Green White Tryouts

I've been on the Green White Youth board of directors for a few years now, and this is our busy season. We had a fantastic turnout for the first two nights of Green White Travel Tryouts at Metro Majewski Park! It's not too late to join this historic soccer club. One more night of tryouts tonight for all age groups!

Walk-ups welcome, or pre-register here

U8, U9, U10 Girls--5pm-6:15
U8, U9, U10 Boys--5pm-6:15
U11, U12 Girls--6:15pm--7:30
U11, U12 Boys--6:15pm--7:30
U13, U14 Girls--7:30pm-8:45
U13, U14 Boys--7:30pm--8:45

Bono v Bono Impersonator On Stage with U2

I think you can see the guy wetting his pants...

Bulls Fire Tom Thibodeux

A great regular season coach.

A not-so-great playoffs coach.

Details are here.

Printer's Row Lit Fest

What is it like spending an afternoon hanging out with all four Beatles? I don't know because I've never done it, but Joel Daly has! You can hear him tell that story on June 6th just after 4pm on the center stage at the Printer's Row Lit Fest. I will be there too, along with John Landecker, and Rich King. Come out and join us!

Eckhartz Press in Rhode Island

Rory vs. Tiger

Chelsea Dagger Chicago Style

Summer Style TIps for Overweight Middle-Aged Men Men

Judging by the pictures they've chosen to use in this article, that's most of us, sadly. Even those that fit in the "hey I'm over 50--sue me if I'm a tiny bit doughy" category.

The Telegraph has tips to minimize the "ew" factor this summer. I disagree with the first two (Get in the gym three times a week? How do you think I turned out this way? And tanning? I no longer tan, I lobster.) I also disagree with the last one, the "no baseball caps" rule. Sorry pal, until there's an easier way to put sunscreen on my bald spot, the baseball cap stays.

Biggest Spending Sports Franchises

A list of the biggest spending clubs in all of sports was released yesterday. 8 of the top 10 are soccer clubs, with Paris Saint Germain surprisingly coming in first place overall. The only two non-soccer teams in the top ten are the Dodgers (5th) and the Yankees (9th).

The Chicago Bulls are in 29th. The White Sox are in 56th. The Cubs are in 68th. The Blackhawks are 76th. The Chicago Bears are in 144th.

Maybe people should start being a little nicer to Jerry Reinsdorf. He has the top two payrolls in town.

Could Rush Limbaugh Retire?

That's the speculation in this morning's Tom Taylor column...

It’s not as crazy as it sounds – Presumably Premiere won’t offer the same kind of $400 million eight-year deal it did in 2008, just before the economy rattled and rolled. Limbaugh recently turned 64, and he might not want an eight-year deal, anyhow. One talk-radio pro says “I’m betting that when the big renewals come up, Howard Stern will renew with SiriusXM, because it’s the easiest thing to do. But Rush may just decide to retire.”

If that happens, look for the sun to be a little brighter, the air to be a little cleaner, little birdies to be a little chirpier, and Americans to hold hands from coast to coast singing "Oh Happy Day" by the Edwin Hawkins singers. A great song, by the way.

RIP Dennis Sheehan

U2 has lost a family member. From the RAMP Newsletter...

Just hours after U2's finished the first show of their five-night "Innocence + Experience" stand at L.A.'s Forum, we received the tragic news that Dennis Sheehan, the band's tour manager for the past 33 years, died early Wednesday morning of an apparent heart attack. The news was originally broken by TMZ, which reports paramedics were summoned to Sheehan's room at the Sunset Marquis Hotel around 5:30am yesterday, responding to a call for a reported cardiac arrest. Sheehan was pronounced dead at the scene. The news was later confirmed by Live Nation's Arthur Fogel, Chairman of Global Music & President of Global Touring, who said, "With profound sadness we confirm that Dennis Sheehan, U2's longstanding tour manager and dear friend to us all, has passed away overnight. Our heartfelt sympathy is with his wonderful family." U2 has posted a tribute to Sheehan on its website. In a statement, Bono said, "We've lost a family member, we're still taking it in. He wasn't just a legend in the music business; he was a legend in our band. He is irreplaceable."

