ThirdGen

I don't doubt for a minute the JR is a very good human being. I also believe he was a good owner up until the last two decades. Those of us who are old enough to remember when the Sox had to play fireworks noise over the PA after a home run, because they couldn't afford fireworks, or when every single free agent was guaranteed to leave, or when we hired a player manager to save a salary, or the constant threats of moving to Milwaukee, Seattle, or wherever, should recognize that JR took a franchise constantly on the brink of bankruptcy and solidified it financially. He was also aggressive about signing top free agents (Fisk, Bannister as examples) and seemed committed to at least attempting to win. The Sox were, at one time consistently competitive. Not sure what caused the change in the last couple of decades. Complacency with a WS trophy? Financial issues? Complacency with old age?

The last few years MLB has been having all thirty teams start on the same day, regardless of weather or dome, unless international play is happening early. Although this year they have one game the night before, which I assume is for national TV.

So, according to this article the ISFA has only paid down $16 million in principal, less in interest than what was accruing, despite collecting over $1 billion in hotel tax revenue. I am the last person to suggest the government pay for stadiums, but the responsibility for the debt belongs to the state, not the Bears, due to their garbage financing scheme.

I was under the belief that Cellular One paid for the renovations in exchange for naming rights?

Yes, if nothing is paid off. Over $1 billion in taxes from the hotel tax that was supposed to pay off these bonds has been collected since 1990. Where did all that money go?

Before the Bears commit to paying off over $500 million in debt, they should ask how the debt grew from the original $432 million owed when the stadium opened 25 years ago. The Bears and the NFL contributed $200 million toward the original cost. It's the same BS the state claims on Rate Field. Somehow the debt on the stadium is currently higher than the place cost to build 35 years ago. Seems clear the debt is being refinanced time and time again to support other expenses, and the Bears and Sox are being blamed.

In recent years is there a single business in Illinois that built its own infrastructure? Expressway ramps, local streets, etc are the domain of the state. If the Bears pay for a expressway on off ramp, would they be allowed to charge tolls? I don't like govt paying for stadiums but the roads to get there, that's the govt job.

I guess I'm just not a skyscraper guy. If the backdrop was mountains, an ocean, or some other natural beauty I would probably get it. Tough to find in Chicago, other than the lakefront.

Nice stadium, absolutely. Tall buildings in the background, who cares?

Even if they had pointed the ballpark toward the north you wouldn't see much of the skyline from the lower deck. Take a peek sometime off the ramps behind third base at the 100 level, you can't see much of anything downtown. Now the upper deck is different, but you would probably be able to see the Milwaukee skyline from there as well. Do people really buy baseball tickets to look at buildings? Why not sit on a park bench at Grant Park, completely free.

What stood out to me when I visited Petco a couple of years ago, aside from how nice the stadium, is how incredible friendly and efficient the employees were. Without being asked they suggested a kids area my kids might enjoy, and gave me a great overview of food and drink options. No long concession lines despite a full house, friendly employees everywhere. Exact opposite of the current Sox experience.

While it is a small media market they have the advantage of having been the only major league team in that market. They did add a MLS team a couple of months ago, yet to see how they draw long term.

I believe it is simply a matter of games played. I'm too lazy to research this, but I doubt any position player in the HOF is wearing the cap of a team he only played 348 games for regardless of personal happiness. And his 1972 was historic, but his 1966 Phi season was every bit as dominating. He was fourth in MVP voting behind guys named Mays, Koufax, and Clemente.

Sammy would never have had the same marketing effect with the Sox as he did with the Cubs. The Chicago media was largely controlled by the Tribune, which did a masterful job of promoting Sammy as the shoeshine boy who made it big through hard work. They protected him from any questioning of his sudden physical transformation. The Cubs PR team threatened anyone questioning Sammy with being cut off from access. If this had happened with him in a Sox uniform there would have been daily commentary about the disgraceful Sox cheating to win, and any championship won with him on the roster would have been deemed fraudulent. And the Sox have never been particularly good at PR.

I couldn't tell you which Sox players' parents have passed, much less the other 29 teams.