The New York Yankees rummaged through the Cubs' trash and pulled out former Cubs general manager Jim Hendry. more ›

Phil Emery is currently the Kansas City Chiefs' director of college scouting, while Jason Licht is director of pro scouting for the Super Bowl-bound New England Patriots. more ›

big spirit of the year. We've written about Lucid absinthe before, and we were able to get our hands on a bottle of Kübler, a Swiss absinthe now being sold locally. more ›

CBS 2 morning news anchor Randy Salerno died yesterday in a snowmobiling accident in Wisconsin. He was 45. more ›

South Oak Dodge in Matteson, Ill., normally wouldn't get our attention, but the ad they're running on Fox Chicago, which features "Import Man," a guy in a sumo wrestler outfit who speaks with a crude accent, is pretty offensive. more ›

The Mark Prior Era is over in Chicago. The Cubs finally gave up on the one-time budding superstar on Wednesday -- the deadline for offering salary arbitration to eligible players--making Prior officially a free agent. Unable to reach an incentive-laden, one-year contract or to find a trading partner, the Cubs chose to non-tender Prior rather than risk overpaying for an injured pitcher. Are we surprised? Chicagoist did predict back in April that we'd never see... more ›

Chicagoist was left scratching our head when we heard the rumors than an extension to White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen's deal was in the works. With two years remaining on his current deal and his team with the worst record in baseball, the rumors should have been that he was about to get canned. But for some reason, Sox general manager Kenny Williams decided he needed to lock Guillen up until 2012. Five more years... more ›

Everyone is to blame for album sales being down except the actual industry itself. Who gets the spotlight for bringing down the sales this time? It’s the media and those promo copies they receive in order to review albums before they hit the street. Everyone remembers the Jack White/Q101 fiasco a few weeks back after Electra played Icky Thump in its entirety and then (surprise!) the album showed up on file sharing sites three weeks... more ›

After we saw an anonymous tip on our sidebar saying that WLUW (88.7 FM) would no longer exist in its current form, we were filled with a sense of dread. How? Why? More importantly, was this really true? We called Shawn Campbell, Program Director, to see what was up. She confirmed that the gist of the tip was true, but told us that the information had been leaked to Feder before WLUW and WBEZ had... more ›

It looks as thought the Amy Jacobson story continues to have legs (this might be the first in a series of unintentional puns, so bear with us). First, the Plainfield police department finally announced yesterday that they're considering Craig Stebic as a "person of interest", and not just because he throws a memorable pool party. It turns out that Stebic has refused requests by police to take a polygraph test and to let the cops... more ›

Well, Chicagoist had finally come to terms with the fact that Mark Buehrle's days with the White Sox were numbered. We've heard and read the daily rumors about him being traded to the Mets, the Red Sox, the Cards, the Dodgers, the Braves, etc. While we hoped the Sox would lock up the durable lefty, his looming free agency, along with his supposed desire for a five year deal and rumors that he wanted to play for his hometown Cardinals made it seem unlikely that he'd remain on the South Side as the Sox continue to head south in the standings. more ›

Chef Geno Bahena (Tepatulco) is nothing if not audacious. The mole master is the new “Executive Chef, Mentor, and General Manager” behind an ambitious but odd restaurant concept in the part of the city that spawned our own Kevin Robinson. After paying a visit to Delicioso y Sabroso (10468 S. Indianapolis Blvd., 773-374-6089) we wonder if Bahena fully thought this restaurant through. However, our reservations with Delicioso y Sabroso go way beyond the usual... more ›

While, we always thought that the debate was pointless, speculation over where Springfield is actually set has raged throughout the 18 years of the Simpson's existence. The creators in "Behind the Laughter" have insinuated that it is probably somewhere in Kentucky, but it was based largely on Portland, OR, where creator, Matt Groening, grew up. For the most part, we are content with Springfield being Anytown, USA, allowing the creators to make it whatever they want for a particular episode. more ›

This week's theme: Cinco de Mayo. More specifically, the Anglicized version of Cinco de Mayo. Let's get on with it. Everyone Has An Opinion: In conjunction with National Hamburger Month, the folks at Yelp! have released a thoroughly underwhelming list of their top five places to get a burger in town. The site that brings together user reviews of all the "hidden gems, hot spots, and amazing small businesses you've never heard of or fanatically... more ›

We almost didn't go to last night's meeting about the three-track project at CTA headquarters. But we just didn't think it would be right for us to remind you over and over again and not check it out for ourselves. Our only compunction about going was that we knew were going to be fed complete crap all the while being expected to think it was a reasonably good meal. Walking up to the second floor... more ›

It's official: The Red Eye is the Wave of the Future (TM)! For all the yada yadas about selling the Trib, reporters having to beg for food on street corners, and the inarguable lack of print news readers, the Red Eye seems to be doing OK — the paper will soon have a Saturday edition. more ›