Portillo's, the next chapter

The boys and I love to go to Portillo's, but when we heard that Dick Portillo was selling it, we got worried.

This article about the new owners makes me feel a little bit better.

Everyone talks about how good the beef sandwiches are, or how incredible the chocolate cake tastes, but for me the crown jewel of the Portillo's menu has to be the french fries.

Best...fries...ever.

FIFA

14 FIFA (the world's soccer governing body) and media officials were arrested or indicted this morning in Switzerland on charges of corruption and/or bribery. And yet, FIFA still held a press conference to announce they are going ahead with the World Cups in question (inexplicably given to Russian and Qatar) even if bribery or corruption was involved.

I love soccer, but boy do I hate FIFA.

More info on today's news is here.

The whole world is working together on this case. Here's the US Attorney General, specifically calling out the president of CONCACAF.

Dick Broadcasting

This news arrived in my e-mail box yesterday...

Dick Broadcasting has become the first broadcaster in a PPM market to make the move from Nielsen to Eastlan. Under the terms of a new multi-year agreement, Eastlan Ratings will field its initial audience measurement study in the Greensboro/High Point/Winston-Salem market in Summer 2015.

If you think I'm only reporting this Dick Broadcasting news because I find the name Dick Broadcasting funny, that's hurtful. I'm a professional, not an adolescent. Dick Broadcasting is hard...to write about without getting titters from the less mature of my readers. I'm not so stiff or rigid that I don't understand why some people laugh, but not every small Dick Broadcasting or gigantic Dick Broadcasting story needs to be a punchline. It's not the size of the Dick Broadcasting story, it's what you do with it.

Was BB King Poisoned?

It sounds crazy, and it probably is, but that's the charge being made by BB's daughters. From this morning's RAMP Newsletter...

Two of B.B. King's daughters are accusing two of their late father's closest aides of poisoning him. Not kidding. That's the word from Business Insider, which reports King's daughters Karen Williams and Patty King allege in documents that King's business manager, LaVerne Toney, and his personal assistant, Myron Johnson, raided his wealth and hastened his death by poisoning him. King died on May 14 at the age of 89 while receiving hospice care at his Las Vegas home. Both Williams and King have been very outspoken about the treatment their father received during his final days.
Clark County Coroner John Fudenberg did confirm that an autopsy was performed Sunday on King's embalmed body, and test results will take up to eight weeks to process. However, Fudenberg said Monday that there was no evidence "that these allegations of foul play will be substantiated." Las Vegas police Lt. Ray Steiber confirmed that homicide detectives are investigating.

Meet Landecker, Daly, King and Kaempfer

Mark your calendars for the Printer's Row Litfest. On June 6th at 4pm, I'll be moderating a discussion with Eckhartz Press authors (and media stars) John Landecker​, Joel Daly​, and Rich King​ at the center stage of the Litfest. Be ready for a very entertaining and lively discussion with lots of great stories about Chicago broadcasting history from the guys who made that history.

They're calling the event: "Media Memoirs: John Records Landecker, Joel Daly, and Rich King in conversation with Rick Kaempfer"- See more at: http://printersrowlitfest.org/schedule.html#sthash.QjsUND8U.dpuf. All of our books will also be for sale there, and we'll happily autograph them for you.

No Charges for Casey Kasem's Widow

I've been following the really bizarre story of Casey Kasem's death and burial. The twists and turns were enough to give me whiplash, and ended with the truly strange decision to bury him in Norway (almost six months after his death). Kasem's daughter was very vocal about accusing her father's widow of elder abuse, and I must say, that didn't sound like an outrageous claim after the weird way she handled things after Casey died.

