What’s New

“Seeing them graduate to shootings is unfortunate,” Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th) said of the younger rival.

The shooting of a 14-year-old girl in the Back of the Yards is believed to be linked to an ongoing conflict between a long-entrenched gang and one that is relatively new to the area, according to Chicago police sources.

The girl, who remains in critical condition, was with her boyfriend in the 1700 block of West 48th Street when members of the Party People walked up Wednesday evening and asked what gang she belonged to, according to Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th), who said he got those details from police.

The seventh grader said she was not in a gang but a relative belonged to the rival Almighty Saints, Lopez said. One of the gang members fired twice, hitting her in the head.

“It was 100% gang-related,” the alderman said.

A classmate of the girl said the Party People had been moving into the area recently, with members in both high school and middle school in the Southwest Side neighborhood.

The classmate said she has seen them on the block where the girl was shot, talking to young people about the new gang.

“She was friends with everyone and tried to be if she could, even people who were affiliated with the old and the new gang,” the classmate. “I think it’s related to that.”

Lopez said the Saints have decades-long roots in Back of the Yards and are believed to be responsible for much of the violence, including the 2018 shooting of an agent with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives who was doing surveillance of a house near 43rd and Wood streets.

Saints member Ernesto Godinez is serving a 200-month federal prison sentence for the shooting.

Lopez said the Party People are relatively new to the area, with a stronghold at 47th and Damen, a half-mile from where the 14-year-old was shot. A video posted on YouTube about a year ago showed Party People members taunting the Saints.

The members are young and have been involved in vandalism, the alderman said. “They’ve been a nuisance more than anything,” he said. “Seeing them graduate to shootings is unfortunate.”

While the Back of the Yards neighborhood has seen a sharp drop in homicides from last year, residents said there have been more shootings recently. Lopez said officers are keeping a close eye on the neighborhood to prevent retaliatory violence.

Police have released few details of Wednesday evening’s shooting, including a description of the gang members and the SUV they fled in. It may have been a Chevy Tahoe, a police spokesperson said.

The girl was taken to Comer Children’s Hospital in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the head, police said. She underwent surgery that night.

Read More

A band of Chicago bird lovers has shown us how to preserve and rejuvenate our natural world. The accretion of thousands of seemingly insignificant efforts, like rallying around a couple of plovers, can make all the difference.

It was a bad week for Monty and Rose. A skunk attacked their nest on Montrose Beach and ate all four of their eggs.

Do piping plovers mourn? We wouldn’t put it past them. If only they had also heard the happy news that one of their offsprings from last year, Nish, is now working on a family of his own in Ohio. But plovers don’t make phone calls.

From the moment Monty and Rose first arrived at Montrose Beach in June of 2019, their survival has been iffy. Great Lakes piping plovers are an endangered species. Trying to reproduce and raise chicks on a public Chicago beach, a thump away from any wayward volleyball, didn’t seem promising.

But a passionate band of Chicago bird lovers showed how the preservation and rejuvenation of our natural world can work best. It’s all well and good to set aside millions of acres of protected lands, as they do out West. But in crowded urban areas, it is the accretion of thousands of seemingly insignificant efforts — like rallying around a couple of plovers — that can make the difference.

Volunteers fenced off Monty and Rose’s nesting area. They stood watch with binoculars day and night. They finagled to have a summer music concert relocated elsewhere. They worked with the Chicago Park District to expand the birds’ area of protection by three acres.

They gave Monty and Rose every chance possible, and it has paid off.

In the summer of 2019, Monty and Rose fledged two chicks. Last summer, they fledged three more: Nish, Hazel and Esperanza. Now Nish, as reported on Wednesday, has paired up with a plover from Pennsylvania to build a nest — holding one egg and counting — in Maumee Bay State Park near Toledo. They are the first plovers to nest in Ohio in 83 years.

In the early 1980s, there were only 13 pairs of piping plovers in the Great Lakes region, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Today, there are about 64 pairs.

Monty and Rose lost four eggs last week, which is a tragedy only in the eye of the beholder. A skunk’s gotta eat, too. But they went right back to building a new nest.

And you can bet that a dedicated band of Chicagoans will watch over them more than ever.

Send letters to [email protected].

Read More

Heritage Auctions announced in a tweet that the ring will become available in August.

