Lineage of a Genius!

The modern NFL game owes its existence to Bill Walsh. In 20 years, his impact will be incalculable. His teachings live on in the current game through his disciples Mike Holmgren, Tony Dungy, John Gruden, Mike Shanahan, Dennis Green, and the NFL internship program for minority coaches. From the DCS staff, R.I.P.

Can You Help a Brotha?

Lead defenders in the Mike Vick case are none other than Michael Irvin and Deon Sanders. In what promises to be another Selma or Birmingham in the continuation of the civil rights struggle, Vick is getting what he deserves from his frat brothers.

Irvin says he knows the "persecution" Vick is feeling from his many drug busts. Sanders is defending Vick on the NFL network saying, "some people like to take dogs for walks and some choose to torture their dogs- its a lifestyle choice." Irvin is no longer on the ESPN network following his latest bust and the NFL network has told Sanders to shut the fuck up.

In the beginning of the end for Vick, his buddy has decided to cop a plea and sack the QB. Mortenson claims that Vick will never play in the NFL again. We'll see how far the civil rights movement has really come.

Cubs Notebook

It was a great day at Wrigley Field yesterday. I attended with two other members of the DCS writing staff and we were all anticipating Barry Lamar Bonds to play left field. Unfortunately , Barry decided to sit this one out. No matter, the game was great. Lou Piniella almost single handedly won the game for the Cubs. He called a pitchout in the 8th inning to gun down a suicide squeeze that would have led to a two run lead. He called a hit and run with Theriot on first with Derrick Lee at the plate. This all happened with two out and left the door wide open for Aramis Ramirez to hit the game winning two-run double.

Other Notes:

Soriano is extremely fan friendly. He plays to the crowd in left field bleachers constantly. If he wasn't playing so well, I might say he needs to pay more attention to the game. He did make two great catches in left field.

Ramirez is Mr. Clutch. He was clutch in 2003, clutch in 2004 when Derrick Lee was fading. Who cares that he didn't hustle last year when the Cubs were only winning 66 games.

The drunks in the bleachers make all Cubs fan look stupid. After Ramirez hit the eventual game winning two run double, the fools started throwing cups onto the field. First of all, garbage littering the field only makes sense when there is garbage being played on the field, not when the team in on the best 20 game run since 2001. What kind of behaviour is this? Stupid behaviour that's what it is. There were several knowledgeable Cubs fan around us that were as dumbfounded as we were.

This has the potential to be one of the more memorable summers ever on the North Side. Let's hopes the Cubs can keep it up.

the war behind the war

I understand that a lot of my current work vis a vis dcs relates to the White Sox and the crowd @ various soccer games…………so, uh, since I did some Burelhe yesterday, here’s a soccer crowd one……. Went to a lot of real good games in the last month, and as much as the Chicago Fire and the U.S. national team should be center and front in my reporting, but every game it’s super hard for me to take my eyes and ears off of the people in the stands-- and not just the Kiera Knightly types.

My fascination with soccer crowds did not develop from my Manchurian cousins riffing on 1970’s English hooligans. It didn’t develop from my time as a child in the Chicago Sting years. Where it developed was going to Chicago Fire games and being attracted to that part of a Fire crowd that bills itself as Section 8 (link wiki). Section 8 (link official)is a group of fans who stand in one end zone and sing, clap, fly flags, chant, and do other interactive things throughout the game. The same thing goes on in European soccer games, but thousands sing and chant. With Section 8 (link Fire), it’s a very young crowd of about 1000 fans and they regularly show up for each game. This has been going on since the first game in 1998. I stood in Section 8 from that first game, and although I am a bit too old to stand standing for 90m these days, I still try leave my 50yd line seats to feel the old excitement. Saturday’s game -v- F.C. Toronto had me going to Section 8(link ewe) after halftime-there was a war going on!! But first…

I have written on Section 8 before highlighting the leaders from the old days. Those days were the “putting it all to-gether” days, where leaders would come and go, and the then-super leaders are still talked about today (and missed). The leaders were the ones who sttod in front of the rowd, with their back to the game, and incited the section to sing and sing LOUDER!! Section 8 back then had a deeply overwhelming Polish component to it. The first season featured two groups standing and cheering on each side of the south end zone- on the east side was the Americans, and on the west was the Poles. And what a site the Poles were back then : Fire games looked like a hard core punk show because of all the skinhead type Polish teens and 20year olds who dressed like they were the biggest fans of Minor Threat. And they didn’t just look militant- their cheers were shouted out and punctuated by choreographed fists and arms and clapping and salutes. They were also the first to employ smoke bombs and flares, a common theme that eventually got me arrested one nite. Very impressive.

