Saturday, January 29, 2011

Friday, January 28, 2011

Coming this weekend


I'll be posting a new Chicago Radio Spotlight on Saturday. This week I interviewed WDRV (The Drive) program director Patty Martin.

A new Father Knows Nothing will be posted on Sunday. This week's column is the explanation to this Johnny Kaempfer quote: "Mom, Sean is hanging."

Getting the old band back together

First the Cubs brought back Reed Johnson, then they brought back Todd Wellemeyer, then they brought back former first round draft choice Luis Montanez, and now, ladies and gentlemen, we bring you...

Augie Ojeda.
*

The Diamondbacks released him, so the Cubs snatched him up.

The Cubs also signed Braden Looper, who didn't even pitch in the majors last season. In 2009 he pitched for Milwaukee and clocked in with a 5.22 ERA.

This is clearly the "throw as much crap as you can against the wall and see what sticks" approach that has always served the Cubs so well.


*I mock, but I always did like Augie. Doesn't it seem like he killed the Cubs when he was playing in Arizona, or is it just me?

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Laverne & Shirley

On this day in 1976, the very first episode of Laverne & Shirley aired. I don't think I've ever seen an episode of the show--I lived in Germany when it came out, and this is one show that simply didn't translate to the German audience.

I did, however, hear this song on Armed Forces Radio. Imagine how weird it must have sounded to someone that had no idea what the show was about...

Knock Three Times

This song was #1 in the country exactly 40 years ago this week. I admit it's a guilty pleasure and beg your understanding that I wasn't even 8 years old when it came out.

By the way, this is pre-mustache Tony Orlando. And check out that shirt! When are those coming back?

Cubs license plates

You can now order special "Cubs" license plates in Illinois. Ernie Banks and Tom Ricketts made the announcement yesterday with Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White.

Ernie has "14" so you can't have that one. Mr. Ricketts has "TOM" so you can't have that one.

Let the mad rush begin for "1908".

It's only $163 for a vanity plate.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Worst. Name. Ever.

This guy really played in the majors during the 1930s and 1940s, including two seasons with the White Sox. He jokingly referred to himself as "the ugliest man in baseball," but I'm guessing there was something else about him that was slightly more notorious.




There's more info about him here.


He wasn't too bad of a player, actually. In 1945 he hit .302 for the Sox.

Todd Wellemeyer?

The Cubs signed Todd Wellemeyer yesterday to a $800,000 contract.

You may remember Todd as a hard throwing reliever that had a hard time throwing strikes when he came up with the Cubs in 2003. He has since turned into a hard throwing starter that has a hard time throwing strikes.

The Giants released him last August.

Joke for a Wednesday morning


Contributed by "MM"...



Several men are in the locker room of a golf club. A cellular phone on a bench rings and a man engages the hands-free speaker function and begins to talk. Everyone else in the room stops to listen.

MAN: "Hello"

WOMAN: "Hi Honey, it's me. Are you at the club?"

MAN: "Yes."

WOMAN: "I'm at the shops now and found this beautiful leather coat. It's only $2,000. Is it OK if I buy it?"

MAN: "Sure, go ahead if you like it that much."

WOMAN: "I also stopped by the Jaguar dealership and saw the new models. I saw one I really liked."

MAN: "How much?"

WOMAN: "$90,000."

MAN: "OK, but for that price I want it with all the options."

WOMAN: "Great! Oh, and one more thing. I was just talking to Janie and found out that the house I wanted last year is back on the market. They're asking $980,000 for it."

MAN: "Well, then go ahead and make an offer of $900,000. They'll probably take it. If not, we can go the extra eighty-thousand if it's what you really want."

WOMAN: "OK. I'll see you later! I love you so much!"

MAN: "Bye! I love you, too."

The man hangs up. The other men in the locker room are staring at him in astonishment, mouths wide open.

He turns and asks, "Anyone know whose phone this is?"

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

101 Dalmatians

The movie was released exactly 50 years ago today. (Watch the original trailer here)

I loved this movie when I was a kid, but I showed it to my kids when they were younger, and they didn't much care for it.

I guess they don't all stand the test of time.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Happy Birthday Jack

If he were still with us, Jack Brickhouse would be celebrating his 95th birthday today.

Here's a video of Jack talking about his all-time favorite Cub...

The Citadel natives are getting restless

The New York Times has an article today about Citadel Broadcasting.

Shareholders are getting upset with the Citadel board for not considering recent offers to purchase the company.

Why?

They think the board is doing it merely to protect "ineffective" Farid Suleman, the man that drove the company into bankruptcy but still somehow remains their CEO.

I'm not a Citadel shareholder, but I would feel exactly the same way.

The 5 worst contracts in baseball

USA Today came up with a list of the five worst contracts in baseball. Contracts that are so bad, their teams have no hope of trading those players.

Two of them are Cubs.

And a third one used to be.

See the list here.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Father Knows Nothing

My latest Father Knows Nothing column has been posted at NWI Parent. This one is called "Disbelieving Youth" and its about the only story I've told my children that truly shocked them.

You can read it here.