Yesterday's primaries in Ohio, Texas, Vermont and Rhode Island saw John McCain assume the mantle of the Republican presidential nominee, with commanding victories in all but Texas, and Mike Huckabee's announcement that he's withdrawing from the race. "It's now important that we turn our attention not to what could have been or what we wanted to have been, but now what must be -- and that is a united party," Huckabee told told supporters in......

Our winter just became more tolerable with the news that chocolate maker Barry Callebaut A.G. is opening a chocolate academy in Chicago. The academy, slated to open in June, will be in Callebaut's local headquarters in the Montgomery Ward building on West Chicago in River West and fulfills the company's desire to have an academy in the United States. Barry Callebaut does about $3.6 billion in sales worldwide (some readers might remember them from our......

Last week, that majority of football fans were unable to see what was perhaps the best NFC game of the year -- Chicagoist included. In the Thursday Night Football -- which airs on the NFL Network -- match-up of two one-loss teams, the Dallas Cowboys beat the Green Bay Packers 37-27. With the Bears playing in this week's Thursday Night prime time game however, the NFL Network's broadcasts will be carried locally. For those of......

Mark Cuban was in town on Monday when his Dallas Mavericks faced off against the Bulls at the United Center. Of course the local media's questions directed at him regarded another pro sport team. When asked about his pursuit of the Cubs, he reiterated his interest in buying the team and that he wasn't interested in owning any other baseball team. He has not filed his official paperwork, however — Cuban said he was "waiting......

The Cubs aren't the only Chicago franchise fighting for the playoffs; The Chicago Fire are narrowly holding on to a playoff berth. With just six games remaining, the Fire are currently in the 8th and final playoff spot, with Colorado and Columbus hot on their heels. The Fire will continue their hunt for valuable points tonight when they take on FC Dallas on ESPN2 at Pizza Hut Park. The "Big D" has not been friendly......

Well, isn't that convenient? After being cut by the Bears following his arrest for suspected DUI, Tank Johnson has signed on with a new team. And that new team just happens to be the Dallas Cowboys, who face the Bears this Sunday night. Maybe it's truly coincidental, but the timing of Tank's signing sure does seem particularly beneficial for the Cowboys. As they head into their week of practice in preparation for this Sunday's game,......

Returns for touchdowns can be fluky. Sometimes great return guys go ages without breaking one open. And sometimes guys get lucky multiple times in short succession, never to do it again. Chicagoist wondered whether Devin Hester's amazing rookie campaign — which saw him return three punts, two kickoffs and a missed field goal for TD's — was a fluke or if he really is that special of a player. After Sunday's 20-10 victory over the......

With the optimism of a glass half-full, the American Gladiator LIVES! And the spirit of the American Gladiator can now live within you. But we can’t grab the Funions and park on the sofa in front of the TV just yet. In 2008, NBC will bring back the weekly series, originally aired from 1989 to 1996. Episodes still run in syndication on ESPN Classic. If you want to channel a Gladiator, NBC will host a......

Only four of the thirteen Major League Soccer teams took advantage of Major League Soccer's new Designated Player Rule, made most famous by the signing of David Beckham by the Los Angeles Galaxy, signing a total of five players. This weekend, arguably the two most impactful designated players, Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Juan Pablo Angel, will match up at Toyota Park. Blanco has played just seven games but has helped the Fire to earn 13 points......

- BREAKING: The Tribune and Sun-Times agree to a historic distribution deal where the Bright One contracts the Tribune to handle most of its delivery. More on this tomorrow after we've had time to let this one sink in. - A Dallas real estate investment firm is thisclose to signing off on an $850 million deal for four downtown office buildings, including 440 S. LaSalle, aka One Financial Place. - United Airlines files lawsuits......

Why should billionaires have all the fun? Pretty much any sports fan has fantasized about how they'd run their favorite team if they owned it, and lots of people consider the Cubbies to be their favorite team. A number of them are using the Cubs' impending sale to try to get a piece of the team, even if they don't quite have a 10-figure bank account. Eric Majeski formed 4 Fans Sake, through which he......

MLB Commissioner Bud Selig must have choked on his frozen custard when he found out that Mark Cuban has officially thrown his hat into the ring to buy the Cubs. On Thursday Cuban made public that he had submitted his application to buy the storied ball club. Bud, of course, has other ideas about who shall buy the Cubs. He has been lobbying for longtime friend John Canning Jr. to purchase the team from the......

The Chicago Fire continued on a downward spiral last night losing to the New York Red Bulls, their fourth straight loss. Seventeen-year-old Red Bull, Jose Altidore, took a break from his busy high school life, he had prom last Saturday and graduates high school this Saturday, to score the eventual game winner against the Fire. His goal came just over one minute into the game. Juan Pablo Angel did not want to be outdone so......

The Fire will be looking for a win tonight when they return home after dropping the last two of a three game road run. The Fire helped make history in their last match, but not the good kind, when they became the first franchise to be scored upon by expansion franchise Toronto FC and then went on to be the first team to lose to the Canadian club. The Fire host FC Dallas in tonight's......

In what was billed as a possible preview of Arena Bowl XXI and lived up to the hype. Two of the Arena Football League's best teams faced off in an exciting affair that wasn't decided until the final seconds. Unfortunately for the Rush it did not go their way. With the Rush leading 48-45 with less than a minute to go the Desperados moved the ball down field running time off the clock in effort......

