O'Donnell: Election of Brandon Johnson likely pushes the Bears closer to Arlington Heights
BRANDON JOHNSON IS NOW the mayor-elect of the city of Chicago.
Fans of the Bears who like Soldier Field can be excused for not greeting that news with wild cheering.
A 3-yard completion by Nathan Peterman would probably generate more burnt orange-and-blue lakefront fever.
Will the new mayor — a teacher and progressive union organizer — present any visioned, fiscally prudent plan to prevent the team from bolting That Teeterin' Town to build a new stadium somewhere on the 326 acres that once housed Arlington Park?
As the late Len O'Connor might say in his legendary TV drone, “That is not very likely.”
THE TOP PRIORITIES on the Johnson agenda at point of mayoral entry are: policing, municipal finance and education.
As far as any campaign to “Save the Bears,” the thought of the new Johnson administration directing money or free land to such a tenth-hour initiative is folly.
The former Elgin resident made it clear during his longshot campaign that he would like to see “another ‘Super Bowl Shuffle'” take over the town.
But he stopped far short of committing any significant focus or resources to keeping the team within city limits.
If a member of Gov. J.B. Pritzker's privileged network was to gain controlling ownership of the Bears, then the new Arlington Derby becomes an entirely different handicapping challenge.
AS FOR THE VILLAGE OF ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, if its residents were asked, “Do you want a new Bears stadium at Arlington Park?”, a referendum would carry.
If the core question were amended to, “Do you want any of your tax dollars increased or redirected to assist construction of a new Bears stadium at Arlington Park?”, the referendum would fail as badly as Peterman facing a third-and-37.
The people of Arlington Heights want transparency as the possibility of a Bears' move continues to evolve. They do not want deflective snit-throwing by village officials as a recurring answer to fair questions about possible backstage maneuvering.
A time-tested answer to civic suspicions is transparency overload.
BRANDON JOHNSON WILL WALK into a mayor's office on May 15 not renowned for its see-through walls.
His city is in desperate need of an array of upgrades.
The village of Arlington Heights is not.
The Bears at Arlington Park will not improve the quality of life in Arlington Heights and in fact, might diminish it.
But no one can question that Johnson's victory on Tuesday moved the possibility of an NFL stadium all that much closer to the intersection of Northwest Highway and Route 53.
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STREET-BEATIN':
LSU basketball tigress Angel Reese must not have been listening when Michelle Obama kept saying, “When they go low, we go high.” But in this kooky new NIL age of public where's-mine?, Reese and Iowa white dove Caitlin Clark will probably wind up in some sort of Magic Johnson-Larry Bird TV commercial. (Samuel L. Jackson can play the Jill Biden part.) ...
Great Q. from the sports-and-media poi boy pondering file: If the Iowa-LSU women's championship game went head-to-head with the UConn-San Diego State men's afterthought, which would have drawn more viewers? Book it — the ladies, with our without coach Kim Mulkey in her leftover Mardi Gras sequins, win in a walk. ...
Final audience tote on those two title games: LSU-Iowa, Sunday afternoon, ABC — 9.9M; Connecticut-San Diego State, Monday night, CBS — 14.7M (the least-watched men's finale in the live network era). CBS seers were wise enough to tuck in a Jim Nantz college basketball farewell — narrated by Ron Howard — before Saturday's men's semifinal games. ...
For those who still toast the Hindenburg disaster, yes, that MODage system went up in flames during the NCAA men's tournament. MODage was predicated on a recent seven-year history of generally reliable seeding. But chairman Chris Reynolds of Bradley University and fellow wind chasers on the selection committee proved as capable as Al Michaels attempting to “sching” Verdi. ...
The ashcanning of Frank Thomas from FOX's MLB coverage is unfortunate. He is an informed and pleasant video presence. And, as has been stated before, the most entertaining network baseball panel of the new millennium was Thomas, Pete Rose, Alex Rodriguez and Kevin Burkhardt on FOX during the Cubs' goat-busting 2016 World Series run. ...
The Masters lifts its welcome azaleas beginning today (ESPN, Thursday and Friday afternoon; CBS, Saturday and Sunday). The trade-off should have been increased Saudi oil production for allowing LIV tee traitors to participate. Trevor Immelman makes his main stage debut as lead analyst for CBS. (Who can forget when he won the 2006 Cialis Western Open at Cog Hill?) ...
And li'l Ricky Rosello, on Billy Donovan and the Bulls limping into the NBA postseason as a play-in: “Does this mean they finally get to trade Zach LaVine?”
• Jim O'Donnell's Sports and Media column appears Sunday and Thursday Reach him at jimodonnelldh@yahoo.com. All communications may be considered for publication.