Perhaps one of the more positive aspects of football players’ psyches is the concern about life after football. Kids play football in junior leagues, then high schools (often with substandard equipment and medical practice and game staffing), then on to college and if particularly gifted or lucky, on to the NFL. Still, a football career ends for people in their late 20s or early 30s most of the time, and for years, little if any thought was given to the remaining 50-60 years of life left after football. Not to mention that for every Peyton Manning who wisely invested his football earnings, there’s a 100 or more players who have filed bankruptcy or had to sue the league to pay for medical expenses incurred while playing.
The biggest scare is that of CTE – chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the neurodegenerative disease caused by repeated head injuries. Symptoms do not begin until years after the injuries, and still cannot be identified for certain until by autopsy. A test that can be administered while a person is still alive for CTE still has not been developed. So, players are retiring earlier and earlier.
The latest star player to retire is Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly who announced this week that he plans to retire from the NFL at age 28. “There’s only one way to play this game since I was a little kid — play fast, play physical and play strong,” Kuechly said. “And at this point I don’t know if I am able to do that anymore. That’s the part that is the most difficult. I still want to play, but I don’t think it’s the right decision,” he continued. “I thought about it for a long time. Now is an opportunity to step away with what’s going on here.”
Kuechly didn’t explain exactly why he can’t play fast, physical and strong at this point in his career, but it is known that from 2015 to 2017, the 2013 NFL Defensive Player of the Year missed seven games due to concussions. He wore an experimental device named the “Q Collar” around his neck the past three seasons; the inventor claimed it reduced the risk of concussions. Kuechly was last officially ruled out for a concussion after he was carted off the field in tears during a Thursday night game in 2017. He did miss time during training camp for an undisclosed injury, but he later insisted that wasn’t a concussion.
More and more players, especially stars are retiring early. Besides Kuechly, tight end Rob Gronkowski retired in 2018 (but keeps teasing that he will come out of retirement), Colts QB Andrew Luck, Kam Chancellor, Calvin “Megatron” Johnson.
On the local level, it has become more difficult for many middle class suburban junior and high school teams to field teams because parents worry about the chance of brain and other injuries. Unfortunately, this is another way in which inequality is wreaking havoc on poor kids and kids of color. With sports being seen as one of the only sure-fire ways out of poverty, the very talented are putting their bodies and health on the line, hoping that it will eventually turn into a well-paying NFL job. Never thinking about the risk of injury, the money running out. I guess having had a few years of high living is better than none, and if you end up in the same situation you were in as a kid, you have gone full circle. With life being so cheap, I guess some find it worth it.
Yes, work is being done to improve the equipment; rules are crafted to try and reduce the risk of injury, but as I’ve said for decades here and on The Sportswriters show, football was not made to be played by men over 6 feet tall, over 300 pounds, who can run a 4.8 40-yard dash and have 1% body fat. Every play is the equivalent of a major car accident; there’s little question that over time, the body will suffer severe trauma to the head, the knees, shoulders, all parts of the body.
One has to wonder if there will even be football in 25-30 years unless there’s safety improvements. Maybe no football would be for the best? Certainly would be for the players in terms of life expectancy and quality of life.

One of the worst aspects of today’s culture is the willingness to cheat to win. Be it elections through gerrymandering and voter suppression; stealing signs and deflating footballs, or: ingesting foreign substances into your body in order to improve your on-field performance; the worst thing to do is to get caught. Phony apologies written by lawyers and spin doctors send the message “I am very sorry to have gotten caught.” Cheaters don’t even have to face the media anymore – the “apology” is sent out to the media, they get a slap on the wrist, and in 2-3 weeks, all is forgotten.
Not this week in Houston, however. For some time, Major League Baseball had been conducting an investigation that the Houston Astros were using video to steal signs during the regular season, playoffs and 2017 World Series which the Astros won. A report was released that confirmed that the Astros were stealing signs and that GM Jeff Luhnow and manager AJ Hinch knew about it and used the data. Baseball suspended the two men for the entirety of the 2020 season, but Astros’ Owner Jim Crane wasted no time in firing the men. Crane said the team wanted to go beyond that ruling. “Neither one of them started this, but neither one of them did anything about it,” Crane said. He added: “We need to move forward with a clean slate.” Still, the team’s first World Series title will not be overturned. Crane said that he did not think the Astros’ World Series title in 2017 was “tainted.”
