Johnny Kaempfer

He's funny, he's quirky, he's tough, he's got a bit of a Napoleon complex, and he is 11 years old today. Happy Birthday, Johnny!

Like his older and younger brother, my middle son was born on the radio. Read all about that here.

40 years ago this week...

...this song won the grammy for song of the year. I personally think it holds up pretty well. The link takes you to a recording of a live performance from that year.

Thumbs Up!

I finally got my thumbcast taken off this morning. It's not completely healed yet, unfortunately. Another four weeks of being "very careful" with it. With three boys that's going to be easier said than done, but whew! At least I can shake hands with people again.

35 years ago today...

...this show debuted. Remember it? I totally do. I was 10.



Recognize the voices? Marlo Thomas & Mel Brooks.

We're #2!

This week's Father Knows Nothing is getting quite a bit of reaction via e-mail, Facebook, and on the site. It's a totally immature piece called "We're #2!"

Among the comments I've gotten so far...



Tina: Although I am a female, I must admit that I enjoy the occasional “male” potty humor myself. Having an older brother and father that constantly crack jokes, even today at 32 and 54, one must succumb to the saying of “if you can’t beat them, join them”!

Momkat: And let’s not forget the eternal wisdom of “He who denied it, supplied it.” But you didn’t hear it from me. And yes, I did say “but.”

ML: Oh boy, you and my former husband would have gotten along famously, Rick!!! Potty humor galore!

Bill: Good one Rick! I was laughing out loud. My whole life was the opposite. Four sisters no brothers. Two daughters no sons. It wasn't until I inherited a step son that additional testosterone entered the home. "Butt" ....that doesn't mean I didn't get your blog! (he-he)

Anita: Try disciplining your son, and in mid-yell or mid-lecture, he just stares at you and then puts his finger up his nose and pretends to dig around. Instead of yelling, you start laughing and it's all over. It's now impossible to maintain any semblance of parental power in the situation. He knows I'm an easy mark for a cheap laugh, therefore, bodily function noises and scratching himself is also used when Mom is trying to actually ACT like a parent. I don't know what I did in life to deserve so many moon shots. I thought once he was potty trained, I'd never have to see his butt ever again. I was wrong.

Feel free to add your comments at the Father Knows Nothing site. The more the merrier.

Why men look for any excuse to get out of the house

"B" tipped me off to this article. This guy has the same sensibilities as me. The article is called "Why men look for any excuse to get out of the house."

Joke for a Monday morning

This was contributed by "AH". A few one liners about my home town...





If your local Dairy Queen is closed from September through May, you live in Chicago

If someone in a Home Depot store offers you assistance and they don't work there, you live in Chicago

If you've worn shorts and a parka at the same time, you live in Chicago

If you've had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed a wrong number, you live in Chicago

If "Vacation" means going anywhere south of I - 80 for the weekend, you live in Chicago.

If you measure distance in hours, you live in Chicago .

If you have switched from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day and back again, you live in Chicago

If you can drive 75 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching, you live in Chicago .

If you carry jumpers in your car and your wife knows how to use them, you live in Chicago

If you design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit, you live in Chicago

If the speed limit on the highway is 55 mph -- you're going 80 and everybody is passing you, you live in Chicago

If driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow, you live in Chicago

If you know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter and road construction, you live in Chicago.

If you have more miles on your snow blower than your car, you live in Chicago

If you find 10 degrees "a little chilly", you live in Chicago

Bill Maher

He's often a little too abrasive for my tastes, but Bill Maher has a way of cutting through the bells and whistles to get at the truth.

Friday night he did a rave out on the role of government, which I thought was right on the money. If you'd like to watch it, it's here. Warning to the easily offended: There are a few objectionable words.

Rush speaks

Rush Limbaugh addresses the nation... - watch more funny videos

Father Knows Nothing

I just posted my latest "Father Knows Nothing" column at the NWI Parent blog.

This one is totally immature and childish. Fellas will enjoy it. Gals will roll their eyes. It's called "We're #2!"

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

From "BK", regarding John Belushi

"Your sites are fantastic - I wondered who else remembered that Bulooch passed on 3.5.82 - You answered my question!

