The Evolution of A Cappella In A Young Man's Life

Do you ever think back over your life when you saw or experienced something but didn't realize what it really was?  One example for me was a cappella music.  First time I ever experienced it was watching Rocky and Rocky II.  Rocky starts with him walking at night and comes across some guys just harmonizing standing around a trash can with a fire in it.  In Rocky II he and Adrian were just married and he's carrying her home.  They pass an alley where the same group of guys are standing around a fire singing..  He tells them he just got married and they start singing a song for the newlyweds.  Their harmonies blew me away but I didn't know what I was hearing.  I didn't know a cappella was a thing.  But it planted a seed.

A few years later I saw Huey Lewis in concert and their tradition was to give the  band a break and have Huey and the News sing a few a cappella songs.  I was mesmerized, but again didn't know what I was experiencing.  I knew I loved it, but figured it wasn't really a thing, it was just Huey and the guys showing the audience how they warm up before a concert or something.

Then the lightning bolt struck.  In college I worked for a radio station.  They had tickets to see Larry Gatlin in Aurora, IL.  No one at the station knew anything about country music except me so they asked me to come up with five trivia questions they could ask the listeners so the station could give away five pairs of tickets.  As a reward or thank you the station gave me one of the pairs of tickets.  I love country music so I was totally excited.  I heard the station play commercials promoting the concert and I heard the announcer say "So join Larry and his brothers, Four Guys Standing Around Signing for a great night of music."  I couldn't understand the "four guys standing around singing" comment since Larry has two brothers and being a college student I understood that one (Larry) plus two (his brothers Steve and Rudy) were three, not four.

Fast forward to the night of the concert.  Before the Gatlin Brothers came out, an a cappella group - Four Guys Standing Around Singing - came out on stage to open the show.  Scott McEwen, Rick Vamos, Noah Budin and Darren (his real name) Stevens absolutely killed it.  They sang doo-wop.  They covered contemporary songs.  They sang an original song or two.  They were AMAZING!!!  And I was transfixed forever.  Four young guys who played local bars in Chicago and toured different colleges were the highlight of the night.  They sang  for fifteen minutes and I was disappointed when the Gatlin Brothers took the stage.  I wanted, I NEEDED more of this a cappella thing I just heard.

That started a life long love affair with a cappella music and a four or five year love affair with the 4 Guys.  I still have their audio cassettes (yes, this was back in the day before the internet and CDs and MP3 players).  Bought their t-shirts and with my best friend from high school, David, went to see the 4 Guys perform nearly 35 times.  Knowing almost all their songs and their jokes never, never, never diminished the enjoyment of their shows.

When I worked downtown for a few years, one Christmas the building my office was in had a group called Chicago Voice Exchange sing Christmas carols in the lobby.  Big acoustic heaven for sound and these guys were unbelievable.  I stumbled across them on my morning break, stayed much longer than my allotted 15 minutes, went back down at lunch and just sat there in amazement.  I hated working downtown, but for that morning it was the best thing ever.

After our experience with the 4 Guys, David was always on the lookout for a cappella.  I found the Nylons and he found (once the internet became available) a video.  Oh the video..  He sent it to me saying "I know you like a cappella, here's a group that did an interesting arrangement of the 12 Days of Christmas."  And my life changed.  At first I didn't get it because while it's the 12 Days, it isn't the 12 Days.  Without knowing what I was seeing I thought "Man, they screwed up that song."  They didn't sing it poorly, quite the contrary.  But they didn't sing it the way it was written.  It took a couple of viewings for me to realize the genius I was seeing.  The song was arranged and performed by Straight No Chaser, quite possibly the greatest a cappella group of all time.  I've seen Pentatonix on The Sing Off, their videos and in person.  I've watched Home Free, Committed and various college groups including a very talented one - UC Men's Octet.  But SNC is the platinum standard for a cappella.  Of course that's just my opinion, but believe me when I tell you I'm right.  They cover Motown, hair bands, The Beatles, the  70's, Cold Play, Madonna, Michael Jackson just to name a few areas.  They do EVERYTHING including original material.  Sometimes straight up, most often with their own "twist" to the song.  They will mash songs together in a way that you don't even know you are hearing two songs.

I have had the pleasure of seeing them live 23 times and never leave disappointed.  I have seen the faces of the audience at intermission with looks of "oh my god, I can't believe I just saw/heard that!  What is the second half of the show going to be like?"  With just nine voices (previously ten) and a pitch pipe Straight No Chaser will transport you into a world of harmony, musical creativity and humor in a way that when you walk out of their concert your life is incrementally better than it was the two hours before you sat down.

I am biased.  I've met the guys, received their autographs, taken pictures with them and joked around with them.  Even if I hadn't had those experiences, they would still be the best out there.

Pentatonix is great and adored world wide.  For me, most of their covers are of songs that I just don't connect with.  That being said, they came out with two Christmas albums that combined don't have one bad song among them.

There's a lot of great a cappella music out there, including high school groups like this one.this one.

But there is only one SNC.  Here's how they explain a cappella music.

Cooper and the Brewers

For reasons that defy understanding Cooper, my youngest and currently age 12, is a Brewers fan.  I have been a Cubs fan since 1974.  His mother has embraced both the Mets and the Cubs, though I think her current preference is for the Northsiders.  And yet, there's Cooper - blissfully happy to cross the border, break through the Cheese Curtain and cheer for the Brewers.

Personally I think it's awesome.  At younger stages of his life he has liked the Pirates and Tigers.  But now, since he likes the Brewers and we're from Chicago I am supposed to be upset.  Friends will ask "How do you allow that?"  My simple answer?  I don't care.  He likes baseball.  That is most important in my mind.  It is the sport I grew up loving.  He loves the sport as well.  What could be better?

I'm not sure why but his absolute favorite player is Lorenzo Cain, your starting centerfielder for the Milwaukee Brewers.  But he can talk about the virtues of Christian Yelich, Yasmani Grandal (until he signed with the White Sox), Josh Hader, Mike Moustakis and the list goes on.  But Cain is his fave.

This past summer I decided to take him to his first Brewers game in Milwaukee.  I was looking at the Brewers schedule to see how it fit with my work schedule and the days that Cooper spends with me when I noticed something.  When he was over for dinner I mentioned going to see the Brewers and he got excited.  I pulled up the schedule and said "Well, we could go see them play the Phillies on this day."

Cooper - OK!

Me - Or we could go see them play the Reds on that day.

Cooper - Ehh (clearly more interested in seeing the Phillies than the Reds, but that's when I dropped the decision maker)

Me - Because the day they play the Reds they're having a giveaway.  It's Lorenzo Cain Bobblehead Day.

Cooper - OH HECK YEAH!!!

Like I didn't already know which game we were going to go see.

We drove up and had the greatest time.  Yes a lot of it had to do with watching baseball with my son.  But the Milwaukee experience was amazing.  People in Milwaukee are some of the nicest people around.  When we went to get some hot dogs and nachos, obviously there was a line.  That's what happens at a sporting event.  As we approached the guy who was going to take our order he met us with "Thank you so much for waiting in line."  Then he looked me over and looked at Cooper.  I was wearing a Pirates T-Shirt and Cubs baseball hat.  Cooper had a Brewers shirt and hat on.  The guy says to Cooper, "What's wrong with your dad?  Pirates and Cubs?  Why isn't he cool like you?"

Cooper just shook his head as if in disappointment and said "Yeah, I know" which cracked the guy up.  After we received our food and started to move out of line the guy said "Thanks for coming to the game!  Have a nice day."  This was said in full sincerity.  Truly genuinely nice people.

As for the game itself, well every time Lorenzo Cain came to bat Cooper would set down his phone or food or whatever was in his hand, stand up, cup his hands around his mouth and let out a barbaric "WOOOOO!!!!" arching his back for full amplification and sound distribution.

Yasmani Grandal gave the Brewers an early lead with a homerun in the bottom of the 1st which allowed Cooper to see Bernie the Brewer come down the slide in the outfield and wave a Brewers flag.

The roof was open on a beautiful summer day, which, talking with my friends who have been to numerous Brewer games, is rare.  Not a beautiful summer day in Wisconsin, but apparently the default position for the Brewers is to have their roof closed on the off chance of inclement weather.  I have had friends attend a dozen or more games and the roof was closed each time.

Not that day.  It was beautiful.  Josh Hader came in to nail down the 6-5 win and all was right in the world.

While we stalled going to the parking lot to avoid traffic we stopped in the gift shop and found a Lorenzo Cain shirt.

We then headed back to our car, walking past all the tailgaters and grills with brats and sausages.  Asking almost a rhetorical question, I asked Cooper if he enjoyed himself.  He said yes, he had a great time.  Then, "I LOVE Milwaukee!!  Wisconsin is so much better than Illinois!"

