What a Sunday, huh? The Bears, the Sox AND the Blackhawks all won... and the Cubbies almost did it too, losing to the Reds 3-2. Nice 19-16 win by the Bears against the Vikings. The Bears are now one of only four teams that have started 3-0 this season. I have been particularly impressed by Rex Grossman. He still makes some mistakes, but he has been battling back when the going gets tough... the mark of a seasoned pro and a champion. Maybe THIS is the year for the Bears? Let's cross our fingers. The Sox are probably done, but then again if they can "cinch it up and hunker down", plus get a little (o.k... a LOT of) help from the baseball gods, perhaps making the playoffs can still happen. In talking with Sox players Brian Anderson and Rob Mackowiak during some joint public appearances we made at US Cellular stores this past week, I get the feeling the boys are down about things, but not ready to give up. It sure would be exciting if another "Miracle On 35th" is possible. Here's hoping. Last but not least, the Blackhawks are 5-0 in the pre-season. I went to Sunday's game against the Minnesota Wild at the United Center (Minneapolis didn't win THAT game either!) with the Hawks winning 5-2. The team is looking better this year, with a more shooting-intensive approach. It seems to be working since the Hawks out shot the Wild 44 - 27. In fact, had they kept up the aggressive approach of the first two periods instead of getting defensive to protect the lead, the Hawks were on pace to rack up 50 shots on net. Now THAT'S impressive and a very distinct difference from last year. Defensively, Nikolai Khabibulin is playing better (working more with goaltending coach Vladislav Tretiak seems to have paid off), and defenseman Duncan Keith continues to develop into a first rate player. In addition, the Hawks grabbed a great forward in the off-season named Jonathan Toews. He's only 18, but was touted as the best new prospect in the draft. He has elected to finish his schooling first (a wise and mature decision), but will likely add even more offense in the near future as the team continues to rebuild. It's probably not our "season" quite yet, but the team this year looks like it could be a contender and engaging to watch. It would be a welcome change, since last year's team was rather frustrating to watch, losing some 26 games by a one goal margin. This season will be better for another reason as well. There will be seven games at home against four of the "Original Six" heritage teams (that include the Blackhawks) which was lacking since the lockout. Four games against the Detroit Red Wings, and one each with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens. The only team of the six we will not face this year at home will be the New York Rangers. There are three more pre-season games (all on the road) before the regular season begins on the road versus the Nashville Predators October 5th and the home opener with the Columbus Blue Jackets October 7th.

Caught the final show of a special 3 night stand for Queensryche at the HOB over the weekend. This was the first ever staging of their ambitious Operation Mindcrime I and II rock opera/rock musical here in Chicago. Operation Mindcrime I (CD and accompanying show) was originally released in 1988 and the long awaited sequel Operation Mindcrime II came out just a few months ago. Unfortunately due to my on-air commitments this week, I was unable to honor the band's request that I once again be a "special guest" member of the cast (I played a guest role in the re-staging of Operation Mindcrime I last year... great fun!), but was able to see the presentation in it's entirety Saturday night. What a show! Flawless playing, singing, acting, execution and perfect timing/synchronization with the big screen accents made this a show not to be missed. Geoff Tate sang his opera-trained butt off and managed to do so while playing the main role in both... for 3 hours! This back to back offering was one (if not THE) most fully realized show of it's type. The Who, Pink Floyd and Meatloaf have all dabbled in this genre, but Queensryche managed to trump them all by the mere fact that they went even further with the concept. The band then came back out again and even did a couple more encore numbers including "Last Time In Paris." The crowd was ecstatic and went home fully drained. "Two wings up... way up!" sez Byrd. Broadway should seriously look at this show. See it if you can... you'll be very impressed. You can do just that as the Loop brings 'em back for another show, Friday November 17th at the Star Plaza Theatre in Merrillville, IN.

Speaking of theatre, I also attended the 5th annual Madhatter's Ball benefiting the Lookingglass Theatre Company recently. As always, a good time with many attendees getting dressed up in costumes. David Schwimmer (Lookingglass founder and member of the "Friends" TV cast), Joey Slotnick ("Nip/Tuck"), Shondrella Avery ("Napoleon Dynamite") and many others also attended. The ticket price included an open bar and a gift bag, so it was a good deal AND a worthwhile cause. By the ball's end, over $100,000 had been raised and will fuel the next year's worth of productions at Lookingglass.

In a related note... got together with Fred Armisen ("Saturday Night Live", "Anchorman") and Horatio Sanz ("SNL", "Roadtrip") while Fred was filming scenes here in town for the upcoming movie "Quebec." Talked a lot of music (Fred is a fellow Beatle fan and a huge Loop fanatic) and about how much he missed living in Chicago now that he has relocated to New York for SNL. Looks like "Quebec" will be good. Given the context of the film, maybe they should do all the dialogue in the snotty Frenchman from Monty Python's "Holy Grail" voice... "I told heem we already gawt waaaaan!"