I remember going with my parents and bros and some of the neighbor adults to see the movie - I was 13 and we were all in the front rows. When they get into the "You promised you'd go see the Penguin the day you get out. No F-ing way", Pat and I held our laughs, looked at all the adults who were busting a gut - including Mom and Dad - and let it fly!"

Chicago Radio Spotlight Update

This week I circled back to re-interview a half dozen people who have either been laid off, fired, moved to a new timeslot, or left town since I last interviewed them. Read what's up with Dan McNeil, Stan Lawrence, Leslie Keiling, Julian Nieh, Geoff Pinkus, and Kevin Robinson here.

Cubbie Blues

Many of you know that I contributed an essay to the recently published book "Cubbie Blues: 100 Years of Waiting Till Next Year." Well, the publisher's website has been doing profiles of the authors who contributed to the book, and this morning they posted my profile. It's written by the editor of the book, Don Evans.

You can read the whole profile here.



This is a small taste of it...

"Justonebadcentury.com is so packed with interesting content, I was surprised to learn it’s essentially a one-man show. Rick Kaempfer.

It was my fascination and admiration with the work of justonebadcentury.com that inspired me to contact Rick and see if he had any prose pieces that might fit Cubbie Blues: 100 Years of Waiting Till Next Year. While there are other very good Chicago Cubs sites out there, including Bleed Cubbie Blue, the Heckler and Cubbie-Blue, justonebadcentury.com most matched the sensibility I brought to the anthology project.

Rick gave me a funny, personal essay called Go (Away) Sox. Originally a piece Rick wrote for his blog Half Empty, it’s the evil side of his co-blogger and good friend Dave. “We constantly fight all year-long about the Cubs and Sox,” Rick says. “I don’t have to watch the news; if anything bad happens, I will find out from Dave.”

The essay is notable for its keen comic timing. It’s a short, breezy piece that is perfectly executed, like a gymnast executing a stripped-down routine flawlessly. It hits on a longstanding civic debate, Cubs or Sox?, but does so in a fresh way."

They did an interview with me for the site too. You can read that interview here. It's all about my relationship with the Cubs.

I'll be making a couple of appearances to promote the book in April. I'll fill you in on those as we get closer to the date.

Ken Sumka

News Radio WBBM's and WXRT's Ken Sumka is celebrating a birthday today. Last year I had a chance to interview Ken for Chicago Radio Spotlight. That interview is here if you'd like to read more about the birthday boy.

The Clock is still ticking

I don't know if you've seen our latest innovation at Just One Bad Century, but we've got a clock keeping track of exactly how long it's been since the Cubs last won the World Series. As of today, it's 36,666 days. If you want the precise hours, minutes and seconds, you can go to the website and check it out.

Father Knows Nothing

If you missed this past weekend's "Father Knows Nothing," here's the link. It was about my youngest boy Sean, and I called it "Just Tryin' to Keep 'em Alive."

Here are a few comments I've gotten about it...



"My three year old figured out how to light the lighter. I haven't slept since."
--PH

"Hope he reads that some day…..maybe when he is a dad….lucky boy"
--Jax

"The day my youngest went to first grade I cried. I felt like a total fool blubbering in the parking lot. I told him I got something in my eye."
--RS

Solving a mystery

I got the following e-mail and picture the other day...

"Rick, my name is Keith Iverson out in Rockford. I have a old Cub’s team photo ( 8”X10”) from I would guess the 1930’s - sometime. ?? I would like to confirm the year of this photo, and also see who each player might have been. Can you help me out, or direct me to a web site where such info might be available. Thanks for any help you can give."


This was my response to Keith after spending a little time with the picture. If you have any further info, let me know...

"Keith,

It's either the 1933 or 1934 Cubs. There are a few clues that helped me figure it out.


Clue #1--The big guy on the far left back row is Babe Phelps (also known as Blimp). He only played with the Cubs in 1933 and 1934. (He was the backup catcher). In 1933 he only had 7 at bats. He probably wouldn't have even been in the team picture in 1933, so my guess is 1934, but I can't be 100% sure.



Clue #2--The guy sitting on the far left in the second row from the bottom is Babe Herman. (photo) He also played on the Cubs only in 1933 and 1934.

