Monday, April 28, 2008

ELIA'S EVE: If the Spelling Bee is like Christmas, Thanksgiving, and the Fourth of July all rolled into one around these parts, than April 29, Lee Elia Day, is at least akin to Labor Day. With this year marking the 25th anniversary of the greatest of all sports rants, there's much hoopla planned, with Elia appearing on every Chicago radio station short of Radio Disney.

Elia shed some new light on the rant last week in the Chicago Tribune, blaming his ornery mood on taunting fans nearly coming to blows with Larry Bowa and Keith Moreland moments before his eruption. The Trib also recalls how if not for the trusty tape recorder of local radio legend Les Grobstein, we might not have had the privilege this past quarter century of hearing Elia's spiel in all its profane glory. (Again an interesting sidenote, the local NBC affiliate caught some of the rant on tape, but that footage appears to have been lost.)

And if you are among the "real (bleep) Chicago (bleep) fans," you now have a better option than kissing Elia's (bleeping) ass downtown. For $89.95 you can purchase an Elia autographed baseball, inscribed with "And print it" and enclosed in a stand that comes with a 20-second recording of the rant. A portion of the proceeds go not to job training programs for other 15 percent who attend Cubs games, but to Chicago Baseball Cancer Charities.

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