A Very Important Podcast by The Heckler
By The Heckler
A Very Important Podcast by The HecklerFeb 21, 2021
Harry Caray's CEO Grant DePorter
Grant DePorter has worked at Harry Caray's since 1989 (less than two years after the restaurant group was formed) so he worked closely with Harry himself for quite a while. Not surprisingly, he has some wild stories about Harry back in the day (including an estimated 14,000 bar visits and 300,000 alcoholic beverages consumed in his life). Grant also talks about the hard work he puts in to keep Harry's legacy alive, even if that means embracing some of the great and not-so-great Harry Caray impressions that are out there including Will Ferrell's and Ryan Dempster's.
Grant grew up in a hotel, which not everyone can say. He's also a massive sports memorabilia geek, as evidenced by several of the stories he told during this interview.
7-time Jeopardy! champion Brian Chang
A Very Important Podcast by The Heckler is back! Today's guest is Brian Chang, a friend of Brad's who recently wrapped up a seven-game winning streak on Jeopardy! during which he netted $163,904 in prize money. Only about 30 other people have had a streak like that in the history of the show.
Brian had plenty of memorable moments during his run, including going viral for trolling guest host Ken Jennings, winning a very rare tie-breaker in what could have been the craziest finish to an episode that you'll ever see, blanking on what many thought should have been a gimme, and going up against a four-game champion at the end of his run.
In addition to all this, Brian and Brad talk about dealing with social media trolls (of which there are many), Alex Trebek's passing, behind-the-scenes surprises, the Tournament of Champions, and much more.
Brad discusses giving up his Cubs season tickets with Ben Finfer
Earlier this week Brad decided to give up his Cubs season tickets after Todd Ricketts' performance opening up a Trump rally. Like many Cubs fans, Brad has struggled to confront the ownership's links to the President and all that surrounds him. After doing a quick hit on WBEZ Thursday, Brad and Chicago sports media personality and fellow tormented Cubs fan Ben Finfer discussed their feelings on the matter.
Ryan Dempster on impersonating Harry Caray, beaning A-Rod, partying at Spring Training, & more
Former Cubs pitcher and current Marquee Network personality Ryan Dempster has always had a reputation as being a funny, approachable guy. Brad's experience with him is no different, going back all the way to his playing days with the Cubs from 2006 to 2012.
In this episode, he talks about his extremely polarizing Harry Caray impression, the time he beaned A-Rod in 2013 for the Red Sox, if it's tougher to be "funny" now than it used to be, how he feels players are weathering the ups and downs of this bizarre 2020 season, how Spring Training is now compared to his playing days, and much more.
Wild elk, swarming monkeys, a fear of heights and much more with Brad's friend Tron
After two months off, Brad's finally got enough wind in his sails to record a new episode. Our troubling times have made it tough to stay passionate about something like this, but today's guest was just what we needed. Tron Smith (full name discussed in the podcast) and Brad met the better part of a decade ago and have become fast friends who genuinely appreciate each other. Tron's journey is a unique one; from the South Side of Chicago to Phoenix, where she lives today with her totally jacked boyfriend Joe a.ka. "Old Bae."
In this episode, Brad and Tron discuss Tron's interesting travels to the Grand Canyon and Bali, which were highlighted by Tron's fears of elk and heights (Grand Canyon) and monkeys (Bali). They also discuss why Tron didn't like their mutual friend who eventually introduced them when she first met him, her various game show appearances, the podcast she's launching with her friend EJ, why she refuses to call him "E.J." and much more. Follow Tron on Instagram: www.instagram.com/beingtrondotcom
Wellness Check: Sluggers co-owner David Strauss
After a brief hiatus that no-doubt disappointed millions of people, Wellness Checks are back. Today's guest is David Strauss, one of the three brothers whose family owns Sluggers, the Wrigleyville staple. David and his family have always been very good to Brad and The Heckler, hosting a number of events and running ads and co-promotions from time to time.
This was recorded a few weeks ago, but the topics all remain relevant: How does a family-owned bar in Wrigleyville deal with these difficult times? What will Wrigleyville look like by the time the pandemic is over? Not surprisingly given his career path and a life spent working in a bar a few hundred feet from Wrigley Field, David had a lot of great thoughts on this.
Also discussed are some of the crazy things he's seen in his days behind the bar at Sluggers, including the 2016 Cubs taking over the place the night after they won the World Series.