The Fire’s second season the two sides got to-gether. This was the first I noticed who closely the Fire work with these people- they bring excitement to the crowd, and my guess is that team management got the two sides to-gether. Although Section 8 in those early seasons was dominated by the Poles, the youngsters have generally taken over. However, the same spirit of silliness remains. Nobody takes themselves terribly serious, so the 1000 or so in Section 8 are and have been given licence to be as goofy as they can. It’s the silliness that has 1000 kids turning out every game to sit in cheap seats to sing and going on field trips to near cities like K.C., Columbus, and Toronto. Section 8 has its web site, things to sell, board meetings, watching parties, etc… A feeling of comradary(sic) has developed over the years between the people. I mentioned earlier that I don’t usually stand in Section 8 anymore. Even in the first years, I would generally sit on the 50yd line and then join Section 8 @ half. However, I have two distinguishing marks. Game 1 I stood in Section 8. I’m a made man forever for that. And then there is my arrest record. Section 8 has a giant chip in that they have the “Myth of persecution”. Any attempts to lite fireworks and flares, like overseas, has always been met with a heavy security presence and arrests. The last game ever @ Soldiers Field, in 2005, the kids decided to snub their nose @ the stadium security. And lit up a tonne of flares. Instant pandemonium!! Smoke all over, security all over, and bits of bodies and flames everywhere. I saw a flag about to burn up and tried to put it out before it burned up- although security fabricated some outlandish wrong fake story about how I tried banner, presumably because I think they I thought it would be cool. Who security wanted was the ringleaders--the guys who planned the flare attack--but they arrested me as well. So, the boyos and I who spent the nite in prison always seek each other out, shake hands, and shoot the breeze. And its like that for all the Section 8 regulars.


Chicago Fire -v- Chivas USA (9 June)
Section 8 keeps up a steady din the whole game. Sometimes, if the acoustics are rite, they dominate all sound @ the stadium. Other times, they don’t. One of the games they didn’t dominate until well into the game was against the Los Angeles based Chivas USA. Chivas USA is an offshoot from that most popular of Mexican clubs, Chivas of Guadalajara. Chivas USA, reflecting the glory of its parent club, has attracted Mexican fans of Chivas to their games (smart marketing by someone). The Fire took on Chivas in front of a crowd of 20k+ that had a large and vocal - though scattered and unled- fan base. I always love these crowd battles, and this was a tough one in the beginning for the home side. Section 8 would have their chants and songs going, but anytime the chivas fans wanted to overcome them, they did- in a 10-15 second burst. They they would subside, and Section 8 would carry on unfazed. Constant singing, followed by temporary lulls as Chivas USA fans asserted themselves, then back to Section 8. As the game wore on, the 10 years of discipline and work shone through as Section 8 was able to start to dominate the crowd, and then the fire fans as a whole started to assert themselves. This game to Section 8.

