Wild Times at the Allstate Arena

It’s been a very busy year and a rollercoaster of excitement at every turn. We can barely keep up and we know that it has been the same for you!  We here at Upscale TV and Sportsaholic want to wish you a very, very happy and outstanding New Year’s! Upscale TV has been on hiatus but is coming back in Spring of 2010 – we will keep you posted on air dates. It’s all hush-hush – but I can promise you that William J. Kelly’s  BACK and wilder than ever before.

BREAKING NEWS: ATTENTION SPORTSAHOLICS! POPULIST FOLK HERO WILLIAM J. KELLY’S JUST BEEN DRAFTED BY THE WASHINGTON GENERALS TO PLAY AGAINST THE HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS AT THE ALLSTATE ARENA!

Kelly’s mission? To help the Generals beat the legendary Harlem Globetrotters, for the first time in three decades. In a sly move, Bill’s tapped two top Globetrotters – Flight Time and Big Easy – to help him train in the wildest practice ever.  Rocky this ain’t!  Tonight, he’ll go head-to-head with the Globetrotters at Chicago Allstate Arena. Will Kelly survive or die trying? Will the Trotters see the error of their ways and add Kelly to their roster? Get ready for mischief and mayhem – Bill Kelly-style with the legendary Curly Neal, Herb “Flight Time” Lang, and “Big Easy” Lofton. And, watch and you’ll see Kelly get the biggest smackdown of his life! Hint – Big Easy is 6’9″ and Bill is 6’2″.  One thing is for sure…Kelly’s in trouble. Big time.

Find out tonight (and Sunday) at 12:30 late night on your crash course in sports reality – William Kelly’s Sportsaholic! Comcast Sportsnet, DISH, and Direct TV!

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!

Inspiration 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!

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.

It 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!

TV Host Calls Out Alexi’s Stall Tactics on $20K Boxing Challenge for Kids

(CHICAGO, IL) –The first wave of a major advertising campaign that calls out U.S. Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias is being launched today. After weeks of negotiations and delay tactics by the Democratic front-runner’s U.S. Senate campaign, TV host William Kelly is calling out the candidate for stalling on Kelly’s $20,000 Boxing Challenge for charity.

On Tuesday, the first wave of full-page ads will begin appearing in Chicago and statewide Illinois major daily newspapers as well as (:30) spots on TV news and news/talk radio. Kelly sees the candidate’s stall tactics as indicative of the Giannoulias’ true character and self-interest.

According to Kelly, the Giannoulias campaign had demanded proof that Kelly could commit the $20,000 to Mercy Homes. Once proof was provided from Kelly’s sponsor, LA Boxing, negotiations with the campaign stalled. To date, should Kelly win, he has already pledged his full winnings  a children’s charity.

Kelly says he’s not about to let Alexi Giannoulias continue with his dishonorable tactics and he is determined to make the public aware. “After everything that’s happened, I would have thought he would be happy to do something for the kids,” said Kelly. News reports have pointed the finger at Giannoulias’ role in loss of $85 million for Bright Start, a $2 billion college savings fund for Illinois families. Monies were invested in mortgage-backed securities when the housing market was already in decline. “As a candidate for U.S. Senate, Giannoulias is supposed to be a role model. A good one, not a bad one,” Kelly marked.

Kelly says that there is still time for Giannoulias to make good and accept his $20,000 Boxing Challenge for charity. “There is still time for him to do the honorable thing and accept my challenge for the kids.”

“He says he’s a professional athlete and a public servant. But all he really is the son of privilege,” says Kelly. “He’s all talk. No action.”