Follow Sluggers on Facebook: www.facebook.com/SluggersBar
Wellness Check: Talking race with Brad's friend John Burks
It's been two weeks since our last Wellness Check. We have a really good one with a local business owner in the hopper, but it was recorded before the social unrest of the last weekend of May and didn't seem right to release given all that was going on around us (and in Brad's case, just blocks away). So we recorded a Wellness Check with repeat guest John Burks to hear from his perspective about race and the social issues coming more to light now than ever.
Follow John on Instagram.
Wellness Check: NBC Sports Chicago Exec. Producer & Founder of Live Like Roo Sarah Lauch
Today's Wellness Check is with Sarah Lauch, an executive producer at NBC Sports Chicago and the founder of Live Like Roo, a non-profit organization that supports families of pets diagnosed with cancer. Sarah and Brad talk about her career at NBC Sports Chicago (Comcast SportsNet before that), how some of her coworkers didn't know she was dating someone else in the office until their wedding announcement came out, her unique relationship with Matt Nagy, her long history of saving animals in need, crazy stories rescuing dogs, the background of Live Like Roo, how people can support the rescue community, and much more.
Check out Live Like Roo at https://livelikeroo.org/
Wellness Check: Second City & SNL writer/performer Katie Rich
Today's Wellness Check is with Katie Rich. She's a writer who spent six years at Saturday Night Live and Second City before that. Brad and Katie talk about all sorts of interesting stuff: How she's handling the quarantine (typically three good days followed by one shitty one), her first experience at Second City, why she hopes to never meet Stephen Colbert, how working at SNL matched up with her expectations, writing for SNL when Anthony Rizzo, Dexter Fowler, David Ross and Bill Murray came through a few days after the Cubs won the World Series, Heckler fan suggestions for high school names that could be more "Chicago" than her alma mater Carl Sandburg High, the time Chris Hemsworth practically impregnated her in his Thor costume on the SNL set, the new Netflix project that she's not allowed to talk about just yet, stifling her "Chi-CAH-go" accent, attending the double-doink Bears-Eagles playoff game with her "piece of shit" Philly sports fan husband, how she knew The Heckler was founded in 2003 (it involves her working at a Wrigleyville bar and a supposed Heckler staffer hitting on her fellow waitress), the Second City sports videos that involved her dressing up like Brent Seabrook and Joakim Noah, what she thinks when people say SNL isn't as good as it used to be, her experience writing for the ESPYs with John Cena and Peyton Manning, her love of rescue dogs, and much more.
Follow Katie on Twitter: https://twitter.com/katiemaryrich
Wellness Re-Check: Resident millennial jackass Ethan Blumenthal
For more info on that last item, visit knuckleballcomedy.com.
Wellness Check: DJ Dante Deiana
Dante is a very well-known DJ, and started as the Cubs in-game DJ at Wrigley in 2015. He and Brad talk about walk-up music for players and the walk-up songs they'd have for themselves. Dante is also partners in a handful of bars and restaurants throughout the Midwest. They've been going through the long process of opening one in Chicago in West Town called Shake-It.
Dante has also been active with the Rizzo Family Foundation, most recently delivering food to a number of hospitals and other front-line workers in the area.
And he's engaged to ABC-7's Cheryl Scott, so he and Brad bond over what it's like to have a life partner who works in the media and how tough it can be to read the comments/figure out where you're going to bury the bodies of a-holes hiding behind a keyboard when they write awful things to and about the one you love.
Brad and Dante also talk about his time on the Gronk Boat, what he thinks about "music nowadays," the band he's really hoping reunites someday soon, and the time he feared for his life at a Rage Against the Machine show.
Follow Dante on Instagram: instagram.com/primadante and follow Shake-It: instagram.com/shakeitchi
Wellness Check: Brad and his friend John Burks solve racism
In this Wellness Check, Brad and John talk about John's Detroit roots, what white privilege means to John, the time John got called the N-word by a white guy, how John feels threatened and threatening just walking down the street, why John thinks COVID-19 is impacting minority and poor populations more severely than white and affluent areas, and much more.
Follow John on Instagram: instagram.com/johnburkschi
Wellness Check: Brad's mom on Mother's Day weekend
Brad and his mom also talk about how she's been dealing with the loneliness of living alone during the quarantine, the best and worst moments of motherhood, her difficulty digging back into her passion for reading, the amount of time she spends on Facebook, when the roles of parent and child's concern for each other flip-flopped, her divorce, the wonderful and loving upbringing she had, her parents' relationship with Brad and his sister Becca, her love of Jeopardy, and much more.
