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iTunes Top 200 Artists: #91-100

Music.  It is a powerful thing that brings people together, creates memories, and evokes emotions.  It is the universal language that speaks to the soul.  It forms the soundtrack of our lives.

It has now been five years since we last counted down the Top 200 artists in my iTunes library, featuring the songs I have listened to the most since 2007.  It is time to do so again, seeing which performers still resonate and if any newer ones have joined the fray.  So, without further ado, here are my most listened to artists, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2026.

We kick off the second half of our list today with the next batch of ten artists, spanning the 60s through the 90s, and including a certain green, felt frog.

#100: Bobby Brown
iTunes stats: 113 plays
Previous ranking: #101

The Boston-born former member of New Edition picked up 29 new listens spread across the five solo tracks in my collection.

#99: Soundgarden
iTunes stats: 114 plays
Previous ranking: #101

A nearly 36% increase for the five different tracks that I’ve listened to from the bastions of Seattle’s alternative scene.

#98: Ugly Kid Joe
iTunes stats: 115 plays
Previous ranking: #96

The California-based hard rock band, who missed out on opening for Def Leppard at the World back in the summer of 1993 after singer Whitfield Crane got himself arrested the previous night in Columbus, Ohio for encouraging the crowd to attack the security guards, managed to pick up 35 new listens over these last five years.

#97: Tommy James & The Shondells
iTunes stats: 117 plays
Previous ranking: #96

The Michigan-based 60s psychedelic group added 29 additional plays to the four songs that are in my collection.

#96: Roxette
Continue reading →

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Another One Bites The Dust

Little more than a year after the death of former co-star Michelle Trachtenberg, Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Nicholas Brendon died Friday at his San Francisco home at the age of 54.  Brendon, who had suffered public struggles with alcohol and drug abuse and mental illness, revealed in 2023 that he had suffered a heart attack and had been diagnosed with a congenital heart defect.  His death is believed to have been due to natural causes.

Brendon made his first mark in the entertainment industry as Xander Harris on Buffy, starring for the show’s seven season run between the WB and the CW.  He failed to find long term success following the show’s end, starring in the adaptation of Anthony Bourdain’s memoir Kitchen Confidential, which lasted four episodes, and scoring notable guest appearances on Criminal Minds and Private Practice.

It has been a rough week for Buffy fans, with Brendon’s death coming on the heels of the news that Hulu was passing on the pilot for the planned sequel series from director Chloe Zhao and original star Sarah Michelle Gellar.

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White Sox All Time Leaders – Through 2025

To paraphrase from a famous movie, the one constant through all the years has been baseball.  With the start of the 2026 season coming this week, we wrap up our look at the all-time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. Today, we take a deeper dive into the Chicago White Sox.

The White Sox, charter members of the American League, celebrated their 125th anniversary last year.  I’ve seen 615 players wearing the various White Sox uniforms in the 765 of their games that I’ve attended live, including every home playoff appearance since 2000, except for Game 1 of the 2005 World Series.

Home Runs

Name Total
Paul Konerko 92
Jose Abreu 49
Jermaine Dye 39

Hits

Name Total
Paul Konerko 363
Alexei Ramirez 299
Jose Abreu 273

Runs

Name Total
Paul Konerko 199
Alexei Ramirez 133
Jose Abreu 129

RBI

Name Total
Paul Konerko 234
Jose Abreu 159
Alexei Ramirez 138

Doubles

Name Total
Paul Konerko 57
Jose Abreu 53
Alexei Ramirez 49

Triples Continue reading →

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Standing Alone Atop The Mountain

On November 8, 2022, about eight minutes into his first game as a freshman, Braden Smith passed the ball to Trey Kaufman-Renn, who scored and gave Smith his first career assist.  Last night, about eight minutes into the first game of the NCAA Tournament as a senior, Braden Smith passed the ball to Trey Kaufman-Renn, who scored and gave Smith his record-breaking 1,077th career assist.  The play moved Smith past Duke’s Bobby Hurley for the NCAA’s career assists record; one Hurley had held since 1993.  Smith finished the game with eight assists, giving him 1,083 for his career.  He will attempt to add on to that total tomorrow as Purdue takes on Miami in the round of 32.

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Cubs All Time Leaders – Through 2025

To paraphrase from a famous movie, the one constant through all the years has been baseball.  With the start of the 2026 season coming next week, we start to wind down our look at the all-time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. Today, we take a deeper dive into the Chicago Cubs.

The Cubs, dating back to 1870, were charter members of the National League in 1876.  I’ve seen 544 players wearing a Cub uniform in the 463 of their games that I’ve attended live at nine different stadiums across seven cities, with the earliest identified game at Wrigley Field on August 4, 1984 against the Mets, through their NLDS appearance against the Brewers last fall.

