DAN McGRATH
Dan McGrath brings three decades of journalism experience to the Chicago News Cooperative, including more than 12 years as sports editor, associate managing editor and senior writer for the Chicago Tribune.
Before joining the Tribune, Dan worked for newspapers in Freeport, Ill.; Reno, Nev.; Sacramento, Calif.; San Francisco; Philadelphia; and New York. While he has worked most of his career in sports, he also has been a media critic, national correspondent, metro columnist and book reviewer.
Sports sections that he has edited have won more than a dozen top-10 awards from the Associated Press Sports Editors Association. He was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for spot news coverage in 1992 and for commentary in 1993. A Chicago native, he is the co-author or editor of five books on the city’s sports teams, including the best-selling "Out of the Blue" on the 2003 Chicago Cubs.
Recent Contributions
by DAN McGRATH | Dec 26, 2011
The Bulls rarely beat the Lakers in Los Angeles—they hadn’t, in fact, done so in Derrick Rose’s three years with the team. Forgive Bears fans, then, if they started to believe anything was possible on Christmas after Rose and the Bulls pulled out a last-second victory over Kobe-Bryant and Co. in their lockout-delayed season opener
by DAN McGRATH | Dec 23, 2011
Journalistic objectivity is put to the test whenever Marquette University plays basketball. I went to school in that gritty, lively patch of Milwaukee just south of the late, great Avalanche Bar, and it was a life-altering experience. How so? My wife had to take the car keys lest I go to meet the plane after the
by DAN McGRATH | Dec 18, 2011
So the Bulls are back at work, not noticeably affected by the N.B.A. lockout and deliberately sitting out the game of free-agent musical chairs that might result in some major stars realigning. Rip Hamilton should be a nice addition, but at 33 he’s a minor player in the drama that has surrounded the next destination
by DAN McGRATH | Dec 10, 2011
Tim Tebow ranks closer to Norris Weese and Pete Liske than to John Elway in the pantheon of Denver Broncos quarterbacks, but now is not a good time to be facing that much discussed and improbably successful left-hander, as the Bears must do on Sunday. A playoff berth that was there for the taking three
by DAN McGRATH | Dec 4, 2011
Minnie Minoso’s unofficial title as the Jackie Robinson of Latin America never did much to advance his case as a Hall of Fame-worthy ballplayer. Minoso, who was a hard-hitting left fielder for the White Sox over 12 years in the 1950s and ’60s, played with a flashy exuberance that helped make him a seven-time All-Star
by DAN McGRATH | Dec 4, 2011
Matt Forte is no Gale Sayers, and he doesn’t really warrant mention in the same sentence. That said, the fourth-year running back’s value to the Bears as a dual-purpose offensive threat can’t be overstated, particularly in light of the broken thumb that seems likely to sideline quarterback Jay Cutler for the balance of the season.
by DAN McGRATH | Nov 27, 2011
OAKLAND—Rick Mirer? Jonathan Quinn? Chad Hutchinson? In his first start as the replacement for injured Jay Cutler, Caleb Hanie seemed destined to take his place within that Rogues Gallery of Bears quarterback impostors in Sunday’s game against the Oakland Raiders. Hanie completed three passes to the Bears and two to the Raiders in the first
by DAN McGRATH | Nov 27, 2011
Jay Cutler is not Peyton Manning, but the Bears are not the Indianapolis Colts, so Chicago can breathe easier over the prospect of Caleb Hanie playing quarterback for the time being. Manning, long thought to be indestructible, has not appeared in a game this season, felled by a neck injury that threatens to end his
by DAN McGRATH | Nov 25, 2011
Rain had fallen in sheets all morning, and powerful wind gusts challenged umbrellas. The sunshine that occasionally peeked through an ominous cloud cover was misleading — temperatures would plummet in the afternoon. A good day to be indoors in Chicago was a challenging day for a TV weatherman. Tom Skilling could not wait to get
by DAN McGRATH | Nov 20, 2011
The Bears’ victory over San Diego at Soldier Field on Sunday seems destined to be remembered as one of the costliest wins in the team’s long history. It cost them their quarterback, probably for the rest of the regular season. Jay Cutler, finally emerging as the franchise player the Bears believed they were acquiring when
