“The Hawk” Andre Dawson may be the headliner of the 2018 Chicago Cubs Convention, as his presence at this event could signal a return to the organization. And in what capacity might that be?
For now, the Cubs are keeping it under wraps, but perhaps some clues might surface during the Welcome Back panel on Saturday late afternoon. Dawson won the NL MVP award his first year with the Cubs in 1987, and went into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2010.Derrek Lee, Juan Pierre and Carlos Zambrano are among the other Cubs alumni who will be a part of that session.
Hall of Famers Fergie Jenkins, Ryne Sandberg and Billy Williams will also all be appearing at the 33rd edition of the event.
Once again, the Cubs Convention centers around a very busy Saturday program, the day on which nearly all the sessions traditionally take place. The lineup includes Baseball Operations Update, which will provide Cubs Convention attendees with the latest on the Wrigley Field renovation project and possibly, any new media deals currently in the works.
Saturday also brings the very popular kids only press conference hosted by Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo. Cubs Convention, once again at the Sheraton Grand Chicago, commences with the opening ceremonies on Friday at 6 p.m. local.
It will be followed by Ryan Dempster’s late night talk show style program, which features interviews and comedy vignettes. In past years, it has been a bit edgy at times.
A list of confirmed Cubs convention players, coaches, alumni, team executives and broadcasters is available here at this link.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune company’s blogging community Chicago Now.
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