Gold Cup Semifinals (21 June)
And then the international series started. The semifinals and finals of the regional soccer championship--called the Gold Cup, and featuring teams like USA, Mexico, Canada, Cuba, Guatemala, etc… When the mens national team plays, a group called “Sam’s Army” is the supporters group. They wear red, have their songs, and are somewhat fun. But there is a giant gulf betwixt Section 8 and Sam’s Army- where one group goes to, say 20-22 Fire games a year, my guess is that few of Sam’s Army go to more than a few a year. Not only does the USA not play that much, they also play all over the States; not in the same park like the Fire. Section 8 members know each other through the years; My guess is that Sam’s Army is not quite as tite. On Thursday it was semi finals time: USA -v- Canada, and Mexico playing minnow--no, make that algae- Guadalupe. This was the first time I have ever gotten to watch the US mens national team play in a game that counted, so I was very excited. The 50k+ crowd, however, was there to see Mexico. Sam’s Army was ok, but the discipline of section 8 was missing. They had cheers and songs, but usually they lacked. The USA had a decent following (more than just Sam‘s army), and the USA dominated the game, going up by two until in the 79th minute Canada scored. This set off a huge reaction in the Mexican crowd, and instantly insulted Sams Army. The Mexicans were probably just rooting for the underdog, but from here on out, Sam’s Army were the Mexican sides worst enemies, and boy were they vitriolic. The second game was Mexico -v- Guadalupe, one of the greatest mismatches in any major soccer tournament semi final I’ve ever seen. But the tiny Caribbean island kept the giant off of the scoreboard for most of the game. The Caribbean team had two sets of fans. One was Sam’s Army, newly minted enemies of Mexico. And they had their own fans there- a colorful, smiling, happy, dancing, drumming, congo line of Caribbean’s snaked their way into the 50yd seats rite before the 2d game. I really love that Caribbean music/dance, and was happy to soak it in for 90m. And so was Sam’s Army. They cheered for the little guys the entire game, which included clapping and dancing along with the drumming and having their own drummers try to math the beat. I couldn’t believe how ridiculous and funny it was, but in essence they were all kids, having fun. Mexico looked bad, but still won 1-0.

Chicago Fire -v- MKS Cracovia Krakow (22 June)
Each MLS team has 2-3 exhibitions a year. As many of Chicago’s Irish hail from Mayo (not the infinitely cooler Galway), Mexicans from Guadalajara, and Chinese from the south, many/most of Chicago’s Poles come from the area around Krakow. A lot do. So, it was an inspired choice to bring the local team for a game against the Fire. Again, in a repeat of the Chivas USA game, Fire fans were dominated by Polish fans at times, but it was Section 8’s discipline that carried the day. The Polish roar was loud indeed, but like the Mexican roar before it, Section 8 always marched though it and did not break note through to the other side.

Mite I add here, has there ever been a more beautiful race than the Polish people, unless of course it is the Mexican people? All these games were played in heat, which means that the women were wearing next to nothing through all of these games. I really developed………………an interest…………….in beautiful foreign women wearing soccer jerseys bizarrely too small for them……..no, not bizarrely………..just…nice.

Gold Cup Final (24 June)
The final, between the USA and Mexico, was great. 63k+ in Soldiers on a hot day. One would expect the crowd to be mainly Mexican, but against all odds, it was about 30% pro-USA. We expected a victory (Mexico HAS NOT SCORED ON THE USA IN THE USA FOR THE LAST EIGHT GAMES THEY PLAYED EACH OTHER- that‘s 8 games times 90 minutes, which equals 720 minutes-and the USA IS 10-1-1 IN THE LAST 12 GAMES THEY HAVE PLAYED EACH OTHER), and got what we wanted in the end. Sam’s Army was not able to keep up a racket --the Mexicans shouted them down generally when they wanted, especially after scoring the first goal. Many times the great “Meh- hee-ko/Meh- hee-ko/Meh- hee-ko” chant rang out. But the difference was that there was a very large minority rooting for the USA, and as the US evened and then went ahead 2-1, the crowd got more boisterous and loud and pro USA. Although Sam’s army didn’t have the same oomph!! that Section 8 brings to a game, it was great to hear loud and sustained cheers for the USA despite the ‘hostile’ arena. And yes, I did write ‘hostile’. This was maybe the 20th game I’ve been to where Mexico or Mexican sides played- and their behaviour always stuns me. This is not to say “All Mexicans are drunken brawlers” or anything like that, but Mexican fans put the brawlers @ Old Comisky to shame. Their specialty is the ‘thrown full cup of beer’. Again and again. From above onto the decks below. To a section of fans rows ahead. Or just in some guys face if a fight is breaking out. I saw a game in ’98 that featured Mexico -v- Argentina, and @ no moment was beer not flying through the air. I really felt sorry for anyone in an Argentina shirt. But maybe because a good of the percentage of the crowd were US fans, or it was played during the day, there were few fights. I saw many, but it wasn’t as I’d seen before- one long 90m fights. And after the game, there were no confrontations. People on different sides were even posing and taking pictures of each other. It was like a big party.