I love the youthful certainty in that declaration, coming from a kid whose TOTAL Wisconsin exposure was I-94 to the Stadium exit ramp and then walking through the parking lot (granted filled with the amazing aroma of brats, sausages and burgers) seeing people playing cornhole, playing music, laughing and enjoying the weather, and then entering the stadium.

That's Wisconsin to Cooper.  And he LOVES it.

Passion

Joe Posnanski posed the question "What is your passion?"  He embarked on a project with a writer friend to identify and write about Passion Across America.  Joe is an award winning national sportswriter, one of the best in the country.  But anyone who has read Joe's work understands he is equally, if not more, astounding when he writes about his family, his passions, everyday ordinary things.  But I digress.

In an article he wrote, he asked what the reader's passion was.  I gave it some thought, turns out it didn't require all that much thought.  Once I eliminated my children - not because they aren't my passion, they are, but that's going to be everyone's answer either because it's true or the respondent thinks that should be the answer.  So I took it a step outside of the default obvious.  What is my passion that is mine and not society's expectation?

At a younger time in my life it would have been baseball and the Chicago Cubs in specific.  They still are an interest, but due to life experiences and changes, they are no longer a passion.

Coming in a close second is the a capella group, Straight No Chaser.  Actually in a tangential way we will soon discover, they are connected to my absolute passion.  A few quick words about SNC.  They are nothing short of incredible, awesome, unbelievably brilliant.  There are a few posts on here extolling the sheer - I don't have the proper over the top adjective to provide right now - of their music and live performances.  After further review I realized that I am obsessed with SNC.  They are my obsession.  And they introduced me to my passion.

Dancing.

"Dancing?" you say?  Yes dancing.  It has completely saturated my soul.  I've tried to figure out why and I'm  not sure I have my finger on it yet.  There are contributing factors to it, but I don't know that I've nailed the single, specific reason.

How did it start?  Well it goes back to Straight No Chaser.  I was watching videos of their tour and while I can't sing to save my life, I watched these guys not only sing but put on an entertaining show full of choreographed moves.  I remember thinking, "Man I would love to move that smoothly and have that rhythm."  That thought moved to "I should take dance lessons."

So I googled dance studios in my area and found that I passed one (Dance Fun USA - Aurora, IL) virtually every day in the normal course of my errands.  Who knew?  So I stopped in, signed up for their introductory package and after the first group lesson I was hooked.

Since I didn't know what I didn't know, we (my instructor Peggy and I) decided to cover a variety of dances instead of learning just one.  We've dug into Swing, Latin and Ballroom.  And while I'm perfectly inept at all of them, that in no way reflects the talent and abilities of Peggy and Amy (another unbelievable instructor I've coerced to teach me).  They are phenomenally talented, creative and supportive in their teaching efforts.  But even they are limited to the abilities of their students.

Dancing is my passion.  I have learned (with the help of Peggy and Amy) how every day things are a part of dance.  It's nothing that they have pointed out specifically but through their instruction and breaking down of dance steps and moves, it becomes so blatantly obvious that much of our day is a form of dance.

In partner dancing you have a lead and follow.  The lead suggests a move and (hopefully) the follow agrees.  So I've noticed similar parallels in every day life.  When I drive and I put on  my turn signal, I'm indicating what I want to have happen next.  That's an obvious one.  But even more subtle, driving in a parking lot if I move my car slightly to the right, I'm indicating to the oncoming car I would like to have them pass me on my left.

If you're standing next to someone and need to reach around them to get something, if you nudge them to the right so you can get around on the  left, you're leading (suggesting) that they move to the right.

I fall asleep with songs running through my head and to those songs I am envisioning the moves Peggy and Amy taught me or I'm trying to create something new.

When driving to a destination for work, I cannot tell you how many times I've gotten in the car thinking "Ok, I need to turn right at the next intersection.  Then a song will come on the radio and I will start dancing the song in my head, thinking of moves I know or moves that I could try.  When I get to the intersection I've turned left instead of right or driven straight through.

One time on a country road I needed to turn right about a mile down the road.  I started dancing a song in my head and eventually I looked around wondering where I was.  Turns out I was about a mile and a half past the road I needed to turn on.

Since I began lessons I have read numerous articles about how dancing helps people on so many levels.  It delays the aging process.  It improves balance, blood flow.  It provides social interaction and human connection.  And I don't care about any of that.  Those are all ancillary benefits.  Certainly huge benefits, but that's not why I dance.

Why do I?  I'm not sure.  I know Peggy, Amy, the other instructors and the environment at the Dance Fun USA studio is a big part of it.  I've been exposed to other instructors briefly and it wasn't fun.  Had I walked into another studio almost three years ago, I may not feel the same way.

Or maybe I would.  Maybe dancing has always been my passion and I would have found the proper, supportive, creative environment eventually.  Fortunately for me it happened on Day One.

Another benefit I've heard about dancing is increased confidence.  I can totally see where that makes sense.  But so far, three years in, I haven't experienced it.  Oh, when a song plays I'm confident I know what dance goes with the music and I know the basic steps to that dance.  Peggy and Amy have taught me well.  But I have not found the confidence to go out to a club and walk up to a perfect stranger and ask them to dance.  Have I EVER done it?  Sure. But not often.  If someone asks me to dance, I'm there and will do my level best to give them an enjoyable experience.  But, so far, I'm not comfortable in my abilities to ask someone to join me on the dance floor with the expectation of having them enjoy themselves.

Every week I work with Peggy and Amy I try to learn something new or polish something I already know.  Often times I feel like I'm regressing instead of progressing.  They insist I'm making strides of improvement, but I'm not convinced.

Yet with the trepidation of asking someone to dance and feeling like I'm getting worse instead of better, I can't get enough of it.  I think about it every day.  I practice in my kitchen, in the parking lot waiting to pick my son up from school, in the grocery store aisles.

What's the end game?  Winning a competition?  No, nothing that easy to identify.  Less than a year into my dance experience I was at a ballroom watching an amazing lead dance with multiple follows, whisking them all across the floor.  The follows all walked off the floor with smiles that would challenge the brilliance of the sun.  At that point I knew my dancing goal.  To make my follow feel beautiful.  Will I ever accomplish that?  Most likely not.  But it's been said that a dog that catches its tail stops chasing.

What's your passion?

Who are you?

My youngest daughter is one of the most caring, thoughtful, quiet, animal loving people I've ever met.  And right there in the first sentence I've insulted her.  Not on purpose.  Until recently completely unknowingly.  How?  The sentence seems complimentary.  Oh, that must be it.  I insulted her with compliments.  Kids HATE when their parents gush over them.

No, it's because I called her my daughter.  After many years of introspection, as many years as a 15 year old can painstakingly and painfully endure on a day to day, minute to minute basis, Kristi has identified that she is transgender.

Yeah, I had to look up the definition too even though it's been in the news because North Carolina has issues,  We live in a country where the current administration is trying to undo all the bridges built with the LGBT communities that previous administrations have established.  I never paid a lot of attention to it because I kind of worked on the premise of "if you're a good person, you're a good person and I will treat you accordingly".  I wasn't up for causes or marches.  I just figured in my little corner of the world I would treat everyone with respect that deserved to be treated with respect.

And then I discovered I was contributing to the "living hell" my little girl had to endure - her words.  This is the last time I will call her my little girl.  Kris (he prefers Kris vs. Kristi) prefers the pronouns he, him and his.  In his words "it just feels right to me."  Apparently his classmates already do this.  Kris would prefer that his mom and I view him and acknowledge him as our son.  I won't speak for my ex-wife, but that's quite a leap for me after 15 years.  My memory tells me I have three daughters.  My verbal and intellectual muscle memory reverts to "Hey girl, how was school?" when I pick Kris up from band practice.

I don't mean anything by it.  I'm not judging.  I'm not trying to change his mind.  I know I don't know much in this area, yet, but I do know it's not a mindset.  Kris identifying as a male is no more a choice than me deciding to be prematurely bald.  I just have 15 years of doing something one way and now have to adjust in another direction.

Kris was never a girly girl.  He would rather run around with the neighborhood kids playing sports or agender activities rather than play with dolls and dress up.  I think I saw him wear a dress once in his life and that was for a grade school project.

Honestly as I watched him grow up I assumed he was gay.  Never wanted to wear girl clothes, preferred boys t-shirts or gender neutral clothing.  But that was my limited understanding of gender issues.  Either you're straight or gay.  The idea of my youngest daughter being gay didn't bother me one bit.  As long as she would be happy, I have no issues.  Little did I know how far I was from understanding what was going on in her mind and how far from happiness she was/is.

Recently I asked Kris if some of the girls from school he hangs out with are just "peeps" or if they were girlfriends.  And I received the most amazing response.  "No, they're just peeps.  I don't even know who I am at this point.  I'm not going to start dating guys or girls when I'm still trying to find out who I am."  I'm paraphrasing.  I mentioned Kris is thoughtful, caring and quiet.  I left off incredibly mature.

