Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Book Signing Weekend

On Saturday you'll find me (and Becky Sarwate-Maxwell from "Cubsessions") here...



On Sunday you'll find me (and Janet Sutherland from "Nose Over Toes) here...

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Rick on TV

This morning I traveled down the WGN-TV studios to do a bit with the morning team (and naturally, promote my book). Here's the link to my appearance this morning on WGN-TV Morning News.

Next time I'll have to bring a photographer. These are the only pictures I have...

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Last Farewell to Chet

We said a final farewell to our old buddy Chet Coppock yesterday. I thought his family and friends did a nice job creating a fitting send off service. Mark Giangreco, John McDonough, Bruce Levine, and several others including Chet’s kids gave poignant speeches, and the packed church swapped Chet stories for quite a while after the service ended. Saw a lot of my old Loop pals there including some I haven’t seen in years. Wish I could have seen them under better circumstances. Rest In Peace, Chet. We will miss you.

Teddy Greenstein of the Tribune was there (sitting just a few spots away from me), and filed this very accurate report for the Chicago Tribune.
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Monday, April 29, 2019

Minutia Men, Episode 132

This week's episode of Minutia Men contains our tribute to Chet Coppock, including the last interview he did with us, and the audio to the famous Cobb Salad encounter...

Listen to it here.
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Big Weekend

On Friday my first batch of books arrived...



On Saturday I did my first book signing in Orland Park. One of the Cubs showed up (Steve Trout with his grandosn)...





On Sunday I went on the Playtime wiht Bill Turck and Kerri Kendall show and did a toast for our old pal Chet Coppock, and then talked about my new book...



And this morning I'm heading in to the city for Chet Coppock's memorial service.

Tomorrow morning I'll be on WGN-TV.

Just explaining my lack of posting here. Things will return to normal soon.
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Friday, April 26, 2019

Everycubever Launch Party

Yes, I will be in Orland Park tomorrow selling "everycubever", but I will also be throwing this party (below) in my neck of the woods on May 4...

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Not a Lefty


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Thursday, April 25, 2019

Rick Monday Saves the Flag

It happened on this day in 1976...

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Pedro's Car

Just before last night's Cubs game, Pedro Strop's car was stolen. He was dealing with the police during the first few innings of the game.

Bleacher Nation has the details.

My favorite part of the story? During the 4th inning he said to the police: "SORRY OFFICER, I HAVE TO GET BACK TO YOU BECAUSE WE’RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A BASEBALL GAME AND I HAVE TO GO PITCH IN A HIGH-INTENSITY SITUATION."

He did, too. He got the save last night.
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Pacino explains acting

This is probably the best description I've heard of how to "act"


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Tweet-a-holics

I tweet about once or twice a day to promote my writing or publishing projects. I just looked this morning and I've tweeted 5033 times. I've been on Twitter about ten years. If you do the math, that's about 500 tweets a year. Or about 1.3 times a day.

Sounds like a lot to me, but it's not even in the ballpark to be considered a heavy Twitter user.

According to this piece, 80% of tweets are done by 10% of Twitters users. The president, for instance, has tweeted 41,000 times and has been on Twitter about as long as I have. Former sportscaster (and radio talk show host) Bruce Wolf has tweeted 72,000 times. Local Chicago journalist Robert Loerzel (who is a great follow by the way) has tweeted 372,000 times.

Just explaining why your Twitter feed may be dominated by a few people. If it's dominated by me, you don't follow any heavy Twitter users.
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Wednesday, April 24, 2019

Virgil!

I agree with this call. The difference between Liverpool in the pre-Virgil years and the post-Virgil years is that they used to lose games because they gave up a lot of goals. They don't anymore. The offense is still great (I love Salah, Mane, and Fermino) but without Virgil they wouldn't be where they are now.


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The most impeachable offense

Yes, he obstructed justice (at least five counts are provable in court).

Yes, he paid a porn star off just before the election to hide the news of his affair (a criminal offense--he is named as a co-conspirator in court).

Yes, he accepted and applauded help from Russia, even if "collusion" couldn't be proven. It's still anti-American and despicable.

Both the worst thing is that he still won't do anything about Russians attacking our political system, because he thinks it will help him.

