"First Amendment protected" sign by JR1479 Part of the shenanigans involved with the Tribune selling Wrigley Field to the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority are renovations to the ballpark, which apparently are going to be so major that even with construction beginning immediately after the regular season ends, the Cubs might have to find a temporary home potentially well into the following season. Cubs Chairman Crane Kenney's choice for that move? U.S. Cellular Field. "To......

Oh man, we almost forgot about the Children's Museum debate! Luckily, Alderman Brendan Reilly wants to keep it front and center, which is why he sent the Museum a list of 24 possible places it could relocate that aren't Grant Park: + Museum Campus + Northerly Island + Logan Square + Garfield Park Conservatory + Pritzker Park + Washington Park + Bronzeville + Calumet Park + Englewood + State and Van Buren + McCormick Place......

Every time we think the state's government can't get any worse, they somehow find a way to surprise us. Unable to reach a deal that'll adequately fund the CTA and its crumbling infrastructure, they think they want to buy yet another fixer-upper piece of property. The State of Illinois is supposedly interested in buying Wrigley Field, which is for sale along with the Cubs following billionaire Sam Zell's takeover of the Tribune Co. The Illinois......

Vegetarian Hot Dogs?...

Baseball in Chicago in early April can certainly be a chilling experience. Chicagoist remembers — all too well — playing Little League games in arctic temps, with the moms in attendance taking turns running to the closest fast-food outlets to bring back hot chocolate. But it's not just Little Leaguers who have to deal with the joys of early spring in Chicago. The weather caused problems on Wednesday for the White Sox, too. The high......

Sean Chercover definitely writes what he knows. In his debut novel, Big City, Bad Blood, Chercover takes us on a ride with private investigator Ray Dudgeon. Dudgeon is hired to protect a Hollywood patsy, Bob Loniski, who saw something he shouldn’t have and is now being hunted by the Chicago Outfit. Chercover himself was a private eye, and obviously a lover of Chicago, and his knowledge of both make for an enjoyable read. Dudgeon isn’t......

The city and CPD will lease out the 4 parking garages under Grant and Millennium Parks for 99 years for $563 million. Sounds like a lot, but they'll only net $157 million, making it a less lucrative deal than the Skyway deal. A new Metra station is planned to go right by US Cellular Field. Chicago's hot (literally) neighborhoods. In regional news: UW put its marching band on probation for hazing and rowdiness involving......

A Muslim man, travelling with his mother and a penis pump in his bag, tells security it's a bomb part rather than admit what it really is. Topinka wants to open a casino to help balance budgets. In case you were wondering, the Cubs are still committed to building a restaurant, museum and shops... oh, and parking... but you know.. rising costs, yada, yada, yada. Want to buy an amusement park ride? The Bean......

Last week, we brought you the great news that Chicago was named the #1 Sports City by The Sporting News. TSN is holding a ceremony prior to Wednesday's White Sox - Yankees game at U.S. Cellular Field to honor our fair city. Representatives from the Sox, Cubs, Bears, Bulls and Blackhawks will be on hand. However, the Chicago Fire and Chicago Wolves were not invited to participate. That's not cool. Sure, they're not as big......

Daily Candy pointed us to Hopstop.com's new Chicago site today, and the prospect of a new online system to plan our public transportation routes had us very excited indeed. Sure, the CTA’s Trip Planner has helped us find our way on occasion, but we don’t always get the most direct route and we often fare better by analyzing the system map ourselves. We hopped on over to Hopstop, with high expectations. Only instead of a......

In a lot of ways, the Ballpark Formerly Known as Comiskey has it over Wrigley Field hands down. There are urinals, instead of troughs, in the men's rooms, so you can pee in relative privacy (not that Chicagoist has anything to be ashamed of); the sight lines are wonderful from the concourse; walkways and aisles are wide to facilitate easy entry to, and exit from, the ball park, and to your seat; and the ballpark......

What a difference a year makes! Last year, as we embarked on a new baseball season, we discussed the eternal optimism of Chicago baseball fans in light of decades of futility. But in 2005 something most unexpected and most wonderful happened. Chicago won a World Series! And it wasn't even the Chicago team that many thought had a shot at the title. While the Cubs entered the season picked by many to reach the postseason,......

Seems like forever that we've been hearing that Joe Borchard was the next White Sox superstar. A former quarterback for Stanford, the Sox gave the once-promising outfielder a then-record $5.3 million signing bonus after drafting him in 2000. While he put up impressive power numbers in the minor leagues, and hit the longest home run in U.S. Cellular Field history, he just couldn't get it together enough to stick with the Sox. His inability to......

A limited number of blue seats, originally installed when US Cellular Field opened in 1991, are on sale for $490/pair. Who would want these? Conrad Black has plead not guilty to new charges of racketeering, obstruction of justice, money laundering and wire fraud - basically running his media empire as a criminal enterprise. A trial date has been set for March 2007. Mooo! The University of Chicago Illinois has started a farming blog. Movin' on......

