final thoughts for 2010

brett favre gets fined $50,000 for tweeting his pee pee. sounds like a lot, right? well, if you make 100,000 a year instead of 16 million, the same percentage would be about $750.00. seven hundred and fifty bucks. wow, bet that really hurt brett.

the african-american caucas is losing focus in the chicago mayoral race. loudmouth candidate danny davis WARNS bill clinton & president obama to not campaign for rahm emanuel or relations with the black community might suffer. query.....would davis turn down the president's help if he supported davis?? davis needs to shut up. now he's going to pick who can campaign and who can't? good luck.

sleazy carol mosely braun and her amigos are mad at a sun-times columnist who ragged on braun in his column. braun's buddies want neil steinberg fired for writing the column but the managing editor told them nicely to go pound sand.

NY city....a teacher has been paid $97,000 a year for the last 13 years NOT to teach. roland pierre was charged with sexual misconduct with a student in 1997 but all police charges were dropped and he was never disciplined by the school. instead, he goes every day to the "rubber room" where teachers serve the equivalent of a 'time out' when they screw up but do no work. the school superintendent doesn't want him back in the class room and the 75 year old pierre refuses to retire so he just shows up every day.........and does zip for 97k. nice gig.

my heart goes out to those two firemen who died in chicago when a roof suddenly collapsed. as a retired cop, i can tell you that we always made fun of firemen because MOST of the time, they watch tv, play cards, shoot baskets, surf porn, eat, sleep and only work 115 days a year. but i would never have their job. god bless their families.

hey, if you still have a roll of kodak film laying around from aunt sophie's wedding, get it to the processor because the last kodak shop closes in a couple of days and the company no longer makes the specialized chemicals that you need to develop kodachrome film. remember photo huts?

a couple of interesting crimes this week. wheelchair bound man waits in the cold for help outside a closed loan store and when the employee unlocks the door early to help the poor man inside, the guy suddenly is cured and jumps up with a gun and robs the store and runs away. well thought out.

but the other side of the coin was in river forest where the uncle is arrested for shoplifting while his nephew (waiting in the car in the parking lot) gets whacked for burglarizing the car next to his. wonder if they met up in bond court?

you don't think that the bears could actually.............naw.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

thoughts & things

ninety-five year old woman passes away in waukegan. two weeks later, a family member delivers her favorite waitress a thousand bucks for 'being nice' to her........and that's pretty nice too.

hear about the bad luck burglar who broke into a chicago company and vandalized all the machines for the coins? he made quite a haul and even brought his own bank bags to carry the loot. when climbing back to the roof, he slipped off the SECOND step of the ladder (only two feet up) and when he landed on his feet, the bag slipped from his hand and weight of the coins broke his foot in two places. righteous.

ok, rahm emanuel goes to washington d.c. to work for the president and now they challenge his residency in chicago because he rented his house out while serving his country? if that's the case, then every overseas soldier is now a resident of afghanistan. quit wasting our time & money.

speaking of wasting money, how about the cubs paying a .196 power hitter TEN MILLION DOLLARS for one year? and ricketts wonders why he has money issues.

oprah, do me a favor. give your money QUIETLY to charities and stop this "hooray for me farewell tour." god, is she irritating.

the infamous cabrini-green housing project in chicago officially closed yesterday when the last resident was moved out and i see where some of the media is romanticizing that property but the reality of the situation is that it was a jungle inhabited by animals who had no respect for anything including themselves. having been there numerous times to pick up prisoners and witnesses who fled from lake county, i know that most of you would gag at the stench just walking through the hallways but that's how those people chose to live. you might be poor but i know you have a mop, a broom and a dust pan. but they chose to live in squalor & filth. animals. no sympathy.

i see where the new video barbie doll is under suspicion because of the possibilities of 'secret' filming. has the FBI been to a camera store lately? if you want to buy a tiny video camera, you certainly don't need barbie. quit wasting our money.

christmas cards are apparently on the way out as people look to save money in difficult times. the post office anticipates 'only' 1.5 billion cards which is a 15% drop from last year. another reason they hate the internet, which is driving the postal service into extinction.

keep your eye on the situation in melrose park. long rumored to be crooked, several high ranking police administrators were found guilty of duty related felonies and the pension board justifiably took away their pensions. so now the current police admisnistrators have kicked the pension board out of the station because of their pension revocations. watch for the attorney general to start sniffing around which is the last thing they want in melrose park.

here's bullshit wrapped in a MAJOR package. an 11 year old pitcher in little league is struck in the side of the head by a batted ball and unfortunately, loses his hearing in the right ear. the parent's course of action? you guessed it--file suit against the maker of the aluminum bat but here's the real kicker................despite the pending litigation and the 'clear & present danger' of aluminum bats cited in the suit, the parents have allowed their kid back in baseball! quit wasting our time & money.

finally, keep your fingers crossed for the bears this weekend. adios.

sports thoughts

the bears are 9-3. please explain how. any weakness they have will be exposed this week against new england and mr. tom brady. as the hawk says before important sox games........"strap it on, cinch it up and hunker down" because this game will tell you everything you need to know about the bears. contenders or pretenders?

the early holidays are nice but nothing warms the cockles of my heart more than watching brett favre getting crushed face first into the turf and being knocked out of the game on the first series. even better is that backup quarterback tavaris jackson performed well when he got his chance to play which gives coach leslie frazier some food for thought.

the white sox and kenny williams don't win them all but you always have to give them an "A" for effort and the big splash signings of free agents. adam dunn, a.j. and now maybe konerko back in the fold? i wonder if that rumor about adrian beltre is true?

and on the other side of town? they signed jeff baker. who? i said the same thing. he's a third baseman who hits .270 and has no power. when you only hit 4 homers while playing in colorado, you really have NO power. i hope the cub fans are preparing for 90 losses........for the next three seasons.....because this team is god awful.

how sweet was that when boise state lost????!!!! now we don't have to hear the whining about how they got screwed by the BCS and the best part is that one loss knocked them from a big payday all the way down to the las vegas bowl on 12/22. shows what the voters think of them overall.

and who got dealt the worst hand in the bowl games? believe it or not, it's the wisconsin badgers who have been put into a 'no win' situation in the rose bowl. beat TCU and everyone says, "so what, they come from a nothing conference" but if you struggle or lose to them, you become the poster boy for over-rated teams. wisconsin has to win by 30 points just to save face and finish second in the polls.

bye for now

football...period

i've changed my mind. now i want brett favre to play forever. he sucks so bad that it's comical to watch him try to play the game. last year's performance non withstanding, his time to retire was about 5 years back and his crying 'woe is me' act wore thin long ago. his egomaniacal behavior has long irritated me and watching him get beat up every week is a joy. please, please keep playing.

several BCS bowl bids are on the line this week including the national championship game in arizona on january 10th. oregon is slated to play auburn BUT if alabama beats auburn on friday, it will open the door for boise state to play in the big game. LSU would be a better choice because they play in a real conference but it might be nice to watch oregon end the chatter out of idaho forever.

something that is ending this year is the ACC's automatic berth in a bcs bowl and it's about time. the acc is a basketball conference and their weak repesenative simply steals a spot from a deserving team, which might be an undefeated tcu this year.

