How awful it is that a woman in Texas whose future, even her life, are in peril should be refused an abortion (a medcal procedure that could spare her years of agony and even death) on the say so of the criminal Texas AG Paxton and the supreme court of that state--none of whom are medically qualified.n They belong in the Hell they, no doubt, believe in.
I wonder if Cheryl will be square dancing with EZ in this year's New Years Eve show on channel 7. Or will EZ join her in a modern dance with a sparkly outfit?
If either one...please video tape and send to him to post here as I am way out of range for Chicago TV. A good one would be EZ playing fiddle in the square dance band to step forward to ask his her to dance and have Joanna cut in on that kerfluffil
I think that Ohtani should be given the Scammer of the Decade award for convincing the Dodgers to give an older player with injuries who may never be more than a DH a ten year contract worth $700 million. I predict he's going to be a bust and will laugh all the way to the bank while all the marketing bucks the Dodgers thought they were going to be making disappear into thin air.
You're focusing on one tree and missing the forest. In most jobs in our economy, people are either rewarded for past performance or hired for having performed past superior skills. There have been a number of players this off-season that have been awarded massive free agent contracts for mediocre performance. Ohtani has at least demonstrated superior performance and there is a chance he will continue to do this for the Dodgers, plus fans he will draw to the stadium and the merchandise he will sell. My problem is huge contracts for players that have not proven they are worth it and show little promise of doing so. I admit you have a point. More than one team has been burned by long term contracts to proven stars that didn't pan out(see Albert Pujols).
A $700 million dollar tree is a lot taller than the other trees in the forest. My problem is huge contracts period. A lot of families with kids are priced out when it comes to actually going to a game. Eventually that's going to catch up with MLB and its fan base.
You get no argument from me. I'm a ticket purchaser. But what would you do about it? This is the good old USA where people can spend their money any way they want as long as it's legal. When Phillies owner, Bob Carpenter, inked the first million dollar contract with Pete Rose, he was asked if Rose was worth it. Carpenter simply answered that it was worth it to him.
I agree....sort of. I really don't care what the players get paid, same as I don't care what Apple pays its employees or what movie stars make. The difference is that I find iPhones and movies to be worth the price they ask. Baseball games...not so much. Given how many games are in a season, and the resulting lack of importance of any particular game, it just isn't worth $100 a person (+/-) to see a game and have some food and beverages.
My sense is that tickets (of which sales are generally up I understand despite ratings being down) are being purchased by a smaller number of people, which is a problem for baseball. When I'm not going to a handful of games in person, I'm less likely to watch on TV and less likely to care in general. And then I don't take my kids, and it spirals.
With $680 million of the contract payments deferred, how are Ohtani's agents/attorneys going to make certain the money's there after 10 years? Does ownership deposit the funds every year into an account that only Ohtani gets access to at the end of the contract? Do they fully fund it up front in an account that only Ohtani can access in 10 years? Do they buy 10-year T-Bills with a face value of $680 million? Who gets the interest on the funds in the interim in first two cases? (I'm presuming that Ohtani foregoes the interest.)
I've always believed that Pro athletes deserve any amount they can squeeze out of their owners. In professional sports the athletes (usually) are paid what they are worth (as compared to fortune 500 CEOs). Take the NFL for example. There are roughly 1500-1700 players who play in the NFL. They (almost universally) have proven their value through their play (at the college, then the pro, level). They are (almost universally) the best 1500-1700 workers in their particular trade (being NFL capable) Contrast that with Fortune 500 CEOs. I've worked alongside of corporate CEOs of at least 3 Fortune 500 companies, as well as alongside hundreds of managers up and down the same corporate ranks - from lower, to middle, to senior and executive managers throughout these corporations. Many of these managers are every bit as smart savvy as the CEOs to whom they ultimately report up to. Based on my personal experience (I know, accuse me a "me-search" instead of research), I'd estimate that there are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of existing managers/businesspeople who could run Fortune 500 companies as competently - if not more competently - than many currently occupying F500 CEO positions. However, the market for identifying and selecting F500 CEO talent is FAR, FAR, less transparent and efficient than the player evaluation process of the typical NFL team (or most of them, anyway). Many CEOs are talented, to be sure. But once you're "in the club" of potential CEO candidates (and many get into "the club" through who they know, or just dumb luck), you become part of a pool of potential candidates who have a HUGE leg up on any competitive talent from which CEOs are selected (and often recycled, undeservedly). (IMHO)
And, it's a CEO (Mark Walter) of a financial services firm who is chairman of the LA Dodgers. So, are you telling us that the leader of the Dodgers may have risen to the level of his incompetence?
