Cubs

The Chicago Cubs' latest plan for tweaking historic Wrigley Field is getting a green light--with some conditions--from the staff of the city's landmarks commission, according to the Chicago Tribune. Get the full story at Cityscapes .

Misery loves company? Or, more like, companies love celebrity pitchmen. On Sunday evening, Craig Robinson of "The Office" tweeted a picture of himself with Nick Offerman of "Parks and Recreation" sporting White Sox and Cubs hats, respectively, while shooting a commercial for New Era. Robinson's and Offerman's "deadpan" expressions certainly fit with what is expected from the Sox and Cubs this season, which is to say, "not much....

Jake Taylor, Willie Mays Hayes, Rick Vaughn. David DeJesus, Bryan LaHair, Paul Maholm. "Who are these guys?" The 2012 Cubs bear a startling resemblance to the Cleveland Indians, as featured in the 1989 blockbuster "Major League. " The movie chronicles the improbable rise of a team populated by no-names that wins the AL pennant while battling the team's narcissistic owner, who has purposefully filled the roster with "has-beens" and "never-will-bes" in order to move the team to Miami.

The Cubs and White Sox renew their crosstown rivalry this weekend at Wrigley Field, and you're bound to see fans with "torn allegiances. " You'll know this because they cheer when either team scores or - gasp! - they wear one of those two-sided jerseys. Which brings us to our latest debate. This round: Is it OK to root for both the Cubs and the Sox?   YES Is it OK to root for both the Cubs and Sox? Is it OK to eat both chocolate and vanilla ice cream?

Albert Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. If he invented a time machine and warped to Wrigleyville at any time in the past few decades, I imagine the cartoon version of him would say "Zees are zee kookiest kooks I haff ever zeen!" Then he'd slam an Old Style and dream up a new Theory of Beer Relativity where T equals a beer's taste and W equals the proximity to Wrigley Field. Time-traveling, mop-haired geniuses aside, the most tortured fanbase in American pro sports is still composed of mostly insane people.

In early October I'll post my full Q&A (and video) with Ben Affleck, who was a great sport yesterday when fielding a wide variety of sometimes ridiculous questions tied to his latest effort as actor and director, "Argo" (opening Oct. 12). For now, here's some of what the Red Sox fan had to say when asked what he thought when first hearing Theo Epstein was coming to the Cubs: “I thought the Cubs were going to win the World Series ... If the Cubs win the World Series, Theo's going to look like one of the greatest baseball geniuses ever.

When Cubs president Theo Epstein talks about changing the culture of the long-suffering team, he's not kidding. On Wednesday, he put his money - literally - where his mouth is, trading controversial pitcher Carlos Zambrano to Florida in exchange for pitcher Chris Volstad. The trade, first reported by foxsports.com, unites Big Z with the Big Mouth, Ozzie Guillen, who parted ways with the White Sox in September. Epstein himself hinted Big Z might be on the way out in an interview on WGN-AM 720 earlier Wednesday before news of the trade broke.

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. Cubs fans could be forgiven if they saw the box score from the Gwinnett Braves-Pawtucket Red Sox game June 12 and did a double take. That likely would have been followed by a wistful pause to ponder what might have been. That day, would-be Greatest Pitcher in Cubs History Mark Prior came on in relief for Pawtucket in the eighth inning to face Felix Pie. You might remember him as the would-be-franchise-cornerstone-turned-Gwinnett-outfielder. Prior promptly hit Pie with a pitch; he retaliated by stealing second base.

Los Angeles. Tampa Bay. Detroit. Arizona. Chicago. St. Louis. Washington, D.C. It might sound like a Johnny Cash song or the world's worst layover, but for Edwin Jackson, they are the places he's called home since 2005. Now Jackson, 29, returns to Chicago, this time with the Cubs, who signed him to the first long-term contract of his career (four years, $52 million). He'll be on the mound for the North Siders on Wednesday. It appears his wandering days are over. For Jackson, moving is nothing new. After all, his Twitter profile lists his locations as "Wherever the wind blows me. " A self-described "military brat," Jackson was born in West Germany while his dad was a cook in the Army and didn't pick up baseball until moving to Georgia at age 8. "I've been on the move all my life so I'm kind of used to it," Jackson said.

The World Series is over, which can mean only one thing: free-agent frenzy! Between the Cubs and White Sox, 10 players filed for free agency this weekend. Assuming we've seen the last of these guys in Chicago uniforms, we rank them in order of who will be missed most.   1. Mark Buehrle , Sox 2011: 13-9, 3.59 ERA, 205 1/3 innings He might not fit into the team's payroll anymore, but Sox fans would be thrilled to have him back.   2. Reed Johnson, Cubs 2011: .309, 5 HRs, 28 RBIs Puts up solid numbers for a backup outfielder and doesn't cost much.