"Gloria Estefan tickets are hard to get but there's always Ricky Martin!"

Some random thoughts about this past weekend. . .

• For those of us folks who live in Indiana or Illinois, there was nothing but good news and reason to celebrate with both the NFC win of THE BEARS and the AFC win of The Colts. Both teams now have two weeks to get their game on before heading to Miami, Fl. for the 41st Annual Super Bowl. This got me to thinking about the odd bets that are thrown together at the last minute by the Mayors of competing cities. Chicago traditionally puts together a gift basket filled with Gino's East deep dish pizza, Eli's famous cheesecake, and a big Italian beef sandwich with hot and mild peppers from Mr. Beef. What would Indianapolis give to Chicago? They aren't known for anything. Let me tell you, after visiting that place a few times, there's a lot of familiar "chain" restaurants like Applebee's and Pizza Hut and that's about it. The last time I swung by old Indy I dined at a Lone Star Steakhouse. On that particular weekend night, Indiana Pacers very own Reggie Miller was trying to eat his dinner while signing autographs and posing for pictures between bites. That told me right there that it may be a nice place to visit but, I wouldn't want to call it home. All Chicago may get is a couple ears of corn and some horse shoes and maybe some "shoo-fly" pie from the area Amish folks.
• It's nice to kick up your heels with a keg of beer and a 5th of Jack Daniels but, did you see how many people in Chicago started partying like this twelve hours before kickoff in ten degree temps outside? By the time the game had gotten started, half of the people were passed out and the other half were being rushed to the hospitals for either hypothermia or frostbite. It's always fun to stand out in front of Soldier Field drunk in the middle of the night holding a 12 pack with your shirt off and making lots of noise with the 100's behind you doing the same thing. Why? Because channels 2,5,7,9,32, and ESPN, CNN, and Fox News are there to capture all this with their reporters and Hi-Def cameras. I hope all these people went to work today proud...that is, if they made it.
• Q&A time. Well, actually rhetorical question time. 1) The sporting goods business makes the most money during the Super Bowl, World Series, NBA Finals among others. They have a lot of items already made up and ready to hit the shelves no matter who wins. In the end, what happens to all the stuff leftover from the losing team that never made it out of the box? Destroyed? Given away? 2) Say you're in Chicago at night and glance up at the John Hancock building where one side appears dark except for the office lights left on that spell out "Go Bears". How do they do that? If you live on one of these floors that aren't included in the display, must you sit in the dark all night long so you don't screw things up for people below who are looking up? What if you tell the manager of the building that you work until 11 pm and come home to relax and read the paper? You can't read in the dark. Oh my, SO many questions and more to come!

"Seinfeld curse hits Jerry and jumps networks to ABC"

• The only person not affected by the dreaded Seinfeld curse appears to be Julia Louise Dryfuss who enjoys success with The New Adventures of Old Christine. Jason Alexander has gone through two shows already and now has a recurring role on Everybody Hates Chris on the CW network. Michael Richards also has had his share of bad luck with two sitcoms that tanked after less than a month (we'll get more into his story in a minute). Now, Jerry himself has fallen victim to his own curse. Maybe rather than coming out of retirement and doing stand-up comedy again, Jerry should have flown under the radar and stayed home with the wife and two kids. Jerry who was in the market for a new dwelling place, got himself a real estate agent with dollar signs in her eyes. This lady who was obviously taking advantage of Jerry was showing homes in New York. Jerry wasn't impressed by what he saw and parted ways with the woman. A month had passed and Jerry found a place on his own and his former real estate agent finds out about this and decides to sue the guy. For what? "Breach of contract". Originally seeking several hundred thousand dollars for her efforts, Seinfeld settled out of court where she willingly accepted $100,000. Let that be a lesson to you ham and eggers shopping for a new house...greed is one place where prejudice doesn't exist!
• I really don't find it necessary to bring up the Michael "Kramer" Richards rant from a couple of months ago however, Richards is still using Chap-Stick after all the ass kissing he had to do for the racial slurs against black audience members at a comedy club appearance. Keeping that story in mind, what's America going to do about this Isaiah Washington of Grey's Anatomy? This guy is homophobic, and his being outspoken about the gay community came to a head after the awards show the other night. So they say, supposedly at least one or two people on that show happen to be gay. Now, normally anyone else would get fired for those remarks...not Mr. Washington. ABC has given this guy a free pass to say he's sorry. No way ABC! An "I'm sorry" ain't gonna cut the mustard. Michael Richards has been more black in recent months than a black person. On one episode of Seinfeld, Kramer who was dating a black woman was set to meet her family for dinner. He fell asleep in a tanning booth. Now, that should have been enough for the guy. With Isaiah Washington, let him do service at an AIDS clinic or the YMCA. Pull this guy off the show and screw him like the screw job that Michael Richards got!

