He's baaaaack

From Radio Online...

Cumulus Media/San Francisco appoints Kevin Metheny as Operations Manager of News/Talk outlets KGO-AM and KSFO-FM, effective July 14. Metheny currently serves as Program Director of co-owned News/Talk WJR-AM/Detroit. Before WJR, Metheny was with Tribune's WGN-AM/Chicago which he left in 2010. He also spent ten years with Clear Channel/Cleveland as VP/Programming and OM. Metheny is a career content creator whose other recent work includes the successful launch of CBS Radio's Country KMNB-FM (BUZ*N@102.9)/Minneapolis.

I would have written it slightly differently. My lede begins with "Former WGN program director Kevin Metheney, known for fire-bombing an institution and turning it into just another radio station, has somehow managed to get hired again. Yes, the same guy Howard Stern called 'Pig Vomit' in his memoirs. That guy. Hired again."

Rejected

Middle son (age 16) rejects Cubs tickets with Dad. Dad currently revising his will and Xing middle son out of all family pictures. Going to Cubs game with son #1, who wisely jumped at the chance. For those of you keeping score at home, in the photo below, simply place an X over the little boy on the right in this photograph.

Five Years Ago Today

One of the fun things about writing for my website Just One Bad Century is that I'll occasionally stumble across a Cubs anniversary that brings up wonderful memories. For me, today in 2009 was one of those days. I wrote about it at the time.

You can read it here.

I enjoyed re-reading it, because I'm going to the ballpark with the same kid tomorrow, and he's 16 now. Let's just say it will be an entirely different experience.

Another Celebrity with Another Eckhartz Press book

"Life Behind the Camera" author Chuck Quinzio with Rob Reiner...

The "Best Seat in the House: Diary of a Wrigley Field Usher" Book Launch Party!

Bruce Bohrer was a Wrigley Field usher for nine seasons, and during that time he saw it all. Brushes with greatness, marriage proposals, creative signs and cheers, unique crowd control issues, and the sheer awe and excitement of Wrigley patrons are captured beautifully in the pages of this book. Maybe you'll even recognize yourself, because after all, the real stars of "Best Seat in the House: Diary of a Wrigley Field Usher" are not the players on the field. They are the people who come to the shrine called Wrigley; everyday fans who bleed blue for their beloved Cubs.

Come out to the launch party this Saturday from 3-6pm at Tavern on 60 in Mundelein, Illinois! Bruce will be there signing copies of his brand new Eckhartz Press book.

Here's the link to: Tavern on 60

Here's the link to: "Best Seat In The House: Diary of a Wrigley Field Usher"

Yes, they do serve beer at Tavern on 60.

Once again, we remind you that the attendance of Eckhartz Press publishers Rick Kaempfer and David Stern and the similtaneous easy availability of beer on tap is completely coincidental.

Another Balding Handbook Fan

This salty bald man knows a great self help book when he sees one...

America Has Soccer Fever!

From TV Newser...

Monday night’s USA-Ghana match was the most-watched men’s soccer match ever on ESPN or ESPN2, drawing 11.1 million viewers per minute.

Empires

My cousin Derek's wife Stacey's brother Sean is in this band (seriously). Big thrill that they made it on Late Night with David Letterman...

Eckhard

My Dad's been gone 25 years, but today would have been his 79th birthday. I took this picture of him on Christmas Eve 1988 when he opened my gift to him. I got him an autographed picture of Channel 7 anchor Mary Ann Childers (his favorite). He passed away a few months later. When we cleaned out his office after his death, Mary Ann's photo was on his desk. His secretary told me Dad joked with everyone that Mary Ann was his girlfriend. Eckhard was a great guy. I wish he could have been around to meet his grandsons. They would have loved him as much as I did.

McCartney Letter

Thanks "BP" for sending me this. Paul's the nice Beatle, but if this letter is authentic (and it looks like it is), he was not a happy camper when Phil Spector and Allen Klein changed "The Long & Winding Road" after he handed it off to them.



For the record, McCartney was totally correct. The version on "Let it Be" is sappy and awful. The version on the Beatles anthology (the way Paul wanted it originally), is waaaaaaay better. Listen below...

New Programmer at the Drive

Robert Feder has the details. His name is Curtiss Johnson, and he's from the West Coast. He'll be replacing Patty Martin, who stepped down after 13 years. (I interviewed Patty a few years ago, if you're interested.)

Happy Birthday Bridget!

Happy birthday to my lovely wife, Bridget. I was looking through some old pictures this morning and found this one. It brought a smile to my face. She's working today and we've got baseball and soccer practice tonight, so we'll have to celebrate this coming weekend instead.

Biden Congratulates US Team

World Cup Fever

What an incredible day of World Cup games yesterday. First the Fatherland spanked Portugal, then U.S.A hangs on to win a dramatic and exciting game over Ghana (my fingernails are nubs).

I hear there are people who still don't like soccer. For the life of me, I can't imagine what their reasons are.

And I thought I worked at radio stations with behind-the-scenes drama

From Tom Taylor's column today. This sports talk station in St. Louis takes the cake...

A fistfight at the station, on-air racial comments about a fellow host, an arrest – now a missing GM. Followup on last week’s story about “bad vibes at Grand Slam’s all-sports KFNS (590)” in St. Louis. Fifteen-month GM Dan Marshall has stepped down from that job, after he needed a hospital visit pursuant to that fistfight involving talk host Brian McKenna. The police were called out and McKenna was arrested and spent the night in the hoosegow. Though the Post-Dispatch carefully notes that as of last Thursday, McKenna hadn’t actually been charged. The main thing is the ongoing condition at the station. Ops manager Mike Calvin is temporarily in charge, and he says “I consider it a massive project…We’ve lost a lot of good talent in the last week that needs to be replaced somehow, with zero to little budget.” Among other talent departures is middayer Jay Randolph Jr., who’s moving over to C H Holdings’ talk KTRS (550). The goings-on at KFNS and sister KXFN (1380) are keeping Dan Caesar at the Post-Dispatch very busy. He says “the fight came after [KXFN’s Nick Trupiano] ridiculed McKenna on the air, saying he overstated his recent skin cancer diagnosis.” Trupiano also rapped about another KFNS personality who was mentioned in an earlier Post-Dispatch story – African-American personality Charlie “Tuna” Edwards. Trupiano says “He’s a scumbag and I hope he dies of…sickle cell, cancer, whatever, I don’t care.” Trupiano also called Edwards “that token black guy” and said perhaps the reason the show has sponsors is for “that minority tax writeoff.” (That one’s a mystery.) Sounds like the bad vibes were both on and off the air, and that Mike Calvin has a mountain of work ahead.

Who holds the Guinness Record for Most Game Shows Hosted by the Same Presenter?

Alex Trebeck!

Over 6,800 episodes.

NBC Developing Event Series About The Beatles From ‘The Tudors’ Team

You'd think I'd be sick of hearing this story, but no sir. I'm in.

It's going to be an eight-day event.

Details at Deadline Hollywood.

RIP Casey Kasem

He passed this morning on Father's Day. His son Mike posted it on Facebook...

Early this Father’s Day morning, our dad Casey Kasem passed away surrounded by family and friends. Even though we know he is in a better place and no longer suffering, we are heartbroken. Thank you for all your love, support and prayers. The world will miss Casey Kasem, an incredible talent and humanitarian; we will miss our Dad. With love, Kerri, Mike and Julie.