In addition, the Astros will also lose first- and second-round draft picks in 2020 and 2021, and the organization was fined a record $5 million. MLB said in its statement that if Luhnow or Hinch “engage in any future material violations” of MLB rules, they will be placed on the league’s permanently ineligible list.
Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora, who was Astros’ bench coach in 2017 before being hired by Boston, has been implicated in the schemes, but was not disciplined. Still, Cora may have taken the scheme east with him because an investigation has been conducted into similar conduct by the 2018 Red Sox. Observers believe that Cora may receive a similarly harsh penalty.
The scheme involved having stolen signs transmitted to the dugout and then batters would get the message from players banging on garbage cans, which means that player participation was obvious, but no players were disciplined including New York Mets manager Carlos Beltran, who played for the 2017 Astros and was implicated by MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred as one of the players involved in decoding signs. Astros’ owner Crane also said that players will not be disciplined. MLB’s investigation found that Crane was unaware of the sign-stealing activities by his team.
The scheme itself, Manfred wrote, began in 2017 and evolved throughout the course of the season. After initially using video-replay personnel to decode the opposing catcher’s signs via a center-field camera and relaying the information to the bench via phone or text message, Cora arranged for a video room technician to install a monitor displaying the center field camera feed immediately outside of the Astros’ dugout. Players watched the camera live and, upon decoding the sign, hit the trash can with a bat to signal to the hitter which pitch was coming. Initially, they had tried clapping, whistling or yelling, Manfred wrote, but players determined the trash can was the best use of relaying the sign.
The banging scheme was discontinued before the 2018 season, but the Astros’ replay review room staff continued, at least for part of the 2018 season, to decode signs using the live center field camera feed, and to transmit the signs to the dugout through in-person communication. It only ended when the players believed it was no longer effective. The investigation found no use of illicit technology during the 2019 season.
So, if it had continued working, the Astros would have continued using the scheme and the GM and Manager were involved. Manfred is saved a nasty decision – what would he have done if the Astros had won the 2019 World Series? Would he have overturned the Series? I’m sure he’s happy now that the Nationals won. As for Alex Cora, the Red Sox better start looking for a new manager, at least for 2020.
I am an old-timer’ I remember a simpler day when the White Sox would cut the grass just before Mickey Mantle’s Yankees came to town. Turns out, Mantle was allergic to cut grass. The White Sox promised not to let the other teams in on the secret.
Unfortunately, cheating works and it seems that people care less. Soon, the Baseball Hall of Fame ballots will be filled out and counted, and while the Baseball Writers’ Association of America have been very good in not voting in the “Steroid Boys” – Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmiero and the like, they have been getting more votes each year and this year, they have a real chance of being voted in. What does that say to “clean” players?
Will the stand taken by Baseball and Jim Crane be the “line in the sand” to stop cheating in baseball? One can only hope so, but I’m cynical.

Well, the Golden Globes are over and next week come the Academy Award nominations, and it was a good year for film. I was able to see a few of the best of the year before they were released in cinemas or on streaming services. Overall, more and more films at the Toronto International Film Festival are films either financed directly or films with the rights purchased by Netflix or Amazon Prime. I admit that I enjoy films on the big screen better, although there were very few theaters showing one of the best films, so it is the only one of my top 10 that I did not see on a big screen.
Now, here we go:
10. Alita: Battle Angel – I know that this film made a number of “worst of 2019” lists, but I enjoyed the film; the action was well done; the look was good. I know that a lot of people (including the Sun-Times’ resident unqualified film critic) don’t like the anime style “big eyes” on the main character, but that’s their problem. At least it isn’t whitewashing as Scarlett Johanssen’s casting in “Ghost In The Shell” (even though I liked that film also). Alita is not deep; it’s an entertainment that I enjoyed.
9. Ad Astra – A mash up of 2001: A Space Odyssey and Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness with daddy issues. Brad Pitt is an astronaut who is following in his father’s footsteps (Tommy Lee Jones), disappearing years before exploring the rest of the solar system. Meanwhile on and near Earth, a series of “shock Waves” from space are doing serious damage and threaten the planet. Scientists have identified the source of the waves from Jones’ spacecraft/general area. So, Pitt is sent to Mars to try and communicate with his father. Eventually, Pitt ends up alone on a ship, chasing his father. (The one problem, with Jones being gone years, Pitt’s ship catches up fairly quickly. I understand improvements in technology, but it was a bit jarring. A few action set pieces keep the movie from slowing to a coma and the ideas are interesting (and this wasn’t even Pitt’s best acting role of the year.