Ben Zobrist apparently will soon be down to only one World Series ring.

Heritage Auctions announced in a tweet that the World Series ring Zobrist won with the Cubs in 2016 will go up for auction in August.

No other details about the auction or why the ring is being sold were available on the auction house’s website Friday afternoon.

Zobrist, who last played in the major leagues in 2019, is a two-time World Series hero. His RBI in the 10th inning of Game 7 gave the Cubs the lead over the Indians, and the team would hold on for an 8-7 victory and end the 108-year championship drought. He was named World Series Most Valuable Player.

A year earlier, he scored in the 12th inning of Game 5 of the 2015 Series to help the Royals defeat the New York Mets and capture the baseball title for Kansas City.

Read More

Chicago House Athletic Club, Chicago’s newest professional soccer team, announced the signing of four Chicagoland area players to their roster; Midfielders Damon Almazan (Joliet, IL) and Michael Kozielek (Chicago, IL), defender David Abidor (Chicago, IL) and Goalkeeper, Mike Novotny (St. Charles, IL).

“We’re keeping our focus on the Chicagoland area. All four of these players grew up in Illinois, developed through local youth programs, and we’re excited to now give them the opportunity to play for a professional hometown club,” says Head Coach C.J. Brown. “I am excited about all the different personalities and playing styles. I look forward to watching them play the game together at a high level in front of their friends, family, and our fans and supporters!”

Damon Almazan is one of two midfielders signed by Chicago House AC on Friday. Most recently, Almazan spent the 2020 season with Steel City FC in the Midwest Premier League. He also played one season of NCAA Division I Soccer in the Horizon League with Purdue-Fort Wayne during the 2019-2020 collegiate season.

During his senior season in high school, Almazan served as a captain, seeing 13 appearances and recording 14 goals and seven assists. He led his team to its first PepsiCo championship and regional championship, while breaking team records for goals and wins in a season. Almazan was selected to the All-Conference team. Almazan has been a part of two state championships in two different states; a Wisconsin State Cup Champion with Wisconsin Red Star in 2017 and an Illinois State Cup Champion with Chicago Magic.

We’re Gonna Need A Bigger House; Chicago House AC Adds Four Players!

Club’s Roster More Than Doubles With Friday’s Addition of Four Local Talents.

Advertisement

: https://t.co/qzb1IE919X | #OurCityOurHouse pic.twitter.com/rQujneD6pr

— Chicago House AC (@ChicagoHouse_AC) June 4, 2021

Advertisement

“Damon is a young player who will bring a lot of personality to the team on, and off the field,” says Coach Brown. “We look forward to helping him develop and show the soccer community his talent. He will fit in multiple positions in the midfield, and will be fun to watch.”

“It honestly feels amazing to be signed to Chicago House AC, for many reasons. I knew as a kid that one day I’d be signing my first professional contract due to my mindset and work ethic,” says Almazan. “I practically grew up in SeatGeek Stadium watching Fire play, and the thought of stepping on that pitch representing Chicago and house music brings chills to my body. C.J. Brown and Peter Wilt see the potential in me and are taking me under their arms. I’m going to do my part and work hard for the love of my team and city.”

The other midfielder signed by Chicago House AC is Michael Kozielek. Most recently, Kozielek spent time with FC Kristina, a third-division Club in Finland during the 2019 season. In 2018, Kozielek spent the season with Beaumaris FC in Australia League 1, where he scored four goals and six assists. From 2016 to 2017, he competed with Nordvarmlands in Sweden Division 2, recording one goal and eight assists.

Prior to playing professionally, Kozielek played four years of NCAA Division I Soccer. From 2012 to 2013, he played with DePaul University in Chicago, IL where he took home the Freshman of the Year award. He moved on to play at Butler University in Indianapolis, IN where he was a two year starter and a Captain his senior season.

Kozielek got his start at the (Chicago) Fire PDL, where he was a three-year starter and was a part of the Chicago Fire Academy from 2009-2011.

“Koz is a natural leader on the field,” says Coach Brown. “He is a hard working technically sound #8, and has the energy to cover a lot of ground and help build our attack.”