As a parent the only thing that bothers me about all this is that I'm discovering the confusion, torture and pain that he is in on what seems like a daily basis.  He doesn't talk much.  For the longest time I attributed it to being 15 where all kids go through mood swings, introversion, wanting to avoid their parents.  But more and more I'm aware that it's also because he's trying to figure out where he fits in - at school, in the world and in his mind.

Additionally I'm concerned for his safety, both physical and emotional.  This world is filled with amazingly open minded, nurturing people.  But it also is filled with the most vile, crude and abusive people.  The second type is usually pretty easy to spot and avoid.  But there's a third type.  The type that thinks they're the first group but really are the second group.  They'll make off hand comments about a person's appearance, race, background or intelligence.  They won't deliberately try to put another person down, but it's so ingrained in their DNA that they are somehow superior to everyone else, they just can't help themselves from being obnoxious, rude and belligerent.

Those are the ones I'm concerned about for Kris.  His (and anyone's) path of self-discovery is tough enough without having to navigate past the clueless lunks who think they are all that.  Basically from the time he was able to walk, Kris has marched to the beat of his own drum.  Appropriate since he's taken such a passionate interest in becoming a very accomplished trumpet player in band **.   I have seen and heard him be exposed to comments about his wardrobe when he was younger (always wearing t-shirts and sweatpants) or befriending the "uncool" kids.  When I talked to him about the comments he would receive he would shrug it off and say "it doesn't bother me".  Maybe it did, maybe it didn't.  But he always stuck to what he believed in.

**  When he was in 5th grade the opportunity to play an instrument in the school band presented itself and Kris knew that he wanted to play trumpet.  Right around that time, either just before joining the band or soon after, as his oldest sister was exploring college options, Kris stated with complete conviction - "I am going to go to U of I on a music scholarship."

As parents often discover, we learn as much from our kids as they learn from us.  From the time he could talk, Kris has always been the helpful, thoughtful, put others first individual the world needs more of.  He was quiet, yet when he would comment on a subject it was obvious there was logic, truth and a belief in what he was saying.  Kris is one of the few young adults I've known who does not get trapped with over reaction.  His response to things is always measured and level-headed.  If adults could act the same way, there would be so much more harmony in our lives.

These qualities are still there in him, but they've been muted as he has focused what seems like every waking moment of his life recently to identify who he is and where he fits in this world.

I do know that if anyone on this planet is strong enough to figure it out, it's Kris.  And I couldn't be prouder of my son.

Baseball, Politics and Big John

Pitchers and catchers reported for duty yesterday (finally!) and uncharacteristically the temps were mild and the sun was shining in Chicago so my eight year old, Cooper, and I broke out the gloves and ball for our own spring training.

As a preface to make the rest of this recount understandable, Cooper and his classmates are in the middle of doing biographies of famous Americans of their choice.

So while we were lobbing the ball back and forth we led off with a little Abraham Lincoln knowledge since that's Cooper's subject.  He explained how Lincoln ended slavery, he was shot and some other tidbits.  I asked him if he knew the name of Lincoln's wife (he did). Then I off-handedly said her full name "Mary Todd Lincoln" which brought the discussion around to how women's last names change when they get married and whether their middle names change (essentially their maiden names becoming their middle names).  And then a great question - "When a woman gets unmarried do they have their old name back?"  I love that question on so many levels.  I love the wording.  I love the thought process.

We moved on to other biography subjects, namely George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and George Bush.  So we got hooked on some Presidents.  Two interesting observations from my horsehide slinging dude.  "Is Barack Obama really the first black President?"  Apparently Cooper thinks America should be a little further down the progressive thought process.  Then we talked about all the living former Presidents and their Vice-Presidents.  We identified the former Presidents still among us and Cooper wanted to know if they all died would their Vice-Presidents become President?  "And what if the President and Vice-President died?"  Ok, quick introduction to the Speaker of the House.  Fortunately he didn't question things further lest I be required to explain the Secretary of Agriculture.

We moved away from the class biographies and turned to topics he's learned recently so I was able to hear the details of Annie Oakley, Wild Bill Hicock and Buffalo Bill Cody.  In amazing detail.

We finished our ball tossing conversation with impressive and long (I mean loooong - I think a couple of snails crossed the driveway) insight of "Big John" and how he stood up for the little guy and that he outworked a machine trying to destroy a rock that was in the way of building a railroad track.

Somehow I think Jason Heyward, Kyle Schwarber and Kris Bryant are having completely different conversations as they loosen up for the 2016 campaign.  But I guarantee they are not having a better conversation.

Here You Go, Iowa, Catch . . . . softly

When I was in grade school I had a friend named Tom Hawkins.  Some of the kids called him Hawkeye. 

When I was in high school I would watch M*A*S*H twice a night (three times on Mondays) and was entranced as Hawkeye Pierce made us laugh . . .and think.

Now that I'm an adult I have a new Hawkeye in my life.

University of Iowa, you are about to receive a precious gift.  When her mother and I brought her home from the hospital we could not conceive of the unbelievable journey she was about to take us on.  We nurtured her, raised her, challenged her, did our best and now we present her to you.

When she walked at 11 and a half months we claimed her a genius.

At three she would lead us to the park, four blocks from our house.

When we took her to have pictures taken we unbiasedly identified her as the most beautiful child of her age in the entire world.

Two time captain of the cheerleading squad.  Homecoming queen.  National Honor Society Member.  Top 10% of her graduating class. Yet her true accomplishments rank higher than any yardstick the organized educational system can install.

She has been an amazing friend to many.  Volunteered for and impacted those less fortunate.  Connected with people on a deep, personal level ranging in ages from two to 85.  Her ability to interact with adults as well as peers and make all of them feel special and unique is unusual for a girl her age..

She is our Belle. Please keep the Beasts at bay.  She deserves a prince.  If there are none on campus we prefer she be allowed to challenge and expand her mind so she can be prepared to make dramatic contributions to whatever part of the medical field she sets her sights on.

She will make you proud and honored that she is a part of your family, just as she has done for us these past 18 years.

You should know that you were the first institution she visited.  She sought out a few others and none were able to compare with what she felt was available among your hallowed halls. She will give you everything she has and more. Give her everything you have but don't forget to send her home for the holidays so we can once again envelope her in our warm embrace.

She is absolutely incredible.  She loves candles if they smell good.  She loves her cat.  And inexplicably she loves Blake Shelton (ok, maybe she's not perfect).

She will make you laugh with the flick of an eyebrow.  She will melt your heart with her laugh.  She will break your heart when she sucks the marrow of knowledge from your bones and moves on to bigger and greater things four years from now.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

She is capable of multi-tasking, having volunteered, captained in cheerleading, nailed down awesome grades all at once.  And proving it yet again, she is your newest alum and our baby girl, all at the same time.

Breaking New Ground

When you have children you never know when that awesome comment or conversation is going to happen, you just know that it will.

Tonight such a time occurred.  With my oldest (18) and youngest (14) daughters and son (7) hanging out for dinner, the subject magically turned to baseball.  Katelyn (18) reaffirmed her love and admiration for Cubs phee-nom, Kris Bryant.  She readily admits that he became her object of affection because he's so adorable, "but hey" Katelyn says "it turns out he's an awesome player as well!  I know how to pick 'em."

For years she said I should have Alfonso Soriano on my fantasy team.  With Soriano it wasn't because he was good looking, just because "he's awesome" according to Katelyn.  Now with Bryant she chastised me for not having him on my team.  The owners in my league can tell you that I did everything I could to get Bryant right after he was drafted by the Cubs including telegraphing my moves to force another owner to snag Bryant two slots ahead of me.

"I could probably win your league," Katelyn stated confidently.  "All I need are pictures of all the players.  I would pick all the good looking ones."

I kind of laughed as thoughts rolled around my head.  "Have you ever won the league?" she asked.  I said it had been a while (almost 20 years).  Then I said 95% joking, 4% serious, 1% hoping "I recently pissed off an owner and they decided to resign.  So we have an opening. . . "

She declined, saying she didn't want to be the only girl in the league.  I pointed out she would be the FIRST girl in the league.  But that didn't stop the four of us from brainstorming and spit balling ideas for her team. 

We started with the fact that she would be a pioneer and Kristi (14) threw out a reference to Neil Armstrong.  Then Katelyn said "Amelia Earhart" and I came up with her team's tagline - "A female pioneer who loses her way and is never heard from again."  I can only assume using a drafting strategy based on the good looks of a player would destine her team to the cellar.

Well, her team needs a name.  Usually the CFCL (Cubs Fan Club League) encourages its owners to build a team name in connection to the owners name.  But Katelyn nailed the name in five seconds.

"The Air-Hearts**", she said, specifically spelling the second part of the name h-e-a-r-t-s.  "The 'hearts' go out to the good looking guys on the team."

