Browsing: Sports

“To beat a ballclub like that, that’s a pretty good ballclub,” said Sox shortstop Tim Anderson, who was a triple shy of the cycle. “To blow them out, that’s definitely a positive on our end. Now we know what we can do, so now we’ve got to keep pushing and have that same focus moving forward.”

“Being a catcher, it’s tough to go night game to a day game, and he’s been doing this the whole year,” Chirinos said of Contreras. “Catching the most innings in the big leagues, that’s not easy to do, especially performing the way he’s been doing, awesome.”

Spectators stand in the visiting team dugout during a stoppage in play due to an incident near the ballpark in the sixth inning of a game between the Washington Nationals and San Diego Padres on Saturday, July 17, 2021, in Washington. (Nick Wass/AP Photo)

Happ continues to walk despite his struggles; his 12.5% walk rate leads the Cubs and is above the league average. He also has been a little unlucky with a .233 Batting Average on Balls In Play (BABIP), well below his .327 career mark. His strikeout rate is slightly up from the previous two years, though lower than career-high levels, while his contact rate is nearly 5% higher than in 2020 and the second-best of his career. Happ knows the quality of contact must improve, however.

“My biggest fear is not trying something that you have an opportunity to do because you might fail or embarrass yourself,” La Russa said. “You’re better off trying it and embarrassing yourself and failing. I knew the two or three major reasons why I left the (Cardinals) job in 2011, and energy and stamina was not on the list.

“Some of my things that I do on the mound really sit well with the South Siders,” Lynn said recently. “You can tell when I come out and warm up for games, they are yelling at me. Some of the things that are not the nicest things that I like to say, but they just kind of come out when I compete. It’s definitely fun to play in front of those fans, and they enjoy the attitude that I bring too.

Tomato ketchup is so ubiquitous that it’s easy to dismiss it as a simple sauce to be paired with french fries, meatloaf, scrambled eggs and, if you’re far away from Chicago, a hot dog. (On that, we do judge: Don’t!) But there’s a deceptive complexity to ketchup. Chef Christopher Prosperi, my longtime friend in Connecticut, always said ketchup combined all five basic tastes: sweet, sour, bitter, salty and umami. The Food & Dining staff sampled 12 brands of ketchup, searching for that idyllic flavor profile. I was curious to see how all the ketchups would rate tasted side-by-side with no accompaniment. Although the brands sampled were regular tomato ketchup, there was a surprising variation in color, texture and flavor. A few tasted like cocktail sauce or canned tomato sauce. Some were sweet and some spicy. Textures ranged from a smooth paste to much more coarse. Clearly, not all ketchup is alike. This was a blind tasting, meaning tasters didn’t know which ketchup was which. Each participant in the tasting was asked to rate each brand on appearance, aroma, texture and flavor. I did not buy membership-only club brands because I wanted ketchup the general public had a reasonable chance of buying. Prices have been updated for 2021 based on listed prices at Chicago-area Jewel-Osco stores, Marianos, Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods Market. (Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune; Shannon Kinsella/food styling)

Let’s get this out of the way: The lake can be cold. You snap on a pair of water shoes on a warm summer day and step gingerly into the clear Lake Superior waters of Madeline Island’s Big Bay. Edging ever deeper, though, is a process. You inhale sharply with every step, advancing to your waist, your chest, your shoulders — and finally, full submersion. But once your body adjusts to the shock, the feeling is completely invigorating. Curative. As summer vacation returns with a vengeance, the Midwest’s best beaches will provide a no-frills escape this year. These aren’t the Gulf Stream waters, and this certainly isn’t the Caribbean. But from the Great Lakes to the 10,000 Lakes, the best beaches of the “North Coast” are collectively like our Caribbean. So don’t let the coastal elites tell you that the Midwest has no beaches. They have no idea. Here, we share 12 of our favorites. By Simon Peter Groebner and Kerri Westenberg, Star Tribune Jun 28, 2021

“I think the lockdown taught us all a lot and we all have to get through it in our own way, and I didn’t enjoy not working,” he said. “You’re sitting there, you have no idea when things are going to be relaxed again, and you have this idea of where’d you go and what you’re going to do and already knowing that the Fire and I had a relationship, it just made it even more exciting, the prospect to do some traveling, to get out there.

“You would hope that (NBC) would be willing to, as much as it is feasible, step out of the Olympics bubble and talk to everyday people in Japan to hear their thoughts,” said Jules Boykoff, a Pacific University professor and author of “Power Games: A Political History of the Olympics,” who has been critical of the decision to proceed with the games.