Wisch List

From the Saturday, Jan. 9, editions of The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) …

The WISCH LIST

By Dave Wischnowsky

Wish lists are for Christmas.

But Wisch Lists? Well, just like every year, they’re for New Years.

Although, this new year, I’m a week late with my own after spending the waning days of 2015 out in New York City (to celebrate Christmas with my wife’s family) and then down in Charleston, S.C. (to ring in 2016 in the Low Country, where the calories are anything but).

During our trip, the temperatures barely dipped below 50 – and in Charleston even pushed 80 – before we returned home to Chicago, where we received greeted rudely by Old Man Winter who had finally arrived back in Illinois following his own December vacation.

Anybody want to chip in to send him back on a trip far away?

But now, as I get fully settled in to 2016, I’d like to tell you what I hope happens during it.

I Wisch the Chicago Bears the best this season … wait, it’s already over? When did it start?

I Wisch that I didn’t have to say that I’ve never been less interested in a Bears team than this one.

I Wisch that I didn’t also have to say the same thing about Illini basketball.

Continue reading “Wisch Lists are for New Years”

From the Saturday, Dec. 26, editions of The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) …

By Dave Wischnowsky

The WISCH LIST

Ever wonder how much it would cost if your “one true love” actually did give you everything listed in the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas”?

Let’s just say it would be the one true debt of New Year.

For the past three decades, PNC has actually calculated “The True Price of Christmas,” tallying the cost of hiring leaping lords, purchasing a partridge (and a pear tree) and buying everything else in between.

The final bill for 2015: $34,130.99.

And as you process that, here are 12 other things you probably didn’t know about Christmas, which I hope for you was a very merry one.

Even without any swans-a-swimming.

1. In A.D. 350, Pope Julius I, bishop of Rome, proclaimed Dec. 25 as the official celebration date for the birthday of Christ, even though many scholars believe He was likely born during the spring.

2. In Norway, scientists have hypothesized that Rudolph’s red nose is probably the result of a parasitic infection of his respiratory system. Either that or too much eggnog.

Continue reading “12 things you never knew about Christmas”

From the Saturday, Dec. 19, editions of The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) …

The WISCH LIST

By Dave Wischnowsky

On Dec. 12, 1915, inside a ramshackle upstairs tenement in Hoboken, N.J., Francis Albert Sinatra entered the world weighing a whopping 13.5 pounds.

He then went on to become larger than life.

And throughout Sinatra’s extraordinary tenure as “Chairman of the Board” before his death in 1998 at the age of 82, there were few cities – save perhaps “New York, New York” – that Ol’ Blue Eyes was more closely associated with than Chicago, his kind of town.

Seven days ago, the world sung praises about Sinatra on what would have been his 100th birthday. And in the week since, I’ve come across so many interesting Windy City tidbits about the 20th century’s greatest singer that I thought we should belt those out too.

My kind of … show tune?

Throughout his life, Sinatra recorded multiple versions of his hit song “My Kind of Town,” but what you might not know is that the popular tune was originally part of the musical score for the 1964 film, “Robin and the 7 Hoods,” which starred several members of the legendary Rat Pack.

Continue reading “His Kind of Town, Chicago Was”

It’s not just the holidays that make things hectic this time of the year.

Sports can do that too.

And on Friday they certainly did with the Chicago Cubs signing prized free agent outfielder Jason Heyward and stealing him away from the archrival St. Louis Cardinals, in the process. Couple that with Illinois’ ongoing search for an athletic director and the university system’s silly drive to have Illinois and UIC play each other in Chicago at the United Center, and there was plenty to talk about during my segment on the ESPN Radio Champaign’s Tay & J Show on Friday evening.

To listen to the podcast, simply click here.

From the Saturday, Dec. 12, editions of The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) …

The WISCH LIST

By Dave Wischnowsky

December itself is almost half over. But, in many ways, the holiday season has still barely begun.

Up in Chicago, I’ve often said that besides summertime, there’s no better time to be in the city than Christmastime. That’s perhaps even truer this year with temperatures this week creeping up towards 60 and making it almost feel like summertime during Christmastime in the city.

No matter the weather, there’s always a sleigh full of holiday hoopla that’s taking place in Chicago throughout December. So much, in fact, that there’s still plenty left in the sack for the final two weeks of the year. And if you’re making a list – and checking it twice – for a holiday visit to the Windy City this month, here are a few things I’d suggest putting at the top.

