Today was "Go to a Cubs game at Wrigley Field Day."  I always judge a visit to Wrigley as a success by one of two criteria.  The first is if the Cubs win.  They didn't, they lost 5-3 against Colorado, but it was a fun game, down to the Cubs having the bases loaded in the ninth inning.  The second criteria is if I don't splash mustard on my pants and shirt.  I didn't -- so at least in part it was a successful day!

The thing that I especially love about Wrigley Field is not the grace and Old World charm of the architecture, which I do love, but it's location.  In most of the world, cities build their stadium in some out of the way location where they can clear a lot of land, not just for the structure but also for parking.  But Wrigley Field is in the middle of a residential, tree-lined neighborhood of brownstones.  You're wandering along the sidewalk, turn a corner and then suddenly this ballpark sprouts up in front of you..
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​This is behind the ballpark, and that ahead is Sheffield Avenue, which borders the park behind right field.  Heading off to tiyr right would be Waveland Avenue behind the left field bleachers.  Up in the right corner you can just barely see the edge of famous manual scoreboard.

However, going to the ballgame wasn't the only treat of the visit to Wrigley -- or even the best.  The other day, I wrote here about my cousin Diana Leviton Gondek and how she had been commissioned to do a painting for the 50th anniversary of the Special Olympics.  And I mentioned she had recently be commissioned by the City of Chicago to make another Honor Horse sculpture as a tribute to fallen policeman, her third.  They had a ceremony for it at the 19th Precinct.

Well, it turns out that the 19th Precinct is at 850 Addison -- and Wrigley Field is 1060 Addison!  So, I took the L in early -- it stops a block from the ballpark -- and walked a couple blocks to the precinct station.  I proudly introduced myself as "cousin of the artist," and they were all gracious, and told me to make sure to tell my cousin how much they love the sculpture.  

As I told Diana, I would bring a painting of oats for it.  It was most appreciative.

​The elves taking care of the homestead were very disappointed they couldn't be there, too, because they wanted to take a ride on the horsey...

You may recall that last November, right after the election, I posted the audio here of an interview that NBA coach Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs gave, when -- near the end -- he went off on a quiet, eloquent rant against the just-elected Donald Trump.  It was notable because Coach Pop, as he's called, is well-known for being taciturn and doesn't talk to the press all that much.  Though when he does speak to them, he's blunt (and snarky).  Popovich also is an Air Force veteran who at one point early in his career working for the CIA.

After yesterday's playoff game against San Francisco, Popovich was at his post-game press conference.  A question came up, and that gave him yet another platform.  He went off on a slight tangent to get a subtle, but pointed dig in at Trump, and then later returned to the subject.  As always, very softly -- but blunt.
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I had lunch with a friend today at the Taste Chicago restaurant in Burbank.  That wouldn't mean much to most people, but it's probably the most low-key celebrity restaurant in the world -- co-owned by actor Joe Mantegna and his wife Arlene.  It's a little joint that seats about 50 people and serves (as the name implies) Chicago food -- Italian beef sandwiches, Chicago-style deep dish pizza, and Chicago hot dogs, and more.

While there, Joe Mantegna showed up -- as he apparently does on Fridays, if he isn't filming.  (As do other Chicago actors on occasion.)  And since my friend had directed him in an episode of Criminal Minds, he stopped by for a chat.  I kept quiet for the most part, but since I knew he was a huge Cubs fan (the place has a lot of Cubs memorabilia on the wall, and a big Cubs blue W on the side wall outside, along with other items from Chicago sports), I mentioned often hearing him on Cubs broadcasts when he shows up in the booth.  He smiled and said that in fact he was going to be in the booth and lead the crowd in "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" next Friday, when the Cubs play the Yankees.

​You have your scoop.

I guess this is Basketball Day.

You may recall back during the NCAA tournament, I posted some videos of Julia-Louis Dreyfus on camera in the crowd cheering on her son Charlie Hall who's on the Northwestern basketball team.  (Her alma mater, too  as was as her husband Brad Hall.)  

Here she is on Jimmy Kimmel's show talking about all the national attention that that got.  (At one point, she refers to something that's not clear -- it's that she proudly says her son Charlie was "a walk-on."  That's someone who didn't get a scholarship to play at the school, but tried out on his own and made the team.)

And a couple of bonus videos.

