For awhile I thought Milwaukee was the worse city in America. I had a good reason to think this, too. No, it had nothing to do with those toughs always messing around with Richie Cunningham, Potsie and Ralph Malph that the Fonz always had to straighten out. It also didn't have to do with those geeks Lenny and Squiggy or Milwaukee natives Latrell Sprewell, Heather Graham or Liberace.
Nope, those folks didn't get me riled up one way or another, though it was difficult not to be a big fan of Heather Graham as Roller Girl in "Boogie Nights."
There was one reason why I thought Milwaukee was the worst city in America...
Charles Barkey.
Yes, Sir Charles almost ruined Milwaukee for me and here's why - he kept getting arrested there. In fact, it got to the point where it seemed as if the police were waiting for Big Chuck at the airport to pick him up for some trumped up charge.
Charles, of course, was arrested in Milwaukee in December of 1991 when he punched some dude named Joseph McCarthy in the nose. Apