Take Me Out to the Ballgame

I used my last pair of Cubs tickets yesterday, and took my middle son Johnny to the game.

I know people think I'm an idiot for rooting for the most pathetic franchise in history, but I refuse to let the naysayers ruin the experience for me. All it takes is an afternoon at Wrigley Field with my son to remind me why I love this game and this team.

Johnny loved every second of the experience. The sun was shining, the wind was blowing out, the hot dogs were tasty, he kept score with his Cubs pencil, and wouldn't you know it, the Cubs won the game in the bottom of the eighth thanks to a Geovany Soto home run.

In the future will Johnny's memory of yesterday be ruined by a fifth place finish? No, it won't. It was just a great day at the ballpark with Dad.

And if that makes us pathetic idiots, then so be it. I wish that kind of pathetic idiocy on all of you.

The future of network news?

Slightly depressing article in the current "Broadcasting and Cable" magazine. 

Here's the quote that caught my eye. It's from independent news analyst (whatever that is) Andrew Tyndall: "I’m on the record as saying there will be no broadcast television in 10 years."

Keith Moon

On this day in 1978 Keith Moon died at the age of 32. This is the last song he did with the Who...

As the Rupert turns

Another episode this morning of "As the Rupert Turns." 

In this morning's episode, we find Rupert and his son James embroiled in the British voicemail hacking case. This is the story that broke last week about certain British tabloids (owned by Rupert) hacking into personal voicemails of any and everyone in the UK.

What did Rupert know and when did he know it?

The Dick Van Dyke Show

On this day in 1966, one of the greatest shows of all-time "The Dick Van Dyke Show," aired for the last time...

Howard Stern

Is Howard Stern leaving Sirius when his contract expires?

If you read this, it certainly sounds like it.

I will remind you, however, that this is classic Howard. He likes to negotiate on the air like this because he knows the press will pick it up and speculate.

Charmian Carr

"JD" stumbled across my Charmian Carr article, and sent me the following e-mail...

"Rick--Like you, I'm a long-time, but now retired Broadcaster: two years at WSB Radio in Atlanta, GA, then weather on TV at WSB-TV, The Weather Channel, WAGA-TV and WGCL-TV -- all in the Atlanta market. Especially during my years of doing weather, I met many celebrities around Noon News time, and as the saying goes, yep, the bigger they were, the nicer they were.

I had been at WSB Radio for a year when "The Sound Of Music" came out. As an on-air guy, I got a free pass to a press screening, very sparely attended, surprisingly. That was the first of five times I saw the movie during its first run.

While I have had a lifelong crush on Julie Andrews, I was absolutely gobsmacked by Charmian Carr! She was born 11 days after I was in 1942. The calendar says I'm 67, but I tell ya, I'm still 37 when I get up in the morning!

You said it, Rick: LOOK at those eyes.

I saw her on one of the network morning news shows about ten years ago, and she was still gorgeous.

I envy your doing John's transcribed scene with her. I expect I would have felt much the same as you; though, over the years of meeting stars, I realized that all of us "in the business" were simply performers together, even if some were in stratospherically different leagues! Having that realization made it quite easy for me to meet and talk with whoever showed up in the studio.

I just discovered your blog today, looking for Charmian. You are a fine writer!"

Right to the point

Fly

The man they called "Fly" ended up in the Hall of Fame.

Found out who he is here; he's this week's Great Nickname at Just One Bad Century.

Ken Hubbs

On this day in 1962, Cubs rookie second baseman Ken Hubbs set a National League record for most plays handled without an error.

This is what it sounded like.

The record was broken in 1965 by Jerry Adair of the Dodgers.

By then, Hubbs was dead. He died in a plane crash in February of 1964.

Labor day

Happy Labor Day!

Please don't work.

That's the whole idea of the holiday.

This Week in 1945

McCain's grandfather dies, the Prime Minister of Japan attempts suicide, Tokyo Rose is captured, Jimmie Foxx hits his final home run, plus Peter Sellers and Cub Reggie Otero are featured This Week in 1945.

Emil Verban

His name has become known because of the Washington group of Cubs fans formed in his honor (jokingly); The Emil Verban Society. Among it's one-time members; Ronald Reagan.

On this day in 1948, Emil did something on a baseball field for the only time in major league career.

He hit a home run.

He hit it off Johnny Van Der Meer, the man who once pitched consecutive no-hitters.

Father Knows Nothing

I just posted my latest Father Knows Nothing column at NWI Parent. This week's is called "Interviews with a Scoutmaster."

You can read it here.

Chicago Radio Spotlight updates

Click here for updated interviews with WLS Radio's Roe Conn and Cisco Cotto, WGN's Jerry Agar, and former rock jock Bob Hale.

Chicago Radio Spotlight returns

After a summer hiatus, I'm back to interviewing Chicago radio personalities.

Tomorrow I'll post updated interviews with Roe Conn, Cisco Cotto, Jerry Agar, and Bob Hale.

Cyber-libel

Interesting case in Mississippi.

A former newscaster from a television station (WLOX-TV), was arrested for cocaine posession. Her former employer reported this story on the station's website, and as always happens when unfiltered comments are allowed to spew, people said mean things. The reporter was so upset about it, she sued for cyber libel.

The judge, I believe, ruled correctly that the station wasn't guilty. They aren't liable for anonymous reader comments. You know how much I hate those anonymous reader comments, especially when they are needlessly mean and personal, but this seems like a pretty easy case.

You can't sue someone for being a jerk.

Edwin Starr

#1 on this day forty years ago today, "War." Good God Y'all...

Are the callers fake?

