Lost in the Shuffle

Lost in the Shuffle

This is March Madness, both at the high school and college level.  I get it, that’s where the sports’ coverage goes.  And most of what’s left over should belong to the Blackhawks and Bulls, who are playing out the string in their respective seasons.  And the Cubs deserve their Cactus League due, on account of all the predictions that they’ll be back in the World Series come fall.  But, why or why, do the Bears get to knock the White Sox out of the sports’ section altogether?  The Tribune, at least, couldn’t be bothered with South Side baseball.

Instead, the Trib gave page-one coverage to the Bears matching Green Bay’s offer to restricted free-agent Kyle Fuller; a single cornerback counted for more than an entire major league baseball team, and one of the “legacy” sixteen at that.  Shoeless Joe and Cuban Comet, make way for the Munsters.

Today being Sunday, there’s more space in the paper to play with, and the Sox received some pity coverage, after the Bears, of course.  Our pigskin heroes merited all of page six and two-thirds of page seven for an in-depth treatment of free-agent acquisitions at the wide-receiver position, past and present.  But, hey, the Pale Hose showed up on page nine.  That’s progress.

What’s really impressive is that Loyola placed ahead of the Bears.  The Ramblers nearly dominated the front-page of Trib sports with their one-point victory over Tennessee; this time the winning shot occurred with 3.6 seconds left.  Clayton Custer’s 15-foot jumper hit the front of the win and then the backboard before rattling in.  How cool that Porter Moser and his crew move on to the Sweet Sixteen.  But notice I said “nearly.” For there, at the top of page one of the Tribune sports’ section, was this headline: Allen Robinson’s comeback trail leads to Bears, but now he must prove himself.

In Chicago, even March Madness yields to the ghost of Halas.