Monday, April 13, 2026
✶ Untold Chicago Stories ✶ Amazon Music
Home Blog Page 2780

MLB Commish Says League Is Considering Potential Vegas Expansion

By
Kevin Fiddler
-

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any more crowded for the Las Vegas major league sports scene, Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred has thrown a splitter. The 10th commissioner in MLB history publicly stated on Tuesday he would like to add another team to the league, citing Las Vegas as one of his top choices.

Manfred, who was speaking to Fox Sports during the Major League All-Star Game, told the crew he would like to expand Major League Baseball to 32 teams. While he mentioned a few others, Las Vegas was second on the list. The statement brought flashbacks of 2004, when Vegas and then-mayor Oscar Goodman were used as leverage pawns by Major League Baseball as the Montreal Expos moved to Washington D.C. to become the Nationals.

“We have a real list of cities that I think are not only interested in having baseball, but are viable in terms of baseball — places like Portland, Las Vegas, Charlotte, Nashville in the United States, certainly Montreal, maybe Vancouver, in Canada,” Manfred told the Fox Sports crew in the video posted below (scroll to 6:35). “We think there’s places in Mexico we could go over the long haul.”

While the con was on in 2004, things have changed in Las Vegas the last 14 years. The Vegas Golden Knights moved into T-Mobile Arena and joined the NHL and reached the Stanley Cup Final in their first season. The Oakland Raiders announced a move to Las Vegas in 2020 as well as began construction on a new, state-of-the-art football stadium. Even the WNBA has taken up residence in Sin City, sending the San Antonio Stars to Vegas to play as the Las Vegas Aces in the Mandalay Events Center.

The commissioner even went on record during the Dan Patrick Show and said he’s very open to a Vegas expansion team, even with legalized gambling.

Add into the mix the fact the Las Vegas 51s (soon to be Las Vegas Aviators) have begun construction on a new stadium in Summerlin, Las Vegas is no longer the pawn in this negotiating game. It’s the queen. In fact, other than Nashville (who didn’t seem too interested after its mayor made it clear he is worried about the city’s MLS expansion team) and maybe Charlotte, there is no greater option for MLB right now.

Personally, I don’t think it’s a coincidence Manfred made this statement two days after Las Vegas product Bryce Harper won the 2018 Home Run Derby and just a month since the Golden Knights took the sporting world by storm in its historic Stanley Cup Final run.

While I believe the L.A. Clippers are headed here within the next few years, baseball is a different beast altogether. In a season with 162 games and 81 home dates, it’s is difficult to fill a stadium every day. Las Vegas is a nomadic town with fans from all parts of the country. No chance I’d forsake my beloved Cubs for a new team, but — then again — who’d have thought I’d forsake the Blackhawks for the Golden Knights. Mix in triple-digit heat more than half the year and one can see some of the drawbacks. Milk could definitely be a bad choice.

Or not. Those concerns aside, the new Las Vegas Baseball Stadium in Summerlin is being built with expansion in mind. Even back in 2004, when the 51s were attempting to move to Henderson, 51s president Don Logan told me the intent was always to build a stadium with a half-bowl that can later be retrofitted to host a Major League team, instead of a Triple-A squad. The original talks to move the 51s to Henderson stalled and died a slow death under Goodman’s constant grandstanding when it came to the Expos relocation. Worse, it took another 14 years for the 51s to make the move out of Cashman Field.

This is a different time. We live in a brave, new world where Las Vegas major league sports is no longer a “what if” but a “when.” Time will tell how the city’s growth, which has kicked into overdrive lately, will continue. As California residents look to skip out on the ridiculous cost of living in the “Golden State” by moving to Vegas, the population could continue to explode.

Las Vegas has produced some of the best players in baseball with Harper, 2016 National League MVP Kris Bryant, New York Yankees reliever Chasen Shreve, Texas Rangers Joey Gallo and Drew Robinson, as well as countless others like Seattle Mariners reliever Chase Bradford and Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Nick Kingham. Baseball is king in Vegas, no matter how popular hockey gets. Imagine Harper and Bryant coming home to finish their careers with a Vegas expansion team. Talent and leadership like that would immediately put the expansion team in a position to win right away, just like the Golden Knights.

Could it work? Yes, but the great experiment of major league sports in a town birthed from gambling is still in its infancy. Still, it doesn’t mean it won’t work.

