The 35th Street Review

Strange times get stranger at the Chicago Tribune:

• Owner sam Zell is being sued by his employees. . .
• . . . their most valuable asset is under fire for receiving scheduling favors from Major League Baseball. . .
• . . . the biggest news in local sports media isn’t local sports news but news about local sports media. . .
• . . . and now, reports the same paper who recently recused themselves from covering such matters, employees of said asset are not-so-subtly lobbying for a new ballpark just as Sam Zell is trying to sell someone the old park. No one insists the Tribsters bury their heads in the sand about the future of the Cubs and the real estate they play on, but how editorially indifferent can they really be (or even claim to be) when Cubs beat reporter Paul Sullivan actually writes “Is Zambrano crazy, or should the Cubs abandon Wrigley Field and build a modern facility like Miller Park?”

On the difference between sports reporting and sports blogging and why you can probably ignore this site forever.

Things to watch for as the Sox go to Fenway:

Hawkeroo rejoicing the departure of Jay Mariotti, but in a sad kind of way. Every man is defined as much by his enemies as he is by his friends, and to say the ever-jubilant Hawk is an exception would be a lie. Every man needs people on his side, but only because every man has people working against him. What good are D.J., Hall of Fame director Jim Angio, Aeris, and everyone at Fox’s Pizza in Orland Park if they are not united in a common war against a certain curmudgeonly sports”writer”? Who needs good when there is no evil to prevail against? This may just be the end of White Sox broadcasting as we know it.

One of two teams will play the best baseball it’s played in recent memory. Let’s face it, the last time these two teams it was pretty ugly for at least one involved party, what with the South Siders losing a pitchers and two terrible games and whatnot. This time around the Twins still won’t go away but the Red Sox are in danger of doing exactly that. Oddly, this puts any number of Twins losses in the interest of both sets of Sox, as the BoSox lead the Wild Card by 2.5 games and the ChiSox are 1.5 up in the Central. Unfortunately for at least one of them the Twins are playing the A’s, all but guaranteeing two of three for those jerks, what with their advanced runners and clutch hitting. Losers.

At least one game will be decided by a football score. We’re looking at two high-powered offenses here, although everyone knows the Red Sox have lost a step since losing a certain alleged left-fielder. David Pauley, Boston’s projected stater for Saturday’s game, has a career 8.41 ERA and 2.26 WHIP. Then again, he is a no-name pitcher the Good Guys have never faced. Someone’s going to win 9-3. Here’s hoping it’s the Right Sox.

One man’s last day at work, as celebrated for miles in every direction.

Bloggin’ ain’t easy, but it sure is fun.