As always when Bartman's name is evoked Our Town's media outlets rush to pound out more "who knew people would react like that?" articles with only a cursory mention of their participation in his scapegoating. more ›

While the heat is starting to cool from last Sunday's documentary on the University of Michigan's "Fab Five", part of ESPN's wonderful "30 for 30" series, the next installment in the series is set to premiere at next month's Tribeca Film Festival. For Cubs fans, the film focuses on a moment in the team's recent history many of the would rather forget: the Bartman game. more ›

You didn't think we'd go through the day without mentioning this, did you? Seven years ago today the second biggest meltdown we ever witnessed in a baseball playoff series (the biggest being the 2004 AL Championship series) occurred. This game, Wrigley Field Premium Ticket Services and the 2004 Cubs season set in motion our switching of baseball allegiances from North to South sides. Steve Bartman's name may now live in infamy, but so should Moises Alou's overreaction, which led to Mark Prior's overreaction and wild pitch walk and the key to the breakdown, Alex Gonzalez's fumbling of a double play ball that opened the floodgates. more ›

We've got the CIFF schedule here in our hot little hands (it's also posted on the festival website), and having had the chance to give it the once-over it's pretty clear that this year's festival offers up more surprises than usual in addition to its traditionally buzzworthy fare. more ›

Are We Winning?, the new book from former Deadspin chief (and Illinois native) Will Leitch hits bookstores today and Deadspin was good enough to post an excerpt. This excerpt, of course, focuses on the Bartman game. Of course a Cardinals fan would do that to us. Even still, Leitch is incredibly gracious and empathetic towards Bartman (pointing out the other fans going for the ball and placing some blame on an over-reacting Moises Alou). And if you're not sick of Bartman revisits yet, there's still that entry in ESPN's (pretty damn excellent) 30 for 30 series on Bartman coming later this year. more ›

A sports-collector convention and SportsBuy.com say they'll pay Steve Bartman $25,000 for an autograph. But their press release also says "Where forth [sic] art thou, Steve Bartman?" so who knows. And for the record, wherefore means why, not where. 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 ›

With Mark Prior scheduled to make his next Spring Training appearance at the Cubs minor league camp, Chicago media are piling on the "he's done" bandwagon. The Sun-Times' Chris de Luca adds Prior to the list of top draft picks who, in spite of incredible talent and notoriaty, never panned out -- Todd Van Poppel, Brien Taylor and Shawn Abner. We certainly remember the inflated prices for those guys' "future star" baseball cards back in... more ›

As recently as 24 months ago, there were three baseball franchises whose fans blamed decades of World Series futility on curses. The Red Sox fans blamed the "curse of the Bambino," cast upon their franchise when the team's owner sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees in order to finance a Broadway production. Since the Wilson administration, White Sox fans blamed their lack of a title on the "Black Sox" scandal, in which members of the 1919 team were accused of throwing the World Series. And the Cubs had their "Billy Goat" curse, cast upon the team after Vasili "Billy Goat" Sianis and his actual goat were denied admission to Wrigley Field for Game 4 of the 1945 World Series. more ›

Well, at least the Cubs are number one in something. Dusty Baker has moved from second to first place on Maxim's list of Major League Baseball's Worst Baseball Managers this year. Dusty's job has been safe until recently due to his early success with the Cubs. He guided them to back-to-back winning seasons in 2003 and 2004 something; that had not happened in the previous 30 years. But as the Cubs continue to struggle and... more ›

Take a deep breath today folks, it'll be one of your last whiffs of Blommer's chocolate. The EPA was serious about ridding downtown Chicago of the scourge of chocolate pollution. The Blommer Chocolate factory is heeding a complaint by the agency about the pollution caused by grinding cocoa beans and will soon be installing equipment to stifle the emissions. more ›

Chicagoist recently wondered what Steve Bartman was up to these days. The Cubs fan who many blame for ending the Cubs' World Series hopes in 2003 seemed to vanish soon after. Of course, if ever there was a real life "Need to Get Away For a While?" moment... more ›

The Chicago Historical Society may be our fair city's longest standing museum, but its age doesn't mean it's using a walker or eating dinner at noon or anything. In stark contrast, the museum will celebrate its 150th birthday next year with a $22 million rehab that will leave its exterior shell intact, but will transform the existing exhibit halls and public spaces into a vibrant representation of "the city's collective memory." more ›

The Cubs sure went out quietly, losing 7 of 9 to close out the season and missing out on making the playoffs. But the Cubs have sure made a lot of noise off the field. Everybody seems to be feuding, blaming others for the team's failures. more ›

With hurricanes battering Florida on a seemingly daily basis, the Florida Marlins have found a home away from home here in Chicago. Over the weekend, the Marlins played four games against the Cubs at Wrigley Field -- including one originally scheduled for Miami. more ›