Another great mustache

This great mustache signed with the Cubs on this date in 1998. It belonged to reliever Rod Beck.

Read more about the man they called "The Shooter" here.

Humphrey Bogart

He died on this day in 1957.

One of the things I loved about Bogie is that he loved baseball.

Sarah's favorite founder

I've been trying to put my finger on why it is that I think Sarah Palin is such a lightweight. I think I finally know what it is.

She sounds like a high school student answering an essay question...someone that hasn't read the material, so she just strings words together, hoping to at least get a few points on the answer. See if you agree. Here she is yesterday with Glenn Beck...



This is not a political statement on my part. It's just an observation. I honestly think she doesn't have the slightest idea what she's talking about.

40 years ago today...

Diana Ross and the Supremes performed together for the very last time. It was at the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas, and it was recorded for the live album called "Farewell."

Here's one of the songs from that last performance...

Ray Kroc

Ray Kroc died on this date in 1984.

He didn't quite live long enough to see the team he owned (the Padres) tear the heart out of the team he loved as a boy (The Cubs).

Read all about his Cubs-love here.

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

On this date in 1975 (35 years ago today), Elton John's version of Lucy in the Sky was the #1 song in the country. Here he is on stage with John Lennon performing the song at Madison Square Garden.

More on the NBC mess

Gawker has video up of all the principles discussing the situation last night: Conan, Leno, Jimmy Kimmel, David Letterman, and Craig Ferguson.

This is terrible for NBC, but it's great for comedy.

Speaking of show trials

15 years ago yesterday, the OJ Simpson trial officially began. It lasted until October.

Careers were made during that trial. Just ask Greta Van Sustern. She was unknown before the trial, and a celebrity after it ended--because she covered it daily on CNN. Mark Fuhrman became a celebrity too.

Heck, I must admit, it wasn't bad for me either. During that trial the John Landecker show was cranking out material on a daily basis that shot us to the top of the Chicago radio ratings. Roe Conn is another one that was catapulted into the spotlight.

On the other hand, a guilty man probably got away with murder. I know he's in jail now, but OJ Simpson was actually acquitted.

It's still hard to believe 15 years later.

Trachsel's take on McGwire

Steve Trachsel was the pitcher that served up #62 to McGwire in 1998.

He was interviewed about the McGwire controversy yesterday on ESPN Radio in Chicago and said something that I always suspected: Sammy and McGwire didn't even like each other.

The full story is here.

Even though Trachsel was a decent pitcher, he was never one of my favorites. He was soooooo slooooooooow on the mound. Every game he pitched took forever. But I will never forget the game he pitched in that one-game playoff game to win the wildcard in 1998. Without him, the Cubs wouldn't have won the right to be swept in three straight by the Braves.

You don't just forget something like that.

Another great mustache

This mustache is celebrating a birthday today.

It belongs to former Cub second baseman Mike Tyson, who is 60 years old today.

(More about Mike here)

Cubs hire Greg Maddux

The Cubs hired Greg Maddux as an assistant to Jim Hendry.

According to Hendry, and this is the part I love: "He'll certainly be involved in all aspects of the baseball-operations department."

First assignment in my perfect world: Taking all baseball decisions away from Jim Hendry.

Seriously though, Maddux knows baseball. He's a student of the game. He should be an invaluable resource.

Joe E. Lewis

Joe E. Lewis was born on this date in 1902. Lewis was one of the biggest stars in America in the late 1920s. Then, he picked the wrong guy to mess with in Chicago.

Read all about him and what was going on with the Cubs at the time of his unfortunate Chicago experience here.

McGwire admits it

"I used steroids" says Mark McGwire.

This news is obviously not a shock, but I give McGwire credit for admitting it.

Sammy...your turn.

Another stupid contestant

Andre's #8

I love Andre Dawson as much as any Cubs fan, but when I saw this article it made me wonder if he really should go in the Hall of Fame as a Cub.

The Cubs say they will retire his #8 if he does.

He's definitely a worthy Hall of Famer. He's definitely one of my favorite Cubs. But he only played in Chicago for six seasons. It feels a little odd to retire his number, doesn't it?

