Saturday, March 09, 2019

Minutia Men, Episode 127

Anthony Scaramucci visits the Minutia Men show this week. We ask him the important questions. Did you get White House business cards? Did anything with White House logo make it out with you? What color is that hair dye? Fun chat along with usual MM hijinks.

You can listen to it here.
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Friday, March 08, 2019

Last Season on WGN-TV


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George Gerberman

My book "Everycubever" will be coming out in April. When I say it will be about Every Cub Ever, I'm not exaggerating. For instance, this former Cub is celebrating a birthday today, and he's in the book...

~George Gerberman 1942– (Cubs 1962)
George got exactly one big league start, and it came for the Cubs on September 23, 1962. The location was the Polo Grounds, and the opponent was the worst team in big league history, the 1962 New York Mets. Gerberman lasted into the sixth inning and got a no-decision, although the Cubs eventually lost their 100th game of the season in the ninth. George walked five batters, but gave up only three hits. One of those hits was a home run by former Cub Frank Thomas. Gerberman’s only strikeout victim was future Cub Jim Hickman. George was only 20 years old at the time, but he never got another chance in the big leagues. He remained in the minors until 1968. (Photo: 1983 Fritch One Year Winners Baseball Card)
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Fox News

Margaret Sullivan is the media writer for the Washington Post. She serves as the watchdog of the media, including her own newspaper, and I believe has been very fair in calling out bad behavior on all sides. Yesterday she wrote about Fox News, and delivered this scathing analysis...

So, yes, Fox News can continue to function as something close to Trump TV. It can go on spreading disinformation.

But everyone ought to see it for what it is: Not a normal news organization with inevitable screw-ups, flaws and commercial interests, which sometimes fail to serve the public interest.

But a shameless propaganda outfit, which makes billions of dollars a year as it chips away at the core democratic values we ought to hold dear: truth, accountability and the rule of law.

Despite the skills of a few journalists who should have long ago left the network in protest, Fox News has become an American plague.

I've been saying it for a decade, often to deaf ears. I believe Fox News is the reason our society is so divided now. One side may be presenting the news with a slightly liberal bias, but at least it's delivering the news. Fox News presents fiction as news. And then uses the existence of that fiction, to "prove" that the other side is not reporting news.

"Why aren't they reporting Seth Rich was murdered by Hillary?"

Because it's not true. It's fiction. Fox News is the worst thing that has happened to America in my lifetime.
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Mark Gelinas



Today would have been the 56th birthday of Eckhartz Press author Mark Gelinas. We lost Mark at the end of 2018 after a truly heroic battle against pancreatic cancer. He told that tale beautifully in the pages of his book "GelStrong". Still miss you, Mark. You were one of the good guys!
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Thursday, March 07, 2019

Free Kicks, Episode 32

EP32: Adam and Rick reveal their nicknames discuss the Liverpool scoring crisis, penalty kick protocol, the Best of the Rest, and Adam takes a Brighton & Hove Albion quiz.

Listen to it here.
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Mike North Returns

From Robert Feder's column this morning...

You didn’t really think Mike North was retiring from radio, did you?

Nineteen months after he announced he was quitting sports radio for good, North is joining ESPN Radio flagship WMVP 1000-AM as host of a weekly show on sports betting.

Starting this week, North and Carmen DeFalco will host “The Odds Couple” from 6 to 7 p.m. Fridays. DeFalco will continue to co-host from noon to 2 p.m. weekdays on ESPN 1000 with John Jurkovic.

“Mike isn’t just a sports talk legend, but his expertise in sports handicapping is second to none,” Adam Delevitt, senior program director of ESPN 1000, told me. “His record speaks for itself, and he and Carmen are going to keep ESPN 1000 listeners not only entertained, but maybe make a few bucks along the way.”
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Reading the Fine Print

If you've ever filled out insurance paperwork you know the fine print goes on and on and on. Most people just skip it. One insurance company figured out a way to reward someone for reading it. In the fine print it urged the person who read it to e-mail their company, and the first one who did would win a prize. A teacher in Georgia spotted it, and e-mailed.

They gave her $10,000.

Details are here.
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Alex Trebek has Pancreatic Cancer

I just attended the funeral of a good friend who died of this terrible disease...

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Great Lakes Media

This is an interesting radio development...the merging of two of the biggest names in radio management in Chicago. From the RAMP Newsletter...

