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COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. -- Sandberg didn't mention Sammy Sosa by name, but it was pretty clear his former Cubs teammate was the main target of his ire. In a powerful and eloquent speech lasting nearly 23 minutes, the normally reticent Sandberg spoke often of the "respect for the game" He just as frequently voiced contempt for the preening and self-promotion he has been seeing throughout baseball, with sluggers taking center stage and home runs accorded a value far beyond the game's finer points. "Don Zimmer and Harry Caray used to say it was nice that a guy who hit 40 home...

CHICAGO (AP) -- The Chicago White Sox are the best team in the majors, with no idea what second place is like this year. They're a likable, entertaining bunch, and their manager is one of the most colorful in the game. Anywhere else, they'd be the toast of the town, adored by casual fans and diehards alike. But the White Sox are the second team in the Second City, consistently underappreciated while their neighbors on the North Side are showered with love no matter how dismal their record. ``It's always been that way,'' said Bill Hyde, 68, a lifelong White...

CHICAGO -- Mark Prior left the Cubs' game against the Rockies in the top of the fourth inning after he was hit by a Brad Hawpe line drive on his right throwing arm. The shot appeared to hit Prior near the right elbow and the pitcher went to the ground, grimacing in pain and grabbing hold of the arm near the elbow. After being attended to on the field by trainers, Prior walked off on his own accord, but held his right arm close to his body and looked to still be in pain. Prior (4-1) pitched a total of...

Yesterday's WPost offered a great front-page shot of Washington DC's National Zoo's latest addition -- cubs. So, we headed over and took a few of our own photos. Check out http://community.webshots.com/album/267779016eIxpoI The pandas were absolutely wonderful!

Sammy Sosa is close to taking his home run hop all the way to Baltimore. The Chicago Cubs are just a few steps away from trading the unhappy slugger to the Orioles, several high-ranking baseball officials told The Associated Press. Medical tests and approval from commissioner Bud Selig and the players' association remain unresolved, the officials said Friday night, speaking on condition of anonymity. The Cubs would pay a substantial part of Sosa's $17 million salary this season, the executives said. In exchange, Chicago would receive second baseman Jerry Hairston Jr. and at least two prospects. Sosa has 574 homers,...

Wade Boggs was overwhelmingly elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility Tuesday, and Ryne Sandberg made it with just six votes to spare on his third try. Boggs, a five-time American League batting champion for the Boston Red Sox (news), was selected by 474 of the record 516 voters who are 10-year members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. The 91.86 percent of ballots he received was the 19th-highest percentage in Hall history, and he became the 41st player elected on his first chance. Sandberg, the 1984 National League MVP for the Chicago Cubs...

Sports Boggs, Sandberg Elected to Hall of Fame 13 minutes ago By RONALD BLUM, AP Sports Writer NEW YORK - Wade Boggs was overwhelmingly elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility Tuesday, and Ryne Sandberg made it with just six votes to spare on his third try. selected by 474 of the record 516 voters who are 10-year members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. The 91.86 percent of ballots he received was the 19th-highest percentage in Hall history, and he became the 41st player elected on his first chance. Sandberg, the 1984 National...

For the third straight off-season, Cubs ticket prices have taken a dramatic increase nearly across the board, rising as much as 20 percent for prime seats. Increases last winter averaged about 17 percent and figure to be about the same this year.

All-Star right fielders Shawn Green and Sammy Sosa would switch teams in a trade proposal the Dodgers and Chicago Cubs plan to discuss at next week's general manager meetings, baseball executives said Friday. The clubs will explore a deal that would send Green to Chicago and bring Sosa — the 1998 National League most valuable player — to Los Angeles in an exchange of high-priced outfielders The Cubs were among the first teams to contact the Dodgers about acquiring Green, and baseball sources said Dodger General Manager Paul DePodesta and Cub General Manager Jim Hendry planned to pursue talks early...

CHICAGO -- Chicago Cubs manager Dusty Baker was "shocked" by criticism leveled at him from television broadcaster Steve Stone, which general manager Jim Hendry felt were "personal" attacks. On Thursday during the postgame interview with Baker, Stone questioned the manager's moves in the 12th inning of the Cubs' 2-1 loss to Cincinnati. Stone also criticized the team during an interview on WGN Radio on Thursday after the game. "You want the truth? You can't handle the truth," Stone said on WGN Radio. "Let me tell you something, guys, the truth of this situation is [this is] an extremely talented bunch...

