Seth & Amy School Sports Illustrated Writer

Love this. Love the women's soccer team. Go USA.

Supreme Court Comes Through

Yesterday was a big day. My son with a pre-existing condition is going to be able to get health insurance the rest of his life.

Today was bigger. Today the Supreme Court ruled in favor of gay marriage. To me, this was the biggest no-brainer of all time.

I'm proud of you Supreme Court!

I'll admit after those Citizens United and Voting Rights rulings I was starting to lose faith.

Guess Who is Number 1?

From this morning's RAMP Newsletter, this was surprising news...

James Taylor's Before This World debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 album chart, selling 96,000 units, according to Nielsen Music. It marks first No. 1 album in Taylor's 45-year music career. A jubilant Taylor recorded a brief and sincere thank you video and posted it on his Facebook page.

One of the songs is about the Red Sox and it's called "Angels of Fenway"...

America's Next Weatherman

This sounds like it could be a pretty funny reality series. It's being produced by Funny or Die and Mark Burnett for TBS, and it's called "America's Next Weatherman". The winner of the show gets a gig on CNN.

There's more info at the Hollywood Reporter.

Trump's Big Mouth Costs Him Money

Donald Trump is actually in second place in some Republican primary polls, but if he keep saying stuff like this, he has no chance...

“The U.S. has become a dumping ground for everybody else’s problems. When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. … They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.”

Univision, which was set to air a Spanish-language version of the Miss USA pagaent, responded this way...

Today, the entertainment division of Univision Communications Inc. announced that it is ending the Company’s business relationship with the Miss Universe Organization, which is part-owned by Donald J. Trump, based on his recent, insulting remarks about Mexican immigrants. At Univision, we see first-hand the work ethic, love for family, strong religious values and the important role Mexican immigrants and Mexican-Americans have had and will continue to have in building the future of our country. We will not be airing the Miss USA pageant on July 12th or working on any other projects tied to the Trump Organization.

I saw him on television last night trying to walk it back a little bit, but he's such a loudmouth jackass that he can't really apologize. He has no idea how to do it.

I hope he stays in the race for the sake of American's comedians.

Roger Ailes Isn't Going Anywhere

When the news got out that Lachlan was going to be named co-chairman of Fox, I wondered what that meant for the future of Roger Ailes. About ten years ago Lachlan and Ailes got into a tiff, which led to Lachlan leaving the company for awhile. Now that Junior is in charge, I wondered, would he seek revenge?

The answer is in today's New York Times: Ailes just signed a new contract.

Guess not.

Cubs Game Ends on Bad Call

Watch the replay here, and watch Joe Maddon's reaction to it in his post-game press conference. I agree with him.

Where Has the Cup Gone?

Marc Maron interviews President Obama

I really enjoyed this conversation. I'm a fan of Maron's WTF podcast, and this was a nice glimpse into Obama the man, as opposed to Obama the president. I know some of you hate the president passionately and I'll just have to admit that I will never understand why you feel that way. The guy you describe to me is not at all consistent with the guy I hear in this podcast.

Fox News Drops Sarah Palin

From Politico...

Fox News will not renew its contract with Sarah Palin, whose bombastic appearances have been a cable staple since the former Alaska governor’s failed run on John McCain’s ticket in the 2008 presidential election cycle. When asked for comment, a Fox News spokesperson confirmed the network had amicably parted ways with the governor on June 1.

Don't worry, Sarah fans. Her incoherent perpetual victimhood will still find an outlet somewhere.

Baseball on the Radio

My upcoming Illinois Entertainer column will feature WBBM's Mark Grote. He's the third man in the booth this season with Pat Hughes and Ron Coomer at their new radio home.

According to this piece from Robert Feder, the Cubs may have another new home next year (The Score). The Score just lost the White Sox to WLS 890 AM.

Checking the Grammar of Baseball Fan Signs

According to this piece in the Wall Street Journal, Cub Fans are the fourth best in the league at grammar and spelling.

The Indian fans are the best and the Mets fans are the worst.

I'd believe this study completely if it didn't rank the White Sox ahead of the Cubs. That sounds a little fishy to me.

My kind of people

Cubs fan. Check.

Doting father. Check.

Catching a foul ball while nursing his infant child? Nicely done. (Video at the link)

Eckhartz Press in Texas

While I was in Texas I visited Eckhartz Press author Brent Petersen ("Truffle Hunt")...



Next week he'll be appearing at this literary event down there...

Texas Vacation

Just got back from Texas last night. Had a wonderful vacation with the family. We saw Austin, San Antonio, Corpus Christi and Houston. Managed to avoid the worst of Tropical Storm Bill.

We saw the State Capitol in Austin...





Watched the bats emerge from the Congress Bridge. Every night over a million bats come out around the same time. People stand on this bridge at dusk and watch the very odd spectacle. (I have a dark video...maybe a little too late for good photography)





We went to the very cool LBJ Library in Austin, which was temporarily housing a Beatles exhibit...







Remember the Alamo? No basement.



Lots of German towns in Texas. Took this picture for my mom...



Father's Day in Corpus Christi with my three sons.