Great Lakes Media Corp. announced the first of several appointments to its Board of Advisors and Senior Leadership Team -- and simultaneously proclaimed a strategic shift in the company’s focus toward larger market acquisition opportunities.

Tom Langmyer, Founder & CEO of Great Lakes Media Corp., has added several highly experienced and well-respected names to the team as the Company moves to become a significant local media player in the U.S.

John Gehron, Chairman of AccuRadio, joins Great Lakes Media Corp. as Board Advisor, bringing his legendary major-market experience as a highly accomplished executive with some of the nation's premier media companies.

Langmyer launched Great Lakes Media Corp. in November of 2018 with the initial intent to target media acquisitions in small communities. In a very short time, interest and support shifted Great Lakes' focus toward the media properties and groups that operate in larger markets. The vision remains the same, which is to invest in radio stations and digital platforms and to grow them as true “local” brands. The company is meeting with investors, brokers and others who are interested in specific markets; and has plans to announce appointments of additional officers and partners in the weeks ahead. To check out the full leadership bios, visit greatlakesmediacorp.com.
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Wednesday, March 06, 2019

Everyone Loves Minutia Men



Don't look now, but Minutia Men has slowly but surely been crawling up the iTunes charts. Right now it's #84 in it's category, ahead of the New Yorker. In the history category (because of our Cubs history segment), we're in the Top 20 (#19). Not bad for a couple of middle aged schmos from Chicago. We'll be recording our newest episode tomorrow, featuring our interview with Anthony Scaramucci. Look for it beginning this weekend.

There are 200+ 5-star reviews on iTunes. Here are a few more recent ones...

Love the tone
in iTunes by tonytonymacorony from USA on February 22, 2019
Good natured fun. Nice to listen to something that is apolitical.

Binge listen today
in iTunes by tyu6443 from USA on February 22, 2019
( ͡° ͜Ê– ͡°) dare you to listen to just one. Rick and Dave are ( ͡° ͜Ê– ͡°) the goods.

Really great
in iTunes by 343Blane from USA on February 22, 2019
I love the witty banter and asides. These guys get great guests and wonderful interviews.

Topical and Comical
in iTunes by Chris (No Context Host) from USA on February 5, 2019
These dudes are the kings of casual banter. The topics are hot, the retorts are funny but not forced funny. It’s the kind of funny you expect from your funniest friend when you’re hanging out in his basement and his mom brings in lemon squares and iced tea. It’s the perfect leisure podcast. Chris (No Context Podcast)

Engaging
in iTunes by andreresendez from USA on January 30, 2019
The two hosts have good banter between them and keep things engaging and interesting for the listener. The comedic back and forth is funny and the topics are relevant. An easy listen. Keep up the good work, guys!


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National Dentist Day

Today is National Dentists Day. Has a Cubs player ever gone on to become a dentist? Of course. Here's his entry in Everycubever (coming out in book form in April)...

~Casey Wise 1932--2007 (Cubs 1957)
Wise came up to the big leagues with the Cubs in 1957. The second baseman/shortstop got the most extensive playing time of his big league career that season, appearing in 43 games and hitting .256. The Cubs traded him to the Milwaukee Braves after the season for pitcher Ben Johnson and outfielder Chick King. After his playing career ended, Wise became a dentist. (Photo: Topps 1958 Baseball Card)
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Most Unusual Supergroup Ever

The supergroup Hollywood Vampires has announced a short Spring tour of the western U.S. The band features Alice Cooper, actor/guitarist Johnny Depp, and Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry.

You read that right...Alice Cooper, Johnny Depp, and Joe Perry.

The tour happens in May. Right now it's only on the west coast. Details are here.
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Ridiculous Goal


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Booze and Coffee

Yes, I admit it, this headline grabbed my attention: Study Shows Booze and Coffee May Be the Key To a Long Life

The article, as usual, is ruined by the word moderation.

But it's still one of my all-time favorite articles.
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Another reason to question polling and market research

There's one very big reason polling and market research have become so expensive: People have stopped answering their phones. From this morning's Inside Radio...

People have simply stopped answering their phones altogether. “If it is apparent the call is from an unknown (or untrusted) source, it goes to voicemail – period,” for one. Meanwhile, the “growing number of telemarketers clogging up our phones lines, not to mention the explosion of robocalls,” which he says have tripled over the past three years, has turned consumers away from answering a ring. Jacobs writes, “For researchers dependent on a phone as the communications gateway to a research survey of some kind, this is bad news.

