Cubs beer-thrower turns himself in

He's 21 years old. At least we know that beer was bought legally. From the Tribune...

"The 21-year-old Cubs fan who threw a beer on a Phillies outfielder said Friday that he got caught up in the "heat of the moment" and hoped his actions would not taint the Cubs' image.

"I am a true fan. I love the Cubs," Johnny Macchione, of Bartlett told the Tribune Friday.

He said his decision to throw the beer on Shane Victorino Wednesday night was not premeditated or encouraged by his friends. He partly blamed the move on frustration for how the Cubs were playing in the eventual 12-5 loss."

Let's keep it in perspective. It's not like he and his dad ran onto the field to beat up a first base coach.

Randy Myer's poster day

It happened on this date, 16 years ago. Let's just say it didn't exactly turn out as planned. Jeff Sargent was there and tells the story...

Colbert mourns Beck's advertisers

Glenn-Harried Glenn-Lost

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Hats, get your hats

I wear my Just One Bad Century hat every day, and it's a real conversation starter. You can get yours here.

Oh and the updated t-shirts are available here too.

Another beer bath

What happened last night at Wrigley isn't exactly unprecedented.

Remember this famous Beer Bath at old Comiskey Park? That's Sox outfielder Al Smith getting doused by his own fans during the 1959 World Series.

Wrigley scandal

I went to the ballgame last night with my son Tommy. It was his 14th year in a row going to a game with Dad.

The Cubs got creamed. It was really over before the Cubs came up to bat. Jeff Smarzija was throwing batting practice out there. We left in the fourth inning. The score was 12-1.

I guess we missed the excitement, however, because a fan doused Phillies outfielder Shane Victorino with a beer.

I'm sure Victorino has never seen that kind of behavior before. After all, he plays in Philadelphia.

Billy Williams

On this date in 1987, the Cubs retired the number of one of the all-time greats: Good Ol' Number 26, Billy Williams. It was only the second number they ever retired (Ernie was first).

Billy's #26 now shares a flagpole with #23 (Sandberg), and #31 (Maddux & Jenkins).

Craig Ferguson...

...speaks the truth about why everything sucks. This is so true. Thanks to "MB" for pointing this out to me.

Baseball striking again

On this date in 1994, MLB players went on strike.

The John Landecker Show wrote a great song about it.*




*Full disclosure: I wrote the lyrics with John.

Genius

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Kevin Gregg

Sucks.


(Eleven home runs hit against the closer. That's pretty bad, isn't it?)

Al Capone closure

On this date in 1986, the Cubs finally completed a suspended game from April. That game started the same day that Geraldo opened Al Capone's vault live on national television.

This week in...

1929

The Cubs are in the midst of a pennant winning season.

*On the day that Babe Ruth hits his 500th career homer for the Yankees, Charlie Root and the Cubs beat the Boston Braves 3-1 in Boston to go 38 games over .500.



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1969

The Cubs are in the midst of one of their most memorable seasons.

*On the day the Manson family commits the Tate-LaBianca murders, the Cubs are also in LA. Bill Hands shuts out the Dodgers and the Cubs go 30 games over .500.




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1984

The Cubs are hoping to make the playoffs for the first time since World War 2.

*Ryne Sandberg singles, steals second, and scores the winning run in the ninth inning to beat the Expos in Montreal on the same day that Carl Lewis ties Jesse Owens record with his 4th Olympic Gold Medal in LA, and President Reagan creates controversy in Washington by joking that we're going to start bombing Russia in five minutes.

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1989

The Boys of Zimmer are taking Chicago by storm.

*While South Africa simmers, and new President De Klerk takes office, Mike Bielecki beats the Reds 5-1 in Cincinnati, and the Cubs go 20 games over .500.

35 years ago today...

A sitting president resigned from office. It was an unbelievable day that I remember vividly even though I was only 11 years old at the time...

Father Knows Nothing

I just posted my latest Father Knows Nothing column at NWI Parent. This week's column is called "Behind the Iron Curtain" and it's a story about a scary childhood visit to Romania. You can read it here.

The Lights

21 years ago today the Cubs played their first official night game at Wrigley Field.

The history of lights at Wrigley is a long and sordid tale, but it's one we told last year if you're interested.