Home Runs

Name Total
Sammy Sosa 42
Aramis Ramirez 41
Derrek Lee 38

Hits

Name Total
Derrek Lee 245
Aramis Ramirez 216
Sammy Sosa 136

Runs

Name Total
Derrek Lee 136
Aramis Ramirez 114
Sammy Sosa 102

RBI

Name Total
Aramis Ramirez 151
Derrek Lee 128
Sammy Sosa 97

Doubles

Name Total
Derrek Lee 51
Aramis Ramirez 48
Michael Barrett 29

Triples Continue reading →

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Active Pitching Leaders – Through 2025

Last week, we looked at the active leaders in games I’ve attended through 2025 on the offensive side of the ball.  With spring training winding down and Opening Day just a few days away, let’s take a look at the defensive side of the ball and the active pitching leaders.

Wins

Name Total
Chris Sale 21
Lucas Giolito 12
Reynaldo Lopez 10
Jose Quintana 9
Dylan Cease 7
Carlos Rodon 7

Losses

Name Total
Jose Quintana 17
Carlos Rodon 13
Chris Sale 12
Lucas Giolito 9
Michael Kopech 8

ERA (> 35 IP)

Name Total
Taijuan Walker 2.25
Liam Hendriks 2.88
Chris Sale 3.09
Dylan Cease 3.28
Aaron Bummer 3.31

ERA (> 70 IP)

Name Total
Chris Sale 3.09
Dylan Cease 3.28
Aaron Bummer 3.31
Reynaldo Lopez 3.64
Jose Quintana 4.16

Strikeouts

Name Total
Chris Sale 313
Jose Quintana 216
Lucas Giolito 185
Continue reading →
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Put On Your Dancing Shoes

The nation’s attention turns to the college hoops scene for the next few weeks as the NCAA tournament kicks off later today.  I’m not in any pools this year, so most of these selections have no ultimate bearing on my life, aside from personal pride.  With the Final Four and the Championship taking place just down the road in Indianapolis, I may have to expend a not-insignificant amount of money should a certain school from West Lafayette manage to make it that far.  So, without further ado, let’s take a look at this year’s selections.

Maybe it is personal bias, but I am expecting big things from the two Big Ten teams in this bracket, including one making their way to the Final Four.

Purdue followed up a disappointing end to the regular season with a spirited run through the Big Ten Tournament to capture the championship.  Are they fixed?  Well, I hope so since I have them coming out of this region and heading to Indy. Continue reading →

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Fitbit 12 – Week 8

A pretty great week, as I surpassed 30,000 steps for the fifth straight week, ran my streak of 4000+ days to 20, and notched my highest step total completely in the state of Illinois since July.  The week got off to a good start on Sunday thanks to unseasonably warm temperatures, leading to a longer walk through the neighborhood finishing 18 steps away from 6300.  Record high temperatures on Monday facilitated a walk to Walgreens to pick up a prescription, which left me with 7700 steps, the first time I’ve reached my daily goal since January’s trip to California.  The temperature, and my step total, dropped on Tuesday, but I still managed 4800 steps.  The low point of the week came on Wednesday, but that still ended up at 4400 steps.  An impromptu trip to the United Center on Thursday to see Purdue battle Northwestern in the Big Ten Tournament left me 22 steps shy of 4100.  A return trip on Friday to see Purdue defeat Nebraska was even better, finishing 26 steps away from 6200.  Saturday finished the week strong with 4750 steps on the nose.

Total steps: 40,233

Daily average: 5747.6

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Book 14 (of 52) – What Happens In Paradise

What Happens In Paradise – Elin Hilderbrand

When each goes back to their regular lives, the Steele family individually finds themselves drawn back to St. John.  Irene leaves Iowa City and her magazine job behind, taking a job with Huck on his fishing boat.  Cash, having missed out on potential seasonal jobs out west, signs on to work with Ayers on the tour boat.  Finally, Baker, after learning his soon-to-be ex-wife is moving to Cleveland, decides to relocate with his son in the hopes of wooing Ayers.  Aside from the growing pains of their new, strange relationships, they have one other thing to worry about: the FBI.

What Happens in Paradise, released in 2019, is the second entry in Elin Hilderbrand’s Paradise trilogy.  It’s been about six months since I read the first installment, so it took me a while to remember who all the characters were and where we left them.  While this once again has me thinking of vacations to the Virgin Islands, I must say I didn’t enjoy this as much as the first one.  It kind of felt like a lot of rehashing where things left off followed by padding to get to what I assume will be a satisfying resolution in book number three.  Which, I will add, is already reserved at the library, but looks to have a several month wait.

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Braden Watch

With eleven assists in yesterday’s Big Ten Tournament championship clincher over Michigan, Braden Smith now sits just one assist behind Duke’s Bobby Hurley for the NCAA’s career assists record.  Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Smith should break the record early in Purdue’s first round matchup against Queens in the NCAA Tournament.

1,076 – Bobby Hurley
1,075 – Braden Smith