Minutia Men, Episode 85

EP85: Rick and Dave discuss potholes, parents versus kids at election time, Olympic oddities, meanies yelling at our EPA director, girls playing baseball, and Rick’s brush with Bo Derek.

You can listen to it here.

Credit is Due

I watched Trump's listening session at the White House yesterday, and I must say I was impressed. He clearly didn't invite the most outspoken critics, but he did have people there from previous shootings, and he did appear to be listening to them. He even seemed sympathetic/empathetic. Then I saw his notes...(Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post)



Let's just say the sympathy/empathy thing doesn't come naturally to him. Still, I give him credit for at least pretending.

LATE UPDATE: I take it back. Watched the news today and now he's focusing on arming teachers and says he won't upset the NRA. He is who we thought he was. Credit revoked.

Social Media Beginning to be Responsible

Yesterday Twitter eliminated thousands of Russian bot accounts.

Today YouTube finally took down that ridiculous conspiracy video claiming the kids in Florida were actors.

Now tha we know for a fact that a foreign power is coming in to America to do stuff like this, the social media companies have the moral authority to act. Glad to see at least a few of them are doing it.

Paging Mark Suppelsa

When I heard that Sinclair would have to sell off Channel 9 in order to comply with FCC rules, I celebrated. I'm guessing Mark Suppelsa stopped in mid wood-chop somewhere up in Montana and said "What did I just hear?" Unfortunately, it doesn't mean what I thought it meant. From this morning's Robert Feder column...

Sinclair Broadcast Group plans to sell WGN-Channel 9 and stations in New York and San Diego to comply with ownership limits as part of its amended $3.9 billion proposed merger with Tribune Media, according to a filing Wednesday with the FCC. But that doesn’t mean it won’t be taking over “Chicago’s Very Own.” Even if Sinclair transfers the license for WGN, the company still plans to operate it (and the two other divested stations) under “shared services agreements” with separate licensees. “It’ll be one of those arrangements where, for all intents and purposes, they still own and run the stations,” said a former FCC staffer, who called it “a complete and total evasion of the rules.” In any case, Sinclair is expected to own Tribune Media news/talk WGN AM 720 outright. The controversial merger still awaits FCC and Justice Department approval.

Chicago Radio Ratings

From Tom Taylor's NOW column...

Chicago shows a total re-set from the Holiday book. iHeart’s AC WLIT tumbles (8.5-12.4-3.4). It’s one of a gaggle of stations tied for sixth place. New #1 is iHeart’s urban AC WVAZ (5.7-5.7-6.8, and #1 everywhere except #3-ranked mornings). Second is Hubbard’s recovered-from-Christmas hot AC WTMX (5.5-4.3-5.4 and a daypart #1 thanks to “Eric in the Morning with Melissa & Whip”). Third is Entercom’s newish classic hip-hop/throwbacks “104.3 Jams” WBMX (4.4-5.4-4.8). It’s tied for second in afternoons, and second at night and on Saturday/Sunday. Fourth for the week is Entercom’s news WBBM/WCFS (4.7-4.5-4.7, and second in mornings/third at night). The pack below that starts with Univision’s regional Mexican WOJO (3.7-3.3-3.5), and then comes that gaggle at a 3.4, with WLIT, sister CHR “Kiss” WKSC (3.1-3.2-3.4) and Entercom’s country WUSN (3.7-3.2-3.4). If you’re watching country, iHeart’s “Big” 24th-place WEBG moves 1.6-1.5-2.0. Nice post-Christmas bounceback for Hubbard’s classic rock “Drive” WDRV (3.0-2.5-3.3), which ties with Tribune’s talk WGN (2.7-2.8-3.3). WLIT sheds much of its Holiday-book cume (3.1 million to almost 1.7 million). New #1 cume station is hot AC “Mix” WTMX at just over 1.7 million.