**  Yes, Amelia's last name was Earhart.  But if we spelled the team name The Ear-Hearts, obviously people will be thinking 'hearing' and mispronounce the team name. We're exercising creative license here people.**

And literally seconds after the name was identified and my note taking began, Katelyn came up with the team logo.  I can't create it in a word document so I will describe it.  It's a baseball in the shape of a heart with the red baseball stitches in front of each loop of the heart and wings extend out to the side from the upper parts of the heart.  A shout out to Amelia flying (wings), the heart for the good looking guys on the team and baseball stitches for . . . well you understand.

A legitimate team name, logo and approach all created in less than 10 minutes.  Let me tell you.  As a father who loves his children, loves baseball and loves fantasy baseball this was . . . Eden, Nirvana, Shangri-La all rolled into one.

Think about it, the team could be located on Howland Island, the island Amelia Earhart was trying to reach when she lost contact with the Navy.  Sure the Air-Hearts would travel more than the Seattle Mariners, but think about the home field advantage.  Teams coming in suffering from severe jet lag, playing in oppressive heat. The only fans attending would be Air-Heart fans, what fan would travel to see their team play only three games at a time on Howland Island?

As an owner, while she could learn it eventually, Katelyn would have to figure out how to coordinate our salary cap with the physical appearance of her team.

This is a pipedream as she has bigger fish to fry.  After conquering high school by finishing in the top 7% of her class (already more qualified to run a team than I am) she's off to the University of Iowa in four weeks to make an impact in the Health Sciences field.  It's the right decision . . . .but this would be totally cool.

It's Awesome Being 5

Our little guy is about to turn six.  As he finishes up his time being five I take a step back to, if not look through his eyes, at least view him from a wide angle lens.  Since this is a baseball-themed blog, here are the baseball connections.  We named him Cooper Wrigley (for Cooperstown and Wrigley Field – no I did not have to get my wife drunk to agree to this, it was her idea).  We have him signed up for soccer and t-ball.  And now I bring you the joys of being five.

**  During his last game of soccer he was doing well dribbling the ball and scored a goal.  Then just before the game ended with the action right by him he stretched out his arms parallel to the ground and started spinning around.  The ball rolled right past him and all the other players ran to the other end of the field while he twirled around.  After the game I asked him what he was doing.  He said, somewhat exasperatedly, “Papa (I love it that he calls me Papa), I was a Ninja Turtle!  I was fighting off the bad guys.”

**  He will out of nowhere identify if a day is great or not.  “Papa?  When I get home can I have marshmallows?”  When I say yes he responds in an excited voice “This is the best day ever!”

**  At 11pm when we’re trying to get him to relax and fall asleep he’ll ask “I want something to eat.  Can I have a hotdog?”

**  Occasionally when he’s done doing his thing in the bathroom he’ll walk down the hallway naked from the waist down.  I’ll say “Dude, where are your clothes?”  He will look down, embarrassingly smile and say “Whoops!  I forgot!” and run back into the bathroom.

**  While my wife and I are in the kitchen making dinner he will walk up to us and let out a roar.  We’ll ask “Are you a monster?”  He will look at us like we must be nuts and say “No!  I’m a Seratops! (triceratops)”

**  He has embraced the music of my wife (Maroon 5) as well as myself (Straight No Chaser) and happily sings along to both whenever we drive along in the car.

**  His video and television tastes range from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Transformers to Strawberry Shortcake and My Little Pony.

**  While watching those videos he can be laying quiet as you please on the couch when all of a sudden he will leap up and race around the family room and kitchen acting out a chase scene or race or battle on the screen.

**  And at the end of a long day, he will come over, push my leg down that’s crossed over the other one, climb up on me, put his head on my chest and say “I want you to hold me.”

Got Wood? Not Anymore We Don't

Kerry Wood rode off into the sunset May 18^th, 2012 after one final appearance against the White Sox.  As I watched that appearance, this article wrote itself in my head in about five minutes.  Obviously it’s taken a lot longer to get it from my mind to the keyboard.

I was struck with a lot of emotions that Friday afternoon, watching Kerry jog in from the bullpen for what we all knew was his final appearance.  Apprehension that he have a good outing.  Sadness that this was it.  Slight disappointment that his career didn’t have the Hall of Fame accomplishments it should have.  Pure joy as his threw three straight strikes to appropriately finish his career by striking out Dayan Viciedo.  And then as Kerry walked off the field something else happened that caused me to find some tears welling up.  As he reached the dugout his son came out to give him a hug.  Kerry lifted him in his arms and carried him off the field, eventually sitting next to him on the bench listening to his son talk about something, probably unrelated to the fact that his dad just pitched his final game.

Here’s where I begin the blasphemy with baseball fans.  I made the comment to my cousin that watching that scene with Wood and his son was the most emotional baseball moment since I watched the movie, no – not Field of Dreams but The Rookie.  Yes the Disney movie with Dennis Quaid.   If you’re willing to stick with me on this, I’ll explain.

When we watch movies we usually identify with the main character.  So in Field of Dreams we’re Kevin Costner, in The Rookie we’re Dennis Quaid.  The big scene in Field of Dreams that everyone gets choked up about is “Hey Dad, wanna have a catch?”  Great scene, very touching but it never really hit home for me like it did for others.  Now I know in the movie Costner’s character didn’t have much or any of a relationship with his father, but the thing that most men cling to in that scene is that it either reminded them of playing catch with their dad and making that father/son/baseball connection or wishing they could have one more catch.  I never had that connection/relationship with my dad.  Oh sure, we played catch, usually for about five minutes before he would think of some project he wanted to do around the house.  So while I loved Field of Dreams, the catch at the end of the movie didn’t make me want to play catch, it reminded me of the disappointment of not playing catch.

I watched The Rookie late one night while everyone was asleep.  As it progressed I saw the connection between Quaid and his son.  Having a four year old son of my own, I saw me and Cooper when Quaid had to leave his family to go to the minors.  I saw the heartbreaking phone calls home as he was conflicted with chasing his dream vs. missing his family.  The breaking point for me was when Quaid finally was called up to the majors.  He’s sitting in the ‘pen and looks up to see his family looking down at him.  That’s where it really got me, the pride of the family seeing that he made it and the pride in Quaid for his accomplishment and what it meant to his family, not just financially but also in the lesson to his children that if you set your mind to it, wonderful things can happen.  Cried like a baby watching that scene in the bullpen.

And so when Wood walked off the field into the arms of his son who isn’t much older than Cooper, I identified with Wood and the connection he has with his son.  So it makes sense, the Wood/retiring and The Rookie instead of Field of Dreams connection, right?  Well it does in my mind.

And even though we won’t see number 34 walking out to the mound any longer, we do have lasting images.  Wood pumping his fist as he struck out the 20^th Astro to end the game and then in the on-field postgame interview his hand shaking so bad he couldn’t hold the microphone still. 

Upon the completion of that game, The Professor (proud Owner of the Ruffins who owned Wood in ’98) jumped on the TQS message board and simply typed “Kerry Wood!” to which Head Copperfield responded “Hey look everybody!  Dave’s got Wood!”  The wit in our league runs like molasses.

My final thought on Kerry retiring is:  Should his number be retired?  The moment he walked off the mound against the Sox and in the ensuing days, I emphatically thought “Yes”.  Now that it’s been a few weeks, I still think that retiring Wood’s number would be appropriate.  The Cubs have retired four numbers for five players (Banks – 14; Williams – 26; Santo – 10; Maddux/Jenkins – 31) so it’s obvious they don’t just hand out retired numbers like candy at Halloween.  They also don’t have a policy of retiring a number only for a Hall of Famer.  Now it turns out the five players already honored will be in the Hall (Maddux is a lock) but Maddux and Santo had their number retired before their induction and for Santo his induction was certainly not a sure thing.

Maddux was honored for being a Cub but also more for his entire body of work.  As a Cub (in 10 years) he was 133 and 112, had a 3.61 ERA and a 1.24 WHiP.  He had three really good years including a Cy  Young Award and one post-season appearance before moving to Atlanta and becoming GREG MADDUX.  So honoring him for his entire body of work I will call that the “Something Special Factor”.

            As a comparison, if we look at Maddux vs. Rick Sutcliffe, only their Cub careers, we see come interesting similarities.  Sutcliffe average a 10-8 record for his 8 years with the Cubs, Maddux was 13-11 for his 10 years.  Sutcliffe had three good years as well, one of which was SPECTACULAR (1984), one Cy Young and two post-season appearances.  His ERA was close to Maddux; 3.74 vs. 3.61 and his WHiP wasn’t as good; 1.31 vs. 1.24, but not terribly off either.  As much as I love Sutcliffe and he’s one of my top three all-time starters for as long as I’ve been watching the Cubs, (Wood and Maddux filling out the top 3), I don’t think #40 should be retired for Sutcliffe.  That’s my argument, looking at the numbers, that Maddux benefitted from the “Something Special Factor”.

