Northwestern Links

ESPN.com Big Ten Blogger Adam Rittenberg today blogs about Northwestern's attendance problems despite its ability to field a competitive team. Last season, Northwestern finished 83rd nationally in average attendance at just 24,190 per game, even though the team won 8 games this year. NU's struggle to draw fans motivated me to write a blog post ten days ago about why you should go to a NU game this season. So far it seems, NU has made a valiant effort to improve its marketing, hiring former Chicago Rush exec Mike Polisky and launching the school's first large scale sales and marketing campaigns. Northwestern's poor attendance has been a point of mockery for other Big Ten fans to laugh at, so I hope the campaign goes well. Season ticket sales are up, in part to NU's game at Wrigley Field, but I think they have to wait and see what the actual attendance is like, regardless of how many tickets they sell. Hopefully people didn't just buy season tickets for the NU-UofI game and are planning to discard the rest

Big Ten Conference Divisions for 2011, should be announced sometime in September, and for now it looks like the Northwestern-Illinois rivalry will be protected , according to the Tribune's Teddy Greenstein. As far as the conference divisions are concerned, I hope that Michigan and Ohio State are separated in order to have them meet in the Big Ten Championship, like Alabama and Florida do in the SEC. I also hope that they split up Penn State and Nebraska, so there is a good competitive balance. Whatever happens, playing in a stronger Big Ten conference can only benefit Northwestern.

Also, Northwestern has new uniforms. Click here to see the new and old uniforms.

Allstate Wrigleyville Classic

Today, it was announced that the Northwestern/Illinois football game scheduled for November 20th at Wrigley Field will be sponsored by Allstate and called the Allstate Wrigleyville Classic. NU also unveiled the logo for the game, which is a purple mock-up of the classic stadium's marquee.

The Northwestern/Illinois game will be the first football game at Wrigley Field in 40 years (The Bears played at the Friendly Confines for an extended period). I'm pretty sure I'm going to be there on November 20th. The only way to get a ticket for NU-Illinois is through season tickets, so I'm contemplating a season ticket purchase. I can't wait to see the set up. I know recently officials have given clearance for the use of rooftop seating on the gameday. The Allstate Wrigleyville Classic definitely promises to be a classic game in a great environment.

Also as the press release noted, Northwestern football is going through its most successful stretch in school history.

Northwestern opens the 2010 season on Saturday, Sept. 4 in Nashville, Tenn., vs. Vanderbilt (6:30 p.m. CT).

News in Skokie

Since I'm back in Skokie for the time being, I'm going to try to blog more about some of the things going on around here...

The Backlot Bash, a 3 day event considered one of Skokie's signature events, is this weekend from Friday the 27th through Sunday. The Backlot Bash will feature free live music on the main stage, a carnival, silent movies at the Skokie Theatre, a classic car show, food vendors and a beer tent, a 5K run, bingo and a sidewalk sale. The Rocky Horror picture show will also be playing on Saturday Night.
Full details can be viewed at The Backlot Bash website.

High School Football starts tomorrow, with Niles West traveling to Vernon Hills and Niles North playing at Elk Grove, both games start at 7:30

Niles West Football Schedule

Niles North Football Schedule


Oakton Community College will begin teaching Hindi and Urdu, though it should not come as a surprise.

It looks like a Kosher Italian restaurant is about to come to Skokie.

Ke$ha/Rihanna at the UC

I've been a little sports-heavy with my posts lately so I'm going to try to get some more non-sports articles into my blog.

Last night at the United Center was a Rihanna concert, opened by Kesha. The Chicago Tribune gave it a good review, 4 out of 5 stars. The Tribune called Rihanna "impressive" during her 90 minute performance. You can click here for pictures.

Northwestern Practice at Great Lakes

Northwestern football practiced yesterday at the Naval Station Great Lakes in North Chicago. The Naval Station, is the US Navy's Training Headquarters and 50,000 recruits pass through it annually. Great Lakes also has a lot of college football history , and was even considered a powerhouse when it played college football from the 1910s to the 1940s. Part of the reason Northwestern was at Great Lakes, was to promote their Sept. 11th home opener against Illinois State, which is also "Heroes Day," but Pat Fitzgerald also took his team there to connect with the tradition at Great Lakes. Great move for NU.