“I’m beyond excited to sign with Chicago House AC this season, and I can’t wait to finally play back in my home city for the first time in almost six years,” says Kozielek. “I’m ready to get to work and hopefully help build some fun footy for our fans to watch.”

David Abidor is the first defender added to Chicago’s rapidly growing roster. Abidor began his professional playing career with Dalkurd FF, a Swedish Division 1 club before returning to the United States in 2016 to join the USL’s Tulsa Roughnecks. During his lone season with Tulsa, he appeared in 29 matches scoring 1 goal.

In 2017, Abidor signed with New York Red Bulls II after joining the team for a preseason trial. During the 2018 season Abidor joined FC Haka in the Finish 2nd tier Ykkönen. After playing in Israel in 2019, Abidor returned to the United States to join his most recent club, Oakland Roots SC.

Prior to playing professionally, Abidor played four years of college soccer, three at Dayton University from 2011 to 2013, and his senior year at Creighton University 2014. During his college playing career, Abidor competed in the Premier Development League with both Jersey Express, and IMG Academy Bradenton.

“David will be a smart center back with a little bite when needed,” says Coach Brown. “He has good feet to build out if needed and he is smart enough to know when to play direct.”

“After spending so many years away from home, I’m ecstatic to return and share this moment with my family and friends,” notes Abidor, who was born and raised in Chicago. “I look forward to reconnecting with the diverse soccer community here in the Chicagoland area and inspiring the talented future generation of soccer players in Chicago.”

Mike Novotny becomes the first goalkeeper signed in Chicago House AC history. Novotny played for Hartford Athletic of the USL Championship league during the 2020 Season, seeing two appearances and recording one shutout. He spent the 2018 season with Stöde IF in Sweden where he started five games, recording four shutouts and only allowing one goal during this time.

Novotny also played with AFC Ann Arbor of the NPSL, where he spent the 2018 season, starting nine games, with six shutouts and only four goals allowed, good for the fewest in the league. During his time with AFC Ann Arbor, Novotny was named a National Team of the Week GK twice and was selected to the ISN National Team Of the Year.

Prior to playing professionally, Novotny played four years of NCAA Division I college soccer at Eastern Illinois University. As a four-year starting goalkeeper, Novotny started a total of 65 games and played a total of 5,915 minutes, recording 287 total saves. During the 2017 season, Novotny was named to the All-Conference, First Team and took home the Conference Goalkeeper of the Year award. During the 2015 and 2016 seasons he was selected to the All-Conference, Second Team. Novotny is also a seven-time Summit League Defensive Player of the Week.

“Mike is a big presence in goal, communicates well and has leadership qualities that will be needed to direct our back line,” says Coach Brown. “He will be a big voice in the locker room.”

“It is a big honor to be part of Chicago House AC. Growing up in the area (St. Charles), it has always been a dream to play in my home state in front of my friends and family,” explains Chicago House AC’s newest ‘keeper. “It’s very exciting to be part of something new and building that foundation, having experienced that with Hartford. With the quality players announced, soon to be announced and CJ at the head of the pack, this will be a special year for the House.”

Pending registration approval from NISA and USSF, Damon Almazan, David Abidor, Michael Kozielek and Mike Novotny join Drew Conner, Keegan Thompson and Wojciech Wojcik to bring Chicago House AC’s roster to seven players:

Chicago House AC Roster (as of June 4th, 2021):

Forwards (1): Wojciech Wojcik

Midfielders (4): Damon Almazan, Drew Conner, Michael Kozielek, Keegan Thompson

Defenders (1): David Abidor

Goalkeepers (1): Mike Novotny

Chicago House AC Transactions – June 4th, 2021:

• Chicago House AC signs defender David Abidor to their active roster on June 4th, 2021.
• Chicago House AC signs midfielder Damon Almazan to their active roster on June 4th, 2021.
• Chicago House AC signs midfielder Michael Kozielek to their active roster on June 4th, 2021.
• Chicago House AC signs goalkeeper Mike Novotny to their active roster on June 4th, 2021.

Chicago House AC has Open Tryouts #2 this weekend June 5th and 6th, for more information check the link as follows. 

The post I’m Coming Home: Chicago House Athletic Club Adds Four New Homegrown Players appeared first on UrbanMatter.

Read More

Check out this awesome Jose Abreu Chicago White Sox city connect bobblehead from Forever Collectibles.