Today's bombshell: Former Homeland Security Chief Nielson was told NOT to mention her concerns about Russians attacking us again in 2020 to the President.
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Rick in Orland

This is where I will be on Saturday--signing and selling my newest book "everycubever" along with fellow Eckhartz Press authors Randy Richardson and Becky Sarwate Maxwell. My son Sean is coming along because of the sportscards on sale too. If you're in the neighborhood, swing by...

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Chet's Last Days

This is Chet Coppock's last interview. He taped it with Rabbi Doug the week before he left on his trip to South Carolina...



Jim O'Donnell wrote about Chet's final days in the Daily Herald. This is the untold story of what happened to Chet in South Carolina, and the story of his passing.

Robert Feder has the details about Chet's memorial service...

A public memorial service for Chet Coppock will be held at 10 a.m. Monday at Saint Pauls United Church of Christ, 2335 North Orchard Street in Chicago. The famed sportscaster and self-styled “Godfather of Sports Talk Radio” died April 17 in Savannah, Georgia — 11 days after he was injured in a car accident in Okatie, South Carolina. Coppock would have turned 71 on April 30. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Chicago Baseball Cancer Charities.
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Tuesday, April 23, 2019

Gym Couples

I laughed out loud...


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Is the tide turning?

Today a former member of Trump's transition team calls for impeachment hearings.

What will tomorrow bring?
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Ray Starr

My book "everycubever" is available for pre-order now (https://eckhartzpress.com/shop/everycubever/). It features mini-bios of every Cub who ever played for the team, including today's birthday boy...

~Ray Starr 1906–1963 (Cubs 1945)
Ray Starr earned the nickname Iron Man by pitching both ends of more than 40 minor league doubleheaders during his 20-year career. One of his memorable quirks? Each season he pitched fastballs and curves for two hours on the first day of spring training. (Modern Day pitching coaches faint at the mention of this ritual). As a wartime pitcher with the Reds, Starr won 15 games in 1942, and made the All-Star team. But that was really his only good year. The Cubs picked him up from the Pirates during their pennant winning 1945 season, but Iron Man didn’t exactly pitch well. His ERA was 7.42. Starr gave up 17 hits and 7 walks in just 13 innings with the pennant winning Cubs. He retired after the 1945 season.
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Beer


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This Weekend in Orland Park

Your first chance to get "Everycubever" in the flesh. I'll be signing copies at the Orland Park Civic Center (come on out south side Cub fans--I know you are out there) on Saturday from around 10am until 1pm or so.

They wrote an unbelievably nice piece about me in the Orland Park Patch. You can read it here.

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Monday, April 22, 2019

Stephen Colbert on the Mueller Report

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John Oliver on the Mueller Report

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The Truth About the Mueller Report

President Trump and his Attorney General have been saying a lot of things about the Mueller Report. Most/many of those things are untrue.

The non-partisan Associated Press has fact checked them.

The AP doesn't engage in opinion or activist journalism. They are Jack Webb in Dragnet. Just the facts, ma'am. According to them, Trump and Barr are misleading and outright lying to the American people.
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Minutia Men, Episode 131

EP131: Rick and Dave present an all-interview show, featuring discussions about minutia with celebrity guests (actors, musicians, athletes, billionaires, and newsmakers). You’ll hear questions that you’ve never heard asked, and celebrities you’ve never heard interviewed. Some incredibly memorable and funny stories.

Listen to it here.
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Full House

We had a full house for Easter yesterday. I really enjoyed seeing everyone. These are just the kids who were here...

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Friday, April 19, 2019

Rick on the Radio



UPDATE: The podcast can be heard here.
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The Mueller Report

I gave up cable news for Lent, and yesterday was probably one of the toughest days of Lent for me. I sooooo wanted to turn on the TV and watch the experts devour the Mueller report. Instead, I followed on twitter and read something called newspapers. Remember those?



By the way, I also read the report, which was on-line and available to anyone who wanted to read it. I wanted to read it badly.

My takeaway: The media has been absolutely correct in virtually everything they have reported about this case. The next time he says "Fake News" realize that he is 100% full of shit.

Also, this is an important point. He fails as Commander in Chief because he still hasn't done anything about Russian (now proven) meddling in our elections. He won't protect us from a foreign adversary because he is hoping they help him again.
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Remembering Chet

There were tons of tributes yesterday to Chet Coppock. He was even trending on Twitter.

