- 5 months ago
Frank The Tank
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00:00Frank Waltz, Frank Waltz, it's time for Frank Waltz, Frank talks while Frank Waltz, it's
00:13time for Frank Waltz.
00:20I am joined right now by a Chicago legend, Mike North.
00:24You know, he's been doing radio, TV, sports forever.
00:29And you know, it's just about anything there is over the last 50 years.
00:32He's like a wealth of knowledge.
00:33He's seen it all.
00:35He's been there.
00:35He's been there for the Bears Super Bowls.
00:38He's been there for the Cubs breaking the curse and the White Sox.
00:45Which reminds me, 69 Cubs lose to the Mets.
00:50I tell my dad, I'm dropping out of school.
00:53I'm going to work at the Cub World Series game.
00:57And then you guys come up and steal our hearts.
01:01Ryan, Seaver, Gentry.
01:03But it was the everyday players like Tommy Agee.
01:06Creon Jones, for the second in the league in hitting that year.
01:10And looked at the van by the river, I heard.
01:12Still hitting.
01:14His batting average that season is still the best single season batting average in match history.
01:19The players on that team were just a team.
01:23They said, we'll do our job.
01:25A lot of platoons on that team.
01:26A lot of platooning on that team, too.
01:27Absolutely.
01:28And the Cubs had no platooning.
01:30It was, you talked about Clendenin.
01:32Well, Clendenin split time at first with Ed Cranepool.
01:36And then in right field, you had the flower child, Ron Sobota, and Art Shamsky.
01:41And we had a catcher named Randy Humvee that, in the hottest summer probably in decades,
01:46caught 158 games and lost exactly 15 pounds over the course of the second half of the season.
01:53They couldn't hit the ball out of the infield.
01:55Even though they played decent ball, I think the Mets won something like 25 out of their last 32 or 33 games.
02:02Oh, the Mets had an insane run.
02:04The Mets had an insane run.
02:06Of course, you had the black cat game, too.
02:09Well, I believe a relative of yours like that, Lucy.
02:12You won't give it.
02:13And then it has to circle the guy.
02:15Forget about running across him.
02:17He goes, you know what I think I'll do?
02:18I'll embarrass you more.
02:19It was Santa in the on-deck circle.
02:22The black cat goes in.
02:23He just circles him.
02:24And he goes, oh, my God.
02:26And that was it.
02:27That seemed to sink their whole show.
02:29And then the cat went down into the dugout and down into the clubhouse, too.
02:35I think then he became general manager, the way you're talking about it.
02:38I mean, it's unbelievable.
02:39I actually got a black cat bobblehead.
02:41That's great.
02:42I mean, they actually gave that out?
02:44At the Brooklyn Cyclones game, yeah.
02:46Wow.
02:47They gave out a black cat bobblehead.
02:49You know, if they had not broken the team, the conference up into divisions, we hated
02:56the Mets more than we hated the rival now, St. Louis Cardinals.
03:01We couldn't stand the Mets for what they did, but they did it to themselves.
03:06You talked about platooning.
03:08We had no platooning.
03:10We had Paul Popovich, and we had like Willie Smith, and that was it.
03:13And you played all those games, no night games, under the blazing sun.
03:18I believe Ernie Banks, for the first time in his career, said, can we just play one today?
03:23I'll play two today.
03:24I'm exhausted, for God's sake, okay, Leo?
03:26And Leo DeRocher actually left the team, I don't know if it was 69, went on a weekend
03:32trip to his stepson's summer camp with his then-wife, former actress Lorraine Day, ladies
03:39and gentlemen.
03:40Yeah, we're historians, right, Frank?
03:42Yep.
03:42You know, Lorraine Day.
03:44Yeah, I'm a big fan.
03:45She was just divorced, and Leo...
03:50You know that?
03:51Yep.
03:52That a boy.
03:52Leo was just hooking up with her, and because the scandal, and also that he had gambling friends,
04:01Oh, yeah.
