White Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf wants a $1.2 Billion dollar handout from Illinois (Don't forget about Da Bears!)

"Socialism, communism, whatever you want to call it, is never the answer." Hank Steinbrenner in 2011, just 2 years after Steinbrenner and the New York Yankees received $2 Billion in public funds subsidized by the New York City and State taxpayers to build Yankee Stadium III.

One of the biggest and most successful scams the Ultra-Rich 1% pulled on America was the Trickle-Down Economics scheme.  Give Us large amount of public money for free and the economic benefit of us using it for ourselves will flow downward onto everyone else.  There is stuff flowing down from the 1% onto us but, it sure ain't economic benefits...  And while they were aided and abetted by Republicans and other conservative politicians the goal has always been the same to gain access to public monies in order to Privatize the Profits, and Socialize the Losses.

The White Sox are looking to move from the old 35th and Shields in the Bridgeport neighborhood to the 78, but in order to accomplish this move, poor, poor Jerry Reinsdorf needs to bum a couple o' bucks from the people of Illinois.

Jerry Reinsdorf has engaged in several tactics reserved for rich plutocratic assholes.  First, Reinsdorf dusted of his 1990s playbook and threatened to move the Chicago White Sox, this time to Nashville, Tennessee.  In the 1990s, Reinsdorf successfully bilked Illinois Governor Big Jim Thompson and the people of Illinois out of hundreds of millions of dollars to repair Comiskey Park by threatening to move the club to St. Petersburg, Florida.

So, last month just before Governor J.B. Pritzker's budget address, Reinsdorf went to Springfield to press the Governor and Legislature for $1,200,000,000 in public assistance in the building of the new White Sox stadium.  Reinsdorf and his investors would come up with the additional funding for the extended stadium grounds.

Rich people stay Rich because they don't pay for things with their money.  Governor J.B. Pritzker is rich he's a real Billionaire unlike the Orange Hitler so he knows this.  Pritzker has been adamant that no public money is going to build sports stadiums,

“I think I’ve been fairly clear about the fact that the taxpayers’ dollars are precious,” Pritzker said in response to a reporter’s question at an unrelated event. “And the idea of taking taxpayer dollars and subsidizing the building of a stadium as opposed to, for example, subsidizing the building of a birthing center, just to give the example, does not seem like the stadium ought to have higher priority.”

Unfortunately, there is a quirk which might allow not only the White Sox but Chicago Bears access to a government handout;  Mayor Brandon Johnson has been stepping all over his own dick and needs win, or to be clearer he needs not to be the Mayor who 'lost" the Chicago Bears to Arlington Heights.

“As far as public dollars, we haven’t gotten into any of those specifics just yet,” the mayor said of discussions with Sox officials.  "But I will say that we’re gonna explore all options. But we have to make sure that we’re doing right by the people of Chicago. … Everything is on the table here."

Why is everything on the table?  Jerry Reinsdorf is so rich he has quietly for the past 2 years been buying up the vacant parking lots in and around the United Center, Home of YOUR HIS Chicago BULLS!

Meanwhile, the Chicago Bears are floating the idea of tearing down Solider's Field and putting up a state-of-the-art doomed Stadium on the Lakefront.  They've even proposed using $2,000,000,000 of their own money.  As a comparison, Stan Kroenke of the LA (not St. Louis) Rams spent $5,000,000,000 on the SoFi Stadium, without public assistance, although the NFL did some money as well.

But, this is all posturing as the Chicago Lake front is protected by statute from building on it, as George Lucas learned when he proposed his gaudy Star Wars museum.  The Bears have already knocked down the old Arlington Racetrack, accompanying side buildings and that vast open area is going to house their Stadium, a Bears Museum, hotels, restaurants, probably apartments for players and coaches to live in, and all that revenue will go right into the extended Halas Family pockets.  It's a no-brainer.  But, at this point the Bears seem to be trying to reduce their financial commitment to the Arlington Heights community and surrounding school districts because they can rely on the non-stop messaging of "Trickle-Down" effect being good enough for the peoples who should feel privileged we wish to build a stadium in their community and probably should provide us incentives to do so!