I'm not saying that Mark Walter is the embodiment of the Peter Principle -
although perhaps you are by stating that the Dodgers have wasted their cash on Ohtani? I'm just saying that from my observations, lots of CEOS are overpaid compared to professional athletes - based on their relative markets for their respective talents (professional sports vs business management). DO you think the KC Chiefs overpaid for Patrick Mahomes? The Bears could (should) have drafted him, but I'm sure they shied away when they contemplated how much he'd demand. (I'm also virtually certain that the McCaskeys all wrenched their arms patting themselves on the back when Mahomes' $503m restructured 10-year contract was disclosed. ("Phew, we dodged a bullet on that guy!" I'm certain they all said at the time.) In light of what has happened since then, would you rather have Mahomes' on the Bears and be saddled with his contract, of be where they are currently? Just askin'.
I think that Mahomes would have left Chicago a broken quarterback a few years after the Bears picked him. Even Mahomes couldn't have overcome the lack of a good offensive line, coaching, receivers...etc. I still think that a great quarterback can't win games on his own. If I were a number one quarterback in this year's NFL draft, I'd tell my agent to do anything to make sure I didn't go to the Bears. If that meant sitting out for a year and trying again or simply telling the Bears I won't play for them like Bo Jackson did with Tampa Bay, it would be worth it. LOL!
Oh my! great tweets! Hey Zornie-I just saw in the Atlantic and Smithsonian about the Oxford Dictionary's Word of the Year-"razz". It made me realize how in the dark I'm in on social media as I'd never heard of it! You might have razzed up Ms Scott had you ever met her. I mean, before you razzed up Joanna and married her.
Actually the whole process of selecting one explained in both of the A and S daily newsletters is an interesting. I never heard of most of the runner's up either.
1. All of the visual tweets today were exceptional and immediate smile inducers!
2. Kudos to many fellow readers who posted insightful and/or witty comments that were very enjoyable reading! (Special recognition to Michael Gorman's hilarious comments on "papal beliefs and bears in the woods" 😆)
3. In addition to current restrictions on CPD automobile chases, are people aware that there are similar restrictions on even foot chases wherein an officer who observes criminal conduct has to obtain supervisory approval to engage in a foot chase? Truly the proverbial handcuffing the police!
4. Your reference to Frederick Douglass Academy with 33 students at a funding cost of over $68,000 per student is an excellent example of the inefficiencies and waste in Chicago Public Schools as those resources could and should be allocated much more efficiently in the system. It would also be highly interesting to know the student test scores for these 33 students and whether the almost individualized instruction they receive produces better results than the abhorrent failure of 75% CPS students not being able to read or do math at grade level.
5. Did anyone catch the Wall Street Journal poll released yesterday showing Nikki Haley leading Joe Biden by 17 points in a presidential matchup? Even allowing for whatever margin of error you wish, if the GOP ever comes to their senses and nominates Haley, Biden is in deep doo doo!
Finally, my wife and I have spoken with Judith Raanan a couple times this past week, and she has very compelling tales of her and her daughter's captivity by Hamas in Gaza. But, other than her gratitude to everyone for their prayers, it is her story to tell when she is ready to do so.
