Dear Chicago: A great city shouldn't have to steal another city's historical, trademarked nickname

Reading up on the Blackhawks' recent whining / rationalizing, I noticed the Chicago Tribune has been using "Hawkey Town" as a play off [pun not intentional] the Red Wing's "Hockeytown." I can't find the logo header used amongst the editorial anymore -- perhaps they re-thought its propriety in light of the weekend's results -- but it is still available for irony-fueled wallpaper usage.

Some Fairly Smart People Think Detroit Is Redeemable

The ass-kicking Anthony Bourdain filmed in Detroit this week for his series, "No Reservations." Though The D will be only one of three cities in an unfortunately-named, in a highly-cliched fashion, "Rust Belt" episode, any Detroit visibility on television other than the Lions, Kwame and animal control cannot hurt. Thanks for coming, Tony, but, really, we know you could've done a whole hour on us.

Second, while some people accuse Mitch Albom of sappiness for his non-fiction writing, that's never really bugged me. Me, I occasionally sense he phones in his column, but when you work for a place that lives to phone it in, how can that be avoidable? Yet, on a bigger stage this week, he writes bigger, approaching the heights he is capable of, with his piece this week in Sports Illustrated, "The Courage of Detroit." Even though some of our local sports positives are overlooked in order to make his Comeback Kid meme work, it puts a face on a problem region that is easily dismissed as a faceless, "just Detroit."

Seriously. If you want to judge our city like this dumbass, at least take the time to do some research and thinking. But then, really, why let the facts get in the way of an opinion, eh?

The Only Joint In this Operating Agreement is the One They're Smoking If They Think This is Going to Work

As someone who actually cared about getting the JOA approved in 1989 between the Free Press and News, and who is obsessive enough to notice that they've been breaking the law when joint publishing on holidays (instead of only on weekends), and had friends on both sides of the strike, and who was offended by Gannett basically thumbing its nose at the industry, the market and the law by buying out Knight Ridder, today's announcement that the Freep and the News are going to be home delivered only three days a week would've been a stake in my heart. . . if they hadn't already broken it into a million pieces.

Yes, the CSM is going online only, and Entertainment Weekly is reportedly thinking about it, but living in the first major metropolitan area without a daily newspaper delivery? Oy.

I'd say that they last person leaving Detroit should turn out the lights, but the bulb's been foreclosed on.

Adventures in Internet Logrolling: Some 60SB Love from MLive

The clearly brilliant and discerning Flint Journal columnist Andrew Heller gave 60SB's Twitter Division a shout-out today in his new blog's 60SB homage pondering Dominic Raiola flipping off Lions fans last Sunday.

As a thank you, next month, I'm going to try to meet up with him and start a twelve-step about turning 46. Promise.

Timewasters of the Day: Static Cartoon Edition

In wandering The Internets, I recently stumbled across these, permitting me a theme post!

Santa's e-mail box; cheers (I think) to Gizmodo:


And one of the best editorial cartoons of all time, period; I laughed myself sick when I first read it. Cheers to TVBarn:

Happy Birthday to the Acme of British Journalism (NSFW)

Happy #38, Page 3.

Be careful when you lean over those candles.

Somtimes, The Story Doesn't Get to Write Itself

You know the whole Wingnut meme of disparaging the "media elite"? As if either being elite or part of the media was a bad thing? So, by combining them, see, they're doubling down on the culture wars.

Of course, not everyone, or every media outlet, can be elite.

Or competent, for that matter.

Behold these front pages from November 5.

^ Think these guys missed that day's big story?

Cheers to Romanesko for the tip.

Non Sequitur of the Day

"Legacy."

BTW, I'd cut this article out of its paper, but pretty soon, you won't be able to.

Bummer.

"Toilet" Joe Knollenberg Is Circling the Drain . . .

... at least if the newspaper endorsements have anything to do with it: the Free Press and the O&E endorse Gary Peters.

BTW, if you feel like prematurely piling on, you should check out Vote No on Joe.

Detroit Rock City

Cheers to Metro Times and whoever else I still know down there for their outstanding piece last week, the 100 greatest Detroit songs. You must check it out. For me, however, two things. One, everyone will have a favorite left off, and mine is the great and hyper-political "Ball of Confusion," by the Temps (above). (Also memorably covered by Love and Rockets.) Two, why didn't they ask me to vote? :-(

If you vote for the baseball HOF, vote Alan Trammell

This year's ballot for the Baseball Hall of Fame has been released. There are no first-ballot slam dunks like in the past few years, though I have never understood how first-ballot entry is somehow better than getting in later. Being a shameless Detroit homer, but also with a strong sense of justice, I cannot understand how the '84 Tigers have no one in the Hall of Fame. They were a dominant team of that era, and if how a player stacks up against his peers in their era is an indicator of Hall-worthiness, Trammell, Jack Morris and Lou Whittaker all should be in. Other than Ripken, which of their contemporaries is better? Sweet Lou got the ziggy after only one ballot, and while Morris is still on the list, his career-long penchant for telling sportswriters to screw off has understandably hurt his chances. But lots of folks think Trammell is an all-time Top 10 shortstop, except those who vote. Really, would HOF SS Ozzie Smith, with comparable defense and lesser offense, be in if he wasn't a good interview who did snappy round-offs going to his position? And should the fact that sportswriters remember Bubba as easy column fodder better than Trammell's great career in a lesser market keep Trammell -- as well as, hopefully, his two teammates -- from getting a HOF ticket punched?