|
Rivers is a Yes
 Posted
7/24/2011 7:24:00 PM
Reasonable table minimums. Cordial dealers. Clean air. I don’t ask for much out of a gaming experience. You’ll notice that I didn’t even mention winning. Winning helps, but if those other three conditions are met, I’m pretty much assured of having a good time regardless of how my bankroll fares. I’m not one who bets the farm, as you might have guessed.
I went over to the new Rivers Casino in Des Plaines for the first time this weekend, and I was impressed. My three prerequisites were all there, in abundance, along with some pleasant surprises.
When you get to Rivers, use the self-park because it comes with a helpful feature that I wish all parking garages were equipped with. Above each parking space is a light which glows orange if there’s a car in the space, green if the space is open. You don’t have to drive down every ...
Back to Blogging - FAQs with Rick O'Dell, Part I
Posted
5/3/2011 6:24:00 PM
I realize I’ve been negligent with my blog. But that’s about to change. Our marketing manager and technical guru at Chicago’s Smooth 87.7, Monika Deignan, has secured a new and more flexible blogging platform for us, something that will be immediately easier to use and definitely more fun. It’s like getting a new car—you want to get behind the wheel and drive it so, like it or not, expect a little more output from me in the future.
I thought a good place to start would be my emailbox, which has been brimming with questions from listeners these past few months. Here are some of the latest FAQs I’ve gotten.
Q. I’m thinking my favorite restaurant would be an ideal place for your Sunday Brunch. What would it take to get you over there?
A. Put us in touch with someone from the restaurant’s management, and we’ll see if we ...
Smooth Jazz Christmas Music--One of My Favorite Things
Posted
11/24/2010 1:04:00 PM
We had nothing from Kenny G back then. Mannheim Steamroller had but one Christmas album out and were still in the best-kept-secret category. And Dave Koz, Peter White and Boney James hadn’t even arrived on the scene yet. It’s no wonder that we ran out of music that first Sunday Brunch Christmas special back in 1987. As I recall, our playlist that day was little more than a dozen albums.
Fast forward to 2010, and we find that gaping hole in the Smooth Jazz category of Christmas music has been filled—and then some. There are just too many Christmas collections to pick from, and it’s impossible to know which recordings are worth your time and money. That’s where my annual list of recommended holiday recordings comes in.
With the 2010 edition of the list in your hands (or up on your computer screen), you’ll see the best of the best. ...
For the Blackhawks Fan on Your Holiday Gift List This Year
Posted
11/14/2010 4:40:00 PM
My first Christmas gift this year came from . . . me. On a recent trip to Barnes & Noble I spotted the new book The Golden Jet, written by Bobby Hull with venerable Chicago Tribune columnist Bob Verdi. I had to get it. Now that I have, I’m glad I didn’t wait for Santa to bring me a copy on Christmas Day.
The photos are easily the book's strong suit. As a Blackhawks fan since the late ‘60s, I thought I’d seen every photograph of Bobby Hull. Boy, was I wrong. The book contains hundreds of photographs completely new to me and, I’d imagine, most fans. At the same time, Bobby reveals a number of things that somehow had eluded me over the years—such as the fact that, during the 1961-1962 and 1962-1963 seasons, he wore the number 7. I knew about his first uniform number, 16, but not ...
A Champion Worth Rooting For
Posted
11/8/2010 9:13:00 AM
Everybody loves an underdog, but I find no shame in rooting for a distinguished champion, either. Yes, I was one of the millions caught up in the saga of Zenyatta and her valiant attempt at making horseracing history at Saturday's Breeders' Cup Classic. If only the race had been one furlong longer . . . .
It’s too bad so many writers and commentators chose to use the word “lose” in recapping the race (ESPN.com – “Zenyatta loses by a head....”), because only technically was Zenyatta a loser. When you can overcome an early 15-length deficit, overtake 11 other horses and fall short in the end only by the length of a football, you’re not a loser in my book. At the same time, when you compete with strength, class, character and dignity the way Zenyatta did yet still come up second, you're absolutely not a loser.
I realize that ...