I'm one of those people that doesn't answer the phone. If you aren't in my phone already, there's a zero percent chance I will answer.
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I've seen that look before

My old pal Catherine Johns sends out a newsletter every week with advice for women in business. I'm on the list because I think Catherine is very smart, and I like learning from her.

But this picture accompanied her message this week, and I found it disturbing. Yes, I've seen that facial expression before. Men hate it when women hold their fingers nine inches apart like that.
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Tuesday, March 05, 2019

Accordian Humor

I've seen this before, but it doesn't make it any less brilliant...


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Schwarbs


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Leaving Neverland

Did you watch the HBO documentary about Michael Jackson? It was chilling, disturbing, and will stay with me forever. I always suspected it was true, but hearing these guys tell the details...and their details were so similar it was eerie...makes me come to the inescapable conclusion: Dude was a pedophile.

I remember when these stories were in the news. He was literally on trial for molesting children and people would show up and cheer him. His fans simply could not believe it was true. They were so devoted and so unflinching in their belief, it did make me wonder. Maybe he really was just a man-child who was robbed of his childhood, and likes to play with little boys. Could that presposterous statement actually be true?

Not so much.

After the show, Oprah interviewed the guys in the documentary...



Read the comments section on YouTube. Same people cheering Michael, unflinching in their belief of him.

I'm sorry--you cannot watch the documentary with the level of detail they provide and think they are making it all up. At least I can't. These guys describe a love affair. Michael seduced them. And they were only seven years old at the time.

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RIP Keith Flint

From the RAMP newsletter...

Keith Flint, the frontman of pioneering British electronic group The Prodigy, has been found dead at his home in Essex, England at the age 49, according to CNN. Flint's bandmate, Prodigy founder Liam Howlett posted on Instagram that Flint died by suicide, as he said, "The news is true, I can't believe I'm saying this but our brother Keith took his own life over the weekend. I'm shell shocked, f****n angry, confused and heart broken." The Prodigy's Twitter feed also posted the news of Flint's death, saying, "It is with deepest shock and sadness that we can confirm the death of our brother and best friend Keith Flint. A true pioneer, innovator and legend. He will be forever missed. We thank you for respecting the privacy of all concerned at this time."

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Monday, March 04, 2019

Please just take "news" out of their name


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Happy birthday Chicago

With a tip in from the best photographer of our city, Barry Butler...


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Minutia Men, Episode 126

EP126: Rick and Dave discuss a rare coin mastermind, beers that shouldn’t exist, a 911 call you won’t believe, Rick’s brush with Cicero mayor/president Betty Loren Maltese, and they interview Bad News Bears star David Pollock

Listen to it here.
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Score Big Brother

From this morning's Robert Feder column...

Can the stars of The Score survive for a week in the desert under one roof? That’s the reality-show premise of an inspired stunt playing out on Entercom sports/talk WSCR 670-AM. Midday hosts Dan Bernstein and Connor McKnight and afternoon hosts Dan McNeil and Danny Parkins aren’t just broadcasting their shows from Cubs spring training at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona. They’re all occupying a rented house together in Scottsdale along with operations director Mitch Rosen, their show producers and a video producer from Entercom Chicago. On Thursday, they’ll be joined for dinner at The Score House by morning hosts Mike Mulligan and David Haugh. (Those two will be staying at a hotel nearby.) Video highlights of the adventure will be posted each day at 670thescore.com. “At the end of the week this could be epic radio,” said Rosen, who added: “Pray for me.”
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Jen Weigel

Missed this news last week. The RAMP reported it this morning...

Chicago media pro Jenniffer Weigel has been hired by Cumulus News-Talk WLS-AM as the new sidekick and traffic reporter for Mancow Muller's morning show, starting bright and early today. The news was initially reported by Windy City media journalist Robert Feder. Ms. Weigel most recently worked for the Chicago Sun-Times as Director of Community Development and as a content contributor. Interestingly, today also marks two other significant milestones for the Weigel family -- Weigel's brother, Rafer Weigel, moves up to weekday morning news co-anchor at WFLD-TV (Fox 32) today, and this also marks what would have been the 74th birthday of their late father, legendary Chicago sportscaster Tim Weigel.

I've known Jen since her very early days in radio. At the time I was working for her dad Tim. One of my sidegigs during the Landecker years was providing Tim with clips he could use during his Weigel Wieners segment. I also worked with Tim's third wife Vicki. She was the sidekick and traffic reporter to Landecker the first three or four years of the show.
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