04:01that's why he got suspended for the 1947 season.
04:03I'm going to tell you something, Leo DeRocher was, he ran him into the ground, he had no
04:09idea, he didn't like Banks, he was too nice a guy.
04:12Leo famously said, nice guys finish last.
04:15And Leo wasn't a nice guy, but he proved us wrong.
04:18They finished last.
04:20Leo DeRocher finished last.
04:22Oh, that was 60, uh, 66, 66.
04:25We had guys like Fergie Jenkins, and guys that were, you know, Larry Bola, we started to
04:31choir, the Phillies helped us, helped us win.
04:34But Fergie Jenkins had six 20-game seasons, and never got diddly.
04:39Fergie was great, but the Cubs have four Hall of Famers, and they never won anything.
04:44Banks, Williams, Santo, Jenkins, and they never won anything.
04:49That's pretty controversial in my world.
04:54Did Williams actually get part of that, that last Oakland title?
04:58He said, no, he went to Oakland.
04:59He might have.
05:00I know you went to Oakland.
05:03You know, I got to be honest with you, it's a little Africa hot today.
05:07I'm not used to walking.
05:08I mean, you know what?
05:09I got a dog.
05:10If you're going, forget about gym membership.
05:13You've been doing good with the walking.
05:14If you have a dog, you're walking.
05:16You know, one of my all-time favorite Chicago sports moments.
05:19I can't wait to hear this.
05:211983.
05:22Uh-huh.
05:23Lee Elia, the greatest ever rant of all time.
05:28Les Robstein, who was my very good friend, who also worked at WSCR 670 with me back in
05:35the day, was the guy that had the tape, was the guy that had the mic and broke the story.
05:41It's one of the great, great rants of all time.
05:44And it will go down in history.
05:46Lee Elia calling the Cubs fans, 10, 15% of you out here because you don't have jobs.
05:53You know, I mean, just beating up the fan base.
05:55And, of course, he didn't last long.
05:57You know.
05:57That was pretty much it.
05:59Yeah.
05:59That was pretty much it for them.
06:00And the Cubs were quietly putting together a good team.
06:03They, 84, you know, Mets and Cubs both came up at the same time.
06:08It was like, they were both, like, bottom barrel teams.
06:11And then, all of a sudden, 84, they're in a pennant race.
06:17Yeah.
06:18Well, in 84, Sutcliffe was just like Arrieta was in 2016, a dominant pitcher.
06:24But I'm going to tell you something.
06:26The 2016 team, we thought they'd win three.
06:29They fizzled out, Rizzo.
06:31I still don't know what happened there.
06:33Yeah.
06:33Well, Madden, I don't think, Madden did it with, you know, he brought in, like, animals
06:37and he did all this stuff, they tried to make excuses for themselves the next year.
06:44We're going to be hungover.
06:45What?
06:45You didn't win for 100 years.
06:47You guys are tired because you won one time.
06:49But I believe this team here, and I'm going to make a prediction, PCA is going to be in
07:0015 years.
07:01If he stays healthy, we'll make the Hall of Fame.
07:04I'm going to tell you, PCA is going to be next, he's going to be sitting next to Nolan
07:09Ryan someday.
07:11Yeah.
07:12What is that supposed to mean, though, Frank?
07:14You don't realize it.
07:16It's going to be, it's going to be, this is basically Brock for Brolio.
07:20No doubt about it.
07:21No doubt about it, because I'm going to tell everybody this.
07:24Lou Brock, you watch him with the Cubs, he had 245 lifetime with the Cubs, four years.
07:28But PCA has more power, was faster than Brock, I've seen him, basically can catch anything
07:38hit to him.
07:39He's got power, he's got it all.
07:41He stays healthy, look out.
07:44I know, but that's all right.
07:46Javier Baez, two miserable months of Javier Baez swinging at anything you throw up there.
07:53It didn't even have to be in the vicinity of home plate.
07:55And we got PCA for him, yeah.
