Both major Chicago newspapers have gift drives for the season, but I have never really participated. There was always an excuse, mostly that you have to deliver any presents to the school/church personally, and with so much always happening with the Indignant Women in my life, time to do this was always lacking.
But a young lady in my office Jessica O’Brien, a really caring person which makes up for her being a Packer fan, signed up our office for the Chicago Sun-Times Letters To Santa campaign. This year, I took two letters and my colleagues took another 80 letters from kids from Charles Darwin Elementary School in Logan Square, a predominantly Hispanic Chicago Public School. The kids write letters to Santa and we are to fill the requests. Total spend per kid is $25-30 so that no one gets more than any other kid. I got a letter from a 3rd grader named Jazlee and a letter from the Pre-Kindergarten girl named Eva, whose letter was obviously written by an adult, probably her teacher.
Since the Indignant Daughters really have no idea of how many people struggle other than vague stories in the newspaper or what they hear on TV, I took them to Walmart to buy presents. Jazlee wanted what looked like an American Girl doll, which was much beyond the $30 limit. But she also wanted Shopkins toys which were inexpensive. She also wanted a book bag with wheels, and we found one without a price tag that came with a Bratz doll. After waiting an inordinate time having a manager find out what the price was (my old adage is, no price tag – it must be free, but no one ever lets me get away with that one), the manager gave me the bag and doll for $13, which allowed me to buy another Barbie doll to bring the total near $30. The younger girl’s first request nearly broke my heart – a hat, scarf and glove set. Target had a set for $9 with the Minions on it. A trip to the Disney store got us a Frozen doll, and Amazon provided us with an inexpensive princess jewelry box – a couple of dollars over $30, but less than $35. (A Disney jewelry box was around $24, which would have blown the budget.)
All of the presents for the 82 kids’ letter our office collected came to work and were left under the Christmas tree in our lobby until Ms. O’Brien and her husband took the toys over to the school. My girls put little cards in with the presents to our recipients. I hope my girls appreciate hopefully the joy we will bring these girls on Christmas – one that their parents could not afford. This may become a holiday tradition even if we don’t do this at work in the future.
Wherever you are Jazlee and Eva – Merry Christmas and I wish you and your families a much better 2016.

If you want to look for dumb, spiteful legislation, you know that a Republican is behind it. Unless it benefits a billionaire, most current legislative initiatives involve punishing minorities, women, and immigrants – anyone who poor dumb white America can blame for their state. So it’s not much of a surprise that a Missouri state legislator is proposing that student-athletes should lose their scholarships if they go on strike in response to a threat by University of Missouri football players not to play over criticism of the administration’s handling of campus racial discrimination complaints several weeks back.
Rep. Rick Brattin’s bill proposed last week in the Missouri House would strip scholarships from any athlete who “calls, incites, supports or participates in any strike.” Colleges and universities would be required to fine coaching staff who encourage or enable such student protests.Neither the university or Brattin (fill in your own pun on the name here) were available to comment to the Associated Press, but co-sponsor Rep. Kurt Bahr said his goal in supporting the bill is to show that some state lawmakers don’t approve of how University of Missouri administrators handled student unrest. Bahr said he hopes it fosters discussion between the Legislature and university leadership.
The aim is to show that “the response that they’ve had has not been as strong as the Legislature would like,” said Bahr, a St. Charles Republican, “and that we, the General Assembly, expect the leadership of this state institution to actually lead and not allow the students to call the shots.”
If you don’t remember, the University of Missouri gained national attention when members of the football team backed calls by a student on a hunger strike for former University of Missouri System President Tim Wolfe to resign or be removed. At issue was his administration’s handling of racial discrimination complaints. Football team members threatened not to play, and graduate student Jonathan Butler refused to eat for a week until Wolfe stepped down Nov. 9.
No, Missouri lawmakers don’t want student athletes to have social consciousness or make a stand; if they do, we’ll pull their scholarships. (Unless of course, the player is a star and the team needs him to win a big game this weekend.) I think it was courageous for these young men to make a stand in support of their fellow student and also make a statement on race relations at their school.