Holiday Lights Trolley

It may not be Paris, but Chicago can hold its own as a city of lights. And you can enjoy its nighttime sights in all their seasonal glory through Jan. 3 via the Holiday Lights Trolley. For $29 ($19 children ages 3-11), the twinkling 2½ -hour excurison takes you from John Hancock Plaza (875 N. Michigan Ave.) to Lincoln Park Zoo and Christkindlmarket in Daley Plaza before returning to the Mag Mile complimentary hot cocoa and cookies at Hershey’s Chocolate World.

For more information, visit chicagotrolley.com.

Continue reading “Holiday events keeping December hot in Chicago”

From the Saturday, Dec. 5, editions of The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) …

The WISCH LIST

By Dave Wischnowsky

There are no guarantees in life.

But there are wise decisions.

And while a sizable swath of Illini Nation has vociferously disagreed with me online this week – thank you, Twitter – I think that the University of Illinois made a wise call last Saturday when it announced that it would be extending interim head football coach Bill Cubit’s contract for two years.

Now, that isn’t because I think Cubit is the long-term answer for Illinois. Or even because I expect that he’ll enjoy any significant short-term success. But what I do think is that the short-term stability provided by extending him for two years does offer Illinois the best long-term options.

And right now for Illini athletics, that’s what it’s all about.

Illinois football is a mess. Illinois basketball is a mess. Ticket sales are down. Fan apathy is up. And many of the university’s deep-pocketed donors are disenchanted and disillusioned with the state (school) of affairs.

Continue reading “Short-term hire opens up Illinois’ long-term potential”

From the Saturday, Nov. 28, editions of The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) …

The WISCH LIST

By Dave Wischnowsky

In the spirit of the best Thanksgiving movie ever made, there are no faster ways to cross the country than planes, no more scenic ways to see the country than trains, and no better ways to experience the country than automobiles.

But if you want to take in a city?

Well, there’s no better way to do that than by foot. And now a former Chicago tech guru is stepping up his digital game in an attempt to make urban walking tours a far richer experience for tourists than ever before.

When it comes to exploring cities on foot, my wife and I get a big kick out of it. In fact, every time we visit a new city or even return to an old familiar, we diligently conduct our research to identify its most fascinating neighborhoods, best historical haunts and most authentic establishments. Then, armed with our knowledge, we basically create our own walking tours – ones which have taken us to such fascinating locales such as a tiny bar along La Rambla in Barcelona that was Ernest Hemingway’s favorite, the cozy district of the French Quarter where New Orleans locals actually hang, and the hotel ballroom where Tony Bennett first sang “I Life My Heart in San Francisco” in San Francisco.

As cool as those experiences were, however, it’s fascinating to wonder how much fuller they could have been if that bar, district or ballroom could actually talk.

What stories would they tell?

Continue reading “New startup wants to take you on ‘Detour’ of Chicago”

Fun afternoon talking sports and social media at Illini Center with a great Social Media Week Chicago panel, including (from left to right) Ed Sherman, myself, Steve Raquel, Sahadev Sharma and Justin Breen.

It’s not every day that you talk baseball, leadership and college football with Walter Payton’s son … on live television.

But Monday was one of those days when I joined host Jarrett Payton on CLTV Sports Feed to discuss Chicago Cubs phenom Kris Bryant unanimously winning the National League Rookie of the Year award, what the University of Illinois needs to do in order to right its football program and its athletic department at large, and what the current college football playoff landscape looks like.

To watch my segment with Jarrett, simply click here.

From the Saturday, Nov. 14, editions of The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) …

The WISCH LIST

By Dave Wischnowsky

You deserve better, Illini fans.

Now, after years of watching University of Illinois football teams get kicked all over the gridiron, turning your heart from orange-and-blue to black-and-blue, I understand that you might not think so. In fact, you might even believe that because the status quo in Champaign has been sorry for so long, that’s simply the way it’s supposed to be, and always will be.

But let me say this again, you deserve better.

And it’s time that everyone in Illinois starts believing it.

On Monday, Illinois fired athletic director Mike Thomas for basically being asleep at the wheel while his handpicked football coach Tim Beckman was allegedly running roughshod over his own injured players and NCAA medical protocols. Neither Thomas’ dismissal nor Beckman’s on Aug. 28 was the way a school wants to make national headlines, but both firings were much welcome and long overdue. And with a housecleaning now fully underway, Illinois finally has a chance to start fresh and emerge from what’s been a truly dark era at Memorial Stadium.

But in order to actually do so, people need to see the light.

Continue reading “Can Illini football be fixed? You better believe it”