Cubs misery, Eck's mustache, and Walking with Dinosaurs.

-Maybe the Cubs are trying to help their fans and just get the disappointment out of the way early. That's what they did last year. Fans of many teams would rather get to the NLCS or the World Series before taking a kick in the stones, but not Cubs fans... they've been kicked so much, in so many ways, it's better to see it coming.

-My friends Heather Burnside and Shawn Terrell were at Wrigley for game one. For four innings, I received all kinds of texts with cool pictures and lots of exclamation points. Since the 5th inning, nothing. I understand. Then again, how can you not have fun in Wrigleyville.

-Hey Dennis Eckersly, 1982 called. It wants its mustache back. Seriously, that guy looks my high school Senior picture, and that is a source of endless embarrassment to me. That TBS crew is a sight. Eck looks ready for a plaid sports coat and Cal Ripken is suddenly Steve Wilkos.

-Good to see Casey Blake driving in runs for the Dodgers. Casey's a good guy. He's wearing the beard from my Freshman year of college. Another bad idea for me that ruined a semester's worth of picture memories.

-Twins fans should feel ripped off. They won the regular season series against the White Sox and, at the very least, that should have been worth hosting the one game playoff. However, it will be fun to hear Ozzie for at least another week.

-I know Chase Utley likes endorsement dollars as much as the next guy, but does he really expect us to attribute his baseball success to skin care? "I could be a Major Leaguer too, if I just moisturize more often!"


-Congrats to I-Cubs GM Sam Bernabe on being the PCL executive of the year. Sam's a winner.


-The American League home run leader had 37. 37! Who was it that said steroids don't help you hit a baseball farther?

-NFL bust Tony Mandarich now admits he was on 'roids? I'm shocked. What's next, NBA players smoke a lot of weed.

-The late Wally Hilgenberg was born in Marshalltown, but he grew up in Wilton. Thank you to the viewers who gently corrected me.

-Good to hear the Chinese gymnasts were cleared, even though several, as Andy famously said, needed car seats. No way the IOC was going to embarrass China after the Beijing Olympics were such a runaway success.

-95KGGO Arena is now Buccaneer Arena. I think that means if you want to sponsor the arena, you can have your name on it. "Shane From Marshalltown Arena" anyone...

-I hear Rusty Wallace wants to drive Sprint Cup next year for DEI, but ABC/ESPN won't allow it. He's under contract as a broadcaster, and the contract says no racing.

-Walking with Dinosaurs at Wells Fargo Arena is a rare combination of entertaining and educational. Kids love it, but there are more than a few saucer-eyed adults. I had to drag Andy Fales out of there.

-The Mentalist is the best new show I've seen on TV, but there was a big dropoff in quality from show 1 to show 2.

-Can't wait to see The Express. It looks predictable, but the story is so good, they don't need to embellish. My wife doesn't know about the big Ernie Davis plot twist, so she won't see it coming like those of us who follow college football closely.

-The new Roosevelt mascot is fantastic. It's a 13 foot tall Teddy Roosevelt carrying a big stick. You can see video at http://www.desmoinesregister.com/ My buddy Todd Bailey shot the footage.

-The Blue Moon piano bar brought Andy a case of water today. Andy called the place out for charging $2 for a glass of water, even when you're just trying to hydrate or sober up.

-I think it's going to be another tough weekend of D1 college football around here. The Hawkeye meltdown should continue after a visit to East Lansing, and Kansas should win in Ames, and we're not talking about basketball. If KU can reach the next level, why not ISU? The Cyclones have never been there.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see you again soon.
Keith