Want to hear the alleged recording of Donald Sterling?

[VIDEO] TMZ shared the actual alleged conversation between LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling and his lady friend V. Stiviano. Allegedly, Stiviano provided the recording that is causing this controversy. Reason - from whom I found this recording - opined on the subject asking one main question, "Should Sterling be fired for racist remarks?"

If I could answer that question, he should be. Other owners in other major leagues found themselves in hot water and ultimately were removed. If not by a major league itself, the fellow owners took action after a PR nightmare. If it's not good for business, then someone must go right?

Hat-tip Instapundit!

Being a racist owner in the NBA?

Donald Sterling

We're going to be on the topic of sports again later in light of the Black Hawks victory over the St. Louis Blues to advance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs yesterday. Now we're going to discuss a controversy in the NBA.

The LA Clippers used to be known as perennial losers over the years and lately have become winners and are currently in the playoffs. They're not in the news for their playoff contention, but for the actions of their owner.

Donald Sterling has found himself in the news because of tape that allegedly has him querying his girlfriend - who herself is Black & Mexican - about her association with "minorities". Apparently Mr. Sterling didn't like the fact that his young girlfriend had a picture taken and then deleted from Instagram with Magic Johnson. Then it goes further:

"It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you're associating with black people. Do you have to?" the man believed to be Sterling says. He continues, "You can sleep with [black people]. You can bring them in, you can do whatever you want. The little I ask you is not to promote it on that ... and not to bring them to my games."

Sheesh! Sterling is in the wrong business to harbor these feelings. Besides he's largely employing Blacks and how can his girlfriend associate with a man. It was reported via TMZ that she provided these recordings. The NBA is also investigation whether or not this is actually Sterling.

You know I'm reminded of Cincinatti Reds owner Marge Schott. She had been suspended from her ownership role at one point because she held controversial - racial and anti-semitic - views herself. It appears this article from the Washington Post is also reminded of Ms. Schott.

So now the NBA if the evidence suggest that Sterling did say what he say about Blacks has to make a decision. Perhaps Sterling could be suspended from his ownership or perhaps forced to sell his longtime stake in the Clippers.

He may have to anyway, especially if Magic Johnson was forced to make this tweet. Who else might engage in a boycott against the team as long as Sterling remains owner.

Black Hawks in the playoffs!

As has been a tradition in both of the Black Hawks' Stanley Cup wins in 2010 and 2014 it's time to start showing highlights of the playoff games. Unfortunately I haven't done a great job of following the Hawks during their playoff run so far. Still the Hawks were down by two games until their victory last night at the United Center last night over the St. Louis Blues. The earlier games were both determined with OT wins by the Blues.




Game 1 @ St. Louis [VIDEO]

Game 2 @ St. Louis [VIDEO]

Game 3 @ Chicago [VIDEO]

Wired: Free iPhone 5s deal proves Apple isn't so special

I wonder if this article indicated whether the general excitement over Apple's iPhone is over. Now Radio Shack is offering an iPhone 5s for free with a cell phone contract upgrade. Really? This was supposed to be the "premium" model and now they want to give em away for free.

I'm looking forward to the iPhone 6 it's time for an upgrade for me. I'm not entirely excited about a "phablet" thought. I want a phone I can carry around on my person not some big "jalopy" that won't fit in a pocket!

Via Instapundit with headline "APPLE IPHONES now subject to discounting."

Today's Easter weekend message: "That's My King!"

[VIDEO] Since it's now Easter weekend perhaps it's appropriate to show an religious message. This video I got wind of via Mancow's radio show is an edited clip of a sermon delivered by Dr. S.M. Lockridge. It was certainly a great message and caught my attention when I saw it on TV - Mancow had a daily simulcast on local TV of his radio show.

In any event inspite of the bible quote you see in the subtitle above, this is a long way from a religious blog. Indeed I do not consider myself a religious person. However, just as easily as now I want to put more focus onto Cubs games, perhaps it's time to focus on doing religious things. Crack open a bible or go to church services.

Perhaps now is the time for that, again, in my life.

Also if you want to hear Dr. Lockridge's full sermon - apparently a whole hour - you can watch it here.I have yet to hear the full sermon, but hopefully it's as good as that 3 minute video you see above.

