Free Republic

Bill Buckner, the longtime major leaguer whose error in the 1986 World Series for years lived in Red Sox infamy, died Monday. "After battling the disease of Lewy Body Dementia, Bill Buckner passed away early the morning of May 27th surrounded by his family," his family said in a statement. "Bill fought with courage and grit as he did all things in life. Our hearts are broken but we are at peace knowing he is in the arms of his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." He was 69. Buckner played 22 seasons in the majors, was an All-Star once and...

Every time I think American sports teams can’t get any dumber, they get dumber. Last month the Philadelphia Flyers took down the statue of a woman who raised hundreds of millions of dollars to fight the Nazis because of a satirical song she sang in the 1930’s and now the Chicago Cubs are banning a fan for flashing the okay hand gesture during a live broadcast. Really, I swear to God, this happened. It all started on May 7th when Chicago Cubs sideline reporter Doug Glanville gave a report and a fan behind him, whose face we can’t see, flashed...

They will work together to promote diversity and awareness against Islamophobia. Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts on Monday condemned hateful emails from his father, Joe Ricketts, and announced in a joint statement with the Chicago-based Council on American-Islamic Relations that his organization has an agreement for working together against Islamophobia. The Cubs, CAIR and several other Muslim groups held a meeting on Feb. 8 after the revelation of racist and Islamophobic emails from Joe, the patriarch to the family's ownership group. The emails, which dated from 2009 to 2013, were released by Splinter News two weeks ago and included Joe Ricketts...

A ballboy flipped a foul ball to a young fan, but the kid did not catch it, allowing the ball to roll under his seat to the row behind him, where it was picked up, and kept, by an adult. This adult might have deserved the benefit of the doubt. After all, he might have a child at home who also wants a baseball. This we don’t know. But that goodwill went out the window because the ballboy specifically tossed the ball to the child in the front row. Common sense and decency prevailed later in the game, when the...

I am a Braves fan and can't believe that the Braves beat the Cubs (well, in one game only) 5 to 1. The Cubs are tough and have incredible pitching, a great batting line up, and a solid defense. About dam time. Go Braves!

CHICAGO -- A WGN News exclusive -- Steve Bartman has received an official Chicago Cubs 2016 World Series Championship ring as a special gift from the Ricketts family and the Cubs organization. Arguably the team's most infamous fan, Bartman is remembered for tipping a foul ball that left fielder Moises Alou unsuccessfully dove for in the stands during Game 6 of the 2003 National League Championship Series. Now, 14 years later, Cubs owner Tom Ricketts thought it was high time to extend an olive branch. Bartman received the ring before noon Monday in Ricketts' office. Cubs President of Baseball Operations...

I awoke at 4 a.m. I looked at the ceiling and said to myself, “Did I really see that? Did he really win?”   Being on the Left Coast it was easy to stay up to see Donald Trump declared President-Elect of the United States.  Ms. Clinton had called and conceded and Pennsylvania had been universally declared as another brick gone from the blue wall. I am writing this on an airplane en route out of the country on Wednesday morning. My wife and I are on a mini-vacation to serve two purposes.  First, to relax after this brutal election. ...

Believe, people! If the Cubbies can break a 108 year curse, Trump can break the eight year curse of Obama. To paraphrase carolann from last night: Brexit, the Cubs, Trump – three events people said would never happen...but they did…and will!And this year might also end the 25 year curse of the Clintons. NO REALLY, I’M SERIOUS THIS TIME! New evidence regarding the collusion between Clinton Inc., the Department of Justice and the Department of State continues to pour in. And apparently it pours out as well: Sources say 99% chance foreign intel agencies accessed Clinton’s private server. CTH There...

8-7 in 10 innings

RUSH: This is from America's Newsroom this morning on Fox. They had a sports reporter there by the name of Jared Max. He was talking about the World Series. Question: "The series has gotten an enormous amount of hype as being historic and exciting for the entire Midwest and the rest of the country. How do you think it's looking for so far on that measure," Jared? MAX: We're talking so much every week about numbers down to the NFL. You know, several years ago people said, "America's pastime? No, the NFL rules the league." Well, NFL ratings are down...

If the Cubbies can shake off a 71 year old curse and an onslaught of naysayers to win the National League pennant to advance to the World Series than Donald J Trump can win the presidency!Sure, the real battle is still ahead for both of them, butt at the beginning of the season nobody thought either of them had chance of making it to the big dance. And yet here they are, improbables both, battling for a yuge win for their long suffering fans. The Chicago Cubs will do battle with the Indians (!?!) and Trump will fight against Hillary,...

