Lip Man 1

The Bears may be asking for conditions which haven't been made public yet to which the politicians are refusing to allow.

Gov. JB Pritzker and legislative leaders in Springfield have signaled a willingness to chip in on infrastructure, but they’ve urged the team to identify a mechanism to pay off more than half a billion dollars still owed on Soldier Field’s 2003 renovation as a condition to getting any legislative help. “Building a stadium is, from my perspective, about doing what’s best for the taxpayers,” Pritzker said Tuesday. “This is a private business. We help private businesses all the time in the state, and I want to help if it’s with infrastructure, as we do with other private businesses — that’s absolutely a way we could do that. But as I’ve said, and the Bears have heard this, that we’re not going to build a stadium for the Chicago Bears.” https://chicago.suntimes.com/bears-stadium/2026/01/13/bears-survey-season-ticket-holders-northwest-indiana-stadium-arlington-heights

Latest Manfred comments on upcoming labor negotiations: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6964828/2026/01/13/mlb-union-league-salary-cap/?campaign=16455970&source=athletic_targeted_email&userId=602876

Great. We can stop all the BS and get ready to root for the Hammond Bears! 😆

January 12, 1982 - In the January phase of the amateur draft that no longer exists today, the White Sox unearthed the unlikeliest of success stories. John Cangelosi was selected with the No. 433 overall pick, befitting a 5-8 fireplug of a player. He played at Miami Dade College. Three years later, Cangelosi made his Major League debut in Chicago, and in 1986 he leapfrogged the more highly-touted Daryl Boston to make the Opening Day roster as Chicago’s center fielder and leadoff hitter. He swiped 39 bases by the All-Star break, but then was benched rather curiously by midseason manager replacement Jim Fregosi. His best hitting game with the Sox came early in that same 1986 season when he banged out four hits in a 4-3 loss to Milwaukee at Comiskey Park on April 9. Traded to Pittsburgh after the 1986 season, Cangelosi would play 11 more years in the big leagues, winning a World Series with the 1997 Florida Marlins. January 12, 2000 - Sox G.M. Ron Schueler made amends for some of his worst moves by shipping disgruntled pitcher Jamie Navarro to Milwaukee as part of a four-player deal. In exchange he got long ball hitting shortstop Jose Valentin and pitcher Cal Eldred. Both would play a large part in the unexpected divisional championship in 2000. Eldred went 10-2 in 20 starts for the team that season before an elbow injury basically ended his White Sox career in July. Valentin played five years on the South Side averaging 120 hits, 27 home runs and 76 RBI's in those years and he was a Cub-killer. One of the highlights in Jose's White Sox stint was a very rare accomplishment, a ‘natural’ cycle which took place against the Orioles on April 27, 2000. He singled in the first, doubled in the second, tripled in the third and homered in the eighth inning in a 13-4 win. For the day he went 4 for 5 with five RBI’s and two runs scored.

I just read in the Tribune 70 million of that is deferred. Cubs taking a page out of the Dodgers playbook.

That was some game. Amazing again. Anything over this is gravy.

January 10, 1992 – It was one of the worst deals in Sox G.M. Ron Schueler's career as he traded pitcher Melido Perez and two minor leaguers to the Yankees for Steve Sax. Schueler envisioned a devastating one/two punch at the top of the order in Tim Raines and Sax followed by Frank Thomas and Robin Ventura. It never happened, as Sax suddenly forget how to hit and was gone from the team by late April 1994. Making matters worse is that one of the minor league pitchers dealt was Bob Wickman who’d go on to become a top relief pitcher and two-time All-Star winning 63 games with 267 saves. Sax did have one moment of glory as on May 5, 1993 in Milwaukee he made an incredible catch in left field on a ball hit by Billy Doran with the lead run on base. It happened in the eighth inning. Sax broke back and to his left on the drive and caught the ball with his left arm extended. The angle and momentum caused him to tumble over and he lost the ball out of his glove on the way down. Just before hitting the ground however, he snagged the ball with his bare right hand holding it up to the umpire after he hit the grass. That saved a run and the Sox won the game 3-1 on a Robin Ventura home run in the top of the ninth inning.

