Thursday, April 27, 2017

4.27.17 Bee-otch of the Day: WPRR


Bee-otch of the Day honors are awarded Monday through Thursday, Bee-otch of the Week is awarded Friday on Chuck69.com.


-------


Name: WPRR "Public Reality Radio"
Age: 19
Occupation: talk radio station
Last Seen: Grand Rapids, MI
Bee-otched For: hitting rock bottom

--

Two weeks ago tomorrow, dozens of people came to an Irish pub here in Grand Rapids to support two radio shows that disappeared from terrestrial radio.

The party was hosted by the hosts of Southpaws and Women Libs Radio, two programs that had been canceled by local liberal talker WPRR 1680/95.3 Public Reality Radio. They gave the popular station some of its highest ratings, yet, the locally-hosted shows were seen the door amidst controversy. However, they moved to the internet and they also became syndicated by Pacifica Radio. Now, several stations carry at least one or both shows.

I had the pleasure of going to Quinn and Tuite's Pub and meeting Darren Gibson and Jack Prince from Southpaws and Mary Harrington and Lucy Diamond from WLR. They were extremely nice people and because of the high turnout, they plan on doing another listener appreciation party soon. While I was there, people were saying that they no longer listen to WPRR because of what they did to Darren - Southpaws and WLR's ringleader - and the other hosts.

As we reported back in December, WPRR has been in a downward spiral because Gibson was fired as station programming director. According to Gibson, he claims that station owner Bob Goodrich (seen above) let him go because of ratings, though he claimed that it was all because of his health issues and a rumor he heard that several of the station's hosts - including Tyrone Bynum - wanted him gone over his comments regarding Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and the whole Democratic party in general.

When the Democratic National Committee pushed the superdelegates into voting for Clinton, Gibson told his listeners that he would not support her, but rather Green party candidate Jill Stein instead. While some die-hard Democrats were pissed at Gibson, he had the right to attack them for bullying Bernie Sanders.

Today, WPRR is now programmed by Bynum, whose show Drive For the Dream airs daily on WPRR. This is the same Bynum who had a hostile takeover of the now-defunct WMFN 640 over a decade ago. While running 640, the station had an urban AC format and had a contract to carry Detroit Tiger games in the market. However, he was criticized for not airing Sunday games because he wanted those days to be committed to gospel music. After CBS Detroit, which produces the games threatened legal action against Bynum, he reluctantly started carrying the games until they moved to WBBL the next year.

Bynum controlled 640 until 2008 when financial problems caused him not to renew his lease with station owner Birach Broadcasting. Since then, 640 has moved to the Chicago area. However, he weaseled his way back to radio at WPRR, which he probably paid his way back on the air.

Now, he's even given his wife, Portia her own Saturday show, Keep It Movin'. Sadly, I remember Portia on 640 back in the day and her show was HORRID. She even spent her time talking to a bank officer on how to set up a checking account. REALLY?!?! How fucking lame can you get? Even Tyrone's show sucked with the same three callers daily.

I hate the fact that radio loves to hire assholes while good, honest people like Darren are thrown to the street. But the thing is, I think there were more people at the party than those who listen to WPRR and the Bynum's crap on a daily basis.

Of course, I wonder how in the hell Goodrich runs WPRR. Is it supposed to be a non-profit, or not? They act like one, yet Goodrich is the owner of the 11th largest movie theatre chain in America and has a ton of money. Hell, his station in Pontiac, IL is left of the dial. Aren't all FM stations to the left of 92.1 supposed to be 501(c)3s? I smell something fishy here.

The truth is, Darren did a damn good job with WPRR. Sadly, he just didn't have the same politics as his co-workers, especially Tyrone, who uses his money to broker his way through life. Hell, Darren even told me that he uttered the word "horseshit" on the air and it wasn't censored. I'll betcha that if it were up to him, Tyrone could scream the word "fuck" for an hour and Goodrich would let him.

Because hey, WPRR doesn't have a lot of listeners anymore.

 
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Got a Bee-otch to nominate? E-mail us @ chuck69dotcom@gmail.com. All suggestions (except for me) are welcome!

