ESPN Wants Olbermann to Stop Doing Commentary

Keith Olbermann's in the midst of a contract negotiations with ESPN, and while they have offered him a contract to re-up with the network, they may have put a proviso in the contract they know he won't sign.

They've asked him to stop doing commentary. The Hollywood Reporter has the details.

Women's Soccer

Don't look now, but America is getting Women's Soccer fever. The Final is on Sunday (USA vs. Japan--a rematch of 2011 final).

The semi-final game vs. Germany scored the highest ratings for Fox since the finale of their juggernaut series "Empire".

Adweek has the details.

35 years ago today...

...Airplane was released. Have you ever been in a Turkish prison?

I don't think Sammy will be joining Van Halen again

He's a little upset at the shots Eddie is taking at Michael Anthony, and I think rightfully so. (NSFW)

Twitter Snarks Jindal

Bobby Jindal thought he was being hip by telling his followers to use the #askbobby hashtag on Twitter if they have any questions for him. He apparently isn't familiar with how mean and snarky Twitter is. There are some hilarious questions under that hashtag if you want to be entertained.

Here are a few of my favorites...

#AskBobby So you say state employees can deny same-sex marriage licenses? Are we free to choose which laws to obey? (Tweeted while driving)

— Bryan Behar (@bryanbehar) July 1, 2015

My neighbor is a kind, hard working, undocumented immigrant contributing to society in a positive way. Where can I report him? #AskBobby

— Chase (@chasebrignac) July 1, 2015

Can anyone pet a dinosaur or just Jesus, @BobbyJindal? #AskBobby pic.twitter.com/KlqKoWZ6wJ

— Scott Wooledge (@Clarknt67) June 30, 2015

Which spice girl is your favorite and if you had a chance, what laws would you pass to oppress them for having a uterus? #AskBobby

— Zora Neale Thirstin (@CarefreeBlkGirl) June 30, 2015

Many have responded to the news of your candidacy with laughter. Thoughts? #AskBobby

— Bearded Stoner (@beardedstoner) June 30, 2015

Mark Grote

My latest column for the Illinois Entertainer has been posted. This month I interviewed Cubs radio broadcaster Mark Grote.

You can read it here.

Dylan Gardner

The latest tour video from Landecker & the Legends offspring Dylan Gardner...

Worst Simpsons Impressions Ever

Actually Ned Flanders isn't awful, but the rest of them are whoo-boy-bad. Remember this video the next time you hear him say the president was not acting "presidential"...

USA! USA! USA!

Don't look now, but the USA's Women's National Soccer Team is in the World Cup Finals in Canada. They'll face the winner of tonight's England-Japan match on Sunday.

Watch these girls if you get the chance. They've got a great chance of winning the biggest title in soccer.

Is it possible that Smooth Jazz was wrongly killed by PPM?

That's the premise of this piece in 538. They analyazed the statistics and think that the PPM ratings measuring service wasn't working properly in it's early years. Very interesting piece. Here's a short excerpt...

But what if smooth jazz wasn’t killed by neglect, but by bad data? Radio stations run on ratings, and Nielsen is by far the dominant ratings provider, as it is in television. It has a near-monopoly on the biggest markets in the U.S. But many in the industry are starting to wonder if Nielsen has been getting the ratings wrong.

What if people kept listening, but weren’t all being counted anymore? What if a new Nielsen counting method wasn’t working as it was intended to? That failing would hurt many stations in the ratings, but some more than others, and possibly none more than smooth jazz.

I know Steve Dahl also questioned the validity of the new ratings technique when it came out. If it's true, imagine how many lives this has affected.

RIP Dr. Brock

Another former Super-CFL jock died this weekend. Dr Brock, the self-proclaimed "ugliest mother in rock and roll". From this morning's All Access...

Longtime radio veteran WILLIAM GRADY BROCK passed away SUNDAY, JUNE 28th at the age of 66. BROCK spent 42 years in radio, most notably as DR. BROCK on the iconic Top 40 WCFL-A (SUPER CFL)/CHICAGO.




Brock had a hand in the creation of John Landecker's "Boogie Check" although he may never have known it. This is an excerpt from John Landecker's book "Records Truly Is My Middle Name"...

