September 2009 Archives

If you watched our show at around 7:50 this morning, you witnessed one of the more awkward moments we've had in quite some time. Friend of the show (FOTS) Chet Coppock was on to plug his new book (the title of which conveniently escapes me at this time). I call Chet a FOTS because he's been an invited guest many times in the 4+ years I've been here. And each time, he and I have spoken in-depth, on- and off-camera, about sports, the business of sports broadcasting, and how much he enjoys the job I do on this show.

So you can imagine my surprise when someone plopped a copy of his guaranteed best-seller on my desk, open to a passage in which Chet lists the best and worst local sports personalities of the last 25 years. At #2 on the "worst" list: PAT TOMASULO.

What??? Wasn't I the "cat's meow?" The "Hulk Hogan of sportscasting?" Didn't he say I was "the tops," the "best of the best," and "Grade A???"  

Yes, he did. So did my grandfather . . . 20 years ago.

When people still spoke like that.

I'm sure some many might rank me #1 on that "worst" list; some a few might rank me #1 on the "best" list. Either way, I'm sure there are a lot of people who don't like my style. But Chetster had never given me any criticism in the dozens of face-to-face meetings we'd had! All those times we invited him on the show, he'd gush about me!

So I had to ask him about this list, on the air, in the middle of his guest segment. What ensued was an uncomfortable :30 - :45 of live television. I'm sorry for that :(  I sat looking at him, with an expression that could be best described as a "glare," while he furiously backpedaled. When we went off air, he shook hands with Larry and Robin, said nothing to me, and walked off set.

I'm not sure why. I suppose if our roles were reversed, I might be a little embarrassed. You know, here are these nice people who continually invite me on their TV show, even when no other stations are, even when their fans ask why they invite me on- not because they dislike me, but because they question my relevance. And I go and trash one of them! I guess I could have shared those feelings before they were the only TV crew in town that'd give me a chance to let people know I'm still around, and not until I decided writing a book would be the best way to remind them.

But hey, I can't guess what Chet was thinking.

He did preface in the book that he might make a lot of enemies by writing those lists. For the record, he hasn't made an enemy in me. I'll even continue to listen to him for the 12 weeks each year he's on local radio. But if he ever wants to come back on this show again, he needs to bring gifts, like . . . maybe a signed copy of his book?

Think he'll have any left?



(Editor's note: if you have no idea who Chet Coppock is, click here )








  

(Chicago, IL)  I've been so darned busy lately that I haven't had a chance to update you on www.OldHavanaFoods.com, my fledgling family food enterprise.  Many thanks to those of you who've messaged me asking for the latest on my Julian Crews: Bean Quest / WGN Morning News Blog.  

As you know, it's been almost a year now since I launched my dream to bring authentic, all-natural Cuban specialties, music and culture to Chicago.  

My easy-to-prepare stovetop meals were showcased earlier this month at the Ethnic Foods Symposium in Manassas, Virginia.  We were invited to participate by the southeastern United States offices of Anderson Daymon Worldwide (ADW) near Atlanta, GA.  ADW are the exclusive in-house food brokers for Costco. 

But with all the flooding that's been going on in Georigia and other parts of the southeast, I haven't heard back from them yet.  They've been busy dealing with the floodwaters and keeping their operations afloat (literally).

So when I get some news I'll pass it on.  Thanks to everyone who's written with so many words of encouragement.  It's much appreciated.           

  That's right.  It may surprise you to know that "Beisbol" isn't the the only game in Cuba.  Deep from the archives of Old Havana Foods comes a tantalizing piece of football history.      

For the better part of 40 years, thousands of football "fanaticos" flocked to Havana's La Tropical Stadium to see an event that historians say was alternately called the "Cigar Bowl," the "Rhumba Bowl," or officially, the "Bacardi Bowl."   Beginning in 1907, the capital city played host to America's gridiron giants for an annual holiday sports spectacular (see "Bacardi Bowl" in Wikpedia and mmbolding.com for more details).  
  
The inaugural bowl game kicked off on a balmy Christmas Day, 1907.  Sports historians say a crowd of 10,000 came to cheer the home team against Louisiana State University. Although the LSU Tigers manhandled the inexperienced islanders, 57-to-0,  sports-crazy Habaneros were hooked!

Things got really "loco" 14 years later, when the Cubans engineered a football Coup de' etat, turning the tables on their American guests.  On December 31st, 1921, a team of islanders pulled one of the biggest (and least known) upsets in college football history.  The University of Havana locked horns with the highly-vaunted  "Ole Miss" squad.  The mighty  Rebels from the University of Mississippi were heavily favored.  But the Habaneros stunned the football world with a 14-to-0 upset win.

