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Going Back To School?

In March, Trey Kaufman-Renn wrapped up his college basketball career, finishing with 1,655 points, averaging 11.3 over his 147 career games across his four seasons with Purdue.  In June, he was selected in the second round of the NBA draft by the Timberwolves and spent the summer playing for their Summer League team. What he has not done, however, is sign a professional contract.

Earlier this week, he filed a lawsuit against the NCAA looking for a sixth season of NCAA eligibility and asking a judge to prevent the NCAA from hindering him from enrolling, practicing or competing for an NCAA program.  The NCAA adopted a new five-year eligibility model in June, effectively replacing the old system that lets athletes play four seasons in a five-year window.  Under this new model, Kaufman-Ren has exhausted his eligibility, having redshirted during the 2021-22 season after suffering a knee injury.  His argument, however, is not simply that he deserves another season because of his injury, but that he is being excluded from a new benefit granted to other athletes.  He is challenging where the NCAA drew the line when it made the transition to its new eligibility structure.

Assuming he is successful, would he return to Purdue?  It doesn’t seem likely, as the team added three front court transfers along with the returning players already under scholarship.  They are also currently sitting with 16 players on their roster, one over the NCAA limit, although three walk-ons are grandfathered in.

How will this all play out?  Only time will tell, and with the 2026-2027 season starting in about two months, there is not a lot of time to get this all resolved.

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Playoffs Part The Second

With less than four weeks remaining in the 2026 season, both Chicago teams are primed to be heading to the postseason for the first time since 2020.  The Cubs got the ticketing process started a few weeks back and the White Sox joined the fray earlier this week.

Holding a three-game lead over the Guardians for the AL Central crown, the White Sox sent out post-season invoices to their season ticket holders on Monday for the first time since 2021.  Thanks to what I assume to be operational incompetence, I have no idea what tickets I would be getting, but it appears as though I would retain my normal seats.

The White Sox currently sit as the second seed in the American League, giving them the inside slot for a first-round bye.  The Guardians currently hold a one and a half game lead for the final Wild Card slot, so, even if they fall off for the division, they look to have a good path to the postseason, barring a huge collapse.

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Fitbit 12 – Week 32

Still another great week, as I surpassed my daily goal once and finished above 40,000 steps for the eleventh straight week.  Things got off to a nice start on Sunday thanks to a morning walk, which left me with 6200 steps.  Monday pushed things up to 6600 steps.  A quiet Tuesday left me with 6400 steps.  More of the same on Wednesday, ending the day back up at 6600 steps.  A slight improvement on Thursday pushed me up to 6700 steps.  Friday turned out to be the best day of the week, finishing 34 steps shy of 9400.  Saturday wrapped up the week needing just 13 additional steps to reach 5200.

Total steps: 47,260

Daily average: 6751.4

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Book 47 (of 52) – The Girl In The Green Raincoat

The Girl In The Green Raincoat – Laura Lippman

With Tess on bedrest as she awaits the birth of her first child, she becomes enmeshed in the case of a woman she claims went missing from the local dog park.  The more she digs, through intermediaries, since she can’t leave her house, the surer she is that the woman has been killed by her husband, who has seemingly done this before.  But all is not what it seems, as she is soon to find out.

The eleventh entry in Laura Lippman’s Tess Monaghan series, The Girl in the Green Raincoat, is a novella originally serialized in the New York Times.  A baby shakes up the status quo, although with only one more entry to go in the series, that may not matter as much.  I hope to finish things up by the end of the year.

 

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You Ought To Be In (13) Pictures

Many years ago, using the weekly TV guide that came with the Sunday Chicago Tribune, I started keeping track of all of the movies I had seen over the course of my lifetime.  The guide would list the two main stars for each movie, and that is a tradition that I’ve carried on in my database ever since.  Given those guidelines, it is time once again to look at the now 111 actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of August 1.

We continue today with the seven actors that have starred in exactly thirteen movies that I have seen, an increase of one from three years ago.

Kristen Bell

The Veronica Mars star made her first “big screen” appearance in my life with the television remake of Reefer Madness in 2005.  She’s been a pretty steady presence since, with a two-year gap in 2015 and 2016 being her largest.  After a four-year absence, she returned to my screen in 2025, thanks to her role in 2021’s Queenpins.

Gene Hackman

Hackman, who died in 2025 at age 95, first entered my movie consciousness when I saw the original Christopher Reeve Superman.  My most recent experience with his work remains 1971’s The French Connection, which I saw in 2018.

Katherine Heigl

Katherine Heigl first burst on to the scene in 1994’s My Father, The Hero, which I took in the following year.  After achieving television stardom, she leaped back to the big screen in a big way in the mid-2000s, including four films in three years between 2006 and 2008.  She last showed up on my screen in 2018, with the ironically titled Unforgettable.

