Die Allianz T-D-P » I think he had to be tough when he first got here

Chicago is a city of mythic conflicts: Mayor Richard J. Daley and his cops against long-haired hippie protesters in 1968, Eliot Ness Untouchables vs. Al Capones Outfit during Prohibition, and Cubs fans vs. Sox fans in the Crosstown Classic every summer.Before the installation of interleague play in 1997, the Cubs and Sox had occasional exhibition games to raise money for charity (I saw Michael Jordan play outfield at Wrigley in 1994). The teams also played for keeps once, the 1906 World Series, where the Hitless Wonders defeated the 116-win Cubs 4 games to 2. For decades, the teams staged a postseason City Series that let owners and players make a few more dollars before the offseason. Chicago baseball scribe Ring Lardner dubbed this the City Serious, and fans do indeed take it seriously. Perhaps too seriously, with so many Chicago myths in play.Cubs fans are yuppies, White Sox fans blue collar. Cubs fans dont really watch the game, Sox fans do. Cubs fans foolishly support bad teams, Sox fans only show up when theyre winning. The media loves the Cubs and ignores the Sox.Well, whatever grains of truth these myths might have, the media do not ignore the Cubs-Sox series, and fans flock to it.But it might surprise people to learn that the games when the Cubs host the White Sox are not the most in demand among my season ticket group in Section 416.After going to a few games in the first few years, I generally avoid Sox-Cubs games, the Country Doctor says. I have nothing against the White Sox, but their fans seem to have an inferiority complex that tends to make them a tad aggressive. The Big Bun, though he came out Thursday, has a similarly dim view of the matchup. The atmosphere may have changed over the years, he says, but back when I did go to this series it was a bunch of drunks -- on both sides --?who just wanted to talk smack to each other.Azz puts a positive spin on this problem, saying, Ive never seen any evidence in either park that one side is more serious about baseball. This is Chicago; what we take seriously is drinking, and in that regard both sides are champions.Cubs fans might have been driven to the bottle by consecutive losses at the Cell on Monday and Tuesday. (White Sox ownership and stadium workers mightve just been driven to exhaustion, as the two crowds of 39,510 and 39,553 were the Cells biggest gates of the year, even exceeding the 38,019 who showed up for Opening Days snowstorm. Cubs fans travel, especially south of Madison Street.But the buzz on the North Side on Wednesday and Thursday was all about Aroldis Chapman, or rather the myth of Aroldis Chapman.And the myth became reality as he mopped up in Wednesdays 8-1 blowout and saved the 3-1 pitchers duel for John Lackey on Thursday.Most fans I talked with at Nisei pregame and later at the park were not happy with Chapmans history of domestic violence, and expressed unease with the win-at-all-cost attitude the move represents.At the same time, if Chapmans triple-digit fastball can finally bring a championship to Wrigley, the cynic in me suspects all will be forgiven. Sports fans are a forgiving lot, especially when distracted by freakish excellence.And Chapmans fastball? Freakishly excellent.When he was still with the Reds, I saw him throw a pitch through the screen behind home plate. It hit a seat with a crack like a gunshot. The guy in the adjacent seat grabbed the ball and held it up like a champ; if hed been one seat over, that pitch wouldve shattered his sternum.Cubs-Sox matchups always feel odd, with intense cheering at every play (there were lots of Sox fans at Wrigley). But Chapman changes how everyone watches the game. After he struck out Melky Cabrera to end the eighth (and a threat to erase the Cubs narrow lead) seatmate Rich pointed out that Chapman makes the game feel like a tennis match. When he pitches, all the fans first look to the plate, and then turn in unison, like 41,157 synchronized bobble-head dolls, to check the left-field videoboard to see how fast the pitch was thrown.We were rewarded with 100, 101, 102 and 103 mph fastballs, not to mention 91 mph sliders.How Chapmans debut games, which pushed the Sox two games below .500 and the Cubs to 21-over, will be remembered depends on how the rest of the season plays out. But at this stage, Cubs fans are thinking about creating some new myths. Gavin Lux Dodgers Jersey . -- Mike Smith never saw his first NHL goal go in. Kristopher Negron Dodgers Jersey . -- The goal posts lying flat on the field, Arizonas fans lingered on the field, congregating around the locker room entrance nearly 30 minutes after rushing out of the