Clue #3--Hack Wilson is not in the picture. Hack's last season with the Cubs was 1931. So it's after '31.

Clue #4--Charlie Grimm is sitting next to the guys in the suits (on the left of them), which means he was probably the manager. He became manager in 1932 and left in 1938.

Clue #5--Rogers Hornsby is not in the picture. He was the manager until mid-season in 1932.

Clue #6--The big guy in the last row (three in from the far right) is Pat Malone. (photo) His last year with the Cubs is 1934.

Clue #7--Phillip Wrigley is not in the picture. He inherited the team from his Dad in 1932, but didn't take over the day-to-day operations until 1935. I don't think his father is in the picture either, although the fattest guy in the suit does resemble him slightly. (Doubtful, however, because he died in January of 1932, and as I mentioned, Rogers Hornsby and Hack Wilson would have been in the 1931 Cubs picture, and Babe Herman and Babe Phelps were not on the team in 1932.)

The entire list of the 1934 roster is here, and the 1933 roster is here.

Hope this helps.

All the best,
Rick Kaempfer
Editor-in-Chief
www.justonebadcentury.com

Jokes for a Monday Morning

It's called "Six Affairs" and it was contributed by "TK"




The 1st Affair

A married man was having an affair with his secretary. One day they went to her place and made love all afternoon. Exhausted, they fell asleep and woke up at 8 PM. The man hurriedly dressed and told his lover to take his shoes outside and rub them in the grass and dirt. He put on his shoes and drove home.

'Where have you been?' his wife demanded.

'I can't lie to you,' he replied, 'I'm having an affair with my secretary. We had sex all afternoon.'

She looked down at his shoes and said:

'You lying bastard! You've been playing golf!'

The 2nd Affair

A middle-aged couple had two beautiful daughters but always talked about having a son. They decided to try one last time for the son they always wanted. The wife got pregnant and delivered a healthy baby boy. The joyful father rushed to the nursery to see his new son. He was horrified at the ugliest child he had ever seen.

He told his wife: 'There's no way I can be the father of this baby. Look at the two beautiful daughters I fathered! Have you been fooling around behind my back?'

The wife smiled sweetly and replied: 'No, not this time!'

The 3rd Affair

A mortician was working late one night. He examined the body of Mr. Schwartz, about to be cremated, and made a startling discovery. Schwartz had the largest private part he had ever seen! 'I'm sorry Mr. Schwartz,' the mortician commented, 'I can't allow you to be cremated with such an impressive private part. It must be saved for posterity.'

So, he removed it, stuffed it into his briefcase, and took it home.

'I have something to show you, you won't believe,' he said to his wife, opening his briefcase.

'My God!' the wife exclaimed, 'Schwartz is dead!'

The 4th Affair

A woman was in bed with her lover when she heard her husband opening the front door.

'Hurry,' she said, 'stand in the corner.'

She rubbed baby oil all over him, then dusted him with talcum powder.

'Don't move until I tell you,' she said. 'Pretend you're a statue.'

'What's this?' the husband inquired as he entered the room.

'Oh it's a statue,' she replied. 'The Smith's bought one and I liked it so I got one for us, too.'

No more was said, not even when they went to bed. Around 2 AM the husband got up, went to the kitchen and returned with a sandwich and a beer.

'Here,' he said to the statue, have this. I stood like that for two days at the Smith's, and nobody offered me a damned thing.'

The 5th Affair

A man walked into a cafe, went to the bar and ordered a beer.

'Certainly, Sir, that'll be one cent.'

'One Cent?' the man exclaimed.

He glanced at the menu and asked: 'How much for a nice juicy steak and a bottle of wine?'

'A nickel,' the barman replied.

'A nickel?' exclaimed the man. 'Where's the guy who owns this place?'

The bartender replied: 'Upstairs, with my wife.'

The man asked: 'What's he doing upstairs with your wife?'

The bartender replied: 'The same thing I'm doing to his business down here.'

The 6th Affair

Jake was dying. His wife sat at the bedside .

He looked up and said weakly: 'I have something I must confess.'

'There's no need to, 'his wife replied.