"Ditka dishes dirt AND, Nintendo's Wii: People are dying to get it!"

• 
  What in the hell is wrong with "Iron Mike" Ditka? What I should ask is why does Chicago actually give a crap about what Da Coach has to say? The sun has set years ago on his successful career as a player and as a Coach. Remember his stint with The Saints? A hurricane like Katrina would have been a blessing in disguise to put an end to what was a miserable season. Now with Ditka enjoying retirement here in Chicago, he spends his time on the golf course and hanging with patrons at his restaurant chomping on his stogie and overseeing the kitchen staff as they prepare a triple bypass on a plate. A big, big steak served with a baked potato loaded with sour cream and butter. Let's not forget that Mike has sampled all the dishes before they made their debut on the menu...this is what landed Iron Mike at Northwestern Memorial Hospital a few years ago. Now, guess what? Mike's blood pressure is shooting through the roof and ESPN radio may very well kill the old cuss. When asked about who he favors for this Sunday's game, he said he could care less. "I'm a Sports Analyst" he said. "It wouldn't be right for me to predict anything. All I know is, I was with The Bears and with The Saints, and neither one liked me. I'm proud to say that both teams fired me." He then made a point to put the screws to Bears management who he claims, failed to open up their wallets when he was crying for help. After his tyrade, Ditka has refused all interviews with the media. Seems as though Mike has a special place in his heart for The Saints. I don't know why...he took a bad franchise and made it worse by driving it into the ground. I wouldn't count on watching the game at his place. He's a bitter, bitter man that's full of jealousy. While he's tinkering around with Arena Football, the big boys are on their way to the Super Bowl (maybe). Yeah Mike, Chicago made you rich...too bad you only got us there once!
• The things a Mother does for her children. Maybe you've heard about the radio station out in California that held a contest where hopefuls had the possibility of winning Nintendo's new Wii video game system. It was a somewhat simple task. They had to guzzle down as much water as they could without getting sick or using the restroom. The one contestant came in to the studio before work and thought this challeng was a piece of cake. Things took a turn for the worst after the woman finished over 3 gallons of water in a matter of minutes. All the hootin' and hollerin' by the five staffers came to an abrupt halt when the woman keeled over. Citing "poor judgement", management terminated the entire staff. Now, such shenanigans are popular on college campuses as a part of hazing (yes, it still takes place). Such an occurance is called "water intoxication" and like liquor, it gets you drunk first, and then kills you next. These jackasses can't understand what they did wrong! Next time, maybe they should stick to having contestants kiss a car for a few days...that is, if they find a job. Puzzling thing is, no mention if the woman's kids got their Nintendo considering their Momma died.
  

"Oh boy! More troubles in Hollywood AND, Saying goodbye to Springer"

• How about that Lindsay Lohan? Taking a look at her top half, I'd be thrilled to call her my girlfriend for a weekend or so. Well, Miss Lohan seems to be in a race with Paris Hilton over who can have the most car accidents/DUI's. Maybe we can put Paula Abdul into the mix too! Lindsay already cracked up a couple cars. Chalk one up for Paris who simply got a DUI. Common sense is a stranger to Paris who's only other blunder was not knowing where the gas tank on her car was. As far as Lindsay goes, not yet being 21 and entering rehab for a second time isn't a good thing for the career. She thought she had the program nailed when she told "People" magazine several months ago that she's been attending AA for over a year and considered herself a success for not getting drunk seven days before the interview. I say, Geez...good luck in rehab and hope to see you naked in some bad movie on Cinemax at three in the morning!
• I knew this was coming...Jerry Springer's sidekick Steve has just signed a deal with NBC to have his own talk show. Steve leaves 14 years of loyal service to Jerry behind. Oddly enough, Steve will be sharing studio space with Jerry at NBC Tower while the studio next door once occupied by Jenny Jones remains vacant. Steve assures us that his show will be...well, different. His and every one else. I hope this won't be the start of the next wave of chit-chat. Perhaps if Jerry were to call it quits, maybe Steve would have a chance. ...No dice. Steve promises that he'll be there to help people because he's a genuinely caring person. OK, how long until we se a food fight or a naked guy in a tub of baked beans? Yucko!