The Tale of the 2005 White Sox…the complete files…

Gas! He gone!

As I have done with my Bulls writing, my Iran work, and my love for The Wire, I decided it’s high time I pool together all of my 2005 White Sox material. Even if it was “those other guys,” even if I did feel a slight bit cheated out one of the great Chicago teams of my young career…well heck, great is great, and they were great.

So here it is, from Buehrle’s first pitch to Jenks’ final one, from spring training to mid-season dominance to the late-season stumble and into the playoffs. The 2005 White Sox, in all their glorious glory, albeit from the eyes of a Cubs fan.

You can put it on the board…YES!

—J.M. Silverstein, December 11, 2009

Running diary of Game 4 of the 2005 World Series: CHAMPIONS!

From Bear Down and Get Some Runs

October 26, 2005: Part II

For Part I (the Geoff Blum game), click here

After a heartbreaking Game 3 loss, the Astros fans were back supporting their team one day later.

About a month ago, I got a call from my editor at NUVO. The newspaper was launching a blog section on their website, and he wanted to know if, as one of their regular contributors, I’d be interested in writing one.

Now, I don’t like blogs. I don’t like the idea of blogs, and I don’t like the word blog. But I figured I could dedicate it to sports and use it to write about all of the lesser items that I wouldn’t be able to publish in the paper, like my All-NBA team of the ’90s, for example, or my five favorite video game athletes. I called it “It’s Gotta be the Shoes” as a nod to one of my favorite old t-shirts: my Mars Blackmon/Michael Jordan black nike IT’S GOTTA BE THE SHOES…IT HAD TO BE THE SHOES shirt. And since I have such a strong aversion to the b-word, I decided to refer to it as a blip, something small, fun, and ultimately insignificant.