Two - Walter Payton and Michael Jordan - are locks. Who will join them? more ›

Cubs radio broadcaster and former third baseman Ron Santo has died at age 70. Suffering from complications of bladder cancer, Mr. Santo slipped into a coma on Wednesday according to his family, before passing away last night. more ›

On Friday night, former Bulls greats Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen will team up one more time. Pippen announced on Monday that when he's enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame this Friday night as part of the Class of 2010, it'll be former teammate MJ who presents him to the Hall. more ›

Former Cub great Andre Dawson was inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame yesterday, albeit as an Expo, but, hey, whatever, we all knew him as a Cub, right? Dawson was the only player inducted this year and he went in alongside manager Whitey Herzog and umpire Doug Harvey. Major League Baseball's decision to induct Dawson as an Expo, despite Dawson expressing some hope he'd go in as a Cub, prevented us from having a Cub enter alongside a long-time Cardinal great (Herzog). Still, there were plenty of Cubs fans there to cheer Dawson's induction (what else are they going to cheer this year?). Said Dawson, "And from my heart, thank you Cubs fans. You were a true a blessing in my life. I didn't know what it was like to be loved by a city until I got to Chicago. ... You were the wind beneath the Hawk's wings." After the jump, check out an equally cheesy musical dedication to Dawson and his time at Wrigley. more ›

Former Cubs great Andre Dawson visited the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York yesterday for a private tour, something of an "orientation" ahead of his induction in July. Said Dawson of visiting the Hall: more ›

According to reports, former Bulls star Scottie Pippen has been elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame. Joining Pip are former Jazz power forward Karl Malone, late Celtics guard Dennis Johnson and famed high school coach Bob Hurley Sr. An official announcement will come on Monday in Indianapolis. more ›

Former Bulls legend Scottie Pippen was announced yesterday as a finalist for induction into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame. Also announced as a finalist in the team category was the 1992 Dream Team which included both Pippen and Bulls legend Michael Jordan. The finalists - 19 in all - were announced yesterday as part of the NBA's All Star Weekend festivities. Pippen was part of all six of the Bulls' championship teams in the '90s and seems a shoe-in for a spot in the Hall. Those making it will be announced in April. more ›

One of our favorite baseball players, former White Sox slugger Frank Thomas, is expected to officially announce his retirement from baseball later today at a press conference in Chicago. The "Big Hurt" broke into the majors with the White Sox in 1990 and played in Chicago through the 2005 season. For much of his time in Chicago, he was among the most feared hitters in the game. His 1994 slugging percentage of .729 was the highest in the American League since Ted Williams, and perhaps he could have led the Sox to a World Series title in 1994 had the strike not wiped out the end of the season. While injured for much of the '05 season, he did win a World Series ring with the team in his final year with the club. Thomas played for a season and a half each in Oakland and Toronto after departing the Sox, but did not play in 2009. more ›

Richard Dent will have to wait at least one more year before being granted entry into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, after the list of latest inductees were announced on Saturday and his name remained off the list. The former Bears defensive lineman was a finalist for the sixth time in the last seven years, but once again failed to reach the threshold necessary for enshrinement in Canton. more ›

Even against teams that no longer exist, the Cubs can't catch a break. Andre Dawson informed the Tribune last night that he'll be going in to the Hall of Fame as a Montreal Expo and not a Chicago Cub. Dawson sent the Trib a text, saying, "Hall will issue a press release (Wednesday) announcing that I will go in as an Expo." Dawson played his first 11 seasons (1976-1986) with the Expos, a stretch that included the 1977 Rookie of the Year, six Gold Gloves, three Silver Sluggers, and three All-Star appearances. After famously signing that blank contract with the Cubs in 1987, Dawson played six seasons (1987-1992) at Wrigley. While with the Cubs, he won the 1987 MVP, made five All-Star teams, won two Gold Gloves, and one Silver Slugger. Dawson had expressed an interest in entering the Hall as a Cub - a move that would have resulted in the team retiring his No. 8 - but the Hall has other plans. Dawson will become only the second player in the Hall as an Expo: catcher Gary Carter, who like Dawson played a bulk of his career with the Expos but is better remembered for his time with another team (the NY Mets), is the other. more ›

As Andre Dawson awaits the decision from the Hall of Fame as to which team he will enter the Hall of Fame under - the literally defunct Expos or the spiritually defunct Cubs - the Cubs are getting proactive. If Dawson enters the Hall as a Cub, the team will retire his No. 8, according to a Tribune report from over the weekend. He'd be the seventh Cub to have his jersey number retired (Williams, Ryno, Maddux, Santo, Banks, and Jenkins). Dawson played his first 11 years with Les Expos before coming over to the Cubs for six seasons, which included his '87 MVP season (.287/47HR/137RBI). The Hall of Fame is expected to make an announcement on which team Dawson will be entered under by Spring Training. more ›