07:58And I'm going to tell you something about Javier.
08:02Last year, the Detroit Tigers won more games, did better without him, when he was out of
08:08the lineup in the second half of the season.
08:10It's like a history lesson of what goes on, ladies and gentlemen, Frank and I covering it.
08:14I'm going to tell you something, he's back this year, they act like he's doing phenomenal
08:18things.
08:19He's hitting 270, 275, he's got 9, 10 homers maybe.
08:23I mean, he's still not worth the money they paid him.
08:27No.
08:27And never will be.
08:29You're down on your mess.
08:30You're down on your mess.
08:31It hurts me.
08:32And I still think you've got to get an optometrist or some sort of, I mean, the eyeglasses that
08:37you go through, I go, I'm at home watching the walk in, no, Frank, I'm looking at my
08:41eyeglasses, no, no, I can't take it, I can't do it, this guy, this son of a gun, and then
08:48you've got a sculpture, a sculpture of a car that got him out.
08:51I threw a bunch of my old glasses out, but I still have some of them.
08:54Yeah.
08:54Well, you ever try to fix them?
08:57Sometimes, but, and our catcher, he was going to be a good player.
09:04Francisco Ofarez.
09:06I mean, the Mets catcher, Francisco Ofarez.
09:11You would have told me Francisco Ofarez, I would have said, okay, he's in White North.
09:13Hey, how are you?
09:14What's going on, baby?
09:16Thanks, buddy.
09:16How are you?
09:17Who's the best coach?
09:18That wasn't a plant.
09:20Usually you'd have a plant, but no.
09:22Yeah, right?
09:22Yeah.
09:23Hey, $40 to say that you're going to.
09:24Hey, come on, there's White North.
09:26We would never do that, but they know him.
09:29I love that.
09:30Yeah, thanks, and thanks, but talk to you later.
09:33Let's watch football.
09:34Football, yes.
09:36Got a big season coming up for the Bears.
09:39Big season.
09:40Yeah, another one.
09:41Another big season.
09:42We win.
09:43We've won four straight off seasons, Frank.
09:45We've won four.
09:46Well, Fields is going to be unbelievable.
09:49Oh.
09:51Caleb Williams, generational.
09:54Eberflus, whole new defensive scheme.
09:57I mean, I have heard for, I've been a fan since 1961.
10:01I went to the 63 Bear game against the Giants.
10:06They picked off what?
10:07Why did you tell like four times in that game?
10:08They beat the crap out of them.
10:09They would have been all put in jail for what they did to them.
10:11The guy bled from head to toe.
10:13Yeah, he's on the ground reading.
10:15I go to my uncle, this is great.
10:16He goes, yeah, this is great.
10:19Just take one look.
10:20That's it.
10:21I never knew he was telling me the truth.
10:22I'll never see it again until 86 or 85 when they played.
10:26You know, it's a whole different ball game.
10:28But that was the coldest day of my life watching that 63 championship game.
10:31Frank Gifford and, you know, all the great, great teams.
10:37Del Schaffner from the Giants.
10:38I was a, when you were kids, we used to get football cards.
10:42Jimmy Patton.
10:43I mean, I know all the, Pat Summerall, you know.
10:47You know what I always like about the old football cards?
10:49The poses, like.
10:50Like this?
10:51Yeah.
10:52Yeah.
10:52Woody.
10:53Yeah.
10:54Woody.
10:54Woody.
10:54How would your, mine would be like this.
10:57A wide receiver where the ball's overthrown.
11:01Hey.
11:03Okay.
11:04We're going to take a picture of the football.
11:05Okay.
11:06Yeah.
11:07And then how about the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the Pat Summerall is always
11:10like running at the camp like this.
11:12You saved all your money.
11:15You get a, you got your money for a couple packs of baseball cards back in the day.
11:20You open up the pack.
11:21Football cards too.
11:22Just a headshot.
11:25Not good enough.
11:27Don't put that in the pack.
11:28They got to have these guys doing something.
