NEWSLETTER
Consecutive late nights for me, coupled with consecutive early (and busy) mornings for family stuff, and I am grindddddding today.
• Wrigley Field is now a football stadium, ready for Northwestern-Purdue a week from Saturday:
If you build it… #GoCats | @coachfitz51 pic.twitter.com/cnR5TyHq6v
— Northwestern Football (@NUFBFamily) November 10, 2021
#B1G things happening at Wrigley Field. pic.twitter.com/o97JmzNFor
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) November 10, 2021
Stay tuned for a full gallery for @DailyNU_Sports! pic.twitter.com/LzOAchKrdu
— Joshua Hoffman (@joshuadhoffman) November 10, 2021
A view from midfield: pic.twitter.com/CzOPXuHNLt
— Mark Gonzales (@MDGonzales) November 10, 2021
• The Cubs are no doubt hoping the event is a big success – both in terms of revenue, and in terms of actually, successfully hosting a football game with no weird incidents – and want this to be the start of a new stretch of annual games at the park:
Julian Green: Our hope is that we have one football game a year here. Didn't rule out hosting a bowl game in the future. pic.twitter.com/cazC1jiJRU
— Mark Gonzales (@MDGonzales) November 10, 2021
• Speaking of ancillary events at the ballpark, with sports betting legal in Illinois, the goal is for Wrigley Field and other major sports stadiums in Chicago to host their own sports betting facilities. The Cubs have a plan with DraftKings for a huge sportsbook at the corner of Addison and Sheffield, but they are not alone in their planning:
A measure that would allow Wrigley Field, Soldier Field and other Chicago stadiums to host their own sports betting facilities is attracting high-powered opponents and supporters.https://t.co/kMaQRoEaEJ
— Chicago Tribune Sports (@ChicagoSports) November 10, 2021
• Although sportsbooks at stadiums have been approved at a state level, the City of Chicago still has to sign off. The stated concerns are that if you allow fans to bet at the various stadiums, then they won’t have an incentive to go to the casino the city is trying to get built downtown. Gonna take a wild guess and say money will eventually solve this conflict.
• Hey, so that’s why the Mets can’t get anyone to say yes to their open GM job. In addition to all the other issues, they are pretty nakedly planning to wait a year and hire David Stearns as President when his contract with the Brewers expires. From The Athletic:
In the Mets’ ideal scenario, a GM hire this winter would serve as a one-year placeholder, waiting to be supplanted by Stearns above him in the front-office hierarchy. Earlier this week, New York team president Sandy Alderson did not deny that the Mets would contemplate hiring above the GM level again next winter.
“There’d be at least a year runway for (a GM hire) to demonstrate their ability and their potential,” Alderson said Tuesday. “I’ve said this to others in the past: That’s the opportunity. That’s all you can ask for. Demonstrated ability tends to get rewarded.”
The plan to hire Stearns could explain the Mets’ recent pivot in their search toward executives who specialize in rules and contracts. Those are responsibilities typically reserved for assistant general managers — like former Nationals AGM Adam Cromie, who emerged as a serious candidate in the last two days. Cromie spent 10 years in Washington’s front office before departing the industry in the spring of 2017 to pursue a legal career.
• There’s an All-MLB Team vote going on, and Willson Contreras is the lone candidate for the Cubs:
Vote @WContreras40 for the All-MLB team! https://t.co/CDy1JHf4Ey
(MLB x @CueHealth) pic.twitter.com/GvJk6hhrQQ
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) November 11, 2021
• Kris Bryant and Craig Kimbrel are on there, too, though not listed as Cubs, obviously.
• All things Instant Pot are among your Epic Daily Deals at Amazon today, so if you’ve been in the market for an air fryer or blender or crock pot or whatever, there you go. #ad
• The Bulls won again last night, and looked incredible while doing it. The Bulls are back:
https://twitter.com/BN_Bulls/status/1458635778578423812
