Great billboard? Or greatest billboard? more ›

We hate being yelled at by the Traffic Management ladies in yellow vests for stepping out into a crosswalk too early. Of course, if you're Lou Piniella, yelling won't really phase you. A week after Chicago White Sox GM Kenny Williams was ticketed for jaywalking in Seattle, Cubs manager Sweet Lou nearly got the same in San Diego. So is Chicago's baseball elite just that disrespectful of the law or are those Left Coasters just that vigilant? Lou got off with just a warning, which is good to him. Said Lou, "Kenny can afford it more than me." Of course, if we had the bullpen issues that Lou does, you'd be pretty likely to find us randomly roaming the streets of whatever city we were stuck in, mumbling incoherently to ourselves, too. [Tribune] 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 ›

Answer quickly... who was the last Cubs pitcher to win 20 games? more ›

The City's settlement in the Burge case has stalled again. Again. Really cute profile of a children's television production company based right here. "Well, the shit really hit the fan last night. And it was the CEILING fan. Maybe I should find a new taqueria." Nothing to do with anything, but we just lost 20 minutes going through the entire archive, and we loved every second. Hey, ladies, don't forget to have a bunch... more ›

Japanese outfielder Kosuke Fukudome finally declared his intentions to play in the major leagues next season. Considered to be one of the best outfielders in Japan's top professional league, he's expected to draw interest from a number of team. Among the teams most interested are both the Cubs and White Sox, as well as the San Diego Padres. Will the latest Japanese sensation land in Chicago? “It’s no secret we’d like him to come to... more ›

The "nation's report card" for public schools came out yesterday, and Chicago ranks behind other urban areas on reading and math for 4th and 8th graders. about 16 percent of the 2,400 4th graders who took the reading exam showed proficiency, compared with an average of 22 percent in cities as a whole. In math, 16 percent of Chicago pupils were proficient, compared with an average of 28 percent in other cities. About 17... more ›

The Cubs have clinched the NL Central crown -- and with two games to spare! Following a three game sweep at the hands of the Florida Marlins, things were looking sketchy, but the Brewers kept on losing, too. When the Cubs returned to the win column in Cincinnati on Friday night, and Milwaukee lost yet again, the final two games were subtracted from the magic number and the Cubs earned a berth in the postseason... more ›

The Cubs couldn't help themselves Wednesday night, as they dropped their second straight game to the lowly Florida Marlins, losing 7-4 in Miami. more ›

Mention fish tacos to people and chances are that they either give you the gas face and say “Eewww!”, or repeat the term and giggle. Simply typing those words conjures in our mind innuendo-laced memories of our Uncle Stu holding his index and middle fingers to his mouth, flicking his tongue between them and talking about how he loved "eating fish on Friday at the 'Y'." Today’s Tribune, however, is all about fish tacos. Kevin... more ›

Protest over national vs. regional chains, the never-ending debate over the place of cars and bicycles in our metropolises, professional sports scandals, remembering a solemn day, and being issued a search warrant - it all happened across our sites this week! Another banner week at Chicagoist started off with daily reports from food writer Lisa Shames on her attempt to eat only locally grown and raised foodstuffs all week as part of a farmers market... more ›

Nobody expected the Bears to go 16-0 this season, or even to start 7-0 like last year. And it's not too shocking that they would lose to a team that went 14-2 last year. But we're still plenty disappointed that the Bears lost to the San Diego Chargers 14-3 on Sunday in their season opener. The Bears' defense looked like it was in midseason form on Sunday, holding the high-scoring Chargers offense in check most... more ›

The Bears wrapped up their preseason schedule on Thursday night by hosting the Cleveland Browns. The Browns beat the Bears 19-9, giving the Bears a 3-1 record for the preseason. With the regular season opening in nine days, the goals for the final tune-up were to evaluate the talent of the guys still trying to make the squad, and to keep the starters healthy. Unfortunately for the Bears, coach Lovie Smith kept at least one... more ›