congratulations to the university of wisconsin and their probable trip to the rose bowl but look for the speedy stanford cardinal to run up the score on the one dimensional and very slow badgers.

are the bears for real? we'll see next sunday. the NFL has moved their game with the eagles and michael vick to the national broadcast at 3:15 so the entire nation will find out. i still think the packers are going to the super bowl. ouch. that hurts to say it.

how about that game in wrigley field? interesting to watch....but just one time. it's still a crap hole that's not suited for football......or anything else.

nice job by illinois to get bowl eligible and i think they get the texas bowl on 12/29. northwestern should get the 'ticket city' bowl on new year's day. seriously! the game takes place in dallas. don't ask me.

i know you're dying for this nugget. the are THIRTY FIVE college bowl games this season and they are being held in such exotic places as detroit,
el paso, shreveport, memphis and mobile. there are also games in d.c. and new york. ah, outdoors on the east coast in january. hold me back.

finally, check this out. NAVY, ARMY and AIR FORCE are all going to a bowl game this year. i think the last time that happened there were dinosaurs roaming the planet. HAVE A GREAT THANKSGIVING!!!!

THOUGHTS & THINGS

the african-american coalition hasn't learned a thing from political history in chicago which is you CAN'T be elected mayor unless you have ONE strong candidate, ala harold washington in 1983. washington took advantage when state's attorney richie daley and incumbent mayor jane byrne wouldn't compromise on a single candidate and although together they received 63%, washington's 37% won him the primary and a historical position in chicago. james meeks, carol mosely braun and danny davis need to set a lunch date.....soon.

there is something very wrong in our country when 1 in 10 have gone to bed hungry in the last year. i want you to imagine this scene. you're watching late night tv and you get a case of the munchies but there's NOTHING in the fridge or the cabinets to stem your hunger. NOTHING in the entire house. not a slice of bread or microwave popcorn or some oreos. zip. nada. absolutely nothing edible in the house. we can't imagine that happening to us, can we? that really needs to change in this country.

the cubs & tom ricketts have a lot of nerve. he wants $200 million of our tax dollars to remodel that crap hole on the north side. in these economic times? screw him. i'll take better roads & sidewalks instead.

thanksgiving is the BEST holiday. the aromas, moist brined turkey, sweet potato pie (along with pumpkin) and the wonderful feeling that i'm about to burst. perfect.

sears announced that they're open all day on thanksgiving. whatever happened to everything being closed on a holiday and people just relaxing for one day? i miss that a lot.

everyone laughs at my cell phone and probably, rightfully so. it doesn't take pictures, it doesn't have a keyboard or flip open, and the only application i know about is what you fill out for employment. it weighs a half pound and can double as a paperweight. BUT no one will ever steal it.

jon burge ring a bell? he's the chicago police commander who cost the city $19 million in civil settlements because he got most of his confessions by torturing suspects. burge is due to be sentenced this month for perjury and obstruction of justice and an interesting dilemma awaits the judge. the federal probation department has recommended a sentence of 21 MONTHS and the prosecutors have asked for 'substantial' jail time with the federal convictions carrying a maximum penalty of 30 years. burge is 68 years old and a bonafide war hero who was awarded the purple heart, the bronze star, two battle commendations and the cross of gallantry in vietnam. so what type of sentence do you get for lying?

sounds a little fishy.......the AMA has reported that omega-3 fish oil pills DON'T prevent flare ups of atrial fibrillation. omega 3 is still good for you but if you're just taking them for an irregular heart beat, save your money.

to all those people bitching about the new security measures at the airport............stay home. or better yet, ride a greyhound bus from chicago to los angeles for 50 hours and then let me know how that trip was!

if we don't talk, have a great holiday!

NOTHING BUT SPORTS

anyone watch 'undercover boss' on tv sunday night? todd ricketts, who is apparently the idiot brother of cubs owner tom ricketts, went undercover and part of his deal was being a hot dog vendor. unable to sell his final four dogs, smarmy todd takes twenty bucks of his own money and buys the final four so he can move on to the next load. no problem. but what does the jackwagon do with the hot dogs? he throws them into the garbage can!! he couldn't find 4 kids at the park who'd like a dog for free? he needs to be slapped.

which happens first next week when the vikings come to town: adrian peterson runs for 200 yards or brett favre passes for 400? this is the titanic getting ready to leave port.

SEC football is simply the best in the land. the game on saturday between LSU and alabama was one for the ages.

i would love to see boise state enter a real conference and play the big boys every week. 12-0 would rapidly turn into 8-4.

northwestern & illinois play on november 20th in wrigley field and with those two defenses, the game might end 99-98. they both remind me of teams in the MAC conference....mid-majors.

i think illinois coach ron zook & bears head coach lovie smith should start having their houses appraised for sale purposes.

zenyatta is a pretty cool race horse even though she lost her perfect record by a nose in the breeder's cup. how much is a nose in racing? about 4 inches. but 19-1 is still a pretty good record. happy retirement.

the bears got screwed in the jay cutler trade. no discussion.

the bulls are going to be a lot of fun when carlos boozer returns from his injury in a couple of weeks.

the blackhawks are learning quickly how hard it is to repeat as champions.

and misl soccer has reached the semi-finals.......never mind.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

guy thoughts

the green bay packers showed yesterday exactly why they will win the division by two games. winning on the road is tough enough but shutting out the home team? they have a hospital full of players but they still find a way to win on the road. game, set and match.

in volleyball & racquetball, the 'kill shot' is simply a ball that your opponent can't return. in football, it's a hit that from which your opponent can't recover. the kill shot is coming soon for brett favre. immobile for the most part and hampered with a faulty mental clock, he is a sitting duck late in the game as evidenced yesterday. and by the way, if he's not concussed.........

just curious.....what happen to the allegations of brett sending his pee-pee over the tweeternet?

my hatred for notre dame multiplied ten fold this past week when declan sullivan died because officials at the school weren't smart enough to shut down the tower in the high winds and then the professional spin jobs start. obnoxious coach brian kelly spins that it 'was just another practice and it didn't seem terribly windy to me.' what a dick. the sullivan family isn't even at the funeral and he's making excuses already. this is the part where i'm supposed to write that i hope the family gets millions but it won't make any difference to the university. insurance will cover most if not all of the settlement and life will go on at the golden dome........but not for declan sullivan. screw brian kelly and screw notre dame. forever.

how nice is it to watch a world series where the fans aren't wearing parkas and snow boots? and they want to EXPAND the playoffs? bad move.

cleaning the garage is a lot like cleaning your living room. if you'd put things back in their original place when you were done with them, it would only take a ten minute sweep rather than 4 hours.

it's a good day to put up the christmas lights because mother nature will eventually turn her back on the good weather. later.

just stuff about women

2 0f 3 chicago area hospitals screw up tests and treatment for breast cancer. watch this problem get corrected FAST.

a mexican border town has hired a twenty year old woman as police chief in a drug riddled area of 8500 people where two rival drug gangs wage a continuous battle over control of one highway. her only experience is as a secretary. why her? unfortunately, a sacrificial lamb who has zero chance of success unless the gangs move out.