The Cubs reached another low point Wednesday night at Wrigley Field and a hostile crowd of 38,379 wasn't shy about letting them know it.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) Politicians may flip-flop on some issues, but Gov. Rod Blagojevich insisted Thursday that he has never wavered in his loyalty to the Chicago Cubs. Risking a backlash from die-hard fans of other teams, Blagojevich rejected suggestions that he has sometimes flirted with the Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Cardinals. ``Let me be clear: I am unabashedly a Cubs fan,'' Blagojevich said. ``I love the Cubs. When they play the Cardinals, I'm for the Cubs. When the Cubs play the White Sox, I'm for the Cubs.'' Blagojevich said he was simply being polite when he wore a...

CHICAGO -- Nobody wants the Chicago Cubs to get to the World Series more than Phil Cavarretta, and nobody knows how difficult it is than he does. Cavarretta made his Major League debut with the Cubs at the age of 18 in September 1934. The team had reached the World Series three times in his young lifetime -- in 1918, '29 and '32. He grew up on the north side of Chicago, was a standout ballplayer at Lane Tech High School, and a Cubs fan. In 1935, Chicago manager Charlie Grimm tabbed the teen as the starting first baseman and...

CHICAGO - Moises Alou has had better weeks.   Not only is the Chicago Cubs (news)' left fielder mired in a hitting slump after a fast start, he's been dogged by questions about his unorthodox hitting preparation. Alou is one of only a few major league players who doesn't use batting gloves, and it was reported that he urinates on his hands to harden them. Alou doesn't dispute the report, but also doesn't want to discuss it anymore. "I don't want to talk about that because I told that to somebody who wasn't supposed to print it," Alou said before...

He's a rocket scientist and a right-hander. Ladies and gentlemen, wearing No. 58 for the San Diego Padres, Jason Szuminski, the first MIT graduate to reach the major leagues. The relief pitcher made history for his prestigious alma mater late Saturday night when the Padres told him that he'd made their 25-man roster. "I want to do more than just make it. I want to be able to pitch well and contribute to the team," said Szuminski (zoo-MIN-skee), who attracted quite a bit of attention during spring training because of his unique background. He earned a degree in aerospace engineering...

CHICAGO - In a flash, the ball that came to symbolize the Chicago Cubs' cursed history was blown up Thursday night, reduced to a pile of thread by a Hollywood special effects expert. Hundreds of fans sang "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" before the ball — the foul fly touched by Steve Bartman in last October's playoffs — was obliterated. Bartman had not been expected to attend the event, held in a tent outside Harry Caray's Restaurant. Some fans were decked out in Cubs gear, others wore replicas of the famous broadcaster's signature glasses and one man was...

I know about the Bosox and the Bambino curse. But I didn't know about the Cubbies' goat jinx until I watched the Little Bears' ill-fated playoff march last October.Please explain the goat.foreverfree

Many teams blow up their rosters after failing to win a World Series. Frustrated Chicago Cubs fans are blowing up a baseball. In the final chapter of one of the most bizarre sagas in baseball history, Harry Caray's Restaurant Group in Chicago is staging a "Destroy the Ball, Find a Cure, Be a Part of History" event beginning Wednesday and culminating in Thursday evening's nationally televised demolition of the infamous ball. The condemned ball was deflected by diehard Cubs fan Steve Bartman from the reach of left fielder Moises Alou during Game 6 of the National League Championship Series against...

MESA, Ariz. -- The chase has ended. Greg Maddux has made up his mind and will return to the Cubs for a second chance at rectifying old wrongs. While the Cubs had not made an official announcement Tuesday night, word leaked out in an Atlanta Journal-Constitution story that was posted on the Internet that Maddux was on the verge of announcing he has decided to accept the Cubs' two-year contract offer, believed to be worth close to $15 million. The Journal-Constitution cited a source close to the negotiations. Considering Maddux spent his last 11 seasons in a Braves uniform, it's...

