Rick O'Dell

Brand Manager, Former Program Director, Smooth Jazz historian.

[Rick O'Dell @Rick_ODell]

Here's what we missed in Chicago, since WBBM Newsradio made the transition to ABC News earlier in the day and did not air the very last CBS News Radio newscast at 11:31pm. Well done, Christopher Cruise!

[Steve Futterman @sfutterman]

CBS RADIO'S FINALE - 1927-2026 - The final CBS News Radio broadcast. This was the 11.31pm eastern time broadcast. The anchor is Christopher Cruise. From the Broadcast Center on West 57th. It was a pretty good 99 year run. @CBSNews @CBSRadio

[Rick O'Dell @Rick_ODell]

There's a site where you can look up all the instrumental tracks the Weather Channel used from 1983 to 2011. This is the tune that we got asked about most often at WNUA: https://t.co/Bi3YnJaHxR. Ironically, we never played that one on 95.5.

[Rob Hart @RobHartWBBM]

One of my favorite feature stories of all time is the profile of the person who curated the smooth jazz playlist for the Local Forecast segment. He had a cult following and took requests!

[Rick O'Dell @Rick_ODell]

If memory serves, WJJD-AM was the Chicago affiliate for the ABC Information Radio Network.

[Rob Hart @RobHartWBBM]

The ABC information network was anchored by KGO/San Francisco and KABC/Los Angeles. Contemporary had the Top 40 powerhouses WLS and WABC. FM had WPLJ/New York, WRIF/Detroit, KLOS/Los Angeles

[Rick O'Dell @Rick_ODell]

Also, from 1974 to 1982, they aired the CBS Radio Mystery Theater. An extraordinary series that had this young teen cowering under the blanket with his transistor radio every night. E.G. Marshall was the host; well-known Hollywood actors voiced the various roles.

[Rick O'Dell @Rick_ODell]

"Las Vegas Turnaround (The Stewardess Song)" is one of the greatest deep tracks of all time.

[Doug Glanville @dougglanville]

Abandoned Luncheonette is flawless as an album.

I can never choose a top 10. Too many songs I love. Many were not hits!

[Rick O'Dell @Rick_ODell]

Dansby Swanson and Alex Bregman went 1-2 in the 2015 MLB draft. That's the reason Bregman wears #2. They'll be partners on the left side of the Cubs infield now. (I wonder what it'll take for Nico to give up wearing #2.)

[Rick O'Dell @Rick_ODell]

In 1976, on WLS, back when they were new songs.

[Chicago TV Guides @ChicagoTVGuides]

@Rick_ODell They both have a lot of views on YouTube. Do you mean they didn't get any play on WLS? https://t.co/NRW4O61eDd

[Rick O'Dell @Rick_ODell]

Two songs in their Top 20, #15 "Teddy Bear" and #20 "Young Hearts Run Free" never made it to the air even though they achieved prime positions on the survey.

[Chicago TV Guides @ChicagoTVGuides]

This week in 1976
"Afternoon Delight" is top single.
WLS Music Survey. Week ending August 7, 1976

[Rick O'Dell @Rick_ODell]

That's called passing the audition for the parent club, which is the MLB leader in grounded into fewest double plays per game. Cubs at #1 with 0.42 GIDP/game, way out in front of #2 Milwaukee, which is second at 0.53.

[Greg Huss @OutOfTheVines]

Owen Caissie has 381 plate appearances this year. He has grounded into ZERO double plays.

[Rick O'Dell @Rick_ODell]

Case in point: Daniel Palencia last Friday vs. the Orioles. Was throwing 100+ mph heat but the O's were hitting rockets. Only the wind blowing in saved them.

[Matt Clapp @TheBlogfines]

It's crazy how well MLB hitters can time 104 mph (!) these days.

Also why guys who throw 100 mph but can't execute well/mix in other solid pitches sometimes struggle in the majors now. 10, 20, 30, 40 years ago that might've worked, but now hitters frequently eat those up.

