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The Chicago Fire's Chris Armas officially announced his retirement today, concluding a 12-year career in Major League Soccer. Armas, who had said at the beginning of the season that he intended to retire, played his final match in the play-off loss to the New England Revolution last Thursday. Armas played with the Los Angeles Galaxy in the league's inaugural season and in 1997 before coming to the Chicago Fire when the league expanded in 1998.... more ›

For the fifth time in six years, the New England Revolution have ended the Chicago Fire's season. New England forward Taylor Twellman scored a spectacular bicycle kick goal in the 38th minute that turned out to be the game winner. Twellman was covered tightly by Dasan Robinson and Logan Pause but was able to head the ball in the air then perform the acrobatic kick between the two defenders and leaving goal keeper Matt Pickens... more ›

NBC announced on Monday that they are bumping the Bears - Seahawks game that was scheduled for the November 18 Sunday Night Football has been bumped in favor of the New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills. Chicagoist really can't fault NBC for this move. While we Bears fans feel obligated to watch their games -- no matter how ugly -- we really don't want the rest of the country to see the sorry state of... more ›

Barack Obama might not be Ronald Reagan (thank God for small blessings?), but he and Dick Cheney share something: A common ancestor. Yes, our junior senator and the good old face-shooter are distant cousins. Freaking out! Oh wait, no we're not: The Sun Times reported this over a month ago. Obama definitely has presidential timber in his family tree: He's distantly related to three U.S. presidents — Harry S Truman, George W. Bush and George... more ›

You know what today is, don’t you? It’s golden beer’s 165th birthday! Yes, 165 years ago today, on Oct. 5, 1842, Joseph Groll, a young brewmaster in Plzen, Czech Republic, discovered a technique for brewing golden beer, otherwise known as the pilsner, or Pilsner Urquell, which is the brand name now. Prior to 1842, most beers had a darker, murkier consistency and a sweeter taste. Lore has it that the citizens of Pilsen were fed... more ›

The Fire return to Toyota Park tomorrow night to take on rival New England Revolution in their penultimate regular-season home game. The New England Revolution are hot off their U.S. Open Cup Championship game earlier this week. The Fire come into the match on a five-game unbeaten streak, but four of those non-beatings were ties because the Fire's been fizzling: In each of their last three games, they held the lead with less than ten... more ›

Now that the Cubs are in the playoffs, want to convert? Or maybe you've been a Cubs fan but need to brush up on your trivia skills? Tonight, authors Glenn Stout, of the Best American Sports series, and Richard A. Johnson, the curator of the New England Sports Museum, present their latest collaboration, The Cubs: The Complete Story of Chicago Cubs Baseball, at Harold Washington Library. The Cubs details Cubs history covering such items as... more ›

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... more ›

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... more ›

The Chicago Fire came into the week tied for first place as a result of the Fire's best Major League start in club history, 3-0-1. After Sunday night’s loss to the New England Revolution the Fire (3-1-1, 10 pts) fall below the fold in the tough Eastern Conference standings to fourth behind Kansas City (4-1-0, 12 pts), New York Red Bulls (3-0-2, 11 pts) and New England Revs (3-1-2, 11 pts). The Fire were able... more ›

The Chicago Fire put together a strong team performance to earn three points on the road against the defending MLS champions Houston Dynamo. Chris Rolfe tallied the lone goal in the 60th minute to propel the Fire to their best start in franchise history. After four games the Fire are 3-0-1, earning them 10 points, tying them with the New York Red Bulls (3-0-1) at the top of the seven-team Eastern conference. The Fire's previous... more ›

Saturday night, the Chicago Fire won their first season opener in five years. The game time temperature was a frigid 31 degrees but that did not deter nearly 15,000 fans from coming out to Toyota Park to cheer on the Fire. The fans were barely in their seats before the Fire netted the game winner. In the fourth minute midfielder Justin Mapp(right) drove down the sideline and crossed a ball to Logan Pause who flicked... more ›

The Chicago Fire kick off their tenth season in Major League Soccer this Saturday at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill. The Fire will start off against New England Revolution, who knocked the Fire out of the 2006 playoff hunt. The rivalry with the Revs is quickly becoming one of the better rivalries in Major League Soccer. The teams are an even 17-17-6 against each other in the regular season. Further stoking the rivalry fire is... more ›

Given the force that NFL players hit with, we are amazed that more of them don't get seriously injured. After all, that was our mom's biggest fear when Chicagoist initially went out for freshman football. And when we decided to give it up after two days — that makes her top-ten best days as a mom. more ›