You know what Chicago needs? More news programs. We just can’t get enough of morning news, along with news at 4, 4:30, 5, 5:30, 6, 9 and 10 p.m. And that’s just the networks. You cable and satellite-lovers must be in headline heaven! more ›

Sharp eyes around these parts may have noticed a lack of restaurant reviews lately. That's because it's been cold, y'all. This recent spate of bad weather has reacquainted us with the simplicity of making pancakes. It's even easier when you're working from a pre-made mix. During our weekly visit to Lush Wine & Spirits this weekend, we picked up a twenty-ounce bag of pancake mix from the Sour Mash Bourbon Bread Company, a company co-founded... more ›

The Chicago Auto Show is the largest auto show in North America and it is ready to kick off for the 99th time. The show, located at McCormick Place, is open to the public starting Friday, February 9 through Sunday, February 18. The hours are 10am-10pm each day except on the final day when the show ends at 8pm. The event boasts nearly 1,000 domestic and imported vehicles. Chicagoist accepted General Motors’ invite to catch... more ›

Professional indoor lacrosse debuted Saturday night in front of a near-sellout crowd of 8,456 at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates. Two National Lacrosse League (NLL) expansion teams, the New York Titans and the Chicago Shamrox dueled it out in a match that was close until the closing minutes of the game. It did not take long for the goal scoring to start. The New York Titans christened the goals with the first NLL goal... more ›

Chicagoist has lost a lot of respect for Bears management this week. They talked a tough game, but when push came to shove they backed down. At a Tuesday afternoon press conference, Bears GM Jerry Angelo announced that the Bears will suspend Tank Johnson for one game for "conduct detrimental to the team." ONE GAME!?!?! Talk about caving to the pressure to win at all costs. After serving his suspension, he'll be eligible to return... more ›

Tank Johnson was already having a pretty bad week. His house was raided by Gurnee police, his stash of guns was confiscated and he was charged for illegal possession of firearms. His bodyguard Willie Posey was arrested for felony pot possession during the raid. And as a result of Thursday's run-in with the police, Bears coach Lovie Smith announced that Johnson would be inactive for Sunday's game against Tampa Bay. Yet somehow, Tank Johnson's personal... more ›

This morning, Chicagoist hopped on the bus to Navy Pier to listen to a presentation by Chicago Public Radio (CPR) explaining the rationale for their new 2007 schedule. Torey Malatia, the president and general manager of the station, explained the purpose of restructuring the schedule and doing away with the music formats. Malatia described how CPR was simultaneously a local, regional, national, and global broadcaster. In order to remain relevant with local and regional... more ›

"It's that time of the year" via p2wy.
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We’ve been told many things over the years, guidelines we should follow to ensure a safe and happy life. Don’t get in a car with strangers. Drink your milk. Look both ways before crossing the street. Don’t give out your Social Security Number. For 1,740 former Chicago Public Schools teachers, however, that last bit of advice was for naught, as their SSNs and home addresses were mistakenly included in a mailing about health care coverage.... more ›

Cubs General Manager Jim Hendry annouced on Sunday that the team had agreed to new contracts with free agents Aramis Ramirez and Kerry Wood, answering two questions about the Cubs' 2007 roster. To be honest, Chicagoist was surprised that either one is coming back, let alone both of 'em. more ›

Props to commenter geekgrrl for calling this one last Thursday when we reported that Six Flags will be daring people to eat live cockroaches for a chance to jump the line. PETA has asked Six Flags to cancel the promotion during next month's "Fright Fest," calling it "a tired gag from 'Fear Factor.'" more ›

Yesterday Chicagoist checked out the new kid on the organic grocery store block, Sunflower Markets. Located at 1910 N. Clybourn Avenue and festooned in orange and yellow, Sunflower Markets is looking to give everyone who cries at the Whole Foods checkout counter, or who finds the produce selection at Trader Joe's a little lacking, an alternative shopping experience. As we walked around the brightly lit, easily manageable aisles we found that some items (organic orange juice, eggs, young chickens) were, in fact, less pricey than at the aforementioned competition. Though some items like our beloved Amy's cheese enchiladas seemed to be selling at the same price. Because this was a "sneak peek" we helped ourselves to the myriad samples of cheese, wine, pizza (served to us by girls in bright green vinyl dresses), potato salad (especially tasty) and delectable chocolate peanut butter desserts.
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Sometimes dogs are man’s best friend. And sometimes they just whine and pee all over your leg. Metaphorically speaking, the WCKG radio personality known as Rover was more of the latter as of late. more ›

The Chicago Fire host the toughest team in Major League Soccer this Saturday. Freddy Adu and D.C. United come to town running on 7-game winning streak and 14 straight games without a loss. It will be DC United's first visit to Toyota Park. United has had an impressive 2006 campaign having lost only one match out of 19, a 2-1 loss to the Colorado Rapids back in early May. United has earned 44 points thus... more ›