11:30Just a headshot with no cap.
11:32You know.
11:33Wilbur Wood without a cap.
11:34He looks like a store manager at, you know, at Mariano's for God's sake.
11:38You know.
11:39So.
11:39I mean.
11:40I love football cards.
11:41That's what taught me the game.
11:42But really what taught me gambling was Jimmy the Greek.
11:45Oh.
11:45Jimmy the Greek.
11:46He's the, he's, he, that guy should be in the Hall of Fame.
11:49I don't, the football Hall of Fame.
11:50Because he brought more fans to the game.
11:52Well.
11:53By teaching them how to gamble than anybody in the history of the game.
11:56You know what that was his, like, big home run was, don't you?
12:00Uh.
12:01Let me think here.
12:03It was with an individual.
12:05A bet with an individual, wasn't it?
12:06Or was it a game?
12:07Super Bowl?
12:08Yep.
12:09That's what I figured.
12:10Yeah.
12:11He called the Jets Colt upset.
12:15Right.
12:16And they were getting 18 points.
12:18Yeah.
12:18And Joe Namath was my hero.
12:19And I'm, I, I was working at a delicatessen.
12:22And they had me work on Super Bowl Sunday.
12:24And there was a bar next door.
12:25I'm, I'm like 15.
12:27And I'm in the bar.
12:28They're, they can't even find me.
12:30And I'm watching this magical guy, Joe Namath.
12:3218 point favorites, Don Shula versus Weeb Eubank, the former coach.
12:37What a game.
12:38And what a perfectly called game by Namath.
12:40He didn't throw that many passes.
12:41No.
12:42And truthfully, he shouldn't have even been the Super Bowl MVP.
12:46Should have been Snell.
12:49Oh, I know.
12:51You can, there's an argument.
12:52He had two touchdowns.
12:53But Namath called his own plays.
12:55Namath was Namath.
12:57That's just one of those deals.
12:59You're right.
12:59I mean, there's probably a couple guys that could have gotten, I remember Johnny Sample.
13:05A lot of those guys, the Jets.
13:06And Earl Morald throwing it, missing the wide open Jimmy Orton.
13:11Yeah.
13:11He finally became the second straight quarterback.
13:13He always was.
13:14One of the better ones.
13:15But, you know, Johnny Unitas coming in was cool, too.
13:17And then he ended up going a couple years later.
13:20And after Bob Greasy went down.
13:22Miami.
13:23And helped the Dolphins have their undefeated season.
13:25Right.
13:26He couldn't win the big game.
13:27I knew you're a Met fan.
13:29You live in New Jersey.
13:31And that's right.
13:33Dan Marino.
13:34Dan Marino.
13:34Well, I know Dan.
13:35Good guy.
13:36I'm in the National Italian Sports Hall of Fame.
13:39And he's also in.
13:40So they used to come back every year here to Chicago.
13:43Dan Marino's one of the great guys.
13:45And if he had played on one Super Bowl winning team.
13:48Yeah.
13:48I mean, my God.
13:50I think he.
13:50Him in name have swung it as good as anybody I've ever seen.
13:53I think he's the closest thing in career rise to Ted Williams.
13:58Ooh.
13:59Yeah.
13:59Because Williams didn't win anything either.
14:01He just won all-star games.
14:02And he only went to one Super Bowl.
14:05While Williams only went to one World Series.
14:07And it was because basically they just couldn't ever put the right players around him.
14:12Well, look at Boston.
14:13Look at.
14:13Oh, the Yankee.
14:14The Bills.
14:16That's right.
14:17I mean, the Boston Red Sox could never get anywhere because the Yankees were built to win every year.
14:22You know.
14:24Well, the Red Sox.
14:26Some of the stuff is just.
14:27You know who?
14:28You don't want to hear a guy that was unapproachable?
14:31Speaking of the National Italian Sports Hall of Fame back in the day.
14:34And all Italians worshipped the ground.
14:37He walks on.