This first is one I think I posted, but it puts the above interview in context.  It's the television coverage of her and her husband cheering on their son.  It's worth paying attention in the split-screen to Charlie who is #10, and late in the video gets a rebound in the lower-right corner.

And finally, this is a very nice featurette on Charlie Hall and his family, and includes footage of some of the locker room videos the player did that are referred to in the Kimmel interview.

And all of this may well get you to like Julia Lous-Dreyfus all the more...

By the way, if you want to see one of CHarlie Hall's "locker room video interviews" in full, and it's pretty amusing, you can check it out here.

April 25, 2009

Oh, Say Can You Sing?  A National Anthem to Remember

As I prepared to write about an act of uncommon decency by a professional athlete, I realized that calling it that was unfair, that it diminishes what happened, because this was simply an act of uncommon decency, period.  That it happened on such a high level and under such a bright microscope might likely stir the heart more, but it's the act itself that is ultimately what stirs us to begin with.  Who it was and when it took place simply moves it up the pedestal.

Today is the sixth anniversary of Maurice Cheek's moment on the pedestal.

There is in the American consciousness for notable performances of the National Anthem at sporting events.  Jose Feliciano's evocative singing at the 1968 World Series in Detroit was the first to interpret the "Star Spangled Banner" before a national audience.  Because 1968 was one of the most tumultuous years in U.S. history, many at the time were so outraged that it took his career years to recover.  Today, the rendition not only seems tame, but one of the most tender and beautiful.  (And among the least known.  If you've never heard it, do yourself a favor and click here to listen.) 

Whitney Houston gets mentioned often for her rousing rendition at the 1991 Super Bowl, during the Gulf War.  For many, Marvin Gaye's deeply soulful performance at the 1983 NBA All Star is the most memorable.

But for sheer emotional joy, it's hard to top what happened on April 27, 2003, before Game 4 of the NBA playoffs between the Portland Trailblazers and Dallas Mavericks.

Context only adds to the story.  So, once again: 

This was the playoffs.  This is what all professional athletes live for, what their year is about.  The regular season is a prelude, an effort to get into the post-season and be in place to win the league championship, to become a part of your sport's history.  Everything centers on this.  As the start of each playoff game nears, as the roaring crowd is at its highest pitch, as players put on their proverbial "game faces" and the battle is moments from beginning, all external thoughts get filtered out, and focus is completely, solely on their task ahead.  

The National Anthem, for most athletes, must be one of those external influences.  More than most of us, who hear the "Star Spangled Banner" largely on special occasions, professional athletes have heard the National Anthem played before every single competitive game they've played.  Game after game repeatedly each season, and season after season, for decades.  Relentlessly.  As meaningful as the song is, it is also just part of the ritual for a professional athlete, focused on the game, geared up for the game, anxious to start the game.  Silent, not singing, maybe not even hearing the music.  Waiting for the National Anthem to be played, and finished, so that they can finally start what they're there for.  It's likely as much background noise as it is patriotic uplift.

And so it must have been as the Trailblazers and Mavericks prepared for their playoff game to start.  

Stepping out onto the court was Natalie Gilbert, a 13-year-old girl.   Just another National Anthem, just another youngster who won a contest, just another two minutes the crowd wanted to get past for the game they were there to see, to start.  And she started fine.  A little hesitant, since it's a frightening occasion for a child, with a national audience, flashing lights and a military guard.  But in her wavering voice, she was prepared.

Except that a few lines in, the high pageantry of the moment got her, and something went very wrong.  She totally, thoroughly forgot the words.  A young 13-year-old child, standing in front of over 10,000 people, lost.  Alone.

And that's when Maurice Cheeks showed the kind of person he was.

Maurice Cheeks had had a very good NBA career as a player.  He played for 15 years and was selected to four All Star games.  When he retired, he was the all-time leader in steals and fifth in assists.  He averaged over 11 points a game.  And then he later became a coach, the position he was currently in for the Portland Trailblazers.  It was Cheeks who was responsible for his team, responsible for keeping them focused on the game, responsible for guiding them.  But he saw a 13-year-old girl in trouble.

And that's when Maurice Cheeks showed the kind of person he was.  Immediately.

Cheeks always had a reputation in the NBA as a good guy.  But he was about to prove it on a national stage.  And what happened next - not just with Maurice Cheeks, but eventually with all the jaded players whose minds had been previously-focused on their game, an entire stadium of basketball fans there to see basketball, even the opposing white-haired coach Don Nelson - is just enthralling.

