Cubs fan gets prison time

Remember the story of the Cubs fan that got into a fight with his (former) brother in law (and Sox fan) at a party? He kicked the Sox fan in the face, and the Sox fan lost his eye in the fight. The Cubs fan lost his freedom yesterday. He was sentenced to three years in prison.

Every Cubs fan in Chicago with White Sox fan friends will be hearing about this for the rest of our lives. Thanks a lot, pal.

The Lord giveth (White Sox shirtless father/son team that beat up first base coach during game), and the Lord taketh away (Prison-bound Eye kicker).

Thin Lizzy

From Bob Dearborn's Olde Disc Jockey Almanac today...

January 4, 1986…Bass guitarist/singer/songwriter (The Boys Are Back In Town) Phil Lynott, lead vocalist of Thin Lizzy, died of internal abscesses, pneumonia, septicaemia and multiple organ failure brought on by his drug dependency at age 36.

Always liked these guys. I got into them in high school in Germany, but by the time Lynott died 25 years ago today, I had moved on. Now that I'm a "grown up," I've reverted. I have a ridiculously large Thin Lizzy collection on my iPod, including of course this one...

Wonderland by Night

He was a German bandleader named Bert Kaempfert, and though I think his music is unbelievably schmaltzy, I appreciate his contributions for two important reasons. #1--He was instrumental (pun intented) in the early success of the Beatles (while they were in Germany.) #2--People over a certain age can actually spell my name correctly (without the "t" at the end) because of him.

This song was the #1 song in America exactly fifty years ago today...

Stars pitch smokes

This is the 40th anniversary of the last TV cigarette ad, so I've been going back and looking at some of the classic ads. Here are a few from the 50s and 60s pitched by the stars of the day...

Danny Thomas


Dick Van Dyke and friends


Lucy and Desi


Fred and Barney


Jack Benny and Humphrey Bogart

Cigarette Ads

Forty years ago this week cigarette ads on television were officially banned. 40 years later they're really odd to watch. This one was one of the last ones on the air...

D-Lee goes to Baltimore

The Orioles have become Cubbie-East ever since Andy MacPhail arrived there, and now they've added another ex-Cub: Derrek Lee.

Add him to the list that includes Sammy Sosa, Corey Patterson, Felix Pie, Rich Hill, and Jake Fox. (Only Fox and Pie are still on the 40-man roster)

Kaempfer's Tody Tyrant

The bird that bears my last name has had a rough go of it in Brazil. A few days ago it was officially put on the endangered species list along with six other Brazilian birds.

The Kaempfer's tody-tyrant is a small olive-green bird and is a member of the flycatcher family. It is endemic to the Atlantic Forest biome and inhabits well-shaded edges of forests that are typically near rivers. Population estimates put the species at between 9,000 and 18,500 individuals, and it is believed to be declining.

Please pray for Kaempfer's Tody Tyrant.

(And yes, that will be my radio name if I ever return to the airwaves)

Cubs programming note

I got this e-mail from the MLB network about a Cubs program on television tonight...

"MLB's 20 Greatest Games debuts January 3 at 8pm ET on MLB Network and the Chicago Cubs are featured in our 20th-ranked game. The series is hosted by Bob Costas and Tom Verducci, who count down the top 20 games of the last 50 seasons. Each game will be revealed every Monday starting at 8pm ET from January 3 through the month February."

I checked out the list of potential Cubs games that might make this program (they have the nominations on their website), and it will be one of the following...

*Sept 9, 1965 versus the Dodgers. (I've previously written about that game here)

*May 17, 1979 versus the Phillies (My buddy Dane Placko was there, and told the story to JOBC readers)

*June 23, 1984 versus the Cardinals (I was there and told the story to JOBC readers)

*October 7, 1984 versus the Padres. (Don't discuss that game around me)

*October 14, 2003 versus the Marlins (Yes, that's right, the Bartman game. This is the video of poor Bartman being escorted out.)

I guess I don't need to point out that the Cubs are only the winners in one of those games. But before you get all "Hey--what about the homer-in-the-gloamin'" on me, remember that these are just the best games during the television era.

For the Cubs that didn't start until 1946. The year after their last pennant win.

Merry Christmas!

I'm going to take a little while off from the blog for Christmas, but I wanted to thank all of you for participating and reading the blog this year. More than a million of you did, which is still hard for me to believe.

Have a very merry Christmas, and a happy new year!

I'll be back on January 2nd or 3rd.

Not my kid

This video has gone viral because it makes us all feel a little better about our own kids. Although, if I'm going to be honest, we did have a similar reaction to underwear under the tree once about ten years ago...

The digital story of the Nativity

Nearly 5 million views on YouTube for this one...

Cubs taking a pass on Brandon Webb

At least according to this source.

To which, I say: Good move.

$7 million for a pitcher that hasn't pitched in two years is way too much money. Let the Rangers have him.

The search for Santo's replacement

The Tribune Company actually posted the position on their website. It says: "Preferred candidate will have played with the Chicago Cubs — or played major league baseball with previous broadcast experience as a game analyst."

In his column today, Paul Sullivan lists the candidates that would fit that description: Mark Grace, Rick Sutcliffe, Dan Plesac, Eric Karros, Gary Matthews and Mitch Williams.

I'd add Keith Moreland and Dave Otto to the list too.

My top choice would be Suttcliffe, though I think he won't take the gig because he has a pretty sweet gig with ESPN. My second choice is Plesac. He's actually quite good.

Grandma reads 50 Cent's Tweets

If you're easily offended, don't click on this one. There's a little salty language. But I thought it was pretty darn funny...

A Christmas message from Snoop Dogg

And a commercial for Pepsi Max. But it's a pretty good one...

Jokes for a Hump Day morning

I got this from multiple sources. Thanks to all of you...

Just when you have lost faith in human kindness, someone who teaches at Kean Elementary in Wooster, Ohio forwarded the following.This letter was sent to the Principal's office after the school had sponsored a luncheon for the elderly.

An elderly lady received a new radio at the lunch as a door prize and was writing to say thank you. This story is a credit to all humankind.

Dear Kean Elementary,

Thank you for the beautiful radio I won at your recent senior citizens luncheon. I am 84 years old and live at the Sprenger Home for the Aged. All of my family has passed away. I am all alone now and it's nice to know that someone is thinking of me. God bless you for your kindness. My roommate is 95 and has always had her own radio, but before I received one, she would never let me listen to hers, even when she was napping. The other day her radio fell off the nightstand and broke into a lot of pieces. It was awful and she was in tears. Her distress over the broken radio touched me and I knew this was God's way of sending me a message. She asked if she could listen to mine, and I told her to kiss my ass.

Thank you for that opportunity..
Sincerely,
Agnes Baker

Who should replace Santo?

I have my choice.

He's the one pictured here at this ESPN article about the possibilities.

A unique Christmas wish

This one has more than a million views on YouTube...

Sarah Palin Christmas Song

This is the handiwork of Tom Latourette, the singer of our Just One Bad Century song. He was also a frequent contributor to the Johnny B Showgram on the Loop. His latest comedic target is Sarah...

RIP Phil Cavarretta

Phil Cavarretta died yesterday in Georgia at the age of 94.

For twenty years Phil was the face of the Cubs. He was a Chicago boy (Lane Tech), started playing for the Cubs as a teenager in the mid 30s, was the MVP of the league during their last pennant winning season of 1945, and played with them until he was fired during spring training of 1954 (he was also the manager at the time).

With Phil's passing only two players remain from that last Cubs World Series team. Lennie Merullo will be 93 this year. Andy Pafko will be 90.