Here's a picture of Governor Rod Blagojevic on Opening Day last year at Wrigley Field. He was there for the unveiling of the Ernie statue.
I wanted to alert you to a perfect Cubs Christmas present idea. It's a book called "Cubbie Blues: 100 Years of Waiting til Next Year," and it comes out on December 14th.
We just got a new shipment of JOBC Hats in. Order yours today. It makes a perfect Christmas present..JPG)
In the spirit of bringing this country together, I'm going to do something that I never imagined doing in my lifetime. I'm going to vote for a Chicago White Sox fan to become the President of the United States, and I urge my fellow Cubs fans to do the same.I can't vote for Obama. His entire platform is designed to help Sox fans. His tax plan allows people to declare mullets as dependents. He is encouraging the freedom to choose a single or double-wide trailer, and strongly supports veterans, giving tax breaks to teams that carry 3 designated hitters making an average of 12 million per year. Plus, in his health care plan, he's specifically offering comprehensive dental coverage. He's even soft on immigration and won't go after certain Venezuelans, no matter how obscene their press conferences become. That's not change we can believe in.
This is the way I'll always remember Studs Terkel who died today at the age of 96. In this 1984 video clip he talks about the Cubs, and how he wishes they would return to their losing ways because it's much more interesting than winning. Studs got 96 years of interesting. RIP to a great Chicagoan.
She's smiling because the team with the most losses in history, and the most ex-Cubs on their roster (Jamie Moyer, Scott Eyre, and Matt Stairs, and heck first base coach Davey Lopes), won the World Series tonight. Her shirt is crying because there's another team that had gone far far longer without a championship.
This guy (Scott Eyre) came in to the game to relieve Moyer, and closed the door on the explosive Tampa Bay lineup the rest of that 7th inning.
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There have long been T-shirts reading, "Baseball is life. The rest is just details." I think baseball was first with this often-copied refrain, and there is reason for it. Other sports are posers. Baseball is a metaphor for life, and it's why the game has such a strong hold on so many of us. You are teaching your kids well by helping them to love the game. (Rick's note: Reed is referring to my piece about raising my boys to be Cubs fans.)
Baseball starts in the spring, our world's time of new growth, hope, and a full future. It is a grind, played day after day, like life itself. There are good days and bad. For six months every year, it is always there, a friend ready to engage us. It teaches loyalty. It rewards perseverence. It is unchanging, a link to our past, which has been lost in so many other ways.
Then, like life, it ends. For most of us, it ends in resignation that those dreams were never close to coming true. For some, it ends in heartbreak. Only a few reach the mountaintop, but even for them, it ends. The flowers fade. The leaves fall. Your friend, so omipresent for so long, has gone. The winter is cold, dark, and empty.
That's when only our belief that spring will come again carries us forward. That the world will bloom again, that the days will be warm, that there is promise in next season.
I believe that it's not whether you win or lose. It's that you played.
I surrender. I give up. My white flag is flying. I now concede that the Cubs will never win a championship in my lifetime. Game 2's second inning summed it all up for me, and made it clear. No matter how good a team they are, they will never be able to put it all together. My beloved Cubbies will never "drink from the chalice of champions."
And there's no Bartman to blame this year. No black cat. No Leon Durham or Steve Garvey. And really, no billy goat. They just stare in the face of 100 years of futility and play not to lose, rather than to win, and that is a recipe for disaster.
Don't get me wrong, I still love them. And I won't be getting rid of my Cubs gear, taking down the pictures of Wrigley in my office, renaming my dog or taking a piece of sandpaper to my shoulder. I'll still root for them. And next March I'll think, somewhere in my head, "maybe THIS is the year." But deep down I'll know.
So, here we go again:
It's deathly quiet in Cubbyville, USA. The air is thick with gloom and doom. Brush in hand, the Joker with his satanic Jack Nicholson smile is painting the town --- Black. And Batman, like Cubs hitters, is nowhere in sight.
True Cubs fans know about "The Curse." But during the regular season they were prone not to mention it for fear of it continuing. But just before the NLCS Cubs management made a bold move to address the issue without using the word "Curse". A Priest was brought to Wrigley. He blessed the stadium and sprinkled holy water throughout the Cubs dugout.
But, to no avail. "The Curse" continues.
But by next April this will have dimmed and the die-hards will be telling anyone who will listen: "Hey, any team can have a bad millennium."
I wasn't even thinking today when I went to the store wearing my "Grandfather" shirt. I must have been stopped by a dozen people asking me where I got it. I got it right here at JOBC. It's on the second page of our apparel section in the Souvenir Stand (along with our Toothless onesie), so a lot of people have missed it. Trust me, both of those items on page 2 are conversation starters.
The one downside of running your own Cubs website is that when the Cubs inevitably blow it, a certain element of society jumps out of their dens of darkness to rub your face in it. You know who they are...they might be e-mailing you too. 
This is sad. I watch this show every night, but I didn't watch Tuesday night because of the debate. And what did they do the first time my back was turned? They ripped us...you and me, Cubs fans.
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Elliott Harris had another nice little writeup (and picture) about us in the Sun-Times today. It was the lead item in his column. He writes: "The fine folks at justonebadcentury.com report sales of their T-shirt have increased since the Cubs were swept by the Dodgers in the National League Division Series. Possibly because of the Cubbie with a teardrop. Plans for next season (for the Internet site, not the Cubs) call for a slight adjustment so that the T-shirt will read ''1908-2008 -- and counting.''"
And I thought I was ticked off...
I've gotten e-mails from all over the country since (the event we won't speak of), but this is one that really touched me. It was from an Angels fan...As a fan of the *other* team that really deserved to advance to the World Series this year, I just want you to know that I think you've got a great site here. I'm a believer in history and think that what you've done to present it, both in content and in tone, is excellent.
So many other teams - including the Angels - have gotten spoiled by frequent trips to the playoffs and become unjustly frustrated by not getting to the World Series every time they think they are due. We gotta remember there are 29 other teams out there also working for that goal and that the joy of the sport is an important part of the reward, regardless of how the season ends.
For what it's worth, I really do hope that the Cubs make it to the World Series soon. And as much as I'd like to see the Angels go back too, I kinda hope that we never have to face the Cubs there, at least until the Cubs finally notch another World Championship for themselves. I just know that the all the world except our own fans would be rooting for the Cubs. And if the Cubs play anyone but the Angels (loyalty is loyalty), I'll be rooting for them too.
Best Regards,
Mark
Your humble Editor-in-Chief made the rounds on Friday.
Mordecai Three Finger Brown vs. Carlos Zambrano
Orval Overall vs. Ryan Dempster
Big Ed Reulbach vs. Ted Lilly
Jack Pfiester vs. Rich Harden
Julian Tavarez (2007 Red Sox) – Cubs 2001
Alex Arias (1997 Marlins) – Cubs 1992
Dennis Eckersley (1989 Athletics) – Cubs 1984-1986
Fred Norman (1975, 1976 Reds) – Cubs 1964-1967
Don Cardwell (1969 Mets) – Cubs 1960-1962
Andy Pafko (1957 Braves) – Cubs 1943-1951