Random Rambling…

When I write a blog I typically have a specific topic or theme. That’s not the case here. Nope, today I am just going to spout off about things in general. This is just stuff that has been going through my oversized melon the past few days. My last two blogs have been originals; not reposts. I have been working my way up to getting back to working on my book. We shall see. Before that, I simply feel like reflecting on some fairly innocuous subjects. Merely some random rambling…

I am a creature of habit. Big time. I appreciate things happening in a certain order. Not being a fan of change, I like to know what to expect next. No surprises for me, give me what I am comfortable with. If I enjoy something, I want it to be there for me to continue enjoying.

This is why I think WGN radio stinks.

Thursday night when I plopped into bed, I hit preset number 3 on my Bose radio. Number three is WGN 720 and at 10:30 pm Turi Ryder should be yakking about something. Turi is on Monday thru Thursday from 10:00 pm-1:00 am. Her show is what I have been going to sleep to since she took over for Milt Rosenberg six months ago. It had become part of my routine.

That suddenly came to a screeching halt when Turi announced that this was her final show.

Seems that WGN, in their infinite wisdom, was changing their schedule yet again. This got me to digging around the Internet to find what or who was replacing Turi.

Boy was surprised when I found the new schedule. Please remember, I don’t like surprises.

Not only are they axing Turi’s show, they are eliminating the WGN Sports Night show that was on weeknights from 7:00-10:00. Although the show was mainly Chicago sports and featured the pompous David Kaplan as one of it’s hosts, I listened to it on occasion. Along with Kaplan, Brian Noonan and Andrea Darlas also hosted. This served to counter Kaplan’s arrogance and self-importance and made the show fairly entertaining.

But WGN Sports Night is also gone.

In it’s place? The David Kaplan Show from 7:00 to midnight, Monday thru Friday. Nice, huh? Not only have two decent shows been eradicated, they are being replaced by five hours of the pretentious Kaplan’s special brand of patronizing blather. The icing on the cake is that it pushes the über-popular Nick Digilio show on Friday nights from 10:00 pm-2:00 am to midnight-5:00 am Saturday morning. That is the final straw.

Like I said, WGN radio stinks.

While I am rambling about Chicago related things, let’s discuss which of Chicago’s sports team “owns” the city of big shoulders. The reason I bring this up is because Chicago Tribune sports writer David Haugh wrote that the Hawks were at the top of the Chicago sports heap. He even went so far as to declare that the “Transcendent Cup champs have eclipsed, at least for the moment, even Bears in unifying city."

Sorry, Mr. Haugh, I don’t agree. Chicago is, and will always be, a Bears town. In fact, I would take it a step further and say that the Cubs rank higher popularity-wise in the windy city. Here is how I rank ‘em:

1. Bears
2. Cubs
3. Bulls (tie)
3. Hawks (tie)
5. White Sox (and fading)

I was going to randomly ramble some more, but the Brewer/Pirate game just came on. I am delighted to announce that Craig Coshun is handling the play-by-play while Brian Anderson pursues his national gig on TBS. I hope the Diamondback and Brave fans enjoy him. The can have him.

Hey! The Pirates are wearing their black and mustard uniforms from the ‘70s! They are too sweet. I guess I will watch for a while. Hope it’s a good game, because Monk isn’t on today.

Until next time…from the booth.

Getting Old

Yesterday was the first Saturday of college football. With the Fighting Irish playing Navy over in Ireland, you could start watching games at 8:00 am. Sometime after 10:30 pm, USC finished trouncing Hawaii. In between, there were games on at least a dozen channels. I took a look ahead and saw that there is a minimum of 31 games on the tube next Saturday. You are probably thinking that I am in my glory. 

Well you would be wrong. I am not. I have come to the brutal realization that I really don’t care about college football anymore. I’m reluctant to admit it, but I think I am getting old.

It’s true, it has dawned on me that I no longer possess the rabid enthusiasm for most sports that I once had. After a bit of reflection, I was able to come up with a list of the sports that I am still passionate about. Here it is:

1. Major League Baseball
2. NFL Football

That’s it, and in that order.

Last season I did not watch one complete NHL game, not even during the Stanley Cup playoffs. I’m not really sure why hockey no longer captures my interest. As far as the NBA goes, I doubt that I watched more than 5 minutes of any one game this past season. That’s basically because the NBA sucks.

As far as other sports go, I still have a mild interest in them, but not like before. I still enjoy March Madness and will tune into the major tennis and golf tournaments, but not 24/7 like in the past.

I am sure that my time spent listening to sport talk radio will diminish considerably over the next few months. When the talk turns to college football or the NBA, I will simply turn the dial. The impending work stoppage makes the NHL a moot point.

Maybe I should have seen this manifestation of apathy coming. Looking back, I noticed that I didn’t have the same infatuation with many of the superstar athletes as most people do.

Despite their greatness, I never liked John Elway, Cal Ripken Jr., Michael Jordan, Ben Roethisberger or Serena Williams. In the past, it wasn’t a matter of just disliking these jocks, I actively rooted against them. Now, it’s more a case of not being able to care less.

Now my indifference also extends into my hatred of specific teams. In the past, my loathing of the Cubs, Bears, Bulls, Vikings and Cardinals was all consuming. As hard as I pulled for the Packers, Brewers and Bucks to win, I rooted just as hard for those teams from Chicago, Minnesota and St. Louis to lose. I had such strong contempt for those teams, it was ridiculous.

But not anymore.

