The Tribe has reported to Spring Training and that means Opening Day and baseall season is not that far off.  You may have heard that MLB is thinking about expanding and drastically changing its post season formula in 2022.  (BTW 2 years off - yeah, I know)

This is a very radical change that you can Google because you need an hour, and an advanced degree from MIT to fully understand it.  But that isn't to say it's a bad thing.  Because it's probably not.  Baseball is THE game with the largest amount of traditionalists.  And that's OK.  They don't want any change. But that is a failure to fully look around and to acknowledge everything is changing in the world, not just in baseball.  And it starts with people.  People are different than they used to be. 

We want different things now. New approaches, and many want their sports to mirror their entertainment lives.  BTW, sports overall, is not "sport" anymore, it is entertainment now, by a long shot.  The new format would include, far more teams, more and shorter series, first round byes for some, and possibly a reality style TV show and format where some teams could pick their next opponents. This does sound entertaining, with more drama, and more personal off field buzz, and far more TV coverage.  This is appealing for many fans. It would match many aspects about many peoples busy lives, and would get people talking about baseball in the office and on social media, and that is absolutley what MLB needs.

Many were unhappy about the current 1 game playoff with more wild cards instituted a few years ago, but that has been more than great, giving the late regular season far more meaning.  This new format would also benefit medium to small market teams too and that is essential to baseballs future.  Truth is, MLB has changed post season formulas many times.  Heck, all World Series games used to be played in the daytime till 1971!  They have morphed from just two league champions, to two league divisions, to three league divisions, wild card teams, to even the playoffs themselves. 

Change is unstoppable and undefeated, and this will happen. And in time the new will become the old and everything will be fine.  The good news is, we may be watching the World Series from the Thanksgiving Table and I'm good with that!

Over the weekend, Windy and I made a trip downtown Cleveland to take in a show at the Cleveland Theater District, and we found ourselves hungry afterwards, so we slid over the the Hofbrauhaus Of Cleveland.

It's what it says it is, a German themed restaurant on Chester across from the bus station.  The beers are huge, the music is great and the place was really alive.  I love places like this.  We didn't feel like waiting, so we sat at the bar and ate and had sort-of-huge beers.   (You can get a full liter!!)

Being 100% honest, I have no real idea what we ate.  Niether of us really did. We just kind of looked and pointed on the menu on what looked really good at that moment!  But it was great! She had some kind of fried sausage patty thing, with a fried egg on top and a side or two. 

I had some kind of huge wurst platter with potatoes and sauerkraut.  The food was sensational, and we had a very good time there. 

And since it was only the two of us, we waved off the "shotski."  Where they line up 4 or 5 shots, on a mounted ski, and everyone has to shoot them down.  We saw plenty that were willing to do it though.

Don't be afraid of the shotski, and don't be afraid of the Hofbrauhaus Of Cleveland.  We can't wait to go back!  Many more times!

The Oscars are this weekend, and the list of new movies in wide release is small.  But this could be a hit.

Harley Quinn:Birds Of Prey

Here comes Margot Robbie and a nice supporting cast in this action flick, that has a lot of people excited, as Harley Quinn comes to the screen in her own flick. There has been a ton of TV ads for this, and if history is our guide, many times that can mean that the test audiences may be luke warm to it.

I have seen some very good reviews on this, and I have also read some that trash it hard!  It seems to be polarizing, and that's not rare for this kind of flick.  By all accounts, this could be a hit.  But will people go see this, or are they simply excited that they made this movie, to be viewed another day, and in another way?

It's been fun to watch Luke Combs rise to the top of the Country Charts, and World.  He is the biggest new star in a very ling time.  His "everydayness" is a huge reason, and of course the music is nothing short of great. 

A few years ago, he was a guest on our morning show, and he was a cordial interview.  He was funny, real, and ready for the moment.  He sang some live for us and we played a few songs of his too.  No one knew him.  We've done this many times before on Scott And Sarah, and many have gone on to big things.  Maren Morris, Kip Moore, Florida Georgia Line, Mattie and Tae, and others. 

We liked Luke Combs, and when he left, we all felt like he was a great guy, and a talented one too.  But who knew?  It reminded me of when I emceed an unknown act at the Missouri State Fair in the late 1980's, A guy named Garth Brooks.

I will never forget that morning. Luke Combs - how fun!

Everyone loves awards, and our business is no exception.  This week WQMX was nominated again for the ACM Medium Market Station Of The Year, and it's a proud time around here. We've been nominated before, and won the station award in 2015.  It was a great honor for all of us.  But the thanks goes to you.

You support everything we do here are WQMX, and we are so appreciative.  Charity events, ticket stops, you flood concerts big and small, and are always there.  You are why we do this. You are why any station is here, and for those stations or personalities that choose not to believe that, they are wrong.  Radio is a team sport. It's an honor to work for such a great radio station, with the best listeners!

The morning show has also been nominated six times by the ACM's but has not won the top prize yet, but it is an honor to be included in the top five shows in the country. The show has also been nominated a couple times by the CMA's but has not topped that one yet either.  I did win a CMA during my time in Florida in 1997, and it was a tremendous honor, that is forever humbling.

Fact is, no matter what body is nominating, what year, what category, the thanks still goes to you, the listener. We are thankful to you. We know you get up every morning, and listen all day, and we are so grateful.  Yes, the entire staff works tirelessly as this is a demanding field, but you make it worthwhile.

Let's hope this is our second win, for the station, and for you.

Thank you for always being there!

When WQMX won the ACM Station Award in 2015 - felt good to hold it!

"The unique mark of a champion, is knowing when it's time to play like one.... "

With Superbowl 54 over this morning there is a new champion in the NFL. Football is not my favorite sport, baseball is -  and golf.  But I do like football for what it is.  It's not the hitting, tackling, passing or even the awful officiating.  It's the most bonding sport there is, and that's what I like most about it by far.

It's the quintessential team game.  No part works without the other part working first.  I can't do my job, till you do yours.  My dad used to tell me when I played, if you play for guy next to you, and not yourself, you'll win a lot of games.  He was right.  Good lesson in life as well.  Football is a game of war, you're all in the same battle, you all have that in common and it's galvanizing.

Teams that become champions get there because they are tightly welded and rise up, when others do not rise as far. Collectively they understand the instant when glory is within reach, and they do what needs to be done. It is an awakening of sorts, an unspoken moment silently understood by all within it, and who are determined to grasp it. Football is unlike baseball, or golf, as you can out-physical the opposition.  In essence, you can want it more by tapping the champion within you that makes it happen. Looking for, and finding it, at the precise and correct moment.

The great ones have it in all sports, Brady, Tiger, Jeter, Gretzky, Jordan.....Kobe.  Truth is we can all be champions in our own lives, if we simply recognize those moments  - when it's time to play like one.

This year makes it 30 years now for the Akron Rotary Chili Open, at Hale Farm And Village.  That's a long time for any charity event to go on, and there should be handshakes all the way around.  In the first 29 years, this event has raised about 4 million dollars, and that's impressive.   The guys came in this week to talk about it on our show, and we at WQMX are proud to be a sponsor of this terrific day out.

In conjunction with Wayne Homes, this event, this year, will send about 1,900 kids to the Akron Rotary Camp.  Kids with disabilities will get to go and spend a week there, thanks to your generosity.  So, what is the Chili Open?  Well, extreme golf, on 5 short nine hole golf courses.  Plus there are tons of games, raffles, a chili eating contest and more.

I've played in the open a number of times, and it's a great time.  Golf, (sort of) Whitey's Chili, and plenty to eat and drink from 9-1:30.  This is really fun, and the 30 years speaks for itself.   It's unique, and rewarding to see so many companies and sponsors come together and make this a huge success every year.  If this is your first year, leave the golf bag at home, and bring the old rusty 7-iron. 1 club is all you need.

Sign up here, and get out there this Saturday and support those that are worth suppporting, The Akron Rotary.

I was going through some things over the weekend, and I across a scrapbook that I'm glad I did.  It was from high school and before, and this picture jumped out at me. My first real car.  It was not my first, but you know what I mean. My first car was a 1970 Chevelle Malibu that was old and in really rough shape. Probably shounds a lot like yours..

