Having a Ball!

Boy does Chicago love mixing sports activities and beer! And I'm not talking just about pool and darts.

Last week, I went to two different bars and had a blast. And it wasn't because I got free beer or met cute boys. I got to play some real sports AND drink beer at the same time!

On Wednesday, my fellow RedEye Wrigleyville blogger Victoria and I hit up Sluggers, a sports bar a stone's throw away from Wrigley Field. Downstairs is the typical bar, but upstairs there is a dueling piano bar as well as a big kid's Chuck E. Cheese, complete with batting cages, cheap skee-ball and other fun arcade activities. You can even win tickets and get (cheap, plastic) prizes!

I rocked the cages, hit almost every ball that came at me, and rocked at skee-ball, too. Enough tickets to win us each a prize! Here is Victoria's write up with additional photos.

I was a little sore the next day, but it didn't stop me and I was in top shape for my next adventure: a bar with bowling alleys! I went with a few other friends to this bar around the corner from my apartment which also has lots of billiards (it's pretty impressive how much they fit in that place!). On my very first frame, of the very first game, I bowled a strike. Followed by a few spares. However, it was all downhill from there, and I ended up in third place (out of four) in both games. But I did manage to break 100 each time... so I guess I just need to go with bad bowlers next time so I can win :)

Chicago's Baseball (BP Crosstown) Cup Runneth Over

First Toyota, now BP. Call me a purist, but I'm getting tired of these advertisers honing in on our baseball territory.

Earlier this week, it was announced that the annual Cubs-White Sox Crosstown Series will now be known as the BP Crosstown Cup. The Cup will be awarded each year to the winner of the six-game series between the two clubs, and in case of a 3-3 tie, the Cup goes to the winner of the sixth game.

Like Chicago baseball fans needed a Cup to intensify this rivalry.

Will the addition of a tangible trophy make fans more excited to watch this series? Probably not, seeing it's already the hottest ticket--and one of the most expensive regular season tickets--in town for both teams and their fans each season. The games are usually sellouts, leaving desperate fans to turn to their friendly neighborhood scalper. Fans are always wiling to pay a bloated fare to ride the crazy train and get in on the revelry. After all, you can't put a price on trash-talking the other team's fans in person, especially if you share the same zip code.

Even the players and coaches have a history of helping to heat up the rivalry. Who can forget the 2006 collision at the plate which ended in Cubs catcher Michael Barrett punching A.J. Pierzynski in the jaw? If you forgot, here's a fabulous photo gallery recalling the moment.

Pierzynski was one of two White Sox players present at Monday's announcement. While watching clips from the press conference, I couldn't help but wonder if the players and coaches were pretending to put on a nice act (and pretending to actually care about the Crosstown Cup) for the sake of their new sponsor. Especially the always-outspoken White Sox skipper Ozzie Guillen, who isn't shy about expressing his feelings towards Wrigley Field every year (perhaps he was rolling his eyes underneath his sunglasses):

"But one thing about Wrigley Field, I puke every time I go there," he was quoted in the Chicago Tribune as saying before last year's series with the Cubs.

No wonder BP wanted in on the action.

I hate the fact that America's Favorite Pastime is becoming increasingly covered in advertisements. But I understand the way business works, and in this economy, who would say no to a sponsorship? I just wish that the official bragging rights of this local baseball competition went to a local company rather than to British Petroleum (BP will be the presenting sponsor of the Crosstown Cup through 2012).

While the new BP Crosstown Cup didn't make an appearance at the press conference, fans won't have to wait too much longer for it. The series kicks off at Wrigley Field from June 11-13 and concludes on the South Side at U.S. Cellular Field from June 25-27. The all-time record between the two Chicago clubs tips in the White Sox favor, 37-35. The Sox won the 2009 Crosstown Classic 4-2.

Ready, Set, Brawl! I mean... Play Ball!!

**I originally wrote this as a post for RedEye Wrigleyville**

Take the S'mores Pizza Challenge

There are some things in life you may not know about and really should. Ian's S'mores pizza is definitely one of them.