Well, the Los Angeles D.A. apparently disagreed. From this morning's RADIO INK...

Elder abuse charges will not be filed against Jean Kasem, famed DJ Casey Kasem's widow. Casey Kasem's three children from his previous marriage were urging Los Angeles officials to have their stepmother prosecuted. The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office found there was not enough evidence against Jean Kasem and that "this case cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt to a jury."

Casey Kasem's daughter and syndicated radio host Kerri Kasem issued a statement which read: "My family is very sad to learn the Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey has decided not to file charges against Jean Kasem. We did everything we could to save my Dad at the end of his life, including getting an emergency court order for conservatorship. But we were too late. My father's second wife Jean had done everything she could to keep our father from us while not providing the quality care that he -- and every other senior in our society -- deserves."

This story isn't over. The kids are now pushing for the D.A. in Washington (state) to file charges against Casey's widow. Washington was one of the places she took the ailing Kasem to keep him away from his kids.

Media CEOs

I just don't understand why this is the case, but 6 of the top ten highest paid CEOs come from media companies.

Ask anyone who works in a media company how great things are going there. Oh well, at least their bosses are making more money per year than most employees make in a lifetime.

A reunion 41 years in the making

There's a story in Father Knows Nothing about my childhood trip to Austria. When I was 10 or 11, my parents put my sister Cindy and I on an airplane and sent us to a farm in Austria to spend the summer there. It was a pretty traumatic experience for me--but it made for a good story. The part of the story I didn't tell was that after we spent the month in Austria, two of the Austrian girls (about the same age as us) spent a month with us in Chicago.

Well this past Friday I was surprised to receive an e-mail from one of those Austrian girls. She was going to be in Chicago with her husband, and wanted to meet. I don't know why I was really nervous about this meeting (probably because my German has gotten a little rusty), but we scheduled the meeting at my mother's house--the same house she stayed in 41 years ago.

It turned out to be a lovely afternoon visit. This is a photo below. My sister and I are on the outside, and Ulli and her husband Richard are in the middle. I gave her a copy of Father Knows Nothing, which contains that story. I feel a little guilty that I laid it on a little thick in that story. Please note that some (but not much) dramatic license was taken in the writing of it. :)



Here's Cindy and I in Austria in the summer of 1974...

Champs!

Spent the weekend out at the soccer fields. My son Sean's team had a soccer tournament in Schaumburg. They played four games and won all four of them, including a dramatic 1-0 win in the championship game.

So proud of all the boys. We've come a long way. (There's a story about the bad-news-bears quality of this team a few years ago in my book "Father Knows Nothing")

Things You Never Said Before You Had Boys

This was posted on my facebook page by "ND"...

I have to say, I feel a lot better about my kids after reading that. Although numbers 5, 6, & 7 universally apply to all boys.

This posting led to a very funny addendum from my friend "AM", the mother of two boys..."Stop shooting your brother with your finger gun. Why is the dog sticky? Why is there a hot dog in my purse? No we don't have room in the backyard to bring a bison home from the zoo."

Andrew McCutcheon's Pay Stub

The website Deadspin got a copy of Andrew McCutcheon's pay stub and published it. Thankfully they blacked out his personal information, but it still seems like a bit of a personal violation to publish that.

I know the intent is to outrage people when they see a pay stub of over $400,000 for a two-week pay period, but keep this in mind: The owner who is paying that is making enough money to pay McCutcheon...while also paying every other person working for the Pirates.

What does the owner's pay stub say?

And the Pirates are one of the lower grossing teams. What does the pay stub of the Yankees owner say?

Letterman's Final Ratings

It was his fourth most-watched show ever.

But I'm sure he won't be thrilled to discover that Jay Leno's farewell still had more viewers.

