Sox visit White House, Ozzie stands by decision

The Chicago Tribune reports that Ozzie is standing by his decision to skip the White House ceremony and he takes a shot at Da Mayor in the process.

Guillen: Vacation still right move
By Mark Gonzales
Tribune staff reporter

February 14, 2006

At the same time President Bush praised the 2005 World Series champions at a White House visit Monday, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen stood firm in his decision to skip the trip despite widespread criticism.

Guillen also sounded refreshed in the midst of a long-awaited vacation with wife Ibis in the Dominican Republic as he reflected on his loyalty to his family and players with spring training starting Saturday.

"My players are family, and them and my family are more important than anyone else," Guillen said, noting that he excused several players last season to attend to family matters for as long as they needed. "The players appreciate the way I feel about family.

"A lot of managers push their players toward baseball and not enough toward family. Baseball isn't going to be around forever, but family will be."

Guillen remained amazed by the scrutiny over his decision not to accompany his team to Washington and provided a sharp response to Mayor Richard Daley's disappointment over his decision not to break away from his vacation to go to the White House.

"[Daley] has more problems than I do," Guillen said. "What do I do to these people to deserve this?"
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We could not agree with Mike Downey more. . .

In today's Chicago Tribune Mike Downey goes after Mayor Daley for going after Ozzie for not going to the White House.

Daley caught off base when it comes to invites
Mike Downey
Published February 11, 2006

Downey's Eleven:

1 Richard M. Daley is as wrong as a man could be in knocking White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen for skipping the team's scheduled trip Monday to the White House.

The mayor should be ashamed of saying, "I don't care who you are. Maybe you think you're too important."

What a cheap shot after everything Guillen has done for this city.
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Daley upset with Guillen, needs life . . .

. . .its kind of ridiculous for Mayor Daley to be upset with Ozzie for choosing a family vacation over a White House visit, doesn't he have bigger issues to worry about? Rumor has it Da Mayor won't participate in any public events on Sundays because that is family day, well isn't Ozzie entitled to a little family time before the start of a long baseball season?

Guillen skipping D.C. trip irks Daley

By Gary Washburn
Tribune staff reporter
Published February 10, 2006

Mayor Richard Daley tried not to criticize the man who guided his beloved White Sox to a World Series championship last season, but he acknowledged Thursday he is "disappointed" manager Ozzie Guillen and some other members of the team won't travel to the White House to be honored next week.

Daley is a Guillen admirer and rode with him in the city-sponsored parade after the Sox won last October.

Guillen a few days later visited City Hall, where he and the mayor posed for countless photographs before the Sox skipper was honored at a City Council meeting.

But Daley clearly was not happy on Thursday with the news that there will be less than 100 percent participation at the White Sox's White House visit.

"I don't know who you are," he said. "Maybe you think you're too important. I think Ozzie is on vacation or something. I mean, that is up to him. But you don't realize how precious that is, and very few Americans have ever been in the White House. To me, that is a privilege for anyone to be."
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When Daley says "Maybe you think you're too important," it strikes me a tad bid immature, but that is just me.

And so it starts. . .

Michael Sneed breaks the news that beloved White Sox manager will not be with the team when they visit the White House next week. Now one must wonder how did Sneed get a hold of this, did the Sox call her? Methinks the leak may have come from somebody in DC, I'm not saying, I'm just saying.

From today's Sun-Times:

Sox pox . . .

February 9, 2006

BY MICHAEL SNEED SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST

Hmmm. White Sox skipper Ozzie Guillen is blowing off an invite to the White House on Monday, where his World Series-winning team will be honored by President Bush.

Hmmm. Is this an anti-Bush statement? Is this a snub by native Venezuelan and newly minted U.S. citizen Guillen, who is treated like a king in his home country by President Hugo Chavez, who detests Bush? (The feeling is mutual, by the way.)

*The Sox reply: "No. It's a vacation," said White Sox spokeswoman Katie Kirby.

*Sox Reply II: "Ozzie will be on a family vacation," Kirby added. "He had scheduled the vacation long before the [White House] date was confirmed. We worked for a long time on scheduling it, but we weren't able to secure a date. So he went ahead and booked his vacation. He worked over the holidays and Soxfest, and he just wanted to have a vacation before the season started again."
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