A Night of 101 Smooth Jazz Stars*
Posted
10/31/2010 8:17:00 PM
*a/k/a the American Smooth Jazz Awards, Friday, October 29, at the DuSable Museum, Hyde Park, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
In my opening remarks before a capacity crowd at the DuSable Museum Friday night I referred to the last time an awards show in Smooth Jazz took place in Chicago (March 3, 2001) as “something those of us who were there have never stopped talking about.” I went onto say that I felt Friday night held the same promise, that we were in for something special. Turns out, we were.
The 2010 American Smooth Jazz Awards will go down as a night of exceptional all-around entertainment. The music was scintillating, the performers and presenters cordial and upbeat, the crowd enthusiastic and the mood electric throughout the evening.
Event organizer, the indefatigable Bernie Scott, mentioned to me that they had had to turn away over a hundred people who showed up at DuSable ...
A Poor Allocation of Radio Resources
Posted
10/10/2010 5:14:00 PM
If I could change one thing about Chicago radio, this is what I’d do: I’d get the Bears off WBBM-AM. Not that I have anything personal against the Bears. Well, in the interest of full disclosure, I actually do. Whenever they’re on the air, the Bears utterly dominate the Sunday Brunch. When it comes to the ratings, the Bears destroy us and anybody else who happens to be on the air at the same time on a Sunday afternoon. But I guess I don’t mind that as much as when I find myself going somewhere during a Bears game and need timely traffic information.
This is how having the Bears on WBBM-AM is a serious misallocation of radio resources from a listener’s standpoint. You see, WBBM-AM is the only all-news station in Chicago. Whenever they’re airing a Bears game, the station is departing from normal programming for at least six ...
Nancy!
Posted
10/5/2010 6:00:00 PM
Know what I remember most about the first White Sox game I went to? The music. Maybe that’s because the team was horrible that year, eventually losing over 100 games during that 1970 season. They did little of note on the field that year but, as it turns out, they made a wise move off that field that paid dividends the past 41 years. They hired Nancy Faust to play the organ. When she officially retired this weekend, it truly was end of an era on the south side.
Even as an eleven year old back in 1970 I couldn't help noticing Nancy’s repertoire was different from anything I’d ever heard during the games I attended at Wrigley Field. On the north side, all you got were standards and old school and sometimes VERY old school (“Moonlight Serenade,” “String of Pearls,” the kind of stuff my parents would like). I ...
Everything Favors Fries
Posted
9/26/2010 1:33:00 PM
Listen to dieticians, and they all suggest one way to cut back on calories when you dine out is to make sensible substitutions. For instance, ask to swap out the French fries (which seem to come with everything you can order at a restaurant these days) for a healthy vegetable. My wife and I decided last month that we’d commit to a more healthful eating plan in the fall, so that’s one of the first things we do whenever we’re at a restaurant. Wouldn’t you know it—at the first place we decided to try this we learned a restaurant chain isn’t about to do anything to encourage diners to opt for the healthier choice.
At Ruby Tuesday, look up any of their lunch combos and they all come with endless fries (their emphasis). Ask to swap them out for another vegetable, and they’ll give you the choice of green beans ...
The Big Wave Returns
Posted
9/18/2010 4:11:00 PM
I was too big a fan of the original series to miss this Monday night’s reboot of Hawaii Five-O. I’ll be watching with limited expectations, however, because I realize it won’t be the same show. The network, CBS, is calling it a “reimagining,” which I interpret as a warning to fans of the original that creative license will be exercised and liberties taken. As was the case with the first Mission: Impossible movie, any similarities to the show we grew up watching in the ‘60s and ‘70s will likely be in the title and very little else. I’m ready for that going in.
Hawaii Five-O, the original version, is one of my all-time favorite shows. Its strength was in its perfect combination of dramatic elements: strong, inventive storylines (at least during the first eight or nine seasons), a solid cast, an exotic backdrop and a magnificent theme song. How big ...
Monday Morning Quarterbacking
Posted
9/13/2010 1:56:00 PM
Forget about Peavy/Teahen/Jones/Pierre/Putz/Jackson. With their prospects for the postseason slowly slipping away, could the Sox’s failure to overcome the Twins be boiled down to just one simple move—the failure to hang onto Jim Thome (which would have kept him from becoming a Twin)?
