The thing about the Thanksgiving weekend smorgasbord of football is that we lose track of who plays on what day. Case in point: Illinois playing yesterday against Cincinnati being left out of our morning sports round-up. Mea culpa, Illini fans. Though chances are most of you didn't mind as the Illini finished the season on a losing note, falling to #5 Cincinnati by a score of 49-36. The Illini got out to an early 7-0 lead but Cincinnati showed why they're ranked #5, rattling off 28 straight points to take a lead that would never really be in danger. Illinois QB Juice Williams threw for 282 yards/3 TDs adn ran for another 67 yards and scored a touchdown on the ground as Illinois rolled up 476 total yards. But they couldn't overcome the performance by Cincy QB Tony Pike, who threw for 399 yards and six TDs of his own. The Illini finish the season a disappointing (an understatement) 3-8. more ›

Miss Michigan Kristen Haglund from Farmington Hills, Michigan, was crowned the 87th Miss America last night during the live pageant telecast, and First Runner-Up was Miss Indiana Nicole Elizabeth Rash. more ›

There are tons and tons of Christmas movies out there, many of which are classics and many more of which are "classics." These are some of our favorite but often overlooked holiday-themed uh, treasures: The 1986 Drew Barrymore/Keanu Reeves/ Pat Morita/Richard Mulligan Babes In Toyland is almost unbelievable in its surpassing lunacy. Between the "Cincinnati" song and the evil villain who lives in a bowling ball, this movie simply screams "Christmas." Oh, there's plenty more... more ›

There is little we like more than an afternoon spent browsing through old books, even if we can't afford to buy any of them. Which is why we're planning on spending the next couple of days at the Leslie Hindman October Book Auction, featuring rare and extremely expensive books (like this Henry Gray Anatomy text, which is expected to sell for $4,000 to $6,000). Look for us as we polish our monocle while pretending to be able to afford anything. You can view the entire catalogue here. more ›

The Cubs have clinched the NL Central crown -- and with two games to spare! Following a three game sweep at the hands of the Florida Marlins, things were looking sketchy, but the Brewers kept on losing, too. When the Cubs returned to the win column in Cincinnati on Friday night, and Milwaukee lost yet again, the final two games were subtracted from the magic number and the Cubs earned a berth in the postseason... more ›

The Cubs couldn't help themselves Wednesday night, as they dropped their second straight game to the lowly Florida Marlins, losing 7-4 in Miami. more ›

The Cubs now have fewer than ten games remaining on their schedule, and after Wednesday night's 3-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds, they sit alone atop the NL Central — the Brewers lost to the Astros in extra innings. Lou Piniella's short-rest experiment worked Wednesday night, as Ted Lilly looked sharp, pitching seven innings while allowing two runs and striking out eight. While he didn't earn the victory, he kept the Cubs close enough that... more ›

With barely two weeks to go in the regular season, the Cubs remain in the thick of the playoff hunt and regained sole possession of first place on Thursday by beating the Houston Astros 6-2 on the strength of a four run first inning and four total home runs. The victory gives them a half game lead over the Milwaukee Brewers, who were idle on Thursday. more ›

There will be no Cubs-Cardinals endgame to their current series. The Cards have postponed tonight's game at Busch Stadium due to a death in the family. 29-year-old relief pitcher Josh Hancock died in a car crash early Sunday morning. Hancock, driving alone in his 2007 Ford Explorer, struck the rear end of a tow truck that was stationed in the left lane. The Cards pitcher died at 12:35 a.m. at the scene; the unidentified tow... more ›

If they haven't already done so, Chicagoist would suggest that the Bears' coaching staff might want to do some more scouting of defensive tackles prior to the April 28-29 NFL Draft. And why is that? They might be a bit shorthanded at the position once the NFL deals with Tank Johnson. On Tuesday, the NFL handed down two suspensions for players who have "brought embarrassment and ridicule upon [themselves, their clubs] and the NFL, and... more ›

Chicagoist is starting to understand how Tank Johnson got his nickname. Could it be his fascination with weapons? While some people would learn from past experiences involving guns that could jeopardize one's freedom and multi-million dollar contract, others just don't seem to put two and two together. Tank Johnson apparently falls into the later category. The Chicago Bears' defensive tackle was charged yet again yesterday, this time with "six misdemeanor counts of unlawful possession of... more ›

Wendy’s chili is making headlines again, but not because there’s an alleged finger floating in it. No, this time, it’s accused of burning a woman’s thighs. more ›

Now’s your chance to vote for who will Lollapalooza’s battle-of-the-bands-style contest called Last Band Standing. Last year’s winning band was some Cincinnati outfit called The Cathedrals and we were really disappointed when we found out they were not a Van Halen cover band. That would have ruled. This year, Chicago acts are dominating the top 10. A Birdsong Valentine, Hey Champ, The Cankles and Long Story Short are holding down spots 4, 5, 6, and... more ›