14:37Oh, Joe DiMaggio.
14:38Oh, my God.
14:39Forget about Pope John Paul.
14:41Or forget about any Italian Pope.
14:42Oh, God.
14:43Joe DiMaggio walks in the room.
14:44They start bowing.
14:45Okay.
14:46And the most aloof.
14:51I don't want to shake anybody's hand.
14:54Person I've ever seen.
14:55And he called himself the greatest ball player.
14:58He had the Yankees always announce.
15:01When Hank Aaron was alive.
15:02And, you know, Ted Williams was alive.
15:05I mean, Willie Mays was alive.
15:07And Joe DiMaggio's walking around going, announce me as the greatest living ball player.
15:12And I'm going, how does he get away with that?
15:14He was great.
15:14You know, when they had Yankee Old Timers Day.
15:17Yeah.
15:17And Mickey Mantle was still alive.
15:19He had to be announced after.
15:21Right.
15:22Mantle.
15:23He had to be announced last.
15:25They couldn't go.
15:26And Mickey Mantle.
15:27Mickey Mantle's got cancer.
15:29He's on his deathbed.
15:30Yep.
15:30Gives a video message.
15:32And then, and then, and now, Joe DiMaggio, the greatest player that ever lived.
15:37And he's always like this, walking out with the hair, like this.
15:40Oh, and, uh.
15:41And Mantle stepped on a sewer cover, hurt his knee, because DiMaggio at the last minute.
15:45Yeah.
15:45Didn't go, called him, called Mantle off the ball.
15:49Mantle hit this thing.
15:50Yeah, he always, and he always.
15:51This got to be one of the best episodes I've ever done, don't you think?
15:54He would always, like, disparage Mantle.
15:55He's always, like, blonde hair, pretty boy.
15:57Oh, my God.
15:58He had to be tired.
15:59Mickey Mantle.
16:00He won the triple crowd in 1956, and he'd go to touch shorts.
16:04Hello.
16:05My God.
16:07I mean, think about it.
16:08Let's put it this way.
16:09Mickey Mantle.
16:10He was tired from being tired.
16:11They talk about players, steroids being banned.
16:15Another thing that baseball recently banned, more recently, and the punishment for this
16:19is not even, like, that major, but if you get caught with it, it's like a 20-game suspension.
16:23Greenies, uppers.
16:25Oh, those were great.
16:26Pete Rose told me he lived on them.
16:28He lived on them every day.
16:29He said, you go into the locker room, Mike.
16:32He says, there's a bowl of them.
16:33Oh, yeah, no.
16:34You just go like, I'm ready to kill them.
16:36It wasn't even, like, it wasn't even hidden.
16:38It was just like, here you go.
16:40They handed them out like they were M&Ms.
16:42Yeah.
16:42I mean, it was just like everyone had them.
16:43Right, everybody had them, and then, you know, because it was the hangover cure for them.
16:46It was to get them zipped.
16:47Well, it's just like the 86 Mets would have been nothing without Greenies.
16:50I mean, come on.
16:52That was light compared to what they were doing.
16:55They're the greatest team of junkies that has ever won a World Series.
16:59I mean, look, I love Lenny Dykstra.
17:01Love him.
17:02Oh, he's a great guy.
17:03I love him.
17:04I love Darryl Strawberry.
17:06Watch yourself, Darryl.
17:08I love Darryl Strawberry.
17:09I love Gooden.
17:11I saw Gooden pitch in 86 against the Cubs.
17:13I go, holy Christ.
17:15But come on.
17:16My God, they were lit up.
17:18They were lit up more than Hall and Oates.
17:20They were lit up more than Leonard Skinner.
17:24There was a flight home.
17:26Hello.
17:27The flight home after they beat the Astros in the game six,
17:30they did like 30-something thousand damage to the airplane.
17:36Tear and put out the seats.
17:37But I don't know that they were nice gentlemen.
17:39Tear out the seats.
17:41The stewardesses were all just rolled.