Las Vegas has been undervalued, underrated, and underscored for long enough. If Major League Baseball wants to add an expansion team here in the Vegas Valley, it’s time to start ramping up the publicity. I mean, Nashville is cool but it isn’t Las Vegas. Honestly, nothing is so bring on the next Major League Baseball expansion team. Sin City is ready!

 

UNLV Basketball Way-Too-Early Non-Conference Predictions

By
Robby Dougherty
-

First off, let me get this out of the way: I am going to be super biased and this is admittedly really early for a win/loss prediction. But, okay, as long as we all know those two things, I can continue on and share with you my thoughts on this year’s Runnin’ Rebels of UNLV basketball non-conference opponents. Also, I’m not going to count the exhibition game because, well, they don’t even count, and we all should know the eventual result…so let’s get on with the games that matter.

November 10 vs. Loyola Marymount

LMU finished last season with an overall record of 10-20. Their best player should be senior guard James Batemon, who led his team in minutes, points, assists and free throws last season. That’s a lot of weight on one guy’s shoulders, and UNLV should be deep and athletic enough to withstand a one-man show and walk away from this contest with at least a 10- to 15-point win. The key will be how the Reb’s young guards handle their senior foe.

November 13 vs. UC Riverside

The Highlanders are not good. Last season, they had a record of 9-22, and I couldn’t go back far enough in time to find their last winning season before I started to feel a little bad and stopped looking. Honestly, I don’t want to dwell on this team too long, so let me just say that I really like their logo. UNLV wins by 24.

November 16 vs. Oakland

The Scarlet & Gray go head-to-head with the Golden Grizzlies of Oakland in this Friday night tilt. Oakland comes into this season without returning their best player, Kendrick Nunn, so only time will tell who is going to fill his Air Jordans. This is going to be a close, gritty game and the Rebs better come out swinging. A slow start may doom our heroes here, and I need to pick a game or two where we just don’t bring it mentally, so this game will get dropped in the last 2 minutes of “winning time” and Oakland comes out with an 80-77 victory in front of our Rebellion.

November 20 vs Pacific

Last year’s meeting in Stockton, Calif., ended up being a nice win for UNLV’s men’s team. A five-point triumph in front of roughly 2,000 fans found itself fitting for the Rebs, so the return trip from this home-and-home arrangement should take on a similar look. The Tigers of the Pacific aren’t a bad team, nor are they going to “Wow!” you with their play, so let’s just agree that UNLV winds up winning this one with a casual walk down the way. We’ll go with a 86-78 win for the home team.

November 23 vs. Southern Utah

The Rebs take on former interim coach Todd Simon in his return to his roots. Also notably marking a return to Las Vegas is former recruit Dwayne Morgan. After being an energy guy and fan favorite his freshman year for then-coach Dave Rice, Dwayne got into a little bit of legal trouble in the summer that Menzies took over. Deciding to transfer might have been the best personal choice for Morgan, who I still like, but this final game in the building he called home for the start of his collegiate career won’t end too favorably for the once highly-touted prospect. UNLV will win this game easily, so the fans can still cheer for Dwayne and Todd as the final seconds tick off the clock, and their hometown Rebels get to say goodbye to old friends.

November 28 vs. Valparaiso

Playing a basketball game against a school known for its baseball program in this spot of the schedule is the best thing for our university at this time. Taking part in the Mountain West-Missouri Valley Challenge (HOW IS THIS STILL A THING?!), the Crusaders come into town looking to knockoff another MWC opponent just as they did last year against Utah State. But, they won’t. UNLV pulls away late with a barrage of threes, 94-79.

December 1 vs. Cincinnati

The Mick Cronin game. Firstly, I want to see all of you at The Mack and let this ‘man’ know just exactly how we feel about him using us to get more money from his current employer. I expect this game to come with a lot of energy from the fans, and the home team should follow suit, but the Bearcats are a good team. Cincinnati will be the toughest test in the early part of the year, but I think they will take after their coach and come up a little… short. UNLV wins it close, 79-76.

