It is time of year for Christmas for movie fans – the schedule is out for this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, and yes, once again, I will be there watching at least 10 films. But there is a quandary that I get in from time to time and its happening now… I often pick […]

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A common sports euphemism concerns the pressure on athletes to perform and win; we use the sayings “having or getting the monkey off one’s back.” Sometimes it’s a 600 lb. gorilla; other times, it’s a stuffed monkey like Northwestern football head coach Pat Fitzgerald had at the last two bowl games (when NU “got the […]

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A few quick thoughts: • I’m going to need a defibrillator to watch the rest of the games in the Stanley Cup Finals. I want the Blackhawks to win so badly I can barely watch. • Whenever someone dies, I automatically think of the family left behind, especially young children, which makes the sudden and […]

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Long time readers know that I’ve been bored by the NBA for a long time, and don’t usually pay it much attention, but a few things have crossed my mind this week: • I was watching ESPN and they were publicizing a documentary on the NBA Network: “The Doctor.” Fortunately, the hotel I’m in this […]

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The word fan is short for fanatic, which is what sports fans are – rooting on their teams with their entire being. They see calls through their passion; they cheer their teams; they boo the opposition. I know because anyone whose seen me at a Northwestern football game or Blackhawks game knows that I’m anything […]

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LeRoy Butler, retired safety of the Green Bay Packers, won’t be coming to a Wisconsin church anymore because he tweeted support for Jason Collins, the NBA player who came out as gay this week. “Congrats to Jason Collins,” Butler tweeted April 29, the day Collins came out in a Sports Illustrated cover story but a […]

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As you may know, I have been bored by basketball, especially the NBA version for over a decade, so other than the superstars, I don’t really know a lot of the players. As a result, I don’t know a lot about Jason Collins, but the Washington Wizards forward has taken the step we knew would […]

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