As the Sumner Turns

About twelve years ago, while I was still working for him at CBS, I read Sumner Redstone's autobiography. It was published by Simon & Schuster, which was also owned by Sumner, and it clearly wasn't edited in any meaningful way. My guess is that the people working for him were afraid to tell him that he came off as one of the most unlikable human beings on the planet. He aired sixty year old grudges, ripped his underlings (and his family), threatened to destroy people for the most inane slights, bragged about his wealth, and displayed a truly disgusting and unquenchable greed. There were literally times my mouth dropped open while I was reading. He was like a Charles Dickens character--blackhearted and evil, with no redeeming qualities of any kind. And this is how he was describing himself! It was an autobiography!

That book was one of my inspirations for writing the novel "$everance".

Ever since then I've followed his life closely; his feuds with his kids, his squiring of young girlfriends, his attempts at buying a place in heaven with late-in-life charitable contributions, and his total inability to give up control of the only that matters to him, his media conglomerate.

Today's episode of his soap opera life involves the inescapable march toward his final days, and how much the angry ol' coot is fighting a fate that you just know he thinks is beneath someone of his stature--death. From Tom Taylor's NOW column...

At 92, Sumner Redstone is “alert and cognizant” but “has a bad speech impediment.” That makes the CBS patriarch “angry and frustrated when he can’t be understood,” says his personal attorney Leah Bishop. She says the speech problem “has gotten worse” in the last year or so, but she says “it’s very clear to me that he understands everything that we are talking about” – and specifically what happens after he’s no longer on the scene. Bishop says “careful planning has been done so that estate taxes will not require a forced sale of the assets.” Through National Amusements, Sumner wields voting control over both CBS and Viacom, and you’ve already read here that his control passes to a seven-member trust. His daughter Shari’s on the board of the trust and so is Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman, a longtime trusted executive to Sumner. But CBS CEO Les Moonves isn’t on the board, and Sumner’s unusual absence from yesterday’s CBS annual shareholders meeting makes the speculation even more urgent. The Los Angeles Times indicates the melodrama waiting to unfold. Plus there's Redstone’s girlfriend situation – A Vanity Fair feature introduces us to former Sumner Redstone girlfriend Manuela Herzer and current companion Sydney Holland, who was once in the matchmaking business. The LA Times says “several people close to the situation allege that Holland has used her influence to isolate Redstone from people who once played significant roles in his life,” including his daughter Shari, his grandchildren (one of whom is on the board of the National Amusements trust), friends, doctor and a longtime assistant.

If you find yourself feeling sympathy for him, congratulations on being a good human being. Granted, he thinks people like you are suckers, but I commend you for your humanity.

But just know this; this drama can't possibly have a happy ending. If there is anything true about karma, it can't end well.

Truffle Hunting in Rhode Island

Eckhartz Press author Brent Petersen will be in Rhode Island next week promoting his novel "Truffle Hunt". If you're in the Providence area on June 1st at 5pm, swing by the Newport Athletic Club at 66 Valley Road, in Middletown, RI. He'll also be at the Clark Memorial Library in Carolina, RI on June 2nd at 7pm.

Brent will be happily autograph a copy of "Truffle Hunt" for you. All you have to do is show up...and buy it, of course.

How Many Republicans Candidates for President are There?

So many that they can't all debate on one stage at one time. CNN has decided to divide them up into two groups...the top 10 candidates, and the others who meet the old requirement of at least 1% in the polls.

They should call that second debate: "The kids table"

Dave says goodbye

I stayed up and watched the whole show. It was a nice farewell...

How to Make an Entrance

Bill Murray on Letterman's second to last show last night...

Changes at WGCI

From All Access...

ALL ACCESS has confirmed that iHEARTMEDIA Urban WGCI (107.5)/CHICAGO has made changes to its lineup. Midday personality LONI SWAIN and PM driver UB RODRIGUEZ have both exited. Now for the rest of the story, as 'GCI has raided crosstown rival CRAWFORD BROADCASTING Urban WPWX (POWER 92) to replace SWAIN and RODRIGUEZ. FRANKIE ROBINSON moves to 'GCI for middays and TONE KAPONE will slide over for afternoons.

