As the saying goes….all politics is loco. And…believe me, it doesn’t get any more loco than this!
Watch me belt out “I Want You to Want Me” with music legend, Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen at an impromtu set at Piece Pizza in Chicago.Nielsen to Bill: You’re drunk…but in a good way. Kelly smiles and shrugs: Is there any other way?! Another wild fine moment of mine…CAUGHT ON TAPE!
What can I tell you, I’m going after the beer and pizza vote!!!!
In case you missed this wild Sportsaholic moment, here it is…for all of Jim McMahon’s many, many fans. Cheers, brother!
Get the full story…about what DIDN’T MAKE IT INTO THE EDIT…below in my blog about the roast!
ABC 7 story
BREAK-IN AT KELLY’S CHICAGO CAMPAIGN OFFICE
Police Search Scene at GOP Candidate for Comptroller’s Office
(CHICAGO) – At 3:30PM on Sunday, William J. Kelly, candidate for Illinois comptroller and his campaign manager, Steve Ruggiero, arrived at their campaign office at 1000 N. Milwaukee to discover it had been forcibly broken into.
Missing items of political relevance include ward maps with campaign strategy, volunteer information and lists. Other missing items include fax/modem equipment, champagne and cigars. Kelly has filed a police report and the police have dusted for fingerprints and are searching for possible suspects.
Kelly has been an outspoken critic of U.S. Senate candidate and Obama money man, Alexi Giannoulias. Kelly produced an ambush video on Giannoulias and his ACORN-tainted SEIU endorsement that has irked members of the Giannoulias campaign. Video clip available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aedjhXvRa5c
”The police are conducting an investigation; we don’t know if the break-in was politically motivated, however, politically sensitive items were removed from our office. Regardless, this campaign is and always has been a campaign of reform vs. corruption. If anyone thinks that this break-in will intimidate me, they don’t know me very well. It will only make me campaign harder,” said Kelly.
No Rules, Just Life...That's Jim.
Jim McMahon is one of a kind. He’s kind of a wild man. What can I say, I can relate to the guy. Rowdy…check. Doesn’t give a hoot for authority…check. Has a penchant for hij-jinks…check. See…what’s not to like? No rules, just life…that’s Jim McMahon.
And no rules is what I got and then some at his wild 50th B-Day celebration. It was pretty damn cool – I got to hang out with Jim, his wife, his parents, Willie Gault, Frank Stallone, Joe Tory and all of Jim’s sweet obnoxious friends at Harry Caray’s. Too bad for the FCC – because we had to edit out most of the jokes from the edit on Sportsaholic tonight…TOO HOT FOR TV! Jim’s still as wild as ever. The only time they made our cameraman put the camera down was when Jim held up a enlarged photo of his 50 year-old butt in a thong…to prove he still had it. Yep, we probably wouldn’t have been able to air that. 
What Jim knows that few today do is this…Rules are designed by those who want to control the lives and dreams of other people. The powerful elites are the ones creating the rules. And if you believe in them, then you’ve bought their version of the story. Jim McMahon did things his own way. He believed in himself and he didn’t give a hoot what anyone had to say about it. Hell, it’s his life and hell be damned if anyone was going to tell him how to live it. That’s what a winner believes.
That’s what a champion believes.
Hope you enjoy Sportsaholic tonight at 12:30 late night on Comcast Sportsnet!
Geez, what a little camera work will do to get the mainstream media mad at you. Hey, can’t a guy have some fun…at the expense of a privileged and corrupt rich kid who lost $85 million for Illinois families and is running for U.S. Senate?
doneInspiration can come in many forms. You can watch a mother and her child – and be inspired. You can watch a teacher in her classroom, imparting the wisdom of the ages – and be inspired. You can watch a construction worker pounding nails day after day – and be inspired. You can even watch a football game – and be inspired. A lot of things have inspired me. Among them: an injured Jim McMahon in 1984 against the Los Angeles Raiders, limping to the huddle with a lacerated kidney; a tackled Walter Payton forever reaching, straining over his head to score that precious extra inch on the field; a tireless, proud, and tough-as- nails Chicago Bears Coach Mike Ditka always demanding more and more from you than you thought possible – leading the team of legend, the Chicago Bears, to Super Bowl XX with style, grace, and courage. I got a chance to meet Mike Ditka recently and interviewed him for Sportsaholic. Ditka, who talked about the 2010 governor race, is as inspiring as ever. “I’m not a saint, but I know how to lead,” he said to me with conviction. “Politicians when they are elected, they are elected to serve the people, not themselves,” he said critically of today’s politicians. Indeed, leaders – not saints – are what America needs right now. We need leaders – whether ordinary or famous – to inspire us to good in the world , to be better, to get stronger, and to never give up. Inspiration is a funny, powerful thing.
