Neil Finnell's Sportswriter Profile

Senior Writer
Columnist
Analyst
Scribe
Contributor
Member

Neil Finnell

Joined 11 months ago

48 articles written
9 comments posted
Neil's Website
Syndicated Writer

Send Neil a Message

Neil's Fans (6)

Neil's Lineup

Favorite Tags

Favorite Writers

Neil does not have any lineup writers.

Neil's Bio

Since 2005, ChicagoCubsOnline.com has thoroughly covered the Chicago Cubs from the games, to the latest news and transactions, to the Hot Stove as well as a look back at the storied history of the Chicago National League Ball Club, Inc.

The CCO has been recognized as one of the Best Cubs Blogs by the Chicago Tribune and is listed as one of the top Cubs Blogs on Sports Illustrated. Several of the site's articles have also been featured on the Chicago Sun-Times, the LA Times and USA Today.

I contributed information and the site was used as a source for 'Chicago Cubs Yesterday and Today'. I received an acknowledgement in the book and a source credit for my contributions.

Baseball and the Chicago Cubs have always been a passion of mine. With contributions from other writers, ChicagoCubsOnline has become more than I could have ever imagined. For those interested in additional coverage on the Chicago Cubs, visit www.ChicagoCubsOnline.com.

Neil's Recent Articles

LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 22: Ted Lilly #30 of the Chicago Cubs pitches against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on August 22, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

Chicago Cubs: Will Ted Lilly's Surgery Affect the Cubs' Offseason?

Published 5 days ago
12 reads 0 comments

CHICAGO - MAY 27: Milton Bradlery #21 of the Chicago Cubs hits the ball against the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 27, 2009 at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois. The Cubs defeated the Pirates 5-2. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Milton Bradley: As Seen on TV

Published 5 months ago
7 reads 0 comments

CHICAGO - APRIL 17: Starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano #38 of the Chicago Cubs delivers the ball against the St. Louis Cardinals on April 17, 2009 at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Chicago Cubs: What's Up with Big Z?

Published 6 months ago
99 reads 1 comments

LAS VEGAS - MARCH 04: Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella is interviewed before an exhibition game against the Chicago White Sox at Cashman Field March 4, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

What a Difference a Year Makes: Cubs Opening Day Roster Set

Published 7 months ago
28 reads 0 comments

See 44 more of Neil's articles »

Neil Writes About

MLB (48),
Chicago (46),
Indianapolis (46),
Chicago Cubs (45),
NL Central (34),
Baseball (20),
Spring Training (9),
Opinion (8)

There are no activities to display

The Short List What Neil thinks about sport's most pressing questions

Favorite Athletes

Pete Rose, Ryne Sandberg, Johnny Bench
Favorite Sports Teams

Chicago Cubs, Chicago Bears, Tennessee Titans
Favorite Coaches

Lou Piniella, Jeff Fisher
All Time Sports Moment

The Music City Miracle
Most Memorable Game Attended

Greg Maddux Final Game with the Cubs at Wrigley Fied
Most Unbreakable Sports Record

Joe Dimaggio's 56-game hit streak
Ruth or Mays?

Willie Mays
Unitas or Montana?

Joe Montana
Jordan or Russell?

Michael Jordon
Gretzky or Orr?

Wayne Gretzky
Pele or Maradona?

Pele
Federer or Sampras?

Sampras
Tiger or Nicklaus?

Tiger Woods
Petty or Earnhardt?

Richard Petty
Schumacher or Senna?

Schumacher
Pac 10, Big 12, Big 10, SEC, ACC, or Big East?

SEC

Bulletin Board (14) Post a note »

by Bob
6 months ago

Neil,

I am sending some questions to the top Cubs writers in an attempt to do an April "state of the Cubs" address. I'd appreciate it if you would participate. If you agree, please send answers, along with any explanation/rationale to my e-mail address @ rememberthecoop@yahoo.com by Monday, May 4th.

Thanks and here are the questions.

1. Who is the April MVP of the Cubs and why?

2. Who is the most disappointing Cub so far and why?

3. What is the top area of need for the Cubs right now (starting pitching, relief pitching, hitting, defense)?

4. What changes, if any, would you make at this time? At the trade deadline?

5. Give me your impressions of GM Jim Hendry (in how he assembled this club) and the job that manager Lou Piniella is doing

6. Your prediction for the season (win the division, win one round of playoffs, go to World Series, win World Series, not make the playoffs).

