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O'Donnell: Happy Lake Erie days rooting with Chief Wahoo

IN THE MATTER OF the renaming of the Washington NFL team, forget about "the cancel culture" or the micro-vigilant New Brain Police.

Pragmatically, three considerations:

• Principal owner Daniel Snyder projects about as warm and cuddly as Lindsey Graham, South Carolina's U.S. Senator from Dante's Inferno;

• The team finished 30th in the NFL in home attendance last season; and,

• The What-Skins? haven't won a playoff game since 2005.

If any sports franchise on the planet should be in line for a cultural makeover, it's Snyder's face-mashed beltway of also-rans.

NFL Washington makes George McCaskey and the Bears look positively dynastic.

Still, with all due sensitivities to the imaging concerns of Native Americans, the beardless child within can still happily recall sportin' years of life 4-to-10 in Cleveland. (Years 0-to-4 are a bit fuzzy.)

One of the most lingering symbols of Lake Erie seashells and balloons remains Chief Wahoo.

The Chief was the beckoning logo of the Cleveland Indians. He still quietly is, although his presence was greatly scaled back following a 2018 agreement between Major League Baseball and the team.

But the memories of what he represented to the impressionable lad will never fade away.

And those memories were all about positivism, excitement and beta-goose bump engagement.

Rocky Colavito. Johnny Romano. Woodie Held.

Willie Kirkland, who played right field with a toothpick in his mouth and quite possibly, even more toothpicks in his glove.

Full truth be known, the only sports transaction the insouciant has ever misted up over - real tear drops in the Rice Krispies - was the shocking May day when "The Tribe" traded the beloved Jim Perry to the Twins for the insidious Jack Kralick.

And when the movie is made, in that scene, the fourth-grader will be at the kitchen table reading Gordon Cobbledick in The Plain Dealer while wearing Chief Wahoo pajamas.

But alas, the tenor of the times shall prevail.

And if the offended group confirms that they are indeed offended, correction should be made.

Even if it means even further offense by lumping the sweet, tender seasons rooting with Chief Wahoo in with Daniel Snyder and Lindsey Graham.

THE RECENT SEARCH for historic Andy Masur - the new radio voice of the White Sox - uncovered another link between baseball broadcasting in Chicago and wired roots in Peoria.

This one involved a most fortunate night Harry Caray had in P-town, and it wasn't at Big Al's on Main.

It was the long ago winter evening when he was off-seasoning as the KMOX-AM play-by-play man on St. Louis University basketball. The Billikens were at Bradley to play the fabled Gene Melchiorre and Forddy Anderson's Braves.

Caray was scurrying around brand dribbling-new Robertson Memorial Fieldhouse in search of a pregame hot dog.

The fieldhouse's young concessions manager recognized Caray and comped all.

The ambassador's name was Pete Vonachen. He'd go on to become a successful Peoria restaurateur, primary owner of Peoria's class A minor league ballclub and the markedly memorable eulogist at Caray's funeral almost 50 years later.

STREET-BEATIN': Credible niblick about a proposed midwinter TV golf event featuring Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods and partners to be named later. (It'd be cush tip money for both; Jordan's primary concern reportedly is image maintenance.) ...

Mike Golic Sr. is trying to restrain his on-air unhappiness over being gone from ESPN's revamped national morning-drive show. (The ex-NFLer will likely be offered a down-beam slot as a college football TV analyst.) ...

Huskie-eyed Mike Korcek notes Northern Illinois athletics will take a tough mid-major revenue chop with the loss of September football dates at Maryland and Iowa. ...

Both WSCR-AM (670) and ESPN-AM (1000) were out of Chicago's Top 20 in Nielsen Audios released this week. (It's believed that hasn't happened since Ken Starr was chasing the Clintons.) ...

Speaking of AM 1000, market chief Mike Thomas continues to politely defer on any substantive comment about impending changes in day parts. (The pandemic is clouding a lot of broadcast crystal balls.) ...

David Schuster is expanding his podcast empire. He and genial Mark Schanowski will unveil a weekly NBA-themed offering on the Arlington Heights-based "Barroom Network" later this month. ...

Mrs. Dorothy Riccio turns a happy 100 on Tuesday. (Son Terry Riccio has been a part of a Bulls stats and alumni bunch that includes Bob Trudeau, Joe Cortino, Chris Wilson, Marc Grossman, Don Weiland, Bob Rosenberg and the supremely unforgettable Tom "Smoke" Wiscarz.) ...

An inadvertent archaeological dig uncovered the July 9, 2004, Daily Herald news topper: "With Steve Rauschenberger out, Da Coach for Senate?" (Mike Ditka never ran; Barack Obama beat GOP fill-in Alan Keyes by 43 percentage points that November.) ...

And Bay Area brainstormer Casey Rush, on a new name for the NFL's Washington group, quipped, "If it was Al Davis, he'd take Jeff Bezos's money and just call 'em Washington Amazon.com."

• Jim O'Donnell's Sports & Media column appears Thursday and Sunday. Reach him at jimodonnelldh@yahoo.com.

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