So, when did the New York Times turn into the Chicago Tribune? There seem to have been a run of stories lately on the fortunes of the Cubs in the Paper Of Record.

Maybe it's because we're headed toward the Event of the Century? Let us hope so. Anyway, here's a look at the antics of Ryan Dempster. Or, as writer Alan Schwarz says:

"Ryan Dempster’s conversion from capable closer to dominant starter, is one of the principal reasons for Waveland Avenue’s awakening hope."

 

http://wwoginw.nytimes.com/2008/08/17/sports/baseball/17dempster.html?_r=1&ref=baseball&oref=sl

Well, anyway, according to Forbes Magazine. Some teams (the newest) are not included. Their methodology is, well -- convoluted.  It doesn't really take other, unmeasurable aspects of 'fandom' into consideration.  That's why you'll find some of their conclusions....a bit strange.

They list the '10 worst' and '10 best' fan bases. Outside of the number of teams that they don't rate...some others don't make either list. I have no idea what that means.

2 teams stand out by their exclusion from this list, and one of those exclusions baffles me, if you use their measuring stick.....

http://www.forbes.com/2008/08/07/baseball-fans-loyal-forbeslife-cx_mw_0807sport.html

"How could you not be a baseball fan? It's such a great game. All I do during baseball season is watch games. I was so pumped the other night when Greg Maddux stole a base! My team is the Braves, but they don't stand much of a chance."

 

"My stage manager is a Cubs fan, and my road manager is a Red Sox fan. As soon as a show is over, I get on our bus and watch "Baseball Tonight."

And who does this music legend favor to win the World Series?

"Obviously, the Cubs. You gotta love it."

 

 So, who's the "music legend" in question??

Answer coming later....

According to a report in today's San Diego Union-Tribune,  Gary Hughes (asst. to Jim Hendry was at Petco Park last night -- witnessing Greg Maddux's strong performance. (Still, it was  loss -- Maddux's 11 th  straight start without a victory since he won on May 10th.) Maddux went 6, giving up 4 hits, 2 earned runs, walking 1 and striking out 3 in the Punchless Padres 3-1 loss to the Marlins.

Maddux is now 3-7, with an ERA of 3.90 in 112 innings. 56 K's,  22 walks.

The Padres beat writer speculates that either Maddux or Randy Wolf, who will pitch tonight are both being considered as being involved in trade deals with the Cubs.

Wolf is 5-8, with an ERA of 4.59. He's lost 4 in a row, with an 8+ ERA in those starts -- however, in two of those games, he allowed only 2 earned runs. The Pads were outscored 26-6 in those four losses. (Wolf is 3-12 lifetime against the Marlins.)

The last discussion moved away so quickly, I didn't get a chance to add this to the mix. I stated Tribco Media is now being run by Randy Michaels,  and that his ideas/vision are all over the new Superstation logo/imagery.

I'm surprised that so many of you have turned thumbs down on the new look -- but here are some of the reason why  it's being put in place and  a glimpse of the person behind it. Love or hate this guy -- and he draws strong opinions from both sides of the coin -- here's a look at Randy Michaels, from....Crain's Chicago Business:

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/mag/article.pl?articleId=29913&seenIt=1

For those of you IN Chicago, Superstation WGN....is no more.

The rebranding of Tribco's 'underutilized'  asset (by their own words) began today,  Memorial Day. as "WGN AMERICA -- TV YOU CAN'T IGNORE.

 http://www.wgnamerica.com/

The new logo features the eyes of a woman. (Lake Elisnore Storm of the California League: Take note)

Randy Michaels, now the head of Tribco Broadcasting is a guy who really can upset the apple cart -- a former shock jock, he ran Clear Channel Communications for years until he was forced out. It is about time that the rather tired 'superstation' be put to pasture, as 25 years ago -- it meant something. Now -- so what?  (And when you run "Corner Gas" there's nothing "Super" about your programming.)

Ah, the days of running "The Last Farewell" by Roger Whittaker over a WGN station ID, are indeed -- long gone.....