Banks, Williams and Santo essentially spent their entire career with the Cubs and crafted their Hall of Fame body of work at Wrigley, they didn’t need the Something Special Factor.

Fergie Jenkins had a little of both.  He became FERGUSON JENKINS when he was traded to the Cubs (much like Maddux when he signed with the Braves).  But I doubt he could have made the Hall simply with his Cub numbers, although had he not been traded he might have won the other 117 with the Cubs anyway, but history is he didn’t.  Logically his number is retired as much for the six straight 20 win seasons as it is for the Hall of Fame election.

Kerry Wood will never get to the Hall of Fame aside from whatever memorabilia made it from May 6, 1998.  But he did have May 6, 1998.  He had Game 5 of the NLDS against Atlanta in 2003.  He had numerous injuries that he . . .kept . . . coming. . . back . . .from.  He fought like hell to get back on the field, probably earlier than he should have.  He established himself as a fixture in Chicago with his Wood Foundation.  He stood in front of reporters after Game 7 of the NLCS in ‘03 and lied that he “choked” when two of his teammates had already booked flights to the Dominican Republic the day before.  He came back to Chicago in 2011 for significantly less money so he could come home and do whatever he could to get the Cubs to the post-season.  And if rumors are true, he took a bat to Sosa’s boombox.  For that he deserves a statue.

He had an unfulfilled career based on the promise we all saw in 1998.  But he was a beloved Cub, a committed Chicagoan.  He was, and is, something special and his number should fly from the foul pole forever.

That Just Gripes My Cookies

Major Frank Burns, in a moment of frustration with Army life or perhaps due to bunking with Hawkeye and BJ uttered the immortal and hilarious words “That really gripes my cookies.” This one’s for you, Ol’ Ferret Face.

Pat Hughes taking the 5^th inning off.

Any commercial by ESPN’s Colin Cowherd. Leave Gert alone!

Tom Waddle complaining about how tired he is after working the weekend in LA and then flying to Chicago to do his on-air job at ESPN. Buddy, you’re the one who chose to have two jobs that require being in two different states during the same week.

People with a sense of entitlement.

My cheerleading daughter wearing an article of clothing called a spanky. Dude, that’s my daughter you’re talking about.

Morons who have to talk on their cell phones WHILE THEY’RE BACKING OUT OF A PARKING STALL!!

Advice or information that is dismissed out of hand when provided by a parent but accepted as Gospel when offered by a teacher or coach.

Darren Jackson’s condescending delivery of play-by-play or analysis. Yes, you have 2629 more Major League At Bats than 99.9% of the world but your baseball resume does not support your arrogance.

Anything spoken by Mike Greenberg or Mike Golic. Boy this is becoming ESPN heavy – I need to diversify my life a bit.

More than seven consecutive days of 80+ degree temperatures in Chicago and the Cubs won’t play their next game at Wrigley until April, 2012. #Wastedopportunity.

Using the Express Checkout line at the grocery store and experiencing either A) a customer who apparently failed the mathematical challenge of counting to 20 in grammar school, or B) the customer who is taken by surprise that once all their items have been scanned some sort of payment is required.

Joe Posnanski is just so damn good. I post things to the Monroe Doctrine for fun. But I try to take it seriously and do it well. Shoot I was on the Sports Staff of the award winning school newspaper (The Trapeze) in high school, so the resume is there. But then I read the blogs posted by Posnanski and understand the difference between what good is and what I post here. If you haven’t found his site, do yourself a favor. Visit joeposnanski.blogspot.com and enjoy. Thanks to the Killers for finding this site and passing it along.

Can I Get a Little Help?

Chicago needs to improve. There is too much stupidity and entitlement going around.

I'm talking about Lance Briggs. Dude, you signed a six year deal. That means you abide by the terms of the contract for six years. You haven’t outplayed your compensation. When the Bears signed you (after you said you wouldn’t play anymore for the Bears, by the way) they expected you to play to your full capabilities, which with your talent means being an All-Pro. They didn’t sign you with the intention you would be mediocre for six years. If you’re pissed that your contemporaries make more, what did you think? Other NFL players would sign contracts worth less than yours for the next six years?

I’m talking about the idiot media and talking heads of TV and Radio. When it was learned that Ozzie Guillen wanted an extension on his contract, which expires at the end of the 2012 season (oh, by the way, Ozzie? See Lance Briggs.) these media geniuses were saying it made sense because Ozzie is a lame duck. No he isn’t. You’re a lame duck when there is no possible way the term for your position can be extended. Jim Hendry was a lame duck for a month, although only he and Ricketts knew it. George W. Bush and Bill Clinton were lame ducks, essentially once they were re-elected to office, but certainly as they entered the eighth year of their administration. Randy Bush, while not officially since he’s still in the position and could be signed for next year is about as lame a duck as you can be without being one. Ozzie still has a full season and a month on his contract. And if he, Kenny and Jerry could play nice, it’s possible he could have a lifetime contract which means he’s not a lame duck.

I’m talking about Cub Manager Mike Quade. Mike, I was your biggest supporter after the 2010 season before a “new” manager was named (really, check the Monroe Doctrine on September 20, 2010. You were my dark horse favorite). I was in agreement with the Cubs for hiring you for the 2011 and 2012 seasons because, in part, you promised you would hold players accountable and focus on the fundamentals. Well for the 2011 season the fundamentals have sucked and all you’ve done is throw your weight around at Castro, Barney and Colvin. Ramirez loafs his way to first and he keeps getting his name put on the lineup card. Soriano goes after fly balls near the leftfield wall like water goes after oil and he’s in the lineup every day. Either hold players accountable and execute the fundamentals like you promised or move on.

I’m talking about Pat Hughes. He has to go. He has negotiated into his contract that he gets the fifth inning off of every game, including spring training, (as the knowledgeable owner of the DoorMatts quipped “Could you see Vin Scully doing that?”). Additionally he has had at least two scheduled days off this season. The tone in his voice when a game goes extra innings or the temperature is above 89 degrees or below 65 is one of “I can’t believe I have to work in these conditions.” Pat, you work for the Cubs. That means virtually every year you don’t have to work from October 1^st to April 1^st as it is. You get paid to go to spring training to watch baseball – something thousands of Chicagoans do every year, yet they pay for the opportunity. Either commit yourself to the game (not dumbass stories about Gilligan’s Island or what you packed for the road trip) or, preferably, move on.

I’m talking about the Cubs. They need starting pitching. Matt Garza is ok as a #2 or #3. I can live with Wells in the 4^th or 5^th slot. I don’t mind Dempster in 3^rd or 4^th slot. We need two starters. No, we need TWO STARTERS. Andrew Cashner could be one of those guys, but not until at least 2013. He’s been injured all year so you can’t expect him to shoulder much of a load next year (remember Mark Prior in 2003?) Doug Davis, Rodrigo Lopez and Casey Coleman are not options for next year.

I’m talking about the Cubs approach to the second half of the 2011 season. You guys suck this year. You’ll be lucky to finish ahead of the Astros by giving your all. So at the end of the season you will be 25 games out of first, sitting in fourth place and have no idea what Tony Campana can do beside run really fast. No idea if Tyler Colvin is Tyler Colvin 2010, Tyler Colvin 2011 or some variation. You have no idea what Bryan LaHair is besides 28 years old. This team was dead in June and has wasted three months doing nothing besides finally, finally ridding itself of Carlos Zambrano.

Oh, and a General Manger. We need one of those too.

We have a lot of work to do. A lot of changes are coming in the off-season. But as bad as things are here in Chicago, at least we’re not Los Angeles (no NFL franchise, fans literally almost beating another team’s fan to death, bankrupt team, smog and the Real Housewives of Orange County). At least we don’t have that going for us. Which is nice.

Wrigley Never Felt So Good

Pretty cool experience this past week, even if most of it all took place in my head. I had an appointment to visit with a client. I knew she lived a couple of blocks from Wrigley Field so I decided that if I had time I would have to do a fly-by and check the old girl out (Wrigley, not my client).

I set my GPS for my client’s address and by luck, GPS decided the best way (certainly not the fastest) would be to exit I-90 at Addison. So I’m driving along and when I get on Addison the GPS said “turn left on Sheffield”. My keen baseball acumen kicked in. “Clark/Addison/Sheffield/Waveland”. Addison to Sheffield? I’m going to be turning AT WRIGLEY FIELD!!! No need to work in a fly-by, the satellite gods have programmed it for me!

I’m driving along Addison getting more and more excited in anticipation. All of a sudden, as if out of nowhere, there she is. Tall, beautiful and silent (off day for the Cubs). One second I’m driving past homes on a tree lined street and then all of sudden Wrigley Field – BAM! – appears. Now the memories come flooding back. All the times I took the ‘L’ from Forest Park; all the times I drove down with my family and parked on Irving Park Road (when you could still park on Irving Park Road) or parked in the lot run by the nuns.

