We are the champions. The Cubs are the champions.

unnamed

To know why a Cubs win can elicit fireworks on a Wednesday night and grandparents giggling and strangers hugging on the moonlit streets of Chicago, Illinois, you have to first know what broke those people. Mine was Game 7, 2003. I couldn’t drink after that game. I was in college and I was too sad to drink.

I called my parents on my walk home that night and kept muttering variations of “I thought they’d do it. I really thought they’d do it.” My mother comforted me. Then my father took the phone, heard me out, and said:

“Just wait till it gets bad.” Read More

The Wire Season 4: Marlo Stanfield, Baltimore’s serial killer

Posted on September 10 by readjack

The genius of the character of Marlo Stanfield is that a textless, bold-colored headband came to feel too flashy.

He opened without one, an intro so perfect yet under the radar because the scene is about Bubbles, not this unnamed, previously unknown character whose first appearance departing a building is teamed with the sound of a bird chirping, as if Marlo is a hawk fledging from his nest and preparing to hunt the people of Baltimore like squirrels.

Radio, TV, and podcast appearances, 2015-present

Posted on August 24 by readjack

13686528_10107381753698279_3232876079705802715_n

Me and Laurence Holmes for my Score debut, July 15, 2016. Thanks Laurence!

Radio, TV, and podcast appearances

(titles are links)

2015 – present

26 MAR 2017 —Talking about Jerry Krause after his death with Weekend Gabe Mendoza on WLUW’s Morning Rush

21 MAR 2017 — Talking about Jerry Krause after his death, with former Laurence Holmes on 670 The Score

30 JAN 2017 — Talking with former Chicago Bulls sharpshooter Craig Hodges about his book “Long Shot”, with Justin Kaufmann on The Download on WGN

25 JAN 2017 — The GOAT quarterback debate, with Shaun M. Davis and fellow guests Kenneth Davis and Kyle Means of the D & Davis Show, on Down and Distance/The Arena on WGN

16 JAN 2017 — “How the GOAT Was Built,” the 2006 Bears, and The Wire, with Scott Lewis and Joe Lewis on 79th and Halas

10 JAN 2017 — 2006 Bears, “How the GOAT Was Built,” and the current Bulls, with Jarrett Payton and Josh Frydman on CLTV SportsFeed Read More

This one’s for Cleveland.

Posted on June 20 by readjack

ClXMnCQUsAETT7s

I’ve never felt thrilled for another city’s fans. Not like this.

That is nearly the exact same intro I used for my column May 14, 2010, the day after the Cleveland Cavaliers were eliminated by the Boston Celtics — AKA the final game LeBron played as a member of the Cavs until his return last year.

You’ll notice, though, that it’s not EXACTLY the same intro. We’ve got one key word that’s different. Forget “ill.” Add “thrilled.” Read More

How The GOAT Was Built: 6 Life Lessons From the 1996 Chicago Bulls

Posted on May 23, 2016 by readjack

GOAT cover (book by Jack Silverstein, design by Zachary Gibson, Bag Fry)

Way back in October, back when the Bulls’ record of 72 wins was safe, I began an essay about the 12 moves the Bulls made between June 1993 and October 1995 that turned an aged, bickering, 57-win champion into a flourishing, rejuvenated, 72-win juggernaut.

Seven months later, I have a 13,000-word e-book and have spent more time reading about and watching clips of the 1995-96 Bulls than any time other than 1995-96. I’ll save you the suspense: It’s been a sweet 7 months!

Thus I am very proud to release “How The GOAT Was Built: 6 Life Lessons From the 1996 Chicago Bulls.”

READ AND DOWNLOAD THE PDF VERSION: How the GOAT was built — by Jack M Silverstein

For an iBooks copy for your phone, email readjack.com@gmail.com.

More e-book options to come.

To read the six lessons without the prologue or epilogue, (but with lots and lots of video!), click the links below: Read More

“My coach is everything” — Phil Jackson’s influence on the 1996 Chicago Bulls

Posted on May 22, 2016 by readjack

Lesson 6 copy

Excerpt from “How The GOAT Was Built: Six Life Lessons From the 1996 Chicago Bulls”

Lesson #6: Find a coach who will help you be your best self

by Jack M Silverstein (@readjack)

In the summer of 1996, after winning his fourth championship, Michael Jordan came within 30 minutes of signing with the New York Knicks.

“New York was right downstairs,” Jordan told Spike Lee in “Best Seat In the House.” “The Bulls — all they had to do was mess up.”

The Knicks had an offer on the table for Jordan: one year, $25 million. “We told (Jordan’s team) they could have all our cap room,” Madison Square Garden President Dave Checketts said at the time.

Could Michael Jordan have joined the Knicks? According to the man himself, it almost happened in 1996. (Photo illustration by Patrick Ortega, found at ballislife.com)

Chris Dudley, Horace Grant, and the strangest “What If?” of the 1996 Chicago Bulls

Posted on May 22, 2016 by readjack

Lesson 5

Excerpt from “How The GOAT Was Built: Six Life Lessons From the 1996 Chicago Bulls”

Lesson #5: Don’t panic — that bad break today might be the luck you need tomorrow

by Jack M Silverstein (@readjack)

I believe in the planning and principles behind the ‘96 Bulls and the whole second three-peat. A lot of sound reasoning went into those teams. But that doesn’t mean there wasn’t any luck.

As I researched this team, I had fun diving into history’s wrinkles — those mostly forgotten sharp left turns our memories ironed into straightaways. The lesson: like the parable of the Chinese farmer, you truly never know if an event will end up being good luck or bad, so plan the best you can, react pragmatically, and move on.

And with that, here are my two favorite “what if?” moments of the 1996 Bulls — they’re related.

What if Chris Dudley didn’t sign with the Trail Blazers in 1993?

I know what you’re thinking: What the hell does Chris Dudley joining Portland in 1993 have to do with the ‘96 Bulls? If I hadn’t come across this arcane bit of history I would be asking the exact same question. Read More

ReadJack.com

Author: readjack