Bob
by Paul
6 months ago

Neil-
My latest article is a personal story about seeing Wrigley Field through new eyes. I hope you'll check it out when you have a chance.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/159639-the-story-of-a-smile-at-wrigley-field
by Bob
6 months ago

One of our Cubs writers wrote a solid piece that I wanted to share with you. If you get a chance, please check it out and leave some feedback.

The writer’s name is Darrell Horwitz. He writes for “The Heckler”, and hosts a radio show, but doesn’t like to promote himself.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/156119-the-curse-of-the-chicago-cubs
by Bob
7 months ago

I know, I'm going crazy with articles. But when you're unemployed, you have time on your hands.

As a Cubs fan, I think you will enjoy this one.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/156259-come-to-think-of-it-all-of-this-cubs-curse-talk-really-gets-my-goat
by Bob
7 months ago

Neil, as one of the top writers in the Cubs community, I wanted to share how we're doing, now that I have access to new stats provided in the "Community Lounge", a new feature on B/R.

I posted this note on the team page under the Community Leader section, but in case you missed it, here it is:

Hello Cubs fans, Bob here again. We're off to a good start at 5-2, so I wanted to share some other good news with you. The stats for this month rank our community #3 of all teams in MLB on B/R, behind only the Yankees and Mets. This is thanks to the fine work of our writers. We are, however, still averaging less than 3 comments per article, which I think we can improve upon. We're third in articles written, yet only 6th in number of comments. I'd like to welcome two new Cubs writers - Jake Leonard and Tod Kaufmann. Welcome aboard! Keep up the good work and let's go Cubbies!
by Bob
7 months ago

Hope you are enjoying the baseball season. As one of the Cubs top writers, I just wanted to thank you for your efforts and encourage you to increase your activity in the community by commenting on each other's articles and encouraging healthy debate among your readers as well. While we continue to be among the community leaders in total number of articles written, we are lacking in comments as compared to other teams.

Keep up the good work and let's show the rest of the community that we are the best!

You community leader, Bob
by Hao
7 months ago

Hey Neil,

I think the best part of sports is the passion involved, so I wrote an opinionated piece on why I think a perfect athlete is capable of crying, both win or lose. I’d love for you to check it out and let me know what you think. If you’re too busy, no worries.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/145648-take-a-lesson-from-mj-its-ok-to-cry

Thanks, as always, for the support! It’s much appreciated ☺
by Hao
7 months ago

Hey Neil,

I had an awful day today, so I took it out on MLB. Here's my first humor piece on "the worst case scenarios for all 30 teams." If you get the chance, I'd love for you to check it out and let me know what you think.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/141346-mlb-nightmares-how-bad-can-it-get-humor

As always, thanks for the support, and I hope you enjoy the read/makes your day better!
by Bob
7 months ago

Thank you!

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/140655-come-to-think-of-it-a-st-patricks-day-toast-to-brs-chicago-cubs-community
by John Louie
7 months ago

Neil,

I'm finished with my latest work..
Philosophical perhaps.. a feel-good-story I think..
"The contentment in just watching the stars"
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/140321-the-contentment-in-just-watching-the-stars

Hope you enjoy,
Louie
by Hao
8 months ago

Hey Neil,

Yao Ming has done so much for the game of basketball, that I felt compelled to write a tribute. I'd love for you to take a look and let me know what you think! Again, I hope my passion comes through and it's a good read.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/138646-yao-ming-why-the-world-should-thank-great-wall-of-china?just_published=1

Thanks so much for the support :)
by Hao
8 months ago

Hey Neil,

I hope you have some time to read this article, as it really means a lot to me. It's an article about why we need sports in our lives now more than ever, and how its impact on our future generations are so important. Hopefully, my passion came through and it's a good article.

I'd love to get your feedback on it if you get the chance: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/134273-the-love-of-the-game-why-we-need-sports-now-more-than-ever

Thanks!
Hao
by Hao
8 months ago

Hey Neil,

If you get the chance, I'd love for you to check out my recent analysis on Derrek Lee's batting woes. I take an interesting perspective on the issue and offer some possible solutions, and I'd appreciate your comments and feedback very much!

