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Column: How did the Chicago Cubs let Kyle Hendricks join the Detroit Tigers front office?
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- Column: How did the Chicago Cubs let Kyle Hendricks join the Detroit Tigers front office?
It was almost a given that Kyle Hendricks would join a front office after his baseball career ended.
He obviously has the baseball knowledge, not to mention the Ivy League pedigree so many modern-day owners look for in choosing executives.
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But most of the media speculation was that Hendricks would wind up in the Chicago Cubs front office, joining the organization he spent all but one season of his major-league career.
Instead, Hendricks was named a Detroit Tigers special assistant, as first reported by The Athletic.
The Tigers are led by two former Cubs execs — President Scott Harris and general manager Jeff Greenberg — so there is a history that led to the reunion.
Still, you'd think Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts would do whatever was possible to get Hendricks back in Chicago, working under President Jed Hoyer.
"I talked to Kyle and we've got a great relationship," Hoyer told reporters Friday. "We talked about his decision to go there before he did it. The Cubs and Kyle have a great relationship. I'll let him explain why and what his role (is) and how he's going about it, but certainly there's nothing negative there and I think I've said it a million times, I can't imagine an easier and better teammate for 10 years. Everything's great with Kyle."
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A special assistant title can mean anything, and it doesn't necessarily lead to a long future in the front office. Will Venable was a special assistant under former Cubs President Theo Epstein in 2017 before becoming a first-base coach with the Cubs, bench coach in Boston and Texas and finally manager of the White Sox .
It's great to see Hendricks back in the game, and perhaps he's better off learning the Detroit Way after already becoming well versed in the Cubs Way. It's also another example of the reverse brain drain from Chicago to Detroit, after the Tigers stole broadcaster Jason Benetti from the White Sox . At least the Bears took Ben Johnson from the Lions.
Three amigos
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams and Bulls forward Matas Buzelis were at the Cubs game Friday and pictured hanging out afterward with Pete Crow-Armstrong . This new Rat Pack of Chicago celebrity athletes seems like a throwback to a vintage era of Chicago nightclubbing and would've been perfect fodder for a 1960 Kup's Column mention … "seen rubbing elbows with Sammy Davis Jr. at the Chez Paree."
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Is a reality show in the cards for these guys?
When evil empires collide
The latest supervillains in cahoots are Duke basketball and Amazon owner Jeff Bezos. Duke and Amazon announced this week that three nonconference Blue Devils games next season — UConn, Michigan and Gonzaga — would be shown exclusively on the Amazon Prime Video streaming service. It's Amazon's first foray into college basketball, and probably not the last time you'll have to pay to watch a big college game.
The Duke-UConn game on Nov. 25 in Las Vegas is the rematch of the epic NCAA Tournament Elite Eight game in which the Blue Devils coughed up a late lead and lost on Braylon Mullins' 3-pointer, while the Duke-Michigan game Dec. 21 at Madison Square Garden is a rematch of February's thriller in Washington in which Duke beat the eventual national champions.
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"Duke basketball games transcend the schedule, and the creation of this all-new offering gives fans more of what we all want, marquee matchups featuring the most successful programs in the nation," said Charlie Neiman, Prime Video's head of sports partnerships.
Fans all want to pay more for watching sports, right?
The devil wears Disney ears
After weeks of promotion of the film "The Devil Wears Prada 2" on ABC's "Good Morning America," I finally got fed up the other day and turned to ESPN for relief. Unfortunately, the sports segment I tuned into was sponsored by "The Devil Wears Prada 2."
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Disney Co. networks have no shame when it comes to cross-promoting Disney Co. films and TV shows. The next thing you know, Pat McAfee will be interviewing Meryl Streep about Dior.
Vanishing act
Early Friday night, it looked like the chances of former Bulls coach Billy Donovan getting the Orlando Magic job appeared slim. The Magic, the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference, were leading the top-seeded Detroit Pistons by 24 points in the second half of Game 6 of their first-round matchup. A win would put the Magic into the next round.
Why would the Magic fire coach Jamahl Mosley after beating the No. 1 seed? But the Magic blew the comfortable lead and the game and head into Game 7 on Sunday in Detroit on the verge of an epic playoff collapse.
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If that happens, the new question would be: "Why would Donovan want to coach the Magic in the first place?"
Buffalo rocks
Few teams relate to their fans like the Sabres and the city of Buffalo. When asked earlier this year how the team has bonded so beautifully, Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin replied: "Drink beers."
Now "Drink Beers" has become the unofficial slogan of Sabres fans, a die-hard core that has never seen the franchise win a Stanley Cup in its existence. Combined with the similar heartbreaks of the Bills, Buffalo might be the most-cursed sports city in North America. And "Drink Beers" would be the perfect solution for anxiety-ridden fans who on Friday saw the Sabres beat the Boston Bruins in the first round to advance in the playoffs for the first time in 19 years.
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There may be hope for the Blackhawks yet. Maybe they can borrow the Sabres' catchy slogan.
Celebratory shots: a Chicago tradition
Cubs manager Craig Counsell drinking a shot of Malört after his 900th major-league victory in San Diego reminded us of former manager David Ross , then a player, walking home after a night game at Wrigley in September 2016 when the Cubs were on the verge of clinching the National League Central.
Ross stepped into a bar to see the St. Louis Cardinals lose, which let the Cubs back into the title. Ross and the bartender did shots together to celebrate.
"I went with Jameson," Ross said the next day. "I wanted to do a little Chicago treat. I couldn't let a clinch go by without throwing down just a little bit of alcohol."
Malört or Jameson?
It's a never-ending debate in Chicago.
