Richard Roeper Blog

Tim

Tim King

Founder & CEO

Urban Prep Academies

PS  For more information about Aces UP!, please visit www.acesuptourney.com or call or email Ed Briscoe (312-276-0259, ext. 1106; ebriscoe@urbanprep.org).

Some snapshots from Sunday night’s game/celebration at Wrigley Field..

As a lifelong Chicago area resident and a major sports fan, it’s been my privilege to witness some of the greatest moments in Chicago sports history. As a fan and/or a member of the media, I covered the Bulls in the 1990s, I’ve seen about 90 percent of the postseason games involving the Cubs and Sox over the last quarter-century, I’ve witnessed the Bears’ playoff games–and I’ve been in the Stadium and then in the United  Center for a number of Blackhawks games.

The Sox will always be first in my heart, and nothing will ever top the experience of being on the field just before Game 1 of the World Series in 2005, not to mention Jermaine Dye’s homer off Roger Clemens in the first inning of Game 1, Paul Konerko’s grand slam and Scott Podsenik’s game-winning home run in Game 2, Geoff Blum’s homer and Mark Buehrle’s save in Game 3, the 1-0 finale of Game 4…

That said, you can mark the date and the locale: June 13, 2010, Wrigley Field. Even though the Sox and the Cubs are underachieving this year and both squads would kill to hit the .500 mark by the All-Star break, it was one of the most memorable nights in Chicago sports history.

That “team picture” of the Cubs, Sox and Blackhawks was a thing of beauty. Jim Cornelison belting out his operatic version of the National Anthem as 40,000-plus fans roared–chills all around. Ozzie Guillen hoisting the Cup as Cubs fans booed–hilarious.

The game itself was a throwback, with Gavin Floyd and Ted Lilly hooking up in a classic pitchers duel, with neither pitcher giving up a hit through the first two-thirds of the game.

The last time two pitchers had no-hitters going into the seventh was 1997.

Kevin Brown\’s 1997 no-hitter

Finally, Alfonso Soriano cracked a double down the left-field line with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. I figured Ozzie Guillen would bring in a lefty to face Chad Tracy–but nobody was warming up, nobody was coming in, and Tracy singled home Soriano, giving the Cubs a 1-0 lead.

Even with raindrops occasionally falling and fans craning their necks to get a glimpse of the Cup up in the booth, even with the madness of the best “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” ever, with Blackhawks players throwing their caps and jerseys into the crowd (thank God that one guy in the first row of the upper deck didn’t take a tumble as he grabbed a jersey), Lilly remained focused on the gem at hand, holding the Sox hitless until the top of the 9th, when pinch-hitter Juan Pierre led off with a clean single up the middle. Eventually Carlos Marmol worked out of a bases loaded jam, and the Cubs avoided the sweep.

Can you imagine if Lilly had thrown a no-hitter against the Sox on the night of the Stanley Cup celebration at Wrigley Field? For Cubs fans, it still wouldn’t be nearly as sweet as a World Series win, but wow. As it was, all who were in attendance Sunday night will be telling stories about it forever.

Lilly\’s gem

Is it social media marketing–or an attempt to keep critics away from a piece of junkola?

The Chicago Blackhawks Ice Crew Girls put some…ice in our drinks.

Here’s the montage I was talking about WLS-AM…