Jerry Reinsdorf, the chairman of the Chicago Bulls and the Chicago White Sox, has 7 championships under his belt. The six pack collected by Michael Jordan and the Bulls, during the 1990’s. The one World Series trophy, in 2005, by the unexpected Chicago White Sox that year. Since the 1980’s, the Bears have won one Super Bowl title. The Cubs finally snapped an over 100 year rebuilding campaign, in 2016. The Blackhawks won three lord Stanley Cups with a young superstar tandem, in Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. Out of the 4 major sports in the Windy City, Reinsdorf’s teams have 7 titles compared to the 5 the other franchises have collected in the four major sports. Since 2000, that would be one Championship won from the Reinsdorf teams compared those the 4 other teams in Chicago won. If Michael Jordan did not come to Chicago and play for the Bulls, Jerry Reinsdorf as an owner would be looking very pathetic with only one title from the White Sox while the rest of town would have had 5 titles. You could say Jerry Reinsdorf got very lucky with one player that put him on the map.

Before Jerry Reinsdorf and his investors purchased the Chicago Bulls, the sport of pro basketball in Chicago was surrounded by dark clouds with no sign of sunny days in the forecast. The Bulls were established in 1966. Before the Bulls, Chicago had other basketball teams in their town history. They had teams such as the Chicago Bruins and the Chicago American Gears. They even had Packers in Chicago. Bears fans will cringe. Chicago Packers who now are the Washington Wizards. Before the Bulls, it was the Chicago Stags that played on the hardwood. The Bulls in the early 1980’s were being outdrew by the Chicago Sting indoor soccer team. My mother-in-law would say the best thing about the Bulls of the ’70’s was their short shorts. Did Jerry Reinsdorf or Michael Jordan take the Bulls and put them on the map in the NBA and around the world?

The thing I hate most is the amount of loyalty Jerry Reinsdorf has with some of the wrong people. Former players in high up positions in the front offices for both organizations, should have been terminated in my book. John Paxton and Kenny Williams still have jobs when they should have been shown the door years ago. How many squabbles in a front office from both these organizations do we have to deal with on a regular basis with both the White Sox and Bulls? In The Last Dance, the series was defined by Jerry Krause giving Phil Jackson an end date. John Paxton punching a former coach he hired in the heat of the moment. Then let’s not forget the All My Children episodes of Ozzie Guillen and Kenny Williams that went way too long. Not like Gar Forman and John Paxton tandem biking that finally ended as Forman is out the door. While John Paxton has another role. Both Paxton and Williams still have their hands in the organization, which leaves dark clouds that still follow both franchises.

Jerry Reinsdorf had the best basketball player on the planet, Michael Jordan. Yes, six titles, but Jordan is obviously not happy in the end of his time with the Bulls. Jerry Reinsdorf is the head honcho, so could he have stepped in and pushed Michael Jordan and  Jerry Krause aside? Get them to repair both their egos and be on the same page? Uncle, you’re the owner for Christ Sake. This should have been done years prior to the last dance with the Bulls winning their second three peat. What about the mishandling of Scottie Pippen’s contract? No wonder Scottie was referred as No Tippin’ Pippin’ by the locals. I know Pippen signed the original deal. If Jerry would have stepped in and came up with something both can agree on, you would most definitely have a different ending. Maybe the Bulls win seven. I thought they should have went out on their own terms and then start the rebuilding process. Then at least you don’t have egg on your face when you watch a ten episode documentary about your team in the 1990’s with the best player ever, having an axe to grind with your ways of thinking. Yes, Uncle Jerry is shocked at what Michael said about him.

With the White Sox, things jump out at me as well. In 1994 the White Sox had a great team. They either were the best in the entire league or a close second. Some say the 1994 team was better than the 2005 team. The baseball season was never finished due to the strike year. Good ole Uncle Jerry Reinsdorf as an owner was a big part of why the strike even happened. His cheapness left a stench in the negotiations with players that left after 1994.  In 1995, to let pitching ace Black Jack McDowell walk away in free agency and thinking a has-been Chris Sabo will somehow save the day.  In 2006, trying to repeat or just getting into the playoffs for the second straight year does not happen. Big egos of Ozzie Guillen and Kenny Williams prevail as a talented team wins 90 games and does not make it back to the playoffs with a team stacked with talent. Uncle Jerry does not step in to get his family on the same page. Instead this feud lingers on for years with a messy divorce. Only way it seems in Jerry’s book is people shown to the door kicking and screaming. Why not Kenny Williams?

Overall with Jerry Reinsdorf at the helm, I’ve seen a lot of second place finishes with the White Sox. If you subtract Michael Jordan from the Bulls organization. Before it was grim and even after it was even grimmer. The Bulls organization just did some retooling. The new guys they brought in have said the Bulls front office over the decades has been outdated. Not talking about the paint job on the walls. The whole unit as a whole is not up to snuff as other NBA teams of the future. The Bulls’ ways were still in Bedrock chiseling out scouting reports on stone tablets. Look at both teams in free agent history. I like to say some of the White Sox teams may have been a big type of free agent away from being solid. Instead, Uncle Jerry settles for the dollar bin style rather than opening his wallet to get his teams over the top. They never get the big fish on the market. Don’t say Albert Belle because he was doomed before they even signed the contract with more out clauses than in. Look in the mirror, Uncle Jerry, and don’t be shocked on the next documentary when someone else throws you under the bus. Just where you deserve to be.