'No,' he insisted, 'I want to die in peace. I slept with your sister, your best friend, her best friend, and your mother!'

'I know,' she replied. 'Now just rest and let the poison work.'

Uh oh, here we go again...

From the website Gambling911...

"Chicago Cubs fans don't despair. Your team is a bigger favorite to win the 2009 World Series than are the reigning champion Philadelphia Phillies. The Cubs would pay $445 at Bookmaker.com for every $100 bet. The Phillies would pay $530 for every $100 bet. Once again it is the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox that come in as the annual early favorites along with the Cubs. Each pay just over $400 for every $100 bet."

First Cubs World Series prediction

I saw it with my own eyes...Steve Phillips of ESPN (former GM of the NY Mets) just picked the Cubs to win the World Series this year (over the Yankees). That sort of prediction used to make my eyes light up.

This time I just laughed...

Remembering Paul Harvey

A few previous Chicago Radio Spotlight interviews have discussed the Chicago icon, Paul Harvey, who we lost this past weekend at the age of 90. I dipped back into the archives to highlight a few of those memories...



Jack Landreth was one of his producers in the early 90s...

Jack: Every day, I would get to the Harvey offices and listen to Paul’s 7:30 broadcast. When he was finished, he would always stop by my office, take half a step in, and in his booming delivery, exclaim “Good Morning, Jackson!”. I will never forget those days. It was THE Paul Harvey, but I always saw him as the news guy. If I put him on any other pedestal, I would never have gotten my job done! Mr. Harvey will always be a news guy no matter what, but first and foremost, he was a family guy. The love he had for his wife Angel, and the pride he had for Paul Jr. was so prevalent during the short time I worked for him. Mr. Harvey is a legend in real man’s clothes. I love him!

Rick: What was your role when you worked with him, and can you give us an insight into how he puts his newscast together?

Jack: I would go through every newspaper from every town in the country. Again, this was before internet, so all of the “For What it’s Worth” stories came from the small town print papers. Besides working on those stories, I would help out where I could from mail to phones. In Paul Harvey’s office, no one had titles, no one was better than anyone else. Most of the time, Paul changed the ribbons on the news wire machines, simply because he was the first one in.

He would get in early, 4am or so, and put on his blue smock. It was one of those smocks that doctors wear, complete with an ABC logo patch, and the name “Paul” stitched on the right pocket. All of the wire machines had spit out stories all night, and he would scour each and every fiber of those paper rolls. He would then go into his office with the stack of stories, and start typing his scripts, large type and double spaced. He would then take the daily stories, add his famous live reads (Page two!), stack the stories and include whatever we had for him. Then off to the studio where he did Paul Harvey News for the world to hear. After that newscast, it was off to Rest of the Story land, and whatever else needed to be done. When the morning was over, he would walk down to the garage and drive off in his Buick. Yes, he drove a Buick every day. And yes, it took his assistant June Westgaard years and years to convince him NOT to park on Lower Wacker!

A few years ago I asked Bob Sirott which air personalities he most admired, and he answered...

Bob: Paul Harvey continues to entertain me endlessly. Many of his stories are quite interesting, but the way he writes them, the way he delivers them, the way he slides in his own "take" on them--well, let me just say you better listen to him every day because when he stops broadcasting that will be the end of an era that will be gone forever.


I agree with Bob. The passing of Paul Harvey isn't just the end of a broadcasting idol, it's the end of an era. He will be missed.

Father Knows Nothing

I just posted my latest "Father Knows Nothing" column at NWI Parent. This latest one is about my early struggles as the stay-at-home dad. It's called: "Just trying to keep 'em alive."

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

Dina Sanchez, a former colleague of mine, also worked with Norm Van Lier. She wrote this to me in response to Tom Serritella's tribute to Norm...


"Hi Rick, I'm not much of a sports fan, but when I worked at the LOOP and AM 1000 with you and Bridget, Norm was sweet and great to all of us. I'll never forget his story of running into a young mom who stopped and asked for his autograph, which of course he was happy to do. As he picked up the pen, she said "I really love you on those Jell-O commercials, Mr. Cosby!" I'm sure you can guess what Norm did -- he signed Cosby's name and made her day. What a great guy! Tom, thanks for sharing!"

