A vending update and some random thoughts

Since this blog is titled ‘The Hot Dog Guy’, I felt that I should update you on how I’ve been doing at the old ballpark on the corner of Clark and Addison.

On Tuesday, the number of vendors was by far the highest since the opening weekend Cardinals series. There were two reasons for this. 1) With every college in the country now completed, all of the student-vendors are now back. 2) The Union that all of us vendors belong to had another training session, so people who vended in past years but couldn’t make it to the session in March were now back.

Because of this, as well my constant lack of luck, I was forced to take kosher hot dogs. I don’t like koshers because they make less money then jumbo’s even though they cost more, (I know, it makes as much sense as Dusty starting Neifi Perez at second base) and because they are 3.75, meaning confusing math when a customer buys a large number of dogs. Anyways, I ended up doing only a little more then two loads, which I thought at the time was bad, but compared to the next night, it actually wasn’t horrible. Along with tips I made $96.35, which is below my average, but it’s still more then I started the night with. The Cubs of course lost.

Tuesday was also very cool because I saw two current Chicago athletes at the park. Sitting right behind home plate, about six rows up was Bulls point guard Chris Duhon. He didn’t buy a dog from me, but I did see him enjoying a bag of peanuts and an adult beverage. A few sections down from Duhon, right behind the Astros dugout, was Bears d-lineman Tommie Harris. He’s from Houston, and he made the Pro Bowl last year (Plus he isn’t holding out, one of the few Bears stars who can say that), so I don’t blame him for rooting for his hometown squad, even though he’s now a Chicagoan.

24 hours later I was back at the park. Again there were a bunch of vendors, and again I got unlucky and was forced to do Jew-dogs. I barely got off two loads, and tips were crap as well, giving me a total of $78.75. No star athletes, not much money, and once again, a Cubs loss.

Thursday was all right, though I had a killer headache and couldn’t really concentrate. Having a lack of concentration is acceptable if your job involves, lets say, folding papers or gutting fish, but when you have to shout at the top of your lungs while searching for people who are putting their hands up all while avoiding fellow vendors, senior-citizen ushers and the occasional foul ball, it makes work quite difficult. I did a bit over two loads of jumbo dogs, and tips were pretty good, so I made $95.60. Again no star athletes (though I did see my cousin), and of course, another Cubs defeat.

Three more games against Detroit this weekend, with temperatures expected in the 90s. Should be fun….


Five of my personal thoughts, all on different sports.

1- Remember when I said, ‘Throw the joke out the window along with the US’ World Cup chances and the Miami Heat championship T-shirts.’ Heh, heh, everybody knew I was kidding right? In all seriousness, I still think the Mavs will take it, despite the fact they choked in game three and showed up for only one quarter in game four. And by the way, why does ESPN and ABC act like they are just hearing of Dwayne Wade this week? Why are they surprised he is snapping like Lil Jon? Remember 2003, when he dropped a triple-double in the Elite Eight for Marquette and beat the top ranked Kentucky Wildcats and messed up everybody’s bracket? ‘Flash’ back to 2004, when the Shaq-less Heat were lead in scoring by a rookie guard in eight of their 13 playoff games, including a game seven first round win over the Hornets. Even last year, Wade dropped totals of 42, 40 and 36 in three consecutive playoff games. It’s Wades team. Dallas knows it. Shaq knows it. So why is the Worldwide Leader figuring this out just now?

2- I’m not a big golf fan, but I do pay attention during the majors. I saw a couple of shots this morning before heading off to work, and when I got home I saw a few more. Though it’s tough to root for the favorite, I’m really pulling for Tiger this weekend. His plus-six first round will make it tough to make it a memorable Fathers Day for him though.

3- I don’t claim to be a soccer fan. Never have, never will. I’ll admit, I’ve seen a few of these World Cup games, and I’ve developed a medium-sized interest. I read the articles, watch the highlights, and even have peeked at some of the live action. But I would never call myself a fan of the game. And because of that, I can’t say I’m proud of a certain squad, or in this year’s case, embarrassed for Team USA. Unfortunately, this doesn’t apply to everybody. On ESPN’s ‘Around the Horn’, as well as in Thursday’s ‘Sun-Times’, columnist Jay Marrioti, a writer who never has had a problem criticizing stuff, claimed that Team USA was ‘a waste of time’ and ‘a scam’. He says that coach Bruce Arena, “…showed the body language of a man so disgusted by the performance that he wished to separate himself from these inferior slugs beneath him.” Jay, go back to attempting to set the record for consecutive weeks you can write about how the Tribune Company needs to sell the Cubs.

4- If the Bears season started right now, their starting running back would be Cedric Benson. The linebackers surrounding Brian Urlacher would be Hunter Hillenmeyer and Leon Joe. The starting cornerbacks would be Peanut Tillman (Who still has Steve Smith’s cleat marks on his face) and Rickey Manning Jr. (Who could be in jail one year from now) Why is this? Because Thomas Jones, Lance Briggs and Nathan Vasher are all holding out due to contract disputes. The sad thing is that only Briggs has an honest beef with Bears management. Jones signed with the Bears for the chance to prove himself as an NFL back, and he did that. Finish your deal and be overpaid by some team desperate for a running back. Vasher still has two years left on his rookie deal, and other then the fact he gets picks, we still don’t know if this guy can cover. Put up another Pro Bowl year and you’ll definitely get that extension. Briggs does have a point though. The Bears told him they would re-work his deal, and after his 107 tackles, two sacks, and one INT return for a score in 2005, they should hold their word. Put him next to Urlaacher and you have the best LB duo in the league. Put him next to Joe and you have two LB’s whose full names are only two syllables.

5- Today is June 16. Mark Prior is coming back in a few days. Derek Lee will be back in a week or so. And I am saying that I feel the Cubs should give up on this season. Trade Maddux, Pierre, Todd Walker, or pretty much anybody besides those two guys returning and the Carlos’. Lets see what Angel Guzmann and Rich Hill can do for a half-season without the pressure of messing up and being sent to AAA. We’ve heard all about Felix Pie, so bring him up. Try hitting Cedeno leadoff or Murton third. Make Novoa the closer. It’s obvious that all these high priced veterans aren’t going to get us to the playoffs, so why not build for the future. It’s tough to think that way, especially with three and a half months left in the season, the World Champs playing only eight miles away and being in the third largest city in the country. But what Jim Hendry may not realize is that a baseball club is meant to win, not to earn money. The Cubs aren’t going to win in ’06 with the current roster, so lets change it up.