First off, I’ve decided to make this a weekly challenge, rather than a daily challenge. Not because there aren’t enough non-hall of fame Chicago sports stars, but because I am falling behind coming up with the posts (Damn Feder comments).

So let’s go weekly, shall we? The last winner was former Chicago Cub first baseman Bill Buckner (pre-Boston). He decisively defeated Stormin’ Norman Van Lier. So this week I thought we would get away from the late 70s/early 80s and let some of our new fans have a shot with a contemporary player. How bout pro-bowl Bear linebacker Lance Briggs.

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We took a week off to regroup, but we are back! It’s time to continue our mega-popular Chicago non-hall of fame sports hero challenge!!! We give you two athletes that contributed to the Chicago sports landscape and put them in the proverbial cage to battle it out for blog votes. The winner moves on to the next day (Jeopardy! rules) to face a new Chicago non-hall of fame sports hero.  Today? We pick up where we left off with winner Norm Van Lier taking on…Billy Buck.

Norm Van Lier: His Bulls basketball career spanned over several decades (playing in 70s, broadcasting in 90’s/00s). Norm was a defensive marvel, named to three all-defensive teams. He also had a magnetic personality, one that made him a star before basketball in Chicago was king. According to Wikipedia: Van Lier held the record for the longest field goal in NBA history (84 feet) for 24 years until Baron Davis broke the record on November 17, 2001 (89 feet). Stormin’ Norman Van Lier also made a name for himself with his broadcast duties during the championship runs, as well as after.

Bill Buckner: Let’s forget about Buckner in Boston. He has his own fans there. But in Chicago, Buckner was a beast. He played during the down-years of the Cub in the early 80’s, but he was the star. He was a clutch hitter with a mustache to boot. I didn’t know this, but Buckner played his first game with the Dodgers in 1969! I had no idea he was in the league that long before coming to Chicago. He only struck out 453 times in his career and made the all-star team one time in 1981, while wearing Chicago pinstripes. Buckner may be a laughingstock in Boston, but he is remembered fondly on the North Side.

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Photo by Moe Martinez

The new Harry Caray’s restaurant is opening on Navy Pier this morning. There is a red carpet, live music, local djs and even people handing out energy drinks (you know you’ve made it as a restaurant if someone is handing out free energy drinks).  Stars include Ernie Banks, Richard Dent, James Denton, Jeremy Piven, Patrick Kane and others. Why would they all come out to a red carpet event at a Navy Pier restaurant opening? Because most of the stars own it. Yep, they are investors. That’s sort of like Dan Akroyd showing up at House of Blues (back in the day).

So, instead of doing the daily duels of non-hall of fame Chicago sports stars today, we thought we would do a poll asking you who the most famous sports star is…today at Harry Caray’s.

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Harold Baines beat up Jim McMahon pretty bad. Actually, Baines’ victory yesterday set the record for biggest margin of victory, previously held by Steve Kerr (over Derrek Lee). So today Baines moves on and takes on a sentimental favorite…Stormin’ Norman Van Lier. One year ago today, Van Lier passed away.

Harold Baines: Harold Baines never won a championship. The closest he came was in 1983, where Baines led an outstanding Sox squad to a first round elimination. But Baines had a long, steady career in Chicago, giving White Sox fans something to cheer about. Baines finished his career with huge numbers and still is in the top ten in many AL batting categories. This from Wikipedia: “With 1,628 RBI, Baines has the most RBI of any player eligible for the Hall of Fame but not currently inducted.”

Norm Van Lier: His Bulls basketball career spanned over several decades (playing in 70s, broadcasting in 90’s/00s). Norm was a defensive marvel, named to three all-defensive teams. He also had a magnetic personality, one that made him a star before basketball in Chicago was king. According to Wikipedia: Van Lier held the record for the longest field goal in NBA history (84 feet) for 24 years until Baron Davis broke the record on November 17, 2001 (89 feet). Stormin’ Norman Van Lier also made a name for himself with his broadcast duties during the championship runs, as well as after.

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In our continuing daily battles for non-hall of fame Chicago sports stars, we come to a colossal match-up. McMahon beat Chelios yesterday to move on to today’s challenger: Harold Baines. Who was better?

Jim McMahon: McMahon is officially the Chicago Bears QB of record. Not because of his stats, but because of his success in big games/post-season…and because of his attitude. But make no mistake: McMahon did play his heart-out in a Super Bowl victory and really gave Richard Dent a run for his money as MVP. McMahon also became the Bears’ face for the comeback. His come from behind win against Minnesota still lives as one of the biggest sports memories in Chicago history. His drawback? He was hurt constantly. And he ended up leaving the Bears with only one championship. Some might even say he wasn’t that great of a QB, but surrounded by such talent that his job was made easier.

Harold Baines: Harold Baines was awesome. But he never won a championship. The closest he came was in 1983, where Baines led an outstanding Sox squad to a first round elimination. But Baines had a long, steady career in Chicago, giving White Sox fans something to cheer about. Baines finished his career with huge numbers and still is in the top ten in many AL batting categories. This from Wikipedia: “With 1,628 RBI, Baines has the most RBI of any player eligible for the Hall of Fame but not currently inducted.”

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Chris Chelios beat the ‘Red Baron’ Rick Sutcliffe yesterday for our non-hall of fame Chicago sports star battles. Today? Chelios moves on (Jeopardy! rules) to take on…the ‘Punky QB!’

