The Five for May 18, 2020 – We Are Marquette and We Are Not Fans of 3-D Shapes

1. Sheena Quinn was one of the first people I worked with at Public Communications Incorporated (PCI). She was smart, savvy, strategic, fun and funny. How’s that for a combination? She definitely eased my transition from journalism to PR and communications

It was always clear she was going places. After more than a decade at PCI, the White Sox smartly hired her as Director of Public Relations. She also married a musician, Peter Purvis of Gaelic Storm fame, and they now have two beautiful children.

Sheena, a Marquette University graduate, was featured in an excellent video the school released Sunday for the Class of 2020. On the video, Sheena joined a list of heavy-hitting alumni that included Dwyane Wade, Glenn “Doc” Rivers, Steve Novak and Jen Lada (those were just the sports ones)!

Have watched this multiple times and it so good. Hope you enjoy as well.

2. I laughed (often hysterically) my way through Waiting for Guffman in the movie theatre. Fred Willard, a master straight man and comedic actor who died at age 86 on Friday, hit it out of the park in that mockumentary. As was pointed out on Twitter, see if you can count how many consecutive dentist jokes he rips through in ten seconds.

3. As part of Liam’s e-learning today, the teacher asked parents to help their child identify 3-D shapes around the house. I’m willing to do just about anything for Liam, but I draw the line at spheres and prisms. As for cones and cubes? Out of the question!

4. Still reeling from the 3-D shape request, I tried to relax by reading the New York Times. Instead, almost as if it was taunting me, I came across a feature for the publication’s tile matching game that was described as “soothing,” and “may help you de-stress.” There is nothing soothing about tiles, especially when combined with matching! Of course, given the unique nature of Bobproof’s brain, you may find it zen and chill. Let me know what you think if you give it a try.

5. Can’t end on a stressful note. Let’s close strong with two of Sheena’s favorite Gaelic Storm songs. Gaelic Storm plays us off with “Lover's Wreck” and “Samurai Set.”

The Five for May 17, 2020 – Sunday Reading

I loved the way people used to lounge over a fat Sunday newspaper. I loved the ritual, the tradition and the way each section opened up a new world of knowledge.

Today, newspapers are not nearly as thick as print subscribers continue to plummet. While I bemoan what was and still wallow at times at the decline of newspapers and the number of talented people furloughed or downsized, there’s also no going back.

Sunday remains a great day to dive into reading before the start of another work week. On a positive note, there are more easily accessible stories out there than ever before.

There has been some incredible reporting on the COVID-19 situation but we’re making this a pandemic free zone today. Here are five things I’ve read fairly recently that have resonated. As always, this list was compiled and never curated.  

1. Considering I love to read and read to Liam all the time, it is somewhat remarkable that just this week we started the first Harry Potter book. That’s a reflection of how little I enjoy fantasy books, but I always suspected this would be the one exception to the rule. So far, so good. We are really enjoying.

No matter how much I like the book, though, I know I won’t love it as much as an article the great Joe Posnanski wrote about the time his daughter picked out a gift at Harry Potter World. Katie the Perfect is a beautiful window into how one small moment, magnified by kindness, can lead to an indelible memory.

2. My friend and former colleague Johnathon Briggs keeps stringing together the most beautiful blog posts. In this one, he not only waxes poetic about parenthood, marriage and making it all work in 2020, but he proposes some new lyrics to a song by the legend Alicia Keys. Enjoy Living Life Among the Adjustments.

3. This ESPN.com story features one wild record for each MLB team. The Brewers question was which player had the best season in franchise history as defined by Wins Above Replacement? I could not believe how off I was. The person I guessed was actually only tied for fifth, which doesn’t pass the eye test but I guess passes the stat test.

4. With so many riveted to the documentary on Michael Jordan and the Bulls, this was a fun and creative look at documentaries that could be made about various Wisconsin sports. One idea was the return to prominence by the Milwaukee Bucks. In it, the two writers for the Journal-Sentinel laud the majority owners and GM Jon Horst. I have a variant view on their relative importance and value and look forward to writing about that later in the month. I did intern at Channel 4 in Milwaukee in college and still recognize the importance of a good tease.