Major League Baseball announced it's Hall of Fame class of 2010 and it - finally - includes Cubs great Andre Dawson. In fact, Dawson was the only player elected to the hall by the BBWA this year. Dawson received 77.9 percent of the vote, the only player to achieve the 75 percent of votes required to earn election to the Hall. Pitcher Bert Blyleven and infielder Roberto Alomar fell just short of the threshold. more ›

Yesterday, we mentioned our local papers honoring Michael Jordan on his induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame (being televised this afternoon by ESPN, 5:30 p.m.) along with other greats John Stockton, David Robinson, Vivian Stringer, and Jerry Sloan. But, for Chicago, it's mostly about His Royal Airness. And ESPN has the perfect Friday distraction for you in the form of this collection of 23 videos celebrating his biggest moments [via GB]. more ›

In celebration of Michael Jordan's induction to the Basketball Hall of Fame tomorrow, both the Tribune and Sun-Times have created an extensive special Michael Jordan Tributes. Both feature a collection of articles, columns, photos, and videos that trace MJ's life from his childhood, to his standout college career, to his illustrious run in the NBA, his detours for the Olympics and minor league baseball, as well as life in the executive suite. So go ahead and waste your workday reminiscing about the best basketball player we're likely to ever see, as well as the one who brought six championships to town. more ›

On Friday, Michael Jordan finally assumes his rightful place in the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. Leading up to his enshrinement, the Trib asks what we can only assume is a rhetorical question, "Is MJ the best ever?" Sure, we may be a teeny bit biased here in Chicago. But we still pick MJ over the likes of Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, and Oscar Robertson. So would former Bulls assistant coach Johnny Bach, "I saw Oscar Robertson and Russell play. I coached against Wilt (in college). The idolatry Michael experienced would send anybody else off spinning. But he continued to produce." more ›

Former Cub, dangerous sneezer, and corker - not to mention prolific home run hitter - Sammy Sosa claims he will soon announce his formal retirement from baseball. Sosa hasn't played a game since 2007 when he was with the Texas Rangers. As to the question on everyone's minds - did he use performance-enhancing drugs - Sosa side-stepped the issue, saying: more ›

If ever there was a candidate for first ballot selection to a Hall of Fame, Michael Jordan defined it. As the most dominant player of a generation and perhaps the best to ever play the sport of basketball, it's no surprise that the former Bulls shooting guard will join the 2009 class for induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame -- his first year eligible. more ›

Former Chicago Bear great Richard Dent will have to wait another year before entering the Pro Football Hall of Fame as, despite being a finalist, he was not among the six people elected to the Hall this year. Dent played 12 seasons with the Bears (1983 - 1993, 1995) and was a four-time Pro Bowl selection. Oh, and there was that whole Super Bowl XX MVP thing, too. The six people elected to the Hall this year were Bruce Smith, Rod Woodson, Bob Hayes, Randall McDaniel, Derrick Thomas and Bills owner Ralph Wilson. more ›

Today, one of the greatest pitcher of our generation announced his retirement at baseball's Winter Meetings in his hometown of Las Vegas. more ›

Another year, another egregious passing-over of Cubs legend Ron Santo for the Hall of Fame by Major League Baseball's Veterans Committee. Only former Yankee and Indian player Joe Gordon was selected to be inducted in the Hall. Santo needed 48 votes to earn entrance but only got 39. While Santo only hit a career .277, he had 342 home runs in an era when hitting 30 homers in a season was actually a big deal - and he did it three times. The nine-time All Star spent 14 seasons with the Cubs and his final season with the White Sox. more ›

The Tribune is reporting that longtime newspaperman, historian, Baseball Hall-of-Famer and Chicago native Jerome Holtzman has passed away over the weekend from a major stroke at the age of 82. more ›

Organizers are rolling out today renderings for the 16-Inch Softball Hall of Fame -- in a bricks and mortar format. Currently, the Hall of Fame only exists on the web. more ›

This afternoon, the Cubs and San Diego Padres face off in the final Hall of Fame Game -- an exhibition held annually since 1940 at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, New York. more ›

Since 1940, two Major League Baseball teams have been honored each year with an invitation to play in the Hall of Fame Game -- an in-season exhibition game held in Cooperstown, New York. But because of the increasing complexity of fitting the "off day" game into teams' schedules, the 2008 game will be the final one. more ›

Who among us hasn't accidentally forgotten to do something that we then really feel guilty about? Like maybe failing to call our Mom on her birthday? Or forgetting to include one of our favorites on our Hall of Fame ballot and almost seeing him forever dropped from the ballot? more ›

Major League Baseball's annual election results will be announced today, and a couple of former Chicago players hope to cross the magic threshold from paying customers to inductees in Cooperstown. Voted on by the Baseball Writers of America, players become eligible five years after retiring and must receive votes on 75 percent of ballots. more ›