Clubhouse Chatter: The best game I ever covered was ...
What our Sports staff has to say while waiting for the games to resume.
I'll go back to Mundelein at Libertyville in 1994 - packed gym, Kyle Kessel vs. Matt Heldman. Mundelein made a late comeback and Kessel threw in a running, double-pump 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie the game. The referees got mixed up about the score, though, and left the court thinking Mundelein had won by 1. Everyone in the gym was confused, the scorekeeper decided they must have ruled it a 2-point basket and Libertyville started celebrating, fans swarmed the court. Mundelein coach Dennis Kessel went and found the refs in the locker room, and they realized the mistake. So they came back out, it took 20 minutes to clear the court and Mundelein won in overtime. Libertyville returned the favor by winning the sectional title game on a jumper at the buzzer in triple overtime.
- Mike McGraw
The 2009 MLS Eastern Conference championship game stands out even though the Chicago Fire lost to Real Salt Lake in penalty kicks at Toyota Park in Southwest suburban Bridgeview. The stadium had been open just a couple of years then, the Fire had a winning tradition in those years, and the atmosphere in the packed stadium was electric. Despite the defeat, the future looked so bright. The reality was just the opposite - the Fire has been mediocre to miserable since and planned to move back to Soldier Field this season - but it doesn't diminish the memories of that game.
- Orrin Schwarz
Game 6 of the 2015 Stanley Cup Finals at the UC: Blackhawks 2, Lightning 0. Deafening. Exhilarating. Third Cup in six years. I wrote about Conn Smythe winner Duncan Keith. Before stepping onto the ice for interviews amid the celebration, I told myself, "Don't slip, get what you need, get off the ice, and don't act like 10-year-old Joe."
- Joe Aguilar
It took two nights to get it officially done, and I was fortunate enough to cover both when the Cubs turned on the lights for the first time at Wrigley Field in August 1988. Got drenched in the auxiliary press area on a catwalk down the right-field line the first night, then came back the next night to see the Cubs beat the Mets. (Footnote: The rained out game was against the Phillies).
- John Radtke