With snow on the ground and a single-digit wind chill, it\u2019s time to start thinking about opening day.<\/p>\n
Pricing out streaming options
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An ad for the Chicago Cubs’ Marquee Sports Network on Sunday, Aug. 25, 2019, at Wrigley Field in Chicago. (Brian Cassella\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n
The Cubs announced new streaming options for Marquee telecasts, making the network available on Hulu + Live TV and through Amazon\u2019s Prime Video<\/a>. As a disgruntled Comcast cable TV subscriber who downgraded from the Ultimate tier after the end of last season, this was great news.<\/p>\n So I logged onto the Marquee website to get more information, and was directed to a live chat box. I asked for Bruce Levine, but instead got someone named \u201cJohn\u201d who replied: \u201cI understand that you want to speak to a specific person. Unfortunately, we don\u2019t have that option to transfer you. Just rest assured that I\u2019ll do my best to help you with your concern.\u201d<\/p>\n Since I didn\u2019t trust John, I decided to call a reliable source at Cubs camp in Mesa, Ariz., and asked if you had to pay extra for getting the Cubs games on Hulu + Live TV or Prime Video.<\/p>\n It turned out that the Marquee Sports Network will be included for free on Hulu + Live TV, and fortunately I still had the Hulu password to my cousin\u2019s former wife\u2019s account. But that turned out to be the wrong Hulu, and to get the Hulu streaming service would mean spending another $90 a month for channels I don\u2019t even watch on cable.<\/p>\n Marquee Sports Network reaches agreement with Hulu and Amazon Prime to stream Chicago Cubs games<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n So Amazon\u2019s Prime Video seemed like a better option, even though I just cancelled my subscription a month or so ago after Amazon owner Jeff Bezos got rid of The Washington Post sports section and gutted the international coverage.<\/p>\n But it turned out that Amazon Prime does not offer the Cubs network for free, so I\u2019d be spending $15 per month again for Amazon and another $20 for Marquee. Add in the $20 for the Chicago Sports Network direct-to-consumer app for White Sox games, and that\u2019s $55 combined to watch both teams, which is more than the $40.25 for the two channels on the Ultimate tier<\/a> that I cancelled after the 2025 season to avoid paying for reruns of Cubs and Sox games.<\/p>\n Of course, I could just watch both teams on DTC apps for $40, saving a quarter. Anyway, like Craig Counsell and Will Venable, I\u2019ll have some hard decisions to make before opening day.<\/p>\n Life was so much easier \u2014 and cheaper \u2014 when the only two stations you had to know were WGN-Ch. 9 and WSNS-Ch. 44.<\/p>\n Train dreams Thanks to new stadium whiplash from the Chicago Bears saga, I hesitate to mention the report from Crain\u2019s Chicago Business that White Sox owner-in-waiting Justin Ishbia might have a piece of land available for a new ballpark<\/a> on the other side of the river from the Chicago Fire\u2019s new stadium in the South Loop.<\/p>\n Ishbia\u2019s private equity firm, Shore Capital, is \u201cin the early planning\u201d for a mixed-use development at the train yard near the 78, according to Crain\u2019s, after agreeing to buy a 47-acre chunk of land from Amtrak.<\/p>\n Naturally, that suggests a new ballpark at the site for Ishbia. A new Sox Park seems to be a done deal in his mind.<\/p>\n Asked about a new stadium last November, Ishbia told me,<\/a> \u201cI will say this: The lease (at Rate Field) is up in four years after 2029, and I\u2019m 48. So I can tell you one thing for sure \u2014 we will build a new stadium. I\u2019m not sure when it will be. But in the next 50 years, when I\u2019m the steward, there will be a new stadium built.\u201d<\/p>\n How it will be paid for is the big question, but Ishbia has already invited Pope Leo XIV to throw out the first pitch, so it\u2019s got to happen.<\/p>\n Few Sox fans want to wait even five years for the Ishbia era to begin. But Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf will retain control through at least 2029, according to the agreement they signed last year, and can decide to keep it through 2033 if he wants. Ishbia has the option to buy the team for the 2034 season.<\/p>\n Based on conversations with baseball insiders, Reinsdorf is hoping to host the 100th anniversary of the inaugural All-Star Game at Comiskey Park, an idea that sprang from the mind of former In the Wake of the News columnist Arch Ward<\/a>. That means Reinsdorf would likely still be the owner in 2033.<\/p>\n But hopefully Ishbia would have that new stadium built by then, with a right-field wall short enough for a left-handed slugger like Munetaka Murakami to pop one into the Chicago River, and an upper deck that doesn\u2019t replicate the epic fail of new Comiskey Park.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the end of the world as we know it (and I feel fine) The World Baseball Classic was a nice diversion from spring training games, and it was great to see Venezuela celebrate after its 3-2 upset win over the United States\u2019 stars<\/a>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not the end of the world for America, but just an exhibition baseball game, albeit with a lot more drama.<\/p>\n A true \u201cclassic\u201d would involve a three-game series at the very least, but MLB doesn\u2019t want the games to intrude on the players\u2019 seasons, which is understandable considering the stakes.<\/p>\n In the end, the U.S. team didn\u2019t hit when it mattered most, reminiscent of the Cubs in a three-game sweep by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2008 National League Division Series.<\/p>\n
\n![\"White](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/CTC-L-sox-sale-01_230027064.jpg\")
Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, right, has agreed on a plan to potentially sell billionaire Justin Ishbia a controlling stake of the team by the end of the 2034 season. (Chris Sweda and John J. Kim\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n
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MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred talks to United States right fielder Aaron Judge during the awards ceremony following the championship game of the World Baseball Classic against Venezuela, Tuesday, March 17, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo\/Lynne Sladky)<\/p>\n