He Lied to Lyle Lovett

Eckhartz Press author Brent Petersen ("Truffle Hunt") has a great blog worth checking out. I particularly like this new post, I Lied to Lyle Lovett. If you like behind-the-scenes celebrity tales, this is a good one. And I'm not just saying that because I'm (incredibly briefly) mentioned in it.

The kids in Florida are not actors

When the Sandy Hook massacre happened, and the parents became thoughtful and powerful anti-gun advocates, Alex Jones and infowars claimed the shooting was a false flag operation, faked to make gun owners look bad. He wasn't run out of the country on a rail, he became an informal advisor to President Trump.

When this latest school shooting happened, and the teenagers ended up being thoughtful and articulate, a YouTube video emerged calling the students actors, and FBI plants. (This has been promoted by Russian bots, and now has tens of thousands of views). This time, a Florida politician's staffer tried to use the video to say gun laws were not needed.

He was fired.

Let's hope we are learning from our past mistakes.

Sky News

Fox News is such a toxic brand worldwide that it's already banned in the UK for being fake/slanted news (really). And now that the owner of Fox News (Rupert Murdoch, photo) wants to buy the biggest cable outfit in Europe (Sky-TV), regulators are balking. Sky News is the biggest independent non-partisan news outlet in Europe.

According to Variety, Murdoch has to promise not to touch the editorial of Sky News if he wants to buy the parent company. Rupert's counter offer is that he won't touch it for ten years.

It's good to see that Europe has learned from what he has done to America.

Newsweek Publishes Expose About Itself

When you hire and fire writers, you live and die by the pen. Newsweek Magazine discovered that this week. There were layoffs, editors quit, writers resigned, and three investigative journalists looked deep into the company's finances to discover what was causing all the problems.

The Washington Post has the story.

Back in Town

I was out of town for the long weekend, skiing with my brother's family up in Michigan. Back in the office today. Ready to rock...

It's not a hoax. It's not a witch hunt.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller indicts 13 Russians and 3 Russian entities for interfering in our election.

Yowza. This shit just got real.

The next time someone says "hoax" or "witch hunt" you will know you're dealing with someone completely divorced from reality.

Another Affair, Another Coverup

This is the backstory of the Playboy model who sold her story about a nine-month affair with Trump to the National Enquirer. The Enquirer is owned by Trump's friend. And the allegation here is that he (and a lawyer affiliated with Trump) bought the story to silence her. Same hotel in Beverly Hills as Stormy Daniels used.

By the way, did you hear that Stormy has a DNA sample on the dress she wore the night she spent with Trump? My parody muscles are starting to twitch. Mitch Ryder, take it away...

Porn star with a gold dress, gold dress, gold dress, Porn star with a Gold dress on.

Tambor Dropped from "Transparent"

This is a good news, bad news story for me. Bummed that Tambor is gone. But happy the show remains. I can understand the reasons he is gone. The Hollywood Reporter discusses those here.

It says something about the strength of the show that they can overcome the departure of the star. Lots of great characters in this show, including the part played by Amy Landecker.

FCC Investigates Chairman

Unfortunately, they aren't investigating Net Neutrality ruling (yet). This is about the very fishy rule change about cross-ownership that no-one was asking for, which immediately led to a lucrative Sinclair broadcasting deal.

The top internal watchdog for the F.C.C. opened an investigation into whether Chairman Pai had pushed for and timed the deal to benefit Sinclair.

The answer is yes, of course. The question is, can they prove it?

When Trump said "Drain the swamp" did you take that to mean get rid of people watching out for you and give everything to the rich whenever and wherever they want it? If so, you are getting exactly what he promised.

Rizzo at Florida Memorial

Anthony Rizzo gave a beautiful speech at his alma mater last night. It's clear that he too was touched by the tragedy...

Minutia Men, Episode 84

EP84: Rick and Dave discuss comfort animals, Valentine’s day minutia, band name mishaps, and Rick’s brush with Warren Zevon.

Click here to listen

Steve Kerr Speaks Sense

The Warriors' Steve Kerr with a strong statement on gun reform after the latest tragedy in Florida

'It doesn't seem to matter to our government that children are being shot to death, day after day in schools...'