Then I’m thinking how special Wrigley Field is and (stupid as it sounds) wanting to get out of the car, touch the walls and tell the passersby “THIS IS WRIGLEY FIELD! Let me tell you how special this place is.” Then it hits me, it’s special to everyone. No one has a unique experience of Wrigley Field and THAT’S what makes it such an amazing place. You saw your first baseball game at Wrigley as a child? I saw my first baseball game at Wrigley as a child. You saw an amazing game at Wrigley? I saw an amazing game at Wrigley. You had a drop-dead gorgeous woman wink at you in the 4^th inning? I had . . . uh, I saw a game at Wrigley. You could go into Murphy’s Bleachers or The Cubby Bear, sit at the bar and strike up a conversation with another Cubs fan and match them story for story about your experiences seeing the Cubs play at Wrigley.

I had to, had to, drive by, not just turning down Sheffield, but circling the park. Driving really slow and having a constant battle at looking at Wrigley, checking my rearview mirror to make sure I wasn’t holding up traffic and checking in front of me to make sure I wasn’t going to run over a pedestrian.

That brings me to something else. I’m driving by, slowly, lovingly and yet I see people walking along the walls of Wrigley, or jogging, or talking on cell phones. It’s all I can do to not jump out of my car and say “DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU ARE? HOW CAN YOU NOT STOP IN AWE?”

I pulled out my cell phone and snapped shots of the marquee, the statue of Harry, the statue of Billy and the statue of Ernie and if I were more technology astute I would share them with you here. I turned down Waveland and parked next to the gates down the leftfield line so I could get an angled shot of the scoreboard. I’ve done that a few times over the years, not taken a picture but park by the gates and just stare at the scoreboard. I’ve done it in July, I’ve done it in February. Doesn’t matter the time of year, it’s an awesome view.

So I’ve just risked losing my Man Card by admitting that I get emotional driving past a building. But here’s where I regain my Man Card – because I know every one of you have done the same thing.

Husky Power

** To my loyal Monroe Doctrine readers. This summer has been a challenge to maintain weekly submissions, in part due to what you are about to read. I thank you for your patience and I will do the best I can to get back to consistent articles. Now, on with the show. **

Boy, being Mike Quade isn’t easy. I recently “volunteered” to coach my daughter’s third/fourth grade softball team, the Huskies. I say “volunteered” because I wanted to do it but wasn’t sure I would have the time to devote to it. When the second e-mail from the association came out saying they didn’t have a coach for the team I stepped up.

You would think the biggest challenge would be able to explain the Infield Fly Rule, or where the cutoff man should be on a hit to the outfield. Not for yours truly. My biggest challenge was learning and (more importantly) remembering 14 names. It didn’t get any easier by having two Alexandras and two Kirstens (one pronounced Keer-sten, the other Kur-sten and believe me the teammates notice when the wrong Kirsten is pronounced).

On our first day of practice I introduced myself, explained how our practices would run and then I asked if there were any questions. “Will you have a steal sign?” Man this is an advanced group.

Just before the third game of the year I had just finished my pre-game prep talk. A hand shot up in the air. “Yes?” “Can we slide into home?” Mind you in our first two games combined we had scored all of one run.

We have one slugger on the team who can reach the outfield grass on a fly. I have never heard so much noise as the two times she’s cranked the ball to the outfield and ended up with doubles.

Every game and each practice we talk about the fundamentals. Pay attention. Swing at pitches you can reach; not over your head or one’s that bounce three feet before the plate. Watch the batter when you’re in the field in case the ball gets hit to you. Quade has to deal with high priced stars and agents. I have dance steps in the outfield and hair blowing in faces “because my visor makes me hot.”

But even with that minor frustration, nothing can compare to the look on a child’s face when they have stared down the pitcher, hit a shot up the middle and legged it out for a basehit. The sheer joy on their face says everyone is having a great time.

Quade has his staff of Riggins, DeJesus and Dernier. I wouldn’t be anywhere without the parents of my team as well as my stellar staff of my oldest daughter Katelyn and a dad (Steve) of one of the players. Steve has the same mannerisms, voice quality and, if he shaved his goatee, facial features of The Professor. That could be why I’m enjoying the season so much. It brings back memories when Dave and I were leading “Martha and the Vandellas” to glory.

Weather, like with any outdoor sport, plays a factor. We have gone, in the space of four days, from 93 degrees with high humidity to 57 degrees and gusting winds. We also have had three rainouts. Mother Nature is not a friend to the Huskies.

As with any sport there will be altercations. Turns out the adults are the biggest problem. In one game I engaged in a shouting match with the other team’s coaches. After the game our girls said “That team is awesome! They cheered for us!” Didn’t matter to our girls that the other coach had his team stealing second and third in the sixth inning (we only play six innings, assuming it’s not dark yet) while leading 14-1. Every once in a while the kids see the bigger picture.

We’re still looking for win number one. You ever hear how a ballplayer says they feel like they went 3 for 4 because they hit the ball hard, yet they ended up going 0 for 4? That was us last night. It felt like a win. We cranked out eleven hits, struck out a season low ten times and had the tying runs on base in the last inning before losing 6-4.

Half way through the season and it’s already been a great year.

Straight No Chaser

It’s always fun when two areas of our lives crossover. Say you love beer and your wife comes home and says “Let’s check out the new microbrewery.” Nice. Boss comes in to your office and says “I’ve got two behind homeplate for today’s game. Don’t take a sick day – let’s go!” Better than great.

The world of music and baseball collided in my life. Baseball has always been number one, year round, 24/7. As for music, you may be familiar with The Beatles, The Who, Rolling Stones, Led Zepplin, Jon Bon Jovi, Lady Gaga. Well above all of that are Don, Seggie, Ryan, Walt, Mike, Randy, Dave, Jerome, Charlie and Tyler. No, it’s not the other Jackson kids. Those in the know, know these ten are Straight No Chaser.

For those sadly unaware, Straight No Chaser is an a cappella group formed at Indiana University who became an Internet sensation when their final concert at IU was taped and posted on YouTube. Their rendition of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” went viral (over 13 million views) and the president of Atlantic records saw it, called the guys and said “Let’s make a deal.”

You have no doubt heard a cappella music whether it’s singing in the shower, listening to Rockappella, Huey Lewis and the News, Billy Joel or even the guys standing around the burning trash can in “Rocky”. I’ve heard a cappella. During my formative college years I ran around Chicago with my best friend watching “Four Guys Standing Around Singing” perform. What Straight No Chaser does is in another stratosphere, setting the Platinum Standard for a cappella if not music itself.

The way they cover The Beatles, Coldplay, Michael Jackson and Bel Biv Devoe is beyond standard. Everything they do is “with a twist”. Everything - including how they interact with their fans. During select songs they will bring an audience member up on stage. After every, I MEAN EVERY, show they meet their fans out in the lobby for autographs and pictures, waiting until everyone has been taken care of. They encourage their audience members to videotape their concerts and post them on YouTube. They go out of their way to remember and acknowledge their returning fans. These guys don’t have groupies – we are Chasers.

Certainly music is foremost in their lives, but these guys are well-rounded. Most are college basketball fans. But this is about music and baseball. Seggie’s from Detroit so he’s a Tiger fan and he’s also into fantasy sports. For some reason Walt has decided that the Mets are worth following, but he redeems himself by being an avid fantasy sports fan. Don also is a Mets fan (from Colorado?), but he redeems himself by having the same birthday as me and Mike B. Randy’s from Naperville so I can only hope that he’s a Cub fan.

Before you think this was a manufactured group ala O-Town or an American Idol winner, think again. This group has serious chops. They’ve performed with Manilow. They sold out an entire summer concert series at Harrah’s in Atlantic City last year. They’ve done the National Anthem at Wrigley and Soldier Field. They were the featured group in the nationally televised “Skate From the Heart” starring top professional ice skaters.

If you haven’t indulged yourself, I encourage you to visit their website at www.sncmusic.com and check out more videos. I’ll warn you in advance to allow for plenty of time. Just like Jays potato chips – once you start, you just can’t stop. I will end this article the way they end their shows. For their final song, they go “unplugged” putting away their microphones and just harmonize. This is from a show they did in Kansas City. .

Trying Out For The Major Leagues

The call came via CareerBuilder.com and the radio. The Cubs had yet another position to fill. Mike Quade, Keith Moreland, Mark Riggins had all accepted their positions and now the Cubs needed someone to introduce them. Requirements? Pretty simple. Be a Cubs fan, answer a few questions and read from a script. Any monkey could do that, right? Well I set off to prove it.

Making the video, took seven takes. My youngest daughter Kristi Grace (named for Christy Mathewson and Mark Grace – did I mention I’m a baseball and Cubs fan?) did a great job but I didn’t realize the stack of papers on the floor was visible. The Lady Rebel filmed the final three attempts getting the cropping just right.