Hand-outs to the MegaRich are called stimulus and the Rich love getting other peoples' money.

The Last of Us sports record book changes

Watching The Last of Us, it struck me that 20 years of sports records never occurred in the TV Universe.  Here is what came to mind;

Since the start date is September 2003, first and foremost the Curse of the Bambino is never broken and the Boston Red Sox never again win a World Series.  Of course, The Black Sox and Billy Goat curses for the Chicago White Sox and Cubs are also never broken.

Barry Bonds never eclipses Hank Aaron's home run record.

Tom Brady never becomes the Quarterback GOAT as his only Super Bowl victory is in 2001.

Don't kick it to Hester...
Don't kick it to Hester...
Don't kick it to Hester...
Kicks it to Hester
And there he goes!

Devin Hester never changes punt and kickoff returns in the NFL forever nor embarrasses Tony Dungy in the 2006 Superbowl

Lebron James never plays a single NBA game. (His NBA debut was a month after the outbreak).

Serena and Venus Williams never become to of the greatest Women's Tennis Players of all time.

No one ever knows the names of Usain Bolt or Michael Phelps in Olympic history.

The 2004-05 NHL lockout never happens.  Alex Ovechkin drafted #1 overall in 2004, never plays in the NHL, nor complies 814 goals and counting as he looks to surpass Wayne Gretzky.

The Rock never makes a transition from WWE to billion dollar Movie stardom.

Tiger Woods never rebounds from his 2003 slump and we never learn about his self-destructive philandering.

Of course, thousands of other compelling matches and illustrious careers never occur and no one ever knows about them.

Grayson Allen is an Asshole and the need for street justice in basketball

The Era of the Hockey Goon is over and has been for 20 years.  The time for brush back baseball is faded and only recalled in sepia tinted memories.  The Era of Bad Boys and Thug street ball is also long past.  What hasn't left sports are assholes.

Most athletes don't play to intentionally harm another player.  But, like all human endeavors there will be assholes.  And assholes screw up everything for everyone. The question that arises is how does a team deal with a bad actor in sports?  For when the asshole player flouts rules, intentionally hurts other players, or consistently and seemingly gets away with it other players and coaches, rightly or wrongly, feel the need to extract justice (revenge) on the court.

Grayson Allen is a dirty asshole.  He's been an asshole and a dirty player since he was at Duke.  He plays dirty.  He plays to hurt people and he smirks and thinks he can get away with it.  And by and large he has. In his latest, purposefully dirty play Allen injured Bulls Guard Alex Caruso causing a fractured wrist, which Caruso is expected to miss 6-8 weeks.  Of course, Bucks fans don't care because It's Okay if Our Guy does it and Whataboutism from players the 1990's.

So what's the proper response?  Well, to Bulls fans and Coach Billy Donovan anything other than a long suspension feels like Allen got the better of the exchange.  And in the history of sports there have been numerous dirty teams and players injuring key opponents and derailing their playoff (and Championship) aspirations.  Premier 80s/90s Cleveland point guard Mark Price being purposefully concussed and injured by the aforementioned Bad Boy Detroit Pistons comes to mind.

What should the NBA and other sports leagues do?  Well, sadly the player who strikes first gets the most bang for their buck.  Retaliation, in football and baseball especially, get the player and team more heavily penalized.  The dirty cheating Houston Astros threw at and hit Chicago White Sox All-Star first baseman Jose Abreu repeatedly knowing if the Sox retaliated the Sox would suffer.

If sports leagues actually cared about cracking down on dirty play and assholes they would give fines and suspensions commensurate with the damage inflicted.  But, they won't and they don't.  In fact, most suspensions are challenged and the offending player often gets a lighter suspension on appeal.