(via @ChrisBHaynes + @espn) pic.twitter.com/5VThLuCt4d

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) February 15, 2018

My old boss Dave Logan speaks sense too...

@ABC @NBCNews @CBSNews @CNN @MSNBC This would be a good day to juxtapose these items on your screens instead of another loop of kids running from the shooter. pic.twitter.com/6JN6AF951t

— Dave Logan (@theloganshow) February 15, 2018

Rizzo's Alma Mater

This understandably didn't get mentioned in the coverage of the shooting yesterday, but Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida is also the alma mater of Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo.

He was clearly shaken up by the news.

Parkland and Coral Springs please stay strong! This is out of control and and our country is in desperate need for change. I hope In this darkest of times back home this brings everyone together and we can find love. You’re all in my prayers 🙏🏻🙏🏻

— Anthony Rizzo (@ARizzo44) February 14, 2018

It's a new radio world

All of my radio producer friends will read this story with great interest. From this morning's Tom Taylor NOW column...

WBUR Boston-based talk-host Tom Ashbrook is fired for “an abusive work environment.” He’s not accused of sexual misconduct or sexual harassment – but “verbal assaults, intimidating actions, consistent bullying and unwanted touching,” says Boston University-owned not-for-profit news/talk WBUR/90.9. While Ashbrook says the decision “is profoundly unfair to me and the listeners who are such a part of” his fast-paced current-events show, “On Point.” To Ashbrook, management “failed in their responsibility to effectively address these issues when they arose, when they could have been more easily resolved.” Management admits it “repeatedly” talked with the host over the years. Boston’s WCVB-TV says BU hired both an outside law firm and a consulting firm to investigate the allegations of 11 men and women who’d worked around the show. The WBUR news department’s own story says “several producers said they were told or led to believe that they would lose their job and have trouble finding similar work elsewhere if they pursued complaints about Ashbrook.” Now he’s gone, from the NPR-distributed show that airs on about 290 stations.

You know what we used to call the environment described above? Tuesday. Seriously. I wrote a whole chapter in the Radio Producer's Handbook about how to deal with it. It was once the norm.

Not that that's right. It's just the way it was.

Stormy Unmuzzled

With the recent revelations that Michael Cohen paid off Stormy Daniels for her silence, lawyers for Stormy are saying that the non-disclosure agreement is null and void. (This has led to further problems for Trump and his lawyer)

My ever-enterprising business partner David Stern has acquired the URL "Tart of the Deal" just in case she wants to write a book. I was pushing for "Make America Felate Again", but I think Dave's title is better.

Working on a parody of the song "Stormy Weather". Just in it's infancy...

Don't know why,
One hundred thirty grand can't buy,
Stormy Daniels.

There are days when I miss being on the radio. It reminds me a little of the Clinton days. That was comedy nirvana for me. (Even though I voted for the guy)

Although, I must say, the Trumpsters are a humorless bunch. You should read the replies on my facebook page when Dave and I were joking about this yesterday. If we have come to a point when we can't joke about an affair between the president and a pornstar, you have to question the future of comedy in general.

White Sox on WGN

I know one person who is super excited about this news. WGN's Super-Sox fan Wendy Snyder, who celebrated a birthday on Monday. What a great birthday present...

Just announced: WGN Radio is the new radio home of the @whitesox! https://t.co/XAKUyCcKOp pic.twitter.com/2oBuZnb5fs

— WGN Radio News (@WGNRadioNews) February 14, 2018

Cameo

Available for pre-order beginning today! "Cameo" by Beth Jacobellis. The latest book from Eckhartz Press.

The future looms mysteriously in front of Samantha Ricks, who at the young age of twenty-three, finds herself at a crossroads. Through resilient friendship, tremendous loss and a true love that transcends the hands of time, Samantha’s destiny unfolds while a simple piece of jewelry becomes the unexpected link between the present and the past.

You can pre-order it here.