Glad to see the NFL has their house in such good order that they could devote time this offseason to devising the ridiculously nit-picky “process” rule that nullified an incredible game-winning catch by Calvin Johnson yesterday.
At the same time, if you’re a wide receiver, shouldn’t you be aware of rule changes that impact your position? Like holding onto the ball until the entire “process of the catch” has been completed?
There’s an age-old axiom in baseball when it comes to young players: “bat plays.” It means that when it comes to young players, a good bat gets them into the lineup quicker than anything else. Teams ...
Thoughts on the 32nd annual Chicago Jazz Festival
Posted
9/7/2010 7:53:00 AM
An event like this always brings out listeners I’m getting to meet for the first time, even after all these years on the air. There’s definitely a special joy to that.
At various times over the weekend at our booth I also met visitors from Germany, France, Canada, Mexico and Great Britain. Most had been in town all week, most on vacation. They raved about how beautiful the city was and how much fun it was to attend a festival that offered so much free music. A fresh pair of eyes are just what I need to remind me of how great a city I live in.
Even though the main stage (Petrillo) had more people both nights, the crowd at the Jazz and Heritage Stage was every bit as passionate about the performers they got to hear. (The size of our crowd was nothing to sneeze at, either. I’m ...
The S and U in SUV
Posted
7/28/2010 2:14:00 PM
Saturday morning I found
myself on the road minutes after the area had taken the brunt of the weekend
storms. An SUV was directly in front of me, headed northbound as I was,
and in the far right lane of four-lane Crawford Avenue.
The lane the SUV was
driving in had several large puddles but nothing that looked too deep.
Along the unflooded stretches of the road were clumps of mud. I watched as the
driver of the SUV charted a zigzag course right in front of me, trying to avoid
the puddles and mud for the length of the entire block. I wasn’t about to
try and pass them as they swerved periodically into my lane.
Then it occurred to
me. Isn’t one reason why you get an SUV so you can glide right
through--and over--obstacles without so much as a second thought? Hey,
I’ve seen the commercials and ...
"Nobody Wants Huet"
Posted
6/23/2010 7:08:00 AM
Over the weekend I went
shopping for Blackhawks souvenirs and came away with a lesson on human
nature. It happened at the Field of
Dreams memorabilia shop at Woodfield Shopping Center in Schaumburg.
The store has an impressive
selection of Blackhawks memorabilia, from pucks and plaques to framed
photos. Going through a stack of
gorgeous pre-matted 8x10s, I noticed one player was conspicuous by his
absence: Antti Niemi. I asked a store employee if I might have been
looking in the wrong place for the Hawks’ netminder. “No,” he quickly replied, “we’re all out of
Niemis.” He shouted to another gentleman
behind the counter, “Do we have anymore Niemis?” The other guy just shook his head.
“But,” I chuckled, “I see you
still have lots of Cristobal Huet.” They
had at least a half dozen photos of the other Hawks’ goalie....
My Kind of Sports Town
Posted
6/14/2010 7:42:00 AM
Call it a championship that was perfectly earned, acknowledged
and celebrated. You can say it was old school or a refreshing change of
pace. Either way, the Blackhawks’
victory in the Stanley Cup and the city’s reaction to it couldn’t have been
scripted any better.
As for the Hawks themselves,
how could you not root for them? The
Hawks were an exciting, energetic team that appealed to everyone. They went 16-and-6 over their last 22 games against premiere competition. They methodically overcame everything that
could have been used as an excuse for failure:
losing home ice advantage, questionable officiating, their opponents’
physical play against their speed and finesse game. They rose to every challenge and won with dignity,
class and old-fashioned hard work.
Then came all the
celebrations which followed Wednesday’s clincher. There were so many high points we don't have enough space here ...
At Least Armando Gallaraga Got an Apology
Posted
6/8/2010 10:47:00 AM
“What if…” is never a happy question, and seeing defeat
snatched from the jaws of victory isn’t fun, especially here in Chicago where
we’ve been witness to that scenario a few too many times over the years with our
sports teams.