Hollywood Squares

Used to love this show...

Silent Movie

I don't understand why this isn't considered a classic like the other Mel Brooks films. The boys and I watched it again last night and couldn't stop laughing...

A Note From Epstein's Mother

Half of Chicago could use one of these today...

Don't worry #Blackhawks fans, we've got you covered for work and school tomorrow! Thanks for staying up with us! pic.twitter.com/wINVAva3nE

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) May 20, 2015

Shaw's Tribute to Soccer

I learned something new last night during the Blackhawks game. A good header is not only not appreciated, it's against the rules. As a soccer fan, I enjoyed the moment...

No Relation, But Still...

If you're traveling through the Northernmost state in Germany, Schleswig-Holstein, and you happen to swing by its capital city of Kiel, say hello to the Mayor for me please.

His name is Lord Mayor Dr. Ulf Kaempfer.

Not related as far as I know (we probably wouldn't go with "Ulf"), but he's clearly smart and distinguished, so I can't be completely certain.

Unluckiest Man in History

Rolling Stone Rips Bill O'Reilly

Really strong piece in Rolling Stone Magazine calling Bill O'Reilly a pathological liar. Here's an excerpt of the piece (after giving several examples of O'Reilly's lies and false bravado)...

O'Reilly isn't a newsman, he's a blue-eyed cirrhotic cyst erupting acid onto the brass rail at the Now I'll Tell You What the REAL Problem Is Pub. He's the guy who sits next to you and brags about how he'd kick the hell out of any thugs daring to bring violence into his neighborhood, stumbles off his barstool, goes outside, reflexively crosses the street to avoid two black kids on the sidewalk two blocks up, then drives home drunk. He's the guy who picks a fight with you if you correct him, then refuses to throw down because he "was Gold Gloves in college and doesn't want to end you, man," then backs away toward his driveway while trying to make eye contact with anyone he thinks is a friend and saying, "I feel sorry for him! I have a pool in my backyard."

Pretty strong stuff. There are a couple of small issues with this article, however, and this is not coming from an O'Reilly supporter by any means.

First issue--Rolling Stone really shouldn't be calling anyone a pathological liar at this point in time, after that fraternity rape story had to be completely retracted.

Second issue--the writer of the article is supposedly lashing out because O'Reilly was so tough on Brian Williams for embellishing his stories too. (The whole "pot calling the kettle black" syndrome). The problem with that premise is that O'Reilly actually wasn't tough on Brian Williams at all. In fact, he showed sympathy, and went decidely easy on him.

If you don't have credibility, and your premise is flawed, even if you are completely correct about the man you're ripping, nobody will take it seriously.

POTUS on Twitter

President Obama is on Twitter! It's his own personal account, and he is doing the tweeting.

In one day he garnered nearly 2 million followers (including me). He's only following 65 others, including every Chicago sports team except the Cubs.

Here's his account.

Producing is Producing

Loved this piece in Grantland by former Letterman producer Daniel Kellison. He really nails what it's like to be a producer. The stories are very similar to some of the stories Swany and I wrote about in The Radio Producer's Handbook. It's the same type of gig, no matter what show you produce. Great read even for non-producers--lots of fun celebrity stories.

Should the Cubs welcome Sammy back?

Former Cubs teammate and current broadcaster Doug Glanville thinks he should.

He lays out his reasons why in this Tribune article.

I tend to agree with him. I don't approve of Sammy's (alleged) use of PED's, or the way he left the team back in 2004, but we can't pretend that he wasn't the reason we went to the ballpark for a few years there. The Cubs owe him at least a little something for that.

He has paid a price. He will never be in the Hall of Fame, despite Hall of Fame numbers. He will never have his number retired by the Cubs, despite setting so many Cubs records. For me, forgiving him doesn't seem like an outrageous gesture.