Race relations in Missouri is as bad as in the Deep South based on the events of Ferguson, Mo., and from the stories that have come out of the University. Something needed t be done and the football players took it upon themselves to bring change. But the white lawmakers don’t want that – they want their football players and other athletes to play, not think; not have opinions and feelings.
Of course, I hope that this law and other laws under consideration by the Missouri legislature and elsewhere fail. I hate to be pessimistic but I don’t hold out much hope, but then again, I didn’t expect the Missouri administrators to resign under the pressure either.

With the big budget film “Concussion” starring Will Smith coming out very soon, the topic of long term head injuries is once again front and center in the sports consciousness. This past week, the New York Times published an editorial questioning whether parents should allow kids to play football, given increased awareness about the long-term dangers the sport may pose to the brain. (I have written here that I’m glad to have two daughters so that I don’t have to make the decision as to whether I want a son to play football.)
Like climate change and anything that causes a seismic change to the status quo, that causes the conservative and very stupid to fear change and rebel against it. It happens most frequently on the broadcast media, where some pundit blames others in the media that “liberals” are conducting a “war on something (fill in the blank).” The most prevalent is Fox News’ annual “War on Christmas” which, if true, would be doing very badly indeed. (it’s blatantly false of course, but they need to keep their viewership in fear of any change, or “the other.”
So, let’s bring that same approach to sports, why don’t we?
Needing something to make people even remember who he was, ESPN analysts Danny Kanell who had a solid college football career but was a bust in the NFL and Arena League, says that the New York Times editorial represents an effort by the “liberal media” to wage a “war on football. The war on football is real. Not sure source but concussion alarmists are loving it. Liberal media loves it. Doesn’t matter. It’s real.”
The author of the editorial, however, was Dr. Bennet Omalu, the forensic pathologist who first discovered the degenerative brain known as disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, in the brain of former NFL star Mike Webster. Omalu, the subject of “Concussion,” has continued studying CTE as have other researchers, like those at Boston University who have found the disease in the brains of 87 of the 91 deceased former NFL players they have studied. There are important caveats about sample size and selection in that research, as the scientists themselves have warned, but it has helped paint a clearer picture about the risks that football may pose.
It isn’t just the professional players at risk. Further studies have shown a heightened risk from repeated hits to the head to young players or those who began playing football at younger ages. Increased attention to the number of high school students killed while playing football, which has remained constant for 35 years, has raised further questions, too.
But to Kanell, the “liberal media” has it in for football. This just in: football attendance and television ratings remain high, thank you. But, it is obvious to any sane person that football as a sport is going to have to change or die. Tackling is going to have to change – using the head is going to be forbidden; equipment will need to evolve to better protect the head; concussion protocols have been established at every level of the sport to make sure further injury does not occur.. Of course to the very simple, any change to anything is a threat, a conspiracy.
Until those changes are made, players and parents are wondering whether football is worth the long term health issues. Some people are going to be willing to take that chance, but they should have all of the information available to them so that they can make an informed choice.
I wonder if Danny Kanell took many shots to the head? More important, I wonder if he has sons playing football?

No, I don’t mean bowling on lanes in ugly shoes; I mean college football bowl games.
There is always a risk in sport that the regular season is made completely irrelevant by expanded playoffs. The NHL had a big problem with that in the 1980s and 1990s, when teams played 82 games seasons to eliminate 3-4 teams. When nearly everyone makes the playoffs, the sport becomes a farce.
That is one of the issues facing FBS College Football. Of course, College Football has the bowls, giving old, white, gaudily clothed men a chance to feel important. Finally, we have a 4-team playoff for the national championship, which is built into the bowl format, but even with that certainty of having the champion determined on the field, there are now 40 bowl games, meaning that 80 teams get to play in the post season or 54.4% of all schools will play a bowl game.
