Copyright Chicago Tribune
The marquee at Murphy’s Bleachers said it all Saturday afternoon. “The best two words in sports: ‘Game Seven.'” The end of a great baseball season deserved a Game 7 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays, and a Shohei Ohtani mound appearance to start it off only made it more delicious. It was also nice to see a Wrigleyville bar moving on from the Chicago Cubs’ National League Division Series loss to the Milwaukee Brewers and enjoying the rest of the postseason. Real baseball fans don’t tune out when the Cubs are done. Of course, the Murphy’s marquee also could’ve been referring to Sunday’s ninth anniversary of another Game 7, the Cubs’ epic, rain-delayed, 8-7, 10-inning win over Cleveland on Nov. 2, 2016. Some still haven’t moved on from that day, which was supposed to signal a Cubs renaissance that would last for a decade or more. Oops. But November has arrived, and it’s time to put the baseball season in the rearview mirror and embrace winter mode in Chicago, where the Bears, Bulls, Blackhawks and college sports fill our TV-watching schedules until spring training gets us back in the proper mood. As we move the clock back an hour and get the discarded furniture out of the basement in anticipation of the first parking-space-saving snowfall, here’s what we know. The 5-0 Bulls, who square off against the New York Knicks again Sunday at Madison Square Garden, are off to the best start by a Bulls team since 1996-97. That team, which won the second of three straight NBA titles, started 12-0 and 17-1. No one in their right mind possibly could compare the two teams, but let’s do it anyway. The ’96-97 Bulls, led by Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman, averaged 104.7 points during the 12-0 streak and hit 71 of 209 3-point attempts (34%). Billy Donovan’s current team, led by Josh Giddey, Nikola Vučević and Matas Buzelis, is averaging 122.8 points and has hit 68 of 169 3s (40.2%). The ’96-97 Bulls dominated during their opening streak, winning by an average score of 105-86, while the current Bulls have won by an average of 123-114. Two peas in a pod? Tours were ongoing Saturday at Wrigley Field, but Gallagher Way was shut down as the Cubs constructed the popular Christkindlmarket and skating rink for the holiday season. With all the money-making events at Wrigley, I’m not sure why they’ve never turned the ballpark into a giant haunted house for Halloween, unless the Cubs have some skeletons in the closet. The growing celebrity gap between the United States and Canada never has been more pronounced. Celebrities at Game 6 of the World Series in Toronto included Eugene Levy, Drake, Annie Murphy and Jerry O’Connell. Celebrities for the games at Dodger Stadium included Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Brad Pitt, Jason Bateman, LeBron James, Sydney Sweeney, Rob Lowe and Justin Bieber, to name just a few. Perhaps a cap limiting the number of celebs shown on Fox Sports is the answer. What are the odds of Bears coach Ben Johnson apologizing Sunday to CBS sideline reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala, whom he was so rude to during their last halftime interview during the Bears-Las Vegas Raiders game? Can someone please ask Chauncey Billups for me? Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said he’d pick the next LSU football coach, before adding he’d even prefer President Donals Trump made the selection to replace Brian Kelly before his own athletic director, Scott Woodward, who subsequently resigned. Unfortunately for Tigers fans, Scott Ballard, the chairman of the LSU Board of Supervisors, said Landry “is not pulling the strings to make decisions and getting involved on who to hire.” Too bad Trump won’t be involved. That means we probably won’t get to see Coach George Santos at LSU. One private LSU donor reportedly plans to fund almost the entire $54 million buyout of Kelly’s contract. But the donor prefers to remain anonymous to avoid his new designation as the dumbest man in America. Why are the Blackhawks not drawing? They averaged 16,806 in their first six home games at the United Center, despite a decent start and two future stars progressing nightly. The NHL sent out a release Saturday revealing the Blackhawks rank among the top three in the NHL for goals (tied for first with 13), assists (first with 20) and points (first with 33) by players 21 or younger. The bulk of the Hawks scoring in that department has been from 20-year-old Connor Bedard (six goals, eight assists) and 21-year old Frank Nazar (five goals, six assists). If the Hawks can keep their heads above water on the current six-game trip, attendance at the United Center should pick up around the holidays. If not, they might look into their ticket-pricing structure. The Bulls marketing department introduced a new game-day tradition in which they ask fans to collectively stomp their feet before tipoff at the United Center. Memo to Bulls marketing: A winning team doesn’t need gimmicks to get fans involved. Cease and desist immediately. College basketball season starts Monday with Purdue ranked No. 1. What could possibly go wrong?
