The Champions

Hilarious if you're a soccer fan, which I am...

RIP Super Dave Osborne

This is a major bummer. Bob Einstein, who for years played the character of Super Dave Osborne, passed away yesterday at the age of 76. Deadline Hollywood has the details.

He was the brother of Albert Brooks, and was just as funny. Most recently he played the character of Larry Funkhauser on Curb Your Enthusiasm. This tweet below was my favorite moment with that character. Warning, definitely not suitable for work...

❤️ pic.twitter.com/nnvyjFg3gx

— Drake Deno (@DrakeDeno) January 3, 2019

Bulls

Went to the Bulls game last night with the youngster. Wow, I had no idea the Bulls were this bad. I played most of the third quarter at strong forward.

Still, had a good time. They really do hustle during breaks in the basketball action to entertain the crowds. I know this is outside the box thinking, but what if they just eliminated the basketball altogether next time?

RIP Daryl Dragon

Sad news again. From this morning's RAMP Newsletter...

Daryl Dragon, the "Captain" half of the hugely successful 1970s duo the Captain & Tennille, died of renal failure in Prescott, AZ on Tuesday, Jan. 1 while under hospice care. He was 76. Spokesperson Harlon Boll told Variety that Dragon's ex-wife, Toni Tennille, "was with him as he took his last breath." In a statement, Tennille said of Dragon, "He was a brilliant musician with many friends who loved him greatly. I was at my most creative in my life when I was with him."

I saw the Captain & Tennille perform live once. It was at a 70s night at Wrigley Field a few years ago. Naturally, they played this one...

How Does Government Shutdown Affect FCC?

I thought this piece in Inside Radio was telling. Tell me this isn't an obvious sign of the times...

Late Wednesday the FCC said among those areas that will remain open for business are the Consolidated Database System (CDBS). That means station deal-making will face less of a disruption. Broadcasters and communications attorneys will still be able to access documents on the Electronic Document Management System (EDOCS). And, if needed, the Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) and the Public Safety Support Center will both be operational.

Don't worry, conglomerates. If you want to make bigger conglomerates, that's an essential need. You can still do that. Oh, and I suppose if there's an emergency or saftey concern (blah blah blah), we can cover that too. But only if needed. First and foremost--deal making will not be impeded.

RIP Ray Sawyer

The singer from Dr. Hook, Ray Sawyer, passed away over the weekend. He was 81 years old.

JOBC Anniversary

On this day in 2008, Dave and I founded Just One Bad Century (justonebadcentury.com). It was really nothing more than a Cubs website for fans of Cubs history. Our goal was to figure out where it all went wrong. It was the 100th anniversary of their last World Series victory.

Three years later Just One Bad Century started up a publishing company, Eckhartz Press.

Despite the Cubs World Series win in 2016, the website lives on. Over the weekend I updated the entire site, created about a hundred new stories and features that would appear this year, and generally re-immersed myself in Cubs-ness. We will have an announcement later in the year about an exciting new Cubs project.

In the meantime, visit the site. It updates daily. Thanks!

Cubs Fodder

Look who rang the new year in together 👀

(via @Jess__Bryant) pic.twitter.com/9Hp8hhbxII

— Cubs Talk (@NBCSCubs) January 1, 2019

John Howell & Mancow

From this morning's RAMP newsletter...

With Windy City radio vet Mancow set to debut in morning drive tomorrow on Cumulus News-Talk WLS-AM/Chicago, current wake-up personality John Howell will move to late afternoons -- The John Howell Show will now air from 5-7pm weekdays, starting tomorrow.

Marv Nyren, VP/Market Manager of Cumulus Chicago, said, "As part of the new lineup at WLS-AM 890, keeping an experienced Chicago talent like John Howell solidifies the lineup and will give our audience a reason to stay tuned throughout the entire day. John has been entertaining Chicagoland for over 30 years and his program will be the perfect way to wrap up the day on your way home."

Howell, a 30-year market vet, said, "I'm very excited about hosting the new afternoon show at WLS-AM 890. I intend to present Chicago with a quick-paced, informative, honest and intelligent summary of the day's biggest stories; an afternoon wrap of the day's biggest events featuring prominent newsmakers, reporters, experts and stars. Of course, our town's most colorful characters will also be welcome. In addition, I'm looking forward to (finally) golfing when the sun's in the east."

Dave Fogel

The January edition of the Illinois Entertainer is out, and includes my interview with WLS-FM morning man Dave Fogel.

You can read it here.

Just One Bad Century

I have updated our EVERY CUB EVER feature at Just One Bad Century. There are more than a hundred new or updated profiles. More than 2000 entries in all (players, managers, celeb fans, etc), presented conveniently in alphabetical order.

Check it out here.