Compare that to the professional leagues: Major League Baseball has one-third of its 30 teams in the playoffs including a one game playoff for the two lowest Wild Cards. The NFL is next with 12 of its 32 franchises making the playoffs or 37.5%. The NBA and NHL have percentages closer to college football – both leagues have 16 of their 30 teams in the playoffs or 53.3%.
So, college football is like the NBA and NHL, what’s the problem? In the NBA and especially in the NHL, you generally don’t have sub .500 teams making the playoffs. Even teams barely making it into the playoffs have winning records and the parity within the leagues make it compelling. The problem is that there are more than a dozen college teams who will play bowl games at .500 or worse.
Some of the worst examples include the aptly titled Cure Bowl between San Jose State who went 5-7 and the 6-6 powerhouse Georgia State on December 19th in Orlando, FL. At least people can miss the game and go to Disney World. Then there’s the day after Christmas Independence Bowl which pits 6-6 Tulsa against 6-6 Virginia Tech. Someone will come out of this with 7 wins, but outside of alums, will anyone care? Perhaps the silliest matchup is in the Arizona Bowl between Nevada and Colorado State – while both teams are at .500 or over (Nevada is 6-6, Colorado State is 7-5), but both teams are in the Mountain West Conference, so in effect, this is just a conference games for these two teams.
Simple question: are there too many bowl games? A resounding yes! That answer just comes from the records, never mind the fact that the players are subjected to a higher potential of serious injury, and most important, when would these “student athletes” get to go to class? When will they study?
But we’re not supposed to ask those questions; we are supposed to take the on the field entertainment and, like ancient Rome, not concern ourselves with the lives, health and well being of the gladiators. It’s sickening.

Already, Rolling Stone, Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune, Jim DeRogadis have posted their top music released in 2015. The Grammys released their nominations this week also, so it’s time to round out my favorites. I may be old fashioned, but I still buy music, usually on CD although I still download it onto my iPod (no- I hate Apple Music – I want MY music, not some subscription service to get 300,000 songs, most of which I will never listen to nor want to).
Kot, who with DeRogadis, I really respect, said that the top CD list is really insight into your favorites and tastes. I plead guilty – those of you who may have read my lists in the past know that the favorites turn up in perhaps annoying frequency and repetition. However, not all of my favorites made the list: Todd Rundgren, Keith Richards, David Gilmour and Chris Cornell all had CDs this year and I liked many of them to varying degrees, but they didn’t make the final cut. (It should be noted that Marshall Crenshaw released a CD this year also, but it was a compilation of EPs he had released over the past several years and which I had already purchased and listened to, so it didn’t make it on a technicality.) But my list is relatively simple – I list in the order of what I listened to the most this year. So, let’s get to it!

10. Darlene Love – Introducing Darlene Love: the legendary background singer, featured in the Oscar winning documentary “20 Feet From Stardom” gets her long deserved place at center stage and Bruce Springsteen and E-Street Band guitarist Little Steven VanZant (the latter produced the record), gave Love a great stage to show off her lovely voice. Grounded in the music she sang in the 1960s and 1970s, this is not a throwback CD – it made the old styles contemporary.
9. Veruca Salt – Ghost Notes: speaking of reunions, this is the first true Salt reunion of the complete original band in over 20 years, but the songs were vibrant and alive. This CD rocked making me hope that this isn’t just a “one and done.”
8. Squeeze – Cradle To the Grave: barely making it out this year, this long promised reunion of Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Dilford delivered a great collection of songs that again, sounded like Squeeze, but was new and welcome. They are on a very small label and many of you probably didn’t know this came out, but it did. Try it, especially if you like Squeeze – Tilbrook still has that wonderful voice and the songs are solid.
7. Wilco – Star Wars: Wilco is an easy (almost too easy) choice on these lists – they put out catchy but quirky songs that are hummable but still have unusual chord changes and sudden melodic shifts that make the songs more difficult to the casual listener (more interesting to those of us used to Wilco). This is not the best Wilco album in forever, but it was welcome and delivered like the earlier releases.