A lot of people ask me where I came up with the name. Well, I called it “Boogie Check” because of something J.J. Jeffrey did before he went out on dates. He used to conduct a sixty second “booger check” to make sure he didn’t have any boogers in his mustache. I figured, if you could have a sixty second booger check, why not a sixty second “Boogie” check? My competition at WCFL (our arch rival station) was a guy named Dr. Brock, and his calling card was the word “Boogie.” I figured I would tweak him, and have some fun, so I just started answering the phones live on the air by saying “Boogie Check. You talkin’ to me?” (the last line taken from Robert DeNiro’s character in Taxi Driver). If the person on the other end of the line didn’t respond quickly, I hung up on them, and went to the next line.

Gay Wedding Advice

This is a funny bit...

Ed Tyll

Fans of the old Loop in the early 90s remember the late night talk show host Ed Tyll. He had a catchy jingle..."You may not like what he says, Ed Tyll. But he'll say it anyway, Ed Tyll."

Whatever happened to Ed? Well he was just named CEO of Starcom, a podcasting network.

Radio Ink has the details.

I agree with Michael Gerson

That's a headline I never thought I would write. Gerson was a speechwriter for George W. Bush, and is a staunch social conservative (which I am not). But he wrote quite eloquently today in the Washington Post about the gay marriage debate. You should read it if you get a chance. It's here.

I think Gerson gets it right. Conservatives are right to feel that judges probably shouldn't be making such an important decision, but they are completely wrong to feel we weren't already heading in that direction on our own--and at light speed (politically speaking). It was inevitable. It was the will of the people.

In fact, he argues, the success of the gay marriage movement wasn't because they were pushing for people to be pro-gay. They were pushing for people to be pro-commitment--which is completely in line with conservative and liberal thought. It unifies us as a nation. In the 36 states that already have gay marriage, absolutely nothing has happened since it became legal. "Traditional" marriage hasn't been harmed or affected in the slightest.

Chris Squire

Sad news. The bassist from Yes, Chris Squire, has passed away. This is how Yes' official facebook page made the announcement...

It’s with the heaviest of hearts and unbearable sadness that we must inform you of the passing of our dear friend and Yes co-founder, Chris Squire. Chris peacefully passed away last night in Phoenix Arizona.

He may go down as one of two or three greatest bass players of all-time. The only one I can think of that compares is John Entwistle. Just listen to his work in this song...

Donald Trump

Has there ever been a more obviously unqualified (in temperament) presidential candidate in history than Donald Trump?

His latest moronic move--banning Univision staff from his properties and publishing a Univision anchor's cellphone number--because they said mean things about him. That's the reaction of a spoiled 15-year-old boy.

Imagine this horse's ass having access to nuclear weapons.

LATE UPDATE: NBC has dumped Trump. Here is their statement: “At NBC, respect and dignity for all people are cornerstones of our values. Due to the recent derogatory statements by Donald Trump regarding immigrants, NBCUniversal is ending its business relationship with Mr. Trump. To that end, the annual Miss USA and Miss Universe Pageants, which are part of a joint venture between NBC and Trump, will no longer air on NBC. In addition, as Mr. Trump has already indicated, he will not be participating in The Apprentice on NBC. Celebrity Apprentice is licensed from Mark Burnett’s United Artists Media Group and that relationship will continue.”

LATER UPDATE: Trump now says he is suing NBC.

Chet Coppock

I'm a fan of the Radio Misfits podcasting group. They've been doing a good job acquiring podcasts.

Their latest is a new podcast by Chet Coppock.

Family Day At Wrigley

The Cubs do a great event every year for their season ticket holders. They call it Family Day, and they open up the ballpark and let the season ticket holders explore. I'm a partial season-ticket holder (I share my season tickets with 8 others--we each get nine games), so I was invited to participate. I took my youngest son Sean (the only one in the family who wanted to go) and we had a great time.

We saw the dugouts, the clubhouses, the batting cages. We played catch on the warning track. We met former Cub Bobby Dernier. And we kept saying stuff like..."this is soooo cool."