In Chicago, Paul Sullivan notes games with playoff implications were played on both sides of town yesterday, but the “difference was like night and day.” A crowd of 36,438 turned out at Wrigley Field to watch the Cubs “try to pad their wild-card lead,” while only 17,171 showed up at U.S. Cellular Field to watch the White Sox “try to get close to the Angels in their wild-card chase.” The Cubs “always outdraw the Sox when the teams play at home at the same time, and we're also in the middle of tourist season, which means Wrigley is full of out-of-towners while the Cell is half-full with the diehards.” Only the Yankees, Cubs and tributes to former MLBer Paul Konerko “bring out the crowds on the South Side.” It is “sad to see such a large attention gap” (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 8/13).
WAITING FOR TAKEOFF: In N.Y., William Rhoden asks of the NFL Jets following QB Geno Smith having his jaw broken by a now-former teammate, “Why can’t this star-crossed franchise, going on 47 years without a title, get out of its own way?” Jets G Willie Colon said, “Things like this can become a cancer.” Rhoden writes the incident “becomes merely the latest in a sordid Jets history.” The players “come and go, and so do the coaches, but it’s always something.” But suddenly the Jets’ preseason -- “which should be a laboratory” for coach Todd Bowles’ new system and an audition for players trying to make the roster -- has “become a test of resilience” (N.Y. TIMES, 8/13).
CATCH AND RELEASE?: MLB Network's Peter Gammons said of the future of Marlins manager Dan Jennings, who moved from the GM position, "They're going to go out and find another manager and it's going to be up to (Owner) Jeffrey Loria to be part of the decision. But the question is, having gone downstairs with people he's actually hired -- mainly the coaches -- can Dan Jennings then go back upstairs and be the general manager? It's an issue that Loria's going to really have to struggle with" ("The Rundown," MLB Network, 8/12).