I know my phone was ringing off the hook. Thanks to WGN Radio, WLS Radio, and the Daily Herald for calling me and allowing me to share some stories about Chet. (The WGN interview is here if you want to hear it)



I thought the Sun Times did a very nice tribute to Chet.

Robert Feder did a nice piece in Chet's own words.

I wrote a tribute to Chet on the Eckhartz Press website too.


Steve Dahl did a nice tribute that featured classic audio of Chet. Chet appeared on Steve's show just recently--in the closing days of Steve's show on WLS Radio. (That's where this picture was taken.)



He even got a shout out on national television. Michael Wilbon paid tribute on PTI...



(I took that picture of Chet and his girlfriend at WGN Radio last year)

I will say this about yesterday. In his last few years Chet was beginning to feel that people had forgotten him, and he worried what his legacy would be. I don't think in his wildest dreams did he ever think he would receive the kind of outpouring of love that he received.

I hope that he somehow could see it or feel it or know it.

It would have meant the world to him.
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Thursday, April 18, 2019

Sad News





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Wednesday, April 17, 2019

Free Kicks, Episode 36

EP36: Adam and Rick discuss the great race for this year’s Premier League title (between Man City & Liverpool), and take a quiz about previous down-to-the-wire races.

Listen to it here.
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Rick and Bridget 2039

First I have to learn how to dance, but how hard can that be?


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Tom Needham

My book "everycubever" is available for pre-order now, and ships on May 1st. It features mini-bios of every Cub who ever played, including today's birthday boy...

~Tom Needham 1879–1926 (Cubs 1909-1914)
Needham was born in Ireland and came to this country as a youngster. Deerfoot, as he was called, joined the Cubs in the midst of their historic run to be the backup catcher to Johnny Kling, and then Jimmy Archer. He even got to bat in the 1910 World Series against the A’s. Deerfoot was known as a good defensive player, but never hit well (career average was .209). He played six seasons with the Cubs, but didn’t quite last long enough to play in the new ballpark. In his last few years with the Cubs Needham was a player/coach. He later became the pitching coach for the White Sox.

It's also Cap Anson's birthday today. If you'd like to read about him, his more lengthy bio can be found today at Just One Bad Century.
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CJ Edwards Instagram Posts

MLB is investigating racist instagram posts sent to Cubs pitcher Carl Edwards Jr.

“We were shocked by the racist, profanity-laced social media message sent to Carl Edwards Jr. earlier this month,” said Theo Epstein, Cubs president of baseball operations, in a statement released to The Athletic. “We vehemently condemn the content of the message and are supporting Major League Baseball’s investigation to identify the person responsible.”

When players like Jacque Jones and Milton Bradley complained of racist attacks--I didn't buy it. When Dusty Baker claimed to be the victim of racist attacks--I didn't buy it. I'm starting to change my mind.

This element of Cubs nation is welcome to go root for another team. We don't want to be associated with you.
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RealityCon

MTV is doing a convention for reality shows. It's called RealityCon.

Has there ever been a better name for a convention?
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Tuesday, April 16, 2019

Tommy Sewell

My book "everycubever" is available for pre-order now! (Ships May 1) It includes a mini-bio of literally every Cub who ever played between 1871-2018, including today's birthday boy...

~Tommy Sewell 1906–1956 (Cubs 1927)
Tommy had exactly one big league at bat. It came on June 21, 1927 at Sportsman Park in St. Louis. Tommy pinch hit for Cubs pitcher Percy Jones in the seventh inning against Cardinals pitcher Flint Rehm. Unfortunately for Tommy, Flint was a 20-game-winner that season. Sewell didn’t get on base and never got another chance in the big leagues. After that he played in the minor leagues for another four years before hanging up his spikes. Tommy couldn’t even brag about his big league experience when he came home to Alabama. His brother Joe was a Hall of Famer, another brother Luke also played in the big leagues, and so did his cousin Rip.

By the way, I tweeted out an abbreviated version of this, and it was my 5000th tweet of all time. Not sure I'll hit another milestone like that. It took me ten years to hit it...


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Chicago Radio Ratings

Robert Feder posted all the of the Chicago radio ratings this morning. If you want to look at the daypart breakdowns, click here to read the whole column. (Eric Ferguson is #1 in mornings, Bob Stroud in middays, and Joe Soto-WVAZ in afternoons). Here are the overall ratings...

