White Sox fans entering Comiskey Park for Tuesday’s home opener will be greeted at the gates by zany performers for the upcoming “Wacky Weekend” promotions.
“At one gate we will have a performer juggling bowling balls, at another gate there will be a dog retrieving Frisbies. All sorts of crazy acts will be going on,” said Sox marketing director Rob Gallas.
The Sox hope to reverse their 2-4 road start and not resemble wacky performers on the field.
As of Monday afternoon, the Sox had sold only about 33,000 tickets for the opener against the unbeaten Texas Rangers. Bulls forward Scottie Pippen will throw out the first pitch.
“I think our team will be fine this year. I am excited about our chances,” said Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, who had planned to attend the funeral of part-owner Gene Fanning on Monday night.
On a roll: The Rangers, who are 6-0 to equal the team mark set in 1979, are off to the best start in the American League since New York and Toronto each began 6-0 in 1992. Texas is the lone undefeated team in the major leagues.
“They say defense and pitching always win you the big ring,” said Texas pitcher Roger Pavlik (2-0). “Now we’ve got all of that; we just hope to keep it going. I’ve been throwing it in there, rather than walking this or walking that. Now I just go right after them.”
Former Sox reserve outfielder Warren Newson hit a home run in his first at-bat of the year Sunday against the Yankees. Newson was filling in for regular right fielder Juan Gonzalez, who suffered a bruised right forearm in the first game of the double-header.
“It all starts with pitching,” Newson said. “We have guys going five, six, seven innings every game pitching and then our guys are scrapping, scoring runs. It’s a boost to get the first at-bat of the season out of the way.”
A finger in the Dyche: Northwestern alumnus Patrick G. Ryan of Winnetka has issued a “leadership gift” to the school’s $20 million Campaign for Athletic Excellence. School president Henry S. Bienen said $9.2 million in gifts and pledges to the school’s campaign have been made through Feb. 29, 1996. Ryan, who owns stock in the Bears, is chairman, president and CEO of Aon Corp., and is chairman of the Northwestern University Board of Trustees. Bienen said Ryan’s gift will go toward the renovation of Dyche Stadium.
Ryan’s wife, Shirley, also is a Northwestern alumnus and is active in numerous charitable activities in the Chicago area.
The university would not divulge the exact amount of Ryan’s generous donation, but it is believed to be in the multimillion-dollar range.
Slap shots: Players haven’t been the only ones suffering concussions in the NHL this season. Pittsburgh Penguins trainer Skip Thayer recently fell on the ice in Winnipeg while going out to attend to an injured player and suffered a head injury.
He’s fine now, according to Harry Sanders, director of media relations.
“He’s wearing strap-on spikes to give him traction, though,” he said of the former Hawks trainer.
Main spark: Sparky Anderson will throw out the ceremonial first ball April 17 when the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes open their California League season. The Class A affiliate of the San Diego Padres snagged the former Detroit and Cincinnati manager, who managed the Tigers for 17 years.
In the zone: The NFL is teaming with ESPNET SportsZone to provide complete Internet coverage of the NFL Draft on April 20-21. Coverage will be available at http://ESPNET.SportsZone.com and also will be linked from Team NFL, the NFL’s Internet site: http://nflhome.com.
Coverage begins Monday and continues through May 7. The site will feature live reports, updates from team headquarters, chats with top picks, plus analysis by former Dallas Cowboys chief scout Gil Brandt and ESPN personalities.
Word on the street: From Thursday through Sunday, the best high school-aged hockey players in the country will be in Woodridge for the USA Hockey Tier 1 National Championship Tournament sponsored by McDonald’s and Ronald McDonald House Charities. The Blackhawks’ Jeremy Roenick, Buffalo’s Pat Lafontaine and Dallas’ Mike Modano are alumni of this tournament. The games will be played at Seven Bridges Ice Arena. . . . The NHL and the Fighting Blindness League will host their annual fantasy hockey draft and dinner at Moretti’s Wednesday. Former Blackhawks goalie Darren Pang of ESPN will serve as co-chairman. . . . Pippen and Ryne Sandberg were among the sports celebrities dining at the downtown Ron of Japan during the restaurant’s 26th anniversary celebration this month. . . . SportsChannel has launched a world wide web site: http://www.sportschannel.com.
(Send E-mail to Fred Mitchell at Kick3485@aol.com)
