The Cubs have proposed a "Caribbean Classic" against the Cuban national baseball team, in a letter from Tom Ricketts delivered to Havana's vice-mayor. 14th Ward Alderman Ed Burke, traveling in Cuba with his wife on a trip organized by the American Bar Association, delivered the challenge. No details have been given about when the game or games might be played, nor the location. more ›

Encouraged by President Obama’s lift last month on allowing family visits to Cuba, the Chicago-based Orbitz Worldwide is launching a campaign this week to reverse a law that prohibits most other U.S. citizens and legal residents from traveling to the island. more ›

This week's news about President Obama's relaxing of travel restrictions to Cuba reminded us of all the things we would love about a trip to America's Future Territory* (minus that pesky totalitarianism, of course). Cigars, rum, Hemingway, '50s era automobiles held together by spit and duct tape - ah, Cuba! So naturally our thoughts traveled back to the most high-profile Illinoisan to set foot on Cuban soil (up until Bobby Rush's recent trip) and the first American governor since 1959. Let's travel back, you and I, to Governor Ryan's humanitarian delegation trip to Cuba in October of 1999. more ›

Another Cuban will soon be coming to town, but he's more likely to be playing the hot corner than hanging with fans in the bleachers or chilling in the owner's box. While Mark Cuban's chances of landing the Cubs took a turn for the worse this week, the White Sox are poised to sign Cuban phenom Dayan Viciedo. more ›

Today is National Piña Colada Day. Naturally it makes sense to focus on the Colada for this installment of "Properly Sauced." Originally, the piña colada was nothing more than ripe pineapple juice, either strained (colada) or unstrained (sin colar). Visitors to Pilsen's Fiesta del Sol sample it in this version annually. According to Wikipedia, the earliest known reference to the piña colada as a rum-based cocktail was in a Travel magazine article about Cuba from 1922: more ›

The White Sox head to Toronto for a four-game series with the Blue Jays tomorrow, minus one if their players. Because of visa issues, they left Cuban national Alexei Ramirez behind in Chicago. more ›