When you think of the nation’s top tourist destinations, family favorite Orlando, Fla., and adult playground Las Vegas, Nev., might spring to mind. But our own Windy City? Depends on who you ask…. In June, tourism officials from the city and state proclaimed that the number of domestic visitors journeying to our fair city had increased by nearly ten percent, from 40.2 million in 2005 to 44.6 million in 2006 — a significant achievement, to... more ›

We at the Gothamist network would like to express our heartfelt wishes to the people of Minnesota in the days after their tragic bridge collapse. We're not trying to discount the severity of the accident by making note of it in opposition to our usual -Ist lightheartedness - we just wanted to take a moment and recognize those affected last week. After the Minneapolis bridge collapse, Bostonist did a little research and found that Massachusetts... more ›

For those of us whose baseball teams is hopelessly out of the playoff hunt, today is the day we've been waiting for since June -- the opening of Bears open training camp! Players arrived at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais yesterday ahead of today's first practice. The Bears enter camp as reigning NFC Champs, and with the expectations of winning the Super Bowl this season. Can they overcome the fate of the past five... more ›

While our White Sox managed to tie the KC Royals in the AL Central basement earlier this week, the Cubs are quickly closing in on the other end of the standings. Ted Lilly had another strong outing for the Cubs, who beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-1 Wednesday night. With the win -- combined with the Milwaukee Brewers' loss -- moved the Cubs to within just two games of first in the NL Central. The... more ›

In a trade that was surprising in its swiftness, the Cubs traded embattled catcher and "good guy" Michael Barrett (or "number 8" for those of you who don't visit Wrigley Field for the baseball) and cash to the San Diego Padres for backup catcher Rob Bowen and minor league prospect Kyler Burke. The trade closes the book on Barrett's three-plus years as a Cub, a time marked by emotional outbursts, an uncontrollable temper, suspect defensive... more ›

The fireworks continued to fly this past weekend at the again-not-so-Friendly Confines. Derrek Lee became the latest member of the Cubs to throw a punch, when he went after San Diego Padres pitcher Chris Young in the fourth inning after being plunked on the hand by a pitch. The altercation led to a bench-clearing brawl. In addition to Young and Lee, Padres pitcher Jake Peavy and Cubs hitting coach Gerald Perry were also tossed from... more ›

Chicagoist enjoyed the beautiful weather this weekend by checking out the Chicago Lions USA Rugby Super League match on Saturday. The Lions hosted the Washington Rugby Club who traveled from the nation's capitol for the match. The Lions typically play their home games at Northeastern Illinois University at the corner of St. Louis and Foster, but due to the extreme rain earlier in the week this game was moved to the Lions' practice field at... more ›

For the Cubs, every silver lining seems to have its cloud. While the offense and pitching came together and led the team to a 12-4 victory over the San Diego Padres Monday night, the victory may cost the Cubs the services of Alfonso Soriano for a while. Soriano left the game in the fifth inning after straining his hamstring, which could land the Cubs' 136-million-dollar man on the disabled list. Soriano injured his hamstring trying... more ›

