Listen to it here.
It's only 30 seconds long.
1970 Christmas Message from WCFL
Listen to it here.
It's only 30 seconds long.
The 2013 Cubs Starting Rotation
I count seven starting pitchers on the Cubs roster heading into next season. Hopefully they can cobble together five that are good enough.
1. Matt Garza (age 29)
Career record 57-61, Last season 5-7, Best season 15-10 (2010)
2. Jeff Samardzija (age 27)
Career record 21-22, Last season 9-13, Best season (2012)
3. Travis Wood (age 25)
Career record 17-23, Last season 6-13, Best season 5-4 (2010)
4. Scott Baker (age 31)
Career record 63-48, Last season (injured), Best season 15-9 (2009)
5. Scott Feldman (age 29)
Career record 39-44, Last season 6-11, Best Season 17-8 (2009)
6. Carlos Villanueva (age 29)
Career record 33-35, Last season 6-6, Best Season 8-5 (2007)
and finally, just signed yesterday...
7. Edwin Jackson (age 29)
Career record 70-71, Last season 10-11, Best season 13-9 (2009)
It's obviously not exactly a World Series starting rotation (although three of them have pitched in the World Series--Garza, Jackson & Feldman), but it will be serviceable. They are all close to the peak of their careers age-wise, they have all experienced some success at the big league level, and they are all at least legitimate major league pitchers.
Although...Garza and Baker are coming off injuries, Feldman and Wood are coming off bad seasons, Villanueva and Samardzija are converted relievers, and Edwin Jackson is now on his eighth team.
Cubs 365, December 21
On this day in 1941, just two weeks after the Pearl Harbor attack, Cubs owner P.K. Wrigley scrapped his plans to install lights at Wrigley Field for the following season; donating the lights he had already purchased to the war effort instead. It would be another 47 years before lights were installed.
While Wrigley was dealing with the lights issue, the Chicago Bears were playing in the NFL Championship game in the ballpark. Only 13,341 braved the cold weather to see the defending champion Bears slug it out against the Giants at Wrigley Field.
The Bears won the game 37-9.
Two of the players who played in that 1941 championship game were eventually killed in action during World War II: Bears Quarterback Young Bussey and Jack Lummus of the Giants.
The Bears won the game 37-9.
Two of the players who played in that 1941 championship game were eventually killed in action during World War II: Bears Quarterback Young Bussey and Jack Lummus of the Giants.
A Region Notable?
I remember giving this interview, but then forgot to check for the article. I only found out about it because a buddy sent it to me, mocking me for being referred to as a "Region Notable". When he's right, he's right. That is pretty funny.
I don't exactly measure up to the other people quoted in the piece: Second City & SNL alum Tim Kazurinsky, Indiana Senator-Elect Joe Donelly, Senator Dan Coats, Sculptor Fritz Olsen, Broadway actress Martha Cares, and Nelson Riddle's daughter.
But here's my part of the story...
"Rick Kaempfer, author, free-lance writer and blogger, couldn’t tell us about just one ornament. Before he and his wife, Bridget, were married in November 1991, their wedding guests teamed up to deck their halls.
“Because we were getting married so close to Christmas, someone suggested that everyone bring a Christmas ornament in addition to a traditional bridal gift,” he said.
The idea was, Kaempfer explains, that their first Christmas tree together "would be filled with personal memories, even though we had only been married for a month."
“I was touched by that 21 years ago, but I'm even more touched by it now," he said. "When we open our box of Christmas decorations every year, all of those ornaments are still in our collection. With each ornament we put on the tree, we're reminded of the family we're still so lucky to have with us, but we're also reminded of our precious departed grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, and friends. Every Christmas season they are with us again, if only on our tree."
“Those aren't just decorations to us — they are memories. It's one of the reasons why the day we decorate the tree is among our most anticipated and cherished days of the year.”
As Catherine Johns mentioned to me on Facebook: "What a sentimental story, you region notable, you. I kept waiting for the wisecrack."
I'm sorry, Catherine. Sometimes my German heritage gets the best of me. We are known for our sentimentality and warmth, right?
Today's Best Tweets
Here are some tweets that caught my eye today...