Bee-otch of the Day Archives can be seen on http://beeotchoftheday.blogspot.com

Bee-otch of the Day is a production of Chuck69.com, Grand Rapids' site for Stern, politics and more!
CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

4.26.17 Bee-otch of the Day: iHeartMedia


Bee-otch of the Day honors are awarded Monday through Thursday, Bee-otch of the Week is awarded Friday on Chuck69.com.


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Name: iHeartMedia
Age: 45
Occupation: radio giant from hell
Last Seen: San Antonio, TX
Bee-otched For: becoming radio's Sears

--

Earlier this year, Sears announced that they might not make it to next year due to financial issues. They're closing stores at an alarming rate because of competition from the internet and other brick-and-mortars, plus the idiotic stupidity of CEO Eddie Lampert.

Now, another business is crying that they too, might not make it to 2018 and it's no shocker: iHeartMedia, aka Clear Channel.

The media giant announced last week that they're having problems staying afloat. They current are still struggling with a massive $20 billion debtload and creditors have been telling them that time's up. Currently, the company's stock is just over $2 per share, about $8 less than Pandora and $3 less than SiriusXM. However, if there's a bright spot, they're doing much better than Cumulus, which is at 28 cents a share.

Currently, iHeart owns more than 850 stations and syndicates radio hosts Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, George Noory and Ryan Seacrest. These hosts are paid millions while in recent years, some of their jocks have been shown the door. Recently here in Grand Rapids, Ken Evans was fired from the morning spot at popular CHR WSNX 104.5 to make way for Mojo in the Morning, based out of sister station WKQI/Channel 955 in Detroit. The station's other dayparts are voicetracked from WKQI sans middays, which is local.

Of course, I'm smiling inside that both Clear Channel and Cumulus are in the shit because of what they did to Howard Stern years ago. Hell, look at what Cumulus did to his Toledo affiliate! Even that company is failing, and failing horridly.

Methinks that CC will have to spin off their stations to help pay off their immense debt. Bear in mind that they bought their stations when radio was still a hot commodity. But then, digital media from services like Pandora, Spotify and SiriusXM - the home of Howard Stern - took over the radio biz and yes, traditional radio is taking a huge hit. Many criticize local radio stations for repetitive music, loser personalities and simply not listening to the listener. Meanwhile, if you have Pandora, you can skip songs you simply hate.

If iHM goes under, good riddance. I think most people who love radio hate iHM because it's corporate radio at it's worst. I think other radio stations need to learn from their mistakes and not repeat them. After all, you can't make $20 billion back from paying a bloated asshole $400 million to trash intelligent women on the air.

Don't let the door hit you on the ass.

 
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Got a Bee-otch to nominate? E-mail us @ chuck69dotcom@gmail.com. All suggestions (except for me) are welcome!

Bee-otch of the Day Archives can be seen on http://beeotchoftheday.blogspot.com

Bee-otch of the Day is a production of Chuck69.com, Grand Rapids' site for Stern, politics and more!
CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

4.25.17 Bee-otch of the Day: Donald Trump


Bee-otch of the Day honors are awarded Monday through Thursday, Bee-otch of the Week is awarded Friday on Chuck69.com.


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Name: Donald Trump
Age: 70
Occupation: rich old man
Last Seen: Washington, DC
Bee-otched For: inviting The Three Stooges to the White House

--

Last week, this sound was being heard all throughout the White House.

That's right! Drumpf invited Sarah Palin, Ted Nugent and Kid Rock to come over to his new mansion in Washington, DC that he doesn't even deserve. Several photos were shot of the three with the de facto president of the United States. We've all seen this one with the president seated while the three and their spouses, but there's also the one that shows the three in front of a painting of the person who is more deserving of the Oval Office, Hillary Clinton. The pictures have undoubtedly created a ton of blacklash against the celebrities.

Of course, Drumpf inviting the three Repuke asskissers into the Oval Office was a pure joke. Look at Drumpf and Ted Nugent. The two did their damndest to not go to Vietnam. Hell, Nugent shat his pants! Yet, the two are pro-war and we're dropping bombs to further stir the shit Dubya started 16 years ago. Oh, remember Nuge's "I either will be dead or in jail" comment regarding wanting to kill President Obama? Yet, this prick is still a free man, visiting a douchebag who is his president, but not mine. Let's not even start on the fact that in his 30s, he dated a 16-year-old. Yep! Drumpf has a soft spot for pedophiles.

