Best Of XRT

Dr. Diane M. Schecklong, Au. D., CCC-A is a clinical supervisor in Audiology at NIU. We spoke with her about protecting one’s hearing at Lollapalooza, the aftershows, and any other live music events in and around Chicago. We touched on preventative methods to combat hearing loss such as distance from loudspeakers, active methods such as earplugs and rest, and the warning signs of hearing dam...

The Cubs are ten games over .500 since the All Star break, picking up eight games in the standings, and now find themselves atop the NL Central after taking 2 of 3 from the Brewers in Milwaukee. The northsiders move up in class as they come back to Wrigley to face the Arizona Diamondbacks and Washington Nationals. They'll do so with an improved bullpen courtesy of trading with Detroit for reliever...

On September 13th, Pete Townshend’s Classic Quadrophenia will make a stop at the Rosemont Theatre and feature Townshend, Billy Idol, Eddie Vedder, and Alfie Boe as “Jimmy”. Additionally, the Chicagoland Pops Orchestra and Chicago Children’s Proceeds from the concert will benefit Teen Cancer America.

Lin went on vacation to get the Cubs back on track, and boy did they! They've begun the second half of the season with the best record in baseball, and virtually every facet of their game has been on point. After dispatching the Cardinals, two games to one, they now face the White Sox for a home and home four-game set and then head 90 miles north to face the now second-place Brewers.

That's the way ya do it, Cubs. They swept the Orioles in Baltimore to begin the second half behind the strong seven innings of shutout ball of new acquisition Jose Quintana yesterday. Now they're off to Atlanta to face the surprising upstart Braves in their brand new ballpark. The Cubs will try to keep the momentum going and narrow the gap between them and the Brewers as we approach the dog days o...

Trade deadline activity exploded in our fair city when the White Sox sent ace Jose Quintana to the Cubs for four minor leaguers, including their top prospect (#8 overall), and their top pitching prospect. Besides being a top-10 pitcher, Quintana is under a very team-friendly contract that is controllable through 2020. In a nice turn of circumstance, that's about the year the Sox are projected to b...

Lin has proven prescient with his choice of this season's Len & Lin theme song from Twin Peaks, "Keep It Together". The Cubs are two games under .500, the worst record at the All Star break by a World Series championship team that won 100+ games the year before. It's a tough thing to figure out, given how stacked with talent this team is. It could be fatigue from the long playoff runs the last...

If yesterday's hot weather tilt at Wrigley were an actual little league game as the score might suggest, one would have to reconsider taking the team out for ice cream following the drubbing the Cubs received at the hands of the first-place Milwaukee Brewers. A 7-run third inning basically put the game out of reach for the Cubs, who saw Kyle Schwarber return from a stint in triple-A ball to find h...

A big mid-season test for the Cubs came via the 4-game Washington series over this past week. Well, a couple of big tests, as it turns out. The most obvious was being pitted against a dangerous Nationals team that was playing really good baseball, and doing it while a good portion of the team's core was either on the DL or working through things in the minors. And then some apparent intra-squad fr...

Addison Russell's woes have been revealed to be caused by shoulder discomfort. Ultimately, that's a good thing, as it provides an explanation for why he's had a tough time at second. Injuries and underperformance have taken a toll on the Cubs, with Jason Heyward, Kyle Hendricks and Ben Zobrist taking recent trips to the DL and Kyle Schwarber working on his swing in triple-A. Things won't get any e...

Well, the Cubs have continued their streaky ways in Miami, where they were held to two hits the other night, and then exploded for eleven runs the next. Part of that inconsistency has been World Series hero Kyle Schwarber, who spent the entire 2016 season on the DL after blowing out his knee in the outfield in game three, surprrised everyone when he came off the DL in time for the World Series and...

Well, this whole Anthony Rizzo as leadoff hitter sure has borne fruit. Leadoff homeruns in his first two games, followed by a walk. He's been having himself the best stretch of his career, which really says something given how prolific he's been at the plate. Anthony's from Miami, so Len really hopes he's voted as the starting National League first baseman in the All Star game at Marlin's Park, a...

The Cubs have tinkered with the lineup by batting Anthony Rizzo at the top of the order; they've moved some of their versatile players around, and just when you think they've got a handle on those problems, the bullpen blows a lead and the game. Meanwhile, the Cubs took a bunch of pitchers in the draft, and with the trade deadline on the horizon, Theo and company might make a move for more arms. T...

Lin welcomed in Chef Rick Bayless to congratulate him on another slew of awards and announce the 2017 WXRT & Supreme Lobster's Rockin' Lobster Bash, taking place August 30th at Uptown's Aragon Ballroom.  A bigger venue.  A bigger event.  The biggest chefs serving the best lobster and cocktails you'll have all year for the price.

The Cubs hit the road for 17 of their next 20 games, beginning with a swing out to New York to face the Mets and then the division rival Pirates. Both teams are under .500, but then again, the Cubs have hovered right around that mark themselves. They've been especially streaky of late, and managed to avoid a sweep at the hands of the NL-leading Colorado Rockies by salvaging the series finale. A lo...

The peaks and valleys of the baseball season are giving Cubs fans whiplash. They just got off an 0-6 roadtrip, which followed a 7-2 homestand, and then began this homestand by winning five in a row, and now have lost two straight to the Marlins and now the dangerous and underrated Colorado Rockies. On top of all that, star shortstop Addison Russell has been accused of domestic violence and has bee...

Well, the Cubs clearly needed some home cooking. After a 6-game skid, the Cubs managed to sweep division rival St. Louis. The bats came alive at Wrigley, with Kyle Schwarber hitting a dramatic go-ahead grand slam on Saturday. Len, Lin & JD all agreed that Wrigley was as loud as it's ever been for a regular season game following that Schwar-bomb. It's almost as important for fans to remember as...

Everything you need to know to start your day.

Everything you need to know to start your day.

Every weekday at 10am, my "second" day begins. Once I'm done herding cats for Lin and Mary on the XRT Morning Show, I help Terri out with the little she needs while prepping the next day's morning show. Getting to chat with her is a nice treat, but the off-the-air show that happens between Lin, Mary and Terri is gold. SO much knowledge between those three of so much, including music, that I just c...

The Cubs have had a pretty nice wind-aided homestand thusfar. Saturday saw the rare dry rain-out against the Brewers, and Sunday saw a tweak to the lineup with Ben Zobrist leading off (with a homerun, of course) and Schwarber batting second. Kris Bryant tacked on two homers to his already gaudy offensive numbers. Ian Happ has been electric and will stay with the big club as Jason Heyward returns f...

Everything you need to know to start your day.

His voice filled stadia the world over, but on more than one ocassion, Chris Cornell would humbly perform for us at the WXRT studios in rooms smaller than your living room. 

Everything you need to know to start your day.

Everything you need to start your day.