stands. https://www.cheapdodgersonline.com/3175h-rickey-henderson-jersey-dodgers.html . The 27-year-old Scrivens will be joining his third NHL club since signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a free agent in 2010. The move also reunites with him with head coach Dallas Eakins from their time together with the American Hockey Leagues Toronto Marlies. Yadier Alvarez Jersey .ca. Kerry, Just watched the shootout in the Coyotes/Leafs game and I have to ask, why was the James van Riemsdyk goal allowed to count? All of the video replays we were shown on TV were inconclusive about whether the puck had entirely crossed the line or not. Julio Urias Dodgers Jersey . Brad Jacobs and his Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., team took control of the game early. KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee coach Butch Jones has a different kind of team this season.According to some players, thats allowing him to be a different type of coach.Jones spent the first few years of his Tennessee tenure attempting to restock the talent base and instill a winning culture. He has handled those assignments well enough to give No. 9 Tennessee its highest preseason ranking since 2005 heading into the opener Thursday night against Appalachian State.I think hes a lot more laid-back, senior linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin said. I dont feel like hes trying to truly build a program anymore. Weve kind of set our standards and established who we are, and now were just trying to mold people into who we are. I think its made it a lot easier and allowed him to lay back a little bit more and put a lot more faith in the (assistant) coaches as well as the players.Jones initially said he hadnt thought much about the ways in which he has adapted his style since his arrival at Tennessee. But he later acknowledged the maturity of this roster and how it has impacted his approach.Whats helped is I think our coaches and myself know our football team a little more, Jones said. Growing up as a son of a chief of police, Ive been interested in studying human behavior all my life, so I love to get in their mindsets. I love to see what this football team needs, and I take great pride in that.But I think youre constantly evolving. If you dont, thats when you stop growing.Jones was Tennessees fourth coach in eight seasons when he took over in 2013. Tennessee went 5-7 in Jones debut year for its fourth straight losing season. After going 7-6 in 2014, the Vols finished 9-4 last year and closed with a six-game winning streak.I think he had to be tough when he first got here, said offensive tackle Brett Kendrick, a fourth-year junior. We needed to play his style of play, and we didnt have that when he first got here. I feel like weve really adjusted to him, and hes also startiing to treat us really good too.dddddddddddd Hes being more positive with us.He has more reason to be positive now.Jones noted that Tennessee played the most true freshmen in 2014 of any Football Bowl Subdivision program that season. Jones needed to make sure they were as ready as possible for the grind of the Southeastern Conference.The hardest thing when you take over a football program is you have to make sure that you lay that standard of expectations day in and day out, and you do not compromise from those standards and expectations, Jones said. The culture has to be set in place. Sometimes youre going to be a little bit different the first couple of years because you have to make sure there are some things that are non-negotiables in our football program.Now that the culture has been established, Tennessee faces the challenge of living up to its status as the nations No. 9 team and the preseason favorite to win the Southeastern Conference Eastern Division title. The Vols havent earned an SEC crown since their 1998 national title and havent won the East since 2007.Appalachian State coach Scott Satterfield compares Tennessee to the 2015 Clemson team that reached the College Football Playoff championship game.They have everything in place and, in my opinion, starting the season, theyre ahead of... where Clemson was last year, said Satterfield, whose team lost to Clemson 41-10 last September.Jones responded to Satterfields remark by saying hes just been consumed with making sure his teams ready mentally and physically to deal with Appalachian State. At least now he has the type of veteran team that makes that task somewhat easier.I trust these guys, Jones said. I know them. I care about them greatly, and theyve also earned my trust. I have great, great confidence in them.---AP college football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '