Finally

With his recent election to the #PFHOF20 class, we celebrate the career of Jim Covert!@ChicagoBears pic.twitter.com/WAKFKEil5q

— Pro Football Hall of Fame (@ProFootballHOF) January 15, 2020

Who do you agree with the most?

Interesting quiz in the Washington Post. They ask you 20 questions, and let you know which of the candidates agree with you. Then they tell you which one you agree with the most. For me, shockingly, it was Michael Bloomberg (followed by Biden/Klobuchar). Last place was Bernie.

Click here to do the quiz yourself.

Ron Smith obit

Robert Feder eulogized him today in his column...

No one knew more about oldies music in Chicago than Ron Smith. An on-air personality, program director and music director at four radio stations in the Chicago area, and author of five books on Top 40 music charts, he died Monday at 66. Smith, who graduated from Harold L. Richards High School in Oak Lawn and North Central College, also was a pioneering Internet radio programmer and consultant. “A brilliant and kind man who loved radio and radio people,” said longtime friend and colleague Tommy Edwards, who worked with Smith at the former Magic 104 WJMK and Real Oldies 1690. Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Peter & Paul Orthodox Church, 6980 South County Line Road in Burr Ridge.

Grammy Lineup

Pretty strong lineup of performers this year for the Grammy's. The show airs on January 26. Here's the scoop from the RAMP newsletter...

Demi Lovato took to Instagram to announce her involvement in the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards. Much to the delight of her millions of fans, she posted, "I told you the next time you'd hear from me I'd be singing at #Grammys." Lovato joins previously announced performers Ariana Grande, Aerosmith, Billie Eilish, Lizzo, Blake Shelton & Gwen Stefani, plus host Alicia Keys, who will be returning for her second straight year as master of ceremonies for Music's Biggest Night. Hey, and speaking of Aerosmith, Variety reports that the two surviving members of Run-DMC -- The Rev. Joseph Simmons and Darryl McDaniels -- will perform with Aerosmith during that band's advertised medley of hits -- no doubt referring to their hugely successful 1986 collaboration on Aerosmith's classic, "Walk This Way." The group's third original member, DJ Jason "Jam Master Jay" Mizell died in 2002.

RIP Ron Smith

I got word over the weekend that Chicago radio programmer (and author) Ron Smith passed away. Sorry to hear it. Ron and I corresponded frequently, although we never met face to face.

In 2011 I interviewed him for Chicago Radio Spotlight. It's a great overview of his career, and reveals his passion for radio.

RIP Ron. You will be missed.

Congrats to LSU

We have a lot of family in Louisiana (on Bridget's side), and lots of LSU grads. Happy for them...

King shit. pic.twitter.com/6wQvzLDCiA

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) January 14, 2020

Not budging on press briefings

In moments like last week's attack on Iran, it's glaring that there are no press briefings held anymore. I know when Sarah Sanders was in there, it was a lie-apalooza, but at least the White House had to answer for their behavior.

The White House received a letter yesterday from former press aides urging them to return to the old practice.

They refused. Amazingly, Fox News, which is supposed to be part of the press, is cheering on the decision.

Top 25!

Would you believe that the Illini are back in the top 25? It's been years.

Granted, they are #24, but baby steps.

Jimmy Johnson

I don't think I've ever rooted for Jimmy Johnson before, but this was a nice moment...

Jimmy Johnson finding out he’s going to the Hall of Fame on live television is tremendous pic.twitter.com/hTC05ibRFx

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) January 13, 2020

The Oscar Nominations

Check out the names in this category! Actor in a Supporting Role

Tom Hanks (A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood)
Anthony Hopkins (The Two Popes)
Al Pacino (The Irishman)
Joe Pesci (The Irishman)
Brad Pitt (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood)

The rest of the nominations are here.

Amy Louise Williams

From Robert Feder's column this morning. The driver of the car from Chet Coppock's accident last April has also passed away...

Amy Louise Williams, the former Chicago TV producer who was driving the car in which sportscaster Chet Coppock was fatally injured last year, died January 5 in South Carolina, according to her family. She was 50. The cause of death was not reported, but Williams underwent numerous surgeries after the accident near Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, on April 6, 2019. The car she was driving veered across a highway median and struck another vehicle traveling in the opposite direction. Her injuries included two broken legs, two broken femurs, four broken ribs and a broken arm. “After a lifetime of brilliant triumphs and crippling struggles, Amy is finally at peace,” her sister, Erin Clark, wrote on Facebook. In 2001 Williams won a regional Emmy Award for a documentary on elder abuse in Chicago produced for PBS station WYCC-Channel 20.