And there's Kid Rock, who in his song "Cowboy" rapped that he's "ain't straight outta Compton I'm straight out the trailer", yet his father was a wealthy car dealer. He grew up on a farm with an orchard and horses, ferchissakes! This prick basically spat on his home state of Michigan when he endorsed Mitt "I'm gonna shut Detroit down" Romney for president in 2012. It's funny that he claims to be pro-'Murica and has his own grill factory, yet if Romney became president, the economic turnaround of America would have been stifled. Yes, Mr. Rock has definitely jumped a huge shark by going Repuke and turning into a shitty country musician.

And don't get me started on Sarah Palin.

Ya know, anybody who kisses Drumpf's ass is somebody who loves losing healthcare, jobs and the fact that Drumpf is proposing cutting the wealthy's tax rate from 35% to 15%. That means that we're getting prepped for yet another lame-o recession.

Maybe when their yokel fans lose their jobs and homes, Kid Rock and Ted Nugent's record sales will plummet.
 
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Got a Bee-otch to nominate? E-mail us @ chuck69dotcom@gmail.com. All suggestions (except for me) are welcome!

Bee-otch of the Day Archives can be seen on http://beeotchoftheday.blogspot.com

Bee-otch of the Day is a production of Chuck69.com, Grand Rapids' site for Stern, politics and more!
CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Monday, April 24, 2017

4.24.17 Bee-otch of the Day: Bill O'Reilly


Bee-otch of the Day honors are awarded Monday through Thursday, Bee-otch of the Week is awarded Friday on Chuck69.com.


-------

Name: Bill O'Reilly
Age: 67
Occupation: none
Last Seen: New York City
Bee-otched For: having the door hit him on the ass

--

It's official: Billo the Clown has had his last last spin.

The host of the long-running O'Reilly Factor was fired from Fox News Channel last week because of allegations that he paid $13 million to five women to hide sexual harassment claims. After the claims were made public, dozens of advertisers pulled their commercials from the network despite O'Reilly's huge ratings.

Prior to his canning last week, The O'Reilly Factor was pulling in four million viewers daily, making it cable TV's most-popular news program. O'Reilly walked away from FNC with a contractual $25 million.

Meanwhile, there were claims made earlier today that fellow FNC host Sean Hannity sexually harassed Fox News contributor Debbie Schlussel. However, she is now denying the claims. Hannity is one of FNC's last-remaining original shows, though in recent years the program was demoted to a 10 p.m. timeslot due to struggling ratings.

With Drumpf's approval ratings at rock bottom, it's a sign that conservatism in America is dead and gone. Thankfully, the world now has one less asskisser to Drumpf on TV. In its spot, FNC is still airing the show, but it's simply "The Factor". Of course, the network also plans to shift the schedule and some think that as-is, The Factor will be history.

Already, there's many FNC anchors pining for O'Reilly's old timeslot.

Of course, there's no word on where Billy Boy will end up, or if he'll start up another reich-wing channel like Glenn Beck's failing The Blaze. Personally, if O'Reilly pulls a Richard Simmons and disappears from view forever, score one for him. The world is better off without him.

The biggest mistake FNC made when firing Billo was that they didn't do it live.


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Got a Bee-otch to nominate? E-mail us @ chuck69dotcom@gmail.com. All suggestions (except for me) are welcome!

Bee-otch of the Day Archives can be seen on http://beeotchoftheday.blogspot.com

Bee-otch of the Day is a production of Chuck69.com, Grand Rapids' site for Stern, politics and more!
CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Thursday, April 13, 2017

4.13.17 Bee-otch of the Day: The Republican Party


Bee-otch of the Day honors are awarded Monday through Thursday, Bee-otch of the Week is awarded Friday on Chuck69.com.


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Name: The Republican Party
Age: 163
Occupation: right-winged pricks
Last Seen: Washington, DC
Bee-otched For: everything

--

Now, don't think that we're done bashing Drumpf and his minions quite yet.