file this under major stones: carla oglesby was arrested for stealing $300,000 and fired as deputy cook county commissioner. her response? file for unemployment!!

someone should tell the wife of supreme court justice clarence thomas to let sleeping dogs lie. after 19 freakin years, she demands an apology from thomas' accuser in a sexual harassment accusation that almost kept thomas off the high court. shut up. idiot.

carol moseley braun was the first female black senator and many say that she is one of the most corrupt politicians in the HISTORY of chicago. she is now sniffing around the mayor's position in chicago. perfect. google her and read the realchange.org web site. makes you want to shower.

quick. tell me what team won the WNBA title this year! i didn't think so.

now beyonce isn't pregnant. ok.

lindsay lohan gets ordered to stay in rehab until january 3rd and she's disappointed. huh? third time probation offenders normally gets prison time. another one who should just shut up.

tiger's ex, elin nordgren, is putting EVERY piece of jewelry that tiger ever gave her up for auction thru sotheby's in london. it's all being sold anonymously which will cost her thousands but she just wants to get rid of it. classic.

finally, whitney houston admitted on a talk show that she sometimes uses drugs. NO! i can't believe it. too much fun. later

just sports

a few weeks back, i tried to educate cub fans that new owner tom ricketts was all about making money and pointed out that he had already chopped about 30 million off the payroll. ricketts recently followed that early purge with an emphatic financial statement by turning his back on hall of famer ryne sandberg and hiring career minor leaguer mike quade as the team manager. why? sandberg would have taken big dollars and a five year contract to take over the cubs while quade probably settled for twelve dollars an hour. dollars, dollars, dollars. ricketts knows this team will be terrible (90 losses next two years) so why pay an icon? smart business.

the bears are the WORST 4-2 team in the history of the NFL and i will stick by my prediction of 8-8. HA! you say? check their last 4 games of the season. patriots, vikings, jets and packers. good night, irene.

the blackhawks are off and running in defense of their stanley cup and still have the best nucleus in the NHL but it will all boil down the to third & fourth lines.

the NFL reaction to helmet-to-helmet hits is long overdue BUT they need to temper this 'automatic' suspension policy which starts this week. when you are running full tilt towards an opponent and explode for the tackle, the slightest change of direction by the ball carrier can result in a helmet striking first and there is NO WAY for the tackler to change direction in a micro-second. the NFL needs to review each incident and assess fines and suspensions accordingly.

how great is it that brett favre, that walking piece of drek, has finally been caught in a noose in which he can't escape? i have said for years this guy deserves a beatdown but in his defense, at least he didn't step to the podium and cry "i'm innocent" and then be exposed (pardon the phrase selection) at a later date. his 'no comment' stand is the right one for him and the situation. the guillotine swings slowly but the commissioner will have no choice but to whack him. (again, excuse the verbage)

get ready for the bulls explosion as they head towards ALMOST 50 wins. it will take a little time to get the rotation in order but they should score a lot of running points and be fun to watch. women will love kyle korver.

some guy from the chicago fire soccer team is retiring after a long, productive career.................... name him.................. me neither.

we'll look at the non-sports world tomorrow.

thoughts & things

what do we know as baseball ends and football is a month old?

notre dame is still irrelevant in college football. excuse my smile.

the SEC is, by far, the best football conference year in and year out.

i hope the head coach at the university of minnesota is only renting.

how much fun is it watching favre growing old on the field? piece of crap.

i wonder if three players will fly to mississippi next year to get brett?

the white sox kept their fans interested until after labor day.

cub fans had the flexibility to work TWO jobs after memorial day.

tom ricketts will make a lot of money owning the cubs.

are the bears the worst 3-0 team ever? or is it the chiefs?

the lions are still terrible but now have 3 actual players. only 19 more.

tommie harris better check his apartment lease for an 'early out' clause.

jay cutler is better but still scary.

you had to feel good for devin hester monday night.

the packers are reverting back to the days of coach forrest gregg. fill the day with stupid penalties and cheap shots and play with zero discipline.

aaron rodgers is the real deal.

mike quade for full time manager? ah, only on the north side.

the bulls will be exciting to watch this year.

the hawks are a total mystery but are still the CHAMPS! (if you have a cub fan sitting near you, please take the time to explain this word)

short & sweet. later.

thoughts and things

is blago crazy? seriously, does he truly think the next jury is going to acquit him on all 24 counts? there was only one juror who held out last time. 11-1 for guilty on 13 counts. the goverment was very smart in letting his brother walk away. less confusion and a focused jury. blago is doomed.

this summer has been the worst in decades for summer movies. i went to see two films in 4 months but the immediate future looks a little brighter.

i still think GIBSON'S in rosemont is the best restaurant in illinois.

my favorite actors this week are sean penn, robert de niro, steve buscemi, helen mirren and angelie jolie.

bowling league participationfor adults is way down. people just can't afford twenty bucks weekly for the league and then the beer frames, blow pot, etc.

however, high school team bowling is way up. it's a recognized team sport that's affordable and doesn't require spring training and expensive equipment. a great social tool for the students and affordable.

up here in lake county, there's a HUGE showdown this week between vernon hills h.s. and antioch. both teams are undefeated and feature about a half dozen division one players. vernon hills hasn't allowed a SINGLE POINT in 4 games.

burglary and thefts are up in almost every town. unemployment has made crime rise and there's no end in sight. take your gps units inside at night AND lock your doors.

my buddy says leave nothing in the car and leave the doors UNLOCKED. "why risk a smashed window?" interesting.

governor quinn is going to get squashed in november.

mark kirk may have lied himself out of a senate seat. idiot.

my dad would have been 88 on september 30th. i still miss him.

enjoy the fall weather. adios for now.

baseball things i've learned this year

tom ricketts is following his business plan to a 't'. as predicted here, he has continued to cut payroll and is down to around 110 million. more to come.

are the cubs really drinking the zambrano kool-aid? do they really think that he's 'turned the corner' and is now emotionally strong? stop it.

the yankees are living proof that money can buy happiness.

do the tigers collapse every year? even when they made it to the world series, they gagged it away because they couldn't field a bunt. a very strange organization.

happy retirement to bobby cox. i'll miss his scowl.

is bobby valentine really going to get a manager's job? he's great as an analyst on espn but maybe even better as a manager.

does interim manager mike quade have a shot at the job? probably not. remember, the cubs have historically played well after the pressure is off.

for whatever reason, gm jim hendry doesn't want ryne sandberg. he's just the person to boost the sagging mood of the fans but hendry wants former marlins manager fredi gonzalez. why?

it's this kind of b.s. that has made me dump my cub tickets. it's just not worth the aggravation anymore.

the minnesota twins are just better. period. year after year.

paul konerko would win the mvp if his team won the division. what a year.

buying a house in chicago would be a bad idea for carlos quentin. or manny ramirez. or bobby jenks.

speaking of ramirez, it was the correct gamble with bad results. manny is a 39 year old head case with greatly diminished power since he got caught cheating with hormone injections.

finally, good luck to lou piniella in his long overdue retirement.

just sports 8/22

so boo-boo lou finally says good-bye. so what? i heard cub fans over the last month praying he would quit but as usual, cub fans just don't get it. if your stable man quits, all it means is that someone else will eventually show up and have to shovel the large piles of crap side but no matter who's shoveling, it's still crap.