Tommy Lee Jones

Tommy Lee Jones first showed up on my screen back in 1993 in The Fugitive.   My big Tommy Lee Jones years were 1997 and 2000, when I saw him in two films per year.  After a few years away, my most recent experience with him was in 2020, in 2019’s Ad Astra.

Mila Kunis

After years on That ’70s Show, Mila Kunis first moved to my movie screen in 2003, with the unfortunate American Psycho II: All American Girl.  After a six-year break, she came back with a vengeance, appearing in seven films I saw between 2009 and 2011.  I last saw her work earlier this year, thanks to 2022’s Luckiest Girl Alive.

Julianne Moore

Julianne Moore first showed up on my screen in 1996, thanks to the previous year’s Nine Months.  She was helped by two movies each in 2003, 2011, and 2014.  After a decade away, she returned to my screen in both 2024 and 2025, with Echo Valley being my most recent exposure to her work.

Al Pacino

My first experience with Al Pacino was in 1997, when I saw him in City Hall.  I splurged on his films in 2000 and 2001, when I took in five, including The Godfather and The Godfather II.  After a twelve-year absence, Pacino returned to my screen twice in 2020, in 2017’s horrible Hangman and 2008’s Righteous Kill.

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150 Years Of Cubs Baseball – The Final Team

Originally founded in 1869, the Chicago Cubs became a charter member of the National League in 1876.  Over the next 150 seasons, the Cubs have played more than 22,000 games, scored over 103,000 runs and recorded more than 200,000 hits, more than any other team in baseball history.  Nearly 2,300 players have worn a Cubs uniform, earning eight division titles, 17 NL pennants, and three World Series championships.

Fans have witnessed generations of unforgettable players, from historical heroes like Joe Tinker, Gabby Hartnett, Ernie Banks, and Billy Williams to more recent stars like Ryne Sandberg, Derrek Lee, Kerry Wood, and Anthony Rizzo.  The team has called Wrigley Field home for 110 of those 150 seasons.

To celebrate this milestone, the Cubs held a fan vote to select the franchise’s anniversary team, and the final results were released last week.  Let’s take a look at who the fans selected and who I thought should be selected.

Manager – Frank Chance, Leo Durocher, Joe Maddon

This pretty much lines up with what I was expecting.  Chance and Maddon are the only managers to win a World Series with the Cubs and Durocher, while more successful in other points in his career, did lead the storied 1969 club.

Catcher – Jody Davis, Gabby Hartnett, Randy Hundley

Again, this lines up pretty much with what I initially thought.  I would have gone with Willson Contreras over Jody Davis, but I guess you could make an argument either way.

First Base – Frank Chance, Mark Grace, Derrek Lee, Anthony Rizzo

This is certainly a situation where recency bias is playing a role.  Cap Anson, as one of only two Hall of Famers in the nominee list, is the only glaring omission.

Second Base – Nico Hoerner, Rogers Hornsby, Ryne Sandberg

Four of the nominees are in the Hall of Fame.  Nico Hoerner has yet to make an All-Star team or win a major award, but he is the current second baseman, so of course that has to count for something.

Third Base – Kris Bryant, Stan Hack, Aramis Ramirez, Ron Santo

It is hard to argue with any of these choices.

Shortstop – Javier Baez, Ernie Banks, Shawon Dunston, Joe Tinker

Again, no real surprises here.

Outfield – José Cardenal, Andre Dawson, Ian Happ, Andy Pafko, Hank Sauer, Sammy Sosa, Billy Williams, Hack Wilson

There’s a lot here that makes sense, but the inclusion of Cardenal, and to a lesser extent, Happ is somewhat ludicrous.

Starting Pitcher – Jake Arrieta, Mordecai Brown, Kyle Hendricks, Fergie Jenkins, Jon Lester, Greg Maddux, Rick Sutcliffe, Kerry Wood

With all due respect to Kyle Hendricks and Kerry Wood, their inclusion here owes more to popularity and overall team success rather than personal achievement.  Charlie Root is the franchise leader in Wins, and pitched in a time when that meant something, yet did not make the cut.

Relief Pitcher – Rod Beck, Ryan Dempster, Lee Smith, Pedro Strop, Bruce Sutter

Beck literally spent less than two seasons with the team. The rest seem like ok choices.

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Book 46 (of 52) – Caller Unknown

Caller Unknown – Gillian McAllister

A mother, travelling to Texas to reunite with her daughter for a vacation, finds her world crashing down when the daughter is kidnapped. Rather than going to the police, she follows the kidnapper’s instructions, travelling to Mexico to smuggle drugs back across the border, but a mix-up at the exchange leaves one man dead and mother and daughter on the run.  How far will a mother go to protect her daughter?  Will she give up the rest of her life if it means her daughter can go free?