Regarding Niki Haley - perhaps the GOP is doing a deep fake, pretending to want to nominate Trump. At the last moment Haley gets the nomination. It’s so late into the campaign that the Democrats then have not enough time to choose and promote a viable alternative. End result - Republicans win the White House.
My heart be still - I would love your scenario Ken! However, I have to tell you from experience with a good number of my friends and family members that there is still an insane devotion to the orange man which I do not believe any machinations are likely to overcome. Plus, the GOP has demonstrated a gift in recent times for circular firing squad tactics for elections, so I do not give them enough credit to be able to pull that off. But I like the way you think!
this week's visual TotWs were almost uniformly excellent - hilarious - too difficult to choose from! but i did anyway - with no small regret for the ones i didn't choose.
so, EZ, why can we pick multiple TotWs [non-visual, words only] each week, but only 1 visual TotW?
Loved your AI secret wife assignment...your original one might be classier though.
As for police pursuits, I too fear that criminals would take advantage of that whilst the suggestion of unleashing a remote drone sounds great. The pursuits can come at a high cost but letting criminals successfully flee will only insure more flights.
Cheryl Scott?! Methinks Eric sharing this nugget is much like how, in my 30s, I used to race home and brag to my wife that I just got carded at the liquor store! The times I was asked if I’d like the “senior discount” in my 40s? Those go with me to the grave.
As someone who suffers from genetically-caused, early-onset graying (it started turning in my late 20s), I've been offered senior discounts for about 20 years (and I don't qualify yet)!
"Very discreet..." (Wink, wink, nudge, nudge). Drones: There are over 500 police cars in the City of Chicago. Trying to equip each car - and of course the training involved for each office would be outrageous. Who would pay for it? It's less about the tech than the cost. NFL: Rules are rules. Know them. Follow them. Take advantage when the other team messes up. Rugby: Soccer/Rugby have higher head issues than NFL. Helmets offer minimal protection - a collision helmet or not still causes the brain to bounce around the skull.
I posted your tip about Facebook hacking/spoofing on my Facebook page. Facebook algorithms promptly deleted the post and locked me out of my account. Well!!! 🤷♂️
PS: What's with all the sportsball-related posts lately? Not for me, thank you.
Thanks for the response on my guestion on the Substack platform...I really was just curious and agree with you.
Great visual tweets this week. The wine entry cracked me up the most but I went with the child's treasure/toy entry to honor my two granddaughters (aged 5 and 6) and their collections of rocks, sticks and leaves. "Papa, look at this one!" warms my heart.
Police chases: as a former police officer I understand the danger of vehicle chases and have witnessed chases gone wrong. But I also know of the danger of people knowing that they can just run or drive away from criminal activity. If correctly monitored by supervisors the danger can be mitigated. Don't chase a car for running a stop sign, but in the case of a violent crime there should be a deterrent.
Finally, I was in attendance at SOGC on Sunday. Just a fun time and I brought two friends for their first time. They liked it too. A request; can you link me to Mary's column from which she read at the end of the show? It was touching and I'd like to read the entire column. Take care!
Regrading too many men on the field: i agree that if there is a rule, it should be enforced consistently, but that doesn't mean a bad rule shouldn't be changed. In ice hockey, where line changes in the middle of play are routine, players do not need to be off the ice before their replacements start skating.
How awful it is that a woman in Texas whose future, even her life, are in peril should be refused an abortion (a medcal procedure that could spare her years of agony and even death) on the say so of the criminal Texas AG Paxton and the supreme court of that state--none of whom are medically qualified.n They belong in the Hell they, no doubt, believe in.
You could have done worse than Cheryl Scott!
I wonder if Cheryl will be square dancing with EZ in this year's New Years Eve show on channel 7. Or will EZ join her in a modern dance with a sparkly outfit?