Classy

The headline says it all: Phillies Fan Rips Home Run Ball Away From Old Lady

Watch the video here.

For the record, she doesn't look that old to me. I'm reassessing my definition of old on a daily basis.

I'd Like To Buy the World a Coke

The final episode of Mad Men last night ended with this real ad from 1971. The real story behind the real commercial is told today by the New York Daily News.

Louis CK

Louis is my favorite comedian, but he is getting a lot of heat for a child molesting bit he did this past weekend on Saturday Night Live. Was it over the edge? For broadcast TV, I'd have to say yes. I do admire Louis' ability to joke about subjects that would appear to be off-limits, but you could feel the audience wasn't following him off this cliff...

Some Love for "Truffle Hunt"

The reviews have been coming in for our latest book "Truffle Hunt", and they have been overwhelmingly positive. This one is from Amazon...

Yes - I loved it. What a **fun** read. I found it to be a 'page-turner' and stayed up into the wee hours to finish in two sittings. "Truffle Hunt" is way more that a 'foodie' book, which some may have assumed.

For the history buff, there is a compelling and complex story of the troubled Istria region with all of the wars, ethnic cleansing, purges and resulting current simmering resentments that would naturally remain.

For the culture buff, there are the story threads of family traditions and love of the land that create such a vibrant sense of place.

For the foodies, yes, there is abundant detail about what makes food truly 'great', and how the creation and sharing of magnificent food is as much the salvation of a people as having their land and an ability to make a living.
Then, of course, there is the unique story of the truffle itself and the astounding subculture of the harvesting and the marketing of such a treasure.

Buy this book and be ready to Enjoy!!

Classic Rock Rules

From Tom Taylor's NOW column--you'll never guess what radio format is tearing it up these days...

Reading the tea leaves from its April-book PPM markets, Nielsen says “for the third straight month, the classic rock format went out and set new records for audience share among all three of the major audience groups we examine.” That’s age 6+, 18-34 and 25-54. With the broad 6+ demo, classic rock is up from 4.7% in last year’s April book to 5.3% this year. The bump’s even more dramatic with persons 18-34, up from 3.9% to 4.8%. And from 5.1% to 6.0% for 25-54s. In the April PPMs, the Hot AC format is also setting records with 6+ and 25-54 audiences, and up from 7.1% to 7.5% with 18-34s. While the format Nielsen calls “Pop CHR” advances with 18-34 listeners from 12.1% to 12.8% and from 9.0% to 9.4% with 25-54s.

Dylan Gardner at Schuba's

Had fun last night at the Dylan Gardner show at Schubas withJohn, Nika & Amy Landecker, the whole Gardner clan, and the Knutsen's. Great show by Dylan.

That's Amy Landecker with Dylan right after his set...

RIP B.B. King

He was 89 years old. The King of the Blues and his guitar Lucille will be missed.

King was 45 when he had his first song on the pop charts in 1970. This is it...

Important Benefit

Two of my childhood friends, Mark Gelinas and Noreen Heyde, are battling cancer and their bills have been mounting. Tomorrow night we're holding a benefit to raise money for them to help them pay their medical bills. There will be an auction (I donated a few things, including copies of all my books), and we're charging $20 to get in. All of that money will go to Mark and Noreen. Thanks in advance for your help...

Instant Articles on Facebook

A few major news organizations (including NBC and the New York Times) have reached an agreement to work with Facebook on something called "instant articles". Articles from news sources will now load instantly on Facebook--which will decrease the loading time tenfold.

It will also, of course, keep people on Facebook, and off the sites of the major news publishers. Have they really decided to give up, or am I missing something here?