6. Richard Thompson – Still: for my money, one of the world greatest guitarists unleashes more Celtic based songs of love gone wrong, sorrow and remorse. This time, Thompson works with Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy (it is truly coincidence they are together – I put the list together before even remembering that Tweedy produced the record). Like he did for Marvis Staples, Tweedy doesn’t try to make Thompson sound like Wilco – he brings out their strengths and makes them feel comfortable, a feeling that comes out in the music. And Thompson delivers another set of great songs.
5. Florence + The Machine – How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful: I admit to liking this band when they got popular and thought they were a bit of hype, but this collection of songs about a failed romance that singer songwriter Florence Welsh did as much to sabotage as her ex was a strong CD of music about adult love and loss.
4. The Decemberists – What A Terrible World, What A Wonderful World: this CD was released in January and it got a lot of play from me. I do love this band, ever since we saw them in New Orleans four years ago. Delightfully quirky, using older instruments and feeling but still driving, modern, contemporary.
3. Joe Jackson – Fast Forward: another late in the year release, this was going to be four EPs recorded in four locations around the world (New York, Berlin, New Orleans and Amsterdam) that show Jackson’s music influences from the four locations, but keeping the sound and topics of his earlier work. Obviously, I think you can hear influences from Jackson’s last CD The Duke, an interpretation of Ellington music. Jackson is one of my favorites, but this CD took a bit of listening to before I fully succumbed to all of its charms.
2. Titus Andronicus – The Most Lamentable Tragedy: imagine a 3 sided vinyl record (2 CDs) – dare I say rock opera, filled with music about singer Patrick Stickles’ manic depression filled with punk rock anthems and slower songs that show a variety of styles and influences. I never knew about this band before, but this was a tremendous introduction for me.
1. Graham Parker & The Rumour – Mystery Glue: yes, I know – GP and I are friends, but this truly was the best CD I heard this year, better than the reunion CD “Three Chords Good” a couple of years ago – more textured and it was obvious that the musicians were more comfortable and brought a groove to the songs, much like the iconic albums by the band in the 1970s and 1980s. GP continues to write searing observations on life, and the band brings it to life like no one else. They may never play together live again, but let’s hope that we haven’t seen the final CD from this seminal rock outfit.

Yeah, I know; I took this from former Cardinal Coach Dennis Green talking about the Chicago Bears several years ago, but after last Sunday’s shoddy loss to San Francisco, it is perfect for the current Chicago Bears, and is actually a blessing in disguise for the franchise.
The Bears are notably better than they were last year: the defense is decent despite not having any real stars; Jay Cutler has reduced his interceptions, and Adam Gase has turned to a run first, more smash-mouth type of game plan that long time Bear fans love. But the special teams have been inconsistent; injuries to Matt Forte and Alshon Jeffrey have limited the offense. Yes, the Bears beat the Packers in Lambeau on Thanksgiving – a solid win over a good but reeling team which is also good because we absolutely love beating our most hated rivals.
However, suddenly the fans and the media started making and drinking the Kool-Aid: “they can make the playoffs,” lots of people said. “The 49ers aren’t very good; we can beat a warm weather team at home,” was the thinking. Unfortunately, it seems like many Bear players bought in also: they played flat; Cutler threw another “pick 6;” the team wasted too many scoring opportunities; and the usually reliable Robbie Gould missed three field goals and had a PAT blocked. The 49ers kept even and then won on a busted coverage long pass TD.
Let’s be honest, the Bears aren’t, and shouldn’t be a playoff team. Many teams who are still alive for the postseason, especially in the laughable NFC East (“Least”) with 3 of 4 teams with 5-7 records, and the AFC South led by two 6-6 teams, shouldn’t be in the playoffs. But a couple of them will make the postseason as division champions; perhaps they will pull off an upset or two, but more than likely, they will get beaten in the first game and go home.
Which is the fate the team would have in store for the Bears if they made the playoffs. Yes, it would keep the rest of the season interesting, especially for those who pony up the bug bucks for season tickets. However, would it bring longer term improvement? The Bears would get a lower first round draft choice when they need quality players in a number of positions. The team would believe they are better than they actually are (remember the Marc Trestman 8-8 Bears in 2013 that crashed and burned last season?), and tough decisions on players would be postponed.
