White Sox, Ryder Cup collapses punctuate a rough sports weekend
By Marcus GilmerWhite Sox, Ryder Cup collapses punctuate a rough sports weekend
By Marcus GilmerLead story: A pair of epic sports collapses punctuated the weekend in Chicago. On the city’s South Side, the White Sox let their grasp on the American League Central division – and their only shot at the playoffs – slip away. Meanwhile, out in suburban Medinah, the U.S. Ryder Cup team experienced a historic meltdown on the competition’s final day and gave the title back to Team Europe. Obviously, the White Sox collapse hurts worse for city sports fans and will linger longer heading into the long, dark winter (not that Sox attendance numbers are any indication of the team’s success this year). The Sox are still mathematically eligible but will need a miracle just to push a one-game playoff with the Detroit Tigers.
Also: Violence is so out of control in Chicago – crossing 400 homicides for the year with a quarter still left to go – that the city is out of ideas and is asking for yours and mine, provided you can tweet them. It’s part of Chicago Ideas Week (which is amazing and worth checking out): Come up with a solution, tweet it, include the hashtag “#whatifchicago” and the best ideas will be debated at a panel on October 11. CPD chief Garry McCarthy will be there while, but tellingly, Rahm Emanuel (or anyone otherwise associated with City Hall) will not.
And then: Over the weekend, Lindsay Lohan got involved with police after a scuffle in her hotel room with a young man who Lohan says had been taking cell phone photos of her. The young man? Christian LaBella, a D.C.-based aide for downstate Illinois Rep. John Shimkus. LaBella seems to have a thing for celebrities. Police arrested him and charged him with assault, but after looking into the incident a little more, those charges were dropped. Both Lohan and LaBella filed harassment claims against each other. Rep. Shimkus office acknowledged LaBella was in their employ but stressed the congressman did not condone any of LaBella’s actions.
RIP: Arthur O. Sulzberger, legendary publisher of the New York Times, at the age of 86. Sulzberger served as publisher from 1963 until 1992 when he passed the job to his son, Arthur Sulzberger Jr., and then served another five years as chairman before he passed that job to his son as well. During his 34 years in those positions, Sulzberger expanded both the paper’s scope (by introducing new features sections) and importance, helping to make it one of the leading international news authorities. Perhaps one of his single greatest achievements was publishing the Pentagon Papers in 1971.
Elsewhere
- California became the first state to ban gay “cures” for minors, citing the emotional toll it can inflict on teenagers.
- GOP VP nominee Paul Ryan on running mate Mitt Romney’s financial plan during a TV appearance: “It would take me too long to go through all of the math.”
- The president’s family costs taxpayers 20 times as much money as the royal family, holds 20 times fewer naked Vegas parties.
- The Dallas Cowboys are adding a Victoria’s Secret store to their ginormous stadium because nothing puts people in the mood for lingerie like watching sweaty men run into each other.
- No sooner had the above news been announced than North Texas experienced a pair of small earthquakes. The logical conclusion to draw, of course, is that forces greater than we do not like to mix lingerie and football. Which totally explains this.
Looking Ahead
- The investigation continues into a weekend killing at a Bridgeport hot dog stand, though police have said it is gang-related.
- The city is moving forward with its appeal of last week’s decision by a judge to toss out the arrests of more than 90 Occupy Wall Street demonstrators stemming from a protest last fall.
- Clean up continues from a massive warehouse fire that happened Sunday in Avondale.
- Our own Robin Amer takes a deeper look at the Chicago’s proposed pedestrian plan and the challenges the city faces in making an impact.
- The deadline to register to vote in Illinois is next Tuesday, October 9, so if you need to register, get all the information you need here.
Sports
- The Cubs stave off 100 losses… for now.
- Training camp opens today for the Bulls and their first preseason game comes a week from Tuesday.
- More pro athletes need to do things like this.
- It looks like it’s going to be hand surgery for Paul Konerko once the season’s done.
- The Bears and Cowboys finish up this week’s NFL action tonight and if you’re not the type who has cable, you can catch the game on WGN at 7 p.m.
Finally
This domino set-up beats anything I’ve ever accomplished in my life. [via]