That Commercial Could Be Worth Money!

     Growing up in the Chicagoland area, there are certain commercials that stick with you.  The Empire Carpet commercial(or more specifically the jingle at the end).  The Luna Commercial(or once again, the jingle) is another legendary earworm. But in the category of commercials that get stuck in your head, nothing takes the cake quite like this:

     Victory Auto Wreckers has used the above commercial continuously since 1985, only replacing the narrator over the intervening time.  Originally it was made by pulling a Victory tow truck driver(Bob Azajdel) off of his shift and having him film the spot.  He was paid $25 for his time, and the rest was history.  Now, 30 years later, Victory is celebrating the commercial by asking for new ones!  Just send your idea over to Victory, and it could win $500 and be featured in a new ad.

Trivia Thursday: Analysis of a Chi-Town Beatdown

     Okay folks, first off, here's the answer to last week's question: When the old Board of Trade building was torn down in 1929, the two statues that adorned the entrance were saved from the wrecking ball and made their way to the Hidden Lake Forest Preserve in Downers Grove.  One of the trustees of the Board of Trade had an estate there in 1929, so that's how the statues got over there.  Since then, the Industry and Agriculture statues have been brought back to the plaza outside the current Board of Trade.  And now, this week's question:

 

After the Bears completely destroyed the Packers at home by a score of 61-7, what did Dan Hampton say about the result?

 

     As always, we'll be back next week with the answer and more trivia.

Last Ride of the 2400s

     In the 1970s, the CTA was in the process of retiring its 4000 Series of rail cars, but it didn't have enough new cars to replace them. So they ordered the 2400 Series to fill the gap. The Series arrived in 1976, 200 brand new train cars with a festive red, white, and blue decoration that was ALL Bicentennial:

     The trains were a breath of fresh air, being the first series to have sliding doors since the 4000 series arrived way back in 1914. By 2003, the coloring on the cars had been removed to both make it look uniform and cut down on maintenance costs. By the early 2010s, the CTA began taking delivery of the new 5000 series, and the days of the old cars were numbered. First the 2200 Series was retired in the Summer of 2013, and then the time came for the 2400 Series to be retired right after the morning rush on October 31, 2014. However, much like with the 2200 Series the cars are being given one last ceremonial ride in recognition of their 37 years of service to Chicago's commuters. That ride is happening today. To start with, it will make two round trips of the Loop before turning into a Brown Line train. After going from Kimball to the Loop and back again, the train will then switch over to Howard where it will mimic the North/South Route on its last trip. The cars will be back in their old livery for this run, as well as having period advertisements and decorations, so that rail fans and commuters of all ages can pay homage to a venerable member of Chicago's transit history.

Cubs Convention Day 3: Finishing Up

     After laughing with Ryan Dempster and enjoying the quirks of our fellow Cub fans, the final day of the convention was up to bat. To start things off, Bobby Dernier, Gary Matthews, Lee Smith, Rick Sutcliffe, and Billy Williams participated in a panel led by Wayne Messmer on "30 Years of Cubs Convention Memories". After that, there was the annual Farm System update, which saw C.J. Edwards, Pierce Johnson, Addison Russell, and Kyle Schwarber sit down with Head of Scouting and Player Development Jason McLeod to talk about some of their experiences in the farm system. Schwarber talked a little bit about how he got to this point. He said that it "really ticks me off when people say I can't catch", which definitely helps his case when it comes to proving his dedication. Everything finally clicked for Schwarber when he was at Class A Kane County for a 4 day stretch of work last summer, and he is now being developed as a catcher.

     Another player on the panel was C.J. Edwards, who you may remember from the Matt Garza trade in July 2013 trade that netted 4 players in return. Edwards thinks of his parents as his idols but also looks up to Pedro Martinez, a recent nominee to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Considering Pedro's pitching prowess, this is a good omen. Martinez and Edwards also share body types, to the extent that one fan gave the young pitcher some cookies as he was leaving the hotel to help put some weight on. Another famed pitcher whom Edwards has been compared to is Mariano Rivera, by the virtue of the characteristics of his fastball. To have a pitcher in our system who is drawing comparisons to those two legendary hurlers can only be a good thing.

     During the session, McLeod also told fans to keep an eye out for some names to come on the horizon, such as pitchers Duane Underwood, Paul Blackburn and Jen-Ho Tseng, plus catcher Victor Caratini, third baseman Jeimer Candelario, and outfielder Bijan Rademacher. McLeod said that Underwood has the "best pure stuff" among the team's Minor League pitchers. As the panel was wrapping up, all four of the young players truly got a taste of the devotion that the fans have.  One man told them that "We love you like we love our wives and our children". Cubs fans have loved their team and their players for generations, and title or not, they will continue to love them. As the 2015 Convention wrapped up, all eyes turned to April 5, when the Cardinals would come to the still-unfinished Wrigley Field, and the annual pursuit begins once again for this moment right here:

Cubs Convention Day 2: Cubs Central

     After the rousing first night of the convention, Cubs fans of all ages were back in their seats for the 2nd day. First thing up was a panel led by the Ricketts family. The topics ran the gamut of all that you would expect to hear, but the real entertaining pieces came when they opened up the floor for questions. One guy came up to the stage where he proceeded to announce that he had a "prepared statement", which elicited many groans from the audience. After that, a young lad came up who had a certain Twitter conversation with Ian Stewart in June 2013(the story is in the link, but long story short, Stewart said some things he shouldn't have about the organization and was let go 2 weeks later). After calculating that dumping Stewart had saved the team roughly $100,000, the guy asked Ricketts where his cut was. Ricketts made a comedic evasion to that question. Finally, a lady walked up who was a self-proclaimed "crazy die-hard Cubs fan":

     Based upon her hat, I'm not willing to dispute her assertion. After the panel was over, there were numerous things going on, but my next item was "A Recent Look Back: The Cubs of 2007-08". This one had Jacque Jones, Mark DeRosa, Ryan Dempster, Kerry Wood, Ted Lilly, and Bob Howry reminiscing and answering questions about those glory days(also the last time the Cubs were any good). By some miracle, I ended up in the front row for that one, so I was able to snag some pretty good pictures. After that session ended, I was on the 4th floor waiting around when I saw a very distinctive uniform:

     Yes folks, that is indeed the one and only Ronnie Woo Woo(because of course he'd be here). After some more scouting of the vendors, I ran into a gentleman on the lower level with a very peculiar pennant from the 1984 World Series that had a Cubs roster on it. The Cubbies made it pretty far in '84, but not that far. So what gives? Apparently the pennant was made up before the NLCS ended, so some backups were made in case the Cubs had made it. It was never supposed to see the light of day, but this guy got his hands on it anyway. After an update on the business operations of the club(which pretty much revolved around contingency plans for the non-completion of the 1060 Project by Opening Night) and a special preview of what lies ahead, I took a break for dinner at the Billy Goat Tavern.

     While I was chowing down at the Billy Goat, I happened to fall in a conversation with an elderly gentleman next to me. Turns out that he remembers hearing about the Cubs when they were playing in the 1945 World Series. No, I'm not making that up. After that chance encounter, I decamped back to the Sheraton where it was time for Cubs Bingo. Hosted by Wayne Messmer, this annual tradition saw hundreds of Cubs fans competing to win prizes, which wrapped up the evening.

Cubs Convention Day 1: Age of the New Manager

     As the lights dimmed in the ballroom of the Sheraton last night, the assembled crowd cheered in approval of their baseball heroes. Cubs baseball had returned, and fans were coming out in droves to the 30th Annual Cubs Convention. The evening stated out with a live broadcast by B96 in the hotel's bar, which saw many different giveaways(I even won a fedora!) Then the opening ceremony started, and as expected, the biggest applause was saved for Jon Lester and Joe Maddon. After all the festivities ended, it was time for Friday Night with Ryan Dempster, a talk show where Dempster interviewed different big names involved with the team, including new manager Joe Maddon, Anthony Rizzo, and other figures as well. Dempster even took a page from David Letterman and came up with a Top Ten List of why the Cubs hired Joe Maddon:

10. "We misheard and thought he knew [actress] Eva Longoria."

9. "We're trying to set the Guinness Book of World Records for most fired managers."

8. "We needed someone who would take the leftover Harry Caray glasses."

7. "The Cubs' bus keeps breaking down so we figured, 'Hey, we can use his RV.'"

6. "Most managers take shots from the media; Joe Maddon buys shots for the media."

5. "We have a young team here in Chicago, and if 60 is the new 40, well, we need someone to manage all of our toddlers."

4. "[Model wife of former Cub David DeJesus] Kim DeJesus told us to."

3. "He's the son of a plumber and, let's just face it: the Wrigley bathrooms need a ton of work."

2. "We just feel bad for anyone who lives in Florida."

1. "Well, because of all the other managers we tried to tamper with, none of them called us back."

     That was about it for Friday's first day, but Saturday promises to be the meat of the order, with several different sessions taking place, all which should be very interesting to see.  As promised, Chicago 365 will be there for all of the hype.

Baseball is Back! Cubs Convention Preview

    This weekend, Cubs fans will be gathering for the 30th year in a row to be with other fans, learn about the new season, and hope that this year may just be the year(of course, if Back To The Future Part 2 is to be believed, 2015 really IS the year). The convention returns to the Sheraton on North Water Street for the third year in a row. Along with the traditional sessions on Management, the farm system, and the ever popular Cubs Bingo, this year has several special sessions, including a look back at the 07-08 teams, a panel on 30 years of Convention memories, and a Friday night Evening with Ryan Dempster. But for all the new panels, possibly the two most highly anticipated sessions are the Meet the New Cubs slot, where both Joe Maddon and Jon Lester will be given Chicago style welcomes(no word yet on whether Maddon will buy brewskis for the house at Billy Goat Tavern), and then the Owner's panel should also be a must-watch, featuring the Ricketts family, updates on the 1060 Project, and much hand-wringing over the relationship(or lack thereof) with the rooftop owners. Then of course, you have the autograph sessions, the dealer's room, and the relentless crush of fans crowding the table after each panel. I will be at the Convention this weekend, and giving all of you the tale of the tape after each day on Chicago 365, your source for all breaking Cubs news on this Convention Weekend.