5. This recap of the Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show by Dave Barry is just one more example of why the man is still hysterical. In it, he quotes a Pepsi rep who said this “just might be the most fun and entertaining 12 minutes this world has ever seen.” Barry proceeds to write "so the bar has been set high for J. Lo and Shakira.”

Barry, the Pulitzer Prize winning columnist and best-selling author, can now add another honor to his prestigious career. Today, Mr. Barry has agreed to walk us off.

The Five For May 16, 2020 – Cheers

1. There may be no baseball, but we do have baseball announcers starring in an all new episode of the iconic show … Cheers.

The idea was the brainchild of former baseball announcer Ken Levine and Jason Benetti, the brilliant TV voice of the White Sox. Levine was an Emmy-award winning writer for Cheers and contributed to several other classic TV programs. Levine partnered on the script with David Isaacs, who also wrote for Cheers.

One core member of the Cheers cast reprises his role in this Zoom production. Given that there’s not much to sports to gamble on currently, here are my odds as to which cast member it is. Let me know if you guess right (honor system)! The winner will receive a prize TBD. In the event of a tie, we will come to an equitable solution that appeases and fairly compensates all participants.

·        5/1 (odds) George Wendt (Norm Peterson)

·        5/1 John Ratzenberger (Cliff Clavin)

·        8/1 Rhea Perlman (Carla Tortelli)

·        10/1 Ted Danson (Sam Malone)

·        25/1 Woody Harrelson (Woody Boyd)

·        25/1 Kelsey Grammer (Frasier Crane)

·        Scratched Kirstie Alley (Rebecca Howe)

·        1,000,000/1 Shelly Long (Diane Chambers)

Now, let's return to the place where everybody knows your name.

2. To the surprise of none of my readers, my track record with geography is only marginally better than my relationship with geometry. With that said, I will always know that Albania borders on the Adriatic.

3. This is the funniest horse race you will ever see. At the very end of the short video, there is some brief but salty language. Hat tip to one of my loyal East Coast readers for emailing me this link and giving me the greenlight to use it. Enjoy.

4. As many people have noted, a staple of TV interviews from home is the strategically placed trophy bookshelf. This articles reminds us it's never too early to get started.

5. The insanely astute and highly versatile writer Shea Serrano on the tiny moments that make Top Gun perfect. The trailer to the sequel has been viewed more than 31 million times. Let’s add to that number and have the trailer play us off.

Started Off A Skinny Kid

On May 7, the Twitter account of Bucks MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo was hacked. The hacker proceeded to tweet a series of vile, malicious and racist messages. 

It was one of those times where social media simply sucks.

While there are significant flaws and societal consequences of social media, there also are positives.

Growing up, what I knew about my favorite athletes was largely limited to what I read in newspapers and magazines, listened to on the radio and watched on TV.

Today, sports-loving kids can see messages, pictures and videos that come straight from their favorite athletes. After reading about what happened to Giannis’ twitter account, I spent some time checking out his social media game.

I was particularly drawn to his Instagram feed, but that’s hardly a scoop. The man does have 7.8 million followers.

With just a few clicks, you can see Giannis holding his baby on the beach, hanging out with his brothers and plenty of game action from the season. 

My favorite recent post was a 58-second video from an interview in February of 2013. You see Giannis seven years ago and he looks even younger than the teenager he is. You look at Giannis today, all 242 pounds of solid muscle, and marvel at how skinny and innocent he seemed.

A few months after that interview, the Bucks’ criminally underrated former GM John Hammond took that raw and undeveloped kid with the 15^th pick in the first round. That kid would become the MVP.

Before linking to the video, Giannis wrote on Instagram, “Started off a skinny kid and 7 years later I haven’t stopped working. Always believe in your dreams even if others think you’re crazy.”

Love how he stresses he hasn't stopped working. He’s only 25-years-old. Just imagine what the next seven years will bring?

The world is Giannis' canvas, and his magnum opus is still to come. Let’s clear the court for him now so Giannis can Euro Step us off.