Gillian McAllister returns with her latest, Caller Unknown.  She moves the action from the UK to Texas in this one, which I think may have led to some of my discontent.  Not that I didn’t enjoy it, but this was easily my least favorite of her works to date.  Here’s hoping it was just a temporary blip and that her next outing is back to where I expect.

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Fitbit 12 – Week 31

Yet another great week, as I surpassed my daily goal twice and finished above 40,000 steps for the reached my tenth straight week.  Things got off to a nice start on Sunday thanks to a morning walk, which left me 12 steps shy of 8100.  The return of Crosstown on Monday left me needing 40 more steps to hit 7900.  An abbreviated trip to Wrigley on Tuesday to see the White Sox battle the Cubs before the bad weather arrived left me just 16 steps shy of my daily goal of 7500.  Wednesday fell down quite a bit thanks to a trip into the office, ending with 4900 steps.  A day off and another visit to the south side for exciting White Sox baseball on Thursday pushed me back up to 7300 steps.  A doctor’s appointment on Friday followed by yet another trip to Rate Field got me up to 7100 steps.  Saturday wrapped up the week needing just 11 additional steps to reach 5800.

Total steps: 48,584

Daily average: 6940.6

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You Ought To Be In (12) Pictures

Many years ago, using the weekly TV guide that came with the Sunday Chicago Tribune, I started keeping track of all of the movies I had seen over the course of my lifetime.  The guide would list the two main stars for each movie, and that is a tradition that I’ve carried on in my database ever since.  Given those guidelines, it is time once again to look at the now 111 actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of August 1.

We continue today with the twelve actors that have starred in exactly twelve movies that I have seen, an increase of three from three years ago.

Kevin Bacon

Our first newcomer of the week, Bacon first showed up on my screen prior to the start of my database, either with 1988’s She’s Having a Baby or 1991’s He Said, She Said.  After that, he showed up in spurts, with two films each in 1996, 1998, and 2001.  He laid fallow for 17 years before returning in 2018 with 2017’s Patriots Day.  His most recent appearance came in 2023 thanks to the prior year’s They/Them.

Daniel Craig

Daniel Craig first appeared on my radar in a starring role in 2007, when I watched his initial outing as James Bond in Casino Royale.  I had two three-year mini-streaks, with films in 2007 through 2009 and 2011 through 2013.  His most recent appearance came earlier this year in 2025’s Wake Up Dead Man, his third go-around as Benoit Blanc in the Knives Out franchise.

Leonardo DiCaprio

DiCaprio first appeared on my movie screen in 1996, with The Basketball Diaries.  After a three-year run to start, I had a gap of eight years between his films, from 2002-2009.  2011 was his most prolific year, with three different films.  The most recent film of his that I’ve seen was 2021’s Don’t Look Up.

Michael Douglas

I have not seen a Michael Douglas starring project since 2015’s Ant-Man.

Aaron Eckhart

Aaron Eckhart first showed up on the list of film actors I’ve seen way back in 1999 with Your Friends & Neighbors.  Since then, his appearances have been a little haphazard, with nothing more than three two-year streaks over the past 21 years.  The most recent film of his I’ve seen was 2014’s atrocious I, Frankenstein, which I unfortunately saw in 2020.

Chris Evans

Chris Evans first appeared on my screen in 2002 thanks to the previous year’s Not Another Teen Movie and has been a pretty steady presence ever since.  In 2011, he debuted as Captain America in Captain America: The First Avenger and picked up an additional five films for the remainder of the decade, ending with his final appearance in Avengers: End Game in 2019.  His most recent appearance came in 2024 with Red One.

Hugh Grant

There haven’t been many years that I’ve seen a Hugh Grant film, but, when I do, they tend to come in spurts.  My first experience with him was likely 1994’s Sirens, which I am unsure of when I actually saw it.  He notched three films in 2000, and two apiece in 2005 and 2008.  After a twelve-year absence, he returned to my screen in 2020, thanks to 2004’s Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason.  His most recent appearance came in 2024’s Heretic, which I saw in a theater in Boston with Angelina

Corey Haim Continue reading →

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Book 45 (of 52) – Big Fan

Big Fan: Two Friends, 82,490 Miles, and the Wild, Wonderful Sports We Love – Michael Schur and Joe Posnanski

Two friends and podcast partners travel the globe to find out the meaning behind fandom.  What do we as a species get from investing our time and hearts into things that bring us immense joy and bitter upset.  Whether it is baseball, basketball, chess, darts, football, soccer, pickleball, the WWE, Taylor Swift, or Star Wars, they bring us to the very heart of what it means to love something so much it hurts.

Big Fan: Two Friends, 82,490 Miles, and the Wild, Wonderful Sports We Love, by television comedy writer Michael Schur and sportswriter Joe Posnanski, looks at all of the things we love and tries to dig into why we love them.  Along the way, the experience new sports, music, and people, gaining a greater appreciation for what it means to be a fan and of the things for which we are fans.