Perhaps the hardest part came next. I had to upload the video on Youtube (first time ever doing that) and submit the on-line application. A minute and thirty seconds worth of video took over thirty minutes to load. Am I doing this right? When I get the job I just need to read stuff, right? I don’t need to use a computer.

Youtube video uploaded successfully (I think) and application sent so it’s sit and wait until Friday to hear if I’m one of the semi-finalists.

Now we enter the Week of Emotional Turmoil.

First day and a half 0 views, did I upload it right? Why isn’t anyone looking at this?

Second day up to 18 views! Someone likes me! Then it goes to 35 views – hey maybe I have a chance and on Opening Day I will be saying “Here are your 2011 Chicago Cubs!” The mind wanders: The announcement is made, the press tour. Talking with Waddle and Silvy, John Williams, maybe a live appearance with Mark Suppelsa on the WGN TV News (boy will Kim be jealous!)

Wednesday it’s still at 35. Aw forget it. This was a pipedream.

Thursday was spent in quiet anticipation fully realizing the odds are stacked against me, but maybe just maybe the call will come tomorrow saying they want to hear more. Wait! What’s that? Views are now at 54? Who the hell wants to watch this? Not exactly the Ray Lankford Incident (274 views) but not bad for a guy sitting at a desk reading off a sheet of paper. I’m pretty sure Kim and the girls didn’t sit through the video 54 times (only nine or ten by their admission). Thursday night head off to bed wondering, will my phone ring? Will the silence be deafening?

And so Friday came and went. Not unlike Bob Hope during the Academy Awards, we celebrated Passover Friday night. No depression (yet) but I’m not chomping at the bit to see who they selected. My daughter Ally came home from school asking if the Cubs had called. I said "no, it looks like they wanted someone else." Her response? "What?! How could they not want you? Oh well, they don't know what they're missing." No, no depression at all. Just extreme pride.

So even though I won’t be sitting way up high behind home plate for Opening Day at Wrigley Field, that’s ok, that means I’ll be at Draft Day where I will attempt to open a can on my fellow owners.

Mother Mary Comfort Me

Twenty-seven years, more than half the years he’s spent on earth. Eleven CFCL Championships, including a three-peat. Twenty-two money finishes while competing against 39 different owners. Talk about fantasy numbers! The Copperfield Dynasty came to a quiet end with the completion of the 2010 baseball season.

The CFCL (Cub Fan Club League) could easily stand for Championships For Copperfields League. Starting on that fateful day in 1983 standing in Kroc’s and Brentano’s on Lake Street, when David showed Rich the original Rotisserie League Book (and beginning an estimated 9900 day journey to play Fantasy Baseball’s version of The Lone Ranger and Tonto; Sandberg and Dernier; Penn & Teller; no wait, here it is – Holmes and Watson), the CFCL has stood apart from any other fantasy baseball league due to the class, dignity and ethics that David uses in his everyday life.

And it’s that class, dignity and ethics that have caused the Copperfields to shut the doors rather than put things on cruise control. There is always a chance for a return, as with any former owner – aside from the vile, despicable scum from our past - but for now the Copperfields are riding into baseball’s sunset. Pending league approval we are hoping to have David take on the role of Former Owner Emeritus so that he can help maintain the League History and we can come to him and say “When we put in "X" the Constitution, what in the hell were we thinking?”

Let’s take a little stroll down Memory Lane to identify some of the things that make the CFCL stand apart from any other league, shall we?

Video tapes of ENTIRE drafts during the late ‘80s and early ‘90s (these tapes are for sale in the lobby on your way out). Clips of those videos have been sprinkled throughout Weekly Reports, Monroe Doctrines, Message Boards and the League Webpage.

The absolute integrity and objectivity that the Co-Commissioner used to interpret rules, make rulings and deal with the daily strife. Too many times I hear stories from other fantasy owners who complain that their Commissioners are always making rulings that benefit the Commissioners teams/needs. David always looked at the bigger picture and understood the league was bigger than any one team. Many a time I would receive an e-mail wherein he would point out a question that had been brought to his attention. He would not include the owner or team that was involved so as to not cloud my judgment and let emotions take over (“Kenn’s involved? Ah, screw ‘im!”) I was always able to render my opinion without worrying about whom I was ruling for or against. Made my job a lot easier.

As League Secretary, David consistently stayed up late the night before the draft putting together the Draft Sheets, Free Agent List, Reserve List Sheets, bringing the pretzels and licorice and all the video and audio equipment to the detriment of being able to fully prepare for the draft as an owner – not that eleven titles and an 81% In the Money Finish are any evidence that the Copperfields were working at a disadvantage.

Not only was he a world class owner and GM, he was League Secretary, Co-Commissioner, Statistician and Historian beyond compare. He brought the CFCL into the Computer Era. Prior to computerizing things, he would – by hand – enter each team’s stats on a WEEKLY BASIS (!) once the weekly statistics were printed in the USA Today. Then he would add each column of stats, log it and continue on until he had computed the team’s HR, RBI, Runs, BA, ERA, WHIP, Wins and Saves. He would then do that for the other five to seven teams in the league. When the standings were complete he would type (we were using typewriters back then folks) and copy the standings and stats and mail them to each team. Needless to say, women were not a part of the Copperfield way of life before computers came along. (Is it any wonder that he and Michelle found each other only after David started using computers to calculate the standings? I think not.)

Once computers became available, he designed programs to do the calculations more quickly, but he still had to manually enter each player’s statistics each week. Herculean effort doesn’t come close to describing this kind of dedication.

He has assured us that he is not sitting in Hattiesburg, MS waiting to make a decision during Spring Training. The last few years have been hard on the Copperfield front office. The way some owners were conducting themselves was difficult to witness as to the effect it was having on the league he gave birth to. But as always David understood the league was bigger than any one team and that the league would handle things, which it did. Moreover it ended up coming down to time. Time needed to continue running a successful, competitive franchise vs. time needed to invest in his family and their activities. Not surprisingly he rightfully chose his family. When David does anything he does it all out. We’ve seen that in his running the league for 27 years. He does that with his wife and children. Finally the soccer games, scout camping trips, church groups, choir concerts and special time with Michelle won out.

The CFCL will be poorer for the absence of the Copperfield team, but is richer for the strong foundation David has built to allow the league to continue with the solid core of owners that currently comprise the league.

Did Thomas Edison Have Anything To Do With This?

There are arguments about what the greatest invention has been. The airplane. The telephone. The seedless watermelon. Ziplock sandwich bags. If I were to cast a vote I would have to say it’s baseball-reference.com. This is by far the most addictive, most amazing thing in the world. Recently I logged in and was stunned at the journey I took.

Always start on the Cubs Franchise page. Click on top player, 1991, Jody Davis (Davis’ stat page opens). Interesting . . . middle name is Richard and he was originally drafted by the Mets. Yep, batted .389 in ’84 NLCS. Click on hyperlink to 1984 NLCS.

Cubs had a 3-2 lead going into the bottom of the seventh in Game 5. Ugh. Ooh! Tim Lollar – he was a Rebel! Click on Lollar’s hyperlink.

Hmm, not much here. Five games under .500 for his career, why in the hell did I draft him? Must move on. He pitched for Boston in 1986. Click on Boston’s ’86 hyperlink.

Baylor at 37 was the DH with 31 homers and 94 RBI. Buckner had 102 RBI. Click on his hyperlink.

Twenty-two seasons. Three straight years (’80-’82) he finished in the top 15 in MVP voting. He actually had 31 and 28 steals in seasons early in his career and finished with 183. Wait, go back. 1982 finished 10th in MVP voting. Who finished ahead of him? Click on MVP hyperlink.

Dale Murphy was MVP followed by Lonnie Smith (?), Pedro Guerrero, Oliver, Sutter, Schmidt, Jack Clark, Greg Minton, Carlton and Buckner. Schmidt, huh? Click on hyperlink.

Michael Jack. Hall of Famer. Cub Killer. Best thirdbaseman ever. Wore number 22 as well as 20 for the Phillies. Elected to HOF in 1995 with 96.5% of the vote. 15th in career homeruns (548), thirty-third in RBI (1595) and seventh in strikeouts (1883). Who had more? Click hyperlink.

Reggie Jackson, Jim Thome, Sammy Sosa, Andres Galarraga, Jose Canseco and Willie Stargell. I swear Babe Ruth was near the top of the list. Nope he’s 95th. Hank Aaron? He’s 78th. The two top homerun hitters (I don’t acknowledge Bonds) were also amazing contact hitters. Craig Biggio had more strikeouts than Aaron and Ruth. Mike Cameron is 10th for crying out loud.

And so it goes. Every trip to baseball-reference.com is a different journey. And no matter what I went there for, if there were two things I wanted to look up (say Dawson’s career stats and Lou Gehrig’s numbers) I’ll never get to Gehrig because something on Dawson’s page will take me somewhere else and three hours later I have to face real life and haven’t seen a stitch of Gehrig.

