SPORTS From the Bleachers

COLUMN BY KURT MARGGRAF IN CHICAGO

Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial beginning of summer.

For Harbor Country businesses, the beginning of the masses returning from surrounding cities along with their buying power.

For some locals it’s the influx of the tourists, with increased traffic, difficulty obtaining reservations at restaurants, and crowded beaches.

All in all though, everyone gets along with each other and we all expect to have a glorious, wonderful summer.

Chicago’s baseball teams are not, so far, having glorious seasons. The Cubs are eight games under .500 and the White Sox are 11 games under. Fortunately, both teams are in divisions that aren’t very strong right now, so they only find themselves five and six games out of first.

Because both teams are playing so poorly, I’m feeling rather optimistic. In my opinion, both teams are considerably better than their record shows.

The White Sox will get much better this week when their closer, Liam Hendricks, returns. Six short months ago, Hendricks was diagnosed with stage 4 Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, and his quick return will be a tremendous lift for the Sox.

Hendricks really impressed me when soon after his cancer diagnosis he was interviewed and he said that initially he thought why me, but shortly afterwards he thought why not me? That, my friends, is strength.

I wasn’t his biggest fan but his courage and leadership turned me completely around. His return should be an inspiration to the team and his pitching absolutely will help on the field. The Sox have been mediocre for a year and a half, but I think it’s about time for them to start realizing their potential.

The Cubs started the year playing very good ball but they’ve been awful the last couple of weeks. I am having trouble figuring out why this is happening. They brought up a couple of their youngsters from the minors, and they’re performing admirably so I believe they’re just in a bad streak. When the bad streak ends, there is no good reason why a good streak can’t begin.

They may need a couple of lineup tweaks, particularly with the bullpen, but I believe, like the White Sox, they can be in the playoff hunt when September rolls around.

We were at a picnic on Sunday, so I didn’t get a chance to watch the Indianapolis 500, but I saw some spectacular crashes on the news tonight. I’m not sure that I consider drivers to be world-class athletes, but no one can deny that they are brave enough to put their lives on the line every time there’s a race.

Finally, I’m looking forward to watching Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat take on the Boston Celtics Monday night in game 7 of this hard fought series. I hope everyone has a wonderful summer.

Louis Zamperini said, “To persevere is important to everybody. Don’t give up. Don’t give in. There is always an answer to everything.”

Be kind. Talk to you next week. Peace, love, and happiness.