From the Saturday, Dec. 28, editions of The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) …
The WISCH LIST
By Dave Wischnowsky
Wish lists are for Christmas.
But Wisch Lists? Like always, they’re for New Year’s.
And now that we’ve almost made it through 2013 – not to mention the madness of cramming both Thanksgiving and Christmas into a four-week span – I wanted to share with you my year-end column as we head into 2014.
It looks to be an interesting one. After all, the United Nations has already deemed 2014 the International Year of both Family Farming and Crystallography, which is, well, interesting.
There’s also going to be a Winter Olympics, a World Cup and 90 more losses for the Cubs. I think all three are already set in stone.
Other things, however, are not. And with that in mind, it’s on with the column.
I Wisch I didn’t think that Derrick Rose’s muscles are simply too fast for his ligaments.
I Wisch the Cubs would accept the fact that they signed a contract with the rooftop owners. And rather than expect them to just break it, the Cubs need to either buy out the contract, work around the limitations or just wait for it to expire. It’s time to stop griping, and do something instead.
I Wisch that, as a Facebook friend recently put it, 2014 didn’t feel like “Year One, Act Three” of the Cubs’ so-called rebuilding process. But it does.
I Wisch the Cubs didn’t still charge the third-highest ticket prices in baseball to watch a glorified Triple-A team.
I Wisch I didn’t have to wish about the Cubs so much.
I Wisch that all the residents of the Illinois communities ravaged by tornadoes this can have a banner 2014 that makes up for a crummy 2013.
I Wisch “Breaking Bad” still had another season.
I Wisch that Charlie Trotter, Paul Walker, Tom Clancy, Cory Monteith, James Gandolfini and Dennis Farina were all blessed with more years to share their talents. Gone too soon, each of them.
I Wisch that every Braggin’ Rights Game could be as exciting as the one between Illinois and Missouri this year – and that, you know, the Illini could win all of them.
I Wisch that Illinois offensive coordinator Bill Cubit could coach defense, too. But at least he’s back to coach offense for the football team. Unfortunately, I can’t say I’m as optimistic about the returns of head coach Tim Beckman and defensive coordinator Tim Banks.
I Wisch that many media members would stop building up Northwestern football coach Pat Fitzgerald into more than he is. While he remains a strong fit for NU, despite this disastrous 5-7 season, here’s what he is: A coach with a 27-37 Big Ten record in eight years.
I Wisch that Chicago’s homicide totals, which dropped by about 100 in 2013, could drop by twice as much next year.
I Wisch Americans paid more attention to what their elected officials actually do and less to what they say.
I Wisch Americans also paid less attention to what private individuals both do and say – and that they didn’t get offended by everything.
I Wisch I had a vacation from my vacation. Just this month, I’ve traveled to Australia (for my honeymoon), St. Louis (for my brother’s birthday) and New York (to visit my wife’s family for Christmas). With more than 22,000 miles logged and seemingly as many time zones crossed, I now know what Santa must feel like on Dec. 26. Beat.
I Wisch, however, for another year of my life to some day rival this one. During 2013, I celebrated my parents’ 40th wedding anniversary, the birth of my first nephew and my own wedding. Who says ’13 is unlucky?