Chicago Radio Spotlight: Maura Myles

I interviewed Maura Myles this week for Chicago Radio Spotlight. We talked about her diverse and interesting career, including her current stint as the midday news/traffic anchor at WLS Radio. Read the entire interview here.

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

From reader "AS"...



"That was a great tribute to Norm Van Lier by his former producer. Van Lier sounds like he was a quality human being, which is the most important thing of all. And now I need a tissue, and I’m not even a Bulls fan!"

Rick responds: I agree. Tom really did a nice job. It was from the heart. My wife Bridget knew Norm pretty well (he called her "little Mama") and she was also very touched by Tom's piece.

Rhodes vs. Zorn

If you haven't been following this battle between Eric Zorn at the Chicago Tribune and Steve Rhodes at the Beachwood Reporter, you're missing some fireworks. Check it out...

The battle takes place here

Video Vault

Louis CK is a very funny man. Check out his rave out against the entitlement generation. Very funny stuff on Conan's show.

Joke for a Thursday morning

Contributed by "MB"...

A 3-legged dog walked into a bar. He said, "I'm looking for the man who shot my paw."

Coolest baseball video I've ever seen

Included in this 10 minute video...footage of the 1910 World Series (!) between the Cubs and the A's. Also, footage of the famous 1919 Black Sox World Series (!). There are clips from the 1904 Series (NY Giants) and the 1909 Series (Pirates/Tigers) too.

I know I'm a geek, but I've been looking for stuff like this for the past two years and I've never seen any of it before...

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

Wow, that took only about ten minutes before I got my first sarcastic e-mail about the Cubs. "SA" writes...

"I can't believe you're already getting sucked in! It's just one stupid spring training game."

"SA" is right. Maybe the Losing is Soooo Last Century shirt isn't right for you. Maybe you still want to go with our very popular Crying Cub shirt.

It's also still available for 19.08% off until Opening Day at Just One Bad Century.

Get yours today.

(A new design will be unveiled soon)

Losing is soooo last century

Don't look now, but the Cubs are undefeated. We are UNTOUCHABLE in February. I don't want to over-react to the big spring training debut, but this shirt kind of says it all, doesn't it?

Our shirts and hats are still 19.08% off until Opening Day.

Get yours here today.

A familiar headline

Don't get me wrong, I always liked the guy, but seeing this headline no longer has me reaching for the Pepto Bismol.

Kerry Wood slowed by a sore back

Joke for a Wednesday morning

Thanks to "TH" for contributing this one...It's an oldie, but a goodie.


HAVING MOM OVER FOR DINNER

Brian invited his mother over for dinner. During the course of the meal, Brian's mother couldn't help but notice how beautiful Brian's roommate, Jennifer, was. Brian's Mom had long been suspicious of the platonic relationship between Brian and Jennifer, and this had only made her more curious.

Over the course of the evening, while watching the two interact, she started to wonder if there was more between Brian and Jennifer than met the eye.

Reading his mom's thoughts, Brian volunteered, 'I know what you must be thinking, but I assure you Jennifer and I are just roommates.'

About a week later, Jennifer came to Brian saying, 'Ever since your mother came to dinner, I've been unable to find the beautiful silver gravy ladle. You don't suppose she took it, do you?'

Brian said, 'Well, I doubt it, but I'll send her an e-mail just to be sure.' So he sat down and wrote:

__________________________________________________________


Dear Mom,

I'm not saying that you 'did' take the gravy ladle from the house, I'm not saying that you 'did not' take the gravy ladle. But the fact remains that one has been missing ever since you were here for dinner.

Love, Brian

__________________________________________________________


Several days later, Brian received an email back from his mother that read:

____________________________________________________

Dear Son,

I'm not saying that you 'do' sleep with Jennifer, I'm not saying that you 'do not' sleep with Jennifer. But the fact remains that if Jennifer is sleeping in her own bed, she would have found the gravy ladle by now.

Love,
Mom

LESSON OF THE DAY - NEVER LIE TO YOUR MOTHER

Just a Thought

I love the symbolism of the "Party of No" choosing a "Politician from N.O." to give the response to the President last night.

