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Dale Sveum is still seething. Different office - this one in Houston. Same lucky red hunting cap. Different bottle of Wild Turkey. Same managerial concerns. This week, Sveum deals with the humiliation of losing the prestigious BP Cup. His team also just took one on the chin to the Houston Astros - once thought of as the only team standing between the Cubs and last place in the Central. Sveum needed a string of singles for his team to produce 4 runs in the 9th. This type of production is normally a cause for celebration, except his boys were down 8-0 and a mere 4 runs only made the final score look respectable. Three-card solitaire isn't helping to spark the solutions it normally does. It appears Sveum has exhausted all of his options, and to make matters worse, he's suffering from a bothersome rash on his right arm. Sveum calls in the team doctor to check it out.
Maybe it's not always good to be king.
In a poll over at ESPN, Ohio State coach Urban Meyer was voted the "most disliked coach" in the Big Ten. A pretty amazing feat since he's never coached a game in the conference.
The Chicago Bears and Matt Forte have been stuck at an impasse in discussions for a new long-term contract extension for about a year now. The Bears are thought to have offered around $13-14 million in guaranteed money before last season; Forte wants $20 million-plus. The two sides have made virtually zero progress for nearly 12 months.
O'Donnell: Matt Forte Contract Squabble: Michael Bush, Twitter, Disrespect, And The Chicago Bears
The Bears have all the leverage. They placed the franchise tag on Forte earlier this offseason, which the running back has yet to sign. And while Forte may want to more long-term security, the team is well within their right to stick the tag on Forte, which will pay him over $7 million next season. It's good business. Plus, for a player who made under $600,000 last season, it's not a bad piece of change.
But don't be fooled: the Bears have more than enough cap space to give Forte the lucrative extension he seeks. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune broke down the numbers on Monday.
Chicago was shook to its core by the NATO summit and ensuing protests this weekend, with weaponized riot cops and rowdy objectors creating a surreal scene in the city's streets. Beyond the noise cannons, night sticks and unkempt hippies, actual politicking was getting done at McCormick Place, with President Barack Obama and a host of dignitaries focusing on issues surrounding Afghanistan. After one summit, Obama took his fellow world leaders to dinner at -- where else? -- Soldier Field.
Obama also used the opportunity to toss the pigskin around on the home turf of his favorite football franchise. We've got an image, after the jump...
Newly acquired Chicago Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall is in Bristol today, making the rounds with a variety of appearances on ESPN. He showed up to the live afternoon edition of SportsCenter dressed like this:
This was the best description we saw of Marshall's getup:
Brandon Marshall could not look more like a male stripper. Suspenders. Bow tie. Smedium shirt's every thread hanging on for dear life.
— Reggie Noble (@RealReggieNoble) May 18, 2012
Aside from looking sort of ridiculous, Marshall spoke at length about his ongoing mental health battle and how he fits into the Bears' offense.
The Cubs and White Sox have squared off every year since 1997, much to the delight of Chicago baseball fans and Chicagoans looking to pass the time until football season. If recent history is any indication, the White Sox will take 4 of 6 games and both teams will miss the playoffs. Something totally unforeseeable would have to occur for this not to happen again this year. With that in mind, there are plenty of ways for you, no matter which team you support, to enjoy yourself, and enhance the enjoyment of others while watching the games this weekend. There are also plenty ways to ensure you won't be invited back to the sweet Friday afternoon BBQ next year. Follow these DOs and DON'Ts to cement your reputation as a valuable asset to the Crosstown Classic party.
If you're the type of person who thinks less of an actor once they get typecast, perhaps you won't dig this terrific New Era commercial featuring TV's Nick Offerman and Craig Robinson speaking in hypotheticals about Chicago baseball, specifically what Offerman (a Cubs fan) would give up for the North Siders to finally win the World Series. It's impossible to watch and not see Offerman as Ron Swanson, his mustachioed woodworking, whiskey guzzling man's man from NBC's wonderful sitcom "Parks and Rec", brought to you by the same hyper-intelligent and hilarious folks who created one of the greatest sports blogs ever, Fire Joe Morgan.
But if something like that bothers you, it's really unfortunate. This is a great commercial, chalk full of Swansonims about deep dish pizza, wrestling brown bears and skinny dipping in Lake Michigan. Check it out, after the jump...
It's still hard to get a handle on just how quickly the Chicago Bulls' devolved in the last few weeks, from top overall seed in the 2012 NBA Playoffs to becoming the fifth No. 1 seed ever to fall in the first round. What's worse is the injury that prematurely cut short Chicago's playoff run, a torn ACL to superstar guard Derrick Rose, will affect next season as well, to the point where all Chicago can do is cross its collective fingers that Rose will even be able to take the court. It's all very worrisome, enough to turn my heart into one of those sad face emoticons.
But seeing Rose under such distress is far more gut-wrenching. Take, for instance, this photo of Rose using a walker, that surfaced on Thursday morning.
My grandma uses a walker that looks just like that. She is in her 80s and has never won NBA MVP. At least not yet.
On Thursday morning, the New York Times detailed plans of a massive conservative attack ad against President Barack Obama funded by Joe Ricketts, father of Chicago Cubs owner Tom Ricketts. The $10 million plan calls for running TV and newspaper advertisements documenting the relationship of Obama and Reverend Jeremiah A. Wright, the spiritual adviser Obama cut ties with during the 2008 election.
The proposal is intended to show how Obama "misled a nation" by presenting himself as a "metrosexual, black Abe Lincoln". The plan is titled "The Defeat of Barack Hussein Obama: The Ricketts Plan to End His Spending for Good."
Dale Sveum sits in his office seething. 7-6 loss to the division-leading Cardinals and he replays the missed opportunities in his mind. The room smells of cigarette smoke and microwaved taquitos - the typical smell of a man coming to grips with big-league mortality. Something is off. Sveum dons his favorite (and supposedly lucky, or so he thought) red hunting cap. He keeps the bottle of Wild Turkey within arms reach. He grabs the bottle and takes a long pull. Managing a last place ballclub is not for the faint of heart, especially if your decisions are contributing to the losses. The losses are piling up. His eating habits are shit, and to make matters worse, he missed his scheduled doctor's appointment for the second straight time.
Something is off and Dale Sveum aims to fix it. In what will surely qualify as one of his smarter decisions this year, Sveum summons the reporters to his office. The reporters file in, microphones in hand. Sveum clears his throat, takes another pull from the bottle and begins his declaration.
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Edited by Ricky O'Donnell
Ricky O'Donnell is the editor of SB Nation Chicago. Many moons ago, he founded the Chicago sports blog Tremendous Upside Potential, which updated from 2007-2011. He has worked and written for the Chicago Sun-Times. O'Donnell lives in Bucktown and is a journalism graduate of Columbia College... See my profile
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