December 8 @ Illinois

The lone true road game will not be easy as the National Finals Rodeo kicks the Runnin’ Rebels out of the Thomas and Mack Center for a bullshit-smelling two weeks that would make even the dirtiest of politicians blush. Hopefully coming of an emotional win at home, this could be a let down game for the good guys. The Fighting Illini have a very dedicated fan-base, and their team also isn’t too shabby, despite last year’s 14-18 record. Speaking of, this match-up happened last season at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and UNLV barely escaped with an 89-82 victory. This time the story may differ, as I think the young Rebs drop this and continue their road woes: 86-75.

December 15 vs. Brigham Young

Renew this rivalry! Former MWC foes, the Cougars finally get their wish after all they did is complain that the conference tournament is a home game for UNLV, so this time they take on our Rebs at T-Mobile Arena. Expect a ton of BYU fans here. Nothing ever comes easy when these two-teams used to tango, so we can assume this will go the same way. I can’t live with myself typing out a win for Brigham Young, so I’ll say 78-72 for the home team in a battle on The Strip.

P.S. I still don’t like Jimmer.

December 22-25 Diamond Head Classic (in Hawaii)

This is a tournament in Hawaii that takes place over the Christmas holiday and also features Bucknell, Charlotte, Colorado, Hawaii, Indiana State, Rhode Island, and TCU. UNLV is no stranger to this, but these players and this coaching staff is. I’ll tell you that your Runnin’ Rebs will win the first game of the tournament, guaranteed, but I have no idea what the matchups will be at this point. So let’s just assume UNLV makes it to the championship round and loses. Still, that’s a solid result for the young team to get them ready for the start of the second season, conference play.

From paradise to conference play, the Rebels will return home for Mountain West action. These initial non-league games are vital for the Rebels as they find their footing and help increase their RPI for a potential NCAA Tournament bid. We’ll be back with a look at the conference schedule later. For now — and even though it’s mid-July — the pulse is already speeding up in Head Coach Marvin Menzies’s third season at the helm.

Mitch Trubisky Has 7 Rules For Leadership and They’ll Fire You Up

By
Erik Lambert
-
mitch trubisky

Most people have tried to cram Mitch Trubisky into a traditional caricature. Somebody who fits a typical stereotype of a person as an athlete. They see him as an inexperienced kid whose happy-go-lucky personality has yet to harden to the realities of playing quarterback in the NFL. Typically, as is the case with most stereotypes and assumptions, they couldn’t be more wrong.

Did Trubisky join the Chicago Bears lacking experience? Yes. He’d only started 13 games in college. That’s far below the average for top five draft picks. However, it’s important to remember that inexperience and immaturity are two very different things. One means you haven’t quite grasped the speed and complexity of the game. The other means you haven’t quite grasped what it means to act and carry yourself like an adult.

Appearance by appears and interview by interview, Trubisky is showing that the latter concern is completely unfounded. If anything he seems almost wise beyond his years. He does charity work during almost all of his free time. He’s an avid reader carries himself like he’s 33-years old instead of 23.

If people really want to see how polished his viewpoint is, they should see his stance on what it means to be a leader.

Mitch Trubisky operates by a specific set of rules to lead the Bears

Tyler Dunn of Bleacher Report got a chance to sit down with the young quarterback recently for an interview. As the conversation covered a wide range of topics, the subject of leadership soon came up. This is one that Trubisky takes more serious than any other. So much in fact that he keeps a screenshot on his cell phone from one of his favorite books titled The Captain Class by Sam Walker.

In it, there is a list of character traits or rules that a good leader must operate by to have success and to get others to follow him.

“Read that,” Trubisky says, “and tell me you wouldn’t want your captain to be all those things.”

1. Extreme doggedness and focus in competition.

2. Aggressive play that tests the limits of the rules.

3. A willingness to do thankless jobs in the shadows.

4. A low-key, practical, and democratic communication style.

5. Motivates others with passionate nonverbal displays.

6. Strong convictions and the courage to stand apart.

7. Ironclad emotional control.

Adds Trubisky, “Not once does it say, ‘I want this guy to cuss his teammates out’ or give a big halftime speech.”

It represents a clear understanding that many of the cliches in professional sports that so often appear in movies aren’t accurate. Being a leader isn’t getting a man to jump up yelling and screaming in the locker room before heading onto the field. It’s getting that man to play through pain and exhaustion, giving every ounce of what he has in the name of winning the game.