mike quade takes over as interim manager. hmmmmm. that pretty much eliminates bench coach alan trammel from the managerial hunt and that's a good thing because no matter who gets the job, they have to clean house totally. coaches, players and the drek that's working upstairs. this is an organization with totally empty cupboards and they need to be jump started with a large broom & garbage can.

rumor has it that gm jim hendry doesn't want ryne sandberg as the new manager. if that's true, then take your pick from joe girardi (whose contract with the yankees is up--and he grew up in highland park), joe torre, bob brenly the tv analyst or bobby valentine from espn. anyone is better than lou.

the white sox are like a vampire. i pronounced them d.o.a. in may and then they escape the casket and go on a run where they win 80% of their games and manhandle the better teams on their schedule like texas & atlanta, sweep the tigers and even beat stephen strasburg IN d.c. but now they can't beat baltimore or kansas city and they never could beat minnesota so by the powers vested in me by the baseball gods, i hereby pronounce the white sox officially dead. again. maybe.

FYI- i received the invoice saturday from the sox for world series tickets. the deadline for mailing in the money is september 7th. i think i'll wait.

and now the bears. the defense is getting run over and the offense is a maybe but if you can't stop them, it means you have to score every time you have the ball and that ain't happening. THIS pre-season game against arizona on saturday means a great deal. believe it.

if you like baseball, look for ken burns' followup to his major league series from 1994 when he releases "the 10th inning" which will cover baseball from 1990 to present day and deal with the steroid era. burns also produced the classic series on the civil war.

lebron james is a coward and there is NO WAY that miami beats the bulls' record of 72-10. no way.

cheerleading a sport? no. not until they make poker and chess a sport. with a few exceptions.....if you can't play defense, it's not a sport. now if the other team's cheerleaders got a chance to knock over the pyramid..........

and finally, i have my fingers crossed for #10 virginia tech to beat boise state in their 9/6 opener so i don't have listen to all that drivvle about how boise state belongs in the bcs bowls. try playing a real schedule all year long. done.

chicago cubs economics 101

ok, listen up class! you're about to get a lesson in what it means when a true businessman like tom ricketts owns the cubs rather than an eight-headed monster like the tribune that couldn't make a decision in less than a year's time because everyone had to sign off before plowing forward.

tom ricketts is a guy who likes to make money and he doesn't look at the cubs as a tax deduction. HE is the guy in charge and after spending a almost a BILLION DOLLARS on this steaming pile of doo-doo and watching them underachieve all season (what a surprise), he's just started with his free business lessons to cub fans. to wit:

he is stuck with the LARGEST payroll in the national league at 147 million dollars and one of the worst teams. he's noticed thru the years that cub fans continue to show up to watch this crap and although they leaving earlier now to get a good spot in a wrigleyville watering hole, the bottom line is they've still purchased three million tickets and the waiting list for season tickets is growing, not shrinking.

light bulb goes on in the thought balloon above the head of tom ricketts! unload salary and replace the overpaid players with minor leaguers. BRILLIANT!!! the first math lesson happened just last week when ted lilly & ryan theriot headed west with their combined 15.6 annual salaries and what did the cubs get in return? blake dewitt and his $400,000 salary. total payroll reduces from 147 to 132 with just one phone call. then you cut bob howry and his two million and the total is 130 million. but it gets better........

i think tom ricketts believes that he can reduce the salaries by a third before next year and i believe him. subtract derrek lee's 13 million when he becomes a free agent and you're at 117 million but you still have work to do. enter carlos zambrano.

EVERYONE knows that carlos zambrano is on the last train to clarksville as soon as the season is over. incredibly, Z makes just shy of 19 million a year. (way to go jim hendry) and the cubs will have to eat at least half of that when they get 2 minor league prospects for him but that will cut another ten million and then the goal line will be in sight!

but wait, dan. who takes their places, high priced free agents with multi-year contracts??? no, little jimmy, your team will be filled with at least 15 players making a COMBINED eight million dollars. multi-year contracts will disappear on the north side but it will be a lot of fun watching the kids play.

but won't that mean that the cubs will suck? yes it will, little jimmy, but the cubs have sucked for over a hundred years and tom ricketts will carry on that tradition with sound economics and the cub faithful will continue to march like lemmings to the sea. this team now moves from disappointing to pathetic for the next four years. think pittsburgh pirates and kansas city royals. enjoy.

thoughts & things 7/29/10

if you live in the area, take the time to visit the lake county fair at route 45 & midlothian. clean, roomy and the food is excellent. along with the usual fare, enjoy bison, kangaroo, crawfish and elk. they seem to have worked out the traffic issues from last year so in & out is a piece of cake.

biggest disappointment of the summer? blago not taking the stand. it would have been like getting a free ticket to the circus. it's pretty bad when your own attorney basically calls you a clown and an idiot as he tries to explain your actions. i'm in a blago pool with 'guilty' & a 12 year sentence giving me a piece of the prize pool.

speaking of jail time, how about the grandma who let her 1 year old grandson consume pcp & cocaine? just make me a sentencing judge for 6 months and i'll end the jobless market because everyone will be busy building new jails. and gas chambers. and gallows.

and now we get the next big trial of the summer, the drew peterson murder trial. peterson is accused of murdering wife #3 but the prosecution only has circumstantial & hearsay evidence to present to a jury. a recent ruling eliminated most of the hearsay evidence and with a solid defense, perterson should walk. the 'talking from the grave' law is ridiculous and should be rejected by the high courts. get some hard evidence or let him go.


robert meza, 23, is currently serving a 45 year sentence for murder and one of the stipulations was that he serve the full term with no early release. he was recently cited for contempt when he refused to testify against another gang member involved in the murder. i'm sure he's quaking in his boots over a possible 6 month extension of his sentence and the possibility of missing his 68th birthday party back in the hood. never, ever trust a gang member on a plea bargain. ever.

hundreds of FBI agents are suspected of cheating on an exam that tested their knowledge of department policies. just curious: do any of the policies deal with cheating on exams? p.s......it was an open book exam!

new legislation for bullying in school. what the hell are the teachers and administrators doing....or not doing.....that we have to have government intervention? no one supports educators more than me but this sounds like a huge hole in the system.

mark this down: IF the white sox qualify for the playoffs, they will WIN the world series. too much pitching and the best bullpen in baseball, which is perfect for playoff baseball.

finally, to stretch your personal calendar: BUTCH MCGUIRE'S on division street in chicago, the first singles bar in the united states, turns 50 years old this summer. ouch. never heard of the place.

thoughts & things 7/19/10

what would possess someone to attempt a robbery from an off-duty UNIFORMED chicago police officer? the senseless killing of the soon to retire michael bailey sunday night in front of his house defies any type of logic. i hope his final shots found their mark.

going too far south of sox park in the city is like playing russian roulette. you enter a high crime jungle around 51st street and it gets worse from there. those animals in englewood and similar neighborhoods don't like outsiders, black or white, and your chance of being a victim is about 40%. stay away.

chinatown & greektown are still fun places to visit and both areas understand the importance of visitor safety. great food in both places.

can't wait for rod blagojevich to take the stand because it'll be great theater. i think hot rod is truly delusional which will take his testimony into never-never land but don't sell wife patti short in the area of believability. she is also a piece of work and will get chopped up by the prosecutors if she takes the stand.

saw a lady pushing a stroller at the jewel and the baby was dressed up in cubs garb. why would you intentionally guide your child towards a lifetime of disappointment and frustration?

i see where BP is trying to tell the feds that they disagree over the strategy involving the pluggged pipe. this angst coming from a company who caused the entire disaster and had no fail safes in place?

