Play Ball!

hank

MLB Season Opener Sunday night on ESPN at 8:00 PM EDT

Chicago Cubs host the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley. Newly acquired ace Jon Lester starts for the Cubs. Joe Maddon makes his managerial debut in a Cubs uniform. I'm happy for the people of Chicago to have acquired the gifted Maddon. Folks in Tampa-St. Pete didn't appreciate what they had and did not support their major league team. A pox on their house!

Article: http://espn.go.com/chicago/mlb/story/_/id/12409356/jon-lester-named-start-chicago-cubs-season-opener

Ted

@hank: Thanks for the reminder; however Chicago has only one major league team, namely the Chicago White Sox. The Cubs are really a minor league team disguised
as a major league team. There proper name is the Iowa Cubs who haven't won a World Series in hundred and one years.
Regards,
Ted

A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request: Steve Goodman:

Tampabay

Maddon is a Joke(er) The fun and Games begin for the Cub Players, its a "do anything you want atmosphere"...That's why many players loved playing for Him...but ask the serious"lets win" players they will tell you they are glad to get back to business as it should be. unfortunately those guys are gone from here...my guys are gone....Don't care much for Rays now...but I have my players to follow around the country....San Diego Team for one

hank

@Ted

Ted, you are correct. Losing is part of this team's mantra. Wouldn't be the "Cubbies" if they played too well. But I think they'll improve under Maddon. If they don't ... he can still kick dirt on an umpire's shoes better than anyone I've seen. Fun to watch.

We pay extra for WGN just to watch a few Cubs games every summer. Very good announcers - and the camera crews always seem to locate some attractive women in the stands. Great atmosphere at old Wrigley.

Madden fielded competitive teams in Tampa on a shoestring budget. Lowest payroll in the majors. Honestly, don't know how he did it. David Price (now a Tiger) is one of many former players he mentored who speaks highly of him.

Puddnhead

https://www.dropbox.com/s/8ggc1qmnc1javz4/baseball.jpg?dl=0?raw=1

Back in the day....

Charles

Go Yanks!

Derf

Season's to dam long ! Cub fans looked like they were really into it all decked out in their winter ware. And I have to ask why a night game ? Day game & one might have enjoyed their cold beer.
Derf

Charles

“Internally, we always have high expectations,” Teixeira said. “First of all, get to the playoffs. And second of all, win the World Series.”

Go Yanks!

scott

Going to a Cubs game is certainly not about the Cubs, it's about Wrigley Field.

I think the one thing that people don't really think about much is that minor league games are a ton of fun - they are cheap (in all aspects, food is not a fortune) and fun (relaxed atmosphere, the idea that you may see someone who goes to the majors.) I used to buy cracked bats at one minor league team for a couple bucks and get signatures when I was a kid. I probably have at least one or two noteworthy names, haven't looked.

Tampabay

Scott: I Have to check out Dunedin Blue Jays this summer (minor League) a few blocks from our new home, $6 (seniors) to get in $1 Hotdogs, $2 beers on special nights, Young Upcoming Players...Gotta try it one Night...

PRESSmUP

This is the year of the Tribe...mark it down. Book it. Take it to the bank.

hank

Ernie read this every opening day.

Ted

@hank: When I was kid growing up in Chicago ,near Lake Michigan, many nights I would pick up the WJR feed with Ernie Harwell from a station in St. Joseph Michigan.
Regards,
Ted

slick

I had always lived in major league cities until I moved to New Mexico, and I initially missed my time seeing the Orioles and before that the Cleveland Indians. With a new stadium and fans starved for baseball, going to a minor league game was a pleasant surprise. Getting a great seat costs just a bit more than a movie these days, free hot dog nights, fireworks and watching kids interact with the players with silly stunts and games in between the innings is a real trip!

To a former New Yorker who still thinks the only true home that the Dodgers will ever have is Brooklyn, I am a real fan of minor league play.

msf

@slick - as a fan of minor league and Brooklyn baseball, any thoughts on the Cyclones?

Jackie Robinson and Pee Wee Reese statue outside MCU (formerly KeySpan) Park, Coney Island, Brooklyn:

slick

@msf

Don't follow hockey, but have not seen this statue, been a while since I've been to Brooklyn. Good one! And great hot dogs

catch22

@Ted

Used to listen to Dick Biondi, WLS, in the early sixties. As only some "AM" radio stations were allowed (if I recall properly) to broadcast with full transmitter power after 6pm (their local time).There were always a few that could be heard very clear into the night.
On a fishing trip into remote Canada (WaWa) during the summer of 1962 or 3, my handy-dandy Sony 9 transistor radio was able to dial in WLS with clear reception.

I also recall the strong night time stations of WBZ, Boston; WSM, Nashville and WOWO, Fort Wayne, Indiana. Weather conditions being just right, all of these could be received.
And WJR had a very long distance range, too.

I still recall his version of "The Pizza Song".





Take care,
Catch

hank

@Catch: Same here. We lived near Lake Michigan in northern Mich and WLS came in loud and clear across the water evenings as I was doing homework. Biondi was a loud but likable character who played all the top hits of the 60s. I also had a short wave radio with some wire strung across the backyard and listened to Radio Havana at night - which played some music and was always blasting us "capitalist pigs". (I guess they're still driving the same cars down there they did back than.)