If either one...please video tape and send to him to post here as I am way out of range for Chicago TV. A good one would be EZ playing fiddle in the square dance band to step forward to ask his her to dance and have Joanna cut in on that kerfluffil
CNN Reliable Sources: "Addicted: A new study from the Pew Research Center shows that teenagers use social media "almost constantly." (Pew)"
Studies of papal beliefs and the behavior of bears in woods to follow.
I think that Ohtani should be given the Scammer of the Decade award for convincing the Dodgers to give an older player with injuries who may never be more than a DH a ten year contract worth $700 million. I predict he's going to be a bust and will laugh all the way to the bank while all the marketing bucks the Dodgers thought they were going to be making disappear into thin air.
You're focusing on one tree and missing the forest. In most jobs in our economy, people are either rewarded for past performance or hired for having performed past superior skills. There have been a number of players this off-season that have been awarded massive free agent contracts for mediocre performance. Ohtani has at least demonstrated superior performance and there is a chance he will continue to do this for the Dodgers, plus fans he will draw to the stadium and the merchandise he will sell. My problem is huge contracts for players that have not proven they are worth it and show little promise of doing so. I admit you have a point. More than one team has been burned by long term contracts to proven stars that didn't pan out(see Albert Pujols).
A $700 million dollar tree is a lot taller than the other trees in the forest. My problem is huge contracts period. A lot of families with kids are priced out when it comes to actually going to a game. Eventually that's going to catch up with MLB and its fan base.
You get no argument from me. I'm a ticket purchaser. But what would you do about it? This is the good old USA where people can spend their money any way they want as long as it's legal. When Phillies owner, Bob Carpenter, inked the first million dollar contract with Pete Rose, he was asked if Rose was worth it. Carpenter simply answered that it was worth it to him.
I agree....sort of. I really don't care what the players get paid, same as I don't care what Apple pays its employees or what movie stars make. The difference is that I find iPhones and movies to be worth the price they ask. Baseball games...not so much. Given how many games are in a season, and the resulting lack of importance of any particular game, it just isn't worth $100 a person (+/-) to see a game and have some food and beverages.
My sense is that tickets (of which sales are generally up I understand despite ratings being down) are being purchased by a smaller number of people, which is a problem for baseball. When I'm not going to a handful of games in person, I'm less likely to watch on TV and less likely to care in general. And then I don't take my kids, and it spirals.
With $680 million of the contract payments deferred, how are Ohtani's agents/attorneys going to make certain the money's there after 10 years? Does ownership deposit the funds every year into an account that only Ohtani gets access to at the end of the contract? Do they fully fund it up front in an account that only Ohtani can access in 10 years? Do they buy 10-year T-Bills with a face value of $680 million? Who gets the interest on the funds in the interim in first two cases? (I'm presuming that Ohtani foregoes the interest.)
I've always believed that Pro athletes deserve any amount they can squeeze out of their owners. In professional sports the athletes (usually) are paid what they are worth (as compared to fortune 500 CEOs). Take the NFL for example. There are roughly 1500-1700 players who play in the NFL. They (almost universally) have proven their value through their play (at the college, then the pro, level). They are (almost universally) the best 1500-1700 workers in their particular trade (being NFL capable) Contrast that with Fortune 500 CEOs. I've worked alongside of corporate CEOs of at least 3 Fortune 500 companies, as well as alongside hundreds of managers up and down the same corporate ranks - from lower, to middle, to senior and executive managers throughout these corporations. Many of these managers are every bit as smart savvy as the CEOs to whom they ultimately report up to. Based on my personal experience (I know, accuse me a "me-search" instead of research), I'd estimate that there are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of existing managers/businesspeople who could run Fortune 500 companies as competently - if not more competently - than many currently occupying F500 CEO positions. However, the market for identifying and selecting F500 CEO talent is FAR, FAR, less transparent and efficient than the player evaluation process of the typical NFL team (or most of them, anyway). Many CEOs are talented, to be sure. But once you're "in the club" of potential CEO candidates (and many get into "the club" through who they know, or just dumb luck), you become part of a pool of potential candidates who have a HUGE leg up on any competitive talent from which CEOs are selected (and often recycled, undeservedly). (IMHO)
And, it's a CEO (Mark Walter) of a financial services firm who is chairman of the LA Dodgers. So, are you telling us that the leader of the Dodgers may have risen to the level of his incompetence?
