The United States isn't the only country that is having federal elections this year. In March a by-election will be held in Toronto's Toronto Centre Riding. And our sister site, Torontoist has been posting a semi-regular column by their Environment Editor, Chris Tindal, who is running for parliament as the Green Party candidate. more ›

The United States Olympic Committee awarded an Olympic Opportunity Grant earlier this month to World Sport Chicago. The Gloves not Guns program, run in cooperation with USA Boxing, the Police Athletic League, and the Chicago Park District, promotes the sport of boxing to Chicago's urban youth as a way to stay in shape--and out of trouble. more ›

"The United States of America v. the State of Illinois" has a real dramatic ring to it, no? The Department of Homeland Security is suing Illinois in an attempt to invalidate a state law that bans employers from using E-Verify, a website that allows employers to check if a Social Security number is valid. Blago signed the law, which passed with bipartisan "veto-proof majorities," in August, and it's supposed to go into effect in January.... more ›

Chicagoist felt like Liz Crokin when we shared a room at Fogo de Chao with some of the best footballers (soccer players, whatever your preference) in the world. Chicagoist started off the day enjoying the thoroughly entertaining Clash of Champions between the United States and Brazil at Soldier Field with 45,000 other rabid soccer fans. After attending the Brazilian practice session on Saturday we wrote that the U.S. needed to be careful not to give... more ›

Brazil's national soccer team arrived in Chicago on Friday for their Clash of Champions match-up with the United States National Team at Soldier Field on Sunday. Brazil did not wait long to entertain fans. On Saturday they held their one and only training session prior to the match with the United States and they did it in front of a crowd of a few hundred die-hard fans at Toyota Park. Chicagoist has always enjoyed watching... more ›

This weekend 8,000 rugby fans enjoyed seeing 2006 Heineken Cup Champion Munster defeat the Rugby World Cup bound-USA Eagles 10-6 at Toyota Park. This match was the final match for the USA Eagles before they travel to France for the 2007 Rugby World Cup. This was the first time Chicagoist had seen rugby played at this level and was immediately intimidated and impressed at the size of the players and the ferocity with which they... more ›

The most popular museum in the world is the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., which sees nearly 9 million visitors come through its doors each year. So it is no surprise that Chicago's Annual Air & Water Show is the largest two-day spectator event in the United States, with audience numbers reaching nearly 2.5 million. The free annual event is back for its 49th edition and has a great line-up ready to... more ›

The U.S. Women's National Team for soccer is in town this weekend for a World Cup tune-up match with New Zealand on Sunday at Soldier Field. The United States comes in to Sunday's match on a 45-game unbeaten streak; this will be their second to last friendly before they travel to China for the 2007 World Cup. Chicagoist sat down with former national team representative and two-time World Cup Champion Brandi Chastain to talk soccer... more ›

Toyota Park will host two international sporting events this summer. The first on Sunday, July 22 when the Chicago Fire host Scottish Premier League side Celtic FC. Celtic FC had a remarkable season last year where they went unbeaten in 31 of 34 games, leading them to a repeat as champions in the Scottish Premier League. The club has won five of the last seven championships and has racked up 41 domestic titles in their... more ›

Forgive us for being less than enthusiastic about Independence Day this year. Oh sure, we love having a day off and all that. The fireworks are cool. But it's a little hard to muster up a whole lot of that rah-rah flag-waving patriotism; between Scooter Libby, the endless war, and the paralysis of Congress, the business-as-usual attitude oozing from Washington, Springfield and Chicago has got us mired in the blahs. We're certainly not alone... more ›

It was a great atmosphere in Chicago this weekend for soccer fans. The Chicago Fire won an international friendly over MKS Cracovia on Friday night at Toyota Park. Saturday night, Chicagoist visited the Globe Pub where we found United States National Team supporters who had traveled from both coasts for the Gold Cup final. They joined together singing soccer songs while taking in Major League Soccer action via satellite feed. The U.S. fans found themselves... more ›

