Wrigley Field

Quote: "If the wind was blowing out, I would have broken their lawn mower so the grass would've grown real high." -- Manager Terry Francona, whose Phillies got the only homer at Wrigley Field yesterdayIt's a fact: The Phillies have the top day-game record in the NL at 15-7.Who's hot: The Reds' Michael Tucker is 7-for-14 in his past five games, all on the road, with six RBIs and five runs.Who's not: Last night's attendance of 6,630 dropped Montreal's major-league-low average to 8,938 in 38 games at Olympic Stadium.

SINCE ONE OF our teen-age sons is going to visit Chicago, I figured it was time to introduce him to the Italian beef sandwich.Anyone who has spent time in Chicago has fond memories of this mixture of shaved beef, broth and pickled vegetable topping. Like the pit beef in Baltimore and the cheese steak in Philadelphia, the Italian beef is the unofficial sandwich of the city. If you have visited Chicago and returned without any Italian beef stains on your shirt, then you really haven't been there.

CHICAGO -- The script couldn't be more dramatic. Trailing the Atlanta Braves, 2-0, in their best-of-five National League Division Series, the Chicago Cubs are giving the ball to 21-year-old rookie sensation Kerry Wood tonight at Wrigley Field.All they want Wood to do is come off the disabled list after not pitching for a month because of a sore elbow and go head-to-head with four-time Cy Young Award winner Greg Maddux in a desperate effort to preserve the playoff hopes of a franchise that is making only its third postseason appearance since 1945.

Someone else will have to preside over the seventh-inning stretch at Wrigley Field now that Hall of Fame broadcaster Harry Caray has passed away, but his friends, fans and colleagues are certain of one thing.No one will ever replace him."Harry Caray was one of a kind, first and foremost a baseball fan," said Dodgers broadcasting legend Vin Scully. "As a fan, he used a microphone to release his emotions. He could be critical, contentious and bombastic, or he could be lovable and full of praise."

Quote: "I enjoyed the first homer myself. I'm not the only one to give up a homer to Sammy Sosa. The second one I said, 'Up, up,' in the air and then I forgot it's Wrigley Field. If I struck him out, I'd enjoy it, too. But we got the win." -- Jose Lima of the Astros, who gave up Sosa's 50th and 51st homers.It's a fact: NASA astronaut Scott Altman, a longtime Cubs fan, came to Wrigley Field and brought a team flag and a Ryne Sandberg jersey he took into space with him in April on a shuttle flight.

Quote: "He said, 'Root for the Cubs' -- he's got to root for the Mets." -- Todd Hundley of the Mets, whose father, former Cubs catcher Randy Hundley, led the seventh-inning stretch singing at Wrigley Field.It's a fact: The Cardinals' Mark McGwire did not get to put on his usual batting practice display because it was Rockies Family Day.Who's hot: The Padres' Greg Vaughn has seven homers in his past nine games.Who's not: The Cubs' Lance Johnson was 0-for-4, dropping his average to .175.On deck: The Padres have seven sellouts this season, two shy of the club mark set in 1996.

Quote: "The wind shifted so fast, I guess I just kept it below radar." -- Cubs' Brant Brown, who homered into a 24-mph wind.It's a fact: Shane Andrews leads the Expos with 10 homers, but he only has 18 RBIs.Who's hot: Expos rookie Brad Fullmer hit his league-leading 25th double. He has eight doubles in his past eight games.Who's not: The Brewers' Jeromy Burnitz has struck out a league-high 63 times.On deck: Former Cub Ernie Banks and former White Sox Minnie Minoso will share the seventh-inning stretch conducting honors Friday at Wrigley Field in the first game of the interleague series.

In yesterday's Today section, a headline with an article about Mark McGwire's quest to set a new home run record incorrectly described the late Roger Maris as a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Maris, who holds the record for most homers in a single season, is not.The Sun regrets the error.Computer systems consultant Ken Vangeloff never imagined that he would make the baseball highlights on Chicago superstation WGN, but there he was Wednesday afternoon, clinging to Mark McGwire's 48th home-run ball and giving his first-ever television interview.

Quote: "It was the most excited I've ever been on the baseball field." -- Mike Lieberthal after his pinch-hit, three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth Tuesday night capped a seven-run rally and lifted the Phillies to an 8-7 win over the Pirates.It's a fact: The Brewers have hit at least one home run in their last 14 games.Who's hot: The Phillies' Doug Glanville went 2-for-4, extending his hitting streak to 17 games.Who's not: The Padres' Kevin Brown gave up two homers in a span of seven pitches in the ninth inning of the Padres' win over the Dodgers Tuesday.

CHICAGO - On a sunny summer day at Wrigley Field, time, at least baseball time, can seem to stand still.In this most perfect ballpark in America (sorry, Camden Yards, you're only the perfect imitation), some things never change. There is the splendid grass, the ivy-covered outfield walls, the hand-operated scoreboard, the bleacher bums who toss every enemy home run back onto the field in righteous indignation. And, of course, there are the Wrigley rooftops."Look at the rooftops!" Chicago Cubs announcer Harry Caray used to bellow as TV cameras panned the crowded tops of the 20 or so apartment buildings on Waveland and Sheffield avenues across the street from Wrigley.