17:42They were...
17:43Oh, yeah.
17:44Oh, wow.
17:45Sorry.
17:46The players and coaches were both...
17:48Who does that?
17:49In the airline bathroom, some of the wives were like getting freaky with each other.
17:58Really?
17:58Oh, you got to listen to this video that the players talk about.
18:03The craziest fight of all time.
18:05I'm going to have to check that out.
18:07I didn't know that.
18:08Look at Mikey.
18:09Mikey's got us working today.
18:11Look at this.
18:11Yes.
18:12Yeah.
18:12We're going all over today.
18:15I'm just glad we got this far and we didn't have to talk about the bulls.
18:19Oh.
18:19No, no, no.
18:20We're good.
18:20We can talk about Thibodeau.
18:24Don't move right here.
18:24But isn't this going to be dated?
18:26No, it doesn't matter.
18:29It don't matter because it's him.
18:30Yeah.
18:31That's what I'm telling you.
18:32And me because we're going to have some laughs.
18:33Now...
18:34Who edits this?
18:35Me.
18:36I'm going to throw you an extra scene though.
18:37Make us look good.
18:38Probably the next time, probably the next time he's here, we'll know who the Knicks coach
18:42is.
18:43Yeah, we better not.
18:44But, I mean, we hope so.
18:46Thibodeau was a bad move by them too.
18:48I mean...
18:49They're bringing...
18:49Who are they bringing in?
18:50Johnny Bailey or something?
18:52Nobody wants to work for them.
18:54Well, they keep asking people who have jobs.
18:57They wanted Billy Donovan.
18:58Oh, by the way, pal, I saw your little shot today at the Bulls.
19:02You are so pissed that I don't blame you.
19:04Yeah, they're the worst.
19:05They're the worst.
19:07They're rehiring losers.
19:09Yes, exactly.
19:10They're giving...
19:10Here we go.
19:11I have Big Cat in the office calling me Mikey Reinsdorf.
19:16Anyway, all I'm going to tell you is both cities got problems.
19:22One, you finally became successful in New York with the Knicks.
19:25So, they did the proper thing that they always do.
19:28Jim Dolan got together with some fans.
19:30They said, you know, we should have won this thing.
19:32So, he fired Thibodeau.
19:34And then, to put insult among injury, I wanted Billy Donovan to go.
19:40And they said, the Bulls gave him no...
19:44Didn't give him permission to go to the Knicks.
19:47And they just re-signed recently their general manager.
19:52Just a nightmare.
19:53All I'm going to tell you is this.
19:55Would you have been happy with Billy Donovan if he would have been the coach?
19:58No.
20:00That's what I'm trying to say.
20:01I don't think there's many coaches out there that you would hire that you'd want better than Thibodeau.
20:07Michael Malone, but it doesn't look like the Knicks even wanted to consider him.
20:12Yeah, no.
20:13I mean, it could end up being Michael Malone, but...
20:16I mean...
20:18They finally get to the Final Four.
20:21And then they do that.
20:23I just couldn't believe it.
20:24I mean, my God.
20:26Why would you do that?
20:26Nobody wants the word for him.
20:28I'm going to say that Thibodeau maybe not had the greatest conference finals, but...
20:33He made everybody forget Dolan was bad for five years.
20:36I mean...
20:37He...
20:39I'm going to tell you what's funny.
20:40Oklahoma City's top two players played more than Brunson.
20:46And he did not run them into the ground.
20:49I mean, Brunson played 67 games.
20:54He missed 15 ballgames.
20:56I mean, some guys on that team didn't play a whole lot.
20:59But I understand the frustration.
21:02But, man, when you get to the Final Four...
21:04No, you should keep your job.
21:06Absolutely.
21:08Unless you could get...
21:09Unless you know 110% that you're going to hire somebody that's better.
21:14And when I mean better, I mean you've got to hire someone with a championship pedigree
21:18who could get you the next step.
21:20Not somebody who's going to come in there.