1. WBBM 780-AM/WCFS 105.9-FM all news, 5.8 (6.1)
2. WTMX 101.9-FM hot adult contemporary, 5.4 (5.5)
3. (tie) WDRV 97.1-FM classic rock, 5.3 (5.1); WVAZ 102.7-FM urban adult contemporary, 5.3 (4.7)
5. WLS 94.7-FM classic hits, 4.5 (3.9)
6. WOJO 105.1-FM Mexican regional, 4.2 (5.0)
7. WLIT 93.9-FM adult contemporary, 3.9 (4.4)
8. WBMX 104.3-FM classic hip hop, 3.6 (3.1)
9. WBEZ 91.5-FM public radio news talk, 3.4 (3.3)
10. WSHE 100.3-FM adult contemporary, 3.2 (3.2)
11. (tie) WXRT 93.1-FM adult album alternative, 3.1 (3.3); WGN 720-AM news talk, 3.1 (3.5)
13. WBBM 96.3-FM Top 40, 3.0 (2.2)
14. (tie) WGCI 107.5-FM urban contemporary, 2.9 (2.7); WKSC 103.5-FM Top 40, 2.9 (2.9)
16. WSCR 670-AM sports talk, 2.8 (3.0)
17. (tie) WUSN 99.5-FM country, 2.6 (3.0); WKQX 101.1-FM alternative rock, 2.6 (2.8); WRME 87.7-FM soft rock oldies, 2.6 (2.6)
20. WLEY 107.9-FM Mexican regional, 2.2 (2.6)
21. WPWX 92.3-FM urban contemporary, 2.1 (2.1)
22. WPPN 106.7-FM Spanish adult contemporary, 1.9 (1.6)
23. WLS 890-AM news talk, 1.7 (1.7)
24. WEBG 95.5-FM country, 1.6 (1.6)
25. WFMT 98.7-FM classical, 1.3 (1.2)
26. (tie) WCKL 97.9-FM contemporary Christian, 1.2 (1.5); WVIV 93.5-FM Spanish contemporary, 1.2 (1.0)
28. WMVP 1000-AM sports talk, 1.1 (1.0)
29. (tie) WERV 95.9-FM classic hits, 0.9 (0.7); WMBI 90.1-FM Christian ministry, 0.9 (1.0)
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Monday, April 15, 2019

Ed Bailey

My book "everycubever" is available for pre-order now. It features mini-bios of everyone who ever played for the Cubs, including today's birthday boy...

~Ed Bailey 1931–2007 (Cubs 1965)
Ed was one of the best catchers in the National League in the late 50s and early 60s. He was a five-time All-Star, and a World Series hero during his time with the Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants. One of his personal highlights during those years was when he caught his brother Jim (a pitcher for the Reds in 1959). The Cubs acquired him along with Harvey Kuehnn and Bob Hendley in 1965. He was near the end of his career when he came to the Cubs, but he still played well. He was clearly the best catcher on that 1965 team. The Cubs acquired Randy Hundley the following year, which made Ed expendable. He finished his career with the Angels. (Photo: Topps 1966 baseball card)

When he was with the Reds, he and his teammates appeared on "What's My Line"


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Pothole Song

5 years ago today Pothole store owner David Stern released this hit song...

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Jackie Robinson

Something to remember...


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Liverpool

I'm a big Liverpool supporter in the Premier League, and I kept flipping back and forth between Tiger and the Liverpool game. Lucky I saw the best of both. Mo Salah's goal was one for the ages, and the atmosphere at Anfield was absolutely incredible. This captures it pretty well I think...


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Eddie V

From this morning's Robert Feder column...

It didn’t take long for Eddie Volkman to land on his feet. Just days after the sale of northwest suburban classic rocker WFXF 103.9-FM cost him his job as morning personality, the longtime Chicago radio star has been hired by WSSR 96.7-FM, the Alpha Media southwest suburban adult-contemporary station. Starting today, he’ll program Star 96.7 as content manager and double as afternoon host from 2 to 7 p.m. weekdays. Volkman succeeds Scott Childers, who exited the station after 15 years last week. “It’s a shame I won’t be working with my longtime friend Scott Childers,” he said. “We go all the way back to when he was ‘Rich Scott’ doing traffic for us on B96. He has built a solid station here, and it will be an honor to inject some new energy into the operation.” In the latest Nielsen Audio survey, Star 96.7 tied for 36th place with a 0.3 percent share.

