his career on an upswing. Weber, Self’s successor, made his own trip out west to Kansas State this spring, although it was with his career at its nadir.

However, despite being fired at Illinois following a series of disappointing seasons – something that fans this week blamed for prep superstar Jabari Parker leaving the Illini off his list of college finalists – Weber managed to find a cushy landing in Manhattan with a loaded Kansas State team.

During the past several weeks at K-State, Weber has been busy getting used to wearing Northwestern colors while living in Bill Self’s state and coaching Frank Martin’s roster.

But the man who won 210 games at Illinois does have some familiar faces to keep him company in ex-Illini assistant and Southern Illinois head coach Chris Lowery and gritty former Illini point guard Chester Frazier, who are both members of Weber’s Wildcats staff.

With summer in full swing, I thought it would be interesting today to take a look at how Bruce Weber has been spending his summer.

Continue reading at CBSChicago.com …

 

Today’s column from CBS Chicago …

(CBS) When it comes to college basketball recruiting, second place truly is the first loser.

No one hands out banners for your rafters when a prep star names you part of his Final Four. You don’t get a trophy for finishing a step behind in a recruiting race. And the truth is, any publicity gained from coming close with a blue-chip prospect is about as valuable to your program as, well, horseshoes and hand grenades.

The University of Illinois knows all of this all too well.

Throughout the past decade, the Illini have famously been in the final mix with a number of high-profile recruits only to see them make the orange blue by ultimately heading elsewhere.

Continue reading at CBSChicago.com …

Castro: Get this, Theo said he wants more plate discipline.

LaHair: At the All-Star Game?

Today’s column from CBS Chicago …

(CBS) Much like Chris Berman’s shtick – and necktie collection – the Home Run Derby is played out.

But I have an idea that could bring it back to life. The derby, that is. Not Berman’s act. Even Dick Vitale thinks that’s a lost cause. Although what I really should say is that my idea could ping the derby back to relevancy.

But we’ll get to that.

First, let’s begin with how last night when I flipped on my TV to watch the Home Run Derby, I was hoping that I had misremembered just how dull the event has become. But, alas, my memory was just fine. The derby, which was born in the same year as Lindsay Lohan (1986), is indeed looking almost as haggard.

To continue reading, visit CBSChicago.com …

McGwire: Sam, Sam … They called that a Home Run Derby.

Sosa: No mas, Big Mac. No mas … I can’t breathe.

This evening on 93.5/95.3 Connect-FM in Champaign, I spent a few minutes chatting about Illini hoops, Cubs and White Sox baseball, Bulls hoops and more with my guys Lon Tay and Jeremy Werner on the “Tay & Jay Show.

It’s always a good time, and to catch up you can download the podcast here.

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

By Dave Wischnowsky

The WISCH LIST

July 7, 2012

From Chicago’s South Side (U.S. Cellular Field) to its North (Wrigley Field), and from its West Side (United Center) to the lakeshore (Soldier Field), it’s easy to find the fingerprints of the city’s sports legends at the ballparks and stadiums across the map.

But finding their handprints can be a little more difficult.

Although, that’s only the case if you don’t know where to look. Because, the best place to find the prints of Michael Jordan, Jim McMahon, Harry Caray and the like is at the corner of La Salle and Ontario streets.

Hands down.

At 620 N. La Salle in the heart of the city’s River North neighborhood stands the Sports Authority building, once known as Mages Sporting Goods and once billed as the world’s largest sporting goods store. These days, its six stories (and a basement) are still filled with ball caps, bicycles, scuba gear and every sporting good in between.

But it’s the century-old structure’s exterior walls that are its most interesting feature, and why you might as well call the place “The Palms.” Sports Authority’s “Chicago Sports Wall of Fame” is home to city’s most eclectic collection of sports celebrity handprints, including those of luminaries such as Ray Meyer, Ron Santo, Minnie Minoso and, well, many more.

Continue reading “Sports history afoot at the handiest place in Chicago”