Yes, I've been slacking somewhat in terms of giving him BOTD, but he and his buddies deserve it. Of course, there's the fact that they used the "nuclear option" to get corporate ass-kissing, anti-abortion judge Neil Gorsuch into the Supreme Court. The Repukes didn't want President Obama to have his choice when Antonin Scalia passed away last year, and with Drumpf bullying his way into the presidency, plus the fact that Repukes make up all three branches of the government, well, there you go.

As I'm typing this, Drumpf signed another law that allows states to withdraw funding to Planned Parenthood and other pro-abortion groups. Yet, he's wasting our tax bucks on the military and dropping bombs on Syria and threatening North Korea. It's nice that he's being tough on Isis, but you know, our people need health care and good jobs. As the old saying goes, this is why we can't have nice things.

Of course, there's Alabama governor Robert Bentley, who resigned from his position this week to avoid impeachment proceedings. There had been probable cause that he violated ethics and campaign finance laws, plus allegations that he had extramarital relations with an advisor.

Yes, this is the Republican party, folks. Fuck healthcare and feeding your family, but it's A-OK to bomb other nations. I hope I don't ever vote for these people, ever. All I can say is next year, I hope there's a revolution. The removal of Drumpf from the White House will begin.

Then, we can have nice things. I hope the Dems won't play dirty pool to get it.

---

Got a Bee-otch to nominate? E-mail us @ chuck69dotcom@gmail.com. All suggestions (except for me) are welcome!

Bee-otch of the Day Archives can be seen on http://beeotchoftheday.blogspot.com

Bee-otch of the Day is a production of Chuck69.com, Grand Rapids' site for Stern, politics and more!
CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Wednesday, April 12, 2017

4.12.17 Bee-otch of the Day: WKLT


Bee-otch of the Day honors are awarded Monday through Thursday, Bee-otch of the Week is awarded Friday on Chuck69.com.


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Name: WKLT
Age: 37
Occupation: shitty rock station
Last Seen: Traverse City, MI
Bee-otched For: giving out the worst possible prize from any rock station, ever

--
When you think of rock stations and contests, what prizes do you think that they give out?

Some stations give out concert tickets. Others give out free CDs, bumper stickers, t-shirts and even cars and huge gobs of cash. But in the case of Traverse City's geriatric rocker WKLT, they're giving out a prize that might have other rock stations pointing the finger and laughing at them:

A mobility scooter.

That's right! KLT has teamed up with a local pharmacy to give a $900 mobility scooter to a lucky listener. They claim on their website that the prize is "for you or someone in your life".

Of course, if you use a mobility scooter, you're likely A) really, really old and can't walk anymore or B) the white trash you see at Walmart who can move around, but you're too damn lazy to do so.

And sadly, those people exist.

Now, I'm not knocking disabled people. I know there's a lot of people who NEED a mobility scooter. My 88-year-old grandmother - who had polio as a little girl - uses one. But when a rock station gives away one, it kinda shows what their audience is: old. When your core artists include Journey, Foreigner, Styx and other lame butt rock bands, well, there you go.

I know: here I am in Grand Rapids knocking a northern Michigan radio station. Yet, I was forced to listen to this shitty-assed station growing up north since they were one of the very few rock stations. I was smacking my head that all my family down in Detroit and Grand Rapids had better rock stations to listen to, yet I was stuck with one that's forever stuck in 1982. I've heard stories about people from Detroit going up north and bringing lots of CDs simply because the radio up north catered to the idiot white trash yokels from Manceltucky.

But the truth is, that's what happens when 1) your owners are from North Dakota and 2) your programming director is a dumbassed yenta kook elitist who has no rock music background and litters the new rock section of the playlist with soccer mom shit from The Goo Goo Dolls and Melissa Etheridge. Since then, KLT has dropped most newer rock to focus on playing the same 200 old songs over and over.

Thankfully, there's Rock 105 and 95-5, which is giving the people up north an alternative to KLT's dated horseshit. Hell, I'm happy that new rock is alive and well up north thanks to that station, especially since 95.5 flipped back to the format after an ill-fated stint with easy listening. The proof is in the pudding since Shinedown, one of rock's most-popular bands is playing the otherwise musically-dreadful Cherry Festival this year.

