Browsing: Sports

Chicago White Sox center fielder Luis Robert is congratulated in the dugout after scoring in the first inning of Game 2 of the American League Division Series with the White Sox and the Astros, Friday, Oct. 8, 2021, in Houston. (Terrence Antonio James)

D.J. Healy, left, and Tim Griffin pose for a photograph at the site of the Comiskey Park home plate, before heading inside for the Chicago White Sox home opener against the Kansas City Royals at Guaranteed Rate Field on April 8, 2021. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)

I met fans from Old Irving Park. Austin. River North. I saw two men in matching steelworkers polos, and a row of women in matching José Abreu jerseys. I saw porkpie hats, neck tattoos, dresses, cargo shorts, overalls. I often saw the day-off recline — arms outstretched, body tilted backward. I saw two people — two! — reading physical newspapers. Whenever a play was close, the section turned in unison, like eager geese, to see a replay on the scoreboard. What I saw was not overly rowdy or ugly but buoyant. At worst, charming pirate behavior. A man complained about his lemonade to a concession worker, and the whole row began taunting: “MY LEMONADE! MY LEMONADE!” Go back to the fancy sections, with its cup holders and bucket seats. Pretensions just will not do back here, in these green metal benches stretching from Section 160 to Section 164, between bronze statues of Carlton Fisk and Paul Konerko, the finest seats in Chicago.

A Chicago Cubs fan with a mohawk hairdo and a Chicago White Sox fan wearing a sombrero are seated close to each other in the bleachers in the first inning at Guaranteed Rate Field Saturday, Aug. 28, 2021, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune) (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)

Built in 2009, the house has 5½ bathrooms, three fireplaces, oak herringbone floors, crown moldings, other millwork, a family room with a fireplace and a primary bedroom suite with side-by-side walk-in closets and a fireplace. The kitchen has custom stained high-end cabinetry, high-end appliances, an island, a butler’s pantry with a wine refrigerator, a long breakfast bar and a custom built-in eating area. Other features include a fourth-floor family room with oak floors and a wet bar, a lower level with a game room with a golf simulator, a rooftop deck and two Trex decks off the first level.

The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum’s new Sox bobbleheads featuring Abreu, Moncado and Luis Robert, made by sports merchandise manufacturer FOCO, escaped supply chain issues and are already in stock, though other items are seeing delays, said Phil Sklar, the hall of fame and museum’s CEO and co-founder.

“We had our moments when we were really able to assert ourselves in the game,” coach Jeremy Colliton said. “A few times, in probably all three periods, we weren’t able to advance the puck, get through the neutral zone, and they took advantage, they forced some turnovers and created some things out of that.

“I didn’t have any walks today because I had that plan, that focus, and I wanted to go into the game, I wanted to attack,” McCullers said. “Any time you can avoid having men on base just in general, it’s important. A lot of leverage counts, 1-2, 2-2 counts, where I could have gone for the strikeout or things of that nature, but I was trying to just throw good pitches for weak contact, keep the pitch count low, try to go deep into the game and give us the best chance.”

Instead, he’s hoping to set an example for others, including his family — a 12-year-old daughter, who’s a gymnast, 15-year-old son, who’s a wrestler, and Kelly, who will run her first marathon in Chicago on Sunday, though they’ll each run at their own pace.

Relayed Lazor: “(Coach Royal) said, ‘Don, did you know that we put a man on the moon?’ And Don said it got quiet. He said, ‘Yeah, Coach.’ Royal said, ‘Don, you know, when (the astronaut) was talking back to Houston, he was talking just about like I’m talking to you? And he had a hell of a lot more on the line than a football game.’ ”