2008 Cubs Convention: What’s going to happen and who will be there

The official list of players and celebrities who will be attending this year’s Cubs Convention has been released.

Ernie Banks	Scott Eyre	Les Lancaster		Geovany Soto
Glenn Beckert	Oneri Fleita	Derrek Lee	Lou Piniella	Tim Stoddard
Bob Brenly	Mike Fontenot	Ted Lilly	Dan Plesac	Lester Strode
Bill Buckner	Sam Fuld	Bill Madlock	Mike Quade	Rick Sutcliffe
Randy Bush	Sean Gallagher	Carlos Marmol	Rocky Roquet	Ryan Theriot
Jose Cardenal	Kevin Hart	Sean Marshall	Larry Rothschild	Alan Trammell
Tyler Colvin	Jim Hendry	Matt Murton	Jeff Samardzija	Steve Trout
Doug Dascenzo	Rich Hill	Dave Otto	Ryne Sandberg	Jerome Walton
Jody Davis	Bob Howry	Andy Pafko	Ron Santo	Daryle Ward
Andre Dawson	Pat Hughes	Milt Pappas	Matt Sinatro	Tim Wilken
Ivan DeJesus	Fergie Jenkins	Gerald Perry	Dwight Smith	Billy Williams
Ryan Dempster	Len Kasper	Billy Petrick	Lee Smith	Michael Wuertz
Bob Dernier	Crane Kenney	Felix Pie	Alfonso Soriano	Carlos Zambrano
Mark DeRosa	Dave Kingman

One thing I noticed right away was that there was no Mark Grace. He showed up in 2007 and it was a big deal that he did. After many years of not coming to the Cubs Convention, he made the decision to attend in 07. And he was warmly greeted for his trouble. Unfortunately, it looks like it might have been a one-time thing.

A few players I see that weren’t there last year… Dave Kingman, Andre Dawson and of course the new kids, Geovany Soto, Jeff Samardzija, and Sam Fuld.

The signing of Samardzija by the Cubs was actually making big news during the weekend of 2007 Cubs Convention.

Also, the schedule for the weekend came out. Again from Cubs.com:

Schedule of Events

Friday, January 18
5:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. – Opening Ceremonies
6:00 p.m. – 6:45 p.m. – Autograph Treasure Hunt
7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. – WGN Radio’s “SportsCentral Live”
7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. – CUBS BINGO!

Saturday, January 19
9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. – WGN Radio’s “Meet Cubs Baseball Management”
9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. – Injuries, Anatomy and Santo… Oh My!
9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. – Cubs Jeopardy!
10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. – Vine Line Presents Baseball in Latin America
10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. – WGN Radio’s “Not for Women Only”
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. – Baseball Conditioning Clinic
11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. – Lou and His Crew
11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. – Hitting Clinic
12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. – WGN Radio’s “A Day in the Life of a Major Leaguer”
12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. – Life as a Minor
1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. – Cubs Win, Lose or Draw
1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. – WGN Radio’s “Storytelling with Cubs Legends”
2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. – From the Stretch
2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. – 8-8-88… Or the Day After
3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. – Wheelchair Cubs
3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. – For Kids Only Press Conference
3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. – Cubs Forever: Celebrating 60 Years of WGN-TV and the Cubs
4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. – The Northside Mystique
4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. – Pitching Clinic
8:00 p.m. – Midnight – Rock ‘n’ Roll Revue

Sunday, January 20
9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. – Meet Cubs Business Management
10:00 a.m. – 12:30 a.m. – Baseball Hall of Fame Exhibit
10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. – Down on the Farm

It’s a packed schedule so I’ll pick and choose. The Baseball in Latin America sounds very interesting.

By the way, I just saw the extended weather forecast for Chicago. Saturday shows a high (yes, a high) of 7 degrees and Windy. So bundle up Cub fans.

2 thoughts on “2008 Cubs Convention: What’s going to happen and who will be there”

So many Ideas:

1) Is Tim Wilson going to sing “Church League Softball Fistfight?” I’ll bet he would if it were SoxFest. That song would fit in better in that environment.

2) Speaking of fistfights, I suggest that The Zealot “clock” Davey Ding-Dong right in the kisser. I’ll float your bail, sir.

3) Tell Milt Pappas that Bruce Froemming sends his best wishes.

And a serious one: I wonder what the CUBS will do in memory of Don Cardwell, who passed away on Monday.

DonS.