As Red Sox fans, most of us feel an unshakable bond with Cubs fans. For many, many years, both clubs suffered through bad teams, bad personalities, bad public relations and bad luck. Both teams experienced championship droughts that didn’t just span multiple years, it spanned multiple generations. We got the monkey off our back here in Boston in 2004, but those poor Cubs fans. For many years, the Cubs weren’t expected to win – they were just one of those teams who, when looking at the April 1st roster, you just knew weren’t going to challenge. The last few years, though, have got to be particularly trying. The Cubs should have advanced to the Series in ’03. They should have made the playoffs in ’04. They always “should have.” The picture above is a screen grab of Derek Lee’s day on Sunday, which is a microcosm of how 2006 is going for the Cubs. He singlehandedly left 10 men on base and struck out three times in six plate appearances and he’s missed half the season due to injury. The team is 34-54 and here at the All-Star break, they’re playing out the string. The time is now to blow the whole thing up and start over. Trade Prior and Wood to whomever will take them and build from the ground up. It’s time. I see more upside today for the Marlins than I do for the Cubs and that makes me sad. I love the Cubs.
Hey, check this out! Seems some dude from Canada started out with a paperclip and used Craigslist to barter many times over and ended up with a house! It sounds insane, but yes, I’ll say it again: he started with a paperclip and ended up with a house. How industrious! File that one under why the internet is awesome.
The other night after our hockey game, I had a brief conversation with a friend who was telling me that he’s going to see the band Asia in a few weeks. After getting over my disbelief that Asia is still together and touring, I started thinking about how drastically things have changed in the music business. Asia had 2 or 3 real hits, but they will always be filed into the one-hit wonder bin. Back then, that was the exception to the norm. One-hit wonders were a novelty. Most hits on the radio came from established acts with staying power. Today, we’ve seen a complete reversal. I can’t think of a single band that has launched their career in the last 5-10 years who has staying power. Now an established act is the exception to the norm. Why? Well, it’s all neatly laid out for you here. Many factors have contributed to the role music is playing today, but author Chris Anderson (he of “long tail” fame) puts it all together wonderfully in this must-read piece. Read it, won’t you?