Soccer U.S. routed 2nd time in row at Confederations Cup, 3-0 If this was a dress rehearsal for next year's World Cup, the United States showed it's far from ready. The U.S. was hammered for the second time in a four-day span at the Confederations Cup in Pretoria, South Africa, with Brazil outplaying the Americans, 3-0, Thursday. Felipe Melo scored off Maicon's free kick in the seventh minute and Robinho made it 2-0 in the 20th, completing a counterattack that began when DaMarcus Beasley and Landon Donovan failed to combine on a short corner kick.

The Chicago Cubs baseball franchise sued Baltimore-based Under Armour Inc. yesterday, contending that the sports apparel maker reneged on a promised $10.8 million, five-year sponsorship agreement after its profits declined. In a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, the ballclub said the garment maker agreed to the deal and is still using Cubs players and the team's stadium, Wrigley Field, in advertisements for its products. Under Armour told the Cubs in a Dec. 12 letter that it would not sponsor them for the next season and "would not meet any of its obligations under the agreement," according to the team's complaint, which seeks full payment of the contract price.

CHICAGO - After nearly two years of intrigue, the billionaire Ricketts family has emerged as the winning bidder to purchase the Chicago Cubs from Tribune Co. for about $900 million, sources close to the situation said last night. The family will now complete negotiations with Tribune Co. The family edged out Chicago real-estate investor Hersch Klaff and New York private-equity investor Marc Utay, a Chicago native, for the chance to follow Tribune Co., the Chicago-based media conglomerate, as owners of the storied yet hard-luck franchise.

Too bad there was no snow during Thursday's NHL Winter Classic from Chicago's Wrigley Field - as there was last year in Buffalo - however, we did get The Weather Channel's Jim Cantore reporting from among the fans while sporting an NBC logo on his shaved head. ( For more, go to baltimoresun.com/mediumwell)

The atmosphere was electric. Bundled-up fans got a chance to extend their New Year's Eve parties and watch hockey in a venerable stadium where baseball usually fills the seats. If the setting was different, the results were the same yesterday. The Detroit Red Wings beat the Chicago Blackhawks again, this time out in the cold at Wrigley Field in the Winter Classic. Players from both sides agreed on two things after Detroit's 6-4 comeback victory: The weather and the condition of the ice had little or no bearing on the result, and the overall experience was a blast.

It has been 63 years since local tavern owner William Sianis and his pet billy goat were asked to leave Wrigley Field during the last World Series to grace its Friendly Confines, but the legend it spawned refuses to die. The "Curse of the Billy Goat" is as much a part of Chicago Cubs history as Tinker to Evers to Chance, the double-play combination that played such a large part in the most recent Cubs world championship, which - at last count - was...

CHICAGO -- The Orioles said all the right things, denying that taking two of three games against the Chicago Cubs, the team with the best overall and home record in baseball, was any sort of statement. The closest anybody came to gloating was when Aubrey Huff, who had another four-hit day in the Orioles' 11-4 rout of the Cubs before an announced 41,670 at Wrigley Field, called the past three days "definitely one of the most satisfying series that we've played this year." Orioles manager Dave Trembley, a former Cubs minor league manager who was fired after the 2002 season after his tough and rigid style alienated some team officials, would say only that yesterday was a big game and it was good for his team to rebound.

CHICAGO -- It took all of five batters last night for one of Orioles manager Dave Trembley's worst fears to be realized. Already a pitcher short after starter Brian Burres was scratched because of a stomach illness, Trembley was forced to go to his bullpen with just one out in the first inning. Matt Albers, who learned less than three hours before the game that he'd get the emergency start, couldn't continue after feeling some discomfort in his right shoulder while throwing a curveball to Chicago Cubs leadoff hitter Eric Patterson.

CHICAGO -- Brian Roberts' long-awaited appearance at Wrigley Field generated far less buzz than the relentless offseason trade rumors that had the Orioles' second baseman all but fitted for a Chicago Cubs' uniform. But by the time the middle innings arrived last night, the Cubs' faithful were well aware of the effect Roberts can have on a game. They would have to wait a couple of innings to learn about the Orioles' steely nerved closer. Roberts had three hits, including the 1,000th of his career, and an RBI triple, and George Sherrill got out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the ninth inning in the Orioles' 7-5 victory before an announced 41,537 in their first trip to Wrigley Field.

A recap of the Orioles' 7-5 win over the Cubs last night: WISH YOU WERE HERE As trade rumors swirled this offseason, Brian Roberts figured it was inevitable that he would start the season as a Chicago Cub. But there he was last night, still in an Orioles uniform and putting a hurting on the team that coveted him. Roberts went 3-for-5 with an RBI triple and two runs scored. The triple in the sixth inning was the 1,000th hit of his career. Roberts said before the game that he wasn't sure what the reaction would be from the Wrigley Field crowd.