You can even debate if they are a big draw anymore even among their fans. Lots of Sox fans I know have basically washed their hands of the team until new ownership steps in.

“When folks say, ‘What’s your priorities going into the legislative session?’ we’re trying to bring down the cost of living,” Welch said at a City Club of Chicago event on Tuesday. “Talking about a brand-new Bears stadium when this one’s not even 25 years old, that’s insensitive to what real people are going through right now.” https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/10/chicago-bears-stadium-kansas-city-cheifs-fans/

The White Sox aren't moving to Nashville. You can rest easy in that regard based by statements by Ishbia himself to the Pope.

We'll see how it all shakes out. Injuries will also play a big part in how the season goes and the Sox track record the last several years hasn't been great in that department. I just hope they don't lose 100+ games again this season.

MLB NBC just announced their 20 game Sunday Night Baseball package for the coming year. Don't hold your breath looking for the Sox on it...because they aren't. 😉

Agreed and the other benefit is that Illinois taxpayers won't be on the hook.

Was on the radio in NYC yesterday. Some highlights: Wants to expand to 32 teams but only until the A's and Rays stadium issues are finalized. Wants eight, four team divisions. Does not want cities with two clubs to be in the same division (so no Sox/Cubs in the same one) Called out the media for assuming there will be games missed in 2027. (I got a laugh out of that one as he is ignoring history as to what happens when owners insist on a salary cap)

Right...and the Royals are now moving to Nashville! 😆

Fan Duel/Main Street is apparently about to go bankrupt.

Just stop...please. Just stop. 😄 But...but...but weren't the rumors saying the Sox were moving to Nashville? 😉 The Bears Stadium issue is quiet because they have ZERO leverage and until they figure out a way to pay off the Soldier Field debt they aren't getting much sympathy from the politicians. And they know it. Like it or not their immediate future says they'll be playing in Soldier Field no matter how much they huff and puff or pout about it.

January 8, 2014 – White Sox legend Frank Thomas, was elected to the Hall of Fame on his first try, with almost 84 per cent support. Thomas played the first 16 years of his career on the South Side, and was a five-time All-Star and two-time M.V.P. in 1993 and 1994. He also was the largest person both in height and weight to win a batting championship when he hit .347 in 1997. He also was the only player in history to hit over .300 with at least 100 runs, 100 RBI’s, 20 home runs and 100 walks in his first seven seasons.

January 7, 1985 - Former White Sox reliever Hoyt Wilhelm was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, garnering almost 84 per cent of the vote in his eighth year on the ballot. In the previous election of 1984, Wilhelm had fallen just 13 votes shy of enshrinement, with 72 per cent of the vote. Wilhelm pitched six full seasons for the White Sox, the most time logged with any of the knuckleballer’s nine franchises. He had a career White Sox ERA of 1.97, 41 wins and 99 saves. The ERA, considering the unpredictability of the pitch he threw, a knuckleball, was truly remarkable.

From my November 2022 story of the issues with the organization. This from one of six sources I spoke with: “Jason Benetti’s deal with the Sox is up, the Sox hold the option for the 2023 and 2024 seasons. He went to Fox to negotiate that deal with them after he was told to do it and then come back to the Sox and they’d work something out. Jason wanted to get the deal done with the Sox first and then go to Fox or ESPN or whoever. Turns out when he came back to the Sox and said that he needs 40 days off so he can do the Fox work he was told, ‘no, that’s not happening.’ So I don’t know what’s going to happen to him or Steve Stone.”

Read a story tonight that was pretty interesting. Story said the U.S. Copyright Department for the second time has turned down the Athletics attempts to copyright the name "Las Vegas Athletics." Part of the issue is that the A's actually aren't in Las Vegas but Sacramento at least for the next two years. You talk about a total cluster#$%^ 😆

This. Even the idiot Matt Nagy had that one terrific season remember? After that all garbage.

Shocked that Harbaugh got the boot in Baltimore after all that he's accomplished. If the Bears hadn't already grabbed Johnson, I'd hire him in a second. He won't be unemployed for long.