At long last, Chicago Cubs fans have reason to celebrate. OK, maybe not celebrate but at least not bemoan. Greg Maddux’s Hall of Fame plaque will feature a baseball cap that is not the Atlanta Braves’. Well, it’s not the Cubs’ either, but it easily could have been a Braves cap. So a cap with no team logo on it has to be considered something of a victory for Cubs fans. Hey, when you’re a Cubs fan, you tend to stretch the definition of “victory.”
* Speaking of Cooperstown and Hall of Fame plaques, Tony LaRussa — who once managed the Chicago White Sox before winning World Series championships with the Oakland Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals — also will have a plaque that features no team on his cap. Not sure whether Sox fans will consider this a victory. After all, they can claim to have higher standards than their Cubs counterparts.
* Speaking of Sox fans, it should comfort them that Frank Thomas will have a Sox cap on his plaque — although it might have been fun to observe the outrage if the Hall had chosen not to have him have a team logo on his cap.
* The Hall of Fame makes the call on the plaques. “For those whose careers were built significantly among multiple teams, not having a team logo is equally acceptable,” Jeff Idelson, President of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, said in a release. “Regardless of the selection, a Hall of Famer belongs to every team for which he played or managed, as well as every fan who followed his career.”
* Once again, the Cubs are having trouble reaching a deal. Not in attempting to acquire a player (as in the case of Japanese pitcher Masahiro Tanaka, who opted for a better contract — not to mention better team — from the New York Yankees). This is the team’s case in reaching an accord with the Wrigleyville rooftop owners and signage. The legal experts at ElliottHarris.com (OK, there really aren’t any around as this material is being crafted typed) think the Cubs have a contract to live up to. If they want out, they will have to appease the rooftop owners. Meaning forking over money. Maybe the Ricketts family could threaten the rooftop owners that management will continue to field bad teams so that fewer people will want to be patrons of the rooftops. Yeah, that sounds like a winning plan.
* Speaking of Wrigley Field, the team will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the ballpark this season. Which makes any thoughts to exiting the edifice a case of bad timing. Rosemont mayor Brad Stephens says his offer to provide a home for the team still stands. The problem for the Ricketts family is it doesn’t have a whole lot to offer fans other than the ballpark.
* Bulls guard Derrick Rose says he will play this summer for Team USA. He is among 28 players named Thursday to be part of Team USA’s program for the next three summers. The experience can’t hurt Rose, who is recuperating from knee surgery. Well, it can’t hurt him unless he hurts himself for a third time.
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