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.
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.
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.
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.
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
Today's Wellness Check is with Kiley Enmark, who helps run three hot yoga studios in Chicago and is always down to have a good time. That second quality is probably why she and Brad have become very good friends over the years. In this Wellness Check, Kiley and Brad talk about how Kiley's 105F yoga studios have quickly evolved during the quarantine to offer livestreaming classes for people around the world, Kiley's collegiate soccer career, her "Rookie of the Year" award at The Heckler's Spring Training trip this year, how she's apparently on a first-name basis with Flo Rida and Rob Gronkowski, and much more. Follow 105F at 105F.com
Part 1: Today's Wellness Check is with Pat Tomasulo from the WGN Morning News. In addition to his role as a sports anchor, Pat is a standup comic, hosted a Saturday evening comedy show called "Man of the People," and started a charity called Laugh Your Face Off to benefit The Facial Pain Research Foundation which supports efforts to end trigeminal neuralgia which is an extremely painful condition Pat's wife suffers from. 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
Part 2: Today's Wellness Check is with Pat Tomasulo from the WGN Morning News. In addition to his role as a sports anchor, Pat is a standup comic, hosted a Saturday evening comedy show called "Man of the People," and started a charity called Laugh Your Face Off to benefit The Facial Pain Research Foundation which supports efforts to end trigeminal neuralgia which is an extremely painful condition Pat's wife suffers from. 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
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
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.
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
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.
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/
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
Today's Wellness Re-Check is with Ethan Blumenthal, The Heckler's resident millennial jackass. Ethan and Brad discuss a number of topics, including the amount of time Ethan claims he's "too young" to understand a pop culture reference Brad makes, Ethan's thoughts on "The Last Dance," who is his fourth favorite Chicago Bull from that era, the news The Heckler broke that Len Kasper is joining GWAR (a band Ethan had not heard of), The Heckler getting a tweet liked by Gheorghe Mureșan (whom Ethan had not heard of), the time Ethan got half of his pinky finger severed off because his older brothers wanted to show off their karate moves, and the exciting "Together We Camp" venture Ethan's company Knuckleball Comedy kicked off this week in partnership with other cool kids' focused entertainment providers. For more info on that last item, visit knuckleballcomedy.com.
Where to start with today's Wellness Check guest? Brad and Dante Deiana first met in approximately 2010 playing pickup basketball at the Berto Center (former practice facility of the Bulls and featured prominently in "The Last Dance"). 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
Today's Wellness Check is with John Burks, a friend of Brad's who happens to be black. Brad and John usually wind up talking about race when they spend time together so now that no one can see each other in person, a Wellness Check seemed appropriate. 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
This weekend's Wellness Check is with Brad's mom, Julie Ehlert. Due to the quarantine, Brad won't be able to see his mom in person. She's been dealing with a series of health issues that are discussed in this Wellness Check. 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.
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/
In what's becoming a weekly feature, Brad checks in with Heckler mascot and occasional spokesperson Chug-Chug the Comeback Clown in his quarantine bunker located somewhere on Chicago's North Side. This weekend's conversation recaps Heckler news from the previous week. Unfortunately Chug-Chug is only capable of discussing Cubs-related news so he doesn't offer much about The Last Dance, Brad's Wellness Check with Peanut Tillman or Alex Smith's disgusting leg injury. He does, however, have plenty to say about the Wellness Check Brad did with Matt Szczur as well as Chug-Chug's efforts to get the Cubs to replace the Wrigley Field grass with blue turf from Empire.