8. Us – Director Jordan Peele proves that “Get Out” was no fluke, with another horror story of an African-American family who encounters evil doppelgängers. Lupita Nyong’o turns in an Oscar caliber role as the mother and the killer. Dark, smart, funny at points, topical – this was terrific.
7. Avengers: Endgame – after 22 films including a huge lead-in from Infinity War, Endgame delivered the goods. There were huge fights and set pieces, but it was still a character driven story with a very touching ending. This was worth the hype, unlike Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker (which was alright, just not as good).
6. Joker – I saw this at TIFF and I enjoyed it. I said afterwards to friends that it definitely wasn’t for everybody, but there are obviously more everybody’s than I realized since it became the biggest drawing R-rated film of all time. From the very first scene of Arthur Fleck (Joachin Phoenix) in his therapist’s office laughing and crying at the same time, I was astounded by his acting. I appreciated director Todd Phillips using the influence of Scorsese’s Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy to present a dark, grey visual palate and a story that constantly had one wondering what was real and what wasn’t. Another Scorsese standout, Robert DeNiro was the film’s weakest link. As great as DeNiro is, he is not a jovial extrovert, which made his turn as a talk show host painful and unbelievable. Not exactly Jerry Lewis. However, it was riveting, good for the comics crowd and interesting to adults who want to see a vivid portrait of madness.
5. Dolemite Is My Name – As a kid, my mother had the “blue” comedy records of Redd Foxx, and Richard Pryor and we took turns stealing them from each other so that we could hear the off-color, delirious monologues. Surprisingly, we never had Rudy Ray Moore records. They were considered “too dirty” by my parents, but my friends and I were able to hear them anyway. Eddie Murphy acted as one of the producers of Dolemite Is My Name, a loving tribute to Moore and his greatest creation. Once again, we are reminded that Eddie Murphy can act, and the cast of supporting characters especially Da’Vine Joy Randolph as Lady Reed who becomes a great stand-up comedian in her own right and foil to Moore and Wesley Snipes in a way-over-the-top take on actor D’Urville Martin. Plus, the outfits from the 1970s are hilarious on their own. Very highly recommended.
4. Parasite – one of two movies over 19 years of going to TIFF that I couldn’t get a ticket for, which meant that it was a must see. Also, add that I have been following South Korean director Bong Joon Ho since his first full length feature, The Host, played TIFF in 2006. Even then, he has showed a real ability to bring interesting stories to film in disparate stories like Mother and Snowpiercer. This is the film that will place Bong Joon Ho into the stratosphere. The story, as most know, is a funny, serious, sad story of one family who appear to ingratiate themselves into relationships with members of a wealthy family. The social and class issues which are at the forefront of people’s minds at this point in history are on vivid display. Should be nominated for Best Picture, not just Best Foreign Film and Best Director when the Oscar nominations come out next week.
3. Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood – I don’t believe there has been a year when Quentin Tarantino released a film when it didn’t end up on my personal best of the year lists and this one is no exception. A loving reflection on Hollywood in the late 1960s: movies, popular culture are rapidly changing; older actors are finding work only in television or commercials; and the ugly underbelly of the Swinging 60s is rearing its ugly head, as demonstrated by Charles Manson’s Family. Tarantino pulls out another revisionist history as Leonardo DiCaprio lives next door to the doomed Sharon Tate which doesn’t end up as the real history. Brad Pitt is his stuntman, friend, gofer, and Pitt has been properly lauded for his performance, one of his all time best. I’d like to call out DiCaprio as well. I’ve never been a big fan of his as an actor, but this is one of his most solid performances. And the fact that Tarantino’s characteristic violence is fully on display here, but only at the end in the phantasmagoric last act makes it even more absurd and sublime.