(Photo: From the day I appeared on Eddie's podcast a few years ago)

Unfortunately, as you can tell from Eddie's comments above, the move coincided with the firing of Scott Childers. That was referenced in this morning's RAMP newsletter...

The sharp knife of radio strikes again," said Scott Childers, who has exited as PD of Alpha Media's suburban Chicago Hot AC WSSR (Star 96.7)/Joliet, IL after 15 years. As Childers told RAMP, "Ironic that it happened on the 95th birthday of WLS/Chicago... my last firing came on MY birthday back in 2002." [Ed. note: As reported by Robert Feder, Childers is the author of Chicago's WLS Radio, a critically acclaimed illustrated history of "The Big 89," published by Arcadia Publishing in 2008. He also created a tribute website at WLShistory.com.] Childers will now focus on his v/o work as he plans his next move. He can be reached at 630-901-9670 or scott@childers.com.
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Tiger

I was glued to the tube watching this...even got a little verklempt.



This is a great piece in the Washington Post written by Thomas Boswell. It captures the excitement, drama, and history of that magical moment incredibly well.

I was driving through a snow storm with my kids and listened to the final putt on the radio. That is without question the first time I've ever listened to golf on the radio.
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Minutia Men, Episode 130

EP130: Rick gets the very first copy of his new book “everycubever”, plus Rick and Dave discuss a new class at the University of Kansas, bees in a woman’s eyes, a Cubs media debacle, Rick’s brush with Kevin Nealon, and they interview local Chicago TV-reporter Dane Placko.

Listen to it here.
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Mitch in Westmont



It was good catching up with Eckhartz Press author Mitch Michaels on Saturday in Westmont. I didn't realize it was National Record Store day. It's always fun hanging out at a record store, but even better on an important day like that.

Good to see WGN Radio's Wendy Snyder there with her two sons, and former colleague John Calhoun (currently at the River, but we worked together at WJMK). Young up and comer Brandon Herman was there too. Also, met Samantha James (The River) and her husband for the first time.

Thanks to the folks at Blue Village Vinyl for inviting us out there. It was a fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon.
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Friday, April 12, 2019

Free Kicks, Episode 35

EP35: Adam and Rick discuss the FA Cup semis, take a FA Cup quiz, and do a quick preview of the U.S. Women’s National Team chances of winning this summer’s World Cup.

Listen to it here.
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Rick on the Radio



Gotta say...this book is a giant hit already. I'm in shock. Biggest pre-sales we've ever had.

You can listen to the interview here.
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Thursday, April 11, 2019

Lookee Here


The most exciting thing about being a publisher is the moment you give the author the very first copy of their book. Today that author was me...and the book took me 10 years to write. “Everycubever” is now available for pre-order at www.eckhartzpress.com. I’ll be on Steve Cochran’s show tomorrow morning hyping it. (9:15am on WGN radio)
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Mitch in Westmont


Don't forget to come out and meet Eckhartz Press author Mitch Michaels Saturday (April 13) at Blue Village Vinyl in Westmont. He'll be there signing and selling copies of his book "Doin The Cruise" from 2-3:30. It's the perfect place for music fans to meet the rock and roll radio icon! http://www.bluevillagevinyl.com/
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Wednesday, April 10, 2019

Rick on TV

Thanks to Jon Hansen for having me on Now Chicago. We taped the episode this morning and it will air this weekend on WCIU-TV (and a few other stations). We had a great time talking about the Cubs. My only complaint? I asked them to provide a 300-pound person to sit or stand next to me to make me look thinner, and they declined.

Remember, the camera adds 40 pounds.

I will post a link when it's up on their website.
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Completely Unchanged

The first photo is at Dave's wedding in 1991. The second one is last weekend at his daughter's Baht Mitzvah...

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Rick leaves the house

Newsflash: The everycubever publicity tour begins today. I'm being interviewed by Jon Hansen at WCIU-TV this morning, and will be on Steve Cochran's show on WGN Radio on Friday morning. Lots more to come. Thanks to everyone for their interest. I have agreed to leave my house multiple times over the next few weeks.
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Another Cubs PR Debacle



The Cubs explained that this sign was from the '40s and they were just showing how far society has come in that time, but c'mon gang. There are quite a few women working in the press box these days. Did you really think they would find it quaint and endearing?
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Tuesday, April 09, 2019

"everycubever" available for pre-order now!