<p>OAK BROOK, Ill. (AP) -- The owners of Harry Caray's restaurant paid $106,600 for the ball that was deflected by a fan during a playoff loss, a purchase aimed at closing an agonizing chapter in Cubs history.</p> <p>The ball was sold at auction early Friday, with the winning bid by Grant DePorter, managing partner of Harry Caray's Restaurant group, named for the late Cubs broadcaster.</p>

Do you think the media acted responsibly when they released the name of the man who grabbed the foul ball during the Cubs game?

MIAMI - If he's interested, the 26-year-old Chicago fan who deflected a foul ball away from a Cubs outfielder in Game 6 of the NL Championship Series can find solace in Florida. Gov. Jeb Bush said Wednesday an offer of asylum might be a good idea, and an oceanfront retreat in Pompano Beach is offering the man a free three-month stay, should he deem it necessary to get out of Chicago until the hubbub over the popup cools down. The fan, whom The Associated Press was holding off naming for fears of his safety, would also receive free airfare and...

OAK BROOKE, Illinois -- The foul ball that may have saved the Florida Marlins' post season could be yours -- the biding will start at $5,000. An Internet auction house near Chicago claims to have the baseball at the center of one of the most infamous plays in Chicago Cubs history -- the foul fly from Game Six of this year's National League championship series. MastroNet Incorporated said it will auction the ball on behalf of a 33-year-old Chicago attorney identified only as "Jim". The company says Jim was sitting near Cubs fan Steve Bartman, who deflected a foul pop...

Crushed Chicago Cubs fans are dressing up for Halloween like Steve Bartman, the unlucky fan who may have cost the team a chance at the World Series. Juan Monreal Jr., who dressed up as Mr. Bartman last Saturday night for a house party, was greeted by five more Bartmans when he walked in. "I thought there was going to be another guy dressed up as Steve Bartman, but five guys, I didn't expect that," said the 15-year-old sophomore who lives in Brookfield, Ill., about 23 kilometres west of Chicago. The costume is simple. Just look like Mr. Bartman, whose image...

I think I got into bed in the middle of the seventh inning, had my life-preserving shot of grappa, and dozed off, with the radio on to the game. A bit later, as Little went to the mound the first time and left Pedro in the game, I woke up and heard the Yankees tie the score. When Little went out the second time, Joe Morgan confessed: "Now I believe in The Curse. I never did before, but now I do. I just don't understand anything about the eighth inning." And that's exactly right, which is why I am writing...

Another Bone-Headed Play The Cubs owe their last World Series victory to a fluke. Friday, October 17, 2003 12:01 a.m. EDT We doubt that it will be any consolation to Steve Bartman, the hapless Chicago man who did what any fan would do when a ball was hit his way: try to catch it. But for the embittered Cubs fans who chanted profanities at him during Game 6 and are now blaming him for blowing their chance for a World Series berth, we've got some news: You wouldn't even have been in the 1908 World Series--the last time you won--without...

In Game 6 of the 2003 National League Championship Series between the Florida Marlins and the Chicago Cubs Wednesday night, five outs Marlins second baseman Luis Castillo stood in against right-hander Mark Prior of the Cubs, who’d been painting a three-hit shutout until that point. With one out, a 3-2 count, and the Marlins speedy Juan Pierre on second with a double, the switch-hitting Castillo sliced a Prior pitch down the left field foul line. As the pop-up tailed for the grandstands. Cubs leftfielder Moises Alou circled under it, braced his right hand against the wall of the Wrigley Field...

With the Boston Red Sox blowing a 3-run lead in the 8th inning last night, just one night after the Cub's meltdown at home against the Marlins, I have to wonder...whose curse is worse? I can't help thinking that while the Cubs seemingly blow leads, games, and playoffs to different teams all the time, the Red Sox have to feel particulary 'jinxed' because all-too often they lose to their main nemesis, the New York Yankees, the very symbol of their curse. Are the curses real? Do they infect the back of each player's mind, subconsciously causing players to make miscues...