21:22Year one, it's going to take an adjustment period.
21:24So you're probably punting next year.
21:26And then everyone's going to be a year older.
21:28And, you know, injuries can happen.
21:30And...
21:31I'll give you...
21:32You know, you're regretting it.
21:33And then wish you didn't fire Thibodeau.
21:35One of the great discussions I ever had
21:39was me saying that Phil Jackson was basically the doorman at the Four Seasons
21:45that would get all the big tip money
21:48because he knew the top people, like the Bulls.
21:51He had Jordan.
21:52He had Pippen.
21:53I'm not saying he didn't coach them.
21:55But I always said,
21:57Red Auerbach is the greatest coach who ever coached basketball
22:00because he sold the tickets.
22:03He scouted.
22:04He did the drafting.
22:06He coached them.
22:07He did clinics.
22:09He did everything to make Boston basketball big.
22:12But he ran the team.
22:13And I said, Phil Jackson could never run a basketball team.
22:17And, oh, no, Mike.
22:18Oh, no, he can't.
22:19And then the Knicks offered him the job.
22:22The biggest mess in history.
22:24And I was proven right once again
22:26because they actually think that Michael Jordan
22:30wasn't going to win titles without Phil Jackson.
22:33They did for a while.
22:35They did for a while.
22:36Doug Collins got him there.
22:37And then, I mean, he'd be a better coach than any coach the Bulls got now.
22:42Doug Collins?
22:42Yes.
22:43Absolutely.
22:44I mean, if you think what did happen is,
22:47when they finally started to turn the corner and become winners,
22:50that's when they started putting actual talent with Jordan.
22:55Right.
22:55I get you.
22:56I mean, it was Michael Jordan Ares for a couple of years.
22:59And then they had Scottie Pippen.
23:03We got him in a trade for Olden Polonies.
23:06What a steal.
23:07Jerry Krause was one of the top five GMs of all time,
23:10and they crap on him.
23:11And they crap on him.
23:13And this guy got Rodman from San Antonio,
23:16and Rodman said, I don't feel like playing anymore.
23:19All of a sudden, he got with Jordan after they asked permission.
23:22They had to ask Jordan, hey, what do you think about bringing Rodman in?
23:24No different than when they asked Bird,
23:27what do you think about bringing Walton in?
23:28These stars know what rebounders can do, make them even better.
23:32And they said, yeah.
23:33And that's what happened.
23:35And that's why Jordan's team and that 86 Celtic team,
23:38one of the greatest ever I saw.
23:40I saw him come to Chicago and kick our ass.
23:43Now, I hear that before you really got started in talk radio,
23:48you actually ran some hot dog stands.
23:50I had three hot dog stands, Frank.
23:52I had served beef sandwiches.
23:54We served homemade brownies, Italian sausage, Polish sausage.
23:57We had three of them.
23:59And it was very successful.
24:01I had carts in the park.
24:02I wasn't going to do another thing.
24:04And then one day, I read the Chicago Sun-Times.
24:06And it said, WXRT owners going to have jazz station, WJZZ.
24:14I shut it, and I go to my wife.
24:16You believe this?
24:17That station won't last a year.
24:19And she goes, well, what do you want to do?
24:21Well, at that time, some XRT people used to come in my stand.
24:24And that day, after I read that, the owner of WXRT came in the stand.
24:29He goes, how are you doing?
24:30I go, good.
24:31I just read it.
24:32You're going to start a jazz station.
24:34He goes, yeah.
24:35I go, listen.
24:37Go sports.
24:38Go sports.
24:39I'm telling you right now.
24:40He goes, we're music guys.
24:41We don't know anything about sports.
24:42I go, there's 12 stations right now.
24:44This was in 1990.
24:46WFAN in New York.
24:47IP in Philly.
24:49Yeah, IP in Philly.
24:51San Diego had one going.
24:53L.A. had one going.
24:54I go, Chicago gets one.
24:56He goes, look, we're music guys.