2. JoJo Rabbit – on the face of it, a film about a 10-year-old boy entering the Hitler Youth near the end of World War II is an odd choice for comedy, but this film directed by Taika Waititi is extremely funny, but also has a message of empathy and inclusion, and yes, some sad moments too. Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok) plays the boy’s imaginary friend Adolf Hitler and the dictator is played as a cross between a stand-up comedian and the cartoon Tazmanian Devil. The always great Sam Rockwell, Rebel Wilson and Scarlett Johansson are all excellent here, but the boys: Roman Griffith Davis in the lead and Archie Yates as his friend, trying to navigate growing up, sadness and death and of course, the little thing about his mother that JoJo stumbles across, the Jewish girl being sheltered by his mother in his house. I laughed harder watching this film than any movie I’ve watched since The Death of Stalin.
1. The Irishman – I could be called a lemming by following with the popular tide, but there is no director I love more than Martin Scorsese and his gangster movies are among my all time favorites, and the chance to see him direct Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and for the first time, Al Pacino had me looking forward to this film all year. A lot has been made about the de-aging CGI to allowing the leads to portray the characters through their whole lives, and it did take some getting used to, but the thing that I don’t think worked was a beating that De Niro was dishing out to the local grocer who pushed his daughter. In that scene, De Niro looked like an 80-year-old man.
Yes, it’s long, but it drew me in from the start and I never felt that the movie dragged. It was great to see the retired Pesci at the top of his game, this time playing a gangster with quiet but very obvious menace instead of his usual psychopaths from earlier films. Pacino was particularly fine as Jimmy Hoffa, having a few instances of his late age over-the-top acting, but those scenes even had a restraint, Pacino getting to the edge of too far, but never going over. De Niro as usual held the center, maybe just a little too laconic, but maybe that was the point. His Frank Sheeran was not ambitious, he just wanted to do well for the bigger players including Harvey Keitel. The whole film had an elegiac feel, for those times, for these men, for that lifestyle. A masterpiece.
Additionally – Television – I have never added a television section before (and may not again), but since cable, streaming and film are merging like never before, many television shows are as deep and memorable as feature films, and I want to bring two HBO productions to your attention. First, there was Chernobyl, a five-episode mini-series that was a gripping docudrama of the nuclear accident, the foolish decisions that led to the explosion, and the courage of the many people who worked to contain the size of the accident – suicide missions that saved millions of lives. Finally, as a well-known comics fan, I was very concerned about the Watchmen television series. The “Citizen Kane” of comics, considered unfilmable and nearly proven right by Zack Snyder’s 2009 adaptation, was not being redone, a “sequel’ would be the project for Damon Lindelof (“Lost,” “The Leftovers”). I was skeptical, but Lindelof and his team pulled off a wildly original, piece, true to the comic but outstanding on its own merits.
That’s all I have for the year. I look forward to seeing what the Oscar nominations turn out to be and who ends up winning. This was a terrific year at the movies/streaming.

Somehow this season, the New England Patriots appeared to be lackluster compared with previous teams. The defense, always Coach Bill Belichick’s specialty, was characteristically solid. It was the offense, headed by ever-youthful-looking Tom Brady that wasn’t the same. The lack of a top tight end, which had been the blueprint for previous Super Bowl wins, was missing with the retirement of Rob Gronkowski. The running game, always one by committee, was its ever decent, but not All-Pro level self. And, of course, he can say that it’s not the case, but the 42-year-old Tom Brady was not as sharp as in the past. More important, for the first time in Brady’s career, he is an unrestricted free agent.
Brady has been such a star, the face of the Patriots, the MVP of multiple Super Bowls, arguably, the GOAT (Greatest of All Time). Brady never got close to the open market, the team locked him up long before he could become a free agent. There have been rumors for years that Brady, Belichick or owner Robert Kraft could be broken up.
Brady has been quiet about his future other than the fact that he will not be retiring, which leaves the field open for suitors including the Patriots. Of course, the Patriots have other troubles. Cheating incidents and a potential big penalty from the league could be levied soon. Plus, Kraft remains under indictment for soliciting prostitution charges.
Honestly, Brady playing for anyone other than New England just wouldn’t be right; like Joe Montana on the Chiefs; or Emmitt Smith with the Cardinals. Las Vegas odds-makers list the odds of Brady returning to Foxboro as 1-2. I know that there is a LOT of speculation around here that the Bears should enter that sweepstakes, but honestly, Brady is not the QB he was even in 2018. The completion percentage is down; the ball doesn’t come rocketing out of the pocket like it used to. Besides, it wouldn’t help incumbent Mitchell Trubisky, especially with a Hall of Famer on the sidelines. The team should sign a veteran backup to provide competition for Trubisky who’s play has been wildly inconsistent. Would GM Ryan Pace want to blow up the budget to add one very expensive player? That has never been the MO of the super cheap, super conservative McCaskey owned Chicago Bears.
