Chicago Radio Spotlight: Matt DuBiel

I just posted my latest Chicago Radio Spotlight interview. This week I talked to Matt DuBiel, the man behind the Save the Loop campaign.

You can read that interview here.

Coming this weekend

I'll be posting my latest Chicago Radio Spotlight interview on Saturday. This week I spotlight the man behind the "Save the Loop" campaign; Matt DuBiel.

Just One Bad Century will go back in time to 1908 and 1945 this weekend, as we do every weekend. Some weeks we need that time travel therapy more than others. Hopefully this weekend we won't need it as much.

Also, I'll post a brand new Father Knows Nothing column on Sunday. I'd love to tease that one for you, but I'll let you in on a little secret. I still have no idea what it will be about. We'll all be surprised together when I post it.

Have a great weekend. It's supposed to be beautiful in Chicago on Sunday.

Never tell a writer what to write

I just posted my weekly contribution to Kim Strickland's A City Mom blog at ChicagoNow. This week's is about my unsuccessful efforts at guiding the creativity of my children.

You can read it here.

Cubs road record

I just wanted to be able to write this once, and today may be my only chance to do it all year.

The Cubs haven't lost a single game on the road this year.

Carlos Pena

This is a real nice piece in the St. Petersburg Times about Carlos Pena and his wife, and the difficulties of moving to a new city.

It's obvious from the tone of the piece that they loved him in Tampa, and that the Penas miss the city. Sometimes we forget that these guys go through the same things we do, and think about how difficult it would be to uproot your family and move to a new city to start all over again.

The story of the man that was traded for himself

His name was Dickie Noles, and the Cubs once traded him to the Tigers for...Dickie Noles.

That's today's Tale from a Bad Century.

Cubs lose 2 starters in one day

This is so Cubs.

#4 starter Randy Wells and #5 starter Andrew Cashner are both out for at least two weeks after suffering injuries the past two days.

Details are here.

When Harry met Sally, the Sequel

Some funny stuff here...

When Harry Met Sally 2 with Billy Crystal & Helen Mirren from Billy Crystal

The value of education

Thanks to "DTS" for sending me this. I definitely plan on sharing it with my kids later today...

"It’s no surprise that an increasingly sophisticated and competitive U.S. economy seeks those with higher levels of educational attainment. Since January (2011), employment has grown by 521,000 jobs for Americans with a bachelor’s degree or higher…and declined by 318,000 for those with only a high school diploma (USA TODAY)…

…what a powerful statistic

Unemployment for those ages 25 and over with less than a high school diploma was 13.7% in March. For those with a high school diploma and no college, the jobless rate was 9.5%. For those with some college or an Associate’s degree, the rate was 7.4% in March. For those with a Bachelor’s degree or higher the rate was 4.4%…

Use this data wisely when your kids or grandkids say that education is just not that important. Earnings differentials are also enormous."

Let me just also say that anyone claiming that education needs to be cut in this country has got their priorities completely out of whack.

The Trick on Rick

My friend Kim Strickland's A City Mom blog today is about me.

It appears I'm freaking her out.

Heh heh. (Rubbing my hands together while cackling with evil glee)

Smallest Cubs crowd since 2002

Yes it was a Monday afternoon. Yes it was cold. Yes it was only the Arizona Diamondbacks. Yes the Cubs got off to a shaky start in the opening series against the Pirates. But still.

There sure were there a lot of empty seats at Wrigley yesterday.

The smallest crowd since 2002. Maybe reader "BP" was right. After all, the Cubs did raise the price of beer by 25 cents this year.

Maybe Lou really was phoning it in last year

This article on ESPN Chicago certainly makes it sound like Lou was just going through the motions last year.

The comments from Kevin Millar (who was with the Cubs in spring training) and Alfonso Soriano are not exactly complimentary.

E-mails, we get e-mails...

"BP" writes...

"Rick, I just finished a book called Scorecasting. It’s Freakonomics for sports. They debunk a lot of sports myths like the hot shooting hand in basketball, why there is a home field advantage and why going for it on 4th down is always a good strategy. The last chapter concerns the Cubs and whether they are cursed. They go off on a tangent on ticket prices and find that while most MLB teams can track ticket sales closely to winning, the Cubs ticket sales are not related to winning. In fact, ticket sales have gone up when the Cubs were losing the most. The one factor that they found that tracks ticket sales is BEER PRICES at Wrigley. Beer goes up, people stay away. Which is why Wrigley has some of the cheapest beer in MLB."

Interesting indeed. I really never considered $7 beer cheap, but now that you mention it, I think it was $9.50 in Colorado when I went to a game there a couple of summers ago. By the way, I went to Wrigley this weekend and had a non-alcoholic beer (yes, they have them). It was only $3.50.

Jerry Garcia

From this morning's The Olde Disc Jockey Almanac...

"April 4, 1996…Grateful Dead leader Jerry Garcia's ashes were scattered in the Ganges River in India by Dead guitarist Bob Weir and Garcia's widow, Deborah."

I've been listening to the Grateful Dead again lately, and this is one of the songs that I'm just starting to appreciate...

Starlin Castro

Sure, it was a rough weekend for the Cubs (losing 2 out of 3 to the Pirates?), but there was one bright spot.

Starlin Castro certainly looks like a keeper, doesn't he?

Father Knows Nothing

My latest Father Knows Nothing column has been posted at NWI Parent. This week's edition updates my progress (or lack of progress) during my self-inflicted Extreme Lent.

You can read it here.