S'mores pizza you may ask? While it may sound iffy to some, this masterpiece can satiate even the biggest sweet tooth and is definitely worth a try. It's not a slice to eat for dinner (or a late night drunken munchie), but it is indeed a satisfying snack or dessert for even the most intense Chocoholic . The piece of heaven is piled with real graham cracker pieces, mini marshmallows, chocolate chips and chocolate sauce (poured on once it comes out of the oven).

The slice is a specialty that Ian's only offers during the baseball season/summer. However, as fellow blogger Victoria and I found out last night, it's not on the menu every day. We paid Ian's a visit to enjoy a piece of this "pizza," and upon our arrival spied that there was no S'mores on display. But if you ask, Ian's shall deliver: they made us one to order and we each were able to enjoy a slice a mere 15 minutes later.

We were told that the S'mores option isn't Ian's most popular (they usually have to throw some of it out at the end of the night--GASP!), and it's not all that fun to make, so Wrigleyville's go-to-pizza-stop doesn't offer it every day.

Victoria and I are now on a mission to spread the word about S'mores. Take our S'mores Challenge: expand your pizza horizons and try a slice of this unconventional flavor (I mean who really thought macaroni n'cheese or tortellini pizza would be as delicious upon first encounter?). Once you try it, come back and tell us what you think! But grab your slice before it's gone, you won't be disappointed.

***I originally wrote this as a post for RedEye Wrigleyville. It got eight comments and about 20 comments on RedEye's Facebook page. Victoria tweeted the link to Ian's and they loved it--they even said they would consider making the slice a year round option if we could make it more popular. We have plans to make t-shirts and step up the campaign. I'll keep you posted! ***

House of (Baseball) Cards

By Kim Dunbar

If you don’t pay attention, you might miss The House That Tim Built.

“It’s really easy to walk right past it,” said Tim Herron, owner of Tim’s Baseball Card Shop on Western Ave. “It’s one of those stores that’s kind of overlooked a lot.”

The shop is nestled between local businesses and the occasional apartment building, still marked with a hanging banner rather than permanent lettering. However, the modest store has become the stuff of legends: Chicago business owner hits big time with Super Bowl commercial.

During the big game in February, Miller High Life used one of its 30-second commercial spots (which cost a cool three million dollars) to promote four small American businesses. Herron’s was one of them and his small shop turned into an overnight success thanks to three seconds of exposure during the most-watched television program in America.

Well, almost. In reality, Herron’s life isn’t all that different since the commercial. He’s just a little bit overworked.

“Business was decent before the ad,” Herron said. “But now it’s just overwhelming. There is so much you can do in a seven-hour day.”

Herron, who is still the shop’s only employee, prepared for an influx of post-Super Bowl business by recruiting his mother to help out around the store and by stocking his inventory. According to Herron, his suppliers were so elated about the ad that Upper Deck even sent along free trinkets for him to pass out to customers during the shop’s pre-commercial party.

“Everyone in the industry was excited for it,” he said. “There aren’t usually ads for places like this.”

Exposure and advertising for baseball card shops are so rare, that when Miller approached Herron about being in the commercial, he thought it was a scam.

“It was a random thing,” Herron said. “I got a call one day asking if I wanted to be a part of it. They wanted my social security number and I figured it was someone who wanted to steal my identity.”

Herron gave the proposition some thought and sent in his information at the last minute. He decided to give it a shot, even if it did cost him his identity. Luckily, the only thing it cost was a week of business; he was closed for a week while shooting the commercial over five days in California.

Now Herron and his shop are known across the country—and even other parts of the world.

“These kids visiting from Japan came in and wanted to take a photo with me,” Herron said. “The commercial definitely put the store on the map. People used to think I was the comic book store up on the corner, but now they know who I am and that my store is here.”

While a new wave of customers is beginning to visit Tim’s Baseball Card Shop, the store has been a local stop since it opened in 2004. Herron opened his shop when he was 19-years-old, fulfilling a passion that had been burning since his youth.