Derrick Rose makes Team USA for Worlds

As expected,Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose made the final roster for the USA team at the 2010 World Championships that will take place in Turkey starting on the 28th. The defending Olympic gold medalists, the United States has not won the World Championships since 1994, and are not the runaway favorites that they were in Bejing. The Team USA roster simply doesn't feature the starpower lineup that the 2008 Olympic team featured with the likes of LeBron James and Co. The starting lineup in Turkey might look like this: Guards Rose and Chauncey Billips, Forwards Andre Igudola and Kevin Durant, and Lamar Odom at the Center position. Those are all pretty good players, but not necessarily on par with some of the past Team USAs.

On Sunday, Team USA struggled to beat Spain in a warmup , narrowly winning 86-85. Team USA has one more exhibition, against Greece tomorrow, before the World Championships begin on August 28th.

The FIBA World Championships are structured similar to the soccer World Cup. There are 24 countries divided into 4 groups of 6 teams, with a preliminary round and a knockout stage. In the preliminary round, each team plays games against the other five teams in their group. The USA in Group B will play Brazil, Croatia, Tunisia, Slovenia, and Iran. The top 4 in each group move on to the knockout stage, which is like the "Sweet 16."

It looks like the USA, despite their inexperience should easily make it into Knockout Stage, but from there who knows. Obviously the close win against Spain, proves their vulnerability. Winning the World Championships, would make a strong statement of USA Basketball, especially since the caliber of Team USA's squad is not the best that it could field.

Follow the 2010 World Championships via the FIBA America's Website

Jim Caple's "Baseball in my Backyard" Series

Seattle-based ESPN writer Jim Caple has completed a five-part series of articles about different levels of baseball "in his backyard." The series "Baseball in my Backyard" illustrates the tremendous differences between various levels of baseball, from the luxuries present in Major League Baseball to the struggles present in independent ball. If you are a baseball fan, or simply interested in the lifestyle of professional baseball players, Caple's series really shows how becoming a major league is truly and unglamorous road.

There are 5 articles, and each article has the link to the rest. I'll link my two favorite articles:

One Last Chance: profiles the Victoria team in the Golden Baseball League, an independent baseball league.

Life of Luxury in the Majors: profiles the Seattle Mariners Clubhouse

Lou Pinella Raising the Standard

Before the Cubs game on Sunday, the Cubs and Lou Pinella announced annouced he was stepping down at the end of Sunday's game after 23 years as a manager and 1835 wins. Previously on July 20, Pinella had announced that 2010 would be his final season as a major league manager and had intended to stay in his position for the remainder of the season. However, with his mother's declining health Lou was unable to remain with the team past this weekend.

Effective Monday, Cubs 3rd base coach Mike Quade, a former manager for the Cubs Triple-A team, will take over as manager for the rest of 2010. Presumably, the Cubs will decide on their next manager following the conclusion of the World Series. The Cubs next manager will not be Alan Trammell, who GM Jim Hendry ruled out as a candidate to become the Cubs next manager. Much attention has been given to the prospect of Cubs Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg becoming the team's next manager.

I think Lou Pinella's term as the Cubs manager should be thought of in high regard. Of course, the Cubs season hasn't gone the way anyone would have imagined, Pinella had no control over the player's contracts and respective performances. Overall, as the Cubs' boss, Pinella was compiled a 316-393 record with the club over three-plus seasons. He guided the team to the National League Central title in his first and second years in 2007-08, and the Cubs posted the best record in the NL in '08 at 97-64. After the 2008 season, Pinella was named manager of the year. Most significantly, I believe, is the fact that Pinella is the first Cubs manager in 100 years to lead the team to consecutive postseason appearances.

Lou Pinella's legacy on the Cubs organization is that he has elevated the standard of success that Cub fans expect. While he didn't lead the team to a championship, Pinella has I think because of Pinella's efforts, Cubs fans consider the playoffs as a basic benchmark of the team's performance. Pinella came into the organization and changed the team's culture. Unfortunately, Pinella did not have a great deal of success and the Cubs lost to the Braves on his final day. Nevertheless, the team has struggled and Sandberg, or whoever gets the job next year, has a lot of work to do.