Amazing, amazing collection of baseball numbers.

Why It's The Greatest Game

First of all I will offer this disclaimer, I have not researched or given detailed thought to the parallels of baseball’s beauty with that of football, basketball or the now relevant (thanks to the Hawks) hockey. This is a discourse on why baseball is awesome as a sport and as a thread in the fabric of our life.

On paper it would seem that a team with superstars (i.e. the Cardinals with Pujols, Carpenter and Wainright, not to mention LaRussa in the dugout) should be the run away winners for the Central if not the National League. Yet the best team in the National League is the San Diego Padres with basically one recognizable name – Adrian Gonzalez. Baseball has always demanded excellence as a team.

You can have a conversation with your children or parents about baseball even if you can’t communicate about anything else. Talking about today’s game allows the parent to comment on the game when they were a child. Baseball is one of the few sports that transcends the generations. Someone who saw Ted Williams play can talk to someone who sees Albert Pujols play about essentially the same game. A clutch homerun or a perfect game is meaningful whether it happened in 1940 or 2010.

It reminds you of simpler times. Going to Wrigley and paying $1.50 to get in the bleachers and sit where you want, like in leftfield, fourth row near the catwalk.

You can take a summer or a lifetime to visit every major league ballpark in the country with your kids.

It’s the immediate icebreaker. You can share with complete strangers details of memorable games from your past and they with you.

It provides for an even deeper rivalry if, say, you like the Cubs and your sibling likes the White Sox.

There is always a chance for a team to win no matter how far behind they may be. There’s no clock that can get run out, if you win it means you put down the other team 27 times. During the game the pace allows you to observe and appreciate the game; the positioning of the fielders; the batter standing in the box.

Once the ball is in play you can choose to watch the ball or you can watch the fielders as they position themselves for a relay throw or you can watch the baserunners as they cut the bases perfectly to get ninety feet further.

There is nothing like and no feeling like Opening Day. No other sport is even close. Turning the page from winter to spring with the rebirth of the greatest game in the world.

During the harsh, cold, boring winter, baseball provides a plethora of incredible books to ingest while we wait for pitchers and catchers to report.

And if you’re really lucky, maybe just maybe you can meet a girl while watching the Cubs; then go to a handful of games at Wrigley Field; get engaged while flying over Wrigley during a doubleheader; have children named after Cubs legends and baseball shrines and then wait ever so patiently to share the joy with your family when the Cubs finally get to the World Series.

Get Your Pencils And Scorecards Ready!

Whenever (usually) a guy reaches his mid-40’s to early 50’s there is a threat that he could have a Mid Life Crisis. I don’t think this is it. I think this is more of Making a Contribution To Society.

Listening to Cubs games on the radio has become a HUGE chore. Ron Santo can’t explain his way to the corner and when he’s ailing or unable to travel we have the equally inept Dave Otto (or Oh-tto as Pat Hughes says). Not to be morbid but it’s not certain how much longer Ron is going to last, maybe a couple of seasons.

Pat Hughes just signed a contract extension with WGN recently so he’s got a few years left as well. That gives me two to three years to get prepared and I need your help. I fully realize that I cannot simply walk into WGN’s offices and declare my candidacy for Cubs Radio Play-by-Play guy with no practical experience. So I’m ready to head off to Pawtucket to play-by-play the Red Sox games. Or Durham to describe the Bulls. Shoot, maybe the Oaks in Visalia need someone to give verbal representation to their loyal fans. I’m on it – ready to cut my teeth. I just need an opening. If any of you loyal readers have any connection to a baseball team in need of an announcer, let me know.

I cannot promise that I will be the next Vin Scully, Ernie Harwell or even Vince Lloyd. But what I will promise you is that I will love what I do, will broadcast a full nine innings (extra if necessary) and will not talk about my tuna sandwich.

Here is a smattering of what Hughes has related to us recently. The Cubs are playing 21 straight games and that is a long time without a day off. The Cubs played in San Francisco where it was cool in the evening, but they were headed to St. Louis for the weekend where it was unbearable hot, over 100 degrees.

In recent years Hughes has negotiated to (originally) take the top of the fifth inning off and then (most recently) added the bottom of the fifth inning to his time off. He doesn’t do Cubs pre-game (that’s handled by Santo Valet, Judd Sirott) or post-game (that’s done in ‘GNs studio by Dave Kaplan, Jim Memolo or George Ofman). If the game runs over three hours his tone makes it sound like he’s working overtime without getting paid.

When the game heads into extra innings Pat very deliberately says “we’re headed into the 10th” as in “oh my god, could this get any worse?”

I’m actually torn by this because purely as a baseball announcer I think Pat is one of the best. When he doesn’t try to play footsie with Santo (sorry, probably not the best phrase to choose) and he stays on the game, he’s really very good.

But ever since I heard that he negotiated the fifth inning off and had actually complained that it was getting to be too much and needed some time off during the season, all I hear is him whining about having to do more work, or work in less than perfect conditions. It’s kind of like being told not to think about space aliens - - that’s all you’re going to think about.
Give me two years to get the cadence to “line drive – up the middle!” A few seasons to perfect the homerun call. When I hop in the chair you will get a guy relating about what a great day it is at the ballpark and if we go to extra innings SWEET! More baseball, what could be better than that?

Chattanooga Lookout! Here I come!

All-Star Thoughts

Baseball’s All-Star Game just doesn’t do it for a lot of us anymore. There was a time when it was exciting to anticipate the Mid-Summer Classic. Watching Schmidt, Parker, Rose, Rice, Jackson and their contemporaries run out for introductions was exhilarating. Now watching Ramirez, Jeter, A-Rod, Pujols, and the cast of 2000’s doesn’t seem to be that big of a deal. I’ve identified a couple possibilities why.

Deity Loss: Growing up watching Carlton, Hunter, Palmer, and local do-gooders Reuschel, Sutter and Swisher was exciting because these guys were Baseball Gods. The public didn’t know anything about them besides what was written in the national papers and what you saw on the Game of the Week. These guys were perfect. They weren’t twittering, they weren’t being suspended, they weren’t on TV EVERY DAY thanks to ESPN, MLB Channel, MLB Extra Inning Package where you can watch them strikeout, ground out weakly and give up four runs in one inning. What we knew of the All-Stars from the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s were that they were invincible.

Familiarity: Up until the ‘90s the only time you saw a National League pitcher face an American League hitter and vice versa was in Spring Training (when nothing matters) or in the World Series (when the stakes are at the highest). How would Bench do against Fidrych? Don’t know unless we watch the All-Star game. Now the NL pitching greats have made their way through the AL for the last 13 years. Maddux vs. Mauer? Been there, done that.

NL Sucks: As a devout Cub and National League fan, it is rather disheartening to suffer through fourteen years without a win. We’ve been blown out, we’ve blown saves, we’ve thrown the ball away. Not a major factor since as Cub fans we’ve seen the same exact thing for the last 102 years, but still it’s there.

Price of Getting Older: With age come more responsibilities. Between the ages of 8 and 22 there wasn’t much to focus on other than baseball. Oh, sure there was school, but not during the summer. Middling jobs, but nothing that required things to be brought home. Certainly there were no girls to pull us away from memorizing the hitting and pitching statistics of every National League batter and pitcher. Now there are careers and children (soccer, basketball, little league) and wives. We catch a few innings if we’re fortunate. The fifth outfielder for Pittsburgh? I don’t know, is Doug Frobel still playing?

Perceived Importance: Here is where Bud Selig needs to crawl in a hole in embarrassment. For all the good that Selig has brought to the game (quick! someone please tell me something that Selig has done that’s good for the game) he has screwed up the All-Star Game more than it already was. Because of the tie in 2002, Bud felt compelled to “correct” the game. So he decides that home field advantage for the CHAMPIONSHIP OF THE SEASON should be decided by a bunch of guys who a) were selected by the fans and b) are getting playing time not based on their talent compared to their peers, but based on the fact that the manager wants to make sure everyone gets into the game, and c) in some cases, were selected simply because someone from their team HAD to be present.

If this is an Exhibition Game, then nothing but pride should be on the line. Here’s a novel thought. How about allowing the team with the best regular season record to have home field advantage? They do it in every other sport, why not baseball?

Here’s another fix. Don’t have an All-Star from every team if every team doesn’t have an All-Star. Robert Fick was never an All-Star based on performance. But in 2002 Detroit sucked so bad, they had to send a .270 hitter that year to represent the team. If the game is to have meaning, then the best players should be on the team and the best of the best should play the whole game. Aaron, Mays, Musial and Williams used to play all nine innings. Their careers didn’t seem to suffer by playing an extra game. If the point is to win the game, then play to win. If it’s a Summer Break Victory Lap, then acknowledge it as such and don’t have the World Series be involved in the outcome.

Game time tonight 7:00pm. I’ll be there a little after 9pm when Spongebob Squarepants goes to bed.