The United States and Mexico advanced out of the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup Thursday night. The United States started off the night defeating our neighbors to the north, Canada, 2-1. The United States received goals from Frankie Hejduk in the 39th minute and a penalty kick goal by Landon Donovan in the 45th minute that was awarded when DaMarcus Beasley was taken down inside the Canadian box. In the waning minutes of the... more ›

World Sport Chicago, an organization that has helped spearhead Chicago's 2016 OIympic Bid, is working hard to bring international sporting events to Chicago to strengthen that bid. This weekend is an example of that effort; the U.S. Men's National Volleyball Team will take on Italy here in Chicago as part of the FIVB World League. The World League is composed of the top 16 men's volleyball teams in the world divided into four pools. The... more ›

Chicago Fire midfielder Justin Mapp helped propel the United States Men's National Team to defeat Trinidad & Tobago 2-0 this weekend. Mapp used his speed and great ball control to run down a long ball served in from Jonathan Spector, ditch a defender and deliver the ball to a running Brian Ching who scored the game winner in the 29th minute. Coach Bob Bradley commented, "It was a great set-up from Justin Mapp. Again we... more ›

Chicagoist has stated several times that we think whether you like it or not, Chicago has a strong chance of winning the 2016 Olympics. The United States Olympic Committee is expected to select either Chicago or Los Angeles as its representative for the 2016 bid on April 14. The website, aroundtherings.com, feels Chicago has the edge over Los Angeles. Around the Rings performed a review that resulted in a "power index" for each city. Chicago... more ›

The folks over at U.S. Soccer House, in the Prairie Avenue Historical District, have announced their intentions to submit a bid for the 2018 World Cup. The United States hosted a successful World Cup in 1994, which included games at Soldier Field. The World Cup took place last summer in Germany and will next be played in South Africa in 2010. The 2014 World Cup is expected to go to a South American country, though... more ›

The United States Soccer Federation selected two Chicago watering holes as finalists for the Best Soccer Bar in America as part of the 2006 Best of U.S. Soccer awards. The finalist will be decided by votes cast by soccer fans who visit USSoccer.com. Voting is open until Wednesday. Representing Chicago are Ginger's Ale House and The Globe Pub. Chicago is the only city to have two finalists for Best Soccer Bar. Chicagoist assumes that U.S.... more ›

Our colleagues over at SFist are saying arrivederci to the 2016 Olympics. This afternoon, the San Francisco Olympic Committee formally withdrew its bid for the 2016 Summer Games. Last week, the surprise announcement that the San Francisco 49ers were looking outside of San Francisco for a new stadium brought up concerns about the bid. A major concern for the Bay Area's bid has always been the lack of an Olympic Stadium. With this announcement,... more ›

Chicagoist is issuing a World Cup Challenge. Pick the winners of the games most accurately and earn a Chicagoist T-Shirt (High stakes we know). The World Cup begins tomorrow morning so visit the ESPN Pick ‘Em Challenge page today and select the Chicagoist group(Group number 54837) enter password "chicagoist" to join. You don't need to provide your selection for each game when you register. You can enter your pick for each game up to an... more ›

During a two-year process, approximately 200 nations competed for one of 32 coveted spots in the 2006 FIFA World Cup Finals. What are the rest of the teams left to do while the best teams prepare for the world's biggest sporting event? Many are scheduled to be opponents in final warm-up matches for teams that have qualified. The United States, for example, is simulating the first round of the World Cup by playing three matches... more ›

United States National Soccer Team Manager Bruce Arena plans to announce the 23 player roster for the 2006 FIFA World Cup tonight at 5pm on ESPN's Sportscenter. Arena is announcing the squad 13 days before the official roster submission date, when the rosters for all 32 teams will be finalized. We feel there are 13 players who can rest easy today as their place on the roster is a sure thing (denoted in italics below).... more ›

The United States National Soccer Team cracked into the top five in the FIFA World Rankings when the March rankings were released earlier this week. This is a first for the United States, who are in their final stages of preparation for the 2006 World Cup which begins in June. During the World Cup draw, the 32 finalists are divided into eight groups of four teams. Those teams play each of the teams in the... more ›