I also think the Cubs did the right thing in not using the rest of the season to let Sandberg show what he can do. Sandberg would not have a fair advantage because there is little to play for this season. If he was called to manage and the team preformed poorly, it would simply not make him look good/prepared as a major league manager.

Thank Goodness for the Pirates...

Because the Cubs are an absolute train wreck this season. Their loss to the Braves yesterday, marked their eight straight loss at Wrigley Field (The Unfriendly Confines), and dropped the team to a record of 50-73. Although the Cubs are 21.5 games behind the division-leading Cincinnati Reds, they are not in last place. The perennial losers, the Pittsburgh Pirates stand at 40-82 after losing last night.

The Pirates' loss last night assured them of their 18th consecutive losing season, extending the longest losing streak in American pro sports history. However, this season is one of the Pirates worst. They are nearly on pace to break the single season loss record and have 4 pitchers who have lost 10 or more games. In comparison, the Cubs' Randy Wells is the only pitcher on the team with 10 or more losses. To really put the Pirates last two decades in perspective, consider this:

-During their 18 season losing streak:
-The Pirates have never been 7 games above .500 in any point.
-In the same time span, the Pittsburgh Steelers who play 1/10 of the games as the Pirates, have achieved that mark 4 times

Thanks to the Pirates, it seems unlikely that the Cubs will finish in last place. However, it still remains possible that the Cubs will lose 100 games.

At 50-73, there are 38 games remaining. If my math is right, the Cubs will lose 100 games if they go worse then 11-27. The Cubs in August are 4-14, and 2-8 in their last ten, so 100 remains very possible.

Yikes!

Why you should go to an NU game

The first full Saturday of College Football is only two weeks away! Like many other Cubs fans, I am eagerly awaiting a diversion for the train wreck that is the Cubs in 2010. College Football in my opinion is the best spectator sport, because of the passion that fans have, and everyone should make it to at least one college football game at one point. Obviously as a Northwestern fan, I'm a little biased as to where that game should be. However if your busy in two weeks, that's not a problem as Northwestern will not be playing in Evanston. September 4th is also the opener for Northwestern against Vanderbilt in Nashville, but their home opener against Illinois State occurs a week later. Here are some reasons that a Northwestern Football game is worth the price of admission and your time.

1. Northwestern is a good team. The Wildcats have won 17 games over the past two seasons and have made two straight appearances in bowl games. Northwestern is simply a very competitive team (and that's not always been the case). NU has never made bowl games in three consecutive appearances and has a very good chance of doing so this season.

2. Northwestern is Chicago's Big Ten team. If you want to see Big Ten Football and you live in the Chicago area, Northwestern is the closest school to go watch Big Ten Football.

3. Tickets are affordable and easy to get. Unlike the Chicago Bears, its relatively easy to purchase NU tickets and there are plenty of good seats still available. Additionally, you won't break the bank purchasing Northwestern tickets, which start out at $15 for some games.

4. Ryan Field, Northwestern's stadium is not nearly as intimidating as other college football venues, if this is your first game. Ryan Field seats about 47,000, which may seem like a lot, but Michigan Stadium seats 109,000. Ryan Field is definitely a great stepping stone to trips to some of college football's most hallowed grounds.

5. It's fun

Click here for tickets

North Shore Mosquito Spraying: Tonight (8/17) and Tomorrow Night

If you live in the North Shore, tonight and tomorrow night, the North Shore Mosquito Abatement Department might be spraying in your area, so make sure to close your windows if you don't want the chemical spray residue entering your house.

The North Shore Mosquito Abatement District
has Scheduled targeted adulticiding operations in portions of
Glenview, Northfield, Wilmette & Winnetka:
for Tuesday August 17th, 2010 between the hours of
8:00pm-2:00am
WEATHER PERMITTING.....

AND Evanston, Skokie, Niles, and Morton Grove on Wednesday August 18th, 2010 between the hours of
8:00PM-2:00AM,
WEATHER PERMITTING.....

