A little self-pub never killed anybody....

Just in case you're reading this and you don't know me on a deeply personal level, I thought I'd give you a quick update on my real life. You know, as opposed to my eLife...

Basically I'm trying to be a jerk who gets paid to talk about sports on the radio. I mean, I'm not particularly trying to be a jerk - that comes natural - it's just that I'm attempting to make money of my jerkiness and corresponding sports expertise.

In rearing my fledgling radio career, I have been doing my best to record my voice and broadcast it (in various ways) whenever and wherever I can. As such, I have recently recorded some NBA chatter with my good friend Nick Saper (collectively the Basketball Babblers) and posted it for your listening pleasure on podOmatic and in a media player that I've added to my Bulls Blog, which you may be familiar with (there's been a link to it over there on the right for a while).

In any event, though the first three episodes are fairly straightforward previews of the NBA season to come, Nick and I are developing our audio chemistry and hope to improve and get funnier and more entertaining as time goes on. Ultimately our hope is to be enjoyable for the non-sports fan as much as for the sports fan. Chances are we'll strike out but we DO intend to try, dammit!

So go check it out. We're in negotiations for a potential live radio show, and if you're in Chicagoland (Chicago - WSBC 1240; Chicago Heights - WCFJ 1470) you can hear me, Kolsky (Kid K, the Ass. to the Ass. Producer) on The Morning Break, every Monday and Friday from 10 to Noon.

Hopefully you won't stop reading this blog in the future because of this self-serving post. Good times.

THIS IS NOT A POST

Every now and then, I come across a piece of news that I feel compelled to comment on, or interpret in various ways, subsequently linking you back to the original piece for your own edification. Today I was shown something that I can't help but share with you, loyal reader, and yet I don't believe there is anything I can say about it without being either trite and unfunny or simply offensive. As such, I've chosen simply to link you to this fabulous article - which seems to be real - and let you draw your own conclusions. Enjoy...

Kolsky's British Delicacy of the Day

Passing of The Buck


In March, I posted briefly (very, very briefly) on the passing of Kirby Puckett, and I included a photograph of his Hall of Fame plaque. I would very, very much like to include a similar photo in this post, but alas I cannot; when the Hall of Fame convened a special committee to induct Negro Leaguers, Buck O'Neil fell one vote short. Of course, that didn't stop him from speaking at the ceremony, serving as the voice of the 17 players who were selected (none of whom lived to see it).

For Buck, it was never a sore subject. How upset could he be about this? This is a man who was born just a handful of years too early to play Major League Baseball. He played a part in the popularization and success of the Negro Leagues (winning five pennants and two Negro League World Series titles as a player and manager for the Kansas City Monarchs from 1938-55) but by the time the MLB color barrier was broken, his career was ending.

More so than his playing days, the feats that followed should have earned him Hall of Fame status - he became a big-league scout for African-American talent with the Cubs, and was responsible for the signing of both Ernie Banks and Lou Brock; he broke the color barrier for big-league coaches when he signed with the Cubs in 1962; and perhpas most importantly, he served to remind fans everywhere of baseballs past, particularly with respect to the Negro Leagues, and to help promote baseball in every possible way.

Through all of this, he remained a positive, outgoing person, never feeling bitter about what might have been. Perhaps nothing speaks more to Buck's positivity than the title of his 1996 autobiography: I Was Right On Time. He took his life in stride and enjoyed it for what it was - he made every second of his 94 years on earth count, and he never seemed regretful of anything.

For me, the image of Buck that may last longest is of an old man, mere months before his death, smiling ear-to-ear as he took two walks and hustled - for a 94-year-old, anyway - to first base during a minor league all-star game. Yes, it was something of a gimmick, but to see how happy it made this great man just to be a part of the game of baseball - any game of baseball, really - made even a cynic feel the special aura of the american pastime.

I don't think Buck would have asked for anything more. John Jordan O'Neil, rest in peace.



a couple links to cool Buck stuff: audio about the Negro Leagues, video of his last at-bat