We don't know about where you are, but it seems like spring can't decide whether or not to happen. Some days are warm, some days are cold, and sometimes you aren't sure which. Baseball may have started up (and soccer/football winding down) but it still seems cold out there. Unless it's not. Anyways, onto the -ists.
Austinist happily anticipated fall's Austin City Limits, even though they're not fully recovered from South By Southwest. In other music news, a Texas country legend got in hot water after shooting a stranger in the face and a young singer songwriter prepared to embark on another zany tour. Some downtown pranksters pulled off a funny April Fools joke, but Austinist wasn't laughing when '04 Democratic hopeful John Kerry flip-flopped on his Texas appearance.
As Bostonist handed out tips on how not to be "that guy" they watched as the city looked for a few good men as the murder count kept climbing and they mayor tried to put on a happy face. But crime won't get them down, it's Spring and the Boys of Summer are in full force and coming home to Fenway next week. In the meantime they'll be happy not to see any bloody socks and very happy that the butt-load of money spent in the off season seems to have gotten a 10k return.
DCist was feeling confrontational this week. First they told San Diego, and their supposedly superior panda sperm, to get bent. Next they jumped into the fray of the American University students vs. Karl Rove showdown, and then got testy about Inside Edition's Rat Patrol's visit to D.C.. Finally they wrapped up by challenging Metro to make their Knight Rider-style bus upgrades the real deal. Chicagoist saw their top cop resign after police officers were caught on tape in beer brawls on multiple occasions. They also appeared as guest on Chicago Access Network Television's "Talkin' Funny" and got excited about Theatre Seven of Chicago's new show "Is Chicago."
Houstonist was all about conflict this week: a man vs. his prized cockatoo, a woman vs. a really sucky carjacker, the suburbs vs. enormous presidential busts, classic architecture vs. the wrecking ball and a neighborhood vs. a herd of cows.
Phillyist had Phestival Phever, err, Festival Fever, what with both music and movie festivals hitting the city. When they weren’t out using their press passes to have fun, Phillyist staffers were trying not to get stuck in public restrooms, photographing big, tall buildings, getting upset about repackaging, watching their beloved hometeam, and gettin' excited for some unibrow action.
LAist crashed the red carpet premiere of Year of the Dog before heading to the 2007 US Sumo Open and watching the female matches. An Angels baseball player refused to take part in a Jackie Robinson tribute, so they visited the best drive-in movie theatre around - one that happens to be in a suburb called City of Industry (eek!). They tried e-mailing City Council, but the e-mails bounced, so they rocked out on Broadway with Mars Volta.
Gothamist got into the swing of April with the opening of Coney Island, where the famous Astroland amusements may be open for the last time. The Big Apple blog chatted with the guys behind Human Giant, the new MTV show, contemplated NYU's minority magazine with its Yellow Fever cover, and visited the Auto Show where really young girls shilled and activists protested against gas guzzlers. And a warning to folks visiting Chinatown just to buy fakes: You may be locked in a basement for hours during police raids.
Londonist Londonist feared for its health after learning that their city is a more unhealthy place to live than the environs of Chernobyl. But we still love this city, where a simple photoshopped image of St Paul's can land us with a TV slot Meanwhile, a white London councillor who blacked up to look like Nelson Mandela got support from the former South African president.
SFist was stuck in the middle of a lot of things. Like the great battle between cars and bicyclists after a driver either ran over a biker or was assaulted by a wild pack of bikers. Then they got themselves in the middle of the debate over the release from prison of video blogger Josh Wolf. Luckily, to lighten things up, their Mayor did something stupid again.
Torontoist got stylish as they checked out some "street furniture," suggested healthy Easter alternatives, and pondered whether they really are a "capital of style." Elsewhere, somebody posted fake street signs and somebody else responded to them.
Photo by Gothamist's Tien Mao Written by SFist's Jon Shurkin more ›

Jean Twenge is a San Diego State University professor and lead author of the study that says that the generation born after 1982 is "the most narcissistic generation in recent history." OK, we've got to do some thinking about that. On one hand, we agree. Chicagoist finds it extremely odd that even in the most casual of conversations about the most inane of pop culture references ("Fantasy Island," "Little House on the Prairie"), a lot... more ›

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... more ›

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... more ›

Image via ultraclay!. more ›

The Northern Illinois Huskies have accepted a bid to the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl. This bowl holds the honor of being the first bowl game of the year in addition having the longest and most ridiculous name of any bowl. The NIU Huskies will take on the Texas Christian University Horned Frogs on December 19 at San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium. Although the Huskies lost five games during the 2006 campaign, four of... more ›

Green Chicago: a phrase many of us have heard touting our city as a beacon for environmentally-conscious initivaties. more ›

Grade school kids are still taking loads of tests beyond the ones required to graduate. Chicagoist remembers the IOWA, IGAP, ISAT….etc. Those were the days... A study of the nation’s science knowledge was recently released by the National Center for Education Statistics based on one such standardized test. more ›

Baseball’s non-waiver trading deadline passed today at 3:00pm (CDT). The Cubs and Sox were both rumored to be players in possible deals, with the Cubs likely sellers of players and the Sox looking to add those missing pieces to help them right their ship and hopefully make a return trip to the World Series. Since the Cubs fell out of the running, there had been rumors that Greg Maddux and Todd Walker would get shipped... more ›