One last question in relation to this video: "Do you know him?"

Conan: Bill Tull's Budget Easter tips

[VIDEO] Aired on Conan Wednesday night just in time for Easter. Very funny and very unexpected. Yet, very timely and what one could expect from Conan O'Brien. LOL!

So the #Cubs are headed to Yankee Stadium

Cubs.com

I've been doing a good job of following the Cubs this season starting with making a more concerted effort to follow the games on TV. For the past few years I haven't done a very good job and wanted to change that this year. Win or lose if the Cubs are on TV I will watch!

And at that I intended to follow their progress using Twitter or FB. Well worthwhile project, unfortunately there aren't a lot of wins to rack up so far.

Hell, a twitter account covering the Cubs simply tracking whether or not the Cubs won a given game has proven to be ingenious. Should've seen their tweet for the result of yesterday's game in St. Louis against the Cardinals:

Nooo
— Did the Cubs Win? (@CubsWinOrNah) April 13, 2014

How many ways can a twitter account simply say yes or no during the course of a season. HAHA! Anyway, the Cubs will be going to New York this week to face another storied and most successful team in the New York Yankees. A consistent championship team that I understand is worth $1 billion.

If the Cubs are my team in the National League I consider myself a low-key Yankees fan as far as the American League goes although I don't necessarily follow their games. You know I recognize that I should just stick with Chicago teams in baseball. Perhaps I could just say Cubs for the NL and the White Sox for the AL.

Anyway, I enjoy watching the Yankees in the post-season and they seemed to have made regular trips not just in the post-season but to the world series itself. Although it appears that they only won two World Series titles last decade one in 2000 and the other in 2009.

The Cubs don't frequently face the Yankees. In fact at one point the only way that happens is during Spring Training perhaps or the World Series. And the Cubs have faced them in the World Series 1932 and 1938 as noted to in this NY Times article.

That article - or essay as it's noted at the link -  seems to partly cheerlead for the Yankees and at the same time trashes the Cubs. Or does it instead seems to have an honest conversation about the shortcomings of the north siders?

All the same, I want to believe the current state of the Cubbies is only due to the fact that it's early in the season yet. Yeah 4 out of 12 games won so far, perhaps a turnaround is coming. Hopefully it will be sooner than later.

As I stated already if 2015 is to ever be the year - yes I recognize it as wishful thinking - there needs to be some evidence of that this season!

ALSO, I took the accompanying quiz and well I've got a lot of Cubs trivia to brush up on!

The Ultimate Warrior...

[VIDEO] It was very cool watching the Ultimate Warrior on Monday Night Raw this week. I didn't immediately recognize him when I tuned in because for some reason I still got his youthful appearance in my head still. What I saw was a gray-haired man with a goatee running around with a red-tie and suit along with an airbrush painted overcoat.

He even spoke like Ultimate Warrior and even donned an Ultimate Warrior mask. Hmmm didn't he usually paint his face? Anyway little did I realize that Warrior - which was his legal name he was born James Brian Hellwig - would share this one last moment with his fans. He died on Tuesday! :(

I've understood over the years that he's had many disputes with the WWF's owner Vince McMahon. Only recently did he return to not only become a member of the WWE hall of fame, but to become an ambassador for the company that made him famous.

Well wrestling fans, I hope you saw the last appearance of the Ultimate Warrior in a WWE ring. It's sad, but the appearance on Monday was truly a treat!

A big donut

Finished this big old donut yesterday from this place in Chicago called Dat Donut!

David Letterman announces his retirement

[VIDEO] I never thought I'd see the day when David Letterman would retire from his program. Perhaps that day was coming as Letterman is a senior citizen already and spent a long time in the public eye with 12 years as host of NBC's Late Night show and then 20 years as host of CBS' Late Show. Without a doubt he has had a good run.

Over the years I have considered myself a Letterman fan starting with his Late Night show. In the case of Late Night with David Letterman it was safe to say I was not in the target audience of his show. I was too young, but that show made me laugh in more ways than one when I did get a chance to see the show.

When Letterman left NBC for his CBS show I followed him and consistently found him more interesting than Tonight Show host Jay Leno. There are some bits from the Late Show I still find myself reciting and remembering today even though he no longer does those bits.