It will be very interesting to see what happens. Will other teams be interested in a rapidly aging Tom Brady? If not, does he have little choice but to go back to New England? Would they want him? Does age and cheating reputation make Bill Belichick think more about a new address or retirement? How will Kraft’s criminal status effect the future and ownership of the team? Would penalties for cheating and other ways that conviction would have on the very PR conscious NFL impact the team?
For those long tired of the Patriot/Red Sox Nation, the most boorish fan base outside of New York, the early exit of the team from this year’s playoffs and the looming spectre of the end of the dynasty is bringing smiles all over the country. For Boston fans, it isn’t jealousy that the rest of the country feels, just ready for someone else to win. Add to that the funless, “Evil Empire,” the horrific Aaron Hernandez incident, the “win at all costs including cheating” mentality, and the obnoxious fans and it is easy to understand why the Patriots are generally hated.

Running a competitive sports team, like any business or enterprise takes skill and a lot of luck. In these days of salary caps and free agents and luxury taxes, a team’s front office has to make smart decisions and catch the right luck to field a championship caliber team. In some instances, the trick isn’t getting to the top, but staying there.
No place is that more evident than in hockey. Our Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup in 2010, but salary cap issues caused them to have to let some guys go after that title and it took three seasons to win again, then another two years after that to hoist the third Cup in six seasons. During the run, GM Stan Bowman was able to take what the previous General Manager Dale Tallon had built, and he was able to tinker and win 2 more Cups.
As in any undertaking that involves people, some decisions work, some don’t. On Bowman’s “plus” side was the drafting of Artemi Panerin, and Alex DeBrincat, the rescuing of Dylan Strome and the signing of Robin Lehner. The negative side has many more entries: trading Panerin, more bust draft picks than a contending team can afford, bad free agent signings, and of course, the horrendous contract given to Brent Seabrook. Seabrook’s eight year, $55 million contract signed in 2015 at the age of 30 was another bonus given the “core” of the three Cup runs, but as we have seen since the third Cup, the core played a lot of hockey between 2010 and 2016 when they lost in the first round of the playoffs after having more points than any team in the Western Conference. Playoffs each year, three Cup runs, seven years in the playoffs, two Olympic Games – that’s a lot of hockey and, it can be said, adds 3 more years onto a player’s age. Meaning that Seabrook, now 35 with four years remaining on his contract actually plays like he’s 38, and it has shown. Seabrook has seen his scoring numbers, Corsi, shots against, and puck possession numbers fall through the floor over the past few years, and with that monster contract, no other team will take Seabrook based on his contribution.
On the other hand, Bowman has been unlucky. The latest instance has been the free agent signings this summer of defensemen Calvin deHaan from Carolina and Olli Maatta from Pittsburgh. Both are defensive defensemen, badly needed for one of the worst defensive teams in the league last season. deHaan was coming off shoulder surgery and Maatta has seen his production fall off, much like Seasbrook’s even though he is a lot younger (25). Maatta, like Seabrook has played a lot of extra hockey having been on two Cup winning teams in Pittsburgh.
On paper, this looked like smart moves, of course, hockey isn’t played on paper. The Hawks continue to rank near the bottom in surrendering top scoring chances, shots against, Corsi, and other defensive categories. If it hadn’t been for top flight goaltending from Corey Crawford and Lehner, the Hawks, already near the bottom in the Western Conference, would be even worse. Maatta has not helped substantially on defense, and deHaan has been out for three weeks after re injuring the shoulder he injured last season. Seabrook has been a healthy scratch several times this season allowing the younger defensemen to play, but last week the team said that an announcement about Seabrook injuries would be made soon. Since no one heard about any injuries, this was a surprise.
However, it should be said that Bowman also knows how to manipulate the salary cap rules. By putting Marion Hossa on long-term injured reserve and trading his contract to Arizona, it freed up cap space. So it’s not too surprising when earlier this week, the Hawks put deHaan on long-term injured reserve, ending his season and announcing that deHaan will have a second surgery on his shoulder. At the same time, it was announced that Seabrook would also be going on LTIR having surgery on his right shoulder this week and surgeries on both hips – the right hip in January and the left in February.