The Five for May 14, 2020 – Marty, Fleischer, True Believers and More

1. Liam, on Wednesday, said this about the instructor from his new online class. “Marty is such a cool name.”

I reminded him that he has an Uncle Marty as well, and his mind was blown. Thought all the people named Marty – near and far – would appreciate the love since compliments on an old-school name don’t happen all the time, especially from the coveted 8-year-old demographic.

I can visualize my cousin, Laura, smiling as she reads this. If I bring up the price of succotash, I may hear the laughter all the way from Queens.

2. I had so much fun earlier this week revisiting a musical journey that began in second grade, found a favorite home on E Street, but was always grounded by a walk in Memphis. Here are two live versions of the song I came across.

The first, get ready for this, is a duet between Cohn and Miley Cyrus. In Memphis I tell you!

I had a music relationship with Miley this summer that might be worth a post at some point, and the duet combined with her genuine respect for Cohn is amazing. Enjoy. I also learned that Cher has consistently covered "Walking in Memphis." Here is Cher making her Bobproof debut.

3. My friend, Jeff Fleischer, is killing it.

I shared last week how the second edition of his book Votes of Confidence: A Young Person’s Guide to American Elections, was published to critical acclaim. Recently, his short story, “Redundancy,” was featured in the magazine Glassworks; it starts on page 19. Check out this remarkable review of the short story in the Oscilloscope Literary Magazine. Excerpted quotes include:

·        “It’s the most fun you’ll have with an imaginary friend this side of Calvin and Hobbes.

·        “Well-constructed story filled with nuance, humor, and charm. … Covers terrain that is both logical and unexpected.”

·        “Fleischer’s work is deeply comical, although in a subtle way.”

4. I enjoyed the movie Top Gun when it was released in 1986 and am looking forward to the sequel.  This article is a fun look at every call sign from the movie, ranked. I loved this sentence, “he has the build of a final boss in a fighting game, and his volleyball stance is a pre-Instagram thirst trap masterpiece.”

I did have to look up what a pre-Instagram thirst trap masterpiece was. I still don’t fully understand it nor is it probably 100 percent safe for work but what a line.

5. Holy Rabbit holes, Bernie! Still geeked up about revisiting the Brewers’ Easter Sunday victory in 1987, I came across this on YouTube; a link to a video I wore out watching as a kid.

I hope you have nothing pressing to do over the next 36:52.

It’s only right that, “Magic, Miracles and True Believers Walks Us Off.

Easter Sunday

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is counting down the 50 greatest moments in Wisconsin sports history over the past 50 years.

One day ago, the Brewers’ extra-inning Easter Sunday victory over the Texas Rangers in 1987 was selected as No. 11. The criteria is that it has to be a positive, singular moment that you’re supposed to remember where you were when it happened.

I could honestly make a case for Easter Sunday as No. 1. Not saying it is but it is in the conversation.

So many happy memories come flooding back when I think of that game, that season, and what it meant.

Before Easter Sunday arrived, the Brewers had won 11 consecutive games to start the year. Eleven wins in a row anytime is memorable. At the start of the season, when every game is magnified? All the more special.

I was riding to Hebrew School with my mom on Opening Day and remember Bob Uecker calling Paul Molitor’s leadoff triple to open the game. Robin Yount followed with an RBI single and we were off to the races.

Remarkably, I didn’t see the ninth victory of the streak on TV, Juan Nieves’ no-hitter, which remains the only no-hitter in franchise history. We had a Passover Seder that night – I think with the Fabos family – and it wasn’t until later that we learned what happened. The final out of that no-hitter came on a diving catch by Robin Yount in center. There are people to this day who maintain that Yount didn’t need to dive for the ball, that he did so to build the drama. I’ve never understood that; showboating was the antithesis of Yount’s game.

Two victories following the no-hitter, and it’s Easter Sunday at County Stadium. Our family was in attendance and quite nervous when the Brewers trailed 4-1 in the bottom of the ninth. With two on and one out, Rob Deer hit a towering, three-run homer into the wind that landed in the deepest part of the stands in left.

Tie game. 

Not sure a stadium could get any louder.

Until, that is, with two outs, Dale Sveum drilled a two-run homer into the bullpen in right field for a 6-4 victory.