You can't eradicate Assholes, like Grayson Allen, but if sports leagues actually cared about player safety, fair play, and true competition you could regulate them.  The rules the NBA adopted, slowly at first in response to Thug Ball of the Pistons and Pat Riley Knicks and Heat, and quickly after the Infamous Malice at the Palace are blunt instruments meant to curb flagrant behavior in general and were often turned on players like Rasheed Wallace whom Refs disliked but, don't seem suited to deal with a purposeful asshole like Allen.  The NBA rules committee or commissioner or safety board or whomever need to make an example of Allen or watch the players themselves take matters back into their own hands.

Robert Parrish repeatedly chops dirty Bill Laimbeer in the 1987 ECF

Lovie Smith is a Good NFL Head Coach

The Bears are who we thought they were! ~ Dennis Green

The Bears defeated the Miami Dolphins 16-0 to improve to 7-3 this season. Which brings up the question of Lovie Smith's coaching ability. Lovie is not liked very much in Chicago. I tend to get exasperated at some of his coaching habits which seem to be mistakes to me. His challenge technique is poor and his record in them supports that conclusion. Additionally, he's lost several games (including one playoff game and nearly another) by his seeming inability to adjust his defensive schemes. But!!!

But, the Bears are in first place this year after 10 games and his record overall is very good. And during his tenure the Bears made their second Super Bowl appearance and, although they lost, it was to the favored Indianapolis Colts. Lovie has never lost a clubhouse or had his players turn on him.

Brian Urlacher, who predates Lovie Smith and is the best Bears player of the last 10 years and a borderline Hall of Famer, when asked about the negative coverage of Lovie by Marshall Faulk after the win said, "I don't understand it, man. I love Coach Smith. I think the problem is the media doesn't like him. He doesn't tell them what they want to hear. He doesn't sell players out on the field to the media."

Urlacher may be correct about the Media's dislike for Lovie, several 670 The Score radio personalities do not hide their desire for Lovie to be fired. And many sports fans in Chicago call up The Score and complain, 'Lovie isn't fired up on the sideline', that Lovie doesn't have 'The Fire and The Passion' to coach. While a rabid sideline demeanor is not a quality of a good coach, playoff appearances and victories are a good barometer. Following the Super Bowl Loss the Bears have failed to make the playoffs in last 3 seasons. So, during this last offseason the Bears picked up Julius Peppers, the best defensive end the team has had since Richard Dent, and Chester Taylor to guard against the possibility that Matt Forte is an average running back. The Bears are not blessed with unbelievable talent.

And that brings up the best argument for Lovie's status as good NFL coach. During his tenure Jerry Angelo has been a failure in talent evaluation and drafting. And has routinely left the Bears with deficiencies at key positions.

Jerry Angelo has a terrible record at drafting in the first round. Angelo has neglected to draft an offensive lineman in the early rounds since his failure with Marc Columbo and has not taken an offensive player of significance outside the aforementioned Matt Forte. The Bears best offensive player QB Jay Cutler was acquired via an expensive trade.

What Angelo has succeed in is drafting pro-bowl caliber defensive players, with Lance Briggs being a longshot Hall of Famer, and the gamble on Devin Hester.

Devin Hester is the best punt/kick returner to ever step onto a pro football field. His presence alone has been worth 3-4 wins a year since 2006.

And here is the problem, Lovie Smith has been saddled with a preponderance of average to below average players (by NFL standards) and has succeeded in squeezing the most out of those players and Jerry Angelo is very good at seeing raw, unrefined talent but fails at the task of selecting bona fide #1s. And Hester's play has covered up the egregious errors by Lovie Smith and Jerry Angelo.

Which leaves the Bears were they have been for the past 3 seasons. Around the middle of the league. But, this season's not over and as the wins pile up, it's becoming harder and harder to justify the hatred of Lovie Smith who is a good NFL Coach.