Chicago Fire -v- F.C. Toronto (7 July)
And then back to Section 8. F.C.T. is a brand new expansion teams that has been selling out (20k+) its newly built stadium. As for w-l’s, they started off their franchise in terrible fashion. They did not score in their first four or five games, until the Fire (resembling the White Sox, I always thought, though it may be better to compare them to the Bears- the Bears were the Vikings first win when they entered the NFL) played their first game against the expansion team- and lost 0-4. Section 8 had a large contingent for this game in Toronto. Saturday’s return match featured, for the fist time ever, dueling cheering sections. And Toronto’s was pretty good. They had a real nice section, maybe 400 strong, and since they had the discipline, they were able to run through songs and cheers and not be put off by Section 8. There was the crazy scene as one end zone rang out in one song, and the other end zone sang to a different beat. This must be how it is in Europe for most games (true to the games I have been to in England and France), but I’d never seen it here. As I stated above , I was gifted a sideline seat to this game and I enjoyed the views/sounds from the 50yd line, but I wasn’t going to miss being a part of Section 8 for this duel and went over @ halftime. Section 8 was up to the task, realizing they had to shout down the Canadians in their home field. They had one great new song-well, a hum-that went on for minutes and I’d never heard before. And they also had my favourite moment this year. The Fire went up 1-0 on a penalty in the 70m, and that set off the wobbling, jumping, screaming Section 8. These days, instead on one leader doing the whole game, the various Section 8 groups (there is a Section 8 ‘umbrella’ that has various factions in it-think, in a great comparison, to the “People’s Front of Judea” -v- the “Judeans People’s Front” ) have their own leaders who lead the entire Section of 8 in turns. It maybe be time for a change every 15-20m, and another groups leaders take over. When the Fire went up 1-0, it temporarily threw the Toronto cheering section for a loop. One of the leaders (who was arrested with me) barged to the leaders pulpit, begged to have the 'pulpit' out of turn, was given it, and turned one arm to Section 8 and the other @ the Toronto fans and started the classic kiss off soccer song : “Your not singing/Your not singing/Your not seeeeeeeeeeeeeenging anymore/Your not singing/When we’re winning/Your not singing anymore”. I realized that the establishment of Section 8 in the late 90’s had finally born full fruit: We were finally able to taunt another full cheering section in our own stadium. ‘Course, they scored in the 78m and were able to walk out of the place singing, but that’s ok. That was the last T.F.C game in Chicago this year, but I did start to think……..man, it’d be nice to catch the Fire in Canada later this month………….

The Black Sox Faction

Do the Left Thing

The White Sox immeasurably helped their team for the rest of this decade by signing one of the premier available pitchers in the world yesterday. What team would not love an ace lefty who is a proven winner the last eight years? What team would not die for a durable starting pitcher who has been the ace of a very good staff? What team would not love a pitcher who is both the fans and his teamates favourite?

Well, almost the White Sox.

Kudo's to owner Reinsdorf and G.M. Williams for finally responding to the cacaphonious clamour for the resigning of Mark Burhle. In what has been a very down year for the Sox,the fans got some good news in that this team, 21m after being the top team in the world, will not be trashed in a "White flags" type tradeoff just yet.

The seemingly bizzare part of the story is that Burehle kept giving the Sox chancs when most other players would have walked a long time ago. Burhele settled for around $14m/year for four years. There is a conditional no-trade clause that would give Burehle another year and bump up the yearly salary another $1m/y. He could have gotten another two years and maybe 30m more, but will wait till till this contract expires when he is 32:in time for another huge contract.

But a key point in keeping himself here is that he has made a name for himself in chicago. There are what- 27-8 guys in Chicago who are living who can say- I won the world series in a Chicago uniform. Maybe there are a Sox or two alive from 1917, but i doubt it. So, like members of the '85 Bears or the SuperBulls, Burelhe can live forever a hero in Chicago, doing commercials, autograph sessions, tv appearances, etc... leaving chicago would have hurt this a little, but staying in Chicago, he can reap the benefits of '05. Just like Da Bears did this past years and we will begin to see soon as the SuperBulls time fades. both sides played smart.