I'm not saying that Mark Walter is the embodiment of the Peter Principle -
although perhaps you are by stating that the Dodgers have wasted their cash on Ohtani? I'm just saying that from my observations, lots of CEOS are overpaid compared to professional athletes - based on their relative markets for their respective talents (professional sports vs business management). DO you think the KC Chiefs overpaid for Patrick Mahomes? The Bears could (should) have drafted him, but I'm sure they shied away when they contemplated how much he'd demand. (I'm also virtually certain that the McCaskeys all wrenched their arms patting themselves on the back when Mahomes' $503m restructured 10-year contract was disclosed. ("Phew, we dodged a bullet on that guy!" I'm certain they all said at the time.) In light of what has happened since then, would you rather have Mahomes' on the Bears and be saddled with his contract, of be where they are currently? Just askin'.
I think that Mahomes would have left Chicago a broken quarterback a few years after the Bears picked him. Even Mahomes couldn't have overcome the lack of a good offensive line, coaching, receivers...etc. I still think that a great quarterback can't win games on his own. If I were a number one quarterback in this year's NFL draft, I'd tell my agent to do anything to make sure I didn't go to the Bears. If that meant sitting out for a year and trying again or simply telling the Bears I won't play for them like Bo Jackson did with Tampa Bay, it would be worth it. LOL!
Oh my! great tweets! Hey Zornie-I just saw in the Atlantic and Smithsonian about the Oxford Dictionary's Word of the Year-"razz". It made me realize how in the dark I'm in on social media as I'd never heard of it! You might have razzed up Ms Scott had you ever met her. I mean, before you razzed up Joanna and married her.
Actually the whole process of selecting one explained in both of the A and S daily newsletters is an interesting. I never heard of most of the runner's up either.
The word of the year is “rizz “. You are still in the dark 😀- no offense intended.
As of September, 2022, Marcel Oliver was awaiting trial.
That particular chase cost the City of Chicago $15,000,000.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-chicago-police-car-chase-settlement-20220919-mp2gkm25tja6vgr5qfdq5souje-story.html
Eric, now that Cheryl Scott has been designated your wife, you need to check back on who your children are.
It could be traumatic…Eric Trump (same first name) or maybe Jussie Smollett!
I doubt it will list your present children…my apologies to them.
Things of which Zorn does not approve:
* 130 year old murder acquittals being the butt of a joke
* Little Drummer Boy as a Christmas Song
* words being used outside their tightly bounded definitions
i'm missing a few, please add
The Ohio State
John Kass
Donald Trump
Holocaust Deniers
Chicago Tribune Billing Dept
A few thoughts from my conservative brain...
1. All of the visual tweets today were exceptional and immediate smile inducers!
2. Kudos to many fellow readers who posted insightful and/or witty comments that were very enjoyable reading! (Special recognition to Michael Gorman's hilarious comments on "papal beliefs and bears in the woods" 😆)
3. In addition to current restrictions on CPD automobile chases, are people aware that there are similar restrictions on even foot chases wherein an officer who observes criminal conduct has to obtain supervisory approval to engage in a foot chase? Truly the proverbial handcuffing the police!
4. Your reference to Frederick Douglass Academy with 33 students at a funding cost of over $68,000 per student is an excellent example of the inefficiencies and waste in Chicago Public Schools as those resources could and should be allocated much more efficiently in the system. It would also be highly interesting to know the student test scores for these 33 students and whether the almost individualized instruction they receive produces better results than the abhorrent failure of 75% CPS students not being able to read or do math at grade level.