A book ten years in the making…“everycubever” is now available for pre-order. It will ship on May 1st.

What will you find in the pages of everycubever?

*Mini-bios of every player who ever wore the uniform between 1871-2018 plus bonus bios of Cubs managers, owners, broadcasters and more.

*Stories about Cubs who served in every war since the Civil War.

*Notes about players who were wearing the Cubs uniform on days of historical significance.

*Stories of Cubs who achieved greatness and heroism off the field, including those who became movie stars, titans of industry, life savers, and even a few who served in political office.

*Stories of those who received unwanted notoriety, including shooting victims, murderers, kidnappers, racists, burglars, thieves, and political criminals.

*Tragic tales, uplifting tales, and hilarious baseball stories.

*Spotlights on everyone from Hall of Famers to the guys who made it to the big leagues for just one cup of coffee.

Compiled over the last decade by the editor-in-chief of the website Just One Bad Century (www.justonebadcentury.com) , this is the most Cubrehensive look ever at the men who wore Cubbie Blue. Author Rick Kaempfer has been a Cubs fan since 1968 and has seen hundreds of games at Wrigley Field, but has lived an otherwise normal and relatively defensible life.
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Monday, April 08, 2019

Mick on the Mend

I have tickets for their Chicagio concert. I hope they eventually do make the rounds again. Sounds like Mick is recovering...


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Trump Skips Correspondent's Dinner again

President Trump, the man with the thinnest skin in America, is skipping the White House Correspondent's dinner again this year. He's going to hold a rally instead.

The bully cannot take a punch.
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Minutia Men, Episode 129

EP129: Rick and Dave discuss a girl scout cookie caper, Rick’s one-man show about a chicken purchase, odd potato chip flavors, Every Cub Ever, Rick’s brush with Maureen McCormick, and they interview actress Michele Hutchison from the film Fargo.

Listen to it here.
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Sunday, April 07, 2019

Cubsessions 2019 Edition

The Cubs are more than just a baseball team to those who root for them. From the heartaches of 1969 and 2003 to the pure joy of 2016, emotional ties bind fans of Chicago’s North Side ball club. Throughout the 2017 season, writers and die-hard Cub fans Becky Sarwate and Randy Richardson interviewed a diverse collection of some of the team’s most famous fans: actors, comedians, broadcasters, musicians, restauranteurs, athletes, journalists. Even those who are ubiquitous precisely because of their fandom. Cubsessions tells the story of divergent life paths – the roads taken, the failures experienced, and the successes reached – and how those paths all come together for a collective passion. Bob Newhart, Pat Brickhouse, Dennis Franz, Joe Mantegna, Scott Turow, Bill Kurtis, and many others, share just what it means to bleed Cubbie blue.

This past 2018 season they continued interviewing others, and those seven new interviews have been added to last year's version of the book--and we now have a brand new 2019 edition!

The authors have partnered with and are donating 100 percent of their proceeds from book sales to a collection of two charities: Chicago Baseball Cancer Charities (CBCC) and Club 400. Both are federally-registered 501(c)(3) tax-deductible charitable organizations.

Get your copy today!
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Meet Mitch Michaels


Meet Eckhartz Press author Mitch Michaels Saturday (April 13) at Blue Village Vinyl in Westmont. He'll be there signing and selling copies of his book "Doin The Cruise" from 2-3:30. It's the perfect place for music fans to meet the rock and roll radio icon! Look at all of these records (at this link)!
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Friday, April 05, 2019

Don Prince

My book "everycubever" comes out at the end of this month and features mini-bios about literally every player who ever played for the Cubs between 1871-2018. Among them, today's notorious birthday boy...

~Don Prince 1938–2017 (Cubs 1962)
Prince’s entire big league career consisted of exactly one inning pitched. He did it for the Cubs on September 21, 1962. The Cubs were playing the Mets at the Polo Grounds. Don faced four batters. He walked one, hit another one, and then faced future Cub Jim Hickman. Hickman grounded into a double play. The last batter Prince faced was Sammy Drake. He was easily retired, and Prince escaped with a perfect lifetime 0.00 ERA. After his playing career, in his golden years, Prince was sent to prison for hiring a hitman to murder two people. It wasn’t a hitman. It was an undercover cop.
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Has Fox News Destroyed Your Family?