Waterfalls have stopped falling, the sun rose in the south and pigs are taking to the air. The world is no longer recognizable. Why do I say that? Because the Chicago Cubs are the best baseball team on earth, and the St. Louis Cardinals are watching the postseason from their Barcaloungers. It's not natural, it's not explainable and, in my mind, it's not welcome. Despite living for the past 36 years in the Chicago area, despite working for a company that once owned the Cubs and despite being surrounded by Cubs fans, I just can't root for them -- or...

So Conor Gillaspie in 2016 is Marco Scutaro from 2012 or Travis Ishikawa from 2014 or Cody Ross from 2010, at least for one enormous Wild-Card game and that means it could go on and on again… And Madison Bumgarner in 2016 is… Madison Bumgarner, the perpetual postseason legend. That’s a two-paragraph summary of the Giants’ scintillating 3-0 Wild-Card victory over the Mets tonight, and yes, obviously, the patterns and connections from the previous three Giants postseason trips are impossible to ignore. You know who probably understands this better than anybody? That’d be the Cubs, who now face the Giants...

Link only due to copyright issues: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-ricketts-family-donald-trump-20160920-story.html

In addition to "grass-roots" campaign workers, there are at least eight Super PACs backed by 'shadow elites' who are driven to defeat Donald Trump and they are banking on Ted Cruz. At least one of these super PAC leaders, Katie Packer of OPP, met behind closed doors at the RNC Spring Meeting this week in Florida. Packer states that a republican candidate should "uphold orthodox GOP ideology." This smacks of irony given her past allegiance with Romney/Ryan and Ryan's inability to uphold GOP principles as Speaker of the House. The super PACs are calling, texting, emailing, lobbying, and all-out wining...

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan is heading up a National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) fundraiser in New York on April 25th. However, the venue of the fundraiser is raising some eyebrows: For those who might not know, the “Ricketts Family” are the primary donors to a Super-PAC specifically created to block Donald Trump from winning the GOP nomination. Billionaire family Joe and Marlene Ricketts, owners of the Chicago Cubs, have recently given $5,000,000.oo to Katie Packer who heads “Our Principles PAC“, an organization created exclusively to defeat Donald Trump. Katie Packer recently outlined what they are doing with the...

Mark Levin, Ben Shapiro, Glenn Beck, who are funding these guys to go against Trump? The Senate Conservatives Fund (PAC) purchasing massive quantities ($400,000) of Mark Levin’s books in exchange for favorable candidacy political opinion. Conveniently Hidden by the radio host who avoids mentioning the financial conflict created. His family working within the Staff of Senator Ted Cruz! Ben Shapiro website “The Daily Wire“, being funded by the billionaire Wilks Brothers, Levi and Farris, in Texas, who also fund Ted Cruz and his Super-PAC, etc. The Chairman of Glenn Beck’s Mercury One charity, David Barton, jointly running the Pro-Ted Cruz...

Thanks to the candidacy of Donald Trump the financial intersection of money and political opinion, as guided by the monetary motives therein, has brought some amazing revelations to the surface. These financial/media relationships have largely, and historically, remained hidden. They have damned sure never been publicly, clearly, and regularly stated so the consuming audience would know the presentation was fraught with financial conflict.

Thanks to the candidacy of Donald Trump the financial intersection of money and political opinion, as guided by the monetary motives therein, has brought some amazing revelations to the surface. These financial/media relationships have largely, and historically, remained hidden. They have damned sure never been publicly, clearly, and regularly stated so the consuming audience would know the presentation was fraught with financial conflict. So it perhaps shouldn’t come as a surprise to find out that Eric Errickson’s media venture “The Resurgent“, is taking Super-PAC money from the (formerly Scott Walker advocates and financial backers) Ricketts family of Wisconsin who fund...

Late at night this month, the pastor’s phone beeped with a text message from an anguished parishioner. Andre Taylor, the church member’s great-nephew, had been shot and killed. “Dre had just turned 16,” the message on the Rev. Ira Acree’s phone read. “I think that it’s time to call for action and solicit help, have the National Guard to take over and patrol the Chicago streets.” Four days earlier, another text had appeared. A different parishioner’s granddaughter, Daysha Wright, a 21-year-old nursing student, had been shot to death in a car, leaving a 2-year-old son. At his desk at Greater...