Chicago Radio Spotlight: Rich Koz

This week at Chicago Radio Spotlight, I interview the legendary "Svengoolie," Rich Koz. You can read the entire interview here.

An inferiority complex

That's what the AP headline says the Cubs have. I'd say the headline is all wrong, but the article is a pretty accurate assessment.

You can read the version the USA Today printed here.

Cremating the Curse!

If you're out and about on Sunday and looking for something to do, how about coming out to a funeral home for a fun event? That's right. You read that correctly.

It's being staged by George Rawlinson, the publisher of "Cubbie Blues: 100 years of waiting til next year." George is staging this event at Michael's Funeral Home in Schaumburg, and he's calling it "CREMATING THE CURSE!"

Comedian Tom Dreesen will MC the event, and an array of notable local Cubs celebrities will be on hand to deliver eulogies for the 100 years of losing (including me), as we actually cremate artifacts from the various different Cubs curses I've written about on this site, including Merkle, the Revenge of Martin Luther, the Goat, the Black Cat, and every other curse we can think of. (I found two new ones for my eulogy...we're taking no chances).

Please come on out and enjoy the festivities. It's a worthwhile fundraising event for Chicago Baseball Cancer Charities. All of the details about this event are here at the Can't Miss Press website.

Of course she's a Cubs fan

Presented without comment...


Hot Chick Loves The Cubs - Watch more Funny Videos

Three years ago today

How much has the world changed in three years?

On this date in 2006, George Bush threw out the first pitch at the Cubs opening day game and met Cubs manager Dusty Baker in the dugout.

Who do you miss more?

Watch the video here.

Marlon Brando

If he were alive today, he'd be 85 years old...

Signs written in English around the world

Contributed by "PH"



In a Bucharest hotel lobby: The lift is being fixed for the next day. During that time we regret that you will be unbearable.

In a Belgrade hotel elevator: To move the cabin, push button for wishing floor. If the cabin should enter more persons, each one should press a number of wishing floor. Driving is then going alphabetically by national order.

In a hotel in Athens: Visitors are expected to complain at the office between the hours of 9 and 11 A.M. daily.

In the lobby of a Moscow hotel across from a Russian Orthodox monastery: You are welcome to visit the cemetery where famous Russian and Soviet composers, artists, and writers are buried daily except Thursday.

In an Austrian hotel catering to skiers: Not to perambulate the corridors in the hours of repose in the boots of ascension.

On the menu of a Polish hotel: Salad a firm's own make; limpid red beet soup with cheesy dumplings in the form of a finger; roasted duck let loose; beef rashers beaten up in the country people's fashion.

In a Bangkok dry cleaner's: Drop your trousers here for best results.

In an advertisement by a Hong Kong dentist: Teeth extracted by the latest Methodists.

In a Norwegian cocktail lounge: Ladies are requested not to have children in the bar.

In the office of a Roman doctor: Specialist in women and other diseases.

In an Acapulco hotel: The manager has personally passed all the water served here.

From a Japanese information booklet about using a hotel air conditioner:
Cooles and Heates: If you want just condition of warm in your room, please control yourself.

Glenn Beck Smackdown, Part 2

I love Stephen Colbert...

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The 10/31 Project
comedycentral.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor NASA Name Contest

E-mail, we get e-mails

I missed this yesterday. An April Fools Joke on WLS. From "AS"...

"So, I was listening to Mancow and Cassidy this morning (I know, I know. Don’t judge!) on WLS when Drew Peterson called in and punked Mancow for April Fool’s. While I would normally think that this is hilarious, the fact that it was Drew Peterson doing the “gotcha,” made my skin crawl. Not to mention that that he claimed that he was going to “confess” something on the air. Isn’t that like O.J. telling Nicole and Ron jokes? That ruins the whole thing for me!

I must say, it was very well played, though.

Of course, they could have set it all up with Peterson to punk the audience, since they’re supposedly “church buddies,” but I have a feeling that Mancow was genuinely pissed off. There was dead silence except for the dial tone for a good 15 seconds after Peterson hung up, followed by Pat Cassidy trying to smooth things over with a stammering Mancow. Throughout the whole thing, I kept thinking, “Is he crazy? No WAY is that guy going to confess anything on the radio!” So, it may well have been an audience punking, because I can’t imagine the guys at WLS being that gullible…..wait….these are the same folks that put Blago on the air this week. Forget I said that."

Herman Franks

Sad news yesterday; former Cubs manager Herman Franks passed away at the age of 95. The Tribune did a nice obit for him.

My favorite Herman Franks story is one I have told a few times at Just One Bad Century. Herman was old school, in the Leo Durocher mold (read the obit to see where Leo mentored him), and he couldn't deal with the crybaby players on the 1979 Cubs. At the end of the season he resigned because they were "selfish, coddled and uninspired."

"Some of these players are actually crazy. They don't want to talk to the newspaper people, and they want separate buses for themselves and reporters. It's silly things like this that get you fed up."

He singled out Bill Buckner, Ted Sizemore, Barry Foote and Mike Vail as the worst of the "whiners."

Wish we had a dozen more managers like Herman Franks. May he rest in peace.