“I always thought they were neat,” Herron said of baseball cards, which he started collecting when he was younger because they seemed like a good investment of his allowance. “If you buy clothes, you end up throwing them away. Baseball cards are something that always maintain value.”

Jamie Bhatty, who lives two blocks from Herron’s shop, is one of those regular, pre-Super Bowl commercial customers.

“There used to be baseball card shops on every corner,” said Bhatty. “This is the only one open these days. I think there are two card shops in the whole city.”

Herron and Bhatty credit the downfall of baseball card shops to online giant eBay.

“It’s so easy to get any cards from any era on eBay,” Bhatty said.

Herron keeps a close eye on the website, and is sure to price his cards around the same value.

“If customers find out they overpaid for something they could have gotten cheaper online, they probably won’t come back,” he said.

According to Herron, customer satisfaction is one of the secrets of making it in the baseball card industry. He follows a few important guidelines to make sure people come back, like keeping his store hours and always having something new for customers to look at. The business model seems to be working because even in a lagging economy, Tim’s Baseball Card Shop saw its best and most profitable year in 2009.

While Herron plans to open an online store in the near future, he is quite content with the status quo, with one little stipulation.

“I’ll definitely only drink Miller for life,” Herron said.

He reveals a supply of bottles in a mini-fridge below the cash register of The House That Tim Built. No doubt on hand for those overwhelming days. Thanks, Miller.

U.S. Has Big Goals for the World Cup

By Kim Dunbar

Neil Buethe is pretty busy these days. As the Senior Media Relations Director for U.S. Soccer, he’s knee-deep in preparation for the upcoming World Cup. But it’s not his own knees he’s currently worried about.

“The naming of our 30-man preliminary roster is coming up,” Buethe said. “But it’s a little complicated because of some injuries [to key players].”

The preliminary roster for the 2010 World Cup team, which is due to FIFA on May 11, has proved to be a challenging task for the U.S, thanks to an injury bug that has bitten U.S. soccer stars including Clint Dempsey (knee), Oguchi Onyewu (knee) and Charlie Davies (broken leg).

“We’ve had quite a few injuries and are not sure if certain players will be back or able to play for the national team,” Buethe said.

The U.S. opens training camp for its World Cup squad on May 15 but must narrow down the field and submit a final 23-man roster to FIFA by June 1, ten days before World Cup play begins in South Africa.

Although the U.S. is busy building its World Cup team, there is also another important date for which the United States Soccer Federation is preparing: Its bid book to host either the 2018 or 2022 World Cup is due May 14.

“We bid for both years because it gives us two chances, two bites of the apple,” Buethe said.

Buethe said he expects England to win the bid to host in 2018, but FIFA rules state that no area can host consecutive World Cups. If England wins, it would eliminate some of the U.S.’s competition for the following World Cup.

“It can’t be held in Europe back to back, so there is less competition for us in 2022,” he said.

Europe aside, Buethe said the U.S. faces stiff competition from Australia, a nation in which soccer is an even less prominent sport than it is in America. Buethe said that Australia is planning to show that if they can bring the World Cup Down Under, soccer will flourish, much like it did for the United States after it hosted the 1994 World Cup.

However, the U.S. is more than prepared to showcase its best qualities in order to win the bid.

“To say that soccer in the United States doesn’t have the ability for growth is untrue,” Buethe said. “Look what has happened to soccer in this country since 1994—the [Major League Soccer organization] has grown, teams have expanded and our stadiums have increased in size.”

These are all points Buethe hopes to make while in South Africa. When the U.S. ends its run in the competition, he will stay to promote the U.S.’s bid for the World Cup.

“Getting our message across to officials over there is crucial,” he said. “There will be so many journalists from other countries there, and it is important to get interviews with them to talk about our bid and to try to reach out to them.”

Although there is work to be done across the globe to promote the U.S. bid, Buethe agreed that there is no better place to start than at home. He said America’s enthusiasm for and during the 2010 World Cup can only help the country’s bid.

“If we can show fans rallying around the U.S. team this summer, we can use it to prove that America has the environment,” he said. “The impression is that we don’t care about soccer, and it’s not true. The key is to show that we have a ton of fans with passion for the sport here.”