Most athletes can’t abide by those rules, be it out of stubbornness or simple lack of understanding. It’s why Trubisky has the list so close to his heart. He believes every word of it and strives each day to put it in practice, on and off the field. This would explain why teammates have been so quick to embrace him since he took over as the starter last year.

Soon-To-Be Las Vegas Raiders Ecstatic About Early Returns from PSLs

By
Kevin Fiddler
-

When it comes to NFL ticketing and Personal Seat Licenses, the biggest wallet always wins. With the Oakland Raiders set to move to Las Vegas in 2020, working class Las Vegas Raiders fans should start saving those pennies because the ‘Sin City Raiders Experience’ is going to cost you a few bucks. Despite excessive prices, the PSLs have almost sold out, with roughly 70 percent coming from buyers with Nevada addresses.

Personal Seat Licenses (PSLs) — a typical practice in pro sports — for the new Raiders stadium here in Vegas went on sale this past week, with prices ranging from $3,900 to $15,000. More so, PSLs for club and other premium seats range from $20,000 to $75,000 each. Mind you, these prices aren’t for tickets. They’re for the right to buy tickets.

Brutal.

“It’s kind of like the night clubs,” said Joshua Primack, a longtime Las Vegas resident and real estate agent. “The ones who pay for the expensive tables get the prime spots. You have to include the people who are willing to spend and weed out the people who aren’t. It’s good business.”

Good business? Yes. Hard on the average fan? Definitely. And while it may seem excessive, it’s not when compared to other stadiums around the NFL. The Atlanta Falcons sold PSLs in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which opened this past season, for $45,000 per seat. The Minnesota Vikings, who cleverly changed the named to “stadium-builder licenses,” charged somewhere between $500 and $9,500 per seat. The San Francisco 49ers Levi’s Stadium? PSL’s ranged from $2,000 to $80,000.

This, of course, doesn’t include the price of tickets either. Tickets are expected to keep up with the league average but, as Golden Knights fans can attest, they don’t always stay that way. This alone makes PSL’s a hefty but lucrative investment.

Personal Seat Licenses give licensees the right to purchase season and playoff tickets for 30 years.

PSLs as a family heirloom

For Primack, whose family bought the rights to own season tickets for Denver Broncos games back in 1970, being able to keep your same seats for decades is something special. His family travels to Denver and back every year for roughly three or four games, then sells the remaining game tickets to Broncos fans first, then to incoming travelers if the market isn’t there or they aren’t simply gifting them to family or friends. They’ve become close with fellow fans who have also been attending games in the same seats for generations.

Children grow, elders age, and, every year, they all come together to root on their favorite sports team as a community and family.

“It’s our family heirloom,” Primack said. “It is a real privilege to have these tickets for our family.”

Primack says his family usually sells enough tickets to help finance a family trip to Denver for all the playoff games when the season moves into the postseason. It has become a family reunion, of sorts.

Fans from teams like Dallas, Green Bay and New England pay what amounts to crackhead prices when it comes to their teams. It’s not unheard of they receive offers twice the ticket value or more. Considering they’ve had the seats since 1970, long before the family moved to Las Vegas in the 1980s, it’s been a great way to help support their favorite team on the backs of other team’s fans.

In other words, it’s an investment as much as it is a fan purchase.

The PSLs are a great investment for locals

Once can see the potential for owning PSLs here in Vegas, the entertainment capital of the world. If Vegas Golden Knights playoff tickets can go for more than $1,000, one can imagine the prices some of these seats will command. One of the biggest selling points for the Raiders and their move to Vegas was the marketability of Vegas as a destination, not just a fan base.

Raiders owner Mark Davis is making his rounds, and continues to build support within the community. These seats are a direct reflection of the potential this team, and its new stadium, bring to Las Vegas. Fans from all over the world will converge here just to watch their favorite teams from back home while experiencing their yearly “Vegas Trip.” In a town of “Vegas Baby” tourist cliches, what’s a few more jersey-wearing stereotypical travelers?

So, while some will bitch and moan about the excessive prices these PSLs are running for, one must remember you have to spend money to make money. These PSLs are an investment, and — for some — a family heirloom to keep for generations of Raider fans to enjoy long after the initial sting of cost wears away.

