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Let’s see. We could talk about the Chicago White Sox blowing a 5-1 lead and losing to the Dodgers in Los Angeles on Friday night (June 15). Or there’s the Chicago Cubs defeating the Boston Red Sox 3-0 earlier in the day at Wrigley Field, as Ryan Dempster increased his scoreless-innings streak to 22.
Former Miss Illinois USA Shanon Lersch and Chicago Rush mascot Bruiser. Shanon is on the left (hey, we're just trying to help out the visually impaired).
Then there’s Tiger Woods tied for the lead after the first round of golf’s U.S. Open. Or a preview of Game 2 of the NBA Finals featuring the Miami Heat and OKlahoma City Thunder.
But if we did any of that, how would we be able to use video and photo of Shanon Lersch, who handles the on-field duties during entertainment segments at Chicago Rush games?
Well, that decision was simple (not to be confused with the complex individual or indivuduals involved in making the decision).
The Arena Football League Chicago Rush has a home game Saturday (June 16) at 7 p.m. at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont against the Georgia Force. The Rush is coming off the worst loss in franchise history, 68-28 to the Utah Blaze.
As much action has been happening off the field with player turmoil and the players’ union and management trying to reach some sort of accord.
Behind in work: Because of circumstances beyond his control, Elliott Harris was unable to attend the NPC Junior National on Friday in Rosemont. It would appear there's a need to re-assess priorities. No excuse for missing bikini competitions.
The league made its latest offer Tuesday and posted a letter on team web sites that included details of its contract offer. Part of the letter:
The AFL has decided to make the particulars of this offer public. This is being done so fans can be aware of the truth and players around the League can have more of an opportunity to be better informed.
Game Salary: For the remainder of this season, there would be a 25 percent increase beginning Week 16 (next week). The 2013 season would bring an increase of more than 106 percent, with further increases over the next 7 years of an agreement taking us through the 2019 season.
Housing: Players will now have the ability to choose and pay for their own housing. The option to rent housing from teams will exist, but players will be free to make their own arrangements.
Meals: Teams will continue to provide meals for all players.
Travel: It has always been an option for teams to pay for travel when they trade for a player. Teams would now be required to pay for travel during such transactions.
Meanwhile, back on the field, Saturday night’s game will feature the second annual “Teddy Bear Toss.” Fans are encouraged to bring a stuffed animal to the game and toss them onto the field after the first touchdown. The stuffed animals will be donated to the Walter & Connie Payton Foundation. Teddy bears will be available on the arena concourse for$5 with proceeds going to the Payton Foundation.
Also, the Autism Society of Illinois will raffle Rush replica jerseys at its concourse table with tickets $10 apiece or three for $25. As if that isn’t enough excitement, the Chicagoland Youth Football League will play its all-star game beginning at 3 p.m. with the fourth quarter occurring during halftime of the Rush game.
The first 2,000 fans at the game will receive the official 2012 Rush team poster.
In the middle of some of this activity should be in-game host Shanon, a former Miss Illinois USA and Chicago Luvabulls dancer who has been busy in recent years working television sports in China.
Some video with Shanon and a couple of the entertainment segments she oversees:
This illustration by Mark Ben Harris is part of a Father's Day piece at Chicagosidesports.com.
From the elliottharris.com department of self-promotion, let the record show that my first article for Chicagosidesports.com was published Friday. Because Father’s Day falls on a Sunday this year (OK, so it does every year … this is my site and self-promotion after all), there is the opportunity to provide the link to the work posted at Chicagosidesports.com for your perusal. As was stated on this site Friday, it is a pleasure to join some of the other writers whose work has graced the new site. Among them, Robert Kurson, Jonathan Eig (the site’s co-founder and editor-in-chief), James Finn Garner, Bill Savage and Dan McGrath, to name a few.
Also as noted Friday, the Chicagoside article does not include gratuitous photos. To compensate for that, the editorial staff at elliottharris.com spent untold hours scouring cyberspace (and if you think that’s fun, well, you could be correct). Here’s something that hopefully more than a few folks in the audience will enjoy.
It features Bethenny Frankel, a reality-television personality. She is the daughter of the horse-racing trainer Bobby Frankel, who died in 2009 — for those who were wondering whether Bethenny had any sports connection (not that there needs to be a reason for anything that is published here).
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