Chicago Architecture Tour

If you've never been, you really should go. I've gone about a dozen times with out-of-towners in for a visit, and I'll probably go another dozen times...(Great photo by Barry Butler)

Congrats to the Chicago Architecture River Cruise on Chicago's First Lady being named the #2 Most Popular Attraction in the World by TripAdvisor. pic.twitter.com/wWVcsdoiMA

— Barry Butler (@barrybutler9) February 13, 2018

Trump's Lawyer

There still may be official denials from Trump, but Trump's lawyer admits that he paid Stormy Daniels $130,000. In fact, he says he paid her out of his own pocket.

My old Loop pal Pugs Moran had a great retort about that on Twitter last night...

Nothing to see here. This is all very normal. Attorneys pay settlements out of their own pockets all the time. This is why everyone loves lawyers. Cuz they do stuff like this.

— Snark Twain (@pugsandco) February 14, 2018

Steve Dahl

From this morning's RAMP newsletter...



Cumulus Media Chicago just launched a clever marketing campaign to salute market legend Steve Dahl's 40 incredible years in radio. Dahl, who currently does afternoon drive on News-Talk WLS-AM, is featured on this awesome billboard in a vintage photo with John "Bluto" Belushi, and any self-respecting Animal House fan will immediately recognize that immortal tagline... part of that classic sequence when Bluto rants, "Over? Did you say 'over?' Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!" Otter: "Germans?" Boon: "Forget it, he's rolling." Bluto: "And it ain't over now."

Congratulations to Steve for that incredible accomplishment.

Landecker's Diploma

I'll have the full story in the next issue of the Illinois Entertainer, but if you want to read more about this special day, the Grand Valley Lanthorn has the story here.

Robert Feder also mentioned it in his column today. Here's what he wrote...

John Records Landecker, another Chicago radio legend and National Radio Hall of Famer, was surprised last week to receive a diploma from Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, Michigan — 50 years after he’d dropped out to pursue his broadcast dreams. Landecker had been invited to speak to students about his autobiography, Records Truly Is My Middle Name, when Dean Frederick Antczac and Len O’Kelly, assistant professor of multimedia journalism, presented the diploma. “I came in a dropout. I’m walking out a graduate.” Landecker quipped.

The Sweetest Words

Bill Holub is an old friend and colleague from my days at the Loop. My first year writing this blog (Twelve years ago!) I asked him to write about a phrase he used to utter every year in the hallways of the Loop when he heard that spring training was beginning. He called it "The Sweetest Words in the English Language." It's become a tradition to repost his piece every year on that momentous day.

Today's the day for the Cubs!

And this year I can barely contain my excitement...again.




THE SWEETEST WORDS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
By Bill Holub

“Pitchers and catchers report”.

These are indeed the sweetest words in the English language. Friends have been hearing me recite this every year at this time. I once had an old poker playing friend who used to say the sweetest words have always been “I’ll play these”. This is the same friend who couldn’t win even when dealt a pat hand. That however is a story for another time and place, where an explanation of the relationship between the quantity of beer consumed, what the cards in your hand really look like and the amount of money you bet can be fully explored. It’s really something scientists should be looking at.

In the meantime, I apologize to all those who came here looking for a sentimental dialogue on romance. I’m sorry to say it but the sweetest words in the English language are not “I love you”. Now that I think of it, this may instead be a sentimental dialogue on romance and baseball.

It’s funny how the two always converge around Valentine’s Day. Spring fever is referred to as that time of year when things start to bloom as the weather changes and love is in the air. It is no coincidence that this is the same time the baseball season opens and brings hope to all of us diehard baseball romantics.