24:57That's the way he goes.
24:58He goes home that weekend and buys the Sunday editions, which in New York, you could get them on Saturday night and Sunday, Saturday here in Chicago.
25:07This thick back in the day.
25:08He went to the sports section and saw back in the day there were this thick.
25:13Now the whole paper's this thick.
25:15And there was like 30 ads, you know, everything from fishing equipment.
25:19Then he went to the jazz entertainment section and he saw there was like three ads.
25:24He gets to the XRT the next Monday and he sits with his people.
25:28They go, who are we going to hire as DJs?
25:30He goes, nobody.
25:31We're going to all sports.
25:33And they go, are you out of your mind?
25:34You're going to listen to that goofy hot dog guy?
25:37He goes, yeah.
25:37And all they did was put together one of the great sports stations in history at WSCR 670 that's still going on now.
25:44And they said we wouldn't last six months because we were a three-show station.
25:50We ended up lasting.
25:51In fact, the Cubs now are on that station.
25:54And it was through my suggestion and Danny Lee's sack, steal, you know what, to invest $700,000 into, at that time, a chance.
26:04And it ended up working.
26:05I mean.
26:06I mean, Chris Russo's a friend of mine and he couldn't believe the story, you know.
26:10Mad Dog's a friend of mine.
26:11He couldn't believe the story when it happened.
26:13And I've been on with Mad Dog and stuff.
26:15I bet you didn't know.
26:15I sat in for Imus for three days.
26:18For Don Imus.
26:19When did you do that?
26:20I did that in 2005 or 2006.
26:25I was getting ready to leave our station.
26:27Oh, is that when he had his lung collapse?
26:29Yeah, he had something go wrong.
26:30And they said, you come in for three days.
26:32And that's before he had the Ruckers incident, too.
26:35Yeah.
26:35And, you know, I know something.
26:37I go, how you doing?
26:39I'm sitting.
26:39How you doing?
26:41Oh, that was Ironman.
26:42Yeah.
26:43Now what?
26:44I go, excuse me?
26:45So, anyway, I sat in for three days and I got off to a bank start.
26:49You know what I started off with?
26:51Dick Butkus said Lawrence Taylor wasn't good enough to play middle.
26:56Dick Butkus is the greatest linebacker who ever lived.
26:58Oh, my God.
27:00The Lawrence Taylor calls came in.
27:02And that's how we started.
27:03But I worked three days for him.
27:05New York is a different place.
27:08A different place.
27:09I like to be in Chicago.
27:11It's more big fish in a little pond.
27:13You're a big fish in a big pond.
27:16Right?
27:17Yep.
27:19Yep.
27:20Yep.
27:20Look at him.
27:20He continued growing.
27:21But thank you for joining us.
27:23I love you.
27:23Absolutely great.
27:24Absolutely great.
27:25Awesome.
27:26I heard this is one of the longest ones of the year.
27:29Might be one of the longest ones.
27:30Yeah.
27:30It's a good thing.
27:31We'll see how the editing is.
27:33Went by fast.
27:34Yeah, it did.
27:34Good time.
27:35Good time.
27:43Good time.
27:44Good time.
27:44Good time.
27:44Good time.
27:45Good time.
27:45Good time.
27:45Good time.
27:45Good time.
27:45Good time.
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27:46Good time.
27:46Good time.
27:46Good time.
27:47Good time.
27:47Good time.
27:47Good time.
27:47Good time.
27:48Good time.
27:48Good time.
27:48Good time.
27:49Good time.
27:49Good time.
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27:49Good time.
27:50Good time.
27:50Good time.
27:50Good time.
27:50Good time.
27:51Good time.
27:51Good time.
27:52Good time.
27:52Good time.
27:52Good time.
27:53Good time.
27:53Good time.
27:54Good time.
27:54Good time.
27:54Good time.
27:55Good time.
27:56Good time.
27:56Good time.
27:56Good time.
27:57Good time.
27:58Good time.
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