To honor Opening Day at Wrigley Field this year, Justin Kaufmann over at WBEZ interviewed a drunken Cubs fan in front of the stadium. If you've ever been to the Schadenfreude Rent Party at the Gallery Cabaret, you're familiar with Kate James's "Henneman." And like any good prank, Henneman, with her outrageous behavior and stereotypical level of intoxication, was just credible enough to be believed, but just absurd enough to make you wonder. more ›

Between the glut of macrobrew discussion this week, today's Cubs home opener and it being the 1st of April, it's like the world drew a Venn Diagram of our beer mentality and put Old Style right at the center . Despite our well established South Side baseball bias, we've long believed that hollering "OLD STYLE HERE" at Wrigley could be the three finest words one can shout in Chicago. Yes, we're just as susceptible to the lure of America's Biggest Beer Garden once a season or so, and we figured today was as good a day as any to cheer the return of baseball with a classic "local" beer. more ›

For half the city, it was a gorgeous Opening Day at home with homers and acrobatic plays and victory. For the other half, it was a day that just turned plain ugly. more ›

An old friend returns today, as Major League Baseball marks Opening Day of the 2010 season. And while maybe, deep down, we realize its not likely we'll be celebrating in October, when there are still 162 games left to play anything seems possible. This year, the White Sox kick off the season at home, hosting the Cleveland Indians at U.S. Cellular Field at 1:05 p.m. (CSN, ESPN2). Mark Buehrle takes the mound for the Sox -- his record-setting eighth opening day start. He's 3-1 with a 3.99 ERA in those openers. He'll face off against the Tribe's Jake Westbrook. The Sox will have five new players in their line-up on Opening Day, which is the most new faces since 2005. And how'd that work out for the South Siders? more ›

Worried about baseball fans behaving badly, the city is issuing a warning akin to those used for major holidays to fans. The White Sox host Cleveland next Monday, the official Opening Day of Major League Baseball, while the Cubs start the season on the road and won't celebrate their home opener until a week later, Monday April 12, against the Brewers. Ald. James Balcer (11th) said: more ›

While the White Sox's starting rotation is still a bit up in the air, the team is hoping to have a crafty left-hander on the mound Opening Day. The Sox have officially invited new President Barack Obama to throw out the ceremonial first pitch on April 6, when the South Siders play host to the Kansas City Royals. more ›

It's only one day into the season, and already we've ridden a rollercoaster of emotions -- no matter which of Chicago's baseball teams we pledge our allegiance to. The Cubs and White Sox both opened up their 2008 seasons on Monday, and both teams rallied late before coming up short. more ›

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This t-shirt is going to be popular among the Chicagoist staff. So far, both Benjy and myself (briefly dropping the third person) have ordered this sweet Obama t-shirt using the old school 80's White Sox logo. Fret not, north siders, there's an version with the vintage Cubs logo for sale, as well. Even you downstate Cardinals fans can get in on the action. They're all available here. more ›

Sure, it's still damn cold out. And the snow keeps coming. And coming. But spring is just around the corner. How do we know? Because Spring Training is finally upon us. more ›

When Carlos Zambrano, Derrek Lee and Kosuke Fokodume receive their first paychecks of the 2008 seasons, there will be a signature on them. Whose it'll be, nobody knows. That's because current Cubs owner Sam Zell vows to close a deal on the sale of the Cubs by Opening Day. more ›

Chicagoist better than to expect to win when betting on football, especially when the Bears are involved. The last time we were in Vegas, we saw the Bears lose and miss covering the spread by 1 damn point after a Grossman endzone interception with 0:18 left in the game. Rather than a celebratory cocktail before heading to the airport, we left town with our wallet somewhat lighter. more ›

Chicagoist has pretty much given up on the Bulls making the playoffs. Sure, we were diappointed for a while that they took a big step back from the progress last year's team made. Especially during that time between the Super Bowl and March Madness when they were about the only show in town. But we'd found solace in their likely two lottery picks -- including a very good shot at the first pick from the... more ›

Man, we hate it when, on rare occasions, we actually agree with Jay Mariotti. But he's right about the Cubs -- they're in big trouble this year. With the season starting in just a few days and their two supposed studs on the DL (what's this, the third straight year?) the Cubs don't look like legitimate playoff contenders. All spring, Cubs management continued to claim that there was nothing wrong with Kerry Wood and Mark... more ›

We're still a week away from baseball's Opening Day, but the crosstown rivalry between the White Sox and Cubs is already in mid-season form. The two teams played against each other in front of a HoHoKam Park record crowd of 12,894 in a Cactus League game yesterday. The game ended in a 4-4 tie after 9 innings. The Cubs rallied from a 4-2 defecit in the final frame, but prior to that Sox skipper Ozzie Guillen had signaled to Cubs manager Dusty Baker that he wasn't interested in playing extra innings -- a luxury of these being exhibition games. more ›

There's nothing better than getting somethin' for nothin'. Well, maybe driving with the top down while blaring music, but that won't happen for at least a couple more months. At the 2006 Chicago Auto Show this year there will be free concerts taking place at the Pontiac Garage. We missed last night's concert with the Bo Deans, but tonight on a first-come first-serve basis the Redwalls will play at 7 pm. Two more shows... more ›

While most Chicago Cubs players are spending the winter someplace warm and their fans are devoting time to the Bears, Bulls or Blackhawks while waiting for spring training, Wrigley Field has had a busy off-season. The stadium in well into its bleacher makeover that will be ready for Opening Day. The bleacher enhancements inlcude 1,702 new seats, an expanded concourse and a restaurant/lounge in the "batter's eye." Chicagoist wants to know if it true... more ›

Replacing a current field access tunnel and some existing seating, these high end "Scout" seats will feature "access to a 5,000-square-foot private restaurant and lounge located inside the ballpark at Gate 3 and will enjoy behind-the-scenes views of the ballpark's inner workings. These seats will feature personal wait service from Levy staff, as well as reserved parking just outside Gate 3." The "behind-the-scenes views" includes having to pass the visiting clubhouse to get to the seats. These new seats won't come cheaply, however -- they'll range from $170-200 each, per game. A little steep for Chicagoist's budget. more ›