Suburban Man

If you came to the blog today looking for Suburban Man, this is just one last reminder that the column is now called "Father Knows Nothing" and it's posted at the NWI Parent blog every Sunday.

This week's column "Fat Pants" has gotten quite a bit of reaction from my female readers who seem to be happy to welcome me into the fat pants club...

Anita writes: "Ahhh, the suit has been moved to the "I Have a Dream" section of your closet. That's the same section (in the dark recesses) of my closet that my size 6 & 8 jeans reside, waiting for the day "when I can wear them again."

Barb writes: "Welcome to every women's problem! The fat pants....at least guys can do the dunlap! You know when your belly dun laps over your belt!"

Kim writes: "My 6 & 8's have grown tired of the wait. And if I wait a few more years, they just may come back into style again. Seriously, wearing something 100 times is just too much. I bet your wife was ever so glad those pants were a bit snug."

Karen writes: "You need the basic wardrobe - black pants up a size and down a size."

ML writes: "It's not just you, Rick... Skinny ol' me is not so skinny anymore... Last summer (when I was at my heaviest) I was leaving a convenience store in a bad section of Tampa when a crackhead going in stopped in said, "DAYUM! You got the finest booty I EVER seen on a white girl!" I laughed, then fled. One more moment for my Hall of Shame!"

Some love for $everance

It was nice seeing this yesterday. A review for $everance from the blog "Bibleeophile"...

"So, $everance. Absolutely hysterical.

Seriously, I was reading it on the subway and I kept laughing out loud. The people around me no doubt thought I was insane. The author, Richard Kaempfer, really nailed the whole black humor he was going for in his novel, about a radio air jockey who just wants to be fired already, but of course the office manager won't fire him because then the company would have to pay him eighteen months' pay as severance. Zagorski, the disk jockey, actually goes so far as to send the most ridiculous e-mail ever to everyone in the company, including the CEO, thinking that of course the guy will fire him for all of these stupid suggestions...but instead the CEO thinks Zagorski is brilliant; the CEO implements one of the off-the-cuff idea and it makes the company millions! Instead of getting fired, Zagorski ends up getting promoted and eventually realizes that nothing he does is going to get him fired...unless he comes up with something that loses the company money. And that's when the fun really starts.

It's totally poking fun at Wall Street, the five media companies that run the media, and politics, while also pointing out that (hello!) there are only five companies (men) who control almost everything we read, watch, and listen too and maybe someone should pay attention to that? I honestly think that this book is going to be given out as a gift this year; I can't think of anyone who wouldn't get a kick out of reading it."

Father Knows Nothing

I just posted my latest "Father Knows Nothing" column. This one is called "Fat Pants."

Chicago Radio Spotlight: Bruce DuMont

This week on Chicago Radio Spotlight I interviewed Bruce DuMont, the president/CEO/founder of the Museum of Broadcast Communications. Bruce and I talked about the museum, the Radio Hall of Fame (housed in the museum), Chicago radio and television history, and Bruce's distinguished broadcasting career. You can read the whole interview here.

7-year-olds discuss beer

This was sent to me by "CK."

A handful of 7-years old children were asked "What do you think of beer?" None of these answers came from my children. (And please don't ask them what they think)



(1) I think beer must be good. My dad says the more beer he drinks the prettier my mom gets. (Tim)
(2) Beer makes my dad sleepy, and we get to watch what we want on television when he is asleep, so beer is nice. (Melanie)
(3) My Mom and Dad both like beer. My Mom gets funny when she drinks it and takes her top off at parties, but Dad doesn't think this is very funny. (Grady)
(4) My Mom and Dad talk funny when they drink beer and the more they drink the more they give kisses to each other, which is a good thing. (Toby)
(5) My Dad gets funny on beer. He is funny. He also wets his pants sometimes, so he shouldn't have too much. (Sarah)
(6) My Dad loves beer. The more he drinks, the better he dances. One time he danced right into the pool. (Lilly)
(7) I don't like beer very much. Every time Dad drinks it, he burns the sausages on the barbecue and they taste disgusting. (Ethan)
(8) I give Dad's beer to the dog and he goes to sleep. (Shirley)
(9) My Mom drinks beer and she says silly things and picks on my father. Whenever she drinks beer she yells at Dad and tells him to go bury his bone down the street again, but that doesn't make any sense. (Jack)

Fountains of Wayne

These guys are currently my favorite (non-Beatles) band...