My love affair with baseball was re-ignited in 1987-88. There was only one place to catch baseball highlights from all over the major leagues back then. Once a week you could tune in to “This Week In Baseball” with good ol’ Mel Allen. During those two seasons I was hooked into witnessing two West Coast baseball Gods embodied in the forms of a young Mark Mcgwire and Jose Canseco. This is before anyone had ever heard of andro, anabolics and the other chemical cocktails that have since cast a pall over these two. Back then, I was treated week in and week out to mammoth sized home runs flying out of every ballpark in the country. The fact that these home runs were being hit by players wearing what my brother and I had always considered the coolest looking baseball uniforms in the world (the Oakland A’s green and gold) had me embracing the game I grew up on all over again.

By 1989 I was so hooked on this game I even started collecting baseball cards again, although as much as an investor as a fanboy. I also started another nasty habit that impacts my life to this day. That is when I started a fantasy baseball league with a bunch of guys at work. 1989 also happened to be a division winning season for my beloved Cubs, so I was in baseball heaven and haven’t looked back since.

THE NATIONAL PASTIME

I think we can honestly say that baseball is no longer the national pastime in this country. It has been supplanted by football. I can accept that. Although I would insist the true national pastime is gambling, which is the driving force that makes football the number one spectator sport in America. I suppose I could go off on a George Carlin type of rant here on the differences between football and baseball, but that’s not why I’m writing this piece.

I just want to point out there is one major difference between the two and that is commitment. I’m talking about the commitment between baseball fans and football fans. Football is a four month season requiring your undivided attention one day a week, or two if you’re both a college and pro fan. Baseball is a six month season requiring your undivided attention throughout with your favorite team(s) playing as many as five or more games a week.

Baseball is a commitment. I believe it carries as much of a commitment as love. They both require dedication and attention. They can both go awry despite the best laid plans. An early swan dive in the standings in May that ends a team’s season before it even had a chance can be just as painful as not having your phone calls returned after the second or third date. Meanwhile an October champagne shower celebrating a pennant or World Series championship is as sweet and memorable as a ‘yes’ to a question posed on one knee.

BASEBALL AND THE CINEMA

Once that warm baseball is back feeling starts sinking in every year, I like to get fully immersed by throwing myself into my favorite baseball movies before the games actually begin. This is my form of spring training.

You’ve got your “Bull Durham”, “Field Of Dreams”, “Major League” (only the first one, please), but there is one movie that hits me in the right spot. “City Slickers” is not a real baseball movie per se, but there’s one scene that remains among my all-time favorites. It’s where the three friends (Billy Crystal, Daniel Stern and Bruno Kirby) are on the cattle drive and passing the time by discussing their favorite baseball memories. Billy Crystal remembers the first time his father took him to Yankee Stadium as a kid and how he had never seen grass that green before. Mickey Mantle even hit a home run that day. Daniel Stern recalls how growing up he and his father never saw eye to eye, but they could always talk about baseball with each other. “We always had baseball” he says.

As for me, one of my earliest baseball memories was getting to take the day off of school with my brother because my Dad got opening day tickets to Wrigley Field. I still remember wearing our warmest winter coats and knit hats, waiting to sit down while the Andy Frain usher brushed the snow off our seats. They don’t make Aprils in Chicago like that any more.

THE SWEETEST SOUND

There is a sound that accompanies the words “pitchers and catchers report”. It is the sound of a ball popping into a mitt. The sound of a simple game of catch. It is more than the crack of a bat sound. The sound of a mitt popping brings the memories and feelings of a lifetime of baseball flooding your senses all at once. It happens every time, whether it’s major leaguers or just a game of catch with your dad or your kid. The week pitchers and catchers report there are no cracking bats, only popping mitts. The sweetest sound in the world. “Pitchers and catchers report”. The sweetest words in the English language.

How different will WGN be after Sinclair purchase?

For one thing, I'm guessing WGN News directors were never asked to contribute to the company's political action committee.

Buckle up, fellas and gals. They may be saying there will be no changes, but if that's true, it will be the first time ever for Sinclair.

Meet our latest author

My favorite part of being a publisher is the day we meet with the authors to give them the very first copy of their books. Yesterday we met with our latest author Beth Jacobellis who is holding the first copy of her upcoming Eckhartz Press book "Cameo".