Minutia Men--Reefer & Rutles

A timely interview in this week's Minutia Men episode. With marijuana's legalization in Illinois, we reached out to Billy Hayes, the man who wrote (and lived) "Midnight Express". We also played back an interview with the recently departed Neil Innes (of Monty Python fame).

Listen to it here.

Neil Peart

Rush drummer Neil Peart dead at 67. I always thought he was underrated as a lyricist. I spent many hours in my youth poring over his words. They inspired me to think, and later, to write. RIP Neil. Thank you. https://t.co/NXMJxQb0Uu

— Rick Kaempfer (@RickKaempfer) January 10, 2020

Minutia Men Celebrity Interview--John Records Landecker

This week's Minutia Men interview is with my old pal (and boss) John Records Landecker.

Listen to it here.

Pat Colander auction

For fans of the late Eckhartz Press author Pat Colander, her estate is having a sale of some of her artwork. Here's an excerpt from the piece in yesterday's Tribune...

The event sale is at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23 at Rivich Auction House and Gallery, 1828 Indianapolis Blvd. in Whiting. Wine will be served at a preview reception at 6 p.m., one hour before the auction, which will include curated selections from Colander’s personal art and literary collections, paintings, books, glassware and personal items. There will also be an online auction for bidding from afar, with many of the lots already posted, by searching “Rivich Auction” at www.liveauctioneers.com. Smaller items will be sold with a silent auction during the event.

A number of autographed books, including some from her late film critic friend Roger Ebert, are included in sale.

In 2017, Pat published her last book that detailed her life in journalism and many great behind-the-scenes newsroom stories. She grew up on the south side of Chicago and graduated from the University of Illinois and Purdue University Calumet. Her final book was "Hugh Hefner's First Funeral and Other True Tales of Love and Death in Chicago" (2015, Eckhartz Press, $15.95). The book title is taken from her details of the shocking death of Bobbie Arnstein, the executive secretary to Hugh Hefner and hailed as the woman behind the man who created the men's magazine empire. Other tales in the book range from a tour of the old Cook County morgue and the investigation that led to the capture of the Tylenol tampering killer.

Colander was also fascinated by the death of candy heiress Helen Brach, who was the subject on one of her earlier books, "Thin Air: The Life and Mysterious Disappearance of Helen Brach," published in 1982.

Artist Scott Covert used a stretched canvas and oil and wax-based crayons to create large works which depicts “rubbings” of the façade of tombstones and crypts of notable strange famous deaths, including those of comedians Phil Silvers, Oliver Hardy, Stringbean, Jackie Gleason, Marty Feldman, Lenny Bruce, Andy Kaufman and others. A matching piece by artist Covert does the same final resting place treatment for great writers including John Steinbeck, Louis L’Amour, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Sinclair Lewis, William Faulkner and Bob Kane.

Mike Murphy

I was bummed to read this morning that Mike Murphy has hung up his headphones and retired from ESPN AM 1000. He wasn't everyone's cup of tea, but I always enjoyed listening to his show. He and I shared a love/hate relationship with our favorite team (the Cubs). I even appeared on his show when EveryCubEver came out, and put him in the updated version of the book when he told me that he caught the only homer of Jose Arcia's career.

(Check out this fascinating Mediaburn video of Murphy in action back in the 1990s.)

I hope he changes his mind. He had a unique voice on Chicago sports radio.

Old Aches and Pains

Former White Sox great Luke Appling...at the age of 75.

75-year-old Luke Appling hits a HR vs. Warren Spahn at the "First Annual Cracker Jack Old Timers Baseball Classic" in Washington, D.C.! (July 1982) #Inspiration #MLB #History pic.twitter.com/tKGDnw4b34

— Baseball by BSmile (@BSmile) January 7, 2020

Robert Feder

Always appreciate it when Robert Feder mentions me in his column. He didn't have to do it. Here's today's tidbit...

The January edition of Illinois Entertainer features an interview with Brad Edwards, the investigative reporter who moved up to main news anchor at CBS-owned WBBM-Channel 2 last spring. (Here is the link.) “It’s a remarkable thing we’re trying to do at CBS 2. We are actually doing some accountability journalism,” Edwards tells media columnist Rick Kaempfer. “It’s going to take some time to change a generation of viewing habits, in combination with a dwindling market share for local news in general.”

Kyle Long

Classy departure...

Some chicagoans are probably happy to hear I’m finally stepping away and getting my body right. Some Chicagoans may be sad to hear this. Either way ufeel about it, I want u to know how lucky I am to have spent time in your city. I became a man while playing in Chicago.Thank you❤️

— Kyle Long (@Ky1eLong) January 6, 2020

Ricky Gervais

One of his better jokes from last night's Golden Globes...