[Rick O'Dell @Rick_ODell]

ABC-7 anchor just said, “We’re halfway through the year…” Five minutes later, the co-anchor repeated the exact phrase. Their calendar must end on October 31.

[Jon Hansen @JonHansenTalks]

The number of people who think we are halfway through 2025 on June 1st is a bit alarming.

[Rick O'Dell @Rick_ODell]

Weatherman-I-shall-not-name on ABC-7 referred to this more than half a dozen times last week.

[Jon Hansen @JonHansenTalks]

The number of people who think we are halfway through 2025 on June 1st is a bit alarming.

[Rick O'Dell @Rick_ODell]

The first TV/Radio critic I ever read. Got me in the habit of turning to that column first before I went anywhere else in the paper.

[Robert Feder @RobertFeder]

Gary Deeb, the influential Chicago TV and radio critic once dubbed "The Terror of the Tube" by Time magazine, died May 17 at 79. I worked as Deeb's legman at the Sun-Times from 1980 to 1983.

[Rick O'Dell @Rick_ODell]

And the promo that did it justice: https://t.co/6gIsyJdLeH

[Bob Sirott @BobSirott]

Back when local TV news in Chicago was very cool! ⁦@WGNRadio⁩

[Rick O'Dell @Rick_ODell]

Good read on your next off day, Greg: https://t.co/iIo101KzTt

[Greg Gabriel @ggabefootball]

The first Super Bowl I ever attended was Super Bowl XX in New Orleans where the ‘85 Bears made history.
I stayed over in New Orleans because the Combine would begin in a couple days.
On the morning of Jan. 28 I was having breakfast with Parcells after we worked out and the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger came in the TV. Just a minute after takeoff it exploded. The 2 of us sat in disbelief. What a horrible thing to watch live on TV. I’ll never forget that

[Rick O'Dell @Rick_ODell]

One of the most illuminating posts I've seen in years. Numbers are nothing without context. Most fans have a general sense of what's good when it comes to, say, Avg. and ERA. But the rest . . . . Thanks, Jon.

[Jon Anderson @JonPgh]

Here's a table on what is bad, average, and good in a bunch of popularly cited MLB stats.

Let me know what else I should add. I'm going to add a link to it in my resource glossary page on the Substack.

[Rick O'Dell @Rick_ODell]

"From the nation’s capital, Mutual Radio presents The Larry King Show, network radio’s most listened to coast-to-coast talk program. Featuring guests from around the world and calls from all across America. And now network radio’s #1 interviewer, Larry King."

[Bill Geerhart @CONELRAD6401240]

I can still hear the Mutual Broadcasting intro theme (as heard in the opening of @AlbertBrooks's LOST IN AMERICA) in my head. h/t @RobHartWBBM

[Rick O'Dell @Rick_ODell]

Quite the sweater on the late Jim Durham also.

[Rob Hart @RobHartWBBM]

Look. The White Sox sweater vest is my jam. But the Wimpy sweater is better.

[Rick O'Dell @Rick_ODell]

Are you equating "Write" with "Bat?" Rickey Henderson was a "Bat Right / Throw Left," which I'm thinking is the rarest combination. I say this, because I'm a BatR/ThrowL, and I always looked for that combo on the backs of baseball cards (Hello, Cleon Jones!).

[Tangotiger 🍁 @tangotiger]

81% are pure righties
11% are pure lefties

The other 8% are opposite-handed

RIP Rickey Henderson

[Rick O'Dell @Rick_ODell]

Chuck, who turned 84 last month, and Gap, who's 86, are still with us. Two of the nicest guys I've met in the contemporary jazz world. Their parents, Frank & Nancy, had no musical background but were close friends of Dizzy Gillespie and several other all-time greats of jazz.

[John Greenfield @greenfieldjohn]

While I don't condone social justice issue-inspired assassinations, the Luigi Mangione case did remind me of a fun family memory.
https://t.co/w3RwVh9o94