Max Pacioretty Could Be The Match Needed To Reignite Blackhawks’ Fire

By
Tony Gianares
-

One of the biggest storylines this offseason has been Max Pacioretty’s deteriorating relationship with the Montreal Canadiens’ management. The Canadiens have said that they are refusing to sign Pacioretty to a contract extension and they are essentially shopping him.

Max Pacioretty Controls His Own Destiny

The thing is Max Pacioretty is basically in control of his own destiny right now. Honestly, it could not come at a better time. Pacioretty is currently in a contract year and he is looking to be compensated for his services. There is surely going to be a long list of suitors. Who would be crazy enough to turn down a chance to snag someone who can score 30 goals, plays two ways, and can put up 60 points regularly? Not I. Apparently, StanBo has the same mindset as me.

How Would Max Pacioretty Fit In With the Blackhawks?

Max Pacioretty is an elite talent who still has a few years left in his prime. The Blackhawks will need a replacement for Hossa now that he unofficially retired and his contract was traded to Arizona. The Blackhawks have a ton of young players who are looking to make their mark in the big leagues and money to acquire a real difference maker. A guy like Pacioretty would do wonders for their on-ice development and he would be a great mentor. The Blackhawks have been lacking size and grit in their lineup since the 2010 and 2013 Stanley Cup teams. Max Pacioretty could definitely help fill the void in that aspect as well.

I see Pacioretty on the 1st line with Toews and Saad. Although Max Pacioretty is known as a sniper, he also brings elite playmaking, leadership, physicality, speed, stickhandling, and laser-sharp focus. Therefore, his skill set would help counter the loss of the irreplaceable Marian Hossa. With the addition of Pacioretty, the opponents’ gameplan would change drastically. It would be nearly impossible to stop Jonathan Toews, Brandon Saad, and Max Pacioretty all at once.

Keanu Reeves Wow GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY

Pacioretty is the type of guy who makes the other players around him better. It’s a good thing he makes players better because a lot of players on the Blackhawks need to get better in a hurry. To give you a better idea of what he brings to the table, here is a highlight reel of Max Pacioretty’s greatest moments in the NHL.

Can Blackhawks Afford to Sign Max Pacioretty to a Long-Term Deal?

It is no secret that a large price tag will be attached to a player of Max Pacioretty’s skill level. Since Pacioretty is still under contract with the Montreal Canadiens, the Blackhawks will undoubtedly have to pay a king’s ransom to acquire him. If I were to try and gauge a fair trade value for Pacioretty, I think it is safe to assume that the Canadiens will be asking for either Nick Schmaltz or Alex DeBrincat, and a 1st round pick.

Is this price tag worth it? Some say no. I say yes and I will show you why.

Visualizing a Blackhawks Team With Max Pacioretty

Let’s look further into what it may take to acquire Max Pacioretty and see what the 2018-19 roster would look like afterward. I set up a blockbuster deal that turned out fairly balanced in the end. I tried to keep this trade as fair as possible and realistic on both sides. For my proposed trade, I sent Nick Schmaltz, Artem Anisimov, Alexandre Fortin, and a 2019 1st round pick to Montreal. The Blackhawks received Max Pacioretty, Brendan Gallagher, a 2019 2nd round pick, and future conditional draft pick(s). Here is a visual of the team via Cap Friendly.

After my trade and roster moves, this Blackhawks team would still have $2,441,955 left in cap space for the 2018-19 season. There is also the option of trading Jan Rutta to immediately free up additional cap space, if necessary. Then in 2019-20, this team would have about $20 million in cap space to re-sign Pacioretty to a long-term deal and sign other key players to a new deal. Even if it may seem unlikely, this just goes to show that acquiring Max Pacioretty can really happen if Stan comes up with a plan.

Eminem GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY

Now obviously, this is just a proposed trade and this roster isn’t set in stone, but I feel like a real Max Pacioretty deal could look very similar. It will cost an arm and a leg for a guy of Pacioretty’s stature, but that is the cost of winning a Stanley Cup. The window of opportunity with this core group is closing. A blockbuster deal for Max Pacioretty could possibly be the figurative match that reignites the fire for this Blackhawks team. StanBo may just be crazy enough to pull it off too, considering he is currently on the hot seat. The Canadiens are itching to get this Pacioretty problem off of their hands, so make sure you keep your eyes and ears open for a Pacioretty trade before the season starts.

