WBEZ 91.5 Chicago

Baseball is a game of numbers, but today there is only one that is important: 42. Major League Baseball in 2004 designated April 15 as the annual celebration of Jackie Robinson’s first appearance as a Brooklyn Dodger.

Sixteen years ago, Robinson’s number was officially retired by the MLB. It's one of the most distinctive tributes to what he did for baseball and society. Part of the celebration includes all players, coaches and managers wearing the number 42 on their jerseys as all of baseball honors the man who bravely became the first African-American player in MLB.

Since the Cubs are off today, they will honor Robinson tomorrow night when they host the Texas Rangers. Two Hall of Fame Cubs will be part of pre-game ceremonies: Ernie Banks and Billy Williams. Banks was the first African-American to play for the Northsiders and considered Robinson as a mentor. Williams joined the major leagues shortly after Robinson and Banks.

Hollywood is also spotlighting Robinson with the recently released movie 42: The True Story of an American Legend.

It's not the first cinematic version of the icon's story. In 1950, Robinson starred in the biographical film, The Jackie Robinson Story.

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NBA fans know the pecking order of players. First you have your stars, mixed with the starters and then the bench players. There is one other type of player: the nomads. These are the players that bounce around from team to team, level to level, trying to make a NBA roster.

Due to injuries on the Bulls team, they have had to dig deep to fill the roster. Early this season, the Bulls picked up Daequan Cook. He stayed. Later it was Lou Amundsen, but he was replaced by Malcolm Thomas. The 24-year-old Thomas signed a ten-day contract March 19 that was extended for the remainder of the season.

Two years ago, Thomas was coming off a pretty good collegiate career with San Diego State University. The 6-foot-8-inch forward thought the success he had under coach Steve Fisher and his NBA workouts would give him a shot in the NBA. On draft night in 2011, Thomas gathered his friends and family to watch the two rounds of selections. Thomas did not hear his name and hung his head in disappointment. The most poignant aspect of the night came from his daughter Mikeala. The 3-year-old comforted him with a hug.

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Right now, the toughest job in Chicago sports belongs to Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau. Last night the Bulls lost another close one: 101-98 to Toronto at the United Center. Thibodeau admitted after the game that they are struggling.

You may argue that Cubs manager Dale Sveum has a more difficult gig. But he knew what the circumstances were from the moment he took the job.

Thibodeau knew a season without Derrick Rose would not be easy, yet he never made excuses. A season with several other starters on the bench may have been insurmountable for other head coaches.

The first two years at the helm of the Bulls, Thibodeau guided his team to the best record in the NBA. In 2011, the club had an exciting playoff run, including the Eastern Conference Finals. Last year the Bulls looked poised for a long run, but the horrible ACL tear to Rose’s knee and Joakim Noah’s badly sprained ankle ended all hopes. Most NBA predictors ahead of this regular season figured the Bulls would be lucky to be a .500 team or even make the playoffs.

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All the chatter surrounding the future of Wrigley Field is almost smothering Opening Day and the ballpark. Let the politicians, the Ricketts family and the neighborhood slug it out and figure the steps of what will happen to this iconic stadium next.

After this year the face lift will begin in earnest. It is needed and will be welcomed by players, managers and the media. There have been some subtle changes as the park nears its 100^th year, but it is still a place where the Cubs and the fans celebrate the game of baseball.

When the Chicago Tribune bought the team thirty years ago from the Wrigley family, they had a huge obstacle to face with their plans for the park. After a long, losing history, the Cubs made the 1984 playoffs, but the lack of lights became a rallying cry by team ownership. Major league baseball penalized the Cubs post season schedule against the San Diego Padres because they couldn't play night games. After the Illinois legislature finally gave the green light to the team, Wrigley Field finally turned on the lights in August, 1988. The first scheduled lit game was supposed to be August 8, 1988, but Mother Nature had her own idea, and rain postponed the game, so the actual first game under the lights was the next night, August 9th.

The uniqueness of this old ballpark is what makes it special to baseball fans, not just Cub fans.

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Sox starters shine

The first week of the season is peppered with mostly day games because of the time of year. The White Sox opening day was a sell-out and the seats were filled despite the frigid temperatures.

The next two games, both played in the afternoon, had sparse crowds. The Sox won the first two games against Kansas City with solid starting pitching (and the long ball) in that series. Yesterday they dropped the series finale 3-1 to the Royals. Sox starter Gavin Floyd gave up three runs. One was unearned. The offense was pretty much handcuffed by Royals starter Jeremy Guthrie and the bullpen.

Sox starters Chris Sale, Jake Peavy and Floyd had good outings. Tyler Flowers boasted the game winning solo homer in the opener and another home run in game 2. Sox fans will be following Flowers progress since he replaced AJ Pierzynski. The Sox defense was a bit shoddy the past two games. The weather may get the blame for now. Tonight the Southsiders host the Seattle Mariners, the first of three games at U.S.

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Will Chris Collins be the answer to Northwestern University's beleaguered men's basketball program's prayers?

The Chicago area was a big part of the new Wildcats coach's life growing up. When his dad, Doug, was the Chicago Bulls' head coach, Chris was a ball boy for the team.

Then, the younger Collins was named Illinois "Mr. Basketball" while playing hoops at Glenbrook North High School. He played collegiate ball at Duke, then worked as an assistant at Seton Hall before serving as a member of Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s Blue Devils staff the last 13 years.

The 38-year-old Collins reportedly inked a seven-year deal with Northwestern, saying this challenge is "a perfect fit" for him and the school.

We'll have plenty of time to find out whether he's right. Here's what he has working in his favor:

• Collins understands the academic dynamics of college ball, because Duke has been able to recruit players that also have strong academic backgrounds.

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Baseball's Opening Day is a very nostalgic day in sports. Baseball is a sport that you talk about the past almost as much as the present. If you are a White Sox fan, you are excited to see Chris Sale taking the mound this afternoon against the Kansas City Royals at US Cellular. Fans that cheer for the Cubs hope they see a better team on the field as they start on the road in Pittsburgh this year. Many people will take the time today to think about the first time they went to Wrigley Field or Comiskey Park (now US Cellular).  Baseball is a sport that embodies memories past and recent; many families make their favorite team a part of their family legacy.   

Maybe it was a father, mother, or a grandparent who instilled the love or probably a passion for the game and a team. People get engaged at baseball games. There is someone I know who will be asked today at the Sox game.  Weddings have been performed at baseball stadiums. How many times have you heard about a bachelor party starting at either of Chicago's ballparks? U.S. Cellular provided the backdrop for the bachelor party for the movie, My Best Friend’s Wedding, and Cubs owner Tom Rickets met his wife in the Wrigley Field bleachers. People even scatter the cremated remains of their loved ones on the grass of their beloved ballparks.

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