Now the trick will be to sign John Garland. Although this has been a very tough start for the Sox and threatens to be a totally lost season, the starting staff has been outsdtanding and getting better. With the exception of Jose Contrearas, the staff has been better than advertised. Even rookie Joh Danks looks like a future star 9well, maybe not star, but...). The whole league is looking for a starting staff like the Sox have (well, not ALL teams), so it seems smart to just keep it to-gether and work on the offense.

Sense sometimes prevails.

The Black Sox faction

SOX WIN!! SOX WIN!!


Spent my first nite @ Comisky Park this season finally-to think that I used to go almost a score every year. I'd gotten severly discounted tix from CPS, always a treat, and I figrured to months ago that this would be the game- the only one offered on a "weekend" nite.

Da Sox's travails are well known. The batting, the relief pitching- hell, last years 90 win teams' "je ne sais pas" on how to win games is even missing- they are just flat out playing badly. It does seem that, for the first time in a millinium that starts w/ a "2" , the Sox will not be among the contenders in September. Two weeks ago, in the midst of a 5-17 run and the depressing thought that Mark Buerlhe's trade was imminent, the thought was that the Sox would be this years version of the Cubs last year, minus all the deep hate the fans threw on Chicago's other club. With the Cubs doing a suprising .500 in baseballs weakest division (they really do have a chance-Milwaukee looks good, but there is a lot of time left to ctch up) and the sportswriters grasping @ any straw unless they want to spend the next 3m talking about the Brewers and Tigers, the newspapers vitriol has turned to the Sox. We love it. Especially the sportswriter (Mariotti) who claimed that Sox fans hate the Sox. Hmmmm. Now, as a writer myself I understand how hard it is to make up angles, but maybe he should have asked one...............

But despite all the supposed gloom, it was a perfect nite to watch a game @ Comisky-Harry Caray's "Ah,ya can't beat fun @ the old ballpark" fits this Comisky as well as Mr. Caray's Old Comisky. Our seats were in the upperdeck 20 rows back, and we shared the area with enormous amounts of children. Since this was 'school 1/4 ticket nite', I figgered that a lot of these kids were here via the same ticket. Gf remarked that the upper deck fans are always rowdier than the lower deck fans, and I think this is true. There is a definate class distinction in the Comisky theatre: the Groundlings get the sky view, while the box seaters get..........well,the box seats. I always used buy cheap seats and then sneak down and sit rite behind the dugouts (Also: Wrigley, Yankee, Shea, Fenway, Candlestick, and where the A's play = buy cheap, sit rich.....ok, Candlestick is no longer an MLB park). No longer-Sox management now allows only people ticketed for the lower deck down there. So, except for the occasional times I bumrush the 16yo's guarding the entrance to the lower deck, I'm stuck upstairs.

The Sox played another bumbling team, Baltimore. Both teams are around 10 games under and 13 games back, and having their problems: Not only are they not playing well, but both teams are in tough division. Looks like a long season for the rest of the year. To make matters worse, there has been a lot of talk about trading away members of the team and giving up on this year. The trading deadline approaches @ the end of this month, and if the Sox do not make any noves in the standings we'll see a firesale- not the shameful matter of 1997, but a firesale none the less.

Sox were starting Javier Vasquez. He's not having a bad year; the whole starting staff is doing well. Mr. Vasquez, who got a large contract extension in the spring, has responded with a 'solid' year so far- 5-5, 3.7 ERA. His season so far mirrors the whole starting staff- pretty solid, but lost* admidst the rest of the the teams woes. Mark Buerhle is having his contract year turn out well, and John Garland is continuing to have an excellent career. Lefty John Danks, controversly traded for Brandon Mcarthy, has had a extremely promising start. Jose Contreras is having a tough start, but is not an over worry.

Mr. Vasquez performed @ a very high level: one run on four hits in a complete game victory. He was even more dominant than the stats suggest. Aided by the outstanding defense of 3b Josh Fields, the Orioles never looked dangerous. Of course, todays newspapers reaction to his game was that it "aided his trade value". Great. We got on of the best starting rotations in baseball, and they are all looked @ (outside of Danks) as trade bait. So how is it that this came to be?