We’re sort of paranoid about identity theft. Seriously, we can’t think of that many movies that are scarier in concept than that one Sandra Bullock movie The Net, and our friends can’t think of enough ways to make fun of us for that. Well, cynics, hear the story of the Gerbus’ (‘s? sss? Jebus lives in outer space?). more ›

Earlier this year Chicagoist told you about Chicago United, Chicago's very own Australian Rules Football team. This weekend they will be hosting the St. Louis Blues at 3pm on Saturday at Waveland Field. This is Chicago's home opener for the Mid-American Australian Football League (MAAFL) season. The MAAFL is a division of the United States Australian Football League and is made up of seven teams: Atlanta Kookaburras, Chicago United, Cincinnati Dockers, Dallas Magpies, Milwaukee Bombers,... more ›

The Cubs and White Sox each won their season openers Monday. Of course, the Sox actually began their opener on Sunday. A 3-hour rain delay pushed the game into Monday morning, when the game ended around 1:00am. more ›

Chicagoist is a sucker for a deal. Marketers know they can wow people like us with anything that can be purchased for a dollar, be it a Buffalo Snacker or a can of PBR. So when we heard about Megabus.com, the discount bus line that will begin offering $1 fares from Chicago to eight Midwestern cities next month, we could hardly believe it. We can’t even get across town for $3. more ›

We mentioned last week that the Bears were meeting with quarterback Brian Griese over the weekend. We guess the meeting went well, because yesterday the Bears inked him to a 5-year deal. After being cut by Tampa Bay in a salary cap move, he received inquiries from Cincinnati Miami, Baltimore and Oakland. Tampa even wanted to re-sign him to differently structured deal. But he chose to sign with the Bears, at least in part because... more ›

Seems that Bears management has finally realized that they might want to have a capable veteran QB on the roster, especially since Rex Grossman seems to be running neck-and-nexk with Mark Prior in the "who can get injured more" contest the two seem to be having. The past two seasons have forced Bears fans to witness a parade of overwhelmed rookies and career third-string QBs take the field. While last year's team went 11-5, in... more ›

The Chicago Australian Football Association (CAFA) is preparing for their 2006 season. The sport that is wildly popular down under, also known as Aussie Rules or Footy, has been growing in popularity and participation in Chicago and across the United States for more than 10 years. Aussie Rules is played on a gigantic oval that can be as long and as wide as two American football fields. It is a fast-paced, hard-hitting game that provides... more ›

Two More Months Until Tax Day more ›

On April 2, when we move our clocks forward one hour to adjust for Daylight Saving Time, two counties in Indiana, Starke and Pulaski, and six in the southwestern corner of the state won't do anything, just like they have done for years, effectively switching them from Eastern time to Central. But this time they'll stay for good. more ›

The Tribune is reporting today that Albertson's is "weighing" at least five bids for the Boise, Idaho-based grocery chain's operations, which includes the Chicago-area Jewel/Osco stores. more ›

DePaul opened it basketball season last Saturday with a thud, losing to Bradley 75-60. Was their opener a sign of what to expect from the Blue Demons this year? more ›

Last night at the behest of a friend, Chicagoist went to Double Door to see Nashville Pussy and Zeke. We had been regaled with fabulous stories of how great these bands are live – so we decided to check it out for ourselves. more ›

While visions of playoff danced in Bears Fans' heads after last week's 37-6 victory over the Lions, another group of cats brought them back down to earth yesterday. The Cincinnati Bengals won 24-7, picking off Kyle Orton 5 times. While the Bears fall to 1-2 on the season, the Bengals are a surprising 3-0 for the first time since 1990. Are they really that good? Yeah, they are... Some may point the finger at Bears... more ›

Just noticed the Trib has a breaking news story - In the fall of next year, all Marshall Field's stores will convert to Macy's. This includes all 62 locations in Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Indiana, Ohio and SD. So.. Marshall Fields on State St. becomes Macy's on State. Federated, who bought the May chain that Marshall Field's is a part of, says that they respect the legacy and traditions of Field's and that... more ›

Something told Chicagoist that the Bears had the potential to be a pretty good football team this season, and Sunday's game was about what we'd imagined a good Bears team might look like. Scoring in just about every possible way, the Bears beat the Detroit Lions 38-6. The 38 points were the largest offensive output by the Bears since 1993. The game was truly a team effort as the offense capitalized on turnovers caused by... more ›

Back in August, Chicagoist ran a contest to give away tickets to an upcoming Brendan Benson show at Metro. Unfortunately, the show was postponed as was the contest. But time has been good to Benson and to Chicagoist readers as we've got even more prizes to give away. more ›

The most persistent Sox rumor involving a hitter prior to the non-waivers trading deadline involved them landing Cincinnati Reds outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. Supposedly a deal was nixed at the deadline by Reds ownership. Word that Griffey has been put on the waiver wire and cleared waivers means the rumors of his coming to the South Side are reemerging. Supposedly, the deal continues to be held up by Reds management -- who don't want to remain on the hook for a large chunk of Griffey's remaining contract. more ›