Rick is leaving the basement!

I'm actually making a personal appearance tonight to promote the book "Cubbie Blues: 100 years of waiting until next year." This is not an April Fools joke.

Here are the details from the "Reading Under the Influence" website...

Join us from 7-10 p.m. on Weds., April 1 for Cubbie Blues, featuring readings and trivia games by contributors to the "Cubbie Blues: 100 Years of Waiting till Next Year" anthology, including Cubs' blogger extraordinaire Rick Kaempfer (JustOneBadCentury.com), short story writer Christine Sneed (Best American Short Stories 2008, Other Voices and more), author/playwright Mary Beth Hoerner ("Atomic Honeymoon"), Windy City Story Slam founder Bill Hillmann, Sheffield's owner Ric Hess and RUI's Julia Borcherts. As always, we're in the back room at Sheffield's, 3258 N. Sheffield Ave. There's a $3 cover.

Rick's note: Yes, there will be alcoholic beverages served there, hence the name of the event ("Reading Under the Influence"). Stop by if you're in the neighborhood. It should be fun.

Cremating the Curse!

Channel 2 did a story about our event on Sunday. I'll be there too.

Watch Bill Zwecker report the story here.

There's more than one way to rock

If you're looking for Suburban Man, where have you been? Suburban Man is now known as "Father Knows Nothing" and it's posted every Sunday at NWI Parent. In case you missed this week's, here it is: "There's more than one way to Rock!"

The anti-perkiness drug

This is hilarious...



(Warning: one bad word is used in the video)

Tudor Role Play?

My friend (actual friend, not Facebook friend) Dave is a recent convert to Facebook, and has discovered a whole weird world out there. Dave likes to "friend" dead people. For instance, he has at least a dozen dead presidents in his roster. (I'm a little pickier than he is...I stole Thomas Jefferson as a friend, but Franklin Pierce just isn't going to cut it.)

Most of these people do it for fun, but some, are deadly serious. His advice: Don't "friend" Anne Boleyn. He commented on her page that she was slightly depressing constantly talking about the way Henry slights her, and she responded thusly...

"If you are not a member of our Tudor role play, then you are asked in future never to comment on a status or post on any active characters wall. This is just a bit of fun for us and we are politely telling those not involved to butt out. Messages may be sent to inboxes only. Failure to adhere to this and you will simply be removed as a friend. Anne Boleyn. England. Uk."

I think Dave would be more upset if he didn't know Anne's eventual fate.

A "Dear John" note to Facebook

My friend and fellow fantasy baseball fan JR wrote the following note to Facebook. It cracked me up, so I thought I'd share it with you here...



"Dear Facebook:

You know that you and I have a wonderful relationship. In fact, some would say that you and I are spending too much time together. Well, I am sorry to say, that I will be leaving you for another. Yes, the fantasy baseball commish has loaded the rosters for our fantasy baseball league. I know, same day service like that is something you usually only get when you fill out your inane "What kind of Superhero are you?" quizzes, but I long to stare at something more. The roster grid for the fantasy baseball league will fill that void, and make me think about a different kind of "Top 5" all together"...Thanks to CBSSpportsline, I can now say this with confidence....Facebook - you and I are gonna have to see other people. It's not you, its me."

E-mail, we get e-mails...

"MB" wrote regarding my Cloris Leachman post...

"Young Frankenstein was on AMC last night. Cloris is untouchable, but Hackman always cracks me up!"

"You must have been tallest in your class."




Here's the whole 4-minute scene...

Father Knows Nothing

I just posted my latest "Father Knows Nothing" column at NWI Parent. It's called "There's more than one way to rock."

You can read it here.

A letter from Charlie Root's daughter

I've been having an e-mail exchange with Della Arnold (photo), the daughter of Cubs great Charlie Root. I told her that one thing I really admired about her dad was his toughness, and this is what she replied...

"The first batter Dad faced in the Majors was Ty Cobb,whom Dad had heard of for some time...It was l924 and he had just come up from Terre Haute....Cobb was hugging the plate, so Dad's pitch was under his chin...Cobb threatened him by yelling and waving his bat...the next pitch was in the same spot and Cobb stormed the mound calling Dad "a fresh bush bastard and threatening to kill him...Cobb was closely followed by catcher Hank Severeid who was yelling at Cobb.."You lay one hand on that kid and I'll beat you to death with this mask...which as you know in those days had a solid iron frame...Cobb returned to the plate and Dad struck him out....This was in 1924 when Dad his first chance with the St. Louis Browns.....He lost 4 games and won NONE...He then broke his right ankle sliding into third...So the Browns traded him to Los Angeles Angels, then in the Pacific Coast League....which was a farm team for the Cubs...When he told that story he always said he was nervous, and scared to death, but he always had a reputation for "dusting" when needed...."

How great is that?

Chicago Radio Spotlight: Jack Silver

This week I interview former Loop program director Jack Silver at Chicago Radio Spotlight.

Jack, who once fired me (and the whole Ebony & Ivory show) with a memo that said: "Gents, it's not working out," has just been fired from his programming job in LA.

Read the whole interview here.