The offense, last nite, came through when it mattered. Jerry Owens, back up in the majors to replace Scott Podseknik yet again, singled, stole a base, and scored on a Paul Konerko. Later, Jim Thome cranked a three run homer. This is the way its supposed to work. But too often this year, the offense has been anemic. Bases loaded, no outs in 3d lead to only one run- Jermaine Dye grounded into a double play. This has not been a problem just this year- remember the famous "Grinder Rule #17" from the almost collapse in Sept. 2005: "One Run on four hits will have to be enough". All too often the last three years -- and that includes the World season (remember, they managed to score only 3 runs in the final 18 innings of that World Series)-- the offense has been terrible. For a team that is supposed to play "Ozzie Ball" (small ball, I think its billed)and @ the same time currently holds the major league record for most 200+ HR seson in a row (seemingly to end this year), the Sox, the offense has sucked. The sluggers are all having off years, and the team is hitting .236- worst by 20 points in the AL. Mr. Dye:.230. Mr. Knoerko:.255. Juan Uribe:.233. Yeeesh!!

In my mind, the key that 2005 team now seems clear: Scott Podsednik. Very controversial item, I think, and I mite be alone in this thinking, but when healthy, he's a killer. In 2005 he played only 129 games, and when he started to miss games in the second half, that Sox team suffered. Last year he played 139 games, but seemed injury-indered all year. The Sox started off swell this year until he left again via injuries. And now the White Sox's manager, Ozzie Gullien, is voicing how the team cannot count on him. And without some speed, the Chicago White Plodders-Mr. Konerko, Mr. Thome, Mr. Dye, Joe Crede, etc.....can only look to hit home runs to get runners around the bases. In 2005, they had it going. Last year, although stats wise the team was fine, it justs didn't happen. And this year, all has gone asunder.

To try and replace Mr. Podsednik, again on the injured list this year, the team has promoted Mr. Owens for a second time. Batting .179 as I write, he seems a good bet for the future; for this game, he went 1-3 and had a run and a stolen base. Another oft injured Sox player, Mr. Crede, seems done for the season via his recurring back troubles. Like they did in the late 90's with Robin Ventura, the Sox seems to have the future already in place @ 3B: Josh Fields. Although batting .235 in his first 90odd @ bats this year, he roped a drive off the left field wall and played spectacular defense this game. Both have great futures, and played important parts in the Sox's win.

As bad as the offensive has been, he bullpen has been a disaster. Outside of Bobby Jenks, the bullpen has been stunningly bad. There have been so many relievers up and down in the minors, I really couldn't name the Sox's 25 man roster rite now. Too many jokers with 6.00 ERA's. As well as the starting staff has performed this year, the relievers have done the opposite. This nite, however, we were not to see the bullpen. I was really hoping that Mr. Vasquez would complete the game, and we were rewarded. I always want the starters to get their complete games, but I also didn't want to see any of the bullpen in besides Mr. Jenks (who didn't warm up).

So, we got the win. They've won seven of their last nine, and it seems the worst is behind them. Unless they keep playing this hot for the rest of July, Da Sox may lose most of the team via trade deadline firesales. Can they keep it going? They pulled within 10.5 games of Detroits wild card last nite**, but its still 10.5 games and six teams between them and the spot. There is less than half the season left, but enough of the World Champions remains for them to make a last run @ it this year. Likely? No. Possible? All baseball fans know its possible. Just a long slog. Forget about Mr. Crede and Mr. Podsednik - they are gone for the year. And if the Sox are to continue @ the .450 clip they have been playing @ this year, then they will lose even more of their vets: Mr. Burlhe and Mr. Dye have been highlighted in trade talks, along with Mr. Vasquez, Mr. Contreras, and Mr. Garland. Well, this would be the month to do it. Ten games against Cleveland, Detroit, and Minnesota, plus four against the Red Sox mean it will be a hard second half of July. Lets hope the pitching continues to throw complete games and the offense comes through. The thing about baseball is that any team can win on any given day. That's why they play 162 games- to average it all out. Is the Sox pulse these last nine games for real?? I'll wait these three weeks to see if we still have a season be interested in.

*=except for Mr. Buerhle's no hitter.
**=They stayed 13.5 out of first.