FYI--don't accept any invitations to parties in northern mexico without wearing a kevlar vest.

i have zero sympathy for the striking construction workers. $66 an hour counting their benefit package and they walk off the job because they want 15% more? screw them. i can only hope that someday teachers make that much.

my friends who work in las vegas tell me the town is still reeling from the economy with most casinos operating with 50% less floor employees than three years ago. my friend kathy is a 21 dealer since 1988 and her tips have fallen 70% in the same amount of time. hotels will literally give rooms to large groups just to get the potential business into the building.

feel free to disband soccer, auto racing, cycling, tennis, mma, arena football, harness racing, jai-alai and the wnba sooner rather than later.

stay cool and enjoy the summer.

THE GLOVES COME OFF

i tried writing an informative blog the other day regarding the future of the chicago cubs and i think it was balanced and informative, giving cub fans an oversight which set things in perspective for their bleak future but i forgot who i was dealing with and the complaints began to come via e-mail. now these complainers don't want to comment on the blog for all to see and i respect their right to be anonymous but that's where the respect ends.

today, we drop the gloves and deal honestly with the minor league operation on the north side. now most of you can't take any criticism of the cubs so go back to cubs.com right now and continue shopping for your next turtleneck dickey with a 'c' on it. for the brave at heart, pour another cup and continue.

with all due respect to the very few cub fans who understand baseball, i am so tired of the inability of cub fans to see the forest for the trees by constantly defending this steaming pile of crap that's disguised as a professional baseball team on the north side. this organization is the laughing stock of baseball year in and year out and it will never change in your lifetime because simply put, the entire organization sucks and the fans are idiot savants, knowledgeable about all things cubs but then just the idiot part takes over.

how anyone can be a cub fan is beyond me. their smarmy sense of entitlement ('it's our turn') makes me gag and the dysfunctional operational skills of their management team makes it impossible to win. ever. frustration and disappointment become a way of life from general managers who don't know their ass from a handbasket to sleepwalking and senile managers whose last cogent thought probably had something to do with eating or a biological function, it's no wonder that the cub's clubhouse is known throughout baseball as 'the jungle' where it's survival of the fittest. from a 'unknown' player taking a bat to sosa's boom box to zambrano's yearly bullying of teammates, it would only take ONE administrative person with stones to remedy those situations immediately and it would never happen again. one player being released, traded or sent to the minors sends a clear message to everyone else. but it takes a leader to do that and the cubs have none.

now i know what you're thinking...."what about yesterday? hendry suspended zambrano for his actions!" again, the lack of understanding by cub fans comes into play. hendry had no choice because the world saw zambrano's flame-out but if you think the everyday attitude is going to change with those guys in charge, then simply put, you're an idiot. zambrano simply becomes the fall guy (although well deserved) for another disappointing season by the cubs. last year it was milton bradley's fault. other years have brought about jacque jones, moises alou, steve bartman, kevin gregg, shawn estes, corey patterson, he sop choi and todd hundley as culprits who have SINGLE HANDEDLY ruined a cub season. why, without those players screwing up the season, we would have won it all! (please vomit here). the cubs always pick a fall guy.

try that zambrano crap on the south side and your rear end will be bruised from the door hitting you in the ass as you're given your walking papers. ask nick swisher. you want to pout when you don't start? want to continue jacking your jaws to the media rather than talk to the manager behind closed doors? want to think you're more important than the team concept? bye-bye. one year and done. out the door. eat the remainder of the contract and move on. that's what real baseball teams do. admit their mistakes and hopefully learn from the experience.

i actually had one moron tell me that 'you don't understand the make-up of the cubs.' OH, BUT I DO UNDERSTAND THE CUBS. gutless and without heart or talent. growing older everyday. the king of underachievers. fat contracts and fatter asses. a 25 man roster with 20 pieces of garbage. (see if you can figure out the 5 to keep....call a sox fan for help) and the least knowledgeable fans in all of baseball which is a HUGE part of the problem.

cub fans accept anything because they constantly drink the kool-aid and the owners understand that and take full advantage. their on-field product is not as important as the wrigley experience and owners also know that. they realize that singing songs and waving W flags are the most important things for cub fans along with the price of drugs along clark street, and the drugs are a necessity when you have to spend an entire day in a stadium that smells like urine and your experience is constantly enhanced by overflowing toilets and falling pieces of mortar.

the team is crap, the stadium is a health hazard and the management/owners aren't going to change anything because three million jerkoffs spin the turnstiles every year, no matter what. and that is so sad but i think cub fans deserve everything they get because they demand nothing.

overheard every day in the stands: "hold my foam finger please, while i answer my cell. the score? oh, i have no idea......hello? a gram is how much? dude, i'll see you at murphys right after but we have a chance to sing the song today so i might be late. save an eight ball for me."

so that's it. i have vented. the cubs and everything about them suck. forever. and whatever you do, don't EVER jump on the white sox bandwagon because we don't want you or need you. stay in wrigleyville and keep waving your flag and singing songs. it fits you.

REQUIEM FOR AN ORGANIZATION

as the season grows darker and darker on the north side and thousands of fans are disguising themselves as empty seats, i can't help but wonder where the blame should lie for this funeral dirge.

it makes no sense to rag about the players or their manager because it is what it is on the field: a half-crazy senile manager who has lost control of his ball club and openly admits "i don't know what to do."

so if you move away from the participants on the field, you have no choice but to point the finger of blame at general manager jim hendry, who after making a splash early in his eight year tenure, has decimated this once proud franchise with stupefying trades, bizarre free agent signings and contracts that defy logic.

to wit: alfonso soriano, koske fukedome and carlos zambrano are paid a collective 49 million dollars a year and this will continue thru 2011 when fukedome will disappear but the one dimensional soriano will be here THRU 2014 at 18 million per year and zambrano will collect another 54 million thru 2012. those contracts are almost criminal and have financially handcuffed the cubs because no one wants hendry's overpaid garbage. oh yeah, hendry is also signed thru 2012 so he has almost three more years at the helm of the titanic.

hendry has also allowed this team to grow old while winning nothing. fifteen players on the current roster are over 30 and three of the 'stars' are in obvious decline. tom ricketts paid almost a billion dollars for this mess and i guarantee that he will be swallowing hard this off-season when no less than FOURTEEN of the current roster become free agents, including derrek lee, ted lilly, carlos silva, xavier nady, ryan theriot, geovany soto, carlos marmol and on and on. if those names look familiar, it's because most of them are players from the everyday starting lineup. ALL of them will be free agents and aramis ramirez also has the option of cancelling his contract after this year and moving on but that would be a stupid move on his part because hendry guarantees him 15 million a year for two more years.