ESPN BECOMES BUTT OF PHONE JOKEAssociated PressOct. 16, 2003 9:11 p.m.BRISTOL, Conn. (AP) — A man pretending to be infamous Cubs fan Steve Bartman tricked ESPN into putting him on the air for a live phone interview Thursday. The prank, on the 6 p.m. edition of "SportsCenter," was discovered shortly into the interview when the man referred to radio shock jock Howard Stern. The interview was stopped, and anchor Dan Patrick said, "We've been had. That was not Steve Bartman." "We made a mistake," ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz said. "We have a process in place to prevent these type of...

IN MAJOR SETBACK, KUCINICH RECEIVES ENDORSEMENT FROM CHICAGO CUBS Other Candidates Gleeful One day after losing baseball's National League Championship Series to the Florida Marlins, the Chicago Cubs endorsed Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) for President in what was widely seen as a major setback to the lawmaker's fledgling presidential bid. The Cubs had earlier endorsed Florida Senator Bob Graham's run for the Democratic nomination, but when Sen. Graham dropped out of the race last week they decided to give the nod to Mr. Kucinich instead. While other major candidates refused to go on record about the Cubs' anointment of Mr....

<p>CHICAGO &#8212; The Florida Marlins wore black caps last night, befitting their role as spoilers against those lovable losers, the Chicago Cubs.</p> <p>But give the Marlins credit: For bad guys, they're pretty good.</p> <p>And they're headed to the World Series, culminating a wild ride for a team that began the season with few fans and modest expectations.</p>

Gotta Caption This - Cubs Fan Bartman With His "Hillary in '04" SweatshirtFREE REPUBLIC BREAKING NEWS SCOOP The REAL REASON Bartman was Escorted Out Hillary Clinton Impacts the ""Game of the Century Could it be? Is this Bartman? Well, FReepers? What is the role of Hillary and the Cubs and the Yankees and Chicago and Arkansas and New York?Thank you for the Pic, metalboy Bartman: "She has my FBI files. What choice do I have?"

<p>A reader demands to know how I contracted the infectious conservatism for which he plans to horsewhip me. So if you have tears, prepare to shed them now as I reveal how my gloomy temperament received its conservative warp from early and prolonged exposure to the Chicago Cubs.</p>

Unlucky Cubs fan says he's brokenhearted after deflecting ball Oct. 15, 2003 SportsLine.com wire reports CHICAGO -- The fan who played in a key role in the Chicago Cubs ' collapse in Game 6 of the NL Championship Series apologized Wednesday, saying he was brokenhearted. With the Cubs five outs from advancing to the World Series for the first time since 1945, Steve Bartman tried to grab a foul ball, preventing outfielder Moises Alou from catching it. That helped the Florida Marlins rally for an 8-3 victory to tie the NL Championship Series Tuesday night. COMMENTARY Fan didn't lose Game...

CHICAGO - They were down to their final five outs. Five more outs and their season would be over. Five more outs and they would go home, kick back for the winter, and daydream about the glorious summer that was. And then, as a stunned Wrigley Field crowd of 39,577 sat in dumbfounded silence, it happened. The Marlins found their magic. They whipped out their wand in the waning, desperate moments Tuesday and produced one of their most dramatic victories in a summer full of them. Down 3-0 and facing elimination with a loss to the Chicago Cubs in Game...

CHICAGO -- We don't know his name. We don't want to know his name. We hope no one in Chicago ever learns his name. We hope he already has joined the witness-protection program. We hope he can start a new life somewhere, rooting for a team thousands of miles from the North Side of Chicago. We hope he forgets. We hope the people of Chicago forget about him. But that will never happen. No way. Because the Cubs lost a playoff game they couldn't lose Tuesday night. And one reason they lost it is because a 26-year-old guy in a...

Man in stands described as diehard fan Chicago Sun-Times, October 15, 2003 BY ANNIE SWEENEY, FRANK MAIN AND CHRIS FUSCO The man some fans blame for Tuesday night's Cubs loss because he reached out and touched a foul ball that Moises Alou was trying to catch is a diehard Cubs fan who coaches youth baseball in the north suburbs. Steve Bartman, 26, works at Hewitt Associates, an international consulting firm in Lincolnshire. "He is an associate at Hewitt, and he is not coming to work today because of the incident," Suzanne Zagata-Meraz, a spokeswoman for Hewitt, said this morning. "That...