Look at those other retired numbers. Ernie was a Cub for 19 seasons. Billy was a Cub for 16 seasons. Ryno was a Cub for 15 seasons. Santo was a Cub for 14 seasons. Fergie was a Cub for 10 seasons. Maddux was a Cub for 10 seasons.

Am I wrong? It doesn't feel right, does it?

William Walker

On this date in 1934, the Chicago Cubs named a seafood salesman as their team president.

Read all about William Walker here.

Father Knows Nothing

I just posted my latest Father Knows Nothing column at NWI Parent. This one is about my little buddy--my seven year old Sean. It's called "My Comrade."

You can read it here.

Eric & Kathy

There's a great article in the Tribune today about Eric and Kathy written by Steve Johnson. I provided several quotes for the piece.

By the way, I've also interviewed all of the E&K principles over the past few years.

If you want additional Eric and Kathy reading material, here's Eric, Kathy, Melissa, Mark Suppelsa, John "Swany" Swanson, and former E&K newsman Barry Keefe.

Chicago Radio Spotlight returns next week.

My favorite Ditka Moment

We used to play the audio of this interview all the time on Steve & Garry's show (it took many hours to bleep it properly), but I had never seen the video before. Dave Kaplan posted it on his blog today. Notice that when Ditka gets up at the end of the interview, he's in his underwear.

This is classic Ditka.

Beware if you get squeamish about language. This version isn't bleeped at all...

Under the weather

Sorry there aren't quite as many posts today. I'm a little sick and so is my youngest son Sean. He's home with me today.

And now we're going to do what all the doctors recommend. We're going out to shovel another six inches of snow that accumulated overnight.

Elvis is 75!

If he were still alive, Elvis Presley would have turned 75 today.

We explored every conceivable Chicago connection to Elvis, including his concerts in Chicago (and fan reactions), and his favorite baseball announcer (Harry Caray) last year at Just One Bad Century.

There's more than you think.

Promised Land

35 years ago today, the King had one of his last hits. I still like this one. It's called "Promised Land"...

Ugh

A foot of snow in Chicago.

Me no likey.

Hall of Fame

On this day in 1985, two other Cubs were elected into the Hall of Fame too. I don't follow the sport closely, so I'm not sure if they played with other teams too, but they were definitely Cubs.

Alvin Dark

Alvin Dark had a great MLB career. He was a World Series champion, a Rookie of the Year, and a three time all-star.

Unfortunately, none of that happened during his Cubs years.

On the other hand, he was involved in this incredibly unusual play.

Al was born on this date in 1922.

Andre is in the Hall!

Just off the presses...

Andre Dawson is finally in the Hall of Fame!

Preliminary and sketchy details here.





More about Andre's Cubs career at Just One Bad Century...

The story of his signing

His nickname

His mustache

The 1989 Cubs season

The song about him: "He's a Hero" by the Cleaning Ladies

More Wheel of Fortune

This is the 35th anniversary of Wheel of Fortune. The best moments on that show aren't when people guess correctly, it's when they make stupid guesses. Like this one...

Carl Sandburg

I've been researching Chicago in 1918 for a book project. One of the people that lived in Chicago in 1918 was Carl Sandburg. At the time he was Chicago's very first film critic...writing for the Daily News.

Carl Sandburg was born on this day in 1878.

Can you believe he was once a guest on "What's My Line"?

Wheel of Fortune

The very first Wheel of Fortune aired on this date in 1975. Do you remember who that first host was?

It wasn't Pat Sajack.

Would you believe Chuck Woolery?

Vanna White wasn't on those first few years either. The letter turner was Susan Stafford.

Joke for a Wednesday morning

Contributed by "AH"...




Five rules for men to follow for a happy life:

1. It's important to have a woman, who helps at home, who cooks from time to time, cleans up and has a job.

2. It's important to have a woman, who can make you laugh.

3. It's important to have a woman, who you can trust and who doesn't lie to you.

4. It's important to have a woman, who is good in bed and who likes to be with you.

5. It's very, very important that these four women do not know each other

1910, 1935

One hundred years ago this week, the Cubs are preparing for yet another NL Pennant winning season (Photo: Big Ed Reulbach).

