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