Buethe said that the U.S.’s opening match in the World Cup against England on Saturday, June 12 at 1:30 CST will be just what the doctor ordered.

“It will be the biggest soccer match ever watched here,” he said.

That is, if everyone’s knees can remain intact.

FIFA will make its final decision regarding the 2018 and 2022 bids on December 2.

Cunningham Scores Big with New Book

By Kim Dunbar

The NBA had Dr. Julius Erving. Olympic basketball history has Dr. Carson Cunningham.

In his recently released book, "American Hoops: U.S. Men’s Olympic Basketball from Berlin to Beijing," Cunningham documents the fascinating—and often untold—history of the United States Olympic basketball teams and their effect on the game as we know it today.

“There’s a lot of stuff written about other sports like baseball, but there isn’t really a lot written about Olympic basketball,” said Cunningham, who decided to start the project at the suggestion of a colleague.

Cunningham was a member of the 2000 Purdue University Final Four team and spent time playing in the Continental Basketball Association and in leagues overseas. His first-hand experience with and knowledge of the game gave him an edge when it came to developing the concept of the book, but it took some clever, and at times extensive, research to make the idea come alive.

“It’s an amazing time to be a writer and a researcher,” said Cunningham, who uses his Ph.D. to teach history at DePaul University.

Cunningham said that in his five years researching the book, he studied microfilm and visited several different libraries, including the AAU Headquarters in Orlando, the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., and the University of Illinois and Notre Dame libraries. He even had some teammates translate old Soviet news articles when he was playing in Estonia, Russia. He also got a little help from a few legendary friends.

“I interviewed two guys from the 1948 Olympic team, Larry Brown (who has been coaching for 35 years and counting, presently with the Charlotte Bobcats), Adrian Dantley (NBA veteran and Denver Nuggets coach) and John Wooden (who is in the Hall of Fame as both a coach and a player),” Cunningham said.

But there was one iconic figure who didn’t return his call: retired NCAA basketball coach Bobby Knight.

“I guess he’s still mad about our team beating his in the [2000 NCAA Tournament],” Cunningham joked.

In the book, Cunningham includes stories and explains the significance of certain moments not widely documented in history books. Moments like the 1952 Olympiad, when Bill Russell changed the game of Olympic basketball.

“No one had ever seen such a quick big man until Russell,” Cunningham said. “In the ’52 Games the Soviets went out and recruited giant humans in order to show their dominance as a country, but Russell and the U.S. came in and just ran them off the floor.”

Russell and his American teammates were the reason the trapezoid lane was added to the International basketball game; it created more space under the basket and required the big men to be more skillful rather than powerful. Cunningham said the International Basketball Federation plans to eliminate the trapezoid in time for the 2012 London Olympics.

“The most surprising thing I found while writing this was how many rules changed in the International game after the first few Olympiads,” Cunningham said. In addition to the aforementioned trapezoid lane, other notable rule modifications included the three-point line, the 30-second clock, and the circumference of the ball—all adaptations from the American game.

“The American style had a dramatic impact on the International game in the first few decades,” said Cunningham. “It paved the way for players like Michael Jordan. He was able to flourish because he came at the right time.”

Jordan’s success as a member of the U.S. Olympic “Dream Team” in 1992 only intensified America’s influence on the game of basketball on the International stage. Cunningham said that in 1998, Chinese 12-year-olds picked Jordan as the second-most influential figure of the 20th century.

“Globally, basketball is the second biggest sport, second only to soccer,” he said.

Although America may seem to rule the world when it comes to this sport, Cunningham said feelings toward the U.S. Olympic basketball teams vary depending on which country one is in.

“During the 2008 Olympics in China, the U.S. basketball team was treated like they were rock stars,” Cunningham said. “But in 2004, they were booed in Greece because people thought they were arrogant Americans.”

But America might not rule the game of basketball for much longer. Cunningham thinks in the very near future an International team will swoop in and sign an NBA player for big bucks, more than any NBA team salary cap would permit.

