On Sunday, there would be no excuses. The Bulls are done. The Hawks wouldn’t take on the Vancouver Canucks at the United Center for several hours. And it was a perfect day for baseball. Nope, there would be no excuse for fans not to show up at Comiskey Park–if you don’t count losing, which the White Sox did again, falling 8-6 to California. But the paid attendance was announced at 26,344. Actually, that figure is deceiving when you count the 7,000 or so giveaway seats. Not bad, considering what’s been going on around major-league baseball. “But I still don’t think it’s a good test,” Sox slugger Frank Thomas said as fans filed into Comiskey Park for Sunday’s game. “The basketball playoffs are still going on, even though the Bulls are done. I think that if we were in first place, the fans would be here. I can understand that.” So can Sox manager Gene Lamont. “I think it would be a truer test if we had won more games,” Lamont said. “But that’s the way things are going in baseball right now, for whatever reasons.”
Lookalikes: Separated at birth? How about Orlando Magic broadcaster Chip Caray (Harry Caray’s grandson) and rubber-faced comic Jim Carrey, who plays “the Riddler” in the new “Batman” movie?
The comparison: NHL fans came back in droves after the league’s labor problem forced the delay of the season. “Hockey fans are different,” Lamont said. “For one thing, their (work stoppage) didn’t take away the Stanley Cup playoffs. We lost our World Series.”
Rumor mill: This trade rumor has been heating up the sports radio airwaves in Seattle: Bulls forward Scottie Pippen for SuperSonics forward Shawn Kemp, with unhappy Seattle guard Kendall Gill thrown into the mix. Fans in Seattle now seem to think the Sonics would have advanced past the first round of the playoffs had they gone through with the Pippen-Kemp trade last summer. Fickle fans.
Random thought: What might keep Phoenix forward Charles Barkley from retiring, as he has threatened? How about joining his buddy Michael Jordan with the Bulls for one season, giving Barkley one final shot at an NBA title? Just a thought.
Part of the field: Hall of Famer George Blanda and Detroit Lions coach Wayne Fontes have agreed to join the likes of Dave Wannstedt, Kevin Butler and Raymont Harris for the 25th annual Brian Piccolo golf outing June 19 at Indian Lakes Resort.
Tough times: The United States International Soccer League’s Chicago Stingers (2-4) dropped their third straight game over the weekend, falling 2-0 to the Louisville Thoroughbreds. The Stingers’ next game is May 29 against visiting Columbus at Forest View Park in Arlington Heights.
In memory of. . .: George Low Jr., who died April 10, requested that his ashes be spread over the 18th green of Cog Hill on July 3–the first day of the Motorola Western Open. Low co-wrote “The Master of Putting” with Al Barkow in 1983. A contribution in his memory may be made to the Evans Scholars Foundation of the Western Golf Association, Golf, Ill., 60025.
Around the town: Sox players Frank Thomas, Ozzie Guillen and Tim Raines are among those scheduled to take part in White Sox broadcaster Ken Harrelson’s second annual “Hawk Open” at 10 a.m. Monday at Woodridge’s Seven Bridges Golf Club. . . . Bears quarterbacks Erik Kramer and Steve Walsh are among the celebrities expected to be on hand for the second annual Kent Graham Dickson Valley Camp Celebrity Golf Classic at 10:30 a.m. Monday at West Chicago’s Prairie Landing Golf Club. . . . Wolves left winger Al Secord and Wayne Messmer , the team’s executive vice president, will be at Planet Hollywood for a taping of “Chicago Sports Profiles on TV” at 6:30 p.m. Monday. … The Chicago Cheetahs roller hockey team will conduct open free-agent tryout camps Monday and Tuesday at the Odeum in Villa Park. Registration is $100. For more information, call 708-782-5743.
In closing: Michael Jordan had this parting comment–half joking, no doubt–for the six or so reporters still hanging around long after the Bulls lost to the Magic on Thursday night at the United Center: “I hope they blow up this building.” Let’s see how the Hawks do against the Canucks, first, Michael.
![Cannabis company owners in Illinois welcomed the news Tuesday that the federal government is expected to reclassify marijuana as a drug with medicinal value and lower potential for abuse. The Associated Press reported that the Drug Enforcement Administration will move to reclassify marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III. Rather than continuing to classify cannabis with much stronger drugs like heroin and LSD, the move would put pot in the same class with certain prescription drugs like codeine, ketamine, steroids, and testosterone. The change will not be immediately noticeable to most consumers in Illinois, where medical and recreational use already […]](https://www.chicagotribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ctc-l-pot-soft-drug_177837229.jpg?w=525 "Cannabis company owners in Illinois welcomed the news Tuesday that the federal government is expected to reclassify marijuana as a drug with medicinal value and lower potential for abuse. The Associated Press reported that the Drug Enforcement Administration will move to reclassify marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III. Rather than continuing to classify cannabis with much stronger drugs like heroin and LSD, the move would put pot in the same class with certain prescription drugs like codeine, ketamine, steroids, and testosterone. The change will not be immediately noticeable to most consumers in Illinois, where medical and recreational use already […]")