It will be available for pre-order beginning tomorrow. Congrats to Beth!

Another war against PBS/NPR

From this morning's NOW newsletter...

President Trump again proposes to zero out funding for public radio and TV. The White House will likely run into the same phalanx of defenders that have guarded the Corporation for Public Broadcasting since the Newt Gingrich attacks of the 1990s. (Gingrich used to say that “public broadcasting” meant what the public likes. Therefore “Rush Limbaugh is public broadcasting.”) The Trump budget argues that “Services such as PBS and NPR, which receive funding from CPB, could make up the shortfall by increasing revenues from corporate sponsors, foundations and members.” It estimates that CPB funding makes up “about 15% of the total amount spent on public broadcasting” – but for many smaller pubradio stations, that percentage is much higher. They’d be threatened by a pullback of federal funds with which to create their own programming or buy “Morning Edition” from NPR, the “Classical 24” service from APM, etc. Variety reports the White House budget plan, which would eliminate the $445 million that’s flowed to CPB each of the last several years.

Not the way to start spring training

This probably wasn't the headline the Cubs wanted to see on the day that pitchers and catchers report: Iowa Cubs pitcher arrested after accidental shooting kills a coach

I guess the Cubs really did sign Darvish

This is the way you know. The jersey is now available...

Best Pope Ever

A girl with Down syndrome, got up during a regular papal service & went toward @Pontifex
Security men quickly moved in 2 take her back to her mom. The Pope stopped them & said to her "come sit next to me.” She then sat down near him and he continued his homily, holding her hands pic.twitter.com/2QziweDRPX

— TradCatFem🌹🙏🌹 (@TradCatFem) February 11, 2018

Chicago Writer's Association Conference

Attention fellow writers! The conference is less than a month away and only a limited number of seats are still available. There have been a few changes so check out the final conference schedule here, and read more about our presenters - it's a terrific line-up packed with professionals from Chicago, New York and beyond.

And, watch for an email with a special opportunity from best-selling author David Fisher who has generously agreed to mentor an attendee and get a manuscript in front of an agent. Really!

At the Saturday evening dinner you'll have a chance to network with fellow writers, conference presenters and CWA board members, and we will hear from Fred Mitchell, award-winning sportswriter (the first African-American sportswriter hired by the Chicago Tribune), author of 11 books, journalist and Hall of Famer, who will talk about his 41-year writing career and the people he has met along the way. (Please note that the dinner is an additional fee.)

As a member of the Chicago Writer's Association board, I will be there too. Looking forward to it!

Register soon.

Russian Bots & Fake News

You probably saw the story about how many fake news stories were shared by Russian bots during the election of 2016. The vast majority of those became part of the conservative news bloodstream.

According to Snopes, the Russian bots were largely responsible for pushing the Release the Memo hashtag, and are currently pushing anti-FBI and anti-Adam Schiff memes.

That's right, they are doing it RIGHT NOW. The Russians are still messing with our democracy.

Now Devin Nunes is creating his own "alternative news" site. He's already proven what kind of "news" he believes is true. Just wait and see how many Russian bots share those stories.

This is not a "both sides do it" phenomenon. Only one side is doing it, and they are doing it with the help of the Russians.

Yet the President still doesn't believe (or won't admit) the Russians intervened in 2016. He also claims anyone in the media that doesn't support him (which is most media--because he is a terrible president) is Fake News. And he's pushing that with the help of the Russians. RIGHT NOW.

If you believe the polls, 40% of the country is now on the same side of the Russians.

I'm sure Ronald Reagan would be very proud.

Dennis Miller

The former SNL cast member and radio host is coming back to radio...for one minute at a time. From the RAMP Newsletter...

Proving the old adage that yes, really can go home again, Westwood One proudly announces today's debut of The Miller Minute, two daily one-minute programs featuring Emmy Award-winning comic, writer, author and talk show host Dennis Miller. The Miller Minute launches today on more than 60 stations across this great land, including WMAL/Washington, WLS-AM/Chicago and KLFE-AM/Seattle. This new venture marks Miller's return to radio -- he previously hosted a highly successful weekday talk show on Westwood One for eight years.