Justice (as seen through a hoop)

The quality of mercy is not strain'd Portia, from Shakspear's The Merchant of Venice, Act IV, Scene I

Ach, too easy... How's about:

You are the Enemy I name Thee now... and this I swear: to my last breath I shall block You on earth.... ~ Amadeus: A Play by Peter Shaffer

The Bulls did end up losing to the Celtics in Game 7 of a very exciting playoff series. Too bad, however, the Bulls players did not resort to cheap shots on the Celtic players in order to win the game or in retaliation for the Celtics dirty play through the series, mainly by Rajon Rondo.

What struck me as pertienent was the Bulls’ fans reactions to the perceived injustice in the foul calling. The actions of Rondo were against the rules and the spirit of the game. When the fans saw his actions were not be penalized they wished the Bulls players would exact some measure of revenge.

Humans have an evolved sense of right and wrong. What the fans wanted was a variation of the Tit-for-Tat, Retaliator or other system given to the evolutionary defense mechanism of reciprocal altruism.

Tit-for-Tat is not the best strategy ever and has been defeated but only when others have worked out detailed attempts to specifically defeat it. The one I favor and have used (playfully) is nicknamed Grim. Grim punishes cheats with ETERNAL vengeance. I do seem to recall "someone" else favoring the Grim strategy.

The Case for Special Pleading

Besides politics, sports creates the most opportunities for man to engage in Special Pleading.

Those who fall prey to the Special Pleading often defend actions committed by members of their party while condemning members of the other party for those same actions.

Yesterday, the Bulls lost a tough game to the Celtics. With the Bulls losing by 2 and a few seconds remaining, Brad Miller received an in-bounds pass and lumbered to the basket for a game tying shot. While en route, Rajon Rondo of the Celts swung and hacked him across the face, opening up a cut and knocking Miller down. It took several minutes for play to resume and a clearly woozy Miller short-armed the first free throw pretty much ensuring the Bulls loss. The foul probably should have been called a flagrant foul.

After the goonish behavior of some teams (mainly the Pistons and Knicks) in the late 80's and early 90's, the NBA instituted the flagrant foul to distinguish between hard contact fouls and attempts to strike the player to stop them from scoring. Rondo intent was to strike Miller to stop him from scoring. It was not a play on the ball, it was not a hustle play with incidental yet forceful contact but a wild swing of the arm with a deliberate intent. The so-called 'no easy lay-ups in the playoffs'.

But, in comes the Special Pleading by Celtic fans. To wit: Rondo's smaller than Miller! The refs called Ray Allen for bogus fouls, this (non) call makes up for them. Miller is dirty so this is justice. Bulls fans are cry-babies. Kevin Garnett is classy!

I don't blame referees for calls (unless they actually commit a crime) as they have an extremely difficult job. However, it is why I favor instant replay as an aid to getting calls correct.

Of course, the ironic thing is, Boston fans and the Boston Globe recently hyped a referee/Bulls conspiracy. Of course, crying conspiracy now allows the Celtics fans to angrily denounce the non-flagrant call as sweet, sweet revenge. And it also affords them the mental gymnastics to never face the proposition the Bulls are the better team in this series and should have won. But, the Bulls lost and might not have the energy to pull out the series in 7.

Update:
Listening to 670 The Score on the day after the Flagrant game was interesting. The key overlooked position is the NBA assumed unwritten policy of make-up calls during a game. Perhaps the Ray Allen foul out call was wrong, so the refs made up for that by not calling a flagrant on Rondo to "even" the score. Sports blogs are full of Celtic fans espousing the two wrong calls make a right and citing earlier "examples" of refs missing calls as a defense for the non-flagrant call.

Being an NBA referee sucks. I wouldn't want the job. They immediately anger 50+% of the fans who watch the game for human mistakes. Rondo's head chopping call was an obvious foul call but much of what they do is interept fast paced action involving incredibly gifted men (but not women since they shouldn't play basketball). They are going to make mistakes, they are going to miss minute details. It fucking happens. They should not be derided for that, but any intentional direction to even out missed calls by missing future ones is unacceptable.