Record Breaker

According to the preliminary ratings, the USA-Japan game is the highest rated women's soccer game in history. Huge TV numbers.

It pulled a 15.2 overnight rating, which is even better than the 1999 championship game (13.3).

The details are here.

Even the Great Ones Got Cut

This is a must read article for all kids in youth sports who get cut from their teams. It's about six girls from the World Cup team who were also cut when they were younger, and used it to motivate them to greater heights. It's actually quite inspiring.

Trump is Lawyering Up

Is there anyone who spends more money on lawyers than Donald Trump?

Well, his latest comments about Mexicans and the fallout against his "brave truth telling" (actual words used to describe it by Fox and Friends) is about to lead to a bunch of lawsuits filed by the Donald. His lawyer was on the Sunday talk shows discussing their plans. The Hollywood Reporter has the details.

I suspect he won't win those lawsuits. Every contract has a clause allowing for actions like the ones taken by NBC and others. On the other hand, our legal system is notoriously unpredictable.

World Cup Champs!

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."

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.

Back in a Week

Very excited about the Hawks win. Feel blessed to have witnessed this great Blackhawks dynasty.

I'm taking a week off from the blog (not Blackhawks celebrating-related), but I'll be back in the saddle on June 24th.

Have a nice week!

Not a Good Start

According to TV Newser, in the first 10 minutes of John Dickerson's debut as the new host of Face the Nation (replacing Bob Schieffer), he lost 855,000 viewers.

And that's on a day Meet the Press was pre-empted by the French Open.

Ouch.

Dave Grohl Breaks Leg, Finishes Show

Why do people love Dave Grohl so much? Here's another reason, from Rolling Stone...

It takes a special kind of commitment to keep entertaining a crowd of thousands on a freshly-broken leg, but Dave Grohl is dedicated to his fans. The Foo Fighters frontman took a catastrophic tumble off the stage during a concert in Gothenburg, Sweden on Friday, forcing him into a surprisingly brief hiatus to seek medical assistance, as the BBC reports...He then handed the show over to drummer Taylor Hawkins, who led the band in a set of covers in Grohl's absence. About an hour later, Grohl returned to the stage on a stretcher, with the assistance of two medics. They set him down on a chair, from which he proceeded to rock for another two-and-a-half hours.

Incredible.

More Info on WDCB Case

From Tom Taylor's NOW column this morning...

At Chicago’s WDCB, there were warnings about an engineer who ripped off a previous employer. That’s what the Chicago Tribune says about a situation that’s turned ugly for the College of DuPage, operator of non-com “Jazz 90.9” WDCB Glen Ellyn. The February 20 NOW had the story about an auditor finding at least $90,000 worth of transmitter parts that were ordered but never installed. And hundreds of thousands of dollars of possibly fictitious work billed by an outside firm owned by station engineer John Valenta. Turns out Valenta had been accused of similar misbehavior at Elmhurst College, and that at least some people at the College of DuPage should’ve known. The Tribune says “In March 2011, a station employee informed [then-GM] Scott Wager that she had seen a news report about the criminal investigation of Valenta’s activities at Elmhurst. She said Wager ‘looked like a ghost.’” A new report by an outside law firm says “It appears most likely that Wager was made aware” of the Elmhurst situation “and quieted the matter by failing to notify his superiors and preventing a police investigation from opening.” Wager retired in February 2014.

Just As Long As the Cubs Are Playing

New Cubs song from Terry Carroll. Not bad...

Great Message

We're going to have to get a few of these signs made up...

Cubs vs. Sox

This is excellent...(I know it's a few years old, but it stands up)

Chicago vs. Chicago: Round 1 from Craig Robinson

"Chicago's Just Not Home"

As if Jay Cutler wasn't unpopular enough in Chicago, his wife Kristin Cavallari told Elle Magazine that she and Jay want to move to Nashville soon because: “Jay Hates LA. And Chicago’s just not home.”

You can rip the team, the management, and the coach, but when you rip the city...Goodbye now. Sorry, but that's the one unforgivable sin. You know Jay read that and said..."Oh for cryin' out loud, honey. Please stop trying to help."

Another Victory for Net Neutrality

The broadcasting/broadband giants tried one last time to block the new FCC rule of Net Neutrality (which is something that anyone with a brain is in favor of) from being enacted, but the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington said no.

That means Net Neutrality begins today!

How will that change the internet? It won't change it in the slightest. That was the whole point.

Opponents of Net Neutrality (the broadband giants and the Republicans they pay to say what they want them to say) will now say that innovation will be stifled. The only innovation that will be stifled is the innovative new way they wanted to gouge you.

Of course, this battle will never truly be over. You can bet they will take this all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary. They really, really, really want to gouge you.

FIFA Fires PR Chief for Joke

The PR director of FIFA, Walter de Gregorio, was on Swiss television and said the following joke...

Q: The FIFA president, Sepp Blatter, the director of communications and the general secretary are all sitting in a car. Who is driving?

A: The police.

Not bad, actually. Good to see that Sepp Blatter has been humbled and has learned to laugh at himself. He responded by immediately firing the PR chief.

Sorry Walter, but Seppy's still in charge. Maybe the new guy (if he or she is ever elected) will take you back.

EU Investigates Amazon for Anti-Trust in E-books

They could just as easily investigate them for that here. If the way they have this e-book thing set up is not a monopoly, I'd like to know what is.

Details of the investigation are here.

Amazon's reaction to the investigation is represented by the photograph.

Rupert is Stepping Down

This is shocking. Rupert Murdoch (photo) is supposedly making the announcement soon that he will stepping down as the CEO of 21st Century Fox. He will remain the chairman (much like Sumner Redstone did at CBS and Viacom), but will share the job with co-chairman Lachlan Murdoch (his oldest son). His youngest son James is set to become the new CEO.

His daughter Elizabeth is SOL. (He told you not to marry that liberal, honey, but did you listen?)

Details are here.

Is the Golden Age of Advertising Over?

That seems to be the conclusion of this piece from today's Radio Ink...

This year, online media moved to the top of the local media food chain, taking the largest share of ad budgets of any other media. It was a position held by newspapers since 1704. Borrell says over the next 12 months, the gap will almost certainly widen to the point that all traditional advertising channels — print, broadcast, outdoor and mail — begin to look like niche support mechanisms to a local businesses’ digital marketing plan. "We are clearly at the end of Golden Age of Advertising. Both the present and future belong to digital and the targeting capabilities it offers. We are witnessing the dawn of the Golden Age of Geomarketing. It’s a complicated environment, but the good news is that millions of local businesses are in need of marketing leadership. Their digital savviness is lacking, as we outline in this report, and they yearn for someone with a marketing plan that makes sense of it all."

Wow. That's not a tremor, that's a full-fledged earthquake.

Public Radio Digital Listening Habits

Nieman Lab has done a study of public radio listening habits and discovered that more and more NPR fans are turning to podcasts and less and less of them are choosing streaming.

I think this is not a surprising trend. NPR listeners have really been on the vanguard of podcast listening for years now, and I think the main reason for that is the type of shows NPR airs. Each show is a content island; a short thematic program in bite-sized pieces.

I think this is probably the future of talk radio. Something just the right length for walking the dog or taking a short jog.