Wellness Check: Yoga instructor & Heckler Spring Training ROY Kiley Enmark
Follow 105F at 105F.com
Wellness Check: WGN-TV Morning News Sports Anchor Pat Tomasulo (pt 1)
Brad and Pat talk about Pat having to do his daily TV show from home, his "very, very, very" conservative parents, why Pat thinks "Man of the People" didn't stick, how Pat filled Chicago potholes with buckets of delicious giardiniera, his wife's newfound love for professional wrestling, how social media has drastically changed his job, how he deals with trolls, starting out his broadcasting career in tiny Rhinelander, Wisc., how Brad and Pat met way back in 2005, and much, much more.
Follow Laugh Your Face Off at laughyourfaceoff.org
Follow Pat on Twitter: twitter.com/pattomasulo
Follow Pat on Instagram: instagram.com/pattomasulo
Follow Pat on Facebook: facebook.com/PatTomasulo
Wellness Check: WGN-TV Morning News Sports Anchor Pat Tomasulo (pt 2)
Brad and Pat talk about Pat having to do his daily TV show from home, his "very, very, very" conservative parents, why Pat thinks "Man of the People" didn't stick, how Pat filled Chicago potholes with buckets of delicious giardiniera, his wife's newfound love for professional wrestling, how social media has drastically changed his job, how he deals with trolls, starting out his broadcasting career in tiny Rhinelander, Wisc., how Brad and Pat met way back in 2005, and much, much more.
Follow Laugh Your Face Off at laughyourfaceoff.org
Follow Pat on Twitter: twitter.com/pattomasulo
Follow Pat on Instagram: instagram.com/pattomasulo
Follow Pat on Facebook: facebook.com/PatTomasulo
Wellness Check: Sun-Times sports reporter & former Heckler intern Brian Sandalow
Today's Wellness Check is with Sun-Times sports reporter Brian Sandalow. Based on a chance meeting at a Cubs game with Brad, Brian actually got his start "journalism" with The Heckler, where he "interned" for a couple years while in high school. He went on to bigger and better things, which he and Brad chronicle in this conversation. Brian had some stories about covering minor league hockey in a small Texas town on the Mexico border out of college. Brian eventually found his way back to Chicago where he worked for a few outlets, most recently the Sun-Times. He has covered the Cubs, Sox, Bulls, Blackhawks, Wolves, Sky, Fire, Northwestern athletics and more. This work ethic prompted Brad to call him a hustler, which he quickly corrected to "grinder" which doesn't sound much better in retrospect. Brad and Brian talk about journalism's existential crisis, some of the most memorable events Brian has covered, Brian's much cooler brother who works for AS Roma, how being a sports journalist makes it tough to maintain your fandom, what a struggle it is to play as the Bulls on NBA 2K, what Brian would sacrifice for the quarantine to come to a quick and responsible end, and much more. Follow Brian on Twitter: twitter.com/BrianSandalow
Wellness Check: Scott Weiner from The Fifty/50 Restaurant Group
Today's Wellness Check is with Scott Weiner, co-founder of The Fifty/50 Group. Scott and his company have been in the news lately as they work to find ways to support their staff and fellow hospitality workers. They've been serving hundreds of meals a day to those in need, despite having to close most of their locations due to the quarantine.
Brad and Scott talk about those efforts, how he, his partners and investors are weathering this storm, Scott's thoughts on the controversy around GrubHub and similar third-party delivery services, how The Fifty/50 emerged as a go-to spot for athletes and other noteworthy people, his relationship with people like Brian Urlacher, Lovie Smith, Glendon Rusch, Derrek Lee, Kerry Wood and many others, what he would sacrifice for the quarantine to come to a quick and responsible end, and much more.
Support The Fifty/50 Food Drive Raffle: https://rafflecreator.com/pages/37387/the-fifty50-groups-food-drive-raffle
Check out The Fifty/50 Group and all its restaurants/concepts here: https://www.thefifty50group.com/
Order from Roots Pizza right now: https://www.rootspizza.com/
Weekly Weekend Wellness Check: Chug-Chug the Comeback Clown
Wellness Check: Peanut Tillman
Today's Wellness Check guest is former Bears great Charles Tillman. He and Brad talk about how the quarantine is impacting him and his family, the amazing amount of admirable charity work he did during his career and continues to do in retirement through his Cornerstone Foundation and other initiatives, how much he appreciates teammates like Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs making a case for Tillman to be in the Hall of Fame (he's the career leader in forced fumbles by a DB and No. 6 overall), the brotherhood he and his teammates shared under the leadership of Lovie Smith, his role in the FBI, the toughest thing about retirement, the best WRs he matched up against, the time he complimented Aaron Rodgers during a game, the Bears teammates he keeps in touch with, why he could go vegetarian but probably never vegan, what he'd sacrifice for the quarantine to come to a quick and responsible end, and much more. Check out the Charles Tillman Cornerstone Foundation at charlestillman.org and follow Charles on Twitter twitter.com/peanuttillman.
