A Tradition That Needs To Go

I'm sure you can tell from my last post that I am in baseball mode again (just wait till I start playing softball too - it will get even worse!) So I have been watching a few Cubs games so far this season (not too many, no need to add to my stress level until at least late August). However, while watching these games something has struck me and I can't believe that it's never really dawned on me before - the ridiculousness of managers also wearing a uniform.
First of all most of the managers are middle-aged to pushing elderly and rarely even in shape, so just from a fashion perspective the uniform is not a good look for them (Lou Pinella even though they are vertical stripes they are not slimming!). The second and most glaring point - none of the other professional sports managers/coaches wear the uniform of their team while coaching - have you ever seen Bill Belichick sporting pads and short pants (must qualify here that this is equally bad as his current cut-off sweatshirts) or how about Charlie Weiss, maybe if he wore a uniform he could sneak into the game as a lineman. Phil Jackson - do we see him in the extra, baggy Lakers uniform complete with sweatband ? No! We don't - they wear suits or at least khakis and some sort of team logo shirt/pullover. They need to dress differently than the players 1) because they aren't players 2) because their team looks to them for direction and I don't care if you discount the power of the clothes/leadership connection, if someone is wearing a suit they will command your attention and respect more than someone in warm up pants (at least until they say something asinine). I personally would love a movement back to the 60s and have everyone decked out in suits and hats! Love the Tom Landry look - call me strange.
I think that baseball could also benefit from a little more disciplined coaching as well if managers had to step up their wardrobe a bit, would you sit idly and spit sunflower seeds in the 7th if you were wearing Armani - I think not!

Bud Selig - you can expect my memo on this shortly.

Chicago, fickle? Never.

Recently me and my S.O. were having a heated discussion about a recent Bill Simmons article (if you're not aware of Bill Simmons, go to espn.com right now - he is their sports columnist and is amazingly funny and knowledgeable about all things sports and pop culture related - if he wasn't married I would contemplate running away with him).
At any rate, the discussion (over whether or not fans actually like Roger Clemens) basically disintegrated into a conversation about Chicago fans, he claiming that they we are worse than New York or Boston fans and me exclaiming that we are far better than either of them. His argument was that Chicago fans are fickle, turning on any 'star' on the team as soon as they stop performing and then relentlessly heckling them, citing Sammy and Rex as examples of such behavior. The rationale for the "worse than New York and Boston fans" argument was that although New York fans are known for being harsh and critical, that at least their team gets results (but that's not really fair - we can control the spending habits of Chicago sports management) and while Boston fans were more pathetic, sticking with a sinking player for a long time, at least they earned some credibility in his eyes for not turning so quickly on their players (although now, with a World Series win under their belt I'd say that this too is changing).
Being the nice midwesterner that I am, I couldn't stand for a comparison that made us seem worse than New York and Boston (two of the rudest cities alive - second only to anywhere in New Jersey, don't get me started on New Jersey), so I argue that Chicago fans obviously better than either of the two. Sure, we may get upset and turn on star players but that's only because they aren't performing, not because we're angry that the owner dropped a lot of cash to stock the team - although perhaps we'll be throwing loose change at Soriano by the season's end if he doesn't perform. Keep in mind that the losing cross we bear is now the longest and the loneliest (at least in baseball) so we are far more suffering than any Boston fan can ever be, so if we appear anything but supportive it's because we're dealing with decades of loss, who can be expected to keep a consistently positive attitude when faced with years of experience that say otherwise - we're not fickle, we're realistic.
Bottom line, when your baseball stadium is the world's biggest bar and your football stadium is an outdoor one stuck in some of the most brutal winter weather there is it's impossible not to appear fickle to those that don't understand. Trying to consume as much beer as possible before the 7th inning cutoff can make the nicest person seem hostile and sitting in 10 degree weather watching your quarterback get sacked yet again might make you utter things that sound like a fairweather fan, but believe me, if you are at a Bears game in January, it really is anything but fairweather.

Erba - A Review

Discovered another delightful dinner spot this past week, Erba in Lincoln Square. I had noticed the place for the past year or two but had never heard a word mentioned about until recently so I decided that I must check it out.A small, modern Italian place that doesn't take reservations, set up along what is quickly becoming Lincoln Square's restaurant row (next to Tank and Bistro Campagne). They have a outdoor patio but sadly it was not yet open the night I was there even though it was easily 75 degrees out.
The menu while not lengthy, is carefully thought out and represents a modern take on some Tuscan fare as well as the Piedmont region of Italy (I personally had no idea there was a place called Piedmont in Italy - my new learning for that day).
While I waited for my dining companion I enjoyed a limoncello and soda, any place that serves limoncello automatically rises a few notches in my book (I never realized I had so much in common with Danny Devito). Since there were so many delicious options to choose from we decided to share a few, first a creamy polenta with mushrooms for a starter - I tried to be polite and only eat my share, really I did! Then for dinner we shared a light risotto (if risotto can be light???) with parmesan, lemon and artichokes, followed by scallops wrapped in pancetta served on pureed bed of cannellini beans. Both items were delicious and even though we were splitting the items they still brought us ample portions served individually. No room for dessert that night but they too are supposed to be outstanding. There was so much more on the menu that caught by eye, great pastas, veal, several appetizer nice and light and perfect for eating out on a patio - so if you want to try it for yourself, call me and I'll go again!