The post Chicago White Sox Jose Abreu City Connect Bobblehead now available first appeared on CHI CITY SPORTS l Chicago Sports Blog – News – Forum – Fans – Rumors.Read More

“Fifty percent of the people wouldn’t want to live in a Trump building for any reason … but then there are guys like me,” says Lou Sollecito, a car dealer who recently bought a two-bedroom unit with views of the Empire State Building. “It’s a super buy.”

NEW YORK — The building has stunning Manhattan skyline views, its spa offers deep-tissue massages, and the fancy restaurant off the lobby serves up prime steaks. Best of all, many apartments at the Trump World Tower are selling at a deep discount — assuming the buyer doesn’t mind the name over the door.

“Fifty percent of the people wouldn’t want to live in a Trump building for any reason … but then there are guys like me,” says Lou Sollecito, a car dealer who recently bought a two-bedroom unit with views of the Empire State Building. “It’s a super buy.”

The purchase price was $3 million, nearly a million less than the seller paid in 2008.

Bargain hunters are swooping in to take advantage of prices in Trump buildings that have dropped to levels not seen in over a decade, a crash brokers attribute to a combination of the former president’s polarizing image and the coronavirus pandemic. It’s a stunning reversal for a brand that once lured the rich and famous willing to pay a premium to live in a building with Trump’s gilded name on it.

An Associated Press review of more than 4,000 transactions over the past 15 years in 11 Trump-branded buildings in Chicago, Honolulu, Las Vegas and New York found prices for some condos and hotel rooms available for purchase have dropped by one-third or more.

That’s a plunge that outpaces drops in many similar buildings, leaving units for sale in Trump buildings to be had for hundreds of thousands to up to a million dollars less than they would have gone for years ago.

“They’re giving them away,” says Lane Blue who paid $160,500 in March for a studio in Trump’s Las Vegas tower, $350,000 less than the seller paid in 2008. It was his second purchase in the building this year and may not be his last.

Just how much the Trump name is to blame is impossible to say. Many units for sale are in cities that were hit hard by the pandemic or in hotels that had to shut down or in condo buildings much older than their competitors, making comparisons difficult.

Still, Trump’s red-meat rhetoric and policies haven’t helped. Within a year into his presidency, hotels and condo buildings in Panama, Toronto and Manhattan that paid millions to use his name started stripping it off their facades.

After Trump was accused of whipping up the mob that stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, things got really bad. Banks vowed not to lend to him, the PGA canceled a tournament at his New Jersey golf course, and New York City fired him as manager of a public course in the Bronx. Several brokers say many potential buyers won’t even look at Trump buildings now.

“I’d be happy if his name was taken off,” says Gary Gabriel, who owns an apartment in Trump Palace on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. “It’s embarrassing.”

It’s also an opportunity.

“We can see the river. We can see the lake. It has a downtown view,” says Nilufar Kabir, who bought a one-bedroom unit in Trump’s Chicago condo-hotel in February for $680,000, nearly one-fifth less than what the seller paid. “It’s a bargain.”

Other condos in Chicago’s Trump International Hotel and Tower have dropped even more, down 34% during the four years of his presidency, according to Gail Lissner, a managing director at the consulting firm Integra Realty Resources. That compares with a 6% drop over the same period at 18 nearby luxury condo buildings of similar age.

Says Lissner, “You can live in a luxury building for a non-luxury price tag.”

Prices fell even more for units in the 96-story Chicago building that are set aside for hotel guests, a category hit hard by pandemic travel restrictions. But Lissner leaves them out of her analysis because there are no similar hotel units in nearby buildings to compare them against.

In Las Vegas, prices at Trump’s hotel have fallen 4% since he took office four years ago, while average prices for three dozen other hotels in the city that also sell condominiums and rooms rose 14%, according to data collected by Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices broker Forrest Barbee. Since the Trump building opened a dozen years ago, prices per square foot have fallen 66%.

And in Manhattan, Trump-branded buildings have fallen so far, down to 15-year lows, that they have lost their premium for the first time, selling at lower prices per square foot than the average for all condo buildings, according to research firm CityRealty.