Wellness Check: Physical trainer and Wrigley beer vendor Vinnie Avila
Brad and Vinnie talked about a bunch of interesting stuff, including how they both married out of their leagues, the keys to staying active during the doldrums of the quarantine, how Vinnie's family and business are adapting to the quarantine, his first memories of going to Wrigley and noticing the vendors, what it felt like walking out of Soldier Field with $300 in his pocket after his first time vending in 1999, what he would sacrifice for the quarantine, and much more.
Check out 360 Active Recovery at iam360active.com and www.360hiit.com and follow them on Instagram at instagram.com/360activerecovery
Wellness Check: Danny Rockett of the Son Ranto Podcast and much more
Wellness Check: Matt Szczur unintentionally makes Brad feel bad about himself
Today's Wellness Check is with Matt Szczur. What a dude! In addition to being an MLB player who won a ring with the Cubs in 2016, Matt was a standout "do it all" MVP football player for the 2009 NCAA FCS champion Villanova Wildcats. He made international headlines in 2016 when ESPN told the story of his bone marrow donation that saved the life of a young Ukrainian girl. He and his wife now run the "Szcz the Day" Matt Szczur Foundation, which increases awareness about bone marrow donation and much more. He's also an accomplished painter, selling his amazing prints for thousands of dollars to benefit a variety of charities.
So basically, he's the kind of guy who inadvertently makes the rest of us feel like chumps. But he's so damn nice about it.
In addition to his awesomeness, Brad and Matt talk about Matt's time with the Cubs, including his disappointment at being left off the 2016 playoff roster, the time Anthony Rizzo used Matt's bat to break out of his 2016 playoff slump, what it felt like to be traded to the Padres in May 2017, his impressive but injury-laden 2019 campaign in the Diamondbacks farm system, what he hopes 2020 holds for him while playing in the Phillies system, enjoying the quarantine life with his wife and newborn son, the former Cubs teammates he stills stays in touch with, and much more.
Links
ESPN E:60 about his bone marrow donation: https://vimeo.com/188176176
The "Szcz the Day" Matt Szczur Foundation: https://www.szcztheday.com
Szcz the Day merch: https://szczthedayshop.com
How to join the National Bone Marrow Registry: https://join.bethematch.org
A gallery of Matt's artwork: https://mattszczurart.com
Wellness Re-Check: Joe Johnson from Obvious Shirts
Today's Wellness Re-Check is with Joe Johnson from Obvious Shirts. We first checked in with Joe a few weeks back to see how the quarantine was treating him. The good news is that people are still buying shirts and Joe is raising quite a bit of money for COVID-19-related charitable efforts.
Brad and Joe also talked about Joe's efforts to keep his business moving despite the pandemic, how emails and social posts from angry customers really bother him, why he has to be careful with certain shirt designs now that his business is as popular as it is. the partnership he's working on with ESPN-1000's Marc Silverman after he was diagnosed with lymphoma recently, Joe and Brad's first sports memories, and much more.
Follow Obvious Shirts at obviousshirts.com.
Group Wellness Check: Chug-Chug, Joe Malonecki & Jen
Among the many topics discussed: Brad's invitation to join the illuminati, our discovery of a FB page called "ChugHub," advice for Brad before getting his hair clippered, feedback from last week's episode, Chug-Chug's Earth Day tips and thoughts for redesigning Wrigley Field, Joe's troubles at home (both with his neighbor's WiFi and his wife South Side Gina, Jen's issues with White Claw, and much more.
Watch a video of this on YouTube: youtu.be/yVc1m0FQ7PU
Wellness Check: Haymarket Books author/publicist & former Army Ranger Rory Fanning
Craig Hodges book: www.haymarketbooks.org/books/964-long-shot
Scoop Jackson’s book: www.haymarketbooks.org/books/1409-the-game-is-not-a-game
Wellness Check: The Heckler’s South Side corespondent Joe Malonecki
Wellness Check: Brand marketer & Pizza Summit founder Anthony Spina
Wellness Check: Standup comedian, writer and 'prolific-taker' CJ Sullivan
Today's Wellness Check guest is CJ Sullivan. CJ and Brad talk about their days of running in similar circles in Chicago, some of the hilarious things CJ's been doing/posting on social media lately including a balcony standup performance he put on for his neighbors, his thoughts on Scottie Pippen's contract drama in "The Last Dance," an epic Kenny Rogers story, an equally epic 2 Chainz Vegas story, and much more.