Let’s Help Willson Contreras Find His All-Star Game Home Run Ball

By
Gus
-
PHOTO CREDIT: Cubs Twitter

Willson Contreras must have a thing for making good first impressions. Cubs fans will remember in 2016, Contreras took the first pitch he saw during his first big league at-bat and knocked it out of the park during a game against the Pirates at Wrigley Field.

The Cubs catcher was at it again during last night’s All-Star game. Contreras became the first player in MLB history to hit the first pitch he saw in his career for a HR and the first pitch he saw in his All-Star Game debut for a HR when he took Rays reliever Blake Snell deep last night.

Both home runs have more meaning when you take into consideration Willy’s backstory. He left his family in war-torn Venezuela after he signed with the Cubs in 2009 at the age of 17. A year later, he came to the US for the first time and busted his ass learning English as he tried to adapt to a new brand of baseball and an entirely new culture surrounding it.

He toiled for eight years in the Cubs minor league system before he finally got his shot in 2016 and as you’ve already watched, he made the moment count. He’s still only 26-years-old and has a great career ahead of him that now will include an All-Star selection.

Contreras has built the reputation of wearing his emotions on his sleeve (Pun FULLY intended.) He made national headlines with his reaction to hearing that he’d been selected to be the starting catcher for the National League team and now that you understand his history, I think the reaction was quite fitting.

Now that he’s gone through his first All-Star experience, Contreras wants to make sure he takes as many memories from the game with him back to Chicago as he can and what better memory than your first All-Star home run ball?

The only problem is — he can’t find it.

When he was asked if he wanted the ball as a keepsake, he doesn’t know who has it and wasn’t too optimistic that he’d be getting the ball back.

“I don’t think they’re giving it back,” he said with a grin.

I’m not sure who “they” are in this case because I didn’t see who caught it but I think we can help Willy out here. Spread the word through social media and let’s see if we can track this ball down to get back to it’s rightful owner. I’m sure Willy would be willing to part with any piece of signed memorabilia you could think of and besides that, it’s just the right thing to do.

What a great moment for the Cubs catcher.

Josh Hader’s “Apology” After Racist, Homophobic Tweets Didn’t Make Anything Better

By
Aldo Soto
-

Josh Hader was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in June 2012, two months after his 18th birthday and four months after he posted the following to his now deleted Twitter account.

That was just one of many problematic tweets that were exposed Tuesday night after Hader allowed a three-run homer in the MLB All-Star Game.

The tweets ranged from quoting lyrics, to flat out saying the N-word and expressing hate toward gay people. 

Sure, this set of tweets can be explained away as being immature…

…however, even as a 17-year-old, you definitely know that using the N-word is wrong. Hader did plenty of that.

Yes, that first tweet is a song lyric from Juicy J’s “Durr She Goes,” and even that doesn’t excuse him, but the rest? Can’t really explain all that away.

And in this case you can’t just say, “he was a kid, he was 17-years-old in high school.” Let’s be honest here for a second. If there is one thing you learn when you’re a kid about racism it’s to not use the N-word. So, miss me with the, “he didn’t know better,” bullshit excuse.

Oh and how about just randomly tweeting KKK.

After the American League defeated the National League 8-6, Hader met with reporters and apologized for the tweets..

Anyway, I truly hope Hader no longer believes that using the N-word is acceptable and that his hatred for gay people has disappeared.

Yet, in the following video Hader is asked directly if any of his beliefs have changed from the time he sent the tweets seven years ago to now.

His answer?

“Nothing.”

Even the reporter was stunned, asking him again if nothing had changed. The question is asked at the 59-second mark of the video.

Sure, you could say that the lesson here is to delete all your awful tweets when you’re a public figure, but how about just not being a hateful person?

By the way, if you defend Hader by saying that everyone probably said similar things when they were 17-years-old then, then you know what, those people are equally ignorant and should feel bad for what they’ve said.

And how about an apology not centered around the excuse of “that was seven years ago.” It doesn’t matter when you were dropping N-bombs, calling people homosexual slurs and expressing hate toward gay people.

Apologize for your hateful shit and don’t try to hide behind “being a kid.”

Own up to believing in what you’ve expressed and say how stupid those beliefs were at the time and still today.

