Chicago Sports Notes

No links as I'm being lazy; you can hunt around the sources yourself, I'm sure.

• The hot baseball rumor over the All-Star Break was Randy Johnson to the Red Sox, Nomah to the Cubs, and Cubs prospects to the Diamondbacks. The Chicago Tribune is downplaying the notion today. ESPN is reporting that the 5 teams the Big Unit will accept a trade to are the Red Sox, Cubs, White Sox, Yankees, and Angels. It makes little sense for the Cubs to acquire Johnson; they have good starters in both the majors and minors. It would be huge for the White Sox to get him, but I have no idea what they could possibly have in minor league talent that would be a worthy package. It's not a strong system.
  
  
• ESPN was also reporting there's a tiny chance the Bulls could land Kobe Bryant in a sign-and-trade deal with the Lakers. The Lakers would do this to keep him from playing for the Clippers in the same building as they do. I don't see Kobe doing this unless he's gone completely delusional and has started to think he is Jordan.
  
  
• Ditka, as you've probably heard, will not run for Senate. Personally, if he had run, I'd have thought the Democrats could have just bought billboards and ads that just showed the picture of Ditka with Ricky Williams in the wedding dress. ("See! He's pro gay marriage!" That would keep the yahoos away from the polls....)
  
  
• It's the 10th anniversary of the Albert Belle corked bat game. The White Sox suspected his bat--no one knows why--so the umps took it and put it in their locker room. Jason Grimsley, Belle's teammate in Cleveland at the time, pulled a "Mission Impossible" and crawled through the ceiling from the visitor's clubhouse to the ump's room, moved a ceiling tile, and switched the bat for a "clean" one. The White Sox clubhouse manager noticed the ceiling entry, and the umps eventually got the right bat back from Cleveland. It was corked, and Belle drew a 10-game suspension, reduced on appeal. The reason no one remembers this is that a month later the Strike started. Heck, I didn't remember it until I read it in the Trib this morning...