Old Style Sports

Old Style Sports will be taking a bit of a layoff…

Pending successful results from the business proposal! If Old Style Sports is funded, it will definitely function again. Support Old Style Sports!

For further inquiries, please contact Joshua Pollock @ joshua-pollock@northwestern.edu.

Alright.. I’ve been spinning stuff up here for you for the past couple of months, and now it’s time for you to give me some feedback! I need to do a business model for this Web site - so you have to tell me what you want!

As self-serving running your own blog is, it doesn’t matter unless it’s actually being read. So I would be greatly appreciative if you, my loyal audience, would leave some information about yourself, and what you would like to see in this blog. I included a couple of items below for you to answer - feel free to add what you will!

- Joshua Pollock
Owner & operator of oldstylesports.com

1. Tell me about yourself - How old are you? Where do you work? Do you work? How hard do you work? Bahahahaha…. But seriously, anything about yourself that will help me determine who my audience is… I only know where you’re coming from!

2. Besides me, where do you go to get information/reaction & feedback on Chicago sports, or sports in general? This includes blogs and news sources.

3. How do you communicate with others about sports? This includes social networks (virtual and physical), message boards, other blogs, etc.

4. Tell me what you want to see from a Chicago sports blog. Any and all ideas are welcome, and are definitely valued. Consider the guy writing here - he’s crazy. We’re talking new additions to the site - content, contributors, etc.

5. Anything else you want to add!

Too early for the 4th of July.

I was at the Angels vs. White Sox series last weekend & took a couple quick snapshots. All photos are courtesy of yours truly:

This park paved the path for today’s new ballparks. And since they shaved off a couple of rows of seating up top in nosebleedland, it’s not as cavernous. The concourses are pretty wide, the seats are comfortable (I was in the bleachers and had no problems!), and they of course have the bullpen bar, a restaurant, and the fundamentals area for kids. Apart from that, the grass is beautiful:

But Torii Hunter playing on it is even better. This guy is a tremendous athlete. He made a couple of great wide-ranging catches in the outfield. He handles hecklers well, too. This was my third time at the game, but here’s my lasting image of the park:

The kid to the left was obnoxiously drunk for the first inning before he and his girlfriend dehydrated in center field. Fans like these can more commonly be found in the outfield at Fenway. He was heckled much more than Torii Hunter by myself, and others around me. I don’t know what it is, and maybe I just pay attention to it more now, but I think the culture of going to a baseball game has changed. I’m guilty of it too - no doubt there.

Why do people who go to the game need to spend a hundred bucks on beer and get wrecked? Usually I just like to eat peanuts & have a couple beers at the game, but every so often it does get out of control… What do you like to do when you go out to the ballgame? Leave a comment!

Photo courtesy of canyouseethesunset.com

Not For Long.

According to this article from MSN, the average NFL career lasts just three about three years. As much as we all hate athletes bitching and moaning about not getting paid, you really can’t blame guys in the NFL. You never know what’s going to happen.

Take a look at Javon Walker. After being outed by Brett Favre for bitching about wanting more money, he ends his holdout only to tear his ACL the following year. The Packers ended up trading him to the Broncos where he signed a lucrative contract, only to under-perform and fight injuries. Hey, he got paid though.

So I guess you can’t blame the latest contract debacle as Brian Urlacher is begging for more $ in the wake of Lance Briggs’ big money deal. It’s amazing that he was able to get Jerry Angelo & the McCaskeys to open up their wallets for him, so Urlacher wants in on some of that - especially because he’s at the end of his career.

It’s just a shame that he had to do it this way. Your star player shouldn’t be crying for more cash.

Then again, he shouldn’t have to.

Photo courtesy of sportslogos.net

Did you guys know that the US has hockey? Actually, over 80 percent of NHL franchises are in North America. Amazing, right? Just in case you didn’t notice, I’m trying to drum up some support for this blog post about hockey. I could care just as little as you do.

Nonetheless, the NHL has recently introduced outdoor games as a way to increase interest for hockey games. Still not interested? Well, this time you should be. I’m the guy who always goes to the games just for the fights, but I’m definitely interested in catching a Blackhawks game at Wrigley Field - especially if it’s versus Detroit!

I’d consider lining up to buy tickets ahead of time - probably the only hockey game I’d be even remotely interested in seeing. And judging from this review of the Sabres vs. Penguins game this past year, it could be very lucrative, apart from popular. How’s that for innovation?

Good work, NHL.