bottom line: this franchise is heading into the oblivion they lived thru during the 50's, 60's and 70's and they wil be financially strapped with a roster full of minor leaguers and an owner who is a businessman and not about to throw good money after bad.

i've seen more empty seats at wrigley this season than i have in the past five years and a perfect example was a 75 degree night at the end of may, tickets were available at game time against the dodgers, which is unbelievable.

so don't boo lou or the players...save it for jim hendry but be prepared for huge roster changes in 2011and the disappearance of pennant fever for a long time.

thoughts & things for june 17, 2010

twenty billion is a start but BP had better get that leak fixed pronto. you have to believe that no less than 5 of the management team are heading to jail after documents were released this week that clearly indicate supervisorsignoring safety standard problems that arrived via emails. immunity, anyone? start talking.

speaking of jail, rod blagojevich is still bouncing around like the mad hatter and loving every minute of the spotlite, even signing autographs on the steps of the federal court house. a very strange man. i hope he takes the stand because that would be great theater.

i agree with bill gates & warren buffett about donating half of your wealth to charity. exactly who gets my $153.12??

everyone catch the seattle video of the cop punching the "lady" when she tried to interfer with his arrest of her friend? amazingly, the "lady" immediately calmed down and was totally quiet after that while the cop continued to wrestle with his initial arrest. totally justified.

the blackhawk love in this town is incredible even though most of the two million at the parade probably never watched a game until the finals. if you want to have a little fun with a bandwagon member, have them name any ten members of the team with first and last name required and no mistakes. a great way to drink free beer all night.

congratulations to the four sponsors who covered the entire cost of the downtown parade. didn't cost the taxpayers a dime.

the sox & cubs? another blog.

wonder why things are so expensive? my ford expedition has an aluminum hood and i notice a small bubble about the size of a dime. i stop at the body shop and the estimate is $1600 dollars!!! the guy says they can't fix rust on aluminum permanently so they always replace the entire hood. (i got the same story and estimates at two other shops). i hope it hails soon.

this has to be the worst summer for movies in a decade. the theatres are empty and other than 3 films, it's a hollywood disaster. and one of those three is the 'a-team' remake which is pure crap.

everyone ready for a toasty summer? my buddy at the weather service, who has correctly predicted the last three summers (including the miserable 2009), says we will steam this summer thanks to el nina and some other factors. the warm-up starts now. enjoy.

have a safe summer!

thoughts & things

is there anyone out there who doesn't want the BP officials drawn & quartered in the town square? they've done years of destruction to the gulf coast and affected thousands of lives in the process. there is NO EXCUSE in this age of technology to not have fail-safes in place.

another person who needs jail time is the new trier driver who struck a fellow student at an intersection and then fled the scene and left her sprawled on the street. again, absolutely no excuse.

finally the rod blagojevich trial begins. want a quick guilty plea? threaten him with a crew cut.

did you see where JORAN van der SLOOT was arrested for the murder of a girl in peru? this is the same smirking dirtbag who was the prime suspect in the disappearance of NATALIE HOLLOWAY in aruba. he was arrested EXACTLY five years to the day after natalie disappeared.

"i simply misremembered it wrong." what??? senate candidate MARK KIRK, who was probably going to steamroll ALEXI GIANNOULIAS has now made a race of it by lying to the public by proclaiming himself to be a solo medal winner and fudging the truth about his plane taking fire in iraq. didn't they force SCOTT COHEN to resign after his lies & omissions were exposed?

it's friday night and the finals are now tied 2-2. are the hawks going to gag this away?

if you haven't tried RAVINIA, it's a great place to kick back and watch acts close up in the pavilion. just get there early so you can use the main lot and avoid the shuttle.

baseball season is over on both sides of town.

warm good-byes to RUE McCLANAHAN & DENNIS HOPPER. she cracked me up and he was edgy and not afraid to take chances.

stay cool.

CHICAGO SPORTS THOUGHTS 5/10/10

blackhawks making you nervous? yeah, me too.

bigggest disappointment so far in baseball? without a doubt, the white sox. touted by many (including me) as world beaters this year, they have been stuck in reverse since day 1 and minnesota continues to pull away from them. eight games out of first and counting with 4 regulars still batting around .200........ throw in the struggles of mark buerhle, gavin floyd and bobby jenks and you have the makings of a typical north side summer on 35th street.

the cubs? business as usual. stuck with three incredibly bad 'no trade' contracts, they are mired in mediocrity for at least three more years as the team grows older. aramis ramirez and derrek lee are hitting like they belong on the south side and the cub bullpen is non-existent. the cubs just finished the 'soft' spot of their schedule at 14-18 and are already 6 games out. new owner tom ricketts hates being called 'lovable losers'......get used to it. but the fans are drooling over starlin castro, who was finally promoted by boo-oo lou last week. castro should have been the SS from opening day (see earlier blog). a couple words of caution to cub fans about celebrating starlin castro too early: jerome walton.

and the chicago bulls? wow. injuries doomed any chance of being successful during the regular season but vinnie actually did a pretty good job with all the adversity, including dropping the gloves with GM john 'tie grabber' paxson. but firing vinnie was the right move (as firing the tie grabber would also be) because the bulls are going to land a stud in free agency and an experienced coach is needed to guide the bulls upward. this move is no different than when the bulls fired doug collins and replaced him with phil jackson or the hawks releasing denis savard for joel quenville. sometimes, ya gotta make a move.

the chicago fire? no clue. i still don't get it. later.

a few thoughts

despite all the drug related and highly publicized violence in places like acapulco, ciudad juarez, laredo and tijuana, mexico is still a wonderful place for a vacation.
i know that most of you think i'm crazy for staying there every year but just like in the states, you just have to avoid the nasty cities.

but unfortunately, the publicity beat goes on............check out these statistics on recent violence over a 26 hour period: 41 people shot and 4 dead. who would visit that area, right? well, those deadly stats belonged to the city of CHICAGO last weekend but i don't see the state department issuing a warning to stay away from the windy city. perception is reality....unless it's in your back yard.

congratulations to the university of conneticut's womens basketball team for winning their second straight undefeated championship and winning 78 consecutive games over two years. how do you win 78 consecutive anythings?

Godspeed to actor robert culp who dared break all the rules and partner up with a unknown black actor on a weekly television series in 1965 called 'i spy' which played for three seasons. culp defied the critics and thumbed his nose at those who said america wasn't ready for an african american as an equal partner to a white man and that culp was commiting professional suicide. apparently, the critics were wrong as culp was emmy nominated all three years as best leading man in a drama but he never won the award because he lost every years to his tv partner, bill cosby. culp was 79.

tiger woods was playing around on his wife. infidelity was the primary cause of action in 1.2 million divorces last year. when do we get reports on the other million + people? let the guy and his family move on.

how brave is that 11 year old boy who helped his mother fight off the knife wielding rapist the other night? they both suffered nasty facial cuts. when does the local plastic surgeon step up and donate his services?

my buddy jim thinks our former governor is so delusional that he would pass a lie detector examination. wouldn't that be a hoot if blago was found 'unfit' to stand trial and commited to an institution?

if you're thinking about a new car, i think your best bargain is going to be ANY toyota over the next twelve months. that company is going to jump thru hoops to rebuild their reputations. they just have to learn that sticky gas pedals should not be included in the luxury package.

smile. summer is coming.

