“Getting you through the slowest sports news time of the year”

By Paul M. Banks

-It’s very poetic how site traffic usually peaks the week before it nadirs. The NBA Draft brings the annual apex of page views and then the 4th of July Holiday weekend arrives ushering in a set of days when absolutely no one is online (or even at work for that matter).

-This week, beware the tumbleweeds as we have the dreaded day of no sports news following the MLB All-Star game. Baseball is the only game going until NFL preseason kicks off at the end of the month, so…three straight days of no baseball that matters can be brutal. The home run derby is ruined by the presence of Chris Berman, the All-Star game itself is overrated, and then there is the slow crawling painful Wednesday off-day afterwards.

-We’re here to get you through it with plenty of sports media news and other assorted fanfare. Kudos to our caped crusader in with clean and pure footwear on his head. The Soxman had a live interview on WSPY 107.1 and said that Paul M. Banks was his inspiration for doing charitable work with Heartland Blood Centers…also got thesportsbank.net mentioned live on the air….TWICE!!!

-From Soxman’s blog “The drive was a HUGE success.  Heartland smashed their goal of 150 units by raising over 200 units of blood! We signed close to 100 autographs and posed for several pictures, while talking baseball with several fans.  It was a great day.

During the course of the interview, we discussed the Heartland mission, what it’s like to be Chicago “super heroes,” the Sox and the Cubs and even the upcoming release of the Dark Knight!”

-This Friday night is 80s night at U.S. Cellular Field. I look forward to following Soxman for an evening and documenting how the crowd reacts and interacts with him….Look for this next week on this site and at NBC5.com. Pretty cool how this occurs the same weekend that the Dark Knight opens which I have to see with “Bruce Wayne-Parker” himself of course.

-So at my family party last Sat night there was a couple that is friends with one of my sisters. They are big Brewers fans and said the Brewers broadcasting team likes to point out Fox Sports Net and The Sports Bank.net Trenni Kusnierek’s vast male fanbase. They said it’s an often discussed topic on Brew Crew broadcasts.

-Here’s the link to join the official Myspace “Trenni Kusnierek Fan Club.”

-I caught up to hall of famer Ryne Sandberg, my favorite baseball player as a child, right before his Peoria Chiefs visited the Chicago area to start a three game set with the Kane County Cougars. The two teams will meet again on July 29th at Wrigley Field (7:05pm) for the first minor league game in the park’s storied history. The Elfstrom Stadium press box was a bit more full than usual for Ryno’s arrival and bonding with the other sports journalists there yielded interesting anecdotes such as…

…everyone knows that Ozzie Guillen loves to go on x-rated rants both in public and in private, but when you’ve seen one live and in person it takes on a whole new level. My buddy from a suburban newspaper agreed with me that “Senor Swear Word” often spends a lot of time talking to himself when he makes his usual sexist, racist, vulgar and profane prose that leads to nowhere. Seriously, if you’ve seen one of these in the locker room, you might witness Ozzie talking to himself or no one at all and honestly wonder who is listening.

…an opinion was expressed that the world of NASCAR is quite a few decades behind the rest of the sports media world and this story is a great illustration. The NASCAR faithful asked (in all seriousness, not at all in a joking fashion) a female Daily Herald sports reporter if she was the woman on “that show My Boys?” They were not joking and apparently unaware that My Boys is not a reality show. Also, I know this girl and she looks absolutely nothing like the main character P.J. on that show. (actress Jordana Spiro) And AGAIN, did these idiots not realize that the show is FICTION?

-By the way Turner Broadcasting Service, if you’re reading this, we should set up a deal where every time I use the phrase “my boys” it will directly link to the page for your show “My Boys.” A Chicago based sports webzine advertising a sitcom about a Chicago sports writer? Just think of all the potential viewers you would reach! TSB and TBS: with abbreviations so close to one another, we were made to synergize!)

-Take the quiz to find out which one of the “Boys” has your personality. Here are my results.

 

-Also, this “wonderful day at the office” inspired me to buy a Kane County Cougars hat. But a hat that just says “Cougars,” a green one with no “Kane County” or team logo, just “Cougars,” because it appeals to me on so many levels. I should get one for TSB writer Bill Port too. I know only like 5 whole people who read this will appreciate this item, but I’m ok with that.

-Here’s a great post from the NBC5 blog about Jonny Imerman, a guy I know who’s someone all of us should admire and support. I’m proud to have worked with him and his wonderful organization.

An excerpt from Marcus Riley’s article “While fighting the disease, he noticed the need for a cancer patient to connect with someone who’s been through the same thing. Imerman’s Angels matches cancer fighters with those who’ve beaten the disease, providing a one-on-one relationship for encouragement from someone who is uniquely familiar with the situation. Recently, the organization helped match its 1,000th cancer fighter with a survivor, a testament to Jonny’s drive and determination, and the loyal network of volunteers he’s gathered to support him.”
 
-Remember the All-Star game tie in 2002? Bud Selig still remembers that embarrassment

-Mushrooms’ chemical could treat depression
”The chemical in “magic mushrooms” holds promise for terminally ill cancer patients or drug addicts, researchers at Johns Hopkins found.” Tune in? Turn on? Man? So is that why Mario and Luigi got an extra life from the mushrooms they ate in the famous Nintendo game?

-ESPN Baseball Tonight’s Tim Kurkjian…The truth about him speaks for itself and needs no embellishment or punchline. I’ll let the blog Cleveland Misery take this one, “Kurkjian cuts out box scores of baseball games and was upset that he could not do it during the All-Star festivities.” Weird, right? Well it gets spookier. Tim Kurkjian has been cutting out box scores of baseball games “for 18 years.” Why would someone ever do this, you ask? The answer is quite obvious: Tim Kurkjian has absolutely no life outside of baseball. Does this come as a surprise?

-Some of the coolest links emailed to me by the thrillist.com this week. I love their catchy descriptions too.

Service: MyGallons
Essentially peddling gas futures, Gallons lets you pre-purchase fuel at today’s prices, then put it on a card valid at 200,000+ stations across the country, saving you cash when prices goes up. You can check your fuel balance/buy more online, and they’ll even refund your nominal annual fee if you don’t manage to save any cash in the first year b/c of falling prices — so yeah…to get your dough back, you’ve got to forget to use your card for a year. Check the cash-saving details

and sign up today at http://www.MyGallons.com

Shady Accounting Tools: Custom Receipt Generator
Input a store name/address, come up with some phony items/prices, save, and print; the font’s that unmistakable blue dot-matrix, and the whole thing’s cleverly shaded to look like the real deal upon photocopying — so soon you’ll be swimming in pools of petty cash from graph paper you never even bought! Suckers! Augment that expense report at

http://www.CustomReceipt.com
 

Possibly Related Posts:

• Link/Announcement Roundup 7/9
• The MLB All-Star Game: Encouraging voter fraud one fan at a time
• The Father, The Son, Aramis Ramirez, Amen.
• Anthony Kim Next Golf Great?
• A CELEBRITY DEATH? NOTHING IS MORE IMPORTANT!!!!!

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