Jim O'Donnell: Maybe Ted Nugent could help Reinsdorf freshen the art of the leak
WITH HIS 88TH BIRTHDAY a little more than a month away, Jerry Reinsdorf says that he has no hobbies.
He doesn't play bridge. He's never really golfed. All of his old Jackie Mason vinyl is probably a bit scratched or otherwise unplayable.
So here's a thought: Maybe he can go into a recording studio with Ted Nugent and update an old “Nuge” standard to cover all of the crisp rumors about his future agenda with the White Sox.
Chair Jer' and Nugent (St. Viator, Class of '67) can skip the loincloths and re-record “Cat Scratch Fever” with an updated title and lyrics.
Rhythmically right on, call it “Sox Leak Leverage.”
THE REMAKE WILL BE ALL ABOUT a shrewd, seasoned sports business mogul who has this amazing propensity to push for leverage in inevitable negotiations over a new stadium or a new lease at a majestically renovated “Ball Mall.”
He or his minions do it by feeding hungry media a dizzying array of possibilities about where the White Sox might be playing when their ultra-favorable lease at Guaranteed Rot Field expires in five years.
The pipeline may be cloaked, as in the leaking of “serious conversations” with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson this week.
But it'll there.
Could be Nashville. Could be “The 78” in the South Loop. Could be somewhere in the Chicago suburbs.
If he were to get a fresh ton of franchise-favoring considerations from the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago, it could even mean a sharply upgraded stay on West 35th Street.
HIS GREAT PAL JIM THOMPSON took the art of the leak to a devastating level back in 1973 when his U.S. Attorney's office had former Gov. Otto Kerner convicted of a variety of spun charges in the media before the first gavel had fallen at trial.
The core charge against Kerner was bribery. But no briber was ever named. That would have compromised the precarious position of race-track empress Marje Everett, a critical Thompson prosecution resource.
She had sold Arlington Park to Gulf & Western. At the time of Kerner's indictment, she was also in the process of acquiring majority control of Hollywood Park.
So even though only Everett could have signed off on bribing Kerner, Thompson and staff worked around that part. The future governor even flew to California to testify about her stellar character during her licensing hearing before the California Racing Board.
But he and his posse didn't skip ongoing pre-trial leaks to the media – primarily Ron Koziol of the Chicago Tribune. And Kerner went from honorable civic, political and military leader to a presumed felon in the blink of precisely planted newspaper innuendo.
His trial was mere coda. It was a major win for Thompson and the U.S. Justice Department of Richard Nixon and John Mitchell – certainly a fine batch of fellows.
SO THE CURRENT MEDIA LEAKING about Reinsdorf and his White Sox agenda is mere child's play.
Jerry's side leaks and wide-eyed media shake their tail feathers and expand.
If only he could consistently construct winning sports teams.
But why should he care when there's a whole lot of “Sox Leak Leverage” being generated?
And Jerry Reinsdorf says that he has no hobbies.
STREET-BEATIN':
Brutal reality for NFL America: No-prep Tony Romo will be working tonight's Bills-Chiefs game (5:30 p.m., CBS), next Sunday's AFC championship game and Super Bowl 58 on Feb. 11. His current La-Z-Boy style couldn't hold the interest of a weeknight bingo crowd at an American Legion hall near his native Burlington, Wisconsin. …
Keith Williams, a face in the crowd masquerading as market manager for ESPN Chicago, left radio professionals busting a gut when he told media, “Ratings isn't our scorecard.” When your station is battling to stay ahead of the Moody Bible Institute's WMBI-FM (90.1), that's a reframing worthy of the Ron DeSantis presidential campaign. …
Any Bulls fans not bracing for the trade of Alex Caruso should be. No current Bull is of more interest to legitimate championship contenders looking for a dependable energizer. Caruso's addition to Oklahoma City could push Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and a healthy Thunder to unprecedented heights. (They're already an entertaining group to watch, a rarity in the current NBA.) …
The massive layoffs at Sports Illustrated Friday were another omen of the dire straits impacting so much legacied sports media. The brand has been in a steady decline since well before its 2018 sale by founder Time Inc. Still, it's impossible not to acknowledge how such transcendent talents as Frank Deford, Gary Smith and photographer Walter Iooss Jr. influenced generations of press boxers to come. …
And MIA Brian Hanley, on what he'd like to see at any new White Sox stadium: “Bullet-proof vest rentals.”
Jim O'Donnell's Sports and Media column appears each week on Sunday and Thursday. Reach him at jimodonnelldh@yahoo.com. All communications may be considered for publication.