If the goal is to win a Super Bowl, and if the Bears are in a rebuilding program (which they are), then a premature playoff appearance may be the worst thing possible for this team.
Honestly, the Bears are better than they showed last Sunday against the 49ers, and not as good as the team that beat the Packers on Thanksgiving. I know that Bear fans are optimistic to a fault, but last week brought everybody back to reality.

I’ve been extremely busy, so I haven’t had the opportunity to post here for awhile. But the sports world keeps on turning and so, I’m going to blow through the backlog of evil opinions:
• There was no greater fun being in a Packer fan’s house on Thanksgiving with the Bears winning. I yelled at the beginning that Mike McCarthy going for it on 4th down and 2 at their own 45 yard line was classless and showed no respect for the Bears. The day after the win one of the Bears was quoted saying the same thing. By the 4th Quarter, my friend was the one doing the yelling. It was the most fun I’ve had on Thanksgiving in years!
• Speaking of the Packers, why the hell didn’t the Lions have wide receiver Calvin Johnson in the end zone at the end of last night’s game? He is one of the premiere receivers in the game, has great hands, is one of the tallest players in the sport, can jump like a basketball player, and has played in Hail Mary situations on defense before. (Of course, Aaron Rodgers threw a 61-yard prayer to Richard Rodgers last night to be the Lions 27-24 on the final play of the game.) The Lions coaching staff should be flogged after that one.
• I hate to agree with Chicago sportswriters, but Illinois removing the “interim” tag from the title of Head Coach Bill Cubit is a bad move. Not because Cubit is a bad coach or a bad person to my knowledge, but the problems in the program and the athletic department probably need a complete cleaning and cut from the past. Between the losses, the complaints of racial strife and issues with the former football coach pressuring players to play hurt and not giving enough attention to players who are hurt, Illinois needs a complete clean sweep, in public opinion (including recruiting) if nowhere else.
• Looking at the NBA season so far, one of the biggest surprises has been how bad Kobe Bryant has played. Yes, he suffered serious injuries that kept him from playing all but 47 games over the past two years, but Bryant has been a bona fide superstar his entire career. This week, Bryant finally admitted to the writing on the wall and announced that he would be retiring at the end of this season. The Lakers are very bad, and while there is a school of thought that the team’s young talent should play more than Kobe to give them experience and to gauge how good they are going to be, Bryant is in his 20th season and deserves a farewell tour like many other players have had. (One reason why it seems like he’s not old enough is that he was drafted straight out of high school, so while he’s played all those years, he didn’t come into the league at 20 or 23.) Good call Kobe.
• Speaking of retiring, for some reason, Tiger Woods has been doing a lot of interviews lately, but instead of talking about a comeback, Woods is talking about the controversies in his life, and not only refusing to give a timetable for a return, but talking more like his golf career is over. He said that any more wins would be “gravy” and that his focus is much more on being healthy to play soccer with his kids than golf. Somehow, I never thought Tiger Woods’ career would go out with a whimper instead of a bang.
• While we’re saying goodbye, the time for goodbyes is rapidly approaching to Peyton Manning. One of the best passers of his era, Manning has been pedestrian at best this season, and was even benched in a game before it was determined that he had an injured foot. Manning has said that he wants to play one more year, but would anyone want him as a starter and more important, can Manning deal with being a backup?
• It is very easy to get on the moral high horse with athletes, sometimes fans need to be realistic. Johnny Manziel has been a party monster during college and throughout his short NFL career. Video of him partying caused him to be benched last week and ESPN and other pundits questions if and when he could play again. Agree or not, Manziel should play this week in my opinion. The Browns are not playoff bound, starter John McCown is injured and out for the season; Manziel was starting to show some promise as a starter; and let’s be frank – first round draft choices get big money, big attention, and many more chances that lower round, less known draft picks. Manziel generates headlines, and he will get every chance to prove he is an NFL QB. With all of that, let the experiment begin…