THIS was my first real car.   A 1974 Chevelle Malibu Classic 2-door, that I bought from a dealer that no longer exists.  He was our next door neighbor when I was in high school.  I designed this car as it sits in this pic!  It was in rough shape when I first saw it, as it was about 5 years old worn, and faded.  But the bones were good, it ran great and had a big engine in it. It was plenty quiet as it ran, but it was very fast!  So, I had it painted, the mag wheels installed, with raised white letter tires. I had them install airshocks (Google them), and a CB radio. They replaced the carpet, and shampood the interior.  All of it costing me every dime I had as I worked part time at Hospitality Inns  (Google them too)

My friend Bill installed a huge sound system, and he pinstriped it.  I was so proud of that car as I drove it to high school, (but not in the winter).  Bill had a 1974 Monte Carlo, my friend Don (Beef) had a 1974 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, and our friend Joe had a 1974 Pontiac Formula Firebird.  WE parked them next to each other in school. We loved those cars then.  We all worked on each others cars too to keep them going, and looking great.  Fantastic memories!

I had to wait about a month to get it from the dealer as the work was being done, and it was the longest month of my life.  And on the day I got it, it was in the front showroom of a BUICK dealership.  They were that proud of the work they had done on it.  And as I drove it away, I wondered how I was EVER going to pay $75 a month for 18 months to pay it off!  That was it! 

I should have kept that car.   But we have all owned a car we can say that about.

 Great old song from Jeff Carson!

I was flipping through my phone today and I ran across a few pics I had forgotten I had taken. 

These pics were taken from the Rapid Transit Station Platform at West 150th and Puritas on the Red Line.  I was waiting for the train to take me to Tower City, as I was going to a Tribe game.  (BTW $5.50 round trip, best value around when going to a game or concert) 20 minute ride, and a ten minute walk and save a ton!  Consider it next time - perfect!

Long Train

As I was standing there, I saw this stationary train, as there is a HUGE switchyard nearby.  Miles of trains being hooked up.  And as my mind wandered, I was thinking that so many things have changed over the past 100 years, a train, in its basics, has not.  Not many things can say that.  Planes have become flying city blocks as opposed to the Wright Brothers.  Cars are on the verge of driving themselves, and ships are now floating airports, and towns.  A train still is a bunch of cars, hooked together, riding on two rails.

Granted, they are faster, longer, safer and more modern, but the premise is still exactly the same as it was when the two sides shook hands in Utah, and the cross country railway was finished 150 years ago.  And are you like me, and every time you see a train flying by you, you wonder where they are headed?  Or what is in some of those cars? And I know very few that don't want to take a passenger train trip at some point.  And finally, how great is it hearing a very distant train whistle on a summer night with the windows open?  One of my favs...

A long train ride is a goal of mine in the next year of so.  I'm doing it.  And as Windy and I will pass the frieght trains rolling past us in the opposite direction, we will wonder, where they are going?

Over the last number of years we take the care of our pets, especially dogs a bit more seriously.  Not to say we didn't before, but today dogs are more like a part of the family than ever before. Their food is better, good meds, they live longer, and overall we pamper them more.  My Husky, Juneau, is very important to me.  I adopted her about 9 years ago from a non-kill shelter after she had been on the run for a long time, and now she going to be 10 this year.  And although her health is fantastic, I know she will one day pass on before I do. Lesson one, on day one, when you adopt a dog.

Juneau

One of the things I have done for her is overnight board her at a terrific place run by the amazing Georjette Thomas, Pay It Forward For Pets, in the Merriman Valley. They are a non-profit organization that has been so since day one.   I have known Georjette many years and I have never met a more passionate person for animal welfare, and I don't think I ever will.  Her dedication to making the world better for animals that need a voice, is beyond extraordinary.  By taking Juneau there while I travel, or am out of town with The Beautiful Windy, has been a great thing for her.

The set up there is so revolutionary, Juneau has grown to be much wiser, kinder and better adjusted by her stays there. Georjette's mission is to get as many shelter dogs into forever homes.  I urge you strongly to adopt a dog, or cat when it is your turn. The need is great, and it never ends!

Dogs are loved there and they know it. They socialize with other loved dogs.  Overnight dogs get thier own suite, and during the day there is plenty of fun for all. Prices are competive and they are NON-PROFIT!  I would not leave Juneau with anyone else other than with the amazing people at PIFFP. Not only do they love her and take care of her, she's a better dog at home, for staying there occasionally.  The staff and volunteers have an absolute, and unconditional love for animals, and that is evident the second you walk through the door.

Keep them in mind, these are local people worth supporting. You can support them with your business, or with your monotary donation here. Proud to be a client!