Hey Swami:
What's all this about Kevin Costner coming to Lake County to build a baseball stadium? Is this really going to happen, or is it going to be like that billion-dollar dome they were going to build in Waukegan for the Bears back in the 1970s? Assuming they do get a minor-league team here, what would they name it?
Ebby Calvin LaLoosh
Dear Nuke:
Yes, actor and Oscar-winning director Kevin Costner -- best known for his 1980s baseball movies but who should also go down in history for the brutal final shootout in the more recent "Open Range" -- did go on a Chicago TV station Tuesday morning and announce his participation in a proposal to bring a Northern League baseball team to a prospective stadium in Zion. The ensuing excitement was much greater than if, for example, actor and commercial pitchman Gary Coleman announced he wanted to bring baseball to his hometown.
And now to answer your other two questions via the crystal ball:
-- Yes, this is going to happen, even in the current economic climate. The stadium might end up having fewer bells and whistles, but Costner has stuck his neck out publicly and should be able to pony up his share of the dough, considering that he co-owns a casino and, during his day job, makes $15 million even for movies no one sees ("Dragonfly").
-- As for a name, the Isotopes already play in both fictional Springfield and in real-life Albuquerque, so that's out. Hmmm ... the Union Jacks? The Dowies? The Shilohs?
No, this whole gambit is going to sink or swim hitched to the big name that's bringing it here. Thus, the name will be ... the Dancing Wolves.
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