E-mail, we get e-mails

From JE...

"Rick, I was reading your blog this morning and read about your encounter with Ernie Banks/Michael Jordan. I also got to meet Ernie in an unexpected way. Last summer, I went to one of Brandmeier's live broadcasts - it was at Harry Caray's on the first day of the Crosstown Classic. Since I am a radio junkie, my main motivation for going was to see how Johnny does a show and how all that works. I didn't pay any attention to who was going to be a guest that day or anything else about what was going to happen on the show (I have learned from that little mistake). So, I get there at 6am when this is supposed to start and realize that virtually nobody else is there - there are maybe 5 other listeners at this point and Johnny's crew.

So, I sit down at a table and just hang out. Johnny was not there yet, he was still broadcasting from the studio (I didn't realize he wasn't coming by until 8am)...The two people at the table next to me start talking to me. One I knew was Dutchie Carey because I had seen her before at other events. The other guy was really pleasant and interesting to talk to but I didn't know who he was -- eventually we all introduced ourselves...it was Ernie Banks. He was one of Johnny's guests that day (along with Ron Kittle who came in later).

I am very embarrassed to admit that I knew he played baseball but that was about all I knew - I totally admit I am a sports idiot. My husband tries to educate me but it will probably take him his whole lifetime to get me up to speed. So, I got to spend time with Ernie before he went on the show with Johnny just talking about general stuff - I don't think we talked about baseball at all. It wasn't until he was on the air that I realized what a legend I had the luck to spend time with. My husband was incredulous that I was so clueless. So - bottom line - he was a very nice guy - even to somebody like me - who didn't even deserve to be talking to him."

Jerry and Harry

This is a momentous day in Cubs history for two reasons.



On this day in 1949, one of Just One Bad Century's Mustache Hall of Fame members, Jerry Morales was born in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico.







Unfortunately, it's also the day that Harry Caray died (in 1998). We still miss the guy. In honor of Harry, here's our all-time favorite Harry Caray moment for old-time's sake. Almost 175,000 people have enjoyed this clip since we posted it on YouTube last year...

Suburban Man

If you're stopping by this blog today looking for Suburban Man, this is just a reminder that Suburban Man is now known as Father Knows Nothing, and I post it at the NWI Parent blog every Sunday. This week's column is called: "Lending a Hand." It's about trying to function with a cast on your right hand, and what the implications are for a family that counts on you to do everything.

Mel's heiney saved again

I don't know he does it, but...Mel just found someone to loan him more money than the company is worth in exchange for only half of the company (Sirius/XM).

Liberty Media Corp., headed by John Malone, is reportedly close to a deal to acquire a minority stake of Sirius XM for $250 million in a senior secured loan. The loan would be the first step in a "multi-stage" deal to rescue the company, the Financial Times reports. If consummated, the deal would put Malone's group, which controls DirecTV, in bed with the satcaster.

According to the New York Times blog, DealBook Malone's investment, which could be upwards of $450 million, is more than the company's market capitalization -- and Malone would only get several board seats and a minority stake for just under half the company.

Missed a flight?

This is why Germans are always punctual...

Embedded video from CNN Video

Mustache Hall of Fame

Carlos Zambrano arrived at Cubs camp this year with a mustache...a blatant attempt to curry favor with Just One Bad Century. We're sorry Carlos, it's a fine mustache, but it's not quite worthy of induction into our brand new Mustache Hall of Fame at Just One Bad Century. Take a look at the ten great Cubs mustaches we've honored here. Not just any mustache makes it in the Hall of Fame. These are the mustaches to end all mustaches.

These two Cubs mustaches, for instance, didn't make the cut. Both of them are celebrating birthdays today...



Barry Foote



Rolando Roomes

Father Knows Nothing

I just posted my latest "Father Knows Nothing" column at the NWI Parent blog. It's called "Lending a Hand" and it's about the challenges I'm facing these days with a cast on my thumb.