Tag Archives: Jackie Robinson West

Big John Howell Show Notes 2-12-16

Chicago has a new hero: Chicago’s top cop was right on the front lines of fighting crime Thursday night. John Escalante was the first officer on the scene of an armed robbery. Escalante was just blocks away when the call of an armed robbery came in. He and his assistant were first on scene.

Republican and Democratic senators set aside their partisan differences Wednesday to unanimously pass more sanctions against North Korea. The Senate approved the sanctions bill 96-0 after lawmakers repeatedly denounced Pyongyang for flouting international law by pursuing nuclear weapons. Illinois Senator Mark Kirk joined John to talk about the newest sanctions against North Korea, and also responded to comments by Rep. Tammy Duckworth about radical Muslims. (Listen here)

Scientists are claiming a stunning discovery in their quest to fully understand gravity. They have observed the warping of space-time generated by the collision of two black holes more than a billion light-years from Earth. It is the culmination of decades of searching and could ultimately offer a window on the Big Bang. Dr. Shane Larson is an astronomer for Adler Planetarium, Northwestern University and he was a part of the team that made the discovery. He joined John to explain what it all means. (Listen here)

Parents of former Little Leaguers from Jackie Robinson West filed a lawsuit Thursday against Little League International, ESPN and officials from the local league. They are alleging, among other things, that they profited off the disgraced team while knowing of its ineligible players.

Nearly 1,000 vehicles will be on display at the 108th Chicago Auto Show at McCormick Place this weekend. Running from Saturday, February 13th, 2016 to Sunday, February 21st, 2016, the Chicago Auto Show spans over one million square feet in the North and South Exhibit Halls of the McCormick Place complex. Paul Brian the host of Drive Chicago on 890 WLS joined John with a preview. (Listen here)

Jitters over the global economy and a steep drop in crude oil prices knocked U.S. stocks lower for the fourth day in a row Thursday. The Dow is at a 2-year low. The drop in the U.S. followed large losses all around the world, and left all three major U.S. indexes down at least 10% since the beginning of the year. Will stocks ever turn around? Jonathan Hoenig the President of Capitalist Pig Asset Management joined John to talk him off the ledge. (Listen here)

Gene & Georgetti’s offers a new prime time menu in its lounge area featuring filet Bearnaise, prime rib sandwich and many more things. Michelle Durpetti from Gene & Georgetti joined John with some tasty treats for the team to eat, and an excellent event you might want to consider for Valentine’s Day. (Listen here)

After 41 days, the armed occupation of a rural Oregon wildlife refuge finally ended peacefully. Thursday as the last four anti-government activists surrendered to FBI agents. That was following a dramatic and emotional hour-long negotiation with the final holdout broadcast live on YouTube.

The U.S. Secret Service added news signs outside the White House last month warning visitors that guns and other weapons are not permitted. The agency placed the signs to comply with a provision of the 1988 Anti-Drug Abuse Act that requires signage at the entrance of federal facilities to convict someone of illegally bringing weapons.

Jackie Robinson West title vacated

(CHICAGO) The Jackie Robinson West Little League All-Stars are no longer the 2014 Little League National Champions. Little League International confirmed Wednesday it has vacated their title due to residency violations, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Jackie Robinson West manager Darold Butler has been suspended from Little League activity. Illinois District 4 Administrator Michael Kelly has been removed from his position.

The league will have its tournament privileges suspended until it appoints replacements for League President Anne Haley and Treasurer, Bill Haley.

Little League International has concluded that Jackie Robinson West used a falsified boundary map.

“This is a heartbreaking decision,” said Stephen D. Keener, the Little League International president and CEO, in a statement. “What these players accomplished on the field and the memories and lessons they have learned during the Little League World Series tournament is something the kids can be proud of, but it is unfortunate that the actions of adults have led to this outcome.

“As our Little League operations staff learned of the many issues and actions that occurred over the course of 2014 and prior, as painful as this is, we feel it a necessary decision to maintain the integrity of the Little League program. No team can be allowed to attempt to strengthen its team by putting players on their roster that live outside their boundaries.”

This is the third time in the 68-year history of the Little League Baseball World Series that punitive actions have led to vacating wins from a league – first in 1992 with the disqualification of Zamboanga (Philippines) City Little League and again in 2001 with Rolando Paulino Little League from Bronx, N.Y.

Multiple messages over the last 24 hours left for Butler, first base coach Jason Little and pitching coach Jerry Houston were not returned. Little did not have a son on the team. Houston’s son, Josh, started the national championship game.

Butler’s wife, Dotty, could not be reached by phone.

“It’s a shame, it’s a complete shame,” said JRW parent Carlton Hondras. “It shouldn’t have been done to the children.”

If someone had to be penalized, he said, it should have been someone other than kids who are “striving to do better.”

In December, the national organization had shot down allegations that several members of last summer’s U.S. championship team violated the league’s residency requirements.

Those allegations were first made in October by Chris Janes, vice president of Evergreen Park Athletic Association, a rival organization.

He filed his complaint after noticing that school officials and politicians from several south suburbs boasted that members of the team were from their towns during the Little League World Series run last August.

At that time, Pat Wilson, senior vice president of operations for Little League International, was dismissive of Janes’ complaint.

What he did acknowledged, however, was that some players’ addresses included in Janes’ complaint did not match the addresses Little League International had on file for the players.

Wilson said the team provided a satisfactory explanation for those differences.

“The team provided documentation to support the residency in accordance with Little League rules,” Wilson told the Sun-Times in December. “We reviewed that documentation multiple times, and that documentation meets Little League’s criteria for residence as outlined in our rulebooks, and that’s basically it.”

Reached Tuesday, Janes — who endured a barrage of withering criticism when his allegation first became public — said he is happy the league is revisiting the issues.

“What I want to see is a public acknowledgement of wrongdoing,” Janes said. “It’s Little League baseball — we should all be playing by the same rules. If one team is not playing by the same rules as everyone else, that’s not right.”

Jackie Robinson West President Bill Haley and team coach Darold Butler did not respond to requests for comment.

One possible explanation for the varying addresses of team members? Split families and divorce. Children with parents who live apart get to choose which league they play in, so long as one parents’ home is within the league’s boundaries. Players also may be grandfathered into the league if they initially lived within the leagues boundaries.

Jackie Robinson West beat Las Vegas 7-5 in the U.S. championship game before falling to Seoul, South Korea, in the international championship.

The South Side squad became the first Chicago team to make an appearance in the championship in 31 years. It also was the first all African-American team to win the U.S. title.

–Sun-Times

© Copyright 2015 Sun-Times Media, LLC 

Support Erick Sanchez and Jackie Robinson West

The show this morning featured a couple of guests looking for your help. First, Erick Sanchez joined us to talk about his Kickstarter campaign to get Kenny Loggins to sing in his living room. You can donate to that fund here

Second, a little league team from Morgan Park might be on their way to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Show them some support by donating here.