“That’s when you know things will start changing,” Cunningham said. “It will get a lot of people’s attention.”

But that’s a whole new chapter in American basketball history. Perhaps Cunningham will be game to write it.

Tiger Woods Radio Commentary

For my Opinion & Column Writing class we had to write a brief radio commentary about Tiger Woods. The next class, the professor picked out the two best ones and read them aloud: mine was one of them! So, for your reading pleasure, here it is:

For over a decade, Tiger Woods has endorsed enough products to make him sports’ first billion-dollar athlete. But in the last few months, he’s been attempting to sell something a little different: a new and improved version of himself.

Tiger went from World’s Best Golfer to World’s Worst Husband when news broke of many extramarital affairs last November. After a stint in rehab, he let everyone know how sorry he was in carefully monitored press conferences. His sincerity was diminished by seemingly scripted and generic responses.

This week, Nike helped Tiger reboot his commercial appeal. Their new ad features Tiger staring solemnly into the camera, listening to his late father’s voice. Earl Woods asks Tiger if he’s learned anything. The spot is creative, but also shameless and flawed. According to ABC News the voice is from a 2004 documentary and Woods isn’t even talking to or about Tiger in the original context.

Tiger is back. But forget golf. This time he’s selling himself. Even if Nike is the only sponsor left to help him do it.

Soccer: My New Favorite Sport (thanks to a class)

One of my classes this quarter, Sports Writing, requires us to focus on the upcoming World Cup. I drafted Italy as my nation to follow, and here is my first assignment. Give it a read, you might learn to love soccer like I did after these 800 words or so.

Viva Italia!

Blue with Envy: Defending Champ Italy Heads to South Africa

By Kim Dunbar

Everyone will be aiming for reigning champ Italy in the 2010 World Cup come June, but hopefully there won’t be any head-butting involved.

The 2006 FIFA World Cup in Berlin ended with a shower of confetti and a sea of blue jerseys as the Azzurri (one of the squad’s nicknames and Italian for blue) celebrated its victory over France and first World Cup win since 1982. At that moment, Italy not only raised the Cup as the World’s champion, but became the second most successful team in the competition’s history, one title shy of Brazil’s five.

However, the championship was overshadowed by the infamous head-butting incident. The euphoric image of the Italian national squad lifting the long-awaited and coveted trophy—in celebration of their win and their devoted fans—was smeared by the media like a child finger-painting over a Picasso.

If you don’t remember what I’m talking about, here’s a quick refresher: with ten minutes left of extra-time in the final, France’s Zinedine Zidane and Italy’s Marco Materazzi exchanged words, ending with Materazzi on the ground after Zidane head-butted him. The Frenchman, who planned to retire after the tournament, was sent off, ending his career with a move that has become synonymous with Zidane and the 2006 World Cup, and unfortunately remembered by casual soccer fans more than his decorated career or Italy’s win.

The Azzurri went on to beat the Zidane-less France 5-3 in penalty kicks after posting a 1-1 draw in regulation. But most people remember that Materazzi later admitted to calling Zidane’s sister a “puttana,” rather than the fact that these men each scored a goal, the only goals of the game.

Fast forward four years to 2010. There are 65 days and counting until Italy returns to the World Cup, which begins June 11 and culminating with the final on July 11. This time, they’re looking to defend their championship despite wearing one giant target on their backs. They head to South Africa as a favorite to reach the finals again and potentially repeat, hopefully this time without the controversy.

In fact, Italy is the only squad in World Cup history other than Brazil who has ever retained the Cup, winning it in 1934 and 1938. A championship isn’t the only thing Italy will be looking to repeat this year: the nation plans to capture the glory again with virtually the same squad from 2006.

The idea that Italy will return to the World Cup with many of the same stars who helped the country reach the podium four years ago have some people questioning how it will affect their chances. According to an article appearing on the FIFA World Cup website, stars such as Fabio Cannavaro, Gianluca Zambrotta and Andrea Pirlo “are all the wrong side of 30,” but Coach Marcello Lippi, who coached Italy to victory in 2006, “insists that it will make no difference over a month-long tournament.”