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/127080-whats-wrong-with-derrek-lee-a-look-at-the-cubs-stars-batting-woes

Thanks!
Hao
by TAB
10 months ago

I just put together a marathon of a slide show devoted to the Cubs I think you'll get a kick out of. I don't get too excited about much that I do on here, but I'm pretty proud of this one. Let me know what you think:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/108734-by-the-numbers-the-best-chicago-cubs-of-all-time

<form action="/accounts/create_from_facebook" class="new_facebook_user" id="new_facebook_user" method="post">	<input id="facebook_user_proxied_email" name="facebook_user[proxied_email]" type="hidden" />
	<input id="facebook_user_profile_pic" name="facebook_user[profile_pic]" type="hidden" />
	<input id="facebook_user_facebook_id" name="facebook_user[facebook_id]" type="hidden" />
	<input id="facebook_user_profile_url" name="facebook_user[profile_url]" type="hidden" />
	<ul>
					<li class="fb-question">
				<div class="input">
											<div id="facebook_placebo_submit">
							<img src="/images/shared/submit.png" />
						</div>
										<div class="fb-first-name" id="fb-email">
						<p><strong>Email Address</strong></p>
						<input class="signup_text_input" id="facebook_user_email" name="facebook_user[email]" size="30" type="text" />
						<img alt="Small" id="facebook_email_indicator" src="http://assets3.bleacherreport.com/images/shared/spinners/small.gif?1257379482" style="display:none" />
						
					</div>
				</div>
				<div class="input" id="facebook_password_container" style="display:none">
					<div class="fb-first-name notice">
						<p>This email address matches an existing user profile. Please enter your password to connect your accounts.</p>
						<p><strong>Password</strong></p>
						<input class="signup_text_input" id="facebook_user_password" name="facebook_user[password]" size="30" type="password" />
						
					</div>
				</div>
			</li>
				<div id="facebook_questions" style="display:none">
			<li class="fb-question" id="facebook_full_name_container">
				<p class="question">
					<label for="facebook_user_use_full_name">Use your full name <strong class="full_name"></strong> on Bleacher Report?</label>
					<br />
				</p>
				<p class="options">
					<input name="facebook_user[use_full_name]" type="hidden" value="0" /><input checked="checked" id="facebook_user_use_full_name" name="facebook_user[use_full_name]" type="checkbox" value="1" />
					<label for="facebook_user_use_full_name">Yes</label>
				</p>
				<div class="input full-name-edit" style="display:none">
					<p>Edit your name for Bleacher Report:</p>
					<div class="fb-first-name">
						<label for="facebook_user_first_name">First Name <em>(required)</em></label>
						<input class="signup_text_input" id="facebook_user_first_name" name="facebook_user[first_name]" size="30" type="text" />
						
					</div>
	
					<div class="fb-last-name">
						<label for="facebook_user_last_name">Last Name <em>(required)</em></label>
						<input class="signup_text_input" id="facebook_user_last_name" name="facebook_user[last_name]" size="30" type="text" />
						
					</div>
				</div>
			</li>
			<li class="fb-question">
				<p class="question">
					<img src="/images/default-user-icon-medium.png" class="profile_pic" />
					<label for="facebook_user_use_profile_pic">Do you want to use your Facebook profile picture on Bleacher Report?</label>
				</p>
				<p class="options">
					<input name="facebook_user[use_profile_pic]" type="hidden" value="0" /><input checked="checked" id="facebook_user_use_profile_pic" name="facebook_user[use_profile_pic]" type="checkbox" value="1" />
					<label for="facebook_user_use_profile_pic">Yes</label>
					
				</p>
			</li>
			<li class="fb-question" id="facebook_interested_in_writing_container">
				<p class="question"><label for="facebook_user_interested_in_writing">Are you interested in covering your favorite teams and sports?</label></p>
				<p class="options">
					<input name="facebook_user[interested_in_writing]" type="hidden" value="0" /><input id="facebook_user_interested_in_writing" name="facebook_user[interested_in_writing]" type="checkbox" value="1" />
					<label for="facebook_user_interested_in_writing">Yes</label>
					