“I have never seen buildings plummet so dramatically,” says Ondel Hylton, senior content director at CityRealty, which has a webpage tracking the eight Manhattan buildings still bearing the Trump name. “It seems like this is a bottom.”

Some buyers are thinking the same.

“Ten years from now people will forget about him,” says a New York banker who asked for anonymity to talk about a second Trump World apartment he bought last month for $2.1 million, a two-bedroom overlooking the United Nations. “The name will mean less.”

Or disappear completely.

“Does it get bad enough that they rebrand?“ asks the new owner of a Trump hotel room steps from Hawaii’s Waikiki Beach, though he figures it won’t matter given the bargain price — $505,000, which is over $300,000 less than the seller paid. “It’s got an ocean view!”

It had the same view when Trump took office, and prices at the Trump International Hotel in Waikiki plunged 23% over the next four years, according to broker Rachel Bradley of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices. The nearby Ritz-Carlton also got hit hard, down 20%, but Trump fared far worse when compared with a broad sample of three dozen Honolulu hotels that also sell rooms: Their prices over four years fell only 3%.

Trump Organization Executive Vice President Eric Trump declined to comment.

The exact hit to Trump’s company is hard to know. It sold most of the units it owned in his branded buildings years ago, though it still has dozens in Chicago and Las Vegas worth much less now.

The bigger damage is likely to be to the former president’s image and future branding. Developers who used to pay him millions to use his name won’t strike deals with him if they think it could sink prices.

Those golden five letters over the door once attracted buyers like Derek Jeter, Johnny Carson and Liberace but now are so controversial that many people who bought recently refused to allow their names to be used in this story, worried that the boycotts against Trump could hurt them.

Vegas buyer Blue, who runs an air freight company in California, doesn’t care. He calls Trump “one of the greatest presidents ever” and thinks anger directed at him will blow over.

“Stuff washes out. People forget. People move on,” he says.

AP investigative researcher Randy Herschaft contributed from New York.

Read More

The team’s “performance center” will be discussed during a virtual community meeting Thursday that officials call the start of a lengthy process.

The Chicago Fire soccer club’s plans for a training and practice center at Hanson Park on the Northwest Side include promised improvements for the prep sports stadium on the property and continued public access for some events.

The team’s proposal calls for major improvements to Hanson Stadium, a 2,000-seat facility that would get an inflatable dome for cold-weather events and six other soccer fields for practices and youth sports. The Fire also want to add a three-story building for various club functions.

A team source said the project’s budget is about $90 million and that no public subsidies are being sought. The development would affect a nearly 32-acre site at the southeast corner of Fullerton and Central avenues.

The Fire’s home games would continue at Soldier Field, where the club has a long-term lease.

Details of what the Fire call a “performance center” were posted online by the city’s planning department for review before a virtual town hall meeting Thursday. Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36^th) will host the 6 p.m. meeting.

Hanson Park includes three public schools, and the club has promised not to interfere with their operation. It also promises improved open space for student use. A community garden on the site’s eastern part would be unchanged. Parking for several hundred cars is expected.

“This is just a starting point,” Villegas said of the coming community review. He said he wants ample opportunity for residents to examine the design and public benefits. He said he likes the prospect of new fields, potentially for baseball as well as soccer, that could help Prosser Career Academy High School.

In its materials for the project, the Fire said it chose the Belmont Cragin site because it has a strong base of soccer fans and the club already runs several programs with local schools. The team has been looking for a city-based location to replace operations in Bridgeview. Joe Mansueto, executive chairman at investment advisor Morningstar, owns the Fire.

“The Chicago Fire Football Club is excited about the prospect of investing in Belmont Cragin and building our performance center in the neighborhood. This is the first step in a long process and we look forward to working with the local community, the City of Chicago and Chicago Public Schools to make this dream a reality,” the team said in an emailed statement.

Hanson Stadium has been little used for years. Villegas said it requires significant repairs to its field and bleachers. The Fire would provide a new artificial surface and replace the old field that Villegas said came from the Chicago Bears years ago went they went with grass at Soldier Field. Of the other fields, three would get natural grass for first-team practices.

A club source said it has no timeline for finishing the project but hopes it can start on it early in 2022. CPS owns the property, so Board of Education approval is needed. The project also needs a zoning change from the city.