Chris Chelios: The Chicago area native and chili-bar owner is the epitome of a defensemen. And in a town where we would rather see a shut-out than a blow-out, Chelios fit right in. The Blackhawks squad that featured Roenicke, Belfour, Larmer and Chelios was outstanding. They took one shot at the Stanley Cup in 1992 and failed, but they were constant winners before the lockout season in 1995. But Chelios was a bonafide superstar in town (and still plays for the Wolves). If you are down on Cheli because of his defection to the Red Wings, just remember where Sutcliffe ended up: St. Louis. Now, Cheli will probably be in the NHL Hall of Fame. But he’s not yet. So he’s eligible.

Jim McMahon: McMahon is officially the Chicago Bears QB of record. Not because of his stats, but because of his success in big games/post-season…and because of his attitude. But make no mistake: McMahon did play his heart-out in a Super Bowl victory and really gave Richard Dent a run for his money as MVP. McMahon also became the Bears’ face for the comeback. His come from behind win against Minnesota still lives as one of the biggest sports memories in Chicago history. His drawback? He was hurt constantly. And he ended up leaving the Bears with only one championship. Some might even say he wasn’t that great of a QB, but surrounded by such talent that his job was made easier. McMahon went on to back-up Favre in Green Bay.

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The ‘Red Baron’ withstood a last-second charge from Toni Kukoc to win yesterday’s Daily Duel. Today, Sutcliffe moves on to a more formidable challenge: Chris Chelios.

Rick Sutcliffe: The ‘Red Baron’ pitched his way to a Cy Young award for the 1984 Cubs and even hit a home run in Game 1 of the NLCS. He came over in an early season trade from the Cleveland Indians and rattled off a 16-1 record. He was the ace of all aces for that era. He was the Cubs great hope to make it to the World Series, but was sidelined with injuries the following year (1985) and never put together another season with the magic of the 1984 season again. But, to this day, he remains one of the best pitchers the Chicago Cubs have ever had on the mound at Wrigley (all-time).

Chris Chelios: The Chicago area native and chili-bar owner is the epitome of a defensemen. And in a town where we would rather see a shut-out than a blow-out, Chelios fit right in. The Blackhawks squad that featured Roenicke, Belfour, Larmer and Chelios was outstanding. They took one shot at the Stanley Cup in 1992 and failed, but they were constant winners before the lockout season in 1995. But Chelios was a bonafide superstar in town (and still plays for the Wolves). If you are down on Cheli because of his defection to the Red Wings, just remember where Sutcliffe ended up: St. Louis. Now, Cheli will probably be in the NHL Hall of Fame. But he’s not yet. So he’s eligible.

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Last week, we began what can be best described as a tour de force blog: Daily Duels: Chicago Sports Stars. The goal is to have a daily head-to-head match-up between Chicago’s best non-hall of fame sports stars. Last week, Chicago White Sox Pitcher Mark Buehrle took two head-to-head battles against Eddie Belfour and Otis Wilson. His reign ended when Toni Kukoc was introduced. Kukoc had the weekend off to prepare for today’s match-up against: Rick Sutcliffe. Vote, after the jump. Read the rest of this entry →

Mark Buehrle has knocked off Eddie Belfour and Otis Wilson in our daily battles of non-hall of famers. Each time someone wins, they get to move on to the next day and fight again. I had a great Chicago Cub for today, but I can’t have Cubs v. Sox and definitely can’t have baseball/baseball. So we go back to the hardwood with…the ‘Croatian Sensation’ Toni Kukoc.

Mark Buehrle: The Chicago White Sox pitcher has pitched his way into a hall of fame discussion. Not only has Beuhrle won a championship, but he was lights-out in the World Series. He also holds the record for consecutive batters retired (45) and of course will always be remembered for last year’s perfect game. He’s a control pitcher who gets people out. Many say that if Beurhle can pitch a few more years at his high level, he will be a MLB Hall of Fame candidate. And he did Wikipedia Files with us. Which is cool.

Toni Kukoc: Kukoc came over to replace MJ. Yeah, right. But he did come in and make an incredible impact. The Pippen/Kukoc combination when Jordan retired (1st time) was enough to almost bring the Bulls back to glory. Both years, the Bulls did make the playoffs. And when Jordan came back, it was Kukoc winning 6th man awards and carrying the team when chips were down (Game 7 v. Indiana, anyone?). Kukoc was a perfect compliment for the Bulls – a scorer off the bench who could heat up and create his own shot. When Kukoc was hot, he couldn’t be stopped.

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Sound the alarms, the Steve Kerr dominance has ended. This week, we’ve begun our new series, “Daily Duels: Chicago Sports Stars.” We are pitting non-hall of fame Chicago athletes against each other in a winner-moves-on battle. Yesterday, Kerr lost a close one to Hawks legend Eddie Belfour. Belfour moves on to face another Chicago athlete. Today? Belfour gets Beuhrle.

Eddie Belfour: Eddie the Eagle was dominant as a goaltender for the Chicago Blackhawks. Some say it may not be fair to include Belfour because he is destined for the NHL Hall of Fame someday. But, for now, he’s not there, so he is eligible. Belfour defended goal for the ‘Hawks when they made their Stanley Cup run in the early 1990’s. According to Wikipedia, Belfour finished third among all Blackhawk goalies in games played (415) and wins (201). But he never did win a Stanley Cup. I was also told that he used to wake up his neighbors with really loud music, the mornings before games.

Mark Buehrle: The Chicago White Sox pitcher has pitched his way into a hall of fame discussion. Not only has Beuhrle won a championship, but he was lights-out in the World Series. He also holds the record for consecutive batters retired (45) and of course will always be remembered for last year’s perfect game. He’s a control pitcher who gets people out. Many say that if Beurhle can pitch a few more years at his high level, he will be a MLB Hall of Fame candidate. And he did Wikipedia Files with us. Which is cool.

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