It was epic and it seemed like the cheers lasted for hours. It also meant that all of Milwaukee would eat free hamburgers as part of a George Webb promotion for winning 12 straight.

The next day, to their eternal credit, Mom and Dad pulled my brother and I out of school and we drove to Comiskey Park in Chicago to see if the Crew could win No. 13. Sure enough, the Brewers rallied in the seventh inning to take a 5-4 lead and that was the score when Dan Plesac recorded the final strikeout.

The rest of the season was packed with ups, downs and more electric moments. After winning 20 of their first 23, the Brewers lost 12 consecutive games. They were one game under .500 at the All-Star break, before going on a tear and finishing the season 91-71.

Molitor hit in 39 consecutive games, the seventh-longest streak in history. In fact, no one has recorded that many hits in a row since. Pitcher Teddy Higuera had a 32-inning scoreless streak as well.

And while Yount’s catch to preserve the no-hitter was certainly up there, the most magical moment was that 9^th inning against the Rangers, when Deer and Sveum provided a moment that is still electrifying to Brewers fans all these years later.

With that, the floor is cleared for Mr. Baseball to walk us off as only he can.

Ping-Pong Punditry

My friend Jeremy asked how I was enjoying our new ping-pong table.

Seemingly, a simple question. My response? Anything but.

After telling him how well Xiaoli and Liam were playing, I dived into the most important part – a detailed breakdown of my own game, specifically my unique playing style. By the time I stopped talking, he must have thought he had played a five-set tennis match.

Will summarize my answer by section as a full transcript would be novel length.

Critical Ping Pong Context

Growing up, we had a table for several years. At the risk of bragging, I was pretty good. My quirk was that I served with my right hand and played the rest of the point with my left. You have to love the way Bobproof’s brain is wired, huh? 

I do everything with my left hand, except for hitting a baseball, playing tennis and serving in ping pong. It is quite rare to throw left and bat right in baseball. According to a 2015 ESPN.com article, only five nonpitchers since 1900 have played 1,000 games batting right-handed and throwing left-handed. There were so many examples of players that threw right and battled left that they didn’t even calculate the number. Disappointingly, no stats seem to exist on professional ping-pong players that serve with their right hand and play the point out with their left.

Of course, in baseball, though, one of those throw left bat right guys was Rickey Henderson. Clearly, Rickey and I have a lot of common. Both of us stole a lot of bases (mine mostly came in freshman baseball, but details). Rickey lapses into the third person more than I do, but I already went third person earlier in this blog and, frankly, it was quite freeing.

Ping Pong Present 

During this go around with ping-pong, I started questioning the wisdom of serving with my right hand and then playing with my left hand. I decided to experiment.

I tried playing the whole point right-handed. That played to the strength of my forehand, which, candidly, is pretty robust. Interestingly, and as you may have heard, even though it’s ping-pong and not tennis, I’ve actually shared some tips with a famous Spanish tennis player about how I load my shots with topspin. Kind of surprising he reached out since his topspin is universally lauded, but I guess the great ones are never satisfied. Similar, I guess, to the way I play and approach ping-pong.

The main problem with playing right-handed is that while the forehand is natural, the backhand is difficult. It feels awkward and leads to erratic shots.

I’ve also tried serving left-handed and playing the entire point with that hand. My serve is a work in progress this way, but I’m starting to “see the ball” well from my forehand and backhand side.

The final option is admittedly a bit out there. I serve with my right hand and then switch hands based on where the shot goes. This allows me to strike forehands from both wings. I’ve taken some grief for this approach online, on Twitter and in “ping-pong circles,” but as Steve Jobs once said, “have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”

The only flaw so far is that I’m executing a forehand dominant approach against an 8-year-old. So would this really work against adults?

Ping-Pong Future

So as I told Jeremy, I’m still searching, still grinding. And, I’m not going to lie, there’s some pondering and reflecting going on as well.

It’s not easy to try and find a style I can live with; one that melds efficiency with creativity and allows for artistic flourishes.

When I finally stopped talking, Jeremy looked at me with a glazed expression.

“I didn’t know that asking if you were enjoying ping-pong was such a loaded question?” he said.

Jeremy, I’ll be much briefer with this response.

Touché.