However, some of my biggest inspirations have come from my political heroes; perhaps, even more so, because I have been afforded an amazing opportunity to meet some of them. Too many years ago to count, I studied baroque and renaissance art and architecture in Rome. I would jog past the
Inspirations...
Colosseum every day, seeing the sun rise and set behind it, and think about the emperors of Rome and the brutal gladiator games thousands of years in the past. I’d walk through the Papal Gardens in Vatican City and be awed by its history. It was here, by happenstance – actually three times to be exact – I encountered Pope John Paul II. He was a Pope for the people and, though he would go on to do such great things, he had no air of importance or ego. When we met yet again, crossing paths as he was flanked by attendants, I
The People's Pope
could see the humor in his eyes that said: “What, you again, eh?” This was the man that helped bring down the Soviet Union and freed the people of the Communist bloc. Faith is a funny, powerful thing.
When I was working as a writer for a local newspaper, I also had the opportunity to meet Lech Walesa at Chicago’s Polish Embassy. He was the Polish electrician-turned-brash union organizer that stood up to the Kremlin.
From small things, great things often come...
From small things, great things often come. Poland’s revolution was the straw that broke the camel’s back for the Soviet Union and set off a domino effect across Eastern Europe. There is something about finally meeting a man like Walesa – a man who changed history. By even shaking his hand, his seemed to impart some wisdom, some bravery, some stamina, some persistence of will and the understanding that freedom is worth it – no matter what the cost. To be free is a funny, powerful thing.
Working as a volunteer for the United Republican Fund, I also got to meet my other political heroes: Barry Goldwater and, of course, Ronald Reagan. I met President Reagan in the lobby of the Four Season Hotel and said to him, “Thank you for your service.” To which he replied, “Well,” and smiled in his
A Reagan for the ages...
naturally genuine comedic way. This was Barry Goldwater who made Republicans understand what it meant to be a conservative. This was Ronald Reagan, who laughed with us, inspired us, and made us – and America – love being a conservative. With a strength of heart now unknown in politics, Reagan went fearlessly head-to-head with Communism and beat back the Soviet Union, leaving only a broken wall in Berlin as a happy memorial to that oppressively evil empire. I will never forget Ronald Reagan and I will always cherish the United Republican Fund and people like Denis Healy others who used to make it possible for young conservatives to be involved in politics and meet the heroes who inspire them.
Passion and principles are funny, powerful things….aren’t they.
NOTE: If you would like to see my full Mike Ditka interview – its on Sportsaholic tonight on Comcast Sportsnet at 12:30 late night. Repeating on Sunday!
Broadcaster William J. Kelly Flusters Candidate over morning of 9/11 Fundraiser
At exactly 8:45 AM EST this morning, TV broadcaster William J. Kelly confronted U.S. Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias (D), who was heading into his $500 a plate fundraiser at the Union League Club in Chicago. On tape, Kelly cornered the U.S. Senate candidate and asked him “why he was having a fundraiser for his campaign at the exact moment the first plane struck the Twin Towers on September 11, eight years ago today?”
The flustered candidate mumbled and stumbled over his words before ducking into his fundraiser.
“It’s shameful, thoughtless, selfish and typical Giannoulias,” remarked Kelly. “As America pauses to remember the fall of the Twin Towers, Alexi Giannoulias focuses on his rise of his own U.S. Senate campaign.”
TV broadcaster William J. Kelly has been hitting the senate candidate hard with a $26K boxing challenge for charity. Kelly says that it is a way for Giannoulias to offset his selfish $26,000 purchase of an SUV with monies from the troubled Bright Start Fund. The fund for Illinois families saving for college has lost $85 million from risky investments in mortgage-backed securities since Giannoulias’ term began.
doneIt all comes down to who you know and…who knows you. Friends – good friends – are everything. And it’s important to know who is in your corner. It’s all about heart and loyalty, and goodwill, and teamwork. It’s about honesty and fighting for something worthwhile and not ever letting bad people or bad things determine your game plan. If you continue to be the good guy and you surround yourself with good guys – how can you lose? The simple fact is, you can’t…it just might take some time before the good can counteract all the bad karma out there. That’s a life lesson: there’s a enough bad karma out there…don’t be the one to add to it.