2010 WHITE SOX

the baseball excitement will be on the south side this year as the pitching rich white sox duke it out with detroit and minnesota for the central division crown.

the depending champion twins were dealt a heavy blow when all star closer joe nathan went down for the season but they're the champs until someone knocks them off and that someone should be the white sox in 2010. but, although loaded with pitching, the sox are not without question marks in their outfield lineup.

carlos quentin has never played a full season in professional ball so his health is certainly an issue. alex rios has to bounce back from that disastrous two months after being traded from toronto because hitting .199 ain't going to cut it.

on the plus side, juan pierre is a huge upgrade from scott podsednick. better hitter, faster, better base stealer, well liked in the club house and a very intelligent player. but the pearl of gm kenny williams' off season activities might be andruw jones. a ten time gold glover, he's 35 pounds lighter and pounding the ball. look for him to get more playingtime than expected.

they have a solid infield and the bullpen is lights out. jenks, thornton and putz will twist you in knots. as mentioned, the starting 4 is the best in the american league.

this is a ball club with very high expectations. if you play on the north side and stay healthy, you're still playing for second place but if the white sox stay healthy, it could be a repeat of 2005.

THE 2010 CUBS

normally spring training is the time for optimism but the chicago cubs have stumbled badly coming out of the chute without a pitch being thrown.

boo-boo lou has obviously begun his season long siesta early by not letting starlin castro start the season at shortstop. castro is the real deal and a 4 star player but simply put, boo-boo thinks that ryan theriot is the answer at short and doesn't want to hurt his feelings. totally moronic.

moving theriot to 2nd (where he better suited) and letting castro handle short (where he's a natural) would solidify the infield and the cubs desperately need that because the pickins' at 2nd have been mighty slim since derosa was traded.

but boo-boo feels that his best shot to win is having a shortstop with average range and and a below average arm. theriot would be perfect at second and the proper move would solidify the middle for ten years but what does lou care? in ten years, he'll be in the shuffleboard finals down in tampa.

***********************

2010 will be another year of disappointment for cub fans despite the fact they play in the worst division in baseball and that you can normally win the central division being just a little over .500.

the cubs have NO chance to win the division and they better worry about hanging on to 2nd place as the reds are again improved and the brewers will score runs in bunches as everyone chases the cardinals, the class of the division. however, the reds will be hindered by little offense and dusty baker with the brewers not improving the worst pitching staff in the national league.

problems are multiple. second base by committee, a $140 million dollar disaster in left field, a drug using catcher and a pitching staff without a #1. the offensive production fell more than 15% last year and with father time and repeated injuries slowing down the 'star' core, the cubs are done.

cub fans: make second place your goal and you'll have a fun summer at urine field wearing your yosh kowano floppy hats and mock turtleneck dickies.

the white sox are next followed by the MLB yearly predictions.

FINAL THOUGHTS BEFORE VACATION

answer me this: how does the sordid personal history of democrat scott lee cohen NOT make the papers until AFTER the election? check out this list of facts : beating his wife, orders of protection, living with a hooker, using steroids, not paying his taxes, numerous building code violations and failure to pay $54,000 in child support while pouring over two million of his personal fortune into his campaign. these are all boo-boos that will normally de-rail a candidate faster than the cubs fold in september but not one single publication dug these facts up until after the election! and shame on the democratic party.....don't they check out candidates in major races??



as most of you know, i've voted both parties over the years and consider myself more than a casual observer of the political scene and i have to ask: does sarah palin have any idea how badly she'd be defeated if she ran for president? my thought is that she wouldn't survive her own party primaries but my second thought is: who do the republicans have to run against her? now THAT'S a tough question!



what in the world were those missionaries thinking when they tried to take haitian children out of the country without any paperwork? the country might be third world but they look unkindly on americans as it is and i'm afraid this group made it way too easy for the authorities, especially after a prior warning about not having proper documents. look for secretary of state clinton to make a deal for their release and disguise the extortion as more aid to the country.



who works hardest when we get a big snowfall? one answer, your local snow plow driver who has to work until the work is done. it's not like they do 8 hours and the second shift arrives because most townships only have 2 or 3 guys that are responsible for snow removal and that's it. long and dangerous hours working often in 'whiteout' conditions and running the risk of contact with a buried object on the street. tough job.



what is mayor daley smoking? he's already got enough problems with the city budget, the parking meter fiasco, the CTA shutdown plan, employee layoffs and mccormick place losing conventions left & right without telling the public that scott lee cohen should NOT be asked to step down. major democrats such as attorney general lisa madigan and senator dick durbin are urging cohen to call it a day but the mayor defends him? ouch. i guarantee that video snippet will resurface down the road. or is hizzoner going to call it quits and not run again? that would explain his indifference to the cohen catastrophe.



a very scary situation exists in this country with the SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION ACT and it's glaring overall failure. check out the story on page one of the sunday tribune of 2/7/10 and read all about how over EIGHT HUNDRED convicted offenders JUST IN ILLINOIS thumb their noses at registration with little chance of getting caught.....until it's too late for an unfortunate child. the story is chilling.
read it at chicagotribune.com



the super bowl was just that this year and congrats to the saints. exciting all the way.



well, that's it for a couple of months and i hope you've enjoyed some of the blogs and their content. as you know, i've switched from all sports to a combination of topics and the feedback has been favorable and i thank you for that. FYI--it really helps if you 'reply' thru the blog so we can start an exchange of ideas and opinions. stay warm and we'll chat in the spring.

PART II--THE WAY WE WERE

hey, thanks a lot for your contributions and now here's some more memories from when we were kids. these come from seven different families.

cartridge pens were a big deal because it eliminated bottles of ink. ball points were next.

hot lunches. if you went to a catholic school, this was a big deal. maybe 6 times a year, you had a shot at a sloppy joe or a hot dog. other than that, you brought your lunch. milk was 2 cents.

corduroy pants. you couldn't sneak up on anyone.

reaching 7th grade and getting a locker for the first time.

forgetting your combination.

playing outside ALL DAY in the summer until the street lights came on. then you begged for just a 'little more time.'

being yelled at when you ran thru the grass at dusk. "you'll stir up the mosquitos!" little did they know that their yelling attracted more of them with carbon dioxide than we did by running.

catching lightning bugs and putting them in a mason jar.

my sister making me and my brother take part in a funeral 'procession' for the parakeet.

the girls washing their hair in the utility room because they couldn't tie up the only bathroom.

getting your first little league uniform. all wool but very cool.

getting my first autograph from pete ward at the grand opening for a 7-11.

going to the dump in northern wisconsin after dark so you could watch the bears come in and eat
the garbage. seriously.

blistering the roof of your mouth on a hot pizza.

shaking a pecan tree and then selling them for a nickel a bag.

learning how to play pinball. and pool.

curling your hair with a curling iron heated on an open flame.

almost everyone smoking cigarettes.

going to the local gas station to buy cigarettes for your mom. don't you dare forget the note! and then putting a quarter in the machine and getting the pack with two pennies inside the cellophane. that was your reward.

a washing machine with a manual wringer. how about a mangle to steam press your clothes? there was nothing permanent about 'permanent press.'

that's it for now.