One thing I and other radio geeks are wondering is IF Q100 owner Blarney Stone Broadcasting will be taking KLT and their sister stations The Fox and ESPN Up North soon. No papers have been filed by the FCC and Baraga Broadcasting - whom which 106.7 WSRT Gaylord was being transferred to - removed all mentions of that station from their website. However, I've heard that KLT has been playing more deeper tracks as of late and some of their jocks have been doing commercials for some of Q100's advertisers. Who knows?

All I can say is this: KLT's listeners are old, period. It was a joke 20 years ago and a bigger joke today. If BSB buys that station, I'd like to see them clean house. But, we'll see.

Of course, Billy Bob will have to find something else to listen to.
---

Got a Bee-otch to nominate? E-mail us @ chuck69dotcom@gmail.com. All suggestions (except for me) are welcome!

Bee-otch of the Day Archives can be seen on http://beeotchoftheday.blogspot.com

Bee-otch of the Day is a production of Chuck69.com, Grand Rapids' site for Stern, politics and more!
CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Tuesday, April 11, 2017

4.11.17 Bee-otch of the Day: United Airlines


Bee-otch of the Day honors are awarded Monday through Thursday, Bee-otch of the Week is awarded Friday on Chuck69.com.


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Name: United Airlines
Age: 91
Occupation: air carrier
Last Seen: Chicago
Bee-otched For: forcing a passenger into a rhapsody in red

--
For many years, United Airlines had the slogan "Fly the Friendly Skies".

But for one man, he was forced to stay on the not-so-friendly ground while he was literally being dragged out of the plane, kicking and screaming.

Sunday night, a United Express flight from Chicago O'Hare to Louisville, KY became the center of controversy when the airline claimed that all 70 seats were filled and was overbooked. So, they offered passengers $800 each to leave the plane. There were no takers, so they used a computer program to randomly choose passengers to throw off the plane voluntarily. One of the names chosen was Dr. David Dao, a Vietnam native who owned a practice in Elizabethtown, KY.

Dao refused to leave the plane and security was brought in to remove the 69-year-old off the plane. He told them that he had to be back in town the next day, but they didn't care. They literally dragged the elderly man off the plane, bashing his face on an armrest beforehand. Meanwhile some fellow passengers shot the melee and uploaded it to social media where it became huge news the next day.

As a result of the fight between Dao and security, he's now in a hospital and in pain. Turns out that the flight wasn't overbooked; they needed four people to leave to accommodate four crew members. Three people didn't mind, but Dao had to go home to mind his practice.

However, it's been discovered that Dao had his doctor's license revoked several years ago after it was discovered that he was selling drugs for sex with men. He's also won over $250,000 playing poker.

Meanwhile, UAL has been doing damage control. CEO Oscar Munoz wrote in a statement that his company is looking into the situation and claimed to be disgusted by what happened. In the meantime, United's stock fell 1%, 81 cents from yesterday. Many are wondering if how Dr. Dao was treated will further hurt United's repuation.

Folks, this is why I fly Southwest. Before they started flying from Ford Airport here in Grand Rapids, I flew virtually all the other majors: United, Northwest (RIP), Delta and others. The worst airline I flew on was Midwest. Several years ago, I ordered my ticket to fly on that carrier in March for a flight a week before Christmas. However, the flight was canceled and I was delayed by a day. Coming home from Phoenix, I was told on my ticket to see the counter attendant in Milwaukee. I was in danger of being bumped off all because they didn't have enough flights and there was a winter storm that delayed everything. Thankfully, I was able to go home. One reason for the lack of flights was because they didn't have enough staff over the holidays. It appears that they allowed them to take the busiest time of the year off. NO WONDER WHY THEY WENT OUT OF BUSINESS! They're now part of Frontier Airlines, which thankfully no longer flies out of Ford.

