ONE TOWN

Sunday’s game against the White Sox almost had all the drama of a Hollywood script. There were men in black and men in white. A duel ensued under sheet of misty rain. And a champion paraded into town to uplift the masses….

Baseball fans were treated to near history with a double no-hitter taken into the seventh. White Sox right-hander Gavin Floyd lost his bid in the seventh, while Cubs pitcher Ted Lilly extended his no-hitter through the eighth. Juan Pierre broke it up in the ninth with a single.

In the end the Cubs won the game, but the city of Chicago was the real winner. To be sure, it has been a rough first half for both sides of town. On national television, the Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks triumphantly paraded around “The Friendly Confines.” Indeed, the Blackhawks gave Cubs and White Sox fans something to cheer about, as they all collectively drank the goodness from Lord Stanley’s cup.  

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The Stanley Cup gets the grand tour of “The Friendly Confines.”

Ryan Dempster and Carlos Marmol revel in the Cup’s presence. Who’s No. 1?

Hoisting the Cup, Dempster hopes to be hoisting another type of trophy someday.

Forward John Madden shares the Cup with ecstatic Cubs and Sox fans.

And amid all that, a pitching duel broke out as Ted Lilly (left) and Gavin Floyd had no-hitters going through the seventh and eighth innings, respectively. Lilly earned the win with a one-hitter.

–Mike Huang