That's a question posed by this piece, and judging by the many responses he got (and how real and familiar they all sound to me), it's a real thing. Fox News is toxic. It is destroying America one family at a time.

I've been saying this for years, mind you, but I think we can now get beyond calling this a theory. I mentioned it at a recent gathering of old friends, some liberal and some not, and when I said "I honestly believe that Fox News has destroyed this country," my friend--not a liberal at all--said the following in response.

"That is a fact."

I'm afraid it is.
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Drinking Isn't Good for your Health

We all knew this deep in our hearts, didn't we? According to this most recent study, even drinking in moderation isn't good for your health.

Speaking on behalf of the drinking world (2.3 billion, according to this article), we aren't surprised and most likely will not change our behavior.

But thanks for the info!
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Never Paid the Man


This is a very sad story about my childhood hero Ernie Banks.

Ron Rappoport has a new book out about Ernie, and one of the subjects is how badly the Cubs paid him during his career.

Don't read it if you don't want to be bummed out.
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Thursday, April 04, 2019

Jerome vs. Jordan Howard

I was bummed when the Bears traded Jordan Howard last week. He was one of my favorite Bears. Although, I will admit this to you...I never got his name right. I always called him Jerome, which drove my youngest son Sean crazy. I thought it was just a weird verbal tick until it hit me. There was a famous Jerome Howard. He wasn't a football player, but he sure was famous...

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Mickey Owen

My book "everycubever" is coming out at the end of this month and features a mini-bio of every Cub who ever played...including today's birthday boy...

~Mickey Owen 1916–2005 (Cubs 1949-1951)
Mickey led a fascinating life in and out of baseball. He was a four-time All-Star with the Brooklyn Dodgers during early 40s, and though he set a fielding record as a catcher in 1941, he is best remembered for a fielding error he made in Game 4 of the World Series that season. He couldn’t handle a pitch that would have been the last out of the game (and tied up the series), but the runner reached first base on Mickey’s error. That led to a four run rally and a Dodgers loss. Owen didn’t serve in the military during the war, he was called up AFTER the war, and missed the 1946 season. When he came back, he was one of the players who bolted to the Mexican league. This angered Commissioner Happy Chandler so much, he wanted to ban those players from the major leagues for life. Chandler eventually cooled off, and Owen was allowed to return in 1949. That’s when he joined the Cubs. Mickey was the starting catcher for a few incredibly bad Cubs teams. After his playing days were over, he became a scout, then formed a baseball academy. Among the graduates of that academy…Michael Jordan, Joe Girardi & Charlie Sheen. Mickey later ran for public office, and served as the sheriff of Greene County in Missouri for three terms.
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On the Eckhartz Press facebook page

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Yes!

I got a kick out of this tweet...


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Wednesday, April 03, 2019

Brandwidth


It's hard to believe it's already five years ago, but Kipper McGee's "Brandwidth" came out on this day in 2014. He has since come out with a second edition, Kipper's media knowledge and wisdom jumps off the pages of his great book, which is still available here
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Free Kicks

EP34: Adam and Rick discuss the cauldron of atmosphere at Liverpool, the statuesque defense of Fulham, Adam’s soccer trip to Barcelona, and take a quiz about Sheffield United.

Listen to it here.
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Mick's Health

I have tickets to the show this summer, but when it was announced they were postponing the tour because of Mick's health, I feared the worst. This is pretty bad...but it could be worse. From the RAMP Newsletter...

When The Rolling Stones announced the postponement of the North American leg of their No Filter stadium tour on Saturday, the reason was vaguely explained as frontman Mick Jagger needing "medical treatment." Yesterday that diagnosis came into sharper focus, as several new sources, including The Drudge Report said that the 75-year-old Jagger is scheduled to undergo surgery on Friday in New York to replace a valve in his heart. Rolling Stone says Jagger is expected to make a full recovery and resume the tour this summer. Despite the impending procedure, paparazzi caught Jagger in good spirits on Sunday when he and his family visited Miami. Bandmate Ronnie Wood tweeted his best wishes, saying, "We'll miss you over the next few weeks, but we're looking forward to seeing you all again very soon. Here's to Mick -- thanks for your supportive messages it means so much to us." Keith Richards said, "A big disappointment for everyone but things need to be taken care of and we will see you soon. Mick, we are always there for you!"
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Tuesday, April 02, 2019

Every Cub Ever

OK, here it is. We're still tweaking the cover, but it will be all ready to go by the end ot the day today and then we're going to press. It will be out at the end of the month. It took me more than ten years to write this. To answer a few questions about it.