Now, I think it's sad that it has come to this: kicking people off of the plane all because they put employees in front of customers. With the exception of Southwest, all airlines suck. It's sad that Southwest only flies 737s (not tiny uncomfortable mudskippers like United Express or American Eagle), doesn't charge for carry on bags, doesn't force people to sit between morbidly obese people or screaming kids and they still serve snacks on flights, but yet, the other airlines haven't learned from them.

If United doesn't do something to regain the public's trust, may they be the next Pan Am or Braniff.

---

Got a Bee-otch to nominate? E-mail us @ chuck69dotcom@gmail.com. All suggestions (except for me) are welcome!

Bee-otch of the Day Archives can be seen on http://beeotchoftheday.blogspot.com

Bee-otch of the Day is a production of Chuck69.com, Grand Rapids' site for Stern, politics and more!
CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Monday, April 10, 2017

4.10.17 Heroes of the Day: Joe Louis Arena and The Palace of Auburn Hills


Bee-otch of the Day honors are awarded Monday through Thursday, Bee-otch of the Week is awarded Friday on Chuck69.com.


-------

TWO SPECIAL HEROES OF THE DAY!



Names: Joe Louis Arena, The Palace of Auburn Hills
Ages: 38, 29
Occupation: sports arenas
Last Seen: Detroit, Auburn Hills, MI
Awarded For: being two of sports legendary arenas

--
When Joe Louis Arena opened in 1979, disco was dying and new wave was gaining steam. People watched MASHThree's Company and Dukes of Hazzard on TV and the Iran Hostage Crisis dominated the news.

It was in the middle of the infamous "Dead Wings" era, where the team had one of the longest droughts in the NHL. They hadn't won a Stanley Cup since 1955 and other teams in the Detroit area were a lot better. JLA was named after one of the toughest fighters in his day and the arena fought hard to get butts in their 20,000 seats.

New blood arrived in 1982 with Mike Ilitch buying the team and brought the team back to being an intimidating force in the NHL. If the Joe's walls could talk, they could have talked about greats such as Steve Yzerman, Sergei Federov, Brenden Shanahan and too many others to mention.

The Joe brought so many warm memories to hockey fans in Detroit, especially in 1997 when the team won their first Stanley in 42 years. It happened again the year after, 2002 and 2008. True, it was not the greatest NHL arena with its weird design, narrow concourse and weird steps in the arena itself, but its sightlines made those who came feel like they were in the middle of it all.

But there was that other arena in the Detroit area, The Palace of Auburn Hills. To some, it made The Joe look old and dated.

It was built in 1988, giving the Pistons an arena that was an actual arena. For years, they played at the Silverdome, which was weirdly configured for basketball. Granted, they played some well-attended games - including a 1988 game vs. the Boston Celtics in front of 61,000 - but when the Silverdome's roof partially collapsed in 1985, it was decided that it was time for a new arena.

Since moving to the Palace, the Pistons won all three of their championships: 1989, 1990 and 2004. It was the home of the Bad Boys, Isaiah Thomas, Dennis Rodman and John Salley. Grant Hill, Joe Dumars, Chauncey Billips, Rip Hamilton kept the Pistons afloat and the Palace kept attracting people from black Detroit to lily-white Auburn Hills.

Of course, the bottom had to fall out somewhere for both teams.

In 2009, owner Bill Davidson died and his widow - who had zero interest in the team - let the team sink. Billionaire Tom Gores bought the team two years later. Since Gores bought the team, the Pistons have only had one winning season, which led to their only playoff appearance since 2008.

Of course, the Red Wings - like the Pistons - haven't won a Stanley Cup since 2008 and they too had its owner, Mike Ilitch pass away recently. Thankfully, unlike Karen Davidson, the Ilitches plan on keeping their teams. However, the Wings did something recently that they hadn't done since 1990: fail to make the playoffs.

Unlike most newer arenas, The Joe and The Palace didn't have the revenue streams to provide better budgets for those teams. With the Tigers and Lions playing in still-fairly-new stadiums in downtown Detroit and making the playoffs from time to time, it was time for both the Red Wings and Pistons to get new arenas. The Wings made the announcement first a few years ago that they would be moving to a new arena in downtown Detroit, appropriately named Little Caesars Arena. Then, Gores had the idea of moving the Pistons to LCA, and that was accepted. For the first time since 1978, the Pistons would be playing in the city of Detroit full-time.