Another favorite in the 70s-80s was talk-show commentator Jerry Williams on WBZ Boston, which we listened to every night while living near Detroit. "BZ" put out a really strong AM signal back in those days. Williams was a nightly thorn in Nixon's *** Had a memorable sign-off: "Good night. Good luck. Good morning. Good night" (Which he may have borrowed from Edward R. Murrow).

And Catch - I'll bet you recall WJBK's Lou Gorden in Detroit. It was George Romney's "brainwash" comment on that (TV) program that probably cost him the Presidency.

catch22

@hank

I am somewhat familiar with some of his (Gordon) later programs; but I was "out of the area" for 4 years beginning in early 1967 due to some political problems in S.E. Asia. When I returned to Michigan, I was home for about 3 months and then worked outside of the U.S. again, for a private company.

Lots of stuff going on in those years in Michigan, of which; I am not familiar.

Old_Joe

What you folks are remembering were (and still are) called Class-A "clear-channel" AM broadcasting stations. They are allowed to broadcast with a power of 50,000 watts or more, and are protected from interference by other North American transmitters on the same frequency. Such other transmitters are required to reduce and/or redirect their night-time power, or even to cease transmitting after dusk.

Among the ones that you've mentioned, the following were and are such clear-channel stations:

WBZ (Boston), WLS (Chicago), WJR (Detroit), and WSM (Nashville). WOWO (Fort Wayne, Indiana), was, during the time-frame you reference also clear-channel, but that is no longer the case.

For additional info, here's the Wickipedia link.


Edit/add: When I was a kid I used to see how many AM broadcast stations that I could log from San Francisco. Among those that I remember:

CKWX Vancouver, British Columbia
KDKA Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
KEX Portland, Oregon
KFI & KNX Los Angeles
KOA Denver
KOMO Seattle
KSL Salt Lake City
WBZ Boston

and also one New York City station, but I can't remember the call sign.

catch22

Thanks @Old_Joe

I was too lazy to review what I had heard/known those 1,000 years ago. But, I knew there used to be a "rule".
'Course now, I may listen to English language radio from Taipei via this internet thingy.

So glad to read you discovered that fire.

Old_Joe

Thanks Catch- it was real close... I'm pretty sure that another few minutes and that bamboo, which actually touches two houses, would have caught.

Ted

@catch22: Another one !!
Regards,
Ted

WHO Logo

Broadcast area
Des Moines, Iowa

Branding
NewsRadio 1040, WHO

Frequency
1040 (kHz) (also on HD Radio)

First air date
April 11, 1924

Format
News/Talk

Power
50,000 watts

msf

The NYC clear channel stations that seemed to carry the best were: the #1 station in the country - 77, WABC, and newsradio stations WCBS 880 and WINS 1010 (Group W, Westinghouse) - the original newsradio (you give us 22 minutes, we'll give you the world).

I really liked WINS' late 70s jingle (which I cannot seem to find on the web) - even though the station was newsradio, it broadcast the Yankees then:

When Reggie swings, New York WINS
When Broadway sings, New York WINS
At NYU, in Jersey, too,
For the kids at the Bronx Zoo,
New York WINS, New York WINS

On the street, on the beat,
At the Met, you can bet,
With trumpets and violins,
New York WINS.

When Yankees score, New York WINS,
When you explore, New York WINS,
Start your day and cheer it,
This is where you'll hear it,
Hear it on 1010, New York WINS, New York WINS.

But for raw power, there was no topping XERF, the 250,000 watt station with Wolfman Jack.

slick

@ msf: I remember when Murray the K was on WINS, before it became all news, then later WOR FM.

I also remember listening to 77 ABC from Kent, Ohio while in college. It came through loud and clear in the winter, not so much in the summer.

Nice stroll down memory lane

Crash

Red Sox started strong today. Pedroia, Ramirez both with TWO homers. Betts homered, too. The last one bounced off the foul pole in LF (H. Ramirez, and he cracked his bat doing it, down by the wrist!) They started strong, but did not sustain much energy later in the game, apart from the Grand Slam. Sox 8, Phillies 0. Buckholtz booted a slow roller down the first base line in the 1st. That was scored as an Error. Phillies managed 3 hits. This kind of beginning is too good to be true. Sandoval went 0-5, but everyone played great defense. I, too, am something of a Minor League fan. The New Britain, Connecticut team nearby is being moved to Hartford and re-named the Yard Goats. I don't bet they'll get me to fight the city traffic into and out of Hartford!
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2015_04_06_bosmlb_phimlb_1&mode=box

Crash

Charles

Yanks had WORST opener!

Hope it's not an omen of season ahead.

STB65

If you geezers are still sucking air in '17, you won't be dissin' the Cubbies. Theo's gonna make them the real deal. (I even have a bet with my St. Louie daughter on the '16 standings.)
White Sox?? What've they done since Luis and Nellie left?
Still like my home town Cards for a play-off spot.
SI likes the Indians; might be right. I was sooo hopin' for KC last year, but ... Baumgartner!!

And, btw, didn't Biondi get fired over a "cheeks" comment? Never happen now. How the world spins.

hank

Yikes!

Madden's Cubs are currently 13 games up in their division, with the best W/L record in the Major Leagues. (Poor Rays sit 19 games back.)

Cardinals@Cubs tonight (Sunday) at 8 on ESPN.

Joe Maddon: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Maddon

Ted

@ The Linkster was raised on the South Side of Chicago, and as such is a Cub hater. However. I'm a big Steve Goodman fan !

Steve Goodman: A Dying Cubs Fan's Last Request:


Steve Goodman : City Of New Orleans