Now one has to wonder if, with Seabrook having surgery, it is a chance for the team, Bowman and Seabrook to get some cover? Coach Jeremy Colliton and Bowman don’t have to answer questions about Seabrook being a healthy scratch, and Seabrook can get surgeries that, while not enough by themselves to get Seabrook off the ice, gives him a chance to have surgeries he was going to need eventually anyway. Putting them both on LTIR frees up a little bit over $11 million in cap space, allowing them to make some moves. However, with the new contract given DeBrincat kicking in and Strome being a free agent over the summer means that this money won’t be out there past the end of the season.
A lot of fans are ready to give Bowman the boot out of town, and for his overall draft record, the inability of most of his draft picks to turn into anything on the ice, he certainly deserves it. Still, this is a smart move to take some heat off the team, give himself some room to maneuver, and get players needing surgery to get it taken care of.
I just wonder if it will be enough to save his job?

One of my long time evilopinion traditions is to list my favorite records of the year. I am still old school, I buy CDs and then load them onto my iPod. Redundant? Sure, but I like having a physical object just in case something happens.
Also old school, is my list. I looked at the top record lists of media people like Greg Kot, and Pitchfork Music Festival and a couple of others, and only on the longer lists were there records and artists that I had even heard of. The sing-songy crap from bands like Cage The Elephant have taken over what is the “rock” radio stations and end of the year lists; the pop artists either sound like they are trying to win “The Voice” by singing in the style of Mariah Carey.
I hope to fill in the gap between those trying to still be hip and the kids by celebrating the records by older artists still out there plying their trade making the occasional record in a world where there are no record companies much less record stores.
My criteria is simple – what records did I play the most. I did purchase 40 records this year, a pretty respectable number considering that I learn about new releases in a haphazard fashion. I have not included box set rereleases (like The Replacements, Ramones and Beatles sets with extra stuff on them). I will admit that this year’s list has records by more people whom I actually know than ever before, but I will tell you that the records made this list on merit; they were damn good records, I just happen to know or have met them.
Let’s get on with it:
10 (tie). WHO – The Who. My favorite band of all time released their first record in 16 years, and overall, the band, specifically Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey sounds rejuvenated. To the positive, the start of the record “All This Music Must Fade,” “Ball and Chain” and the rest of the first six songs lay a terrific groundwork. Unfortunately, the last few songs on the record turn into maudlin soft rock/smooth jazz. A stronger end would have caused a higher result. I’m very happy that Townshend loves his wife. I’m not sure I care that much.
10 (tie). More Songs About Time – Tommi Zender. Tommi is a friend who used to be my guitar teacher at Old Town School of Folk Music. That said, this is a fine record of rock tunes. “Your Time Is More Important,” ”Learn to Be Alone,” and “Getting Personal” are some of my favorites. Check it out if you can!
9. Western Stars – Bruce Springsteen. Springsteen definitely mined the sprit of the Eagles, the Beach Boys and other Southern California bands in coming up with an interesting set of songs. I don’t think this stands up to his stronger work, but it was an interesting disc while we wait for a new E Street Band record and tour.
8 (tie). Hyperspace – Beck. Another late CD in 2019, this melodic disc produced with Pharrell Williams is ear candy in the best way. I suddenly woke up to realize that I have every Beck record, some I’ve enjoyed more than others, but I like all of them. This is another record that I’ve been playing a lot since it came out just before Thanksgiving.
8 (tie). Summer of Sorcery – Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul. Little Steven makes his third annual appearance on this list. Two years ago, Soulfire ranked as a joyous record of covers; last year’s “Soulfire Live” was the most uplifting rock record I’ve heard in years. It was number two on my list. This year, the E Street Band guitarist broke out his first new songs in decades, and the songs were fine and the spirit of rock and roll rebellion albeit with a fair dose of nostalgia remains.
7. Ode to Joy – Wilco. I would have liked to hear a sampling of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, but other than the title of the record, that’s it. Jeff Tweedy can spin songs with hooks all day and this record, a bit more drum oriented at times sounds like the other members of the band were recording in the next room, barely heard. Still, a solid record but not up to the stronger records.
6. An Obelisk – Titus Andronicus. The band’s next to last record, the ambitious two disc set – The Most Lamentable Tragedy was my favorite record of 2015. It is punk/rock with hooks. This year’s An Obelisk is more straight forward, but it still rocks harder than a lot of the dull music being released today.