Will FCC Fine NBC?

With a Republican in charge of FCC, there are no rules for media businesses in terms of anti-trust or buying/selling/making money. They do not regulate what the FCC was created to regulate in the slightest. However, they DO regulate speech, especially bad words. And there might be a big network in trouble in that regard. From this morning's NOW column...

Does NBC have a fleeting-expletive problem from the Olympics? The first U.S. competitor to win gold was also the first to unleash both the F-word and the S-word, while being interviewed as his scores were flashing on the screen. Gold medal-winning Red Gerard dropped both a “WTF” reaction and an unholy S-word, says Vanity Fair. Probably not an unusual reaction for 17-year-old on the world stage, but no doubt NBC producers and interviewers will be cautioning athletes for the next two weeks. And no doubt FCC Chair Ajit Pai will have some filed comments to look at, this morning. The Parents Television Council not only makes it easy for offended audience members to file complaints at the FCC, it also tells you what the organization itself has complained about. And mostly, over the last couple of years, it’s the Fox TV “Family Guy” show. Though the site does run this lead item – “Thanks, Justin! Overall, the Super Bowl was pretty safe for families.” We’ll see what they think about the Olympics. Knock on wood – the FCC’s hasn’t issued an actual indecency fine against a radio station since 2004. It’s held up a couple of station sales until a settlement was made. But it hasn’t laid down an outright fine. (Of course the FCC doesn’t regulate cable channels, so no enforcement action possible on NBC Sports Net or USA.)

Cowboy Sammy

Glad to see you’ve finally ridden off into the sunset, Sammy. #VayaConDios pic.twitter.com/sxvS9EhOtu

— Dave Wischnowsky (@wischlist) February 11, 2018

Minutia Men, Episode 83

EP83 – Rick and Dave discuss McDonald’s fries curing baldness, the biggest dick on the Eagles, a Goodwill gift for the ages, a Cubs gangster, and Rick’s brush with comedian Tim Allen.

Listen to it here.

6 inches

Get your mind out of the gutter. That's how much snow we got last night. The boys are out there shoveling right now. We're expecting two more waves of snow over the weekend--up to another foot.

Photos from yesterday's John Landecker Graduation

The whole thing was a secret. John Landecker thought he was going to Grand Valley State University (the college he attended in the mid-60s) to do a Q&A session about his book "Records Truly Is My Middle Name". That happened...but when it was winding down, the Dean of the university came in and gave John his surprise. They had accumulated his college credits from all the schools he attended, and awarded him his last few hours because of an independent writing assignment (his book), and it turned out he had enough credits to finally graduate...53 years after he took his first class.

I will have the full report in next month's Illinois Entertainer, but in the meantime here are a few photos...

Lee Kingsmill on WGN

In many ways, the Nick Digilio show was the perfect place for Lee Kingsmill to talk about his memoir "Safe Inside". The two men share a love of movies and the old movie palaces as you can hear in this podcast taken from DiGilio's Thursday's morning show.

Listen to it here.

On Assignment

I'm on assignment the next two days working on my March column for the Illinois Entertainer. It's an exciting story, and I'll share the details when I finish it.

In the meantime, I'll be taking a two-day break on the blog. Back on Friday.

The latest episode of Minutia Men will drop tomorrow at it's usual time.

Insight into the Hairdo

It's a miracle of modern science, but you can get a glimpse into how Trump does it after watching the wind take it in this video...

imagine what those locks look like soaking wet pic.twitter.com/mIz0oetAYd

— Ashley Feinberg (@ashleyfeinberg) February 7, 2018

Homering on first MLB pitch

There have been 30 players in history to hit a homer on their very first pitch in the big leagues. Two of them are Cubs, including the most recent one to do it, Willson Contreras in 2016. (I was there for that game--it was Father's Day)

Of the 30, 15 did it last century, 15 have done it since the turn of this century.