I can only wonder how long it will take Julianna
Canabal-Rodriquez to get over the sting of being unfairly bounced from the
finals of the recently concluded 2010 Scripps National Spelling Bee. Unlike Armando Gallaraga, the Tigers pitcher
who received an apology from umpire Jim Joyce, who denied him a perfect game
with a badly blown call—Julianna, to my knowledge, hasn’t heard a word from
Jacques Bailly, the official of the Scripps Spelling Bee whose careless
pronunciation caused her to misspell her word in that fateful 6th
round last Friday.
Julianna’s word was “gyokuro,” (correctly pronounced
“gyOH-ku-roh”) which we were told was a type of high-grade ...
Plenty of Room on this Bandwagon
Posted
6/1/2010 10:27:00 AM
It’s a curious
phenomenon. Something gets a sudden
burst of popularity, and immediately a backlash begins to develop. Those who were there in the beginning, during
the best-kept-secret phase, begin voicing their resentment toward the
Johnny-come-latelies. That’s what’s been
happening lately with the Chicago Blackhawks, and I don’t understand it.
I’ve been a Blackhawks fan
for 40 years, and it all started when I became a bandwagon jumper. The Hawks were undergoing
a mighty resurgence back in the early ‘70s, and that combined with the presence
of Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita, Tony Esposito and announcer Lloyd Pettit saw to it
that my allegiance to the Blackhawks would become deeply ingrained. It would even endure through the team’s lean
years of the ‘90s and early ‘00s. I
hopped on the Blackhawks bandwagon in 1970, and I’ve never left.
Whenever a team contends for
a championship ...
Thank Goodness We Have the Blackhawks . . .
Posted
5/14/2010 12:53:00 PM
. . . or what else would we have to talk about in Chicago sports these days?
Quick: do you remember the last time a Stanley Cup Finals
featured two Original Six teams?
We’re a
couple of major steps from having that happen, but wouldn’t it be neat if it
did this season? To wit:
- The Bruins would have to
beat Philadelphia tonight to insure an Original Six team would represent
the Eastern Conference. If the
Flyers win, then the Canadiens would have to beat them in the conference
finals.
- The Blackhawks would have
to beat San Jose.
As for the latter, the Hawks
are a better team than the Sharks. But
who's to say which Hawks team will show up on any given afternoon/night—the one
that manhandled the Canucks all three games in Vancouver or played totally uninspired hockey in both home losses during the ...
The Cardinal Rule of Broadcasting
Posted
4/28/2010 12:25:00 PM
Like any business, radio has its share of unwritten
rules. If you’re an on-air talent, however,
your unwritten rules basically boil down to just one, and it’s inviolate: your shift has to be covered. Short of a fatal or near-fatal accident, you are
expected be seated in front of the microphone at your appointed time (or have
made arrangements for a suitable replacement). Even most of what would be classified as an
act of God (i.e., tornado, hurricane, flood) wouldn’t qualify as a valid reason
for you to miss your shift at the assigned time without a replacement. I can hear my boss now . . . “If you had enough time to flee, you had
enough time to call in a sub!”
In my nearly 20 years at WNUA I can recall only two
instances where an on-air host didn’t show up for their ...
The Final Days of Penmanship
Posted
4/26/2010 12:38:00 PM
Zaner-Bloser. Now there’s a name I hadn’t heard in almost
40 years. It all came back to me,
reading the front page article in Saturday’s Tribune about young Jancarlo Perez
of Chicago, who became a two-time winner of a national handwriting
contest—sponsored by Zaner-Bloser.
When I was learning
penmanship in the second and third grade, it was the Zaner-Bloser method
that my grammar school taught. The
handwriting textbooks which we used every day and the light green lined writing
paper—they all came with the name “Zaner-Bloser” on them.
My teachers were sticklers
for precision, and I recall my seven-year old left hand was ultra steady and
obedient. My tall letters went up to
the top line and stopped right there; my small letters hugged the dotted center
line of the page without ever going past.
When it came to cursive, my loops were nearly ...
|