My gameplan? This week I decided to make it 
my business to get to know some guys - maybe some of the best guys there are. I was invited to this Athletes for Life Charity Golf Tournament – and knew it was time to make it count. All the greats of Superbowl legend were there – the original rebel – Jim McMahon; the fastest man alive Willie Gault; and one of own personal favorites Richard Dent. A few years older, but name anyone these guys couldn’t take. I mean, who could take Jim McMahon? That’s one guy you’d want on your side. Celebrating his 50th b-day, Jim was chugging a few beers and even shared one with me from his personal stache. (Don’t worry – he had enough.) Things were looking up. One Bear down – two to go.
I’ll admit though – I pushed my luck. My golf cart driving skills are definitely in question and I really tore up the field. Afterwards, nice guy Willie Gault showed up to help me out. I’m more Happy Gilmore than I am Tiger 
Woods and…it showed. But, yet again, leave it to a football legend to give a guy a leg up. This golf tournament was not child’s play and this was no time for messing around. I had already done enough damage with the golf cart anyway. But Willie gave me a few tips – and it may have just been enough to save the day. (When you see my golfing skills on the show tonight, you’ll understand). Looking around and seeing all these iconic sports legends, it was hard not to get motivated, even inspired to do better. No – not even to do better. To do…great. So – beer in hand – there was no better time to make things happen.
Around the next bend, there was just the guy I needed to meet – the one and only Frank Stallone himself. Sporting Elvis Presley’s TCB (“Taking Care of Business”) ring, this guy has all the attitude you need to get through life. It wasn’t easy being Sylvester Stallone’s brother – but this guy makes it work for him. Acclaimed actor, hit-making musician, and boxing historian – this guy had all the pieces to the puzzle.
I told Frankie about my $20K boxing challenge to U.S. Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias. I don’t think he respected the fact that the guy is trying to 
weasel out of a boxing bout that benefits kids. Personally, I don’t really respect it either. So Frank had alot of tips for me about how I could knock-out Giannoulias and he said he’d fly in to be in my corner on October 24th.
Jim McMahon, Willie Gault, Richard Dent, and Frankie Stallone – all in my corner. Now that’s what I call a good day.
Watch Sportsaholic tonight at 12:30 late night on Comcast and…you will see my wild golf-cart riding disaster in progress. Cheers!
“True daredevils are made…not born.”
The times the are a’changin’…BACK and the whole world is watching. They’re watching Illinois; They’re watching real Americans defend their healthcare system against the ravages of rationing. What is happening is truly inspirational and I can’t help my eyes welling up with pride (and even a few tears). It’s been a long time coming. And daredevil-ism is finally back in vogue. And just in time to save the day.
Win one for the Gipper
But true GOP daredevils have been few or none at all. Ronald Reagan was probably the first real post-modern GOP daredevil. (The heroes of the American revolution were actually the first: Thomas Paine, Patrick Henry, all those guys. ) Looking back at Reagan’s career, there wasn’t really any time that he was NOT a daredevil. Don’t let “Bedtime for Bonzo” fool ya. Goldwater and the Rendezvous with Destiny speech: Daredevil. In defiance of his media advisors, wearing a cowboy outfit to his first media interviews in his 1976 campaign for president: Daredevil. Standing at the Berlin Wall when he said, “Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down this Wall: DAREDEVIL. Reagan is our romantic and real-life ideal and in this there is a blueprint for the future. Our future.
A daredevil can come in many forms – in small ways and large. You can be a fighter pilot in a plane, taking on nature and encountering the enemy head-on. You can be an ordinary citizen,
accomplishing the extraordinary by speaking out and speaking up. You can be a public servant who bucks tradition, defies convention, and makes a stealth path against the naysayers. I joined the crew of the Lima Lima Flight Crew the other day for a mind-bending, diving, soaring, stomach-turning excursion into the clouds or sometimes free-falling towards earth. Life is like that for risktakers. Some times you soar and sometimes you fall. But you can’t spend your time looking down. You look up!
But I have found some intolerance for the true GOP daredevils - those who dare to do something different - in many conservative and Republican circles. We cannot be afraid to break the mold, to defy convention, to resist evil and fight for good. We cannot be afraid to participate in popular culture and music and film and TV and comedy, add to it, and make it our own. We cannot bite off our own noses to spite our faces. We cannot be satisfied when crumbs when there is a whole pie that we could have. We cannot work against each other when we could work for and with each other.
So, that being said, let’s celebrate the daredevil, the line-crosser, the
Daredevils Club: Linecrossers welcome!
rule-breaker, and all the ones who stand up and speak out. That is who we are. We are them and they are us. Now…let’s get this party started.
The time is…now!
Check out my DAREDEVIL’S CLUB Tonight on Sportsaholic on Comcat Sportsnet, DISH, and Direct TV at 12:30 and share my head-spinning adventure. You never know what life has in store!