The full list and their stories are here.

Radio Hall of Fame

From this morning's RAMP Newsletter...

The 30th Annual National Radio Hall of Fame Induction ceremony and celebration is moving to New York City in mid-November. From now through March 30, the NRHOF Nominating Committee is accepting suggestions for 2018 nominees. Kraig Kitchin, Chairman of the National Radio Hall of Fame, commented, "We're looking forward to celebrating this milestone anniversary in New York City. As we prepare for the special evening, it's our priority to provide everyone the opportunity to be a part of it, starting with suggestions for our 2018 nominees."

Suggestions should be made for individuals in the following categories: Longstanding Local/Regional (20 years or more), Active Local/Regional (10 years or more), Networks/Syndication (10 years or more), Longstanding Network/Syndication (20 years or more), Music Format On-Air Personality, and/or Spoken Word On-Air Personality. Leading radio imaging and production company The Mix Group is the presenting sponsor of the National Radio Hall of Fame Induction ceremony.

To submit your chosen candidates for consideration, visit radiohof.org and click on the NOMINATE tab.

Last year I nominated John Landecker, and it actually worked! (I suspect, however, that I wasn't the only one who did so).

Safe Inside

Eckhartz Press author Lee Kingsmill taped an interview last night with WGN Radio's Nick Digilio. It will air either tonight or tomorrow night on Nick's overnight show.

When I get the podcast link, I'll post it.

Lee's book is incredible, and it appears that Nick was quite taken with it. I understand why. I was quite taken by it too.

I blame Fox News

Seriously, I do. They have conspiracy theory nonsense on in prime time and do not differentiate it from their two or three actual journalists. Right wing fans (even smart ones) start believing crap that if they thought about it for a few moments, would realize is completely insane. The result is this...

Fake news sharing in US is a rightwing thing, says study https://t.co/QJY447XFXS

— Charlie Sykes (@SykesCharlie) February 7, 2018

SpaceX Launch

This was one of the coolest things I've ever seen. It reminded me of the excitement I felt as a youngster during the Apollo days. The most incredible part to me was the landing of booster rockets back on earth. Incredible...

A Rumor You Wouldn't Deny

According to Deadspin, word from the Eagles locker room is that quarterback Nick Foles has a giant pecker.

His nickname in college, again according to Deadspin, was "Big Dick Nick" and "Footlong Foles"

Needless to say, Foles has not denied this report.

Heinie Zimmermann

A great Cubs player, but a notorious one. He was run out of baseball for cheating, and he ended up working for New York gangster Dutch Schultz.

A beautiful #oldschool #Cubs uniform worn by the relatively forgotten INF Heinie Zimmerman. In 1912 he became the 1st unofficial Triple Crown winner in the NL (RBIs were not yet an official stat). See his @sabr bio https://t.co/gX8D1GD0NS @Cubs pic.twitter.com/So8wK8CFca

— SABR BioProject (@SABRbioproject) February 6, 2018

RIP John Mahoney

John Mahoney passed away yesterday at the age of 77. His friends at the Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago were so upset yesterday they cancelled the night's performance and hung out at the bar in the lobby, toasting their good friend.

I met John several times over the years. The Chicago-area native was a down-to-earth nice guy--exactly like you'd expect if you've him on television and films.

I know most of the tributes to him over the past 24 hours have been about his great role on Frasier (including this touching one by Frasier writer/director Ken Levine), but to me, I will always remember him as the manager of the Chicago Black Sox in the movie "Eight Men Out"...

JRL on WGN

In case you missed it last night, John Landecker was on WGN Radio with Justin Kaufmann. Great interview. You can listen to it here.

Art Imitates Life

Donald Trump's favorite show was skewered on Saturday Night...

And this morning, Trump proved the point of the skit.

Thank you to @foxandfriends for exposing the truth. Perhaps that’s why your ratings are soooo much better than your untruthful competition!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 5, 2018

It's impossible to be a satirist these days.