The final score hit the mainland like a tsunami, sending shockwaves through the football-loving south.  Ole Miss fans reading the score back home figured it was a typo on the telegraph wire. But make no mistake - the Cubans were for real.  

Sadly, the last Bacardi Bowl was played in 1946. Though the island's turbulent political climate forced a suspension of the holiday bowl, older Havana sports "fanaticos" fondly remember the annual holiday happening.  No doubt Cubanos eagerly await the return of the American "futbolistas."  

Many thanks to www.andiamocreative.com for providing content and graphics for this story.

 

By, Larry Potash

 

Many years ago, I read this somewhere and included in our show---viewers all wanted copies of it for their children.  It's been floating around the internet in various forms on various blogs but it may be new to you.  THE THINGS YOUR KIDS WON'T LEARN IN SCHOOL

 

Fact: Life is not fair. The sad reality is that you won't get everything you want. The best thing, though, is to realize that you can make the best of it. You can also make yourself have a different focus or negotiate to make things angle a little better for you. And sometimes, that just won't cut it, but at least you know that you've made a good faith effort towards it.

Fact: Your school will care about your self esteem. The real world won't. Bottom line: schools want their students to be mentally healthy and well. They don't want to have the reputation of giving their students a hard time. It would make their ratings falter if they were known as schools that didn't address your issues. When you're out of school, you're on your own. Watch out for yourself. Take responsibility when it's needed. Learn from your mistakes and don't let them eat at you.

Fact: Money doesn't come from going to school. I know someone who graduated from an Ivy League university. His first job out of school was in New York City and he was making $17,000 a year. This wasn't in 1987. This wasn't in 1994. This was in 2003. What you'll have when you're out of school is the ability to move ahead of your peers who didn't pursue higher education. What did my friend learn? First of all, money wasn't everything. Second of all, these things still take time. It's been five years later and my friend is making six digits. Just be determined to succeed, and hopefully you'll see yourself as a manager, a business owner, or a CEO in time. But it won't happen right out of school. You get the academic smarts and then you build the business smarts. After all, you learn something new everyday.

Fact: Most bosses are tougher than your teachers. Put it this way: your teachers aren't making money off of your successes and failures. They have a base salary and they're just helping you when you get a boss. Your boss is making money off of your successes and losing it off of your mistakes. You'll need to be a lot more disciplined out of school.

Fact: Don't knock others' opportunities. I've seen so many college students who have these high aspirations of jumping out of school and expecting the world when they graduate. Listen up: that barely happens. I speak for myself when I say that I was sadly disappointed when I graduated. I didn't have the job I wanted nor did I have the salary I wanted. And I'm still working towards it. Take every little moneymaking stint and savor it. It's what some people call opportunity. If you live in a populated city and see a homeless guy walking buy, realize that you're better off than him, but realize that if you don't work towards your goals, you might be just like him in a few years.

Fact: Your parents might have created you, but you're your own person. Don't blame your faults on your parents. You're an adult now, and you're a responsible one at that. It's time that you actually take responsibility for your actions and use it to better yourself. Heck, maybe in a few years, you'll be more successful than Mom and Dad. Wouldn't that feel just great?

Fact: You can become boring if you don't vary it up. As the article states, "before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now." I bet they were just as fun as you were as a college kid. But priorities shift and having fun takes a backseat when you focus on your career successes and your family. Life isn't about partying forever.

Fact: Life isn't divided into semesters. Unless you're going to be teaching for the rest of your life, you're not going to have off for summer break or even for spring break. You might not even get "Election Day Weekend" or "Columbus Day Holidays." You're expected to go to work for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, for as long as you're at this job. You won't be able to switch it up every 10 weeks like you did at school. You'll have to deal with this and accept that this is a product of growing up and moving on.

Fact: Television is fiction. Your problems may take a lot longer to solve, and even if you're dying to have these issues resolved, you might just have to wait. Sometimes these things take years. Sometimes things won't get resolved at all. While the plot line of Friends keeps you smiling, real life is different.

Fact: Don't pick on your dorky classmates. If you start working for them, you might be embarrassed that you did.

Fact: School is enjoyable, so suck it in while you can. Believe it or not, you're lucky to be a kid. So take in every moment and bask in the glory of being a student until you're older.

Don't get us wrong. Life is still great beyond college, but don't complain that life isn't fair. You're lucky to have your college years ahead of you, so take advantage of them while you still can, and enjoy it. College is great, and the "real world" is great too.