Click here for more info

Looking to Travel?

If anyone is looking to travel, JetBlue Airlines is offering a one month passes for $499 and $699, which will allow travelers to go on unlimited flights for the duration of a month.

Baseball Bits

Back from vacation...

Bobby Thomson, who hit one of the most famous home runs in baseball history, passed away Monday night. In 1951, Thomson hit a home run, deemed the "The Shot Heard Round The World," which helped the New York Giants defeat their arch rival Brooklyn Dodgers and go to the World Series.

Bryce Harper, the top overall pick by the Washington Nationals in the 2010 MLB Draft, agreed on to a contract with the team just minutes before the signing deadline. Harper is somewhat like baseball's LeBron James, who he was compared to in a Sports Illustrated article last year. He is just 17 years old, and skipped his final two years of high school to get a GED and play baseball at a community college.

New York Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez is likely out for the season, as a result of a thumb injury that occurred during his domestic altercation. Sports Illustrated's Michael McCann writes about the possibility of the Mets' being able to void Rodriguez's contract.

For the non-sports fan at college

For non-sports fans at college (or who went to college), the money universities allocate towards their athletic departments can easily seem unjustifiable or wrong. While some students go to Kansas for basketball games at Allen Fieldhouse and Ohio State for football in the Horseshoe, athletics have little to do with many prospective students college choices. Especially at small schools, which may not even field a football team, athletic experiences can be hard to justify to students who don't care about sports.

At many colleges, the basketball or football coach may be the highest paid employee, which in an academic institution may seem unjust for those whose choice of education had little or nothing to do with sports. Click the links for contracts of Illinois basketball coach Bruce Weber, and Kansas basketball coach Bill Self, courtesy of USA Today. In short, college basketball and football (the two sports that make universities the most money) get paid a lot and it comes across as unfair to some. I know this first-hand from an argument that ensued during one of my classes at Bradley (Basketball coach Jim Les is the school's highest paid employee, including President Glasser).

Especially during tough economic times, as ESPN.com's Dana O'Neil points out, it can be hard to justify the merits of college sports. One of the biggest reasons coaches are paid so much is because of success on the playing field can improve the perception of a college like few other things. O'Neil's article mentions how Northern Iowa's run in the NCAA Tournament helped dramatically increase both awareness and contributions to the school. During their NCAA tournament run, Northern Iowa experienced a 1,577 % increase in online store sales and a 30 % increase in admissions calls.

For the non-sports fan, the attention given to college sports teams can be overwhelming and obnoxious. Yes, its true their are more important things than sports that should never be forgotten at a college. The academic mission of a university should always remain a priority, but their is certainly a place for sports. Sports have the potential to help every aspect of a university. At smaller schools and private schools, like Northern Iowa and Bradley, sports success benefits at a greater degree than your typical state school. Simply put, more people nationally are aware of Bradley when the basketball or soccer teams have success on a national stage.

For the non-sports fan, I'm not saying you should run out and by season tickets or follow every game, but just to simply recognize that sports can elevate the profile of your university.

Mark Prior back in Baseball

Former Cubs All-Star pitcher Mark Prior has signed and made his debut with the independent league Orange County Flyers. He last pitched in the majors in 2006 and spent last season in the San Diego Padres minor league system. I wonder how much he has left in the tank. I'm sure Prior will get an invite to some major league team's spring training in 2011.

Movie about Indian Pitchers in the works

In a twist on Slumdog Millionaire, there is a movie in the works about two Indian minor-league pitchers who grew up poor in Lucknow, India and finished first and second in a reality TV show called "Million Dollar Arm." Before the reality TV show, Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel had never touched a baseball, but went on to sign contracts with the Pittsburgh Pirates, becoming the first Indian players to sign baseball contacts in the US . Singh and Patel are currently withBrandenton in the Gulf Coast League.

As indicated in the article the movie script has almost finished being written and the movie should be done next year. I can't wait to see it.

More links on Singh and Patel:

-Visit their blog, The Million Dollar Arm Blog

Rinku Singh's baseball stats

Dinesh Patel baseball stats