From the Saturday, May 20, editions of The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) … The WISCH LIST A lot has changed since the Chicago Cubs finally won the World Series last fall after 108 years of flopping, but one thing hasn’t. The ability of their fans to stress out. With the […]
Author Archives: Dave
The sky is again the limit for Illini basketball
From the Saturday, March 25, editions of The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) … The WISCH LIST Lou Henson came close. Bruce Weber came even closer. And if Lon Kruger or Bill Self had stuck around Champaign longer, well, either of them very well may have done it. It, of course, […]
Where to find authentic Irish culture in Chicago
From the Saturday, March 18, editions of The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) … The WISCH LIST It feels like we celebrated St. Patrick’s Day for a week. Because, well, we did. Chicago holds its annual St. Patrick’s Day festivities – parade, bagpipers, green river and whatnot – on the Saturday […]
Summertime magic during Cubs spring training
From the Saturday, March 11, editions of The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) … The WISCH LIST It’s 1,700 miles from Wrigley Field to Sloan Park in Mesa, Ariz. But when you’re sitting in the sunshine at the Spring Training Home of the Cubs watching baseball with a cold beer in […]
Illini fans deserve better basketball – and they’ll get it
From the Saturday, Feb. 18, editions of The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) … The WISCH LIST A Twitter friend of mine calls it BFS. Battered Fan Syndrome. And Illini Nation is suffering from it. Badly. After watching Illinois football tumble from Rose Bowl heights to Tim Beckman and seeing the […]
Time for Illini basketball to wake up or move on
From the Saturday, Jan. 14, editions of The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) … The WISCH LIST I’m tired. Tired of bubble teams. Tired of apathy towards a program – and a sport – that I love. And tired of once-demanding fans settling for mediocrity. Basically, I’m tired of being tired […]
Wisch Lists are for New Year’s
From the Saturday, Dec. 31, editions of The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) … The WISCH LIST Wish lists are for Christmas. But Wisch Lists? Well, just like every year, they’re for New Year’s. Here as we sit on the edge of 2017, I’m looking back at a calendar year that […]
Could Cubs and Sox be on a future October collision course?
From the Saturday, Dec. 10, editions of The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) … The WISCH LIST This past spring, when both the Cubs and the White Sox were flying high atop their divisions with first-place records, I established myself in this column as Chicago’s official party pooper. “Excuse me if […]
Holiday Cheers! Chicago’s best Christmastime drinks
From the Saturday, Dec. 3, editions of The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) … THE WISCH LIST There are tough tables in Chicago. And then there’s the Walnut Room in December. Located on the 7th floor of Macy’s (R.I.P. Marshall Field’s) at 111 N. State Street, the Walnut Room was the […]
Cubs [W]in! [W]hat a time to be alive
From the Saturday, Nov. 5, editions of The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) … The WISCH LIST I was wrong. Last week, I wrote in this column that if the Cubs do win their “first championship since 1908, I don’t think it can possibly be more emotional for me than it […]