Chicago Radio Spotlight: Penny Lane

My latest Chicago Radio Spotlight interview has been posted. This week I spoke with Penny Lane. You may remember her from the all-female WSDM lineup in the 1970s. She has a few great stories about those days.

You can read the entire interview here.

Coming this weekend

Tomorrow morning I'll be posting my last Chicago Radio Spotlight before my summer hiatus. This week I interviewed Penny Lane. She was a part of the all-female lineup at the precursor to the Loop, WSDM, and has some great stories about that time.

At JOBC, we'll once again go back to the last week the Cubs won the pennant and the World Series, This week in 1945 and This Week in 1908.

And I'll also be posting a brand new Father Knows Nothing column. This week's contemplates the beginning of summer with all three boys home all the time.

They'll be home any minute. Is 9:30 in the morning too early to start drinking?

Bruce & Patti

The Springsteens are celebrating their 20th anniversary today. This is a nice video of just the two of them performing a song together...

(UPDATE: Whoops. Bob Dearborn e-mailed me to let me know that their anniversary was actually yesterday. Note to self: Always double check dates on Bob's almanac.)

Bruce Springsteen lyrics

Bruce Springsteen - Brilliant Disguise (with Intro Video - Bruce Springsteen Music Videos

Music Videos by VideoCure

15 reasons it's good to be a woman

This was sent to me by "BK" (a woman). It's one of those forwarded e-mail things, but there are a few here that made me laugh...


1. We got off the Titanic first.
2. We can scare male bosses with mysterious gynecological disorder excuses.
3. Taxis stop for us.
4. We don 't look like a frog in a blender when dancing.
5. No fashion faux pas we make could ever rival the Speedo.
6. We don't have to pass gas to amuse ourselves.
7. If we forget to shave, no one has to know.
8. We can congratulate our teammate without ever touching her rear end.
9. We never have to reach down every so often to make sure our privates are still there.
10. We have the ability to dress ourselves.
11. We can talk to the opposite sex without having to picture them naked.
12. If we marry someone 20 years younger, we are aware that we will look like an idiot.
13. We will never regret piercing our ears.
14. There are times when chocolate really can solve all our problems.
15. We can make comments about how silly men are in their presence because they aren't listening anyway.

Another interesting Cubs draftee

One of the players the Cubs chose in the draft this week is Garrett Schlecht.

The kid is from downstate Illinois (cough, Cardinals fan) and has a scholarship offer to play college ball at Middle Tennessee State, but that's not what caught my attention.

I speak German, and I'd like to provide a translation of what his last name "Schlecht" means in German. Are you ready for this...it means "bad."

That is so Cubs.

(No offense, kid. I'm sure you're a good player. I just had to point that out.)

Shawon Dunston's son

The Cubs not only drafted Wayne Gretzky's son, they also drafted Shawon Dunston's son. (Full story is here)

I wonder if this is the boy he was trying to pull out of the baby seat when he hurt his back during his Cubs career. (That's a true story--Dunston was once sent to the DL after straining his back messing with a kid's baby seat)

Uh oh, Gracey

One website you never want to be featured on is TMZ.

Mark Grace is there this morning. He was busted for a DUI.

Ralph Kiner

Today's Tale from a Bad Century is about the Cubs career of the legendary Ralph Kiner.

You can read all about him here.

The Best Time to Visit My House

My weekly Suburban Dad contribution to the City Mom blog at ChicagoNow has been posted. In it I identify the three hour weekly window it's safe to visit my house.

You can read it here.

Gretzky's Son

This is one of the more interesting draft choices the Cubs selected in the draft this week. They chose Wayne Gretzky's son Trevor, a high school catcher-first baseman.

His story is here.

(Photo: Getty Images)

The logo says it all

Get yours here.

Losing Streaks

If this Cubs eight game losing streak feels familiar, there's a good reason why. It's the eighth time in the last twenty years that they've lost eight in a row (1992, 1996, 2000, 2001, twice in 2005, 2006, and 2009).

This is nothing. Their record is 14 games. The MLB record is 19.

I think this Cubs team has what it takes to be truly historic. C'mon boys! Let's go out and there and make history. It shouldn't be too hard. Every team you play is better than you are.

Want Ads

40 years ago today it was the #1 song in the country. Here are the Honey Cone performing it on Soul Train...

Draft Day

Yesterday was draft day for MLB, and the Cubs had a pretty good draft slot (#9 overall). Going into the draft I figured that they had so many needs they couldn't possibly make a bad pick at that slot. Just pick the best player available, as long as it's not a shortstop--because Starlin Castro is only 21.

They picked a shortstop.

I'm really starting to believe that the Cubs are the subject of longest and most successful "Candid Camera" show in history. Are the rest of you watching this on a secret channel that Cubs fans are blocked from seeing? I bet it's hilarious.

The JOBC Contest

Time for this week's JOBC Contest.

The first person that e-mails me the correct answer at rick@justonebadcentury.com will win a commemorative Greg Maddux 3000th strikeout scorecard, an autographed copy of the excellent baseball novel "The Pitch" (by Hank Owens), plus a t-shirt from the Just One Bad Century catalog.

Here's the question: Baseball's Amateur Draft was held on this day in 2006. Among the players chosen in the first round that year were Tim Lincecum, Evan Longoria, and Clayton Kershaw. Who did the Cubs pick?

UPDATE: WE HAVE A WINNER! Al Vance was the first to e-mail me that Tyler Colvin was the player the Cubs chose in the first round of the 2006 Amateur Draft.

Colvin's current stats this year: 77 at bats, 4 runs, 7 hits, 2 homers, 8 RBI, and a batting average of .091.

Ed Sullivan

His final show was on this day in 1971, exactly 40 years ago. It was canceled after 23 years on the air. During that time Ed became one of the most unlikely showcases for rock and roll. There were some truly incredible performances on his show, including performances from the biggest stars of all...

The Beatles

AND

Elvis Presley

Four Words

DON'T

PITCH

TO

PUJOLS

Father Knows Nothing

I just posted my latest Father Knows Nothing column at NWI Parent. This week's column is called "The Hidden Advantages of Having a Dog".

You can read it here.

This week in 1908, 1945

Every weekend at JOBC we close our eyes tight, pretend the present isn`t as painful as it is, and go back in time to the last year the Cubs won the pennant and the World Series.

This week in 1908, the city of Chicago decides to change it's street numbering system (to the way it is today), and Mordecai Brown throws a one-hitter.

This week in 1945, the Allies capture Nazi loot and criminals, Marilyn Monroe turns 19, and the Cubs paint their reddish-brown scoreboard green--which it remains to to this day.