Villegas and a club source said the Fire wants to lease the property from CPS, a deal that would add its facilities to the property-tax rolls. Those talks, however, are believed to be at an early stage. “We don’t fully know what their ‘asks’ are at CPS,” one insider said. CPS could not be reached Friday.

The Fire said the project will support 200 construction jobs and be the daily base for 220 team employees.

It has hired Crawford Architects as the lead designer. The firm, with offices in Kansas City, Missouri, specializes in athletic-related projects such as a sports medicine center and hall of fame involving the Minnesota Vikings.

Contributing: Brian Sandalow

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times file

Read More

Officials are now talking about cracking down on what some experts are calling an epidemic of pitchers doctoring baseballs.

Somebody out there please help a man whose faith in the honor and uprightness of our national pastime is close to gone. If a fuel gauge measured trust in baseball, I’d be walking along the side of the highway, red gas can in hand.

What is there to believe in when it comes to the game, other than 30-plus years of exuberant cheating?

Hitting? Steroids poisoned baseball in the 1990s and 2000s, if not beyond.

Catchers’ signs? Stolen like catalytic converters by the Astros in a scandal that ruined the 2017 World Series.

And now … pitching? I thought there were a few rogue spitballers out there, perhaps a small group of dedicated glue-under-the-cap cheaters. What an innocent I was! Major League Baseball is now talking about cracking down on what some are calling an epidemic of pitchers doctoring baseballs. Not a few people coughing, but a plague. A recently retired pitcher told Sports Illustrated that “80 to 90%’’ of major-league pitchers are using sticky substances today.

They’re using it to increase the spin rate on their pitches. The greater the spin rate, the more movement on breaking balls. The more movement, the more hitters who look hopelessly lost. As of Friday, the big-league batting average was .236, which, if the season had ended that day, would be the lowest in history.

Baseball is the dirtiest major American sport. That’s not to say the others are the picture of virtue. Some NFL linemen did not get to be 330 pounds of muscle solely on hard work. The “lesser’’ sports are pure, you say? I’m sorry to interrupt your fantasy of golf being a gentleman’s game, but there are some gentlemen on the PGA Tour who are hitting the ball ridiculously far. Too far. I smell a polo-shirted rat.

But major-league baseball is the dirtiest sport, and that’s not even the main story here. It’s that baseball is bad at cheating. So let’s call it the dirtiest, dumbest sport. The Astros’ system for stealing signs from opposing catchers involved video cameras and someone in the dugout banging on a garbage can if an off-speed pitch was coming. Why not use smoke signals? Or two empty soup cans attached to a string? That’s how dumb the Astros were.

The reason pitchers believe they can get away with doctoring the ball is because they almost always have. Think about it. They are throwing incriminating evidence in the direction of law-enforcement officials (the home-plate umpire) every time they throw a sticky ball to the plate. It would be like a home invader leaving his driver’s license on a table at the house he burgled 10 days in a row.

The difference is that MLB officials have looked the other way for years, thinking … thinking what? What could they have been thinking? They were not thinking, which brings us back to dumb. If that many pitchers are cheating, it’s because officials didn’t want to do anything about it. And that’s the essence of stupidity.

MLB ignored a burgeoning steroid scandal because it liked the idea of lots of home runs. What they received instead was the cartoonishly muscular Barry Bonds, he of the incredibly expanding noggin. They got Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire and a big, fat stain on the game.

You think officials would have learned, but, no, not even close. When the Astros’ cheating scandal happened, it was an opportunity for MLB to send a message to the world that cheating in any form would not be tolerated. It was a chance to exhibit some backbone. The way to do that was to relieve Houston of its World Series title. Instead, MLB fined the Astros $5 million, took away some future draft picks and suspended the team’s manager and general manager for a season.

The moral? Crime pays, dummy.

(I’m still enjoying the White Sox’ excellence and the Cubs’ surprising success. But do I trust that either team is as clean as folded laundry? Not on your life. Definitely not on mine.)

At this point, I’m guessing that many baseball fans don’t care about any of this, including the latest scandal. Did you see how much break there was on that pitch! Crazy! It’s like watching movie stars who have had tons of work done on their bodies. You like gazing upon them. Your gaze doesn’t care how they arrived at their looks.

