O'Donnell: Too hard not to be lookin' back at 2019, peekin' ahead to 2020
WAY BACK WHEN BOB SEGER was still singing hungry, he noted:
"Too many people lookin' back."
Nonetheless, at the end of a calendar year, that's what media does.
So, purely by glistening shadowy flow, 20 twinklers on the threshold of 2020:
Theo Epstein - In February, it said here 2019 would be his last with the Cubs. ... It may as well have been. ... Here's the pitch: A resourceful, connected businessman has his eyes set on Theo as a partner in a MLB franchise and when that purchase happens, that will be that.
Coverage of the 2019 Bears - Does anyone remember restraint? ... Some media entities have thoroughly diminished themselves with overkill involving an off-balance organization that isn't exactly coming off three straight Super Bowl victories.
Simon Biles - Confidence, grace and that stoic elegance. ... And Michael Jordan believed he could fly?
Arlington Park - CEO Bill Carstanjen and Churchill Downs Inc. will do what it wants when it wants with the fading local oval. ... For better or worse, it's called free enterprise. ... Insipid local management doesn't help.
Chet Coppock - Aspects of his passing remain surreal. ... Yet, he lived the last year or so of his life as if he knew he was in its coda. ... He had a remarkably kind heart, a huge public persona and his two masterpieces are daughter Lyndsey Coppock-Connolly and son Tyler Coppock.
The Bulls - Reality: One of the easiest "sell againsts" in the NBA. ... Who would want to play here? ... Most encouraging sign is that paying fans have begun to stay away.
ESPN AM 1000 - Put up or shut down begins next week for Craig Karmazin and his Good Karma Brands with the languid signal. ... Chicago is so ready for fresh, energized sports talk programming.
Rocky Wirtz - Made winning look organic during his first decade as boss of the once hopelessly clogged local NHLer. ... Now comes the hard part, including the difficult trades and dismissals.
Chicago TV sportscasters - Where giants once ruled the air. ... Now, varsity veterans like Mark Giangreco, Dan Roan and Jim Rose are reminders of the pop and pizzazz that once was. ... Passwords at local shops have become: Low budget, robotic and thoroughly replaceable.
The White Sox - What a great time to be marketing and re-imaging the South Siders as the new decade begins. ... Simply a question of how "bright" a Jerry Reinsdorf wants to hire. ... The on-field talent appears to be there, the bullsheet shackles of "rebuild" are gone and thine future should be bright.
Megan Rapinoe - Like her or loathe her, she'd be a first-round draft pick in any street rumble. ... Billie Jean King with brass knuckles. ... At its core, sports is about hard-edge competitiveness and was there a greater competitor on the 2019 international sportscape?
WSCR-AM (670) - Boil that cabbage down boys. ... "Groundhog's Day: The Radio Station." ... So waiting to be taken down. ... When your "stars" are Mike Mulligan and David Haugh - bless 'em both - you're at a Kiwanis meeting.
Jimmy Garoppolo - Any "comprehensive" look at what QB the Bears could have wound up with in 2017 isn't comprehensive at all if it doesn't include Garoppolo. ... Ryan Pace's failure to anticipate and execute the acquisition of Jimmy G as New England wallowed alone is grounds for Pace out.
DePaul men's basketball - Hah . ... Now 12-1 with a recycled head coach, an unpredictable point guard on his third college and an arena where you have to know both the ZIP code and the pass code - "sturgeon" - to get in. ... Are they sure George Mikan did it this way?
Skip Bayless - Reports about his "$5 million per-year salary" lend credence to all Area 51 conspiracies. ... If Fox actually pays him that sum, the Timothy Leary League must be servicing the water coolers at the network's Sports HQ.
The Marquee Sports Network - Like the Loch Ness Monster and the return of the 737 Max, things you hear about but never see. ... Sure the Cubs' new network will one day launch, but getting the carriage deal with Comcast done is going to be a super beach.
Porter Moser - God bless, but why didn't he take the money and run after Loyola's magical Final Four? ... Does he think his late, great patron Rick Majerus would still be here?
The fading TV ratings of the NBA - Geez, what a surprise. ... The key phrases in the league office are "globalization" and "game presentation," meaning they want the world to pay major loot to watch the Chinese lady balancing plates at halftime. ... Hollow bacchanalia loaded with far too many meaningless throw-downs.
NBCSCH - Yikes. ... First-year GM Kevin Cross takes far too much blame for the ongoing diminishment of the Velveeta-laden wheezer. ... A whole lotta frigid minds went into making this Fernwooder bad.
Joe Maddon - Killed the goat, made daily ballpark media sessions seem fresh and fun and was gratuitously whacked just because. ... Wrigleyille's loss is Orange County's gain. ... Like Fidel Castro and Che Guevara in the Sierra Maestra, maybe one day he and Ald. Tom Tunney can plot and complete the overthrow of the Ricketts family.
And, finally, as a new year beckons, one thought lingers - the hopeless Cincinnati Bengals (+2½) are a lock 'n a shoo to beat the Cleveland Browns Sunday.
The man in the moon over the Maumee said so.
And the Bengals will still get to draft Joe Burrow No. 1 overall in April.
So, all's well that cashes well - in sports, media and sports media.
• Jim O'Donnell's Sports & Media column appears Thursday and Sunday. Reach him at jimodonnelldh@yahoo.com.