5. Shady Grove – The Figgs. Sometime backup band for Graham Parker, the Figgs are a fine band when doing their own material. I have met them a few times with GP and they are very nice and incredibly talented. This two-record set is chock full of little pop masterpieces. This is a truly great record.
4. Sinematic – Robbie Robertson. In keeping with a new documentary on The Band and participating on old friend Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman movie, Robbie Robertson released his first disc since 2011. The result is the strongest record of the former Band leader since the great Storyville and self titled first solo record in 1987 and 1991. I listened a lot to this record and it gave me a bigger appreciation for his last two records before this.
3. Sunshine Rock – Bob Mould. While the former Husker Du/Sugar/solo star is not known for happy songs, there is a slightly more upbreak lyrical vibe to this year’s collection. Still consistent is the heavy, guitar driven power that we have come to expect and appreciate from Mould. Another strong effort.
2. Fool – Joe Jackson. A set of new songs from Joe Jackson is always welcome and the new album had a few more interesting chord changes and sequences than recent discs, but Jackson, always mashing up jazz and pop and rock, pulls it off successfully here. I admit that I am a big JJ fan, and this was another fine addition to the Jackson canon.
1. Squeezing Out Sparks: 40th Anniversary (Solo Acoustic) – Graham Parker. Yes, GP is a friend, and for the second year in a row, he tops my list. You may claim favoritism, especially since this are just solo recordings of the songs that comprise GP’s most popular album (and one of Rolling Stone Magazine’s 500 best records of all time). However, this really deserves notice on its own. Decades of playing concerts alone has given Parker the opportunity to refine the songs (the version of “Waiting on the UFOs” is sublime), and these performances are equal to and in some cases better than the originals.
So, that’s my list of what I listened to the most in 2019. I can’t wait for 2020.

I know what you’re thinking, but no, Mick McCall was fired, so no more piling on him. No, this piece is about the man who makes the biggest paychecks while doing the worst job in sports: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
For a league that is so focused on its image, Goodell fumbles P.R. like a running back carrying a greased football in a rainstorm, especially for a league that is 70% comprised of African-Americans. First, there is the flap over Michael Vick being honorary Pro Bowl captain. Vick if you’ll remember, was convicted of dogfighting in 2007 and dog lovers have posted a petition that has reached one million signers demanding that the league rescind its invitation.
Goodell came out last week announcing that Vick will be one of the captains despite the petition. Honestly, I think that the league could have avoided this by not inviting Vick OR, use it to make a point that in the case of black men, society never really gives them a second chance. What Vick did was reprehensible, but he hasn’t (to anyone’s knowledge) harmed any dogs since. What happened to paying your debt to society then moving on? Local newspapers have been publishing stories about an unrepentant priest who is getting parole after 17 years in prison. I’m much more scared of him than Michael Vick. The priest is an older white man, while Michael Vick is a black man and in many ways the archetype of the best quarterbacks in the game today: Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Russell Wilson and Deshaun Watson.
In the biggest racial fiasco in the history of the NFL, the league says that it has “moved on” from Colin Kaepernick. After putting on a sham workout that Kaepernick read through, changing the location of the workout and having it filmed for posterity, the league stands as a disreputable organization. With so many quarterbacks playing each week who are no where as good as Kaepernick, the league continues to blackball the QB for taking a knee during the national anthem.
The league wanted to have a private workout, proclaim that Kaepernick’s skills had deteriorated, and then the story would be done. Instead, the league and its ownership shows its blatant racism by no one being willing to sign Kaepernick solely because it would inflame the already sensitive white supremacists and bigots who make up a large portion of the league’s fan base.
Goodell could have had a mutual press conference with Kaepernick months ago announcing that Kaepernick will no longer do his pregame protest (which he has agreed to do) and that the league was officially prepared to welcome him back in the league. Then the commissioner should have applied pressure (a tricky proposition for an employee) for some team to sign him, preferably not in the South. I’m sure that after 2-3 weeks, the storm would pass except for the fans with the very reddest of necks.
The other part of all of this is that if Vick or Kaepernick had beat up their girlfriends, or taken illegal drugs, they’d still be playing. Or maybe they could have received pardons from the outgoing governor of Kentucky?