Last month we shared with you the rumors that the Chicago Fire were in talks with Mexican Soccer Star Cuauhtémoc Blanco. The Fire announced on Sunday that Blanco would be coming to Chicago on Monday to sign a Designated Player (DP) contract with the Fire. The Fire will become only the third team to take advantage of Major League Soccer's Designated Player rule. The rule allows MLS teams to sign a player and have only... more ›

Both Red Card and Ridge Mahoney of SoccerAmerica are reporting that Fire GM John Guppy has met with Mexican League Star Cuauhtemoc Blanco about joining the Fire in 2007. SoccerAmerica reported that salary terms of $1.5-2 million per season for either one or three years are being discussed. Blanco, although aging at 34 and having suffered several injuries during his career, continues to find the back of the net, including four times this season for... more ›

Chicagoist didn't expect the spanking the Bears administered to to the Seahawks the last time they met. In fact, the game wasn't decided until overtime, where the Bears won 27-24 on a Robbie Gould 49-yard field goal. The game was pretty much the nail biter we expected. Our 24-21 prediction was pretty damn close, and we were correct that Grossman's play (76.9 QB rating ) wouldn't neatly fall into either the good or bad category... more ›

The Chicago Fire can start thinking about 2007, now that their first match is scheduled. The Fire will host the New England Revolution on April 7 at Toyota Park in Bridgeview to kick off the 2007 campaign. The Revolution and the Fire have developed a solid, bitter rivalry over the years highlighted by the Revs ending the Fire's 2006 season in New England in penalty kicks. Four of the five times the Fire have met... more ›

Chicagoist wants to know exactly what was Rex thinking? How the hell could he think a pass like that was a good idea? With the way he'd been passing? With that much time on the clock? Or was this play called by offensive coordinator Ron Turner? Either way, it was a bone-headed call and might have cost the Bears the game. The Bears looked like they were going to find a way to win yet... more ›

The Chicago Fire's season ended after losing in penalty kicks to the New England Revolution on Saturday. The Fire went into Saturday's game with the advantage of a 1-0 aggregate goals lead. They simply needed a tie or a win to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. From the opening whistle, this was a hotly contested match. Just 20 seconds into the match, Revolution midfielder Andy Dorman put a shot on goal that required Fire... more ›

Although our allegiances have turned to other candle brands in adulthood, when we were growing up, Yankee Candles were where it was at. A trip to the local flower and gift shop was not complete with a few peach votives, and our home perpetually smelled of pumpkin spice jar candles throughout the fall season. more ›

The Chicago Fire carry a 1-0 lead into New England for the second leg of the aggregate goal Eastern Conference Semifinal Series. The Chicago Fire defeated the New England Revolution 1-0 in Chicago Sunday when Justin Mapp scored off a free kick in the 34th minute. The Fire can advance to the Eastern Conference Finals with a win or a tie in New England on Saturday night. The Fire have their work cut out for... more ›

The Chicago Fire will host their final home game of the 2006 campaign at noon on Sunday, October 22, when they take on division rival the New England Revolution. The Fire will be looking for revenge as it was the Revs who knocked the Fire out of the postseason last year. This year, the Fire have the advantage in their series play with a 2-1-1 record. When this series is over, the two teams will... more ›

Note: Part 1 of this series is here. more ›

The Chicago Fire are slated to take on the New England Revolution in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinals on Wednesday night at Toyota Park. The two teams are familiar with each other, as the Fire defeated the Revs in New England 1-0 this past Sunday. That win moved the Fire into a second-place tie with the Revs in the Eastern Conference standings. However, the Fire hold the edge against the Revs in 2006... 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 ›

The NASCAR Nextel Cup Series drove through town this weekend for the USG Sheetrock 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. There was some good old-fashioned feuding taking place on the raceway. Back in March Matt Kenseth used his number 17 Ford to wreck Jeff Gordon. Afterwards Gordon found Kenseth in the Pits and gave him a shove. On Sunday we learned that the feud is still on between the drivers. Although Matt Kenseth had been in control... more ›

The Chicago Fire comes home for the first time during the 2006 campaign after a rough nine game road trip. While they were gone their Bridgeview Stadium received a new name. After months of speculation the Chicago Fire announced deal with Toyota to name the stadium Toyota Park. The Fire have lost their last two matches and are badly in need of a win. The Fire take on the New England Revolution this Sunday at... more ›

The Chicago Fire earned another road point this weekend when they escaped Kansas City with a draw. The Fire were outshot 20-4 but managed to tie 1-1 thanks to some stellar goal keeping by Zach Thorton that included stopping an Eddie Johnson penalty kick. Kansas City remains Major League Soccer's top team (4-1-1) while the Fire are fifth in the East Division. The Fire are managing to stay within reach of the top half of... more ›