I just posted my latest Chicago Radio Spotlight interview. This week I talked to ESPN Radio's Jonathan Hood (J-Hood) about his career in sports-talk radio.
You can read it here.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Chicago Radio Spotlight: J-Hood
I just posted my latest Chicago Radio Spotlight interview. This week I talked to ESPN Radio's Jonathan Hood (J-Hood) about his career in sports-talk radio.
You can read it here.
Friday, April 23, 2010
McCaskey Smackdown
You really should read it.
Hal Totten
On this day in 1924 the Cubs were broadcast on the radio for the very first time. The man behind the microphone was sportscaster Hal Totten (photo). The radio station was WMAQ.What did he sound like?
You can hear his voice in this montage of early Cubs announcers.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Incredible play
You have to see this to believe it. It happened in a college baseball game. The runner jumped over the catcher and touched home plate...
The Best Earth Day Jokes
Earth Day is considered overly serious, but it doesn't have to be.
Watch this video
Blues Brothers
They debuted on this day in 1978. Two years later, they starred in their own movie...
A few more baseball stories
And this is another great piece in Salon.com about the joy of playing catch with your son. I've been doing a lot of this lately with my seven year old son Sean, and I'm loving every minute of it.
Thanks to "DE" for pointing these out to me.
1935
75 years ago today...Bill "General" Lee pitches the Cubs to victory to get back to .500 (4-4). They don't look much like a pennant-winning team yet. Meanwhile in Chicago, a radio show debuts that will become one of the most popular shows in America: Fibber McGee and Molly.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Bernie Goldberg Smackdown
This is a classic Jon Stewart smackdown to an amateurish Bernie Goldberg smackdown attempt. It reminds me of Super Bowl XX. Jon Stewart is the Bears defense. Bernie Goldberg is Tony Eason. (For those of you too young to remember, at halftime of that game Tony Eason had more testicles than passing yards.)
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Bernie Goldberg Fires Back | ||||
| ||||
Mark Twain
He went to his grave thinking the Chicago Cubs were the ultimate baseball dynasty. They had been to the World Series four times in the last five years of his life.
Perception
This was sent to me by MG, and because it was a forwarded e-mail I didn't believe it was true (a natural assumption by the way...always assume forwarded e-mails are not true). But I checked on Snopes, and sure enough, this is real...
THE SITUATION
In Washington , DC , at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007, this man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, approximately 2,000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After about 3 minutes, a middle-aged man noticed that there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, and then he hurried on to meet his schedule.
About 4 minutes later:
The violinist received his first dollar. A woman threw money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.
At 6 minutes:
A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.
At 10 minutes:
A 3-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head the whole time. This action was repeated by several other children, but every parent - without exception - forced their children to move on quickly.
At 45 minutes:
The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.
After 1 hour:
He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed and no one applauded. There was no recognition at all.
No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars.
Two days before, Joshua Bell sold-out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $200 each to sit and listen to him play the same music.
This is a true story. Joshua Bell, playing incognito in the D.C. Metro Station, was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities.
This experiment raised several questions:
*In a common-place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?
*If so, do we stop to appreciate it?
*Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?
One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made . . ......
How many other things are we missing as we rush through life?
In Washington , DC , at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007, this man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, approximately 2,000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After about 3 minutes, a middle-aged man noticed that there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, and then he hurried on to meet his schedule.
About 4 minutes later:
The violinist received his first dollar. A woman threw money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.
At 6 minutes:
A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.
At 10 minutes:
A 3-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head the whole time. This action was repeated by several other children, but every parent - without exception - forced their children to move on quickly.
At 45 minutes:
The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.
After 1 hour:
He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed and no one applauded. There was no recognition at all.
No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars.
Two days before, Joshua Bell sold-out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $200 each to sit and listen to him play the same music.
This is a true story. Joshua Bell, playing incognito in the D.C. Metro Station, was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities.
This experiment raised several questions:
*In a common-place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?
*If so, do we stop to appreciate it?
*Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?
One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made . . ......
How many other things are we missing as we rush through life?
Fergie Jenkins
The outfielders didn't amount to much, but that little known reliever was converted into a starter by Leo Durocher and won more than 140 games for the Cubs over the next seven seasons.
He's in the Hall of Fame wearing a Cubs cap.
The craziest Cub
If he were still with us, former Cub pitcher Bill Faul would have turned 70 years old today. He might not have been a great pitcher, but he certainly was memorable.
Read all about his crazy antics here.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Sad news
My old friend Leslie Keiling lost her mother this week.
Two summers ago I filmed Leslie for my website Just One Bad Century talking about her mother, and the love she had for the Cubs....
ESPN saw the video on my site and included Helen Keiling in their 100 years of losing special later that year. Here is Helen's profile from that story. She represented the decade of the 1910s.
RIP Helen.
We'll carry on the quest.
Two summers ago I filmed Leslie for my website Just One Bad Century talking about her mother, and the love she had for the Cubs....
ESPN saw the video on my site and included Helen Keiling in their 100 years of losing special later that year. Here is Helen's profile from that story. She represented the decade of the 1910s.
RIP Helen.
We'll carry on the quest.
Viva Las Vegas
The movie came out on this day in 1964. Still one of my favorite Elvis movies (although, admittedly, that's not saying much)...
Weeghman Park
The home team was the Chicago Whales of the Federal League, and the stadium was called "Weeghman Park"
Here come da Judge
One of the biggest Cub fans in America happens to reside on the United States Supreme Court. His name is John Paul Stevens, and he is 90 years old today.
Read all about his Cubs love here.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Father Knows Nothing
You can read it here.
101 year old Cub fan
I read this story expecting to be depressed, but it's actually a wonderful story about a 101-year-old woman who literally lives for the Cubs.
Blimp
He was a big boy, and it was a much less politically correct time.His name was actually Ernest Phelps, but his Cubs teammates called him Blimp, and he was born on this day in 1908.
Read all about him here.
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