WBEZ @WBEZ
Try some delicious Mexican hot chocolate. Because the world is not going to end tomorrow. http://bit.ly/12CjRFJ via @louisachu
Fareed Zakaria @FareedZakaria
The number firearms homicides in U.S. was about 11,000 last year. England and Wales have about 50 gun homicides a year: ow.ly/gfWky
Rheana Murray @RheanaMurray
Heartbreaking sign of the times: Bulletproof backpacks for kids. Sales spiked 500% since Friday , via @nydailynews http://nydn.us/UIMYSW
Bob Nightengale @BNightengale
Another reason why Derek Jeter is sports' greatest role model. Calls mother of slain teacher #yankees http://usat.ly/UIdZpN
The Daily Beast @thedailybeast
Boehner utters a 115-word statement on #fiscalcliff, market freaks out http://thebea.st/VScQLb
Jim Antle @jimantle
Wow. A McConnell poll has the Senate minority leader up by just four over Ashley Judd. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2012/12/20/chuck-hagel-susan-rice-and-the-new-normal-for-cabinet-nominations/ …
Mark Czerniec @MarkCzerniec
Obviously, the $1 ramen is better than the 29-cent ramen. But it's not three times better.
Chet Coppock @ChetCoppock
Why is CBS not re-upping Walter Jacobsen? the guy is a journalistic treasure!
Don Anthony @TheMouth1
OH MY: Opie and Anthony go at it with Piers Morgan on Twitter - http://www.themorningmouth.com
Ben Finfer @BenFinfer
This is irony, right? RT @BuzzFeedAndrew: Sarah Palin calls Time Magazine irrelevant…. http://www.politico.com/story/2012/12/sarah-palin-slams-time-on-person-of-the-year-85351.html#.UNMxmGCyZqc.twitter … …
The Living Wills in the Classroom
This is pretty funny to me. My novel "The Living Wills" is going to be part of a high school literature course this spring.
Details are here.
It's just funny to think that some high school kids out there are going to be groaning and saying something like "Uggh. Can't go out tonight. Gotta read some Kaempfer."
My work here is done.
Some More Love for The Balding Handbook
"And Perfect Last-Minute Gifts: For the man who has everything but hair, Eckhartz Press is featuring David Stern's The Balding Handbook: The 5 stages of grieving for your hair. As Publisher Rick Kaempfer says, the book will “bring you back into the light. Of course, you'll need sunscreen when you get there, but the few extra bucks you shell out to the Hawaiian Tropic people is a trifle when you consider the incredible life that awaits you after reading this book. Whether you are a fellow sufferer, or just a mean person that wants to give this book as a gag gift to that baldy you know (“Tee hee, Get it? You're bald!”), “The Balding Handbook is for you.”
Here are a few reviews on GoodReads...
"Stern's book takes the Five Stages of Grieving and applies to hair loss. As a fully actualized bald man, Stern offers advise and insights to his balding brothers. So funny. So funny. So funny. I received this book in the mail and read it the same day. My neighbors must think they are living next to a lunatic as I laughed loud and hard at every chapter."
--Brent Petersen (5 stars out of 5)
"I was given this book by my brother and had no intention of reading it. The next thing I knew I had read the entire book in a few hours. This really is a funny and smart read. Pleasantly surprised."
--Sly (5 stars out of 5)
"This book has given me the will to live. Brilliant. Brilliant. Brilliant. Thank you from the bottom of my heart."
--Curly (5 stars out of 5)
Cubs 365, December 20
Gabby is known as one of the all-time greats, probably the best catcher of the first half of the 20th century. He played in four World Series for the Cubs, as a backup catcher/pinch hitter in 1929, the starting catcher in '32 and '35 (he won the MVP that year), and in 1938, his "homer in the gloamin" won the pennant for the Cubs. He was also the manager of that team.
As a player he was beloved. As a manager, he was hated. He left the Cubs after 1940 and his last year was spent as a player/manager for the New York Giants. He is buried in All Saints Cemetery in Des Plaines, the same cemetery as Harry Caray.
Facts About Guns
*Between 40-50% of American households have a gun.
*More than 10 million guns are sold in America every year.
*There are 90 handguns (just handguns) for every 100 Americans.
*Around 30% of all the guns in the world are owned by Americans.
*15 of the 25 worst mass shootings in the last 50 years took place in the United States.
*The best estimate for total number of guns in America in 2010 was 290--300 million guns. The population is 314 million.
I don't know the answer to the problem of gun violence, but I think it's pretty obvious that the answer is not "more guns" (which I've actually heard some people say). This has been studied, by the way: Turns out that More guns = More homicides.
Just sayin.
Pandora May Soon Be Rated
As in rated by the ratings services. So says the trade publication Radio Ink this morning...
"At some point, advertisers will be able to see Arbitron ratings for radio and Pandora side-by-side. That's according to Nielsen's President of Global Media Products Steve Hasker (pictured). Hasker told Bloomberg, "We want to cover as much of the media landscape as possible and be helpful to our clients in that way." Up until now there has never been any indication that Pandora is an Arbitron client. It sounds like that will change when Nielsen takes over."
That could be very interesting. I think radio would welcome the chance to show that if you measure Pandora and radio apples to apples, radio is still beating Pandora handily. I hope they are right about that.