Yesterday, 20,000 fans said their final goodbyes to The Joe and tonight, around that same amount of people will do the same to The Palace. People are paying their respects to those two arenas that have given Detroiters a ton of joy and memories over the years.

For me, even though I'm a bigger Red Wing fan, I'll admit that I never visited The Joe. I wanted to go badly when I was a teen, but my Dad didn't like the idea of me going there because his cousin was mugged there. However, I did go to The Palace for my first-ever rock concert, AC/DC in 1996. Very good times.

It's sad to say goodbye to those two arenas, but it's for the best for both teams. The Palace is in the middle of nowhere and The Joe was a dump comparing to other NHL arenas. But ya know? It had a good run. Olympia Stadium had their legends like Gordie Howe and Sid Abel, but it's time for Little Caesars Arena to create their newest future hall-of-famers. It's nice that all Detroit teams will actually be downtown for the first time in nearly 40 years. 

Here's to a clean slate and great memories of the past.


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Got a Bee-otch to nominate? E-mail us @ chuck69dotcom@gmail.com. All suggestions (except for me) are welcome!

Bee-otch of the Day Archives can be seen on http://beeotchoftheday.blogspot.com

Bee-otch of the Day is a production of Chuck69.com, Grand Rapids' site for Stern, politics and more!
CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Saturday, April 8, 2017

4.8.17 Weekend Mix



Lorde - Green Light (Dan Remix)
Chainsmokers - Setting Fires (RageMode Remix)
Bag Raiders - Shooting Stars
Martin Jensen - Solo Dance (Anton Powers Remix)
Nightcrawlers - Push the Feeling On (The Dub of Doom)
Adam Beyer/Pig & Dan - We Are E
Bassjackers/Brooks - Joyride
Moby - Porcelain (Julian Jewell Remix)
Chris Lake - I Want You
Max Chapman/George Smeddles - Zulu
Carlo Rio Vs. DJ Pierre - Destroy This Track
Tiga Vs. Dense and Pika - Louder Than a Bomb
Duck Sauce - Barbra Streisand

Thursday, April 6, 2017

4.6.17 Bee-otch of the Day: companies that can't compete with the internet


Bee-otch of the Day honors are awarded Monday through Thursday, Bee-otch of the Week is awarded Friday on Chuck69.com.


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Name: failing businesses
Age: various
Occupation: businesses
Last Seen: everywhere
Bee-otched For: not knowing how to compete against the internet




--
Last Saturday, I was at the Sears at Woodland Mall here in Grand Rapids and guess what I saw?

Slim Pickens.

No, I'm not talking about the actor from "Blazing Saddles" (besides, he died 34 years ago). I'm talking about the fact that the once-boisterous store was close to empty. It was announced in January that the store would be the only Sears in Michigan that was closing. Over time, the store's inventory was sold off at deep discount prices and on Saturday, the remaining items on the floor were sold up to 80% off. After 49 years in business, the store closed at Woodland Mall on Sunday.

Sears and sister chain Kmart made news recently when it was announced that they didn't think that they would have enough capital to last the rest of the year. Many blame the actions of CEO Eddie Lampert (that the dude seen above) for putting money on top of caring about their failing stores and employees.

But 28th Street in Grand Rapids isn't just losing Sears.

Just down the street from Woodland, MC Sports is shutting their doors after over 70 years in business. Just a few blocks down 28th Street, Family Christian Stores is also shuttering. Also in Woodland, The Limited closed and Radio Shack also closed their doors last year.

Oddly enough, Payless ShoeSource announced that they're closing 400 locations. There's two Payless stores next to each other virtually on 28th St.: one off the road and another in Woodland. Both are staying open.

Many of the closing chains blame their faltering sales on one major factor: the Ye Olde Internet. Amazon and other websites offer better deals than typical brick-and-mortar stores. True, getting items from a store is a lot faster than getting them off the web, but many sites offer free shipping and fast delivery and many folks don't mind the wait.

But it's not just brick-and-mortar stores that are having a hard time competing against the web.