For all things CJ, check out cjsullivancomedy.com.
Follow CJ on Twitter: twitter.com/CJSullivan_ and Instagram: www.instagram.com/cj_sullivan_was_taken/.
Pick up CJ's recent album "Why Am I Complaining?" (recorded in Chicago at Timothy O'Tooles) on Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/CJSullvanAmazon or iTunes: https://tinyurl.com/CJSullivaniTunes.
Check out his Visitors Locker Room Podcast: https://tinyurl.com/VLRPodcast
Wellness Check: Christian Deme from Blackhawks FB page Joel Quenneville's Mustache
Today's Wellness Check is with Christian Deme who runs the popular Blackhawks fan Facebook page Joel Quenneville's Mustache. Chris is the smartest Blackhawks fan we know so after talking about how he's handling the quarantine, Brad and Chris took a deep dive on all things Hawks.
First, the good news: Chris is really excited for the young defensive core the Blackhawks have in place, including the signing of draft pick Ian Mitchell. Chris also talks about how he feels about the offensive players and goalie and front office/coaching situations. Spoiler alert: Chris has a deeper take than "Stan sucks!"
Brad and Chris also talked about how casual fans can tell if a coach or GM sucks, if it's unique that the Hawks seem to bring back guys from some of their championship teams with mixed success at best, and much more. Follow JQM on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jqmustache and follow Chris on Twitter at twitter.com/StacheEsq.
Also, Chris wanted to make sure he added this commentary to the photo of him kissing the Cup: "It was incredibly uncomfortable because I know the unwritten rules, but a Hawks rep asked me to do it for a newspaper photo op. My response was, 'Wait, really? I’m allowed to? It doesn’t feel right.'"
Wellness Check: Chicago Ald. Ed Bus (53rd)
Brad checks in with esteemed Ald. Ed Bus of Chicago's 53rd Ward. Among the topics discussed: How Ed and his family are sheltering in place, how Ed's various essential business ventures (Ed Bus Sausages, Ed Bus Truck & Tow, Ed Bus Tuckpointing, and the Ed Bus Chop House) are holding up, what his wife Dorse Carson Pirie Scott Bus is doing during the quarantine, some of Ed's favorite Steven Seagal movies, how protesters would be handled if they showed up at City Hall, why Ed thinks basketball isn't a sport, what the Ed Bus Tumblers are up to these days), and much more. This is also available as a video podcast: https://youtu.be/P7TlLFMtOs4
Wellness Check: Chug-Chug the Comeback Clown
Today's Wellness Check guest is a major score for The Heckler and a throwback for our fans from the good ol' days. This is also available as a video: https://youtu.be/GeTss3R6DdA
Wellness Check: Will Perdue (part 2)
The second half of our Wellness Check with Will Perdue. Enjoy! Follow Will on Twitter: twitter.com/Will_Perdue32
Wellness Check: Will Perdue (part 1)
Today's Wellness Check guest is Will Perdue. Will and Brad talk about a ton of interesting stuff. Will was very forthright about his current financial situation, among many other things. We of course talk a bunch about his time with the first three-peat Bulls. Among the many other things we discussed are whether he ever gets tired of talking about the glory days, the time Michael Jordan punched him in the face in practice, the time an injured Scottie Pippen got dragged off the floor by a ref so play could continue, his thoughts on the league now vs. back in his day, how the 2020 Bulls left him feeling (spoiler alert: not good), if he was surprised it took a global catastrophe for GarPax to get canned, his long history with John Paxson, how he handles pushback from players and coaches on his analysis, his second stint with the Bulls in 1999-2000 that sounds pretty dysfunctional and not just because Ron Artest was on that team (though we got a few good Ron Artest stories), what he'd sacrifice for the quarantine to come to a responsible end, and much more. Follow Will on Twitter: twitter.com/Will_Perdue32
Wellness Check: Paul Czarnowski
Wellness Check: Paul Dzien from Crawly's Clubhouse
Today's Wellness Check guest is Cubs mega-fan Paul Dzien who's taken the love of his team to a new level, launching Crawly's Cubhouse and building a pretty solid following on social media (Twitter in particular). Paul told Brad about giving Miguel Montero his World Series ring at the 2017 on-field ceremony, getting threatened with an ass-kicking by an 89-year-old Tommy Lasorda, his partnership with Pat Hughes, his boatload of appearances on NBC Sports Chicago's "Beer Money" trivia show, and much more. Follow Paul on Twitter: twitter.com/crawlyscubs