After the recent Styx/Foreigner show at Northerly Island, I hosted the after show party at the Hard Rock Cafe, giving away some great prizes and chatting with the excited concert goers. The concert received a glowing review from all. JY of Styx tells me they will have a new live DVD and CD to release November 14. Two new Styx songs will be included in the package. You can catch Styx live December 29th at the Star Plaza Theatre and December 30th at the Genesee Theatre.

And last but not least... GO SOX!!! GO BEARS!!!

Here we are my friend... hard to believe it's been 5 years since the tragedy of 9/11. I have been thinking a lot about the days surrounding that fateful moment lately. At the time, I was hosting a morning show on a rock station in the Philadelphia area, only 90 miles or so from the World Trade Center. A number of my listeners worked in the buildings and traveled back and forth each day from Philadelphia to New York. As the day's terrible events unfolded, it became abundantly apparent that this was no accident, but rather a pre-meditated act of mass murder, hatred and terrorism. My show was scheduled to end at 10 am, but by about 9:10am, it was clear that I would need to stay over and transform from my usual role as a mirth merchant to straight news reporter, gathering and relating the latest updates for our equally shocked and bewildered audience. I stayed on the air through the afternoon, but I hardly noticed the hours flying by. Before long, calls started coming in from my listeners who had somehow managed to get out alive. To say their tales were chilling would be a grand understatement. I will never forget the fear and confusion in their voices. Just sharing their experiences with me and the audience seemed to help calm them down, but I imagine their emotional scars will never quite heal. A particularly disturbing and horrific realization settled in later in the week. A friend of the station staff had just lost a young son in his early 20's the week prior in a car crash. She learned some days after 9/11 that her other son (also in his early 20's) had been killed in the collapse of the second tower. That week was his very first at his new job, and he was very excited and proud to be working at such a prestigious address. It was simply heartbreaking and beyond words. Out of all the unnecessary pain and suffering of 9/11, came something miraculous and worthwhile for all of us, though... we all started treating one another with more patience, understanding, kindness, tolerance and love... something we should have been doing all along. It taught us that a loved one, a friend, an acquaintance or a co-worker could easily be torn from our lives at any given moment. It taught us to savor and enjoy each moment with these people and to make sure that we are letting them know and demonstrating through our actions how much they mean to us, lest we never get another chance to do so. Anything that we as humans ever allow to hold us apart or disagree about seems so petty and trivial in light of what can and did happen.

"Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion, too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...
It's easy if you try"

John Lennon

After 9/11, the love and the understanding we showed others continued unabated for about 3 - 6 months. Slowly but surely though, it seems we all eventually started drifting back to our old ways. Bringing back the people killed cannot be done... changing history is impossible, too. Changing the present and the future for the better IS something we can accomplish together. The best way to memorialize the victims of 9/11 is for each one of us to take the lessons we learned that day and remember to keep applying them in our own lives every day of every year... instead of just for a few days or a few months. Our lives, our future and our world will be much better for it.

A couple of news items caught my eye lately. One of the boats used in "Gilligan's Island" as the S.S. Minnow is now for sale. The one in question is the one used in the opening credits of season two. The asking price is $100,000 and you'll have to go to Vancouver, B.C. to get it. In total, there were four boats known to be used in shooting the series. As a kid, I spent many an after-school afternoon giggling in front of the TV at the antics of the 7 castaways. Years later, I received a thrill when the (now) late Bob Denver (Gilligan) and Dawn Wells (Mary-Ann) stopped by to say hello to me during my show. They were every bit as nice as you would have imagined they would be. Much to my delight, I learned Dawn Wells has a very naughty (wink-wink, nudge-nudge) sense of humor not evident in the TV show. She showed her known sentimental side by later surprising me with a hand-typed and signed thank you letter for the time I gave them on the show. I was glad to see the entire series was finally released on DVD. All the episodes (including the pilot... featuring several different actors instead of the ones who eventually did the show) plus bonus materials make it a nice keep-sake for those who enjoyed the series. The episodes have been re-mastered and as a result look and sound much better than how they appeared on television. I have been watching an episode here and there when my time allows. Interesting that Sherwood Schwartz (producer), said in an interview that he did not know what had become of the boats used in the series, but sure would like to find and purchase one. I bet we know who will be buying the "Minnow" being sold in B.C!

Also in the news... the inventor of the "Philly Cheese-steak" is dead. Harry Olivieri and his brother Pat (they named the place "Pat's King of Steaks") teamed up in 1933 in Philadelphia after growing tired of the limited local street food offerings. The rest as they say, is history. Having spent 5 years working radio in the Philly area, I developed a great taste for Philly Cheese-steaks. You'll feel like a snake that ate an elephant afterwards, but they sure are tasty! Makes me think I should market my favorite drink, affectionately known as "Byrd's Brew" by the folks at my local Starbucks. It's like lightning in a bottle, this stuff. It's something I came up with after years of tinkering. After being asked for the recipe numerous times... maybe I'm on to something? Four shots of expresso, 10 pumps of vanilla syrup, and uses cream instead of milk. Add sugar to your taste (I take four sugar in the raw's for the large cup) and you have a drink that tastes great and will jump start a corpse! (or a very sleepy Byrd)