Lippi is banking on this idea that with age comes experience, and hopes it will carry his team through the tournament. In the aforementioned FIFA article “Lippi Keeps Faith in Ageing Italy,” the coach said: “The quality of a player is not just about age or technique, there's also enthusiasm, experience, charisma, wisdom, familiarity with international matches... It's about one month and six or seven matches. We don't necessarily need players aged 24."

The 61-year-old Italian coach, who is one of the most famous and decorated coaches in soccer history, said that he would make different decisions regarding the construction of his team if he they were to compete for an entire season, but thinks his chosen players can prevail in the month-long World Cup.

Perhaps one of those changes would include adding Italian star Mario Balotelli to the national team. The FIFA article documents Lippi’s controversial decision to pass over the 19-year-old Milan phenom, but the coach insists he is doing what is best for his team. Balotelli is known to have a “turbulent relationship” with his Milan skipper and this immaturity, which might just be a reflection of his young age, could have been his downfall when it came to missing out on a spot with the national team.

Lippi added: “It's the coaches who make the decisions, motivated by the construction of the squad. They're talented players, but that doesn't necessarily mean we have to pick them. But I've never said that such-and-such a player was in or that such-and-such a player was out. There's no-one 'in or out' and, until mid-May, I'll look at everyone.

“As for Balotelli, he has great qualities and I'm sure that once he's finished maturing at Inter there's no doubt his qualities will be useful to the national side," he said.

One player who won’t be returning to the 2010 squad: Materazzi. According to a Reuters article published in January, the 36-year old defender was a long-shot to make the team and has already made plans to travel around the United States instead of watching his country defend their title.

“I know where I'll be on June 11—in my motor home traveling around America. I won't watch the tournament, the timings won't work out,” he said.

Even without Materazzi, Balotelli and any head-butting, Italy is sure to bring the drama with them to South Africa. Italy set the tone early, qualifying for the World Cup with one game to spare in a 2-2 draw over Ireland, in which Italy scored a last minute goal.

Despite squeaking one out over the unlucky Irish, Italy was able to dominate its group, posting seven wins and three draws while paving its way to the Cup. However, June might be a different story. While the Italian national team is predicted to win their Group F, they will not look past Paraguay and Slovakia, teams who have shown they could be a threat in Italy’s road to a repeat (bottom-feeder New Zealand rounds out Group F).

The hearts of Italy’s soccer fans are painted blue (the color, a departure from the traditional red, white and green that comprise the Italian flag, honors the House of Savoy, the royal family and dynasty that unified Italy in 1861—you really can find the answer to anything on Wikipedia). And the fans of the Azzurri are hoping that the 2010 World Cup ends the same way it did in 2006: with confetti showering a sea of blue jerseys on the podium.

Minus the head-butt.

Hats Off to Baseball

This week I realized that I have become a woman who wears many hats. Literally.

In the last eight days, I have worn three different baseball caps.

Sunday, April 4th:

Red Sox Opening Day! I rocked my Boston hat all day... wore it everywhere except to church (it didn't match the rest of my Easter attire). I also wore my Boston t-shirt, and when it got cold I put on my Red Sox zip up hoodie. I even went as far as celebrating the Red Sox opener by purchasing my first iced coffee of the season, from none other than Dunkin' Donuts!

Saturday, April 10th:

My friend who works for the White Sox hooked me and my roommate up with the best seats ever invented in a baseball stadium. Front row, to the left of home plate, next to the home dugout and right behind the White Sox on-deck circle. It was enough to tip my Chicago baseball fan scales in the direction of the South Side. You can really get to know the players intimately when you have the chance to stare at their rear-ends for three hours.

Monday, April 12th:

Yesterday was Opening Day at Wrigley Field. I threw on some blue and red clothing and my Cubs cap and headed down to the stadium to cover the event for RedEye Wrigleyville. I took photos of crazy Cub fans (one guy was dressed as a bush of ivy) and more traditional fans (I had the chance to talk to one of the few living people who has seen the Cubs in the World Series, which was 1945). You can check out the photo gallery I created for the website here. I promise it will be worth it!

