It is sad to hear of the passing of Charles Grodin. I mostly remember him for his appearances on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and his films. I have only seen a few of his films, but my favorite is Taking Care of Business (1990) with Jim Belushi. In the film, Belushi plays a prisoner doing time for auto theft. When his beloved Chicago Cubs make it to the World Series, Belushi’s character breaks out of prison so that he can go to a Cubs World Series game. Grodin plays a workaholic business man. Grodin loses his Filofax which Belushi finds. Belushi uses the credit cards and other personally identifying information to assume Grodin’s life while Grodin is left to fend for himself as his life unravels over the next few days. It is a silly comedy, but the chemistry between the two works well. For me it is one of those films that always makes me feel good. If I find myself spending the day on the couch nursing a cold, this is a movie that will help me feel better and get through the day. Of course, being a Chicago baseball fan is a big attraction too. When the film came out in 1990, I had been waiting my entire life for the Cubs to make it to the World Series. (It would be another 26 years of waiting before that finally happened in 2016.) Cubs first basemen Mark Grace had a cameo in the film.

There was an excellent TV spot to promote the film. Belushi is at a Cubs game in Wrigley Field. Mark Grace is up to bat. Belushi leaves the stand and runs on the field. He grabs a bat and runs after Mark Grace. Grace bolts and Belushi chases him all the way outside of the ballpark where he catches up with Grace and tackles him. With references to 1989 and 1984 when the Cubs made the post season but did not advance to the World Series, Belushi threatens Grace with the bat. The ensuing verbal exchange goes something like this:

Belushi: “Apologize!’

Grace: “For what?”

Belushi: “For 1989!”

Grace: “OK, I apologize.”

Belushi: “Apologize again!”

Grace: “For what?”

Belushi: “For 1984!”

Grace: “ I wasn’t on that team!”

Belushi: “Apologize anyway!”

Grace: “OK, I apologize!”

Belushi: “What are you going to do to make up for it?”

Grace: “I’m going to hit a home run in your new movie!”

I searched the internet but had no luck finding the video of that promo. Anyway, Taking Care of Business is just a fun film and for me, a good memory of the late Charles Grodin.

Congratulations Los Angeles Dodgers, 2020 World Series Champions.

Last night, for the first time In a while, I listened to the Grateful Dead’s album Blues For Allah. Today, while watching Game 6 of the World Series, I hear the heavenly intonations of Jerry Garcia’s guitar from the song Franklin’s Tower at the end the 5th inning. Somebody on the World Series crew at Fox is a Deadhead!

Chicago Major League Baseball 2020

This shortened Major League Baseball season has been a lot of fun for Chicago fans. During the regular season, there were only two no-hitters, one each from the White Sox - Lucas Giolito, and the Cubs - Alec Mills. It is the first time in the history of MLB that the Sox and Cubs have had a no hitter in the same season. (In MLB history, Sox are second all-time with 19 no hitters and the Cubs are tied for fifth with 16.)

It is also just the third time both teams are in the post-season at the same time. The last time was 2008 when the Sox lost to the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL Divisional Series and the Cubs lost to the LA Dodgers in the NL Divisional Series. Prior to that, you have to go all the way back to 1906 for Chicago’s one and only subway World Series. The Cubs had a 116 wins and 36 losses that season, an MLB record .763 that still stands today. The light hitting White Sox had a record of 93-58. The Cubs were expected to dominate in the World Series, but the Sox turned the tables on them, winning the series 4 games to 2 and outscoring the Cubs 22-18.

Here’s hoping White Sox and Cubs meet again in the 2020 World Series!

Congratulations to the 2018 World Champion Boston Red Sox.

The 2018 baseball season has ended. Given that my top five favorite teams are…

1.     Chicago White Sox

2.     Chicago Cubs

3.     Milwaukee Brewers

4.     Los Angeles Dodgers

5.     Boston Red Sox

… it was not a bad season.

My observations based on my teams:

·      Chicago White Sox – Still rebuilding. Based on that, I can’t say it was a bad season, but I was hoping for a little better. 100 losses sucks no matter how you cut it. Sox broadcaster and MLB maven Steve Stone says 2020 will be the year the Sox break out. Hopefully we will see progress in 2019.

·      Chicago Cubs – I can’t say that a 95 win season is a bad season, but it was a frustrating season. They are a talent laden team that was disappointedly inconsistent all year. Although they clinched a post season slot, they could not win the division in 162 games. They had two chances to advance with game 163 against Milwaukee and a wild card game against Colorado. Back-to-back home games and they could not get it done. A classic Cubs choke that ranks 4th behind 1969, 1984 and 2003.

·      Milwaukee Brewers – I really wanted this team to go to the World Series. They seemed like such a team of destiny. I became a Brewers fan, partially because of their close proximity to Chicago (I usually attend one or two Brewers games a year) and because in 1982, I lived vicariously through that Brewers World Series team since neither Chicago teams had won a World Series in my lifetime at that point in time. (The Brewes lost in 7 games to the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series.) Plus, given that they are a small market team, they have a wonderful fan base. Unfortunately, this year they fell short of the National League pennant in a tough seven-game series against the Dodgers.

·      Los Angeles Dodgers – My fandom of the Dodgers goes back to when I was a kid. I have always been a pitching fan and in the mid-60’s, there was no better 1-2 punch than Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale. Along with the fact that my maternal grandmother lived and LA and I played on the Dodgers when I was in Little League, I just always had a thing for the Dodgers. Also, my nephew lives in LA and even though my sister raised him to be a Cubs fan, he is now a hard core Dodgers fan. My older son also lives in LA, but he is a Cubs fan and I think indifferent when it comes to the Dodgers.

·      Boston Red Sox – My fandom of the Red Sox goes back to the 1967 World Series.  They were the underdog favorite against the dreaded Cardinals, and lost in Game 7. In my youth, it was the most exciting World Series that I remember. In 1975, I was again a Red Sox fan when they played the Cincinnati Reds, a.k.a., The Big Red Machine. At this point in my life, I was old enough to be hanging out in bars (the Illinois drinking age was 19 back then), and I remember watching most of the action in crowded Chicago neighborhood taverns. Again, the Sox lost in seven games, but it was one of the best World Series ever with lots of great plays and many dramatic moments. The most dramatic moment came in the bottom of the 12th inning in Game 6 when Carlton Fisk hit a game winning home run. The image of Fisk waving the ball fair as he jumped down the first base line has become one of the most memorable moments in the history of Major League Baseball. Fisk later moved to the Chicago White Sox as a free agent and although he is in the Hall of Fame as a Red Sox, he actually spent more than half of his career with the White Sox and became one of my all-time favorite White Sox players. (As I write this, my younger son is in Boston visiting his girlfriend, and though he is not a Red Sox fan, at least he gets a taste of the euphoria of a World Series win.)

So as I await the 2019 baseball season, all I can say is Go Bears! Go Blackhawks! Go Bulls!

OK, one more Cubs World Series win video!

Got all my bases covered for the World Series. GO CUBS!!!

The Chicago Cubs have a chance to wrap up the World Series this weekend at their home ball park. And I’ll take the wins anyway they can get them. So I’m kicking off the weekend with The Rolling Stones song Winning Ugly.

I want to be on top Forever on the up And damn the competition

I’ve waited my entire life for this!

CHICAGO BARS THAT WERE OPEN THE LAST TIME

THE CUBS WON THE WORLD SERIES