Look at radio: last week in Detroit, heritage alt-rock station 89X shuttered their American offices, leaving 20 staffers jobless. Part of the reason for 89X's demise was the fact that they let their popular morning show, Dave and Chuck the Freak cross over to competitor WRIF and Canadian owners Bell Media have been clueless about how to properly run the station. As a result, the station has lost over 50% of their audience in the past few years. Detroit area listeners seem to not like having to sit through forced CanCon acts such as Billy Talent and Simple Plan just to hear The Killers, The Beastie Boys and AWOLNATION.

And yes, let's not even forget good 'ol Playboy. When the news broke that they were bringing back nudity, I was so happy that I actually bought an issue. Well, the boobs are back, but pussy is still verboten. I paid $10 so a bunch of horny photographers and behind-the-scenes folks can look at bush while we the consumer gets ripped off. Yet, pussy on the web is FREE! No wonder why Playboy's numbers are *ahem* sagging.

Times they are-a-changin'. The days of spending Saturday afternoon at the mall are ending for many people simply because the internet has everything. When I was a kid, my parents DREADED driving 30 miles one way to go to the mall. If the internet was around 25-30 years ago, they could have done all my back-to-school shopping on Amazon since we lived in the boonies.

But if there's a bright side, it's the fact that Woodland - unlike the average failing mall - is going to replace Sears. Instead of a store that will be abandoned for years, Woodland will replace Sears with a new wing of the mall, with 10-15 new stores and a new department store, von Maur.

But the question is, with so many retailers closing, will there be any takers?
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Bee-otch of the Day is a production of Chuck69.com, Grand Rapids' site for Stern, politics and more!
CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

4.5.17 Bee-otch of the Day: Donald Trump


Bee-otch of the Day honors are awarded Monday through Thursday, Bee-otch of the Week is awarded Friday on Chuck69.com.


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Name: Donald Trump
Age: 70
Occupation: snake oil salesman
Last Seen: Mar-a-Lago
Bee-otched For: sucking on Bill O'Reilly's spin




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Yesterday, we reported that over a dozen advertisers had stopped their support of Fox News Channel's The O'Reilly Factor after it was discovered that host Bill O'Reilly had paid five women $13 million to stop making claims that he sexually harassed them.

Now, he's getting support from a higher power. That's right! The de facto president of the United States, Drumpf.

In an interview with the New York Times, the billionaire said "I think he shouldn't have settled; personally I think he shouldn't have settled because you should have taken it all the way. I don't think Bill did anything wrong. I think he's a person I know well. He is a good person."

Now, 35 advertisers have pulled their ads from the Factor; Subaru, Coldwell Banker, Ancestry.com, Pacific Life and old geezer phone company Consumer Cellular are among the newest additions to the list.

As for the thrice-married Drumpf himself, he's claiming that Obama security advisor Susan Rice committed a crime despite not having any evidence. Also, Drumpf removed chief strategist Steve Bannon from his national security team and has been replaced with Rick Perry. Bear in mind that Bannon is a neoconservative who used to be an editor of Breitbart.

But in regards to Drumpf and O'Reilly, what else can you expect from a man who coined the phrase "grab 'em by the pussy"? They deserve each other. O'Reilly is an unfaithful, wife-beating asshole. It will be a happy day if Fox News Channel fires O'Reilly. The more advertisers he loses, the better.

Recently, I was in Kentucky with my Dad, who watches Fox News Channel almost nonstop. When I was there, O'Reilly and other FNC blabbers were throwing shade on MSNBC's Rachael Maddow for revealing Drumpf's 2005 tax returns. Yet, this is the channel that has Geraldo Rivera under their employ, and he got the shaft from ABC for the infamous Capone's vault abortion some 30 years ago. To me, Rachael Maddow has done nothing wrong in comparison to O'Reilly and his escapades.

If FNC fires O'Reilly, they better do it live.
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Got a Bee-otch to nominate? E-mail us @ chuck69dotcom@gmail.com. All suggestions (except for me) are welcome!

Bee-otch of the Day Archives can be seen on http://beeotchoftheday.blogspot.com

Bee-otch of the Day is a production of Chuck69.com, Grand Rapids' site for Stern, politics and more!
CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!