THE WAY WE WERE

the other day my nephew dan brings me a can of 'throwback' pepsi which proudly proclaims that they are using 'real' sugar and the original recipe for a limited time. ice cold, it was aces in flavor and got me to thinking about when i was a kid:

my dad was a milk man who left the house every day about 0400 and got home in the early afternoon. i had no clue how hard he worked but i was very much aware that we were the first kids on the block to get egg nog at thanksgiving and strawberry milk on a hot summer day. the milk was in glass bottles and had a cardboard stopper with a little tab that you pulled to open. HOWEVER, more often than not, that damn thing ripped off when you pulled it and you were forced to open the stopper with a fork or knife, which shredded it permanently and totally pissed off your parents because the bottle could never be closed again. many times a piece of paper and a rubber band served as the cover.

television was a snap with 2-5-7-9 your only choices and all in black & white. there were no remotes and spinning the channel dial would always get a reaction out of my dad with his most popular phrase "do you think i'm made of money, buster?" i'd race home from school to call 'dibs' on the tv and watch the mickey mouse club until my sister pat muscled me out of the way to watch american bandstand at 4 o'clock. worse than that, i had to watch her dance to the tunes for the next half hour and a war was always guaranteed if she tried to make me dance with her.
my mother watched lawrence welk every saturday and god help you if you screwed up that hour because that would mean no gunsmoke at 9:00 and early bedtime.

sports captured my attention at an early age and i watched the blackhawks every saturday night when they played out of town and lloyd pettit was the announcer with "shot and a goal!" being his catch phrase. today, you might see his name on an ice arena just off the tollway as you near milwaukee. both the cubs and white sox were broadcast on channel 9 and jack brickhouse was the announcer for both teams. the cubs only played day games and going to a friday night game at comiskey park was big time fun. basketball and soccer were non-existent and the bears never broadcast a home game on local tv so you had to listen to brickhouse (yep, he did everything) and irv kupcinet on wgn radio.

my mother or father cooked every meal and the almost nightly question of 'what's for dinner?' was often answered "leftovers.' according to my brother in law roy.....if it was in the
refrigerator and not green or moving, it got eaten on leftover night. tupperware was non-existent in our house and for some reason, my mother thought that 'tin foil' kept everything fresh. it didn't. my father thought the shiny side of tin foil had to be on the outside for it to perform properly. he was wrong. he also thought tin foil protected a roast from drying out in the oven....... but not when you cook it at 475 for 5 hours, dad.

i polished my shoes every saturday and had assigned chores the same day. during the week, homework was supposed to be done before going out to play after school. this was the rule most often broken. you changed clothes as soon as you got home from school and switched into jeans that probably had more patches than a pirate. only girls wore shorts, even in the summer.
t-shirts had no reference to sex, drugs or rock n roll. maybe a picture of a deer with 'boulder junction, wisconsin' written underneath it.

telephones were all rotary dialed and you stretched the cord to the laundry room for a 'private' conversation. NO ONE was allowed to use the phone after 9:00. doctors made house calls and the dentist really hurt. teachers smacked you if you were bad and so did the parents of my friends. i can't count the number of times mr. cervone smacked me and his son jim in the back of the head and told us to knock it off.

my buddy is on the phone and is cracking me up with his stories so we'll do some of those next time. stay warm. HEY! if you've got some childhood memories, share them and i'll put them in the next blog and no, i won't use your name. thanks.

just some idle thoughts

holidays in the midwest were nice this year. white christmas, jack frost nipping at your nose and all that other good stuff. now where is the button i push to melt all this crap?

i still think ice fishing is just another excuse to drink.

remember the warped sense of excitement & panic you would get as a kid when you walked slowly across the ice and heard some cracking? kind of like pushing a loose tooth with your tongue. continue? stop? just one more step. just one more push. memories.

the only ice i hear cracking today is when my warm amaretto goes over the rocks in my glass.

ok, WHO still has old metal ice cube trays with the pull handle to release the cubes?

you know it's cold outside when you don't see a squirrel. those little bastards are everywhere most of the time.

i also have a show to offer to rod blagojevich. it's the morning dj at WDOC, the department of corrections radio station.

i'm constantly amused by cub fans and their eternal optimism. they have very little knowledge of baseball but you can't question their loyalty, blind as it may be. if you think i'm kidding, try and get a ticket to the cub convention which is held every january in sub-zero chicago.

the oscar for best actor will be either jeff bridges or george clooney. tough choice.

i wish they posted the vote totals for the academy awards.

want a sure thing? bet the mortgage on CHRISTOPHER WALTZ for best supporting actor for his exciting performance as the evil nazi colonel hans landa in 'inglorius basterds."

think you might be getting a little older? try looking at the list of nominees for this year's grammys and see how many names you recognize. ouch.

both of my nephews are currently hiding from the locals down in florida. they relocated from chicago a couple of weeks ago and the sunshine state promptly had their coldest weather in 55 years. the grove owners are still throwing black oranges at nephew john's car.

i get a little more nauseous each time brett favre wins a playoff game.

why is online poker against the law but poker machines in taverns is soon to be ok?

do they still call them taverns?

where i grew up, one of the most popular taverns was called 'ding & fuzz.' i kid you not.

the most exciting 'club' was the american legion because you could climb all over the tank in the parking lot until an adult yelled, "do you want to break a leg?" sure i do.....right after i say 'yes' to the famous question asked by every parent as they raised their hand, "do you want something to really cry about?"

59 days until spring. stay warm.

NEW YEAR'S THOUGHTS

toughest volunteer job around the holidays? the person from the salvation army ringing the bell outside your local grocery store for 8 hours a day. big hearts.

i find it amusing that republicans are stomping their feet because president obama hasn't fixed all the problems after less than a year in office. they conveniently forget that it took eight very long years for president bush to screw everything up. and yes, i voted for mr. bush.....twice. but fair is fair. give the new guy some time.

the cubs are slapping their fans in the face again. while free agents were being scooped up left & right, they let themselves be handcuffed by the milton bradley situation for three months as they tried to screw other major league teams into taking that steaming pile of crap. they finally just traded piles of garbage and other MLB teams have yet to stop laughing. with a lame duck manager, this team is doomed.

there were a lot less outside christmas decorations this year. a lot less.

putting a wood burning stove in my house was a pretty good idea. and watching tv in the same room when the stove is cookin' is sweet.

if you haven't experienced high definition television, spend the extra eight bucks a month and give yourself and your family a treat.

dogs are still my favorite but for some reason, cats seem ok now. but not as good as dogs. ever.

fleming's steak house in linconshire is pricey but verrrrrrrry nice.

isn't it strange how we accept $2.50 a gallon for gas? wasn't too long ago, people were screaming about two bucks. i guess we all adapt to everything in life eventually.

i think i might be getting old. three kids i used to help with their homework in junior high school have either graduated from college or are graduating in june. woosh. that was the sound of time flying by.

isn't the rebirth of the blackhawks great?

less than 80 days til spring. stay warm.