5. Did anyone catch the Wall Street Journal poll released yesterday showing Nikki Haley leading Joe Biden by 17 points in a presidential matchup? Even allowing for whatever margin of error you wish, if the GOP ever comes to their senses and nominates Haley, Biden is in deep doo doo!
Finally, my wife and I have spoken with Judith Raanan a couple times this past week, and she has very compelling tales of her and her daughter's captivity by Hamas in Gaza. But, other than her gratitude to everyone for their prayers, it is her story to tell when she is ready to do so.
I wish everyone the joys of this holiday season!
Regarding Niki Haley - perhaps the GOP is doing a deep fake, pretending to want to nominate Trump. At the last moment Haley gets the nomination. It’s so late into the campaign that the Democrats then have not enough time to choose and promote a viable alternative. End result - Republicans win the White House.
Pure speculation I know, but what if….
My heart be still - I would love your scenario Ken! However, I have to tell you from experience with a good number of my friends and family members that there is still an insane devotion to the orange man which I do not believe any machinations are likely to overcome. Plus, the GOP has demonstrated a gift in recent times for circular firing squad tactics for elections, so I do not give them enough credit to be able to pull that off. But I like the way you think!
I second the nomination of Michael Gorman's comment being particularly good today.
this week's visual TotWs were almost uniformly excellent - hilarious - too difficult to choose from! but i did anyway - with no small regret for the ones i didn't choose.
so, EZ, why can we pick multiple TotWs [non-visual, words only] each week, but only 1 visual TotW?
Loved your AI secret wife assignment...your original one might be classier though.
As for police pursuits, I too fear that criminals would take advantage of that whilst the suggestion of unleashing a remote drone sounds great. The pursuits can come at a high cost but letting criminals successfully flee will only insure more flights.
Cheryl Scott?! Methinks Eric sharing this nugget is much like how, in my 30s, I used to race home and brag to my wife that I just got carded at the liquor store! The times I was asked if I’d like the “senior discount” in my 40s? Those go with me to the grave.
As someone who suffers from genetically-caused, early-onset graying (it started turning in my late 20s), I've been offered senior discounts for about 20 years (and I don't qualify yet)!
"Very discreet..." (Wink, wink, nudge, nudge). Drones: There are over 500 police cars in the City of Chicago. Trying to equip each car - and of course the training involved for each office would be outrageous. Who would pay for it? It's less about the tech than the cost. NFL: Rules are rules. Know them. Follow them. Take advantage when the other team messes up. Rugby: Soccer/Rugby have higher head issues than NFL. Helmets offer minimal protection - a collision helmet or not still causes the brain to bounce around the skull.
I posted your tip about Facebook hacking/spoofing on my Facebook page. Facebook algorithms promptly deleted the post and locked me out of my account. Well!!! 🤷♂️
PS: What's with all the sportsball-related posts lately? Not for me, thank you.
Me either. Yawn city.
Thanks for the response on my guestion on the Substack platform...I really was just curious and agree with you.
Great visual tweets this week. The wine entry cracked me up the most but I went with the child's treasure/toy entry to honor my two granddaughters (aged 5 and 6) and their collections of rocks, sticks and leaves. "Papa, look at this one!" warms my heart.
Police chases: as a former police officer I understand the danger of vehicle chases and have witnessed chases gone wrong. But I also know of the danger of people knowing that they can just run or drive away from criminal activity. If correctly monitored by supervisors the danger can be mitigated. Don't chase a car for running a stop sign, but in the case of a violent crime there should be a deterrent.
Finally, I was in attendance at SOGC on Sunday. Just a fun time and I brought two friends for their first time. They liked it too. A request; can you link me to Mary's column from which she read at the end of the show? It was touching and I'd like to read the entire column. Take care!
Regrading too many men on the field: i agree that if there is a rule, it should be enforced consistently, but that doesn't mean a bad rule shouldn't be changed. In ice hockey, where line changes in the middle of play are routine, players do not need to be off the ice before their replacements start skating.