Sure, it still bothers me if the Cubs beat the Brewers or if the Bears should knock off the Packers. However, it doesn’t gnaw at my gut like it used to. As my friend Bev has told me on more than one occasion, it’s only a game. And she’s right, a game isn’t worth getting all melodramatic and emotional over.

Now granted, there are Cub and Bear fans that still get under my skin with their moronic, knuckle-dragger remarks, but not to the point where I want to squeeze their heads until they pop like a pubescent zit. That’s in the past.

But not anymore.

It amazes me that it took Saturday’s glut of college football games to make me aware that I am no longer as obsessed with sports as I once was. Don’t even suggest that I am more mature and have finally grown up. No way. I am as childish as ever. I prefer to think that I am just getting older.

I’m gonna watch the Tigers/Sox game now. Or maybe I will read a book. Have a safe Labor Day holiday. Until next time…from the booth.

That Toddlin’ Town

Green Bay Packers fans rejoiced with their cherished Super Bowl champions during a frigid ceremony on Tuesday February 9th to welcome the Lombardi Trophy back to Lambeau Field after a 14-year absence. It was the fourth time the city of Green Bay was able to celebrate winning the Super Bowl, giving the small city in northeastern Wisconsin 13 total NFL championships.

Undoubtedly these championships have bolstered more than the spirits of the people of Green Bay, especially this year what with the state of the economy. But this blog isn’t about the city of Green Bay and winning championships.

This is about a city with the longest championship drought in North American sports, that toddlin’ town, Chicago.

Typically, championship teams attract more fans. Those fans don't just spend money at the stadium, they go to dinner before or after the game, or they go to sports bars to watch their favorite team. All of those activities generate tax revenue for the city.

In addition, having a major league franchise, especially a championship franchise, helps cities in attracting new business. If a company is looking to set up a regional headquarters, or relocate, they're much more likely to choose a city which has a vibrant sports scene and a history of winning championships.

None of these are problems for the city of Chicago. All of their teams have large fan bases, there is a very fervent nightlife and it doesn’t seem to have any problem attracting new business.

At first blush, you wouldn’t think that there would be much of a problem winning championships either. And there isn’t. As recent as last year, the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup. Prior to that, the White Sox won the World Series in 2005 and the Bears were the Super Bowl champs in 1985.

And not to be forgotten are the six NBA championships that the Bulls procured during the ‘90s. So what is the problem team in Chicago? Who is this perennial loser? Who is this team that can’t seem to get it right?

The Chicago Cubs, that’s who.

The Chicago Cubs have not won the World Series since 1908 and haven’t even appeared in the Fall Classic since 1945. In fact, the Cubs’ last World Series win came before the other three major U.S. professional leagues were even founded.

That’s a 102-year championship drought.

In sports, a drought refers to instances in which a team has gone on a lengthy period of time without winning a championship. Droughts occur for a variety of reasons, from chronic mismanagement to seemingly bad luck.

Some fans believe that their team’s drought is the result of a curse. The Red Sox fans attributed their 86-year drought on the Curse of the Bambino. In Chi-Town, it’s the supposed Curse of the Billy Goat that is responsible for their prolonged absence of a championship.

So based on this historic dry spell, you would think that I might have a soft spot in my heart for these lovable losers and pull for them to finally break this horrendous streak.

Not a chance.

Even with a good many of my friends being longtime Cub fans, I just can’t bring myself to rooting for the Northsiders. It’s impossible to do this based solely on the longevity of their ineptitude.

If that was the case I would be rooting for the Sacramento Kings to win the NBA championship purely on the fact that they last won one in 1951 when they were the Rochester Royals.

If I used the logic that “they’re due”, I would have to pull for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Hell, they haven’t won a Stanley Cup since the 1966-67 season.

And I’m certainly not going to hope that the Arizona Cardinals win the Super Bowl just because they haven’t won a championship since 1947. Especially when you consider that the franchise was located in Chicago at the time.

Chicago.

That’s probably the reason I can’t pull for the Cubs. They are the Chicago Cubs. Not the Louisville Cubs or the Duluth Cubs. They are the Chicago Cubs.

I don’t know why I have such a problem with Chicago. It’s not just the fact that they have some of the most obnoxious, delusional fans in the world. No, it’s more than that.

Perhaps it’s the arrogant notion that ketchup is not allowed on hot dogs. Who made Chicago home to the gods of frankfurters, anyways?

Also, the way they try to pretend that the Taste of Chicago should be mentioned in the same breath as Summerfest has always annoyed me. Please, it’s not even close.

How about that ridiculous “Dibs” thing that goes on during winter. Only in Chicago can you have lawn furniture and card tables in the street holding parking spaces. That’s real normal.

On a grander scale, maybe it’s the rich tradition of fine Governors that the state of Illinois has produced. Gentlemen like, Otto Kerner, Dan Walker, George Ryan and Rod Blagojevich. A really classy bunch.

Speaking of politics, let’s not forget Richard M. Daly and his glorious 20-year stint as Mayor of Chicago. Although his corruption charges and Federal investigations were prolific, it was his actions prior to his failed Olympic bid that ruffled my feathers the most.

It was special the way he shipped Chicago’s most undesirable characters out of the city in an effort to make it a more desirable place to host the Olympics. Suddenly, neighboring cities had a new supply of ne’er do wells to contend with. Thanks, Richie.

Okay, enough already, I can’t do it. I just can’t pull for that toddlin’ town and their Cubs. Not unless I am also being forced to root for the Sacramento Kings, Toronto Maple Leafs and Arizona Cardinals. It just isn’t going to happen.

Until next time…from the booth.