Even better if you look on YouTube you will find nothing but Letterman clips from his TV programs over the years. The funniest ones involve his Late Show announcer Alan Kalter who is treated terribly. Kalter is either a pervert or a temperamental guy who goes off at the slightest provocation. Sometimes for humorous effect Kalter is assaulted, but kudos because any bits involving Alan is often very hilarious!

Now it's time to figure out who shall succeed Letterman on Late Show. Could it be Late Late Show host Craig Ferguson? My personal idea would be to bring Conan O'Brien back from basic cable to broadcast TV. Well at least no one from CBS would likely read this so my idea may not see the light of day. Still Conan could be as likely a successor as Ferguson.

Anyway, the future without Letterman on TV will be here before I know it. The late night landscape has changed over the years and will continue to change. We saw it with Jimmy Fallon hosting Tonight and we'll surely see it with the future evolution of the Late Show.

Own a share of the Cubs to finance stadium renovations...

Postcard of Wrigley Field via Chicago Argus

I damn near fell out of my chair finding out that the Ricketts family who currently owns the Chicago Cubs are exploring selling shares of this historic franchise in order to fund some renovations to the "Friendly Confines" of Wrigley Field. The renovations have been talked about since the Ricketts purchased the Cubs and are part of the public debate here in Chicago.

Yup, major league baseball owners in my fair city have to go through the Chicago City Council and Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Especially if at one point during this process the Ricketts wanted to procure public financing to fund Wrigley renovations

Now, I read Chicago Argus who discusses this further. Granted, Gregory Tejada is solidly a Chicago White Sox fan and hence this will explain some of the dismissive tone you will read in his write-up. At the same time he like a lot of baseball fans have an opinion about this development.

It would be cool to own a share of the team. In fact years ago I'd have been keen on owning a piece of the World Wrestling Federation. However even in those instances it would be a share and not necessarily a controlling interest in such a business. Plus the different between the Cubs and the now WWE is that one of them is publicly traded. No major sports franchise in this country has shares available for purchase on the NASDAQ or NYSE for example.

So Cubs fans are hoping for a World Series victory in 2015...

[VIDEO] Lately I've been seeing that Cubs fans are hoping that 2015 will finally be the year the "Loveable Losers" finally win their World Series after more than a century of futility. Yeah, believe it or not the the last time the Cubs made it all the way in the major league post season was in the year 1908. It makes you wonder what's been going on 100 years plus where the Cubs just can't go beyond getting a World Series berth.

All the same, I appreciate the optimism and it's always a good trait to have. Unfortunately if 2015 would be the year we'd have to see some evidence of that now. Although I recognize that at times it seems a team could do so well one year and then be terrible the next. Them's the breaks I suppose.

Why 2015, you may ask? Well in Back to the Future II, Marty McFly time travels to the year 2015 where at some point the Cubs won the world series. Alas 2015 is next year and none of us are traveling around in a flying DeLorean vehicle.

And if you believe Steve Rosenbloom - sports columnist for the Chicago Tribune - the Cubs of 2014 aren't looking so promising. Bummer! I'm not very knowledgeable about sports - perhaps the rules and perhaps the business side - beyond that don't expect me to be an expert player scout. The best way for me to judge a team if they got the right won-loss percentage. Of course on field play is very important but don't ask me to evaluation them unfortunately I got to have enough of an attention span to focus on almost all games the Cubs play.

Here's one bright spot, the longtime home of the Cubs - Wrigley Field - is celebrating one hundred years of service this year. It's still one of the oldest parks in the majors and baseball fans who appreciate history are probably booking their trips to the Wrigleyville neighborhood. Now to the owners - the Ricketts family - how about insuring that the Cubs will be contenders for a World Series before it's time to hit the old "friendly confines" with a wrecking-ball!

Happy April Fools' Day

Ya know, today is April Fools' Day. Not only that baseball season has started finally although I rarely kept track of spring training during the month of March. It just lets me know that much warmer weather is coming around the corner and thank goodness.

You know this is the time for a humor based post in keeping with this special day. I've learned over the years that I'm not that good with humor, all the same it's just another mark after this really harsh winter we've had. So now I'm glad that this day has come around the corner!