It’s been a long and strange 2020, that much is certain. But on the plus side, breweries learned how to be creative…how to adapt…and still brew amazing beer. We saw the emergence of buying beer online and picking up curbside. We learned how to drink outdoors, sometimes in the cold as we tried to find out how cold it could get while those propane heaters … Continue reading Favorite Beers in 2020
This past week, I was supposed to be in Cooperstown with my son, Austin, and ten of his best buds and their families, spending a week bonding, competing, learning, and stinking up a community bunk house. COVID had other ideas, unfortunately (not to mention those who’ve lost their health and lives to this terrible virus). Just has this disease has put most of the world … Continue reading Who’s Missing Baseball?
One of the most common questions I get asked in my “new” position of bar owner is “what’s good?”. As in, “what’s the best thing on tap”, “what hazy IPA should I buy for a friend”, “what do YOU like right now?”. It’s interesting to me now, because I was always the one asking those questions…reading other people’s opinions and reviews. Now I’ve come to … Continue reading Favorite Beers in 2019
It’s the morning after another Cubs season ended prematurely and I’m trying to figure out where things have gone off the rails in Cubland. Couple of observations, but love to hear what you think. In 2015, had the Cubs lost that Wild Card game to the Pirates…fans would have still gobbled up playoff t-shirts and hats and celebrated a “great” season. Fast forward past a … Continue reading Taking Stock of Cubdom Post Wild Card
Deon and I are still rolling along! Thrilled to share that we’ve posted two more episodes of our, The FadeAway with Deon Thomas and Eric Schmidt. We promise not to be ALL Illini ALL the time, but yes, these are two more Illini-centric episodes. The first one is with Nancy Fahey, the new Women’s Basketball Coach at the University of Illinois. She’s had an incredible … Continue reading The FadeAway Returns!
It’s been a long time of planning and coordinating schedules, but I’m happy to announce I’m partnering with Illini basketball legend Deon Thomas on a podcast. “The FadeAway with Deon Thomas and Eric Schmidt” is officially online, starting with two episodes. The first one helps reacquaint us with Deon and what he’s done post-Illinois. He’ll catch us up with his long, and successful, overseas career, … Continue reading Launching the FadeAway!
Bear with me on this one. My guy, Tab Bamford (writer of the Blackhawks blog Committed Indians and Managing Director for La Vida Baseball…check these both out, AWESOME work!), shared a recent article about the predictability of the NBA Playoffs. The discussion on his original post centered on how we arrived at two “super teams” that everyone presumed would meet for a third straight time … Continue reading Are Analytics Good for Fans?
It’s been five days, and if you’re a sports fan, you’re no doubt aware of the bloodletting at ESPN. Reports are that approximately 100 folks either have been, or targeted to be, laid off. James Miller, one of the foremost experts in all things ESPN, reports about half of these names will be recognizable to folks digesting ESPN content, either via TV, Magazine, or digital. … Continue reading Will ESPN Have the Same Fate as Newspapers?
I couldn’t sleep last night. And when I did, my dreams drifted to the Cubs. More specifically, “covering” the Cubs for some dreamland media outlet. While I don’t often remember much of my dreams, I distinctly remember being in a dugout and trying to capture a candid photo of Anthony Rizzo on my phone. And he noticed I was doing that, and kept smiling at … Continue reading In a Daze
I’ve been kind of sitting on some thoughts for several weeks now, all interweaving with the issue du jour (at least until the next crazy and divisive subject comes up on social media) – Colin Kaepernick’s peaceful protests to bring awareness to, and meaningful discussion of, racial inequality in our country. But this week’s latest issues in Tulsa and Charlotte have inspired me to pen … Continue reading The White Man’s Sport
In the Schmidt House 