Cubs need heroes, not more goats
Steve Bartman should consider himself lucky, but the same can't be said for goats in the Chicago area.
In an apparent nod to the "Curse of the Billy Goat," which some Chicago Cubs fans believe has haunted the team for the past 63 years, a dead goat was found hanging on a statue of Harry Caray outside Wrigley Field early Monday.
A 911 call at about 2:40 a.m. led police to the goat, which was hanging from a rope on the arm of a statue of legendary Cubs announcer Caray, nbcchicago.com reported.
Police said a similar incident occurred in 2007, when a butchered goat was found hanging from the statue.
No one was arrested in Monday's incident, and it was not known how the goat died.
The "Curse of the Billy Goat" stems from Oct. 6, 1945, when tavern owner Billy Sianis bought a box seat for his goat, Murphy, for Game 4 of the World Series at Wrigley Field to help promote his establishment.
When he was ordered to remove the goat, Sianis supposedly placed a curse on the team that would prevent it from hosting another World Series.
The Cubs, who last won the World Series in 1908, led the 1945 Fall Classic two games to one until losing that day's game 4-1 to Detroit. They eventually lost the World Series in seven games and never have returned.
In Game 6 of the 2003 National League Championship Series between the Cubs and Florida Marlins, Bartman attempted to catch a foul ball from the front row, appearing to knock it away from Cubs left fielder Moises Alou.
Chicago -- leading the game 3-0 and the series 3-2 -- was five outs from reaching the Series at the time. But the Marlins scored eight runs after the incident en route to an 8-3 victory and went on to win the series.
• CASINOS BOOT IVERSON -- Despite reportedly dropping a ton of cash at casinos across the country in these dire economic times, Detroit Pistons guard Allen Iverson managed to get banned from Michigan's MGM and Greektown casinos, the Detroit News reported.
Iverson supposedly is a sore loser, often throwing his chips or cards at the dealer. But rumor has it he hits his target only about eight of every 32 attempts.
• HEADS UP -- Former UNR baseball standout Chris Dickerson, a left fielder for the Cincinnati Reds, suffered a somewhat embarrassing injury Saturday when he banged his head into a revolving glass door at the team hotel.
Dickerson has a large bump over his right eye as a result of the accident.
"My 'real' story is I hit my head on the rim during a celebrity slam dunk contest," Dickerson said jokingly in an interview on mlb.com. "They do need to do something about that door. It's a death trap waiting to happen.
"I can only imagine what happens with people less coordinated than me. I'm a little clumsy but a pretty coordinated guy. I should be able to fly through that thing easy. I struggle with it every day."
Despite the incident, Dickerson, who is batting .300, started for the Reds on Sunday and went 1-for-2 with two walks in a 2-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
COMPILED BY TODD DEWEY LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