The Cubs are famous in Chicago, but the biggest stars in the world are the great Impressionist painters. Most of them are still alive; including Degas (dies 1917), Renoir (dies 1919), and Monet (dies 1926).



Seventy five years ago this week, the Cubs are preparing for yet another NL Pennant winning season. Meanwhile, Elvis Presley is born in Tupelo, Mississippi, and Amelia Earhart makes the first solo flight from California to Hawaii. (Amelia grew up in Chicago)

Terror, by Yemen

Good to have Jon Stewart back last night. It seems to help somehow...

Terror 2.0 by Yemen

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

Old Hoss and Old Horse

Old Hoss was Cubs great Riggs Stephenson, who was born on this date in 1898. (Read all about him here.)

Old Horse is Mr. Ed, who debuted as a television star on this date, 49 years ago. Remember when he tried out for Leo Durocher?

Both have, sadly, been dead for many years.

I'm with her...

This is Marie Claire editor in chief Joanna Coles. Her New Years resolution is as follows...

"I was rather abstemious in 2009 so I am planning on more fats, more alcohol and much more advertising.”

I'm with her, but I must admit I did have to look up abstemious.

(For my fellow dummies it means: "sparing or moderate in eating and drinking; temperate in diet", so I guess I wasn't abstemious in 2009. In fact, since Thanksgiving or so, I've been downright gluttonous.)

Marlon Byrd

I think Chicago Tribune columnist Phil Rogers and I are the only two people who think signing Marlon Byrd was a good idea for the Cubs.

It's not like I'm excited about it, but neither is Phil. We're just saying...it's not as bad as their moves last off-season.

At least this will put Kosuke back in right field (where he is a very good defender) and improve the outfield defense.

Look, I'm just trying to find the positives here. Isn't this Cubbie Kool-aid drinking season?

Father Knows Nothing

Happy New Year!

I'll be back to full-time blogging starting tomorrow, but for today I just posted my latest "Father Knows Nothing" column at NWI Parent. It's the Kaempfer family's annual parody of sappy Christmas letters.

You can read it here.

Wow

I was just checking my e-mail and I got my weekly report from the site meter people that keep track of the hits and visitors on my blogs.

I must admit I don't usually look too closely to those numbers. But today, I looked just to get an idea how many people checked them out in 2009.

Would you believe 725,000?

Wow.

Thanks so much everyone. It's nice to know I'm not just doing this in a vacuum.

My little working/research/X-mas vacation is almost over. Here's the schedule for the various different returns...

*I'll have a new Father Knows Nothing on Jan 3rd.

*This blog will return on Jan 4th.

* The Just One Bad Century blog will return on the same day.

*The regular Just One Bad Century website will return with two new features on January 11th.

*My first Chicago Radio Spotlight interview will be posted on January 16th.

Thanks again for your support in 2009!

Your pal,
Rick

Happy Holidays

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and for those of us in the northern part of these United States...Happy Shoveling!

Milton

Bye Bye now.

Seattle was the farthest possible place to send you. Alaska doesn't have a team.

Father Knows Nothing

My latest Father Knows Nothing column is posted at NWI Parent. This week's column is entitled "Sean's Christmas Fund."

You can read it here.

Jose Cuervo Christmas Cookies

"BP" sent this recipe...

JOSE CUERVO CHRISTMAS COOKIES

Ingredients

1 cup of water
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup of sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup or brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 cup nuts
2 cups of dried fruit
1 bottle Jose Cuervo Tequila

DIRECTIONS

Sample the Cuervo to check quality. Take a large bowl, Check the Cuervo again, to be sure it is of the highest quality, Pour one level cup and drink.

Turn on the electric mixer. Beat one cup of butter In a large fluffy bowl.

Add one peastoon of sugar. Beat again. At this point it's best to make sure the Cuervo is still ok, try another Cup just in case.

Turn off the mixerer thingy.

Break 2 leggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup Of dried fruit.

Pick the frigging fruit off the floor.

Mix on the turner.

If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaters just pry It loose with a drewscriver.

Sample the Cuervo to check for tonsisticity.

Next, sift two cups of salt, or something. Who geeves a sheet. Check the Jose Cuervo. Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts.

Add one table.

Add a spoon of sugar, or somefink. Whatever you can Find.

Greash the oven.

Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall Over.

Don't forget to beat off the turner.

Finally, throw the bowl through the window, finish the Cose Juervo and make sure to put the stove in the wishdasher...

Cherry Mistmas !

Father Knows Nothing

I just posted my latest Father Knows Nothing column at NWI Parent. This one is called "Blitzen" and it's about a rather unfortunate event with my favorite reindeer.

You can read it here.

Old Cub fans

It kills me every time I see an obituary like this one. I never met Sydney Medintz, but I got a little verklempt when I read the first few paragraphs of his obituary in the Sun Times...

Sydney Medintz, 95, waited all his life for a big win for his beloved Cubs.

In 2008, a century after they'd last won the World Series, Mr. Medintz told his family: "I can't wait much longer.:

He died at home Monday. He had one last message for the Cubs in his death notice.

"Go Cubs. I waited as long as I could."

He was born the year they built Wrigley Field...and never saw a World Series championship. I feel almost guilty for considering myself a long suffering Cubs fan.

My kind of guy

Student Brings Typewriter To Class - Watch more Funny Videos

Father Knows Nothing

My latest Father Knows Nothing column is now posted at NWI Parent. It's called "Snap!" and it's about the new vocabulary I'm picking up from my kids.

You can read it here.

Tina Louise

I don't even get this commercial, but I still like it...




Ok, back to research.

Research Time

I'll be stepping back from the blog over the next month or so just like I did last year. Chicago Radio Spotlight and Just One Bad Century will return in 2010.

The only regular posting will continue to be my weekly Father Knows Nothing column, which I'll re-post here as I always do.

Of course, you know me, I may just pop up on this blog a few times to share something funny, cool, or interesting. I just won't be posting the usual volume, and there will be days when I post nothing at all.

I'm in deep research mode. One novel is about 2/3 done, one book is essentially done and is being pitched as I write this, and the third book I'm working on still needs quite a bit of research. That's what I'm concentrating on this month.

I'm also researching for two new Just One Bad Century features that will debut the week of the Cubs Convention.

So, if you need me I'll be holed up in my basement bunker. I'm still checking e-mail, of course, and I'm still on Facebook, so it's not like I'm completely unreachable. Just unshaven. And probably wearing sweatpants.

Family Feud

This is my latest contribution to NWI Parent. It's the back page "Family Room" essay in the current issue, and it's about my childhood battle with my sister Cindy.

Father Knows Nothing

I just posted my latest Father Knows Nothing column at NWI Parent. This one is called "Incredibly Specific Shopping Lists."

You can read it here.

Best no-hitter ever

Thanks to Steve Rhodes for pointing this one out to me...

Christmas Shopping Season

Christmas shopping season is officially upon us, so once again we'd like to offer a few products for the Cubs fan on your Christmas list. We just went through our inventory, so please pay attention to the sizes and choices still available.

Allow about seven to ten days for delivery. If it's a rush order, e-mail me at rick@justonebadcentury.com, and I'll see what I can do.



This classic teardrop Cub shirt has been a big hit. It says so much without saying a word.

It's available in M, L, XL, and XXL.

Order yours here.






We're starting to see some of these at Cubs games now. It's one of those things that looks like the real thing, and leads to a double take. Ah, yes. I feel your pain too.

It's adjustable (fits everyone).

You can get yours here.







For the Cubs optimist, the Losing is Soooo Last Century t-shirt, is a popular choice. Look at how happy this young lady is wearing hers.

It's available in L and XL.

Order yours here.












And for the Cubs fan at the end of his rope, this one says it all.

It's available in M, L, and XL.

You can get yours here.








We also have a few old classic 1908 Cubs baseball cards available here.







Happy Holidays everyone!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all the readers of my blogs. I hope you have a wonderful day with your families, and thanks so much for reading my nonsensical ramblings this year.

The Muppets do Bohemian Rhapsody

2009 in Review

I wrote an article for the latest SHORE Magazine, and it's out now.

I think it came out pretty well.

It's called "2009 in Review."

Father Knows Nothing

I just posted a new Father Knows Nothing column at NWI Parent. This one is a humorous story about my mother Hildegard. It's called "Foul Mouthed Thanksgiving."

You can read it here.