				</p>
			</li>
			<li class="fb-question">
				<p class="question"><label for="facebook_user_share_activity">Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity in your Facebook activity feed?</label></p>
				<p class="options">
					<input name="facebook_user[share_activity]" type="hidden" value="0" /><input checked="checked" id="facebook_user_share_activity" name="facebook_user[share_activity]" type="checkbox" value="1" />
					<label for="facebook_user_share_activity">Yes</label>
					
					<br />
					<a href="#" id="share_facebook_activity_advanced_link">Advanced Sharing Options</a>
				</p>
				<p id="share_facebook_activity_advanced" style="display:none">
					<input name="facebook_user[share_activity_article_writing]" type="hidden" value="0" /><input checked="checked" id="facebook_user_share_activity_article_writing" name="facebook_user[share_activity_article_writing]" type="checkbox" value="1" />
					<label for="facebook_user_share_activity_article_writing">When I write a new article</label>
					<br /><input name="facebook_user[share_activity_comment]" type="hidden" value="0" /><input checked="checked" id="facebook_user_share_activity_comment" name="facebook_user[share_activity_comment]" type="checkbox" value="1" />
					<label for="facebook_user_share_activity_comment">When I post a comment</label>
					<br /><input name="facebook_user[share_activity_like]" type="hidden" value="0" /><input checked="checked" id="facebook_user_share_activity_like" name="facebook_user[share_activity_like]" type="checkbox" value="1" />
					<label for="facebook_user_share_activity_like">When I like an article</label>
					<br /><input name="facebook_user[share_activity_poll_vote]" type="hidden" value="0" /><input checked="checked" id="facebook_user_share_activity_poll_vote" name="facebook_user[share_activity_poll_vote]" type="checkbox" value="1" />
					<label for="facebook_user_share_activity_poll_vote">When I vote on a poll</label>
					<br /><input name="facebook_user[share_activity_fan]" type="hidden" value="0" /><input checked="checked" id="facebook_user_share_activity_fan" name="facebook_user[share_activity_fan]" type="checkbox" value="1" />
					<label for="facebook_user_share_activity_fan">When I become a fan of another member</label>
				</p>
			</li>
			<li class="fb-question">
				<p class="question"><label for="facebook_user_fan_friends">Become fans of your Facebook friends connected to Bleacher Report?</label></p>
				<p class="options">			
					<input name="facebook_user[fan_friends]" type="hidden" value="0" /><input checked="checked" id="facebook_user_fan_friends" name="facebook_user[fan_friends]" type="checkbox" value="1" />
					<label for="facebook_user_fan_friends">Yes</label>
					
				</p>
			</li>
			<li>
				<a id="facebook_connect_submit"><img src="/images/shared/submit.png" /></a>
			</li>
		</div>
	</ul>
</form>

Sign up for Bleacher Report

Already have an account? Log in now » As a member you can get the latest on your favorite teams, post comments, write your own articles, and much more.

Join Bleacher Report

You must register in order for that functionality to work!

Sign up through Facebook

Follow your Facebook friends on Bleacher Report
Share your articles, comments, and more with friends

Great, , you're signed up!

i.e. San Francisco Giants, SEC Football, NFL, Golf

Selected Tags:

Yes, I'd like to receive an email newsletter for the topics I selected.

Neil Finnell

Neil's Fans (6)

Neil's Lineup

Favorite Tags

Favorite Writers

Neil's Bio

Neil's Recent Articles

Chicago Cubs: Will Ted Lilly's Surgery Affect the Cubs' Offseason?

Milton Bradley: As Seen on TV

Chicago Cubs: What's Up with Big Z?

What a Difference a Year Makes: Cubs Opening Day Roster Set

Neil Writes About

The Short List What Neil thinks about sport's most pressing questions

Bulletin Board (14) Post a note »

About B/R

Writing for B/R

Explore B/R

Popular Topics

Sign up for Bleacher Report

Log in to Bleacher Report

Join Bleacher Report

Log in to Bleacher Report

Sign up through Facebook

Log in through Facebook

Great, , you're signed up!

Selected Tags: