What a great day for Chicago -- and the South Side.
The Blackhawks Stanley Cup rally strangled downtown with (allegedly) 2 million fans.
In the 7th inning, the White Sox were beating the Cubs in another round of the Crosstown Classic at Wrigley Field.
And the late, famed Jimbo's in the shadow of Sox Park has been reborn as Cork and Kerry at the Park. At about 5 p.m., new owner Billy Guide will pour the first pints at 33rd and Princeton in far too long.
"We got the city license yesterday and the state license this morning and we're good to go," said Guide, who also owns Cork and Kerry in Beverly.
"We're really shooting for opening today. It's a good weekend for baseball in the city despite the lack of good baseball in the city. And it's the Hawks big day, too. Such a special day in the city."

Late Chicago folk signer Steve Goodman was a Cubs fan -- and I forgive him.
My forgiveness, of course, is mostly based on one line in his tune, "A Dying Cubs Fan's Last Request" where Goodman described his favorite team this way: "The doormat of the National League." It just kind of rolls off the tongue.
Also in that song, the dying man tells his friends:
"I've got season's tickets to watch the Angels now/ So its just what I'm going to do/
He said, "but you the living, you're stuck here with the Cubs/ So its me that feels sorry for you!"
How true.

And when Goodman sang, "Take Me Out to the Ball Game," he changed the lyrics to: ""It's root, root, root, for the home team, If they don't win, what else is new."
I respect the guy for that.
Goodman, who died in 1984 of Leukemia at age 36, also wrote "The City of New Orleans," The Lincoln Park Pirates" and the most hated song on the South Side, "Go Cubs Go."
This week, North Side Congressman Mike "Detroit Sucks" Quigley introduced a bill to name the Lake View Post office after Goodman as a tribute to his contributions to Chicago's folkie music scene.

Quigley told me he first got turned on to Goodman's music when he first moved to Chicago and used a fake I.D. -- "It said I was 22 and I probably looked about 12" -- to sneak into the Earl of Old Town, where Goodman was frequently on stage.

Quigley said he was inspired to name the post office after Goodman after the last Jimmy Buffet concert at Wrigley Field. At that show, Buffet dedicated Goodman's Grammy Award-winning song, "The City of New Orleans" to Goodman's mother, who was in attendance.

Side bar: Here's a YouTube Post of Goodman telling the story that inspired that song:

Goodman also wrote a song that lamented (and provided a few digs at) the late Mayor Richard J. Daley. The tune, "Daley's Gone" marked the late mayor's passing. (Click for lyrics.)
Quigley said he did not think Chicago's current Mayor Daley would hold a grudge against Goodman for writing an unflattering song about his father's passing. Or at least Daley wouldn't be honked off enough to try to stop a post office from being named after Goodman.

We'll be "watchdogging" Mayor Daley's twitter account to see if Quigley's right about that. That's right, Mayor Daley allegedly is a twitter-er or has a payroller twittering for him. Fran Spielman had the story first.

Over a tasty glass of rum, I contemplated a question that might arise in the life of any out-of-place, casually dressed, plus-size newspaper writer: Is wearing borrowed fat-woman slacks embarrassing?

What you are about to read is embarrassing tale of one night at the Union League Club, where polite rich people will make you comfortable by not only offering you a loaner blazer (think Jerry Seinfeld) but also "complimentary trousers." Click here for my confession.

In 2005, these Jazz fans from Germany trekked to Bronzeville to visit Myers Ace Hardware, 315 E. 35th St., which is in the former home of Sunset Cafe, Louie Armstrong's favorite Chicago stage.

Check out their performance.

There aren't enough pages in the paper to talk about every place in town that has that Real Chicago feel.

Thank goodness for the internet.

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