According to Robert Feder's report, the program director of WGN radio has asked fellow employees to call into newcomer Mike McConnell's show because the WGN listeners aren't calling. Some of those callers you're hearing could very well be a guy sitting at a desk fifty feet away from the studio.

I've checked out Mr. McConnell's show a few times since he got to town a few weeks ago, and I must say, I was prepared to hate it. But I don't. I disagree with him on most topics, but he's not a jag about it. That's all I ask. There's no reason to be an insufferable no-it-all. He's not. At least not so far.

On the other hand, that memo really does rub me the wrong way. I've been part of a half dozen radio shows in my career--some very popular, and some not. Some that received tons of calls. And some that didn't. But the only time I ever aired a fake call was in college. It felt icky, and I never did it again.

Some shows do it a lot. Those are generally the shows I don't like, because they aren't authentic. (One very famous Chicago show that rhymes with San-cow comes to mind.)

I'm still willing to give the new a guy a chance, though, because this "fake caller" thing wasn't his idea.

Sights & Sounds

Robin Roberts on "What's My Line," and the Resurrection High School All Girl Band and Chorus performing "Onward Chicago Cubs" can be seen and heard this week in Sights & Sounds.

Maddux Debuts

He was just a skinny kid when the Cubs brought him up from Iowa on this day in 1986. No one was predicting a Hall of Fame career for him.

Maybe they couldn't see past the mustache.

Today's Date

It's 9-02-10 today.

Luke Perry's phone may actually ring today.

Star Trek

On this day in 1969, NBC canceled Star Trek, ending the show before the Enterprise crew could even complete their five year mission. The show, and those associated with it, have never been heard from since...


Star Trek TOS - William Shatner SNL - Get A Life - MyVideo

Fox and the Mosque

NPR has a great report about the connections between the Imam trying to build the so-called "Ground Zero Mosque" (in the Burlington Coat Factory), and News Corp, the owner of Fox.

It goes right to the heart of the thesis of "$everance."

In such a highly consolidated media, political content is not dangerous in itself--as long as you realize it is strictly presented to serve a market--in Fox's case, the conservative audience that only wants to hear things that reconfirm what they already believe. That's all they are doing. Providing a product to a target audience. It's not news, it's a product. It might as well be soap. (MSNBC just offers a different brand to a different target audience.)

The danger comes when you take it seriously. The danger comes when you only get your news from an organization like this, and you don't even hear the other side of the argument. (The trendy term for this now is 'epistemic closure'.)

This story is a perfect example.

In this case, you have "news people" clearly reporting something they don't believe, or at the very least, their bosses don't believe. I'm not being cynical here, I'm being analytical. They can't possibly believe it, because they know the Mosque's Imam's funder personally--he's the second largest stockholder in News Corp, their parent company.

If this Imam is so radical that he's bound to train terrorists at this Mosque, then his funder must be too. The funder of Fox! In the connect the dots world of Fox, that means that Fox itself is in favor of funding terrorist training.

Of course I don't believe that, because it's not true. And the people offering the hysterical reporting don't believe it either.

They're just selling soap.

Unfortunately, some of the consumers aren't reading the warning label on the box.

The British Press

The New York Times has a piece today about the way the British tabloid press managed to hack into the mobile phones of the Royal family and listen in on their private conversations.

Whatever you think about our press here, you must admit, they're pussy-cats compared to the British. At least our reporters don't listen in on private conversations.

Only our government does that.

The Cardinals back on KMOX

Tom Taylor reports in his radio-info.com column today that the St. Louis Cardinals are going back to their long time flagship radio station, KMOX, after a five year stint at cross-town rival KTRS.

You know I'm not a Cardinals fan, but it didn't seem right that they were on another station these past few years. To put it in Chicago terms, it would be like the Cubs leaving WGN. (I wasn't surprised to read that former CBS Radio President Joel Hollander had a hand in making them leave originally...that guy left wreckage wherever he went).

So kudos to the Cardinals and the radio station for making things right.

Ernie and Curt Simmons

Curt Simmons was the first pitcher Ernie Banks ever faced in the big leagues in 1954. Just eleven years later, on this day in 1965, Ernie hit his 400th career home run against the same pitcher, Curt Simmons.

By the middle of the following season, the two men were Cubs teammates.

Simmons had a great career. He won 193 career games, and a World Series title with the 1964 St. Louis Cardinals, but with the Cubs he only won seven games in parts of two seasons.

John Lennon meets Van Halen

I know I should find this blasephemous, but I like it. It's David Lee Roth singing "Jump" over the music from John Lennon's "Imagine," and somehow it works...

Wayne Rooney

He was last seen performing so badly in the World Cup that British people now spit his name instead of saying it.

His latest move: suing the British tabloids for libel.

(And yes, this story is just an excuse to post this picture again. It still makes me laugh. I know, I know. I'm juvenile.)

The Washington Times

It's official: The Washington Times was sold to friends and allies of Rev. Moon.

The cost? $1.

Not kidding.

Million Dollar Hair

Troy Polamalu has insured his hair for a million dollars.

Yes, he's known for his hair. But when is someone going to tell him that it looks ridiculous?

I Dream of Jeannie

Exactly forty years ago tonight, the last episode of "I Dream of Jeannie" aired. Tony and Jeannie got married. 40 years later, he's old, wrinkled, and retired from the military. She's a Genie. She looks exactly the same...



I'm also betting she no longer calls him "Master."

A cop costs the Cubs a game

It's true.

It happened in 1936.

And it's this week's Tale from a Bad Century.

Lee Smith

One of the greatest relief pitchers in baseball history debuted on this day, exactly thirty years ago.

His name was Lee Smith, and he pitched for one of the worst Cubs teams in history.