I capped off (no pun intended) yesterday by watching the Red Sox take on the Twins on ESPN. That makes it three times I have been able to watch my Red Sox on either ESPN or ESPN2. I never realized how much the network loved the Sox and Sox/Yankees until I moved away and relied on their nightly cable programming for my Boston baseball fix. Now I understand why everyone from outside New England hates the Red Sox and Yankees: they monopolize the airwaves. Oh well, sounds like a homerun to me!

Spring is Taking Root in Chicago

It appears that spring as sprung in the Windy City! The weather has been beautiful, despite a few consecutive rainy days to begin the week, but the trees are blossoming and baseball has begun!

In a way, spring is a kind of rebirth. Sometimes I think it would be nice if people were like trees... we could shed our leaves in the fall and start over again with fresh buds in the spring. Mentally, I think most of us do that anyway. Looking back at the winter, it's all a blur, or maybe I'm too focused on moving forward in the direction of spring to care.

The arrival of the warm weather has made it a little difficult to concentrate on a new academic quarter, which has shifted into full gear after just a week and a half. I've opted to take just two classes this time around because I foresee myself wanting to spend more time outside enjoying Chicago rather than in a library or editing lab in the coming months. I'm already having a hard time going to class and it's only April...these classes last until June and it will only get more difficult to walk into a classroom amid BBQ smells and chirping birds.

I can see some of you nodding your heads in agreement, applauding my smart decision. I don't have a 3.8 GPA for nothin', you know.

This spring I've added a few new buds to my tree. Last quarter I mentioned I was involved in a class that launched a neighborhood news blog. I enjoyed it so much that I asked to be involved in the development of one of the neighborhood blogs where I live, and landed a spot on Team Wrigleyville. Wrigleyville is the area of the city where--you guessed it!--Wrigley Field is located and everyone is Cub and club crazy (thanks to the plethora of bars around the stadium).

We've officially launched RedEye Wrigleyville and I think it is going to prove to be a fun challenge as we move forward.

Today, while walking back from my meeting with my Wrigleyville editor and co-bloggers, I witnessed a crew working on the exterior of Wrigley Field, hanging banners and posters around the outside to help positively promote Opening Day 2010 (they need to help fans forget the team's 16-5 opening loss to the Braves earlier this week somehow).

I wrote a post about it for the blog and took some photos of the work in progress (I always carry my camera and a notepad around with me just in case something like this ever happens). The new decorations look kind of gaudy to me... the Cubs don't really to use need excessive marketing like the White Sox do in order to get warm bodies into the stadium, especially for the home opener. Let's hope this rain clears by next Monday for the Cubbies, the baseball season just started and they already need a rebirth to their season!

Despite the clouds and rain, my tree is certainly blossoming this spring and my roots to this fine city are finally taking hold (if I was a real tree, I'd be pretty wet right now...guess that settles the human vs. tree argument). I just can't wait until the weather starts to really match my mood... but preferably only on non-class days!

Happy Spring!

April Showers and a New Article

March went out like a lamb and April has already brought several showers with its arrival. I guess it couldn't be 70s and sunny everyday, that would be ridiculous!

A new month means the release of a new Pulse magazine. This month I wrote about Massachusetts's first major sanctioned MMA fight which will be held at the DCU Center in May. Below is an excerpt, and a link to read more (because you know you want to!)

Fight for your Right.. for Good Entertainment

By Kim Dunbar

Worcester is in for a big fight, the biggest in the city’s history. At least when it comes to the world of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), that is.

On Friday, May 21 at 9pm ( live on Pay Per View at 10pm), Moosin, God of Martial Arts ~ a Korean-based promotion company ~ will bring its action-packed, highly entertaining MMA show to the DCU Center. The event is so big it will even be shown on Pay-Per-View. Moosin boasts some of the best fighters from across the world, giving new meaning to the phrase “world champion.”

Read the rest of the article here.