That could be very interesting. I think radio would welcome the chance to show that if you measure Pandora and radio apples to apples, radio is still beating Pandora handily. I hope they are right about that.
Righting a Wrong, Balding Handbook-style
You can sign it here.
He needs 25,000 signatures in a month, so please pass the word. We've got about 24,998 signatures to go.
Apollo 17
40 years ago today the final lunar landing mission, Apollo 17, splashed down in the Pacific...
If you've been on social media the past couple of days the big story has been the news that Instagram was planning on selling the photos you post there. Instagram was deluged with hate mail, the twittersphere exploded.
Now they claim it was all a misunderstanding. From today's "The Wrap"...
"It was interpreted by many that we were going to sell your photos to others without any compensation," CEO Kevin Systrom said in a blog post on Tuesday. "This is not true and it is our mistake that this language is confusing. To be clear: It is not our intention to sell your photos. We are working on updated language in the terms to make sure this is clear."
Instead, Systrom said the company planned to integrate promoted posts in users' newsfeeds, similarly to Facebook and Twitter.
"Instagram users own their content and Instagram does not claim any ownership rights over your photos," Systrom wrote. "Nothing about this has changed."
Now they claim it was all a misunderstanding. From today's "The Wrap"...
"It was interpreted by many that we were going to sell your photos to others without any compensation," CEO Kevin Systrom said in a blog post on Tuesday. "This is not true and it is our mistake that this language is confusing. To be clear: It is not our intention to sell your photos. We are working on updated language in the terms to make sure this is clear."
Instead, Systrom said the company planned to integrate promoted posts in users' newsfeeds, similarly to Facebook and Twitter.
"Instagram users own their content and Instagram does not claim any ownership rights over your photos," Systrom wrote. "Nothing about this has changed."
Another Media Giant
Nielson already had a monopoly on television ratings. Arbitron had a monopoly on radio ratings.
Now it's just one big behemoth. And that behemoth has a scary amount of access to data about everyone who uses the media.
Cubs 365, December 19
When the Cubs got Zimmer from the Dodgers (for Ron Perranoski), they originally thought Zimmer would play 3B. But Ron Santo emerged, so they moved Zimmer to second base instead.
How did these trades work out for the Cubs? Perranoski ended up becoming one of the premier relief pitchers in baseball for the next decade. He pitched in two league championship series, and three World Series, winning two rings with the 1963 and 1965 Dodgers. He also led the league in saves twice, and saved a total 179 games between 1961 and 1971.
Tony Taylor, who was only 24 years old at the time of the trade, played another sixteen years in the majors with the Phillies and the Tigers. When he retired after the 1976 season he was the oldest player in baseball (40 years old). Don Zimmer was the manager of the Boston Red Sox at the time.
Today's Best Tweets
Here are some tweets that caught my eye today...
Mary Dixon @MaryLDixon
Note to Doomsday watchers: Mayan calendar ends this Friday, 12/21 at 5:11a Chicago time. Winter solstice begins same day at 5:12a. We hope.
DRUDGE REPORT @DRUDGE_REPORT
CHINA DETAINS MORE THAN 500 FOR DOOMSDAY RUMORS... http://drudge.tw/TuG9VG
WBEZ @WBEZ
Drought could lead the #Chicago River to reverse course (again) and flow into Lake Michigan: http://bit.ly/T3d7fZ
HowardKurtz @HowardKurtz
Watch: Richard Engel and his NBC crew describe 5-day kidnapping ordeal in Syria, and escape, after mock executions http://bit.ly/U9V21V
Anna Davlantes @AnnaDavlantes
Sesame Street show goes viral 30 years later http://ti.me/1nE6CX parents using it to teach kids about death. Watch it & you'll see why.
New York Daily News @nydailynews
CHANGE OF HEART: Conservative Joe Scarborough STUNS with passionate call for gun control on his MSNBC show http://nydn.us/RBJYvy
Rob Hart @RobHart1980
From the Rob Report: The outpouring of tributes to Milt Rosenberg is a testament to the power of local radio: http://robhartradio.wordpress.com/2012/12/18/radio-radio
bill adee @Bill80
Nielsen to buy Arbitron for about $1.26B http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-nielsen-to-buy-arbitron-for-about-126b-20121218,0,2404867.story …
Robin Baumgarten @WGNRobin
"Howdy, Guv-nor!" Is there such a thing as a cockney cowboy accent? Nailed it!
Dave Wischnowsky @wischlist
It's truly incredible how often this girl on the Red Line is using the word "like" while talking to her friend. Like, really.
Gangnam Chicago Style
Some are better than others.
Thanks so much to the Beachwood people for enduring them all for us.
Here we go again
Jay Leno has got to be saying..."Hello! I'm still alive here!"
The Bill Clinton Story
Count me in.
Full details are here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)