Wasted Space

Today’s installment of “All Bears All the Time” that has taken up residence for what remains of the Chicago Tribune’s sports’ section, we have this page-one gem: Rookie OT finally in pads. Offensive lineman Teven Jenkins, the Munsters’ second round pick, is healed—maybe—from back surgery and ready to show what he can do. How Bears, to draft someone other teams shied away from because of concerns over his health, and how Chicago media, to treat the appearance of a player at practice as a major event. Truly, only in the Land of Halas. Can it get worse? In fact, it already did. Yesterday, the Trib devoted a full page to “a look at the 7 newest NFL stadiums, from capacity to best amenities.” Only the story offered absolutely nothing on what most fans would consider amenities, e.g., parking, concessions, seating and sightlines. Do fans really care about this playing surface or that retractable roof? The Trib staff seemed to think so. For some reason, the story listed the construction cost of each stadium without mentioning the level of public subsidy. I guess if you’re not going to talk about the cost of parking, why bother with the cost of construction? Or a sense of the size of the new revenue stream, or where it goes, or…