The moment is wonderful, but how it builds and surprises is even better.

And at the end, this tiny girl looking up at the giant of a man - who stayed around, refusing to leave her side and return to his team - with her face awash with relief, a huge hug, and the clear words mouthed, "Thank you," is all you need to see to why it's hard to top what happened on April 25, 2003, before Game 4 of the NBA playoffs for sheer emotional joy.  Six years ago today.

Readers of these pages will likely recall my many articles about how former Major League pitcher and ESPN analyst Curt Schilling fell off the edge of the earth into deeply-far right White Supremacist Land.  This includes my one brief Twitter exchange with him and pieces like this one.

The Huffington Post has a major front-page headline story on his downfall, written by Travis Waldron.  It's superbly written -- scathing and skewering, to be sure, but very objectively written and fair-minded, delving into many of his strengths and how he wasn't always this way.  But its strength is how it ultimately shreds him by quoting his own words and tweets, many of which it reproduces.

I also love that it reminds us of the Trump rally he held in Boston, where once he was a hero, to which only 12 people showed up.  As I noted at the time, when he was a player and it had been announced that he would be somewhere to sign autographs, Curt Schilling -- who has said he's considering running for the U.S. Senate against Sen. Elizabeth Warren -- would have drawn hundreds of fans lining up around the block.

You can read the piece here.

Just because it hasn't happened in 108 years, the beloved Chicago Cubs are extending their World Series victory as much as possible.  They had their banner-raising ceremony on Monday, and today at 6:30 PM in Chicago *(4:30 here in Los Angeles), they'll be holding their ring ceremony.

It may appear on the MLB Channel, but MLB.com will be streaming for certain.  And as a public service, assuming the technology works properly (and the weather cooperates, which it appears to) we will stream it here live --

Even if you don't like sports, this is a nice two minutes.

Bob Miller is the longtime, and popular Hall of Fame hockey announcer for the Los Angeles Kings. A month ago, he said that he would be retiring at the end of the season, after 44 years with the team, at the age of 78..

Last night was the Kings' final home game.  Since the team didn't make the playoffs this year, that meant it was Bob Miller's last game before the home crowd.  There's still one game left in the season (tonight), but being his final home game, the club had had celebrations planned to honor Miller.

Little did anyone know that those celebrations included the game.

Los Angeles was losing 2-1 with only a minute to go.  But with just 50 seconds left, they tied up with the game.  And then, only 30-seconds into overtime, the Kings scored -- which meant that Bob Miller got to go out calling a game-winning goal on his final play.

Here's the video of those two calls.  Making it all the nicer is that there was a camera positioned on the broadcast booth, so you can watch Miller and see his happy reaction to both goals.

(By the way, for those who keep notebooks of deep, meticulous minutiae, the Kings won this final home game against the Chicago Blackhawks, and Bob Miller is from...Chicago.  Just another informational service we provide for you.)

Since hockey moves so fast, know that for the first goal, the Kings are going from right to left.  In overtime, the teams switched sides, and Los Angeles is then going from left to right.

O huzzah.  The season starts.  Today is the first day of baseball, as the Chicago Cubs head out to defend their World Series championship title.

Sorry, I had to add that last part since I've never had the chance before.  

There's been a lot of talk in Chicago and among baseball analysts about whether the Cubs will repeat this year, and honestly -- I couldn't care less.  I certainly hope they win...I always hope they win every game, and hoped that through the past decades...but with winning after 108 years, everything at this point is gravy.  Bonus material.  They won once in my lifetime (and pretty much every's lifetime), so life is good.  I'm okay with that.  

But as for repeating, here's a follow-up video to a fun one from last year.  However with a bit of backstory first to put it in perspective.

Kris Bryant (who won the Rookie of the Year award two years ago, and followed it last year with the National League Most Valuable Player award) and Anthony Rizzo (who finished fourth in the MVP voting) are team leaders and best friends on the Chicago Cubs.  The result of which is that they've become known jokingly as "Bryzzo."  So, Major League Baseball came up with a funny ad campaign about the fictitious Bryzzo Souvenir Company.  The point of the fake enterprise is that Bryant and Ryzzo have a two-man business where they sell souvenirs of the home runs that they hit.

So, as a refresher first, here was the original video that MLB made.  (That's Bryant on the left with the beard, and Rizzo on...oh, you can figure it out.)