Eddie & Pete

The photo is Eddie & Pete singing "Behind Blue Eyes" last night at the Rosemont Theater. Great show. A couple of fun surprises...appearances by Joe Walsh, Rick Nielson, Joan Jett, Simon Townshend, Zac Starkey, and Roger Daltrey. Joe Walsh was on fire. He sang "The Kids are Alright". Joan sang "Summertime Blues" and "Can't Explain". Eddie nailed "Red, Blue & Gray" and sang a cover of "Sooner or Later" by the English Beat (along with Pete). But the highlight had to be the grand finale--all of them out there jamming to "Won't Get Fooled Again". Loved it. Thanks Doug Bensing for thinking of me and getting me a ticket.

Harry Shearer Leaving Simpsons?

This sounds like a negotiating ploy from the producers, but if it's not, they really should shut down shop. No Harry Shearer. No Simpsons. From this morning's RAMP Newsletter..

Longtime fans of The Simpsons were more than a little upset to hear that one of the show's most famous voices, Harry Shearer, is reportedly leaving the show after 26 seasons. Shearer beautifully breathes life into the personas of Montgomery Burns, Ned Flanders and Principal Skinner. On Wednesday night he announced his departure from the show, tweeting, "This because I wanted what we've always had: the freedom to do other work." As Variety reported, Simpsons Executive Producers Matt Groening, Al Jean and James L. Brooks released a statement that read, "Harry Shearer was offered the same deal the rest of the cast accepted, and passed. The show will go on and we wish him well. Maggie took it hard." Al Jean also said Shearer's iconic characters would be recast, saying, "Burns and Flanders will not die. They are great characters and will continue." After all this very public back-and-forth... why do we have a weird feeling that this issue is not really over? Fellow fans of Harry -- stay tuned! The Season 26 finale of The Simpsons airs Sunday night on Fox.

Chicken Dance Day

Today is officially "Chicken Dance Day".

I don't like to brag, but I so rarely have the credentials to claim expertise on a subject, I can't help myself today. You see, I was once a professional Chicken-dancer. This is a photo of me on stage with Landecker & the Legends leading the crowd in the Chicken Dance--which I did with the band for seven years. I once led a crowd of more than 30,000 people at Lambs Farm. My mother is very proud. She bought me the lederhosen.

Kris & Anthony, Pete & Eddie

I'm taking a Rick day today.Going to the Cubs game this afternoon, and then Pete Townshend and Eddie Vedder tonight. Hopefully the kids will figure out how to get into the house when they get home from school. If not, there's yardwork to be done.

Comedy Writing & Radio

Ken Levine is one of the greatest sitcom writers of all time. He wrote for every great sitcom you can name (which means none in the last ten years or so), including M*A*S*H, Cheers, Frazier, etc.

He also writes a great a blog that I read as often as I can. Today he analyzes a great radio talent.

This blog post is about Howard Stern.

First McDonalds

30 years ago today McDonald's turned the very first McDonald's into the world's very first fast-food museum. It's in Des Plaines, Illinois--about fifteen minutes from my house. I still drive by there all the time...

One Last Smooch

I strongly suspect Dave will never get a chance to do this to Julia Roberts again...

Another Reason Jon Stewart Will Be Missed

Another Fox News takedown last night. A really good one, with lots of video evidence.

This one is about Fox News' portrayal of poor people (leeches, sponges, and lazy), and their sactimonious denial of ever saying any such thing.

Green White Tryouts

I'm a proud lifelong member of this club...

Mad Men Marathon

This sounds like a great idea by AMC. They are running every single "Mad Men" episode the week leading up to the series finale. I think I may roll tape. I missed a few seasons along the way.

Chicago Radio Ratings, Part 2

From this morning's Tom Taylor column...

