Bleepin' playground for the bleepsuckers!

The Trib is doing a series of stories on Elia's rant, which has its 25th anniversary next week.

http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports_whatsgoinon/2008/04/theyre-really-r.html

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-080423-lee-elia-apologize-rant-tirade,1,5225738.story

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-080423-lee-elia-reporters-remember,1,3480492.story

The original story on the rant:

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-080423-lee-elia-game-story,1,6658465.acrobat

Verdi's Sunday column:

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-080423-verdi-elia,1,1177510.acrobat

And here's the rant itself, for those who haven't heard it, or who want to hear it again (NSFW!):

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/chi-lee-elia-rant-mp3,0,516620.mp3file

 

AND PRINT IT!!!!

 

Ninety percent of the world goes to work.

The rest come here!

 

Don't rip them, rip my (bleep)ing (bleep)!

 

Carlos Zambrano and Marty Brennaman couldn't have said it any better, but they still try.

Fuckin' Cubs fans.

Brennaman

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/cs-18-brennaman-rips-cubsapr18,1,1747927.story

Zambrano:

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-070903cubsgamer,1,4733765.story

 

I thought Elia was dead. That's awesome that he's using the rant to raise money for charity.

A rant whose words ring true and glow like burning coal to this day.

 

I met Les Grobstein a few years ago at an NCAA regional. Unfortunately I did not find out until after the fact that he was the guy who taped that rant. I would have bought him a beer or five had I known.

That rant summed up the Cub Experience in the late 70s-early 80s.

 

Nice compilation of coaching tirades.

 

It makes instantly like the man more. He comes across as brazenly honest, yet fairly humble.

 

"That's the criterior ...

Fuckin' the Phillie-itis and all that shit ...

It's a disheartening fuckin' situation we're in right now ...

We got 143 fuckin' games left ..."

Classic.

 

I've dealt with Lee a lot over the years, and he once let me write a cool story about the rant. But to this day, I still can't see him without giggling a little inside.

Terrific guy, and absolutely a product of another era.

 

One of the biggest mistakes of my career.
I covered that game, but I didn't go into the Cubs clubhouse afterward. And I went back to the hotel to write so, later in the press box, I couldn't catch the drift of what happened.
Desk never mentioned it. Thanks guys.
F*** me.