The Most Under Appreciated Man In Show Business

There is a man in Hollywood who I believe is firmly underrated, he's been around for quite awhile and although he's old enough to be my dad I still think he is fabulous. That man is Mr. Tom Selleck, not only is he the only individual who has successfully pulled of the mustache for over 30 years but he has also been able to remain and attractive and appealing to several generations of tv viewers. While I vaguely remember him from his Magnum P.I. days where he sported the Tigers hat and short shorts (again a tough look to pull off but he manages!) to his brief stint on friends. I believe that in a large part Tom is responsible for my belief that the mustache can be an acceptable form of facial hair. The other person responsible for that is my dad (I cried when he shaved his off finally - I think I was about 13 at the time - it was traumatic!). So mustache disgressions aside, Tom is an all-around nice guy, you never hear anything bad about him, he's never been involved in any weird sex scandal (to my knowledge) and come on, anyone who can remain hot from 1980 to 2007 - that should be rewarded in and of itself. So take a moment and appreciated the mustachioed man (see I used the word mustachioed - ten bonus points!) who is highly underappreciated, and then pull up your tv guide and see if there is a rerun of Magnum on the classic station.

What's The Fascination Gentleman ?

You've heard me chat about my book club on several occasions - I love book club for a number of reasons (excuse to drink wine, gossip and snack - isn't that enough?) but the one thing that I really love about it is the interesting conversation topics it brings up. Take last week's meeting it ranged from the miracle of birth, to an in-depth foray into circumcision (interesting) to the topic that really struck a chord. Specifically, men and their propensity to spend extreme amounts of time in the bathroom doing all sorts of activities. While I profess that I am not quite sure how we got onto this topic, I assure you, it was one of interest and amazement to our group. After a brief comparison of tales we all learned that the respective men in our lives love to camp out on the john. Reading, emailing, drinking coffee, talking on the phone - the variety of tasks they can engage in while otherwise indisposed was quite impressive. However, what really got us was the duration of their little vacation to the porcelain throne. Twenty, thirty, forty-five minutes - all times that have been clocked in various bathroom marathons around the northside of Chicago.
Why ????
We could not fathom what is pleasurable about hanging out in there for so long? Truly, it's puzzling. It's not the most comfortable seat in the house, there are definitely better smells in kitchen, there's no tv in there (at least to my knowledge) so why, oh why, is this such an appealing spot for the male gender to hunker down and camp out for some quality alone time.
Now I love to hang out in the bathroom as much as anyone else, but in front of the mirror primping, not sipping my latte and reading The Times, and to call a girlfriend for a little chat while I let it lie - unheard of!
So again, and quite unintended, I have unearthed yet another example of why we are really the most reasonable, rational sex. Are my girlfriends and I are missing some great meaning of life that lurks in the bano? What drives those with the Y chromosome into this tiled haven? I can find no logical reason for it!

What's Her Secret ?

So I had this thought pop, unprompted into my brain the other day "why has Paris Hilton not been in rehab yet?" - while it's probably disturbing that these are the random thoughts I have (although understandable given all my celebrity gossip reading), think about, I have a valid question here! This is the girl who made a sex tape that everyone in the free world has seen, has dated every starlet's ex-boyfriend, has been pulled over by the cops how many times, is in a fight with every famous female under 25 at some in time - and yet she is not the one who's been in rehab.
It's especially odd these days when going to rehab is apparently in vogue - so shouldn't she have gone already at least to remain fashionable ? So I think the real question is, is Paris more together than we actually think she is (scary!) or is she such a mess and so wealthy that she can avoid rehab indefinitely ? I have no good answer to this, but I'm inclined to believe the former - and what a world we live in if Paris actually deserves more credit thank we think!

What's Your Favorite Molly ?

The other night I was sucked into watching Pretty in Pink (I'm a sucker for any classic 80s movie) and although it was a fine way to waste two hours, at the end I knew it really was my least favorite Molly Ringwald 80s flick. So of course that led me to a deep introspection of the great film trifecta (no, not The Godfather series) but The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles and Pretty in Pink - all 80s classics and all Molly Ringwald.
After a deep and intense mental debate, all of 30 seconds, I determined that Sixteen Candles is my favorite of the three, for a few reasons: #1 Jake Ryan (the name just sounds hot) was the best guy to have a h.s. crush on #2 The Donger, for his lines along this movie is a classic "Dong, dong - where is my automobile?" #3 Anthony Michael Hall, while we all like to think we were the Jack Ryans of the world, really AMH was more on par of what reality was (for you all I'm guessing : )
The Breakfast Club comes in at #2 because of it's classic h.s. stereotypes, Molly Ringwald applying lipstick hands free (I have tried this and, yes, I can do it) and the important message that detention unites us all! Pretty in Pink has to remain in third, while it does have a great soundtrack and I love the height of hideous fashion that Andie sports there are just a few things that aren't right. First of all Blaine, someone named Blaine is the love interest, come on, there is nothing appealing about Andrew McCarthy in this movie, he is a pathetic, scrawny rich kid, I would have picked Judd Nelson in Breakfast Club over Blaine in a heart beat.
And that's the Molly trilogy for you!