Question – what happens when you pull the usual FM simulcast (WCFS/105.9) away from CBS Radio’s all-news WBBM/780? Now that we’re in baseball season, we can answer the question, since the Cubs air only on the AM signal. Losing the simulcast is enough to drop WBBM to second place, 7.4-6.8-5.4. (Though no doubt the Cubs bring some nice additional billing to CBS.) The all-news FM by itself pulled a 2.2 share in this April book. #1 is iHeart’s urban AC “V103” WVAZ (6.3-6.5-6.9). Third is Hubbard’s hot AC “Mix” WTMX (5.2-5.6-5.2). Fourth place is a tie between CBS rhythmic “B96” WBBM-FM (3.9-3.9-4.0) and iHeart’s top 40 “Kiss” WKSC (4.2-4.2-4.0). Former Cubs flagship WGN, the talker owned by Tribune, holds 3.1-3.3-3.4. It’s just behind CBS Radio’s classic hits “K-Hits” WJMK (2.9-3.6-3.5). Meanwhile, Cumulus classic hits WLS-FM drops (3.7-3.4-2.6). These are not the best of times for iHeart’s urban WGCI (3.3-3.2-3.1). Chicago’s got a country rivalry, between CBS Radio’s “US99.5” WUSN (2.8-2.6-2.7) and iHeart challenger “Big Country” WEBG (1.7-2.3-2.0). The former WILV, Hubbard’s re-branded AC WSHE-FM, repeats its fourth straight 2.2 share. No updraft for Cumulus talker WLS, the new home of Jonathon Brandmeier and Steve Dahl (1.2-1.2-1.1). The Windy City’s cume leader is CHR “Kiss” at 1,354,800.

Verizon To Buy AOL For $4.4 Billion

Has there been a more over-valued company in history than AOL? How many corporations have nearly perished overpaying for them? When I saw this story this morning my first thought was..."AOL still exists?"

My second thought was $4.4 billion? Maybe the Bears should see if Verizon has any interest in Jay Cutler.

Happy Birthday Satisfaction

Mick and Keith wrote "Satisfaction" 50 years ago today. I'm thinking they've gotten their fair share of satisfaction since then...

George Carlin

If he were alive today, George Carlin would be celebrating his 78th birthday. I met George a few times, but the story below is my favorite George Carlin story...




In American politics we often hear talk of “Pre-9/11” thinking. This usually involves national security debates, but I'm here to tell you that Pre-9-11 thinking also existed in the world of comedy.

My story involves comedian George Carlin.

I’ve always considered him one of the finest comedians that ever lived. He was courageous, utterly unafraid of saying what he really thought, and was consistently funny for five decades.

When we had him on the John Landecker show, I was not disappointed. He came into the studio with guns blazing, trying out brand new material that he hoped to include in his upcoming HBO Special.

The tentative name of the special at the time? “I kind of like it when a lot of people die.”

The date of his appearance on our show? September 4, 2001.

His routine was shocking even then (in a pre-9/11 world), but it was laugh out loud funny. We were holding our sides as he recounted the way he cheers when stupid people die doing stupid things and how he roots that they take down as many stupid people as possible with them.

Landecker and Carlin began riffing about stupid ways for people to die, and after the hilarious segment was over, George asked if he could have a tape of it so that he could use some of the material in his special.

Our station management thought it was such a funny interview, they submitted the tape for that year’s Achievement in Radio Awards. The tape went into the mail on September 9, 2001.

Needless to say, we weren’t nominated that year.

When Carlin’s special eventually did come out on HBO, it had a brand new name. It was called “Complaints and Grievances.”

Not quite as catchy, is it?

Timing is everything.

John Oliver on Mother's Day

I Love Watching You Play

This is great advice for parents who have kids in youth sports. All of us fall short of this, but it's an incredibly noble goal. Try saying nothing other than "I love watching you play".

Waaaaay harder than it sounds, but wow is it good advice.

Chicago Radio Ratings

Robert Feder has the latest radio ratings for Chicago.

Among the news here: disappointing numbers for Brandmeier, encouraging uptick for McNeil & McMurray, NPR continues to surge, and WBBM's numbers go down in the afternoons after adding Cubs baseball.

Happy Mother's Day Bridget

My son Sean's team won a wet and rainy Mother's Day soccer game for their moms yesterday. Sean even scored a goal for Bridget (and his grandmother and godmother were both there too).