But at what point does the concept of fairness kick in? We can spend hours debating whether steroids are a worse sin than doctored baseballs, or whether stealing signs is worse than using performance-enhancing drugs. Some of you will chalk all of it up to “gamesmanship,’’ which is a euphemism for “cheating one’s ass off.’’ None of the scandals that have hit baseball are the equivalent of stealing a pack of chewing gum from the convenience store. They all can affect the outcome of games. So let’s call it what it is: fraud.

The stupidity of the whole thing is what’s so stunning. You don’t think you’re eventually going to get caught using PEDs when you look like a circus strongman? You don’t think you’re going to get caught after the curveball you just threw Super Glues itself to the catcher’s mitt?

And MLB doesn’t think it’s going to come off as dumb for looking away for so long on so many things?

You want really, really dumb? A work stoppage could hit baseball for the 2022 season. Owners will cry poor from the effects of the pandemic, and players will remember how past agreements have favored owners and teams. Go ahead and roll your eyes.

Welcome to our national pastime, where dumb meets dirty. And nobody wins.

Read More

Dino Gaudio agreed to a plea deal that will include probation and a fine. 

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A former University of Louisville basketball assistant has pleaded guilty to a federal charge of attempted extortion and will avoid prison time.

Dino Gaudio was dismissed from the team along with another assistant in March after the Cardinals missed the NCAA tournament. During a meeting with coaches, Gaudio threatened to go to the media with alleged NCAA violations by the team, according federal prosecutors.

He pleaded guilty on Friday to a charge of interstate communication with intent to extort, which carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office in Louisville. Gaudio agreed to a plea deal that will include probation and a fine.

Gaudio, 64, threatened to expose alleged violations by the team “in its production of recruiting videos for prospective student-athletes and in the use of its graduate assistants in practices,” according to a charging document filed in May. He asked for 17 months of salary or a $425,000 lump sum payment, according to the U.S. Attorney.

Gaudio will be sentenced on Aug. 27.

He had been the head coach at Wake Forest University from 2007-10. He then spent eight years as an ESPN analyst before joining Louisville in 2018. Gaudio also previously led Army and Loyola-Maryland and worked with Louisville coach Chris Mack at Wake Forest.

Read More

Chicago health officials say the removal of contamination at Hegewisch Babe Ruth field on the Southeast Side could last up to three weeks.

The city says it will begin cleanup of soil at a Southeast Side youth baseball field next week after Chicago officials discovered high levels of brain-damaging manganese there in 2019.

The remediation at Babe Ruth field at East 126th Place and South Carondolet Avenue in Hegewisch will begin Tuesday and is expected to be completed within three weeks. The area to be cleaned up is about 70 feet by 80 feet, according to the city.

The city knew about the contamination a year before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency publicly disclosed in July of 2020 that concentrations of manganese exceeded federal limits set to protect residents’ health. That same month, a state health official told league officials that adults and teens could continue playing on the field as long as grass covered the contaminated area.

However, young children should not play there, the official warned. Babe Ruth is a longtime league for players 13 to 18. Last year, EPA remediated the soil of nearby Hegewisch Little League field after the discovery of lead and arsenic in the dirt.

The Southeast Side is home to a number of polluting industries and has been at center of a public fight over a proposed car-shredding operation, which has drawn the attention of the top administrator of the EPA.

Oscar Sanchez, a community organizer and Hegewisch resident whose brothers played at Babe Ruth field, said he wishes the cleanup was done in a more timely manner.

“When it comes to these things, we’re glad this is happening but there needs to be more urgency on these issues,” Sanchez said.

Bernard Ralich, whose now-adult son Daniel played at Babe Ruth, echoed the sentiment.

“In the meantime, we’re breathing all this stuff,” Ralich said. “Hegewisch don’t get nothing. All we get is the pollution.”

The city has said it referred the matter to EPA in early 2020 “to ensure the field was appropriately characterized before notifying the public and the league.”

EPA has grouped the Babe Ruth contamination with environmental testing around the nearby Watco Terminal site on East 126th Street. That facility handles bulk solid materials, including manganese-bearing alloys.

Residents with questions about the planned cleanup can call 312 747-9884 to get more information, city health officials said.

Brett Chase’s reporting on the environment and public health is made possible by a grant from The Chicago Community Trust.

Read More