WOW!!! Chicagoist has dreamed of this day got our whole life. We finally get to see the White Sox in the World Series. While we've waited out whole lives, there are plenty of Sox fans much older who have also waited their whole lives -- the last time the White Sox played in the World Series was 1959, 46 years ago. In convincing fashion, the 2005 Sox demonstrated that they are clearly the best......

The 2005 regular season ended yesterday, so there's a lot of baseball to discuss. As expected by many, one of our two teams heads into the post-season. Of course, the specific team many thought would be playing in October will be starting their off-season today. The other team is the one who's still gunning for the first Chicago World Series title in more than 85 years. How Sweep It Is For a series that, as......

Is there other news to discuss outside of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina? If there is, we’re having a hard time paying attention to it. Despite occurring some 920 miles away, the tragedy in the Gulf Coast region has already become a local and state issue as the massive loss of life and property, the looming health and energy crises and the breakdown of the rule of law have a ripple effect across the nation.......

Chicagoist remembers being at a Sox game a couple years ago and seeing an old guy in a wheel chair entertaining a crowd while flirting with women a third his age. When we asked an usher who that was, we were told he was former Negro Leagues star Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe -- who died today at 103. Born in Mobile, Alabama, Radcliffe lived in Chicago much of his life. He spent his later years......

Chicagoist spent Sunday sweltering in the 100 degree heat at U.S. Cellular Field. Meanwhile, most of the Chicago Bears spent the day sweating on the practice field for the first time, as Sunday marked the opening of the Bears' Training Camp. Held once again at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois, the Bears will be training until August 17, trying to get into shape for the 2005 season. As in past years, fans are invited......

Cubs fans can rest easy once again now that Ronnie "Woo Woo" Wickers has been found, alive and ... well alive and himself. Chicagoist questions whether he's ever been well. "I've been around, trying to catch up with Dusty Baker and talk to him about pitching and why we're 14 games back," Wickers said. "I was just on an All-Star break, like the players. I've just been spreading love." The Chicago media had issues a......

No, not to another city! The Sox are moving south on your AM dial next year, having reached an agreement to move their game broadcasts to The Score 670 (WSCR) from their current home at ESPN 1000 (WMVP). The 5-year deal will pay the White Sox only $2.5 - $2.7 million per season, about half what they get in their current deal. Chicagoist isn't sure why they didn't wait until after winning the World Series......

In case you were wondering how United got into bankruptcy, maybe offering free flights like this one are the reason. United is offering tickets on flight 9895, which will fly from O'Hare to Midway on Sunday, June 26th for the Cubs-Sox game. Tickets on the flight aren't for sale, however. This Sunday morning, United will include two winning tickets in the wrappers of some copies of the Trib and another local newspaper. Grab you paper......

Like the tulips beginning to poke from the dirt and construction cones sprouting along the roads, the annual optimism of opening day symbolize the coming of spring in Chicago. The Cubs and White Sox both open their seasons today, fans hoping the substantial changes each team made during the off-season will pay off with a World Series title come October. Will they? Chicagoist will give a quick summary of the changes, some points of interest......

Chicagoist likes our sports at much as anyone, but we realize that there is a time and place for things other than sports. Like love. Yet some guys foolishly think they can combine the two. More often in not, this ends in utter failure. Like this guy the other night who tried proposing at center court of the Magic - Hornets game. In front of the whole stadium, she ran away rather than say......

This doesn't look good for the White Sox. Outfielder Joe Borchard, looking to get some off-season practice south of the border, was cut by the Mazatlan Deer of the Mexican League this week! WTF! The freaking Mexican League? And he was hitting .140 there? That's even worse than the anemic .174 he hit for the Sox this season. Borchard, who turns 26 this month, has yet to justify the record $5.3 million signing bonus he......

The White Sox attended their own funeral Monday night as they played host to the Minnesota Twins. With the Twins' 8-2 victory at U.S. Cellular Field, they clinched the AL Central title, eliminating the Sox from playoff contention. The Sox were 46-38 at the All Star Break, a half-game up on the Twins at the time. But the Sox have gone 28-37 since, including 0-7 against the Twins. It's tough to win a division when......

With hurricanes battering Florida on a seemingly daily basis, the Florida Marlins have found a home away from home here in Chicago. Over the weekend, the Marlins played four games against the Cubs at Wrigley Field -- including one originally scheduled for Miami. With Hurricane Ivan heading towards the state and the end of the season quickly approaching, Major League Baseball decided to leave the Marlins in Chicago and relocate the first two games of......

The White Sox have announced yet another enhancement to U.S. Cellular Field. This offseason, they will add 314 add premium seats behind home plate. Replacing a current field access tunnel and some existing seating, these high end "Scout" seats will feature "access to a 5,000-square-foot private restaurant and lounge located inside the ballpark at Gate 3 and will enjoy behind-the-scenes views of the ballpark's inner workings. These seats will feature personal wait service from......

When Chicagoist first covered this story, we had no idea how juicy it might get. What could be better than a story that involves a heated sports rivalry, a populist politician, a conservative media conglomerate, cute kids, little old ladies from Iowa and allegations of a cover-up? In the latest chapter of the crumbling Wrigley saga, Chicago mayor and #1 Sox fan Richard Daley blasted the Tribune Company -- owners of the Chicago Cubs......