Josh Hader Twitter Account Goes Private After Tweets Expose Him As A Racist, Homophobic

By
Aldo Soto
-

Milwaukee Brewers reliever Josh Hader gave up a three-run home run in the All-Star Game, but that was the least of his worries Tuesday night, when old tweets exposed the left-handed pitcher as a racist and homophobic.

As Tuesday night’s exhibition game went into extra innings, Hader had his Twitter account set to private after old tweets were dug up.

Sure, some of the tweets are just childish and fall into the category of, boy those are pretty embarrassing and you should probably delete those, while other ones where Hader feels really comfortable tossing out the N-word and expressing his hatred for gay people falls into the category of simply being a hateful piece of shit person.

Most of these tweets came when Hader was 17-years-old, and it really doesn’t matter that they were seven years ago. At the age you know the difference between what’s right and wrong, so don’t give me the bullshit that he was just a kid in high school. He was in high school and Josh Hader was a piece of shit person then and most likely feels the same today.

Also, from his girlfriend.

Lovely.

By the way, the whole, “I use gay to mean dumb/stupid” excuse doesn’t really fly either and you know what I bet a lot of people used to do that including myself when I was younger. Still doesn’t make it any less wrong. Ignorant then and ignorant now.

So, this…

Also bad.

All you can hope for is that people evolve and aren’t still being ignorant. And that goes for Hader too. He apologized Tuesday night saying he was immature and stupid and I hope he really did learn from it.

VIDEO: Willson Contreras Hits HR In First All-Star Game At-Bat

By
Aldo Soto
-

The Chicago Cubs have had some pretty good success at the All-Star Game and this year is no different, as Javier Baez leadoff the first with a single for the National League and then Willson Contreras crushed a home run in his first at-bat as an all-star starter.

Just a rocket hit to left field.

Willson sure does love to make his presence known right away on a national stage.

Why Do Players Love Vic Fangio? Turns Out He Has a Method

By
Erik Lambert
-
vic fangio

Make no mistake. Vic Fangio is a respected man around the NFL. Ask any players who worked under him during his stops as defensive coordinator and it’s impossible to find somebody to say a bad word about the guy. Not just as a coach but also as a person. Is really that good of a coordinator? Yes, but the reasons for this go much deeper.

Players initially want to play for Fangio because of his reputation. He’s known for getting the most out of you. If you think you can be a star in this league, there aren’t many coaches who can make absolutely certain that’s a reality or not. Fangio has stories of turning careers around or elevating them to peaks wherever he’s been. The Bears are no exception.

Akiem Hicks? Kyle Fuller? Lamarr Houston? All experienced the best football of their respective careers under his watch. It’s a big reason the defense was so thrilled when the Bears managed to bring him back on a new three-year deal. Yet their reasoning went beyond the Xs and Os as Prince Amukamara explained to Adam Jahns of Chicago Sun-Times.

Vic Fangio has clever ways he’s able to bond with his players

“He always just shares with us financial articles about guys losing their money in trying to find the newest Facebook and how they reap the consequences of searching for that,” Amukamara said. “It’s just letting us to know to save our money. That’s one of the things that he dislikes most or that hurts him most is when athletes lose their money on dumb decisions.”

Fangio isn’t stupid. He understands one of the biggest blights plaguing professional athletes is money troubles after they retire. According to a Forbes article back in 2015, as many as 80% of NFL players go bankrupt within the first three years out of the league. The biggest reason for this problem listed? A lack of competent financial planning advice. Leave it to Fangio to double as an accountant as well as a coordinator.

It’s not only that too. He finds other ways to help motivate his players. Knowing Fuller was coming off a torn ACL and faced obvious confidence questions, Fangio was proactive in the offseason last year. He invited the cornerback for rounds of golf where they’d compete in rounds and talk. This seemed to have the desired effect. Fuller came in more relaxed and confident than ever before and delivered a Pro Bowl-caliber year.

This is proof that Fangio is a master. Simply being good at strategy, tactics and planning in football is winning half the battle. The hardest part for any coach is can you get the players to believe. Not just in the system but also themselves. Fangio, as the evidence shows, can do this.

1...2,7792,7802,781...3,202Page 2,780 of 3,202

Subscribe to our Newsletter

✶ An Unfiltered Voice For Chicago Sports Fans ✶

Chicago Sports News

About Us

© Sports Mockery, Inc. 2026