Post responses on this thread. Do or die for the Marlins. Break the Curse and Go to the Series or sink into ignominy for yet another year for the Cubbies. Which will it be? Quien es mas macho? Remember, Obey the Billygoat..... Be Seeing You, Chris

P. Charles saw this Chicago Tribune photo from the left field line in an earlier thread and I thought it deserved some hashing out.

Chicago -- Last seen, the fan who tried to catch the ball was wearing a jacket on his head and being led into the underbelly of Wrigley Field for his own protection. He may forever be referred to as "that fan" or any number of other names after he reached for a pop foul that Cubs left fielder Moises Alou was about to catch for the second out in the eighth inning of Game 6 of the NLCS Series, with the Cubs leading 3-0 and five outs away from the World Series. But the ball struck the fan's hand and...

CHICAGO (AP) - A howling mob demanded answers, a name to go with the face. Instead, haunted members of Cub Nation should ask themselves a few questions. What kind of kid grows up rooting for a team whose motto is, "Wait 'til next year?" What kid learns about curses by the time he's old enough to walk and hears testimonials about suffering from grandparents, parents, siblings, cousins, neighbors and friends and then decides, "That's for me?" Very likely the kid who was parked in Seat 116, Row 9 on Tuesday night at Wrigley Field. A Cubs fan. One of their...

Dear fan in the stands who deflected a foul ball that Cubs left fielder Moises Alou had a chance to catch Tuesday at Wrigley Field: Whoever you are, Alou forgives you. ''I feel sorry for the guy,'' said Alou, who thinks he had an excellent chance to catch the ball the Marlins' Luis Castillo hit into the first row of the stands down the left-field line and perhaps short-circuit what turned out to be an eight-run eighth inning in the Cubs' horrific 8-3 loss. ''Every fan in every ballpark goes for the ball. He wants a souvenir. Hopefully, he won't...

CHICAGO (AP) — Add a meddling fan and a rare error by a sure-handed shortstop to the Chicago Cubs' long history of misery and dashed hopes. The Cubs were five outs from their first World Series in 58 years Tuesday night when one of their own fans got in the way. It started a series of ugly plays that resulted in Florida's eight-run inning and an 8-3 victory for the Marlins in Game 6 of the NL championship series. "It has nothing to do with a curse," Cubs manager Dusty Baker said. "It has to do with fan interference and...

<p>CHICAGO — Chicago Cubs (search) supporters showed up for a night-long party at Wrigley Field (search) on Tuesday, only to have their raucous celebration snuffed by a stunning late-inning rally that left them cursing one fellow fan.</p> <p>In a stunning eighth-inning turnaround, the Florida Marlins (search) took advantage of left fielder Moises Alou's run-in with a fan on a foul fly and an error by shortstop Alex Gonzalez to score eight runs in an 8-3 victory Tuesday night, forcing the NL championship series to a Game 7.</p>

It all started -- where else? -- at Clark and Addison. On their first date in 1981, lifelong Cubs fans Julie and Ralph Dynek of Northfield went to a Cubs game. They gave up their tickets on Sept. 1, 1985, to make it to their wedding. A few years later, they had their first child, whom they already had decided would be named Addison Clark. "We loved the sound of it, like cookies and milk," said Julie Dynek, 42, a cooking instructor. They tweaked the name to Addison Buck because their son was born on his grandfather's birthday. But the...

Play Ball!

www.suntimes.com Back to regular viewhttp://www.suntimes.com/output/cubs/cst-nws-sox13.html Sox fans feel 'like Benedict Arnold' but cheer Cubs October 13, 2003BY GARY WISBY Staff Reporter In Bridgeport five blocks from U.S. Cellular Field, Puffer's is a White Sox bar -- but an informal table-to-table-to-stool survey Sunday turned up only two patrons who were rooting against the Cubs. One was Jim Hurley, who when asked if he was a Sox fan said, "Tonight, I'm a Marlins fan." Hurley explained, "I hate the Cubs. You don't understand, I hate 'em." For him it goes back to the 1969 season, when Hurley was 17 and the Cubs...

GO CUBS!