This week's match-up between the Chicago Rush and the Dallas Desperados has been moved into the prime Monday night slot. The decision could not have been a tough one, as many predict this could be a preview of ArenaBowl XXI. The Rush (8-1) and the Desperados (9-1), along with the Georgia Force (8-1), are the only teams in the league with less than three losses. It will be the third week in a row that......

The Blackhawks, whose season ended on Sunday with a 3-2 loss to the Dallas Stars, won off the ice today. The NHL Draft Drawing took place in Columbus, Ohio, today, and the Blackhawks won the number-one draft pick for the 2007 NHL Draft. Amazing stuff, 'cause their chances of winning the top pick were about the same chance as them winning a game, 8.1%. The Blackhawks, who have missed the playoffs eight times in the......

For the past six weeks, the Chicago Sun-Times has been conducting a trial against the Chicago Tribune on charges of "gross negligence and neglect in its ownership of the Chicago Cubs." Over the course of the past six weeks, the prosecution and defense have "called" countless witnesses to the stand. Jerry "The bleacher preacher" Pritikin, Marc Silverman, Milo Hamilton, Jimmy Piersall, Mike Murphy, Dallas Green, and Ron Santo. Santo was the lone witness for......

Who do we believe -- Radar Magazine or Mark Cuban? Radar reported on Wednesday that billionaire tech entrepeneur, blogger and owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team is preparing to make a $625 million bid for the Chicago Cubs. A source supposedly familiar with the situation claims, "Mark is desperate to buy the Cubs. He wants this so bad." However, Cuban's response to the Trib via email stated that the rumor was "not true." In......

The Women's United Soccer Association was the first full-time women's soccer league in the world when it was founded in 2000. Franchises existed in Atlanta, Boston, Chapel Hill & Cary, NC, New York, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Jose, and Washington D.C. After three full seasons, the WUSA suspended operations in the fall of 2003. The WUSA failed for a variety of reasons including a lack of attendance and significant television ratings, and blowing through $100......

Talk about a dramatic fall from the top! After weeks of rumors and speculation that Ron Rivera was a candidate for nearly every head coaching opening in the NFL, "the Man" had other plans for poor Chico. First he got passed over for the San Diego Chargers top job, and then Bears management tossed their defensive coordinator out in the cold. The San Diego Chargers — who surprised many by firing Marty Schottenheimer following a......

With the Super Bowl over, the talk has already turned to the Bears future, in 2007 and beyond. Of course, there's heated debate over whether to stick with Rex or look elsewhere for the answer at QB. The composition of the Bears' coaching staff is also up in the air at the moment. Defensive Coordinator Ron Rivera spent Tuesday in Dallas, interviewing for their head coaching vacancy. His name had come up in regards to......

Major League Soccer and its many broadcast partners released the 2007 schedule today. In a first for MLS, every single game will be televised either nationally or locally. The league has partnered with many national networks, including ABC, ESPN, Univision, Fox Soccer Channel, Fox Sports en Espanol and HDNet to ensure 113 of the 195 games will be shown nationally. Unfortunately, many of these stations are not widely available without upgraded cable service. The most......

We know that our nostalgia over the former FAO Schwarz on Michigan Avenue is probably matched by the tortured remembrances of those we dragged into the store as a chorus of terrifying little voices sang "It's a Small World After All." Even so, we maintain that the American Girl Place is 100 percent more aesthetically upsetting than any other toy store that has ever existed. That's why we have some sick, sick pleasure in hearing......

Chicagoist knows where we'll be on Sunday — parked in front of our new 46" LCD TV that we bought in order to better watch our Bears. We have a feeling you'll also be similarly positioned on Sunday, too. That's because the Bears will host the Seattle Seahawks in their first playoff game, following a first-round bye. Seattle made it past the first round because of a botched field goal by the Dallas Cowboys last......

While the Bears have known for weeks now that they'd be hosting their first playoff game, they finally know their opponent. The Bears will host the Seattle Seahawks at noon on Sunday following Seattle's miracle win over the Dallas Cowboys. When the Bears and Seahawks faced off in Week 4, Chicagoist was jumping off our couch in excitement as the Bears trounced the 'Hawks 37-6. But does that October win give any indication of how......

The Chicago Blackhawks have seen enough and showed coach Trent Yawney the door after starting the season with just seven wins in twenty games. In his short career behind the boards at the United Center, Yawney had an unimpressive 33-55-15 record. The Blackhawks promoted assistant coach and former player Denis Savard to take the reigns of the team. Savard, a Hall of Famer, spent 17 years on the ice playing in Chicago, Montreal, and Tampa......

It's that time of year when the 'Hawks and Bulls are evicted from the United Center by the tigers and elephants, along with the clowns and the rest of the Ringling Bros. Circus. Kicked out of their home, the Bulls began a 7-game road trip last night in Dallas against the defending Western Conference champion Mavericks, losing 111-99. Hardly surprising, given that since the end of the Jordan Era, the Bulls are just 4-41 on......

Mrs. Gov. Blago was involved in some lucrative real estate deals with a woman whose company has a no-bid state contract. Fishy? Some guy followed a woman off the Red Line, threatened to "slash her throat" if she made any noise, stole her money and her iPod, and sexually assaulted her. There was a witness, so there's a good sketch of him here. People are pissed because holiday trees are up in some suburbs......

The Chicago Blackhawks' locker room has looked more like a triage unit as of late. The Hawks suffered some concerning injuries over the weekend. On Friday night in Dallas, the Hawks had a 3-1 lead going into the second intermission. However, in the third period, Martin Havlat left the game due to an ankle sprain that will keep him out for 2-3 weeks. The Blackhawks ended up losing the game 5-4. In Saturday night's 4-3......