"Does it really include EVERY Cub?" Yes. "Even the guys who only played..." Yes. "But what about..." Yes. Everycubever. All of them. Every Single One. It's encylopedia-sized folks. We tried to do a regular paperback and it was over 700 pages, so we are going the full 8 1/2 by 11. If you're a Cubs fan, this has to be on your bookshelf.
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Reporters Sue for the Full Unredacted Mueller Report

This HAS to come out, right?

If he's completely exonerated as Trump claims, why is there an issue at all?

Hopefully this group of reporters will get to the bottom of it.
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Brandon Herman



My latest Illinois Entertainer column predicts a young up and coming radio star, Brandon Herman.

Read it here.
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Monday, April 01, 2019

April Fools, Twin Peaks fans


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Jake Jaeckel

My book everycubever comes out later this month via Eckhartz Press, and features a mini-bio of every Cub who ever played for the team. Some of them, like today's birthday boy, only had a limited shot at the big-time...

~Jake Jaeckel 1942– (Cubs 1964)
His real first name was Paul, but his teammates called him Jake. Jaeckel got a cup of coffee as a September call up for the last place 1964 Cubs. He pitched two scoreless innings in his debut, retiring the likes of Sandy Alomar, Matty Alou, Rico Carty, and Joe Torre. In his second appearance, he won the game as the Cubs rallied in the bottom of the 9th at Wrigley to beat the Dodgers 4-3. In his third appearance he picked up the save in another 4-3 win against the Dodgers, striking out Willie Crawford to win the game. His last game with the Cubs was at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. He pitched two more scoreless innings, retiring Orlando Cepeda and Jose Cardenal, among others. Though he was lights out in the big leagues, Jaeckel never got another chance. He spent the next three seasons in the minors before hanging up his spikes at the ripe old age of 26. (Photo: 1965 Topps Baseball card)
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Big Fat Cheater

I got a kick out of this piece in the Hill about Trump's golf habits...

A former Sports Illustrated and ESPN writer in a new book paints President Trump Rick Reilly includes accounts from dozens of people who have played with Trump, including professional golfers, about Trump’s cheating in "Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump." "To say 'Donald Trump cheats' is like saying 'Michael Phelps swims,'" Reilly writes, according to the New York Post.

Former ESPN football announcer Mike Tirico relayed a story to Reilly about playing with Trump, saying Trump’s caddy told him that Trump cheated by throwing Tirico’s ball, which was initially 10 feet from the hole, about 50 feet away from the hole into a bunker.

And actor Samuel L. Jackson is quoted in the book as saying, "We clearly saw him hook a ball into a lake at Trump National [Bedminster, New Jersey], and his caddy told him he found it!"

LPGA Tour golfer Suzann Pettersen, who is friends with Trump, said earlier this year that the president "cheats like hell," telling a Norwegian newspaper, "I’m pretty sure he pays his caddie well."
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Robert Smith

One of the reasons I've always liked Robert Smith and the Cure...


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Is Joe Biden Too Touchy/Feely?

That's the charge that came out against Joe Biden over the weekend. It came in the form of this piece in the New York Times -- a piece written by a woman who felt uncomfortale with Joe's kiss on the back of her neck.

I'm not sure how I feel about this one. On the one hand, I'm the anti-Joe Biden when it comes to kissy/feely actions. I'm German. I shook hands with my grandmother.

But I've also watched Joe over the years and used to get a big kick out of the swearing in ceremonies of congressmen when Joe was VP. He was like that with everyone. Guys and girls. He's the most affectionate human alive. I really don't think there's anything sexual there.

Weird? From my German point of view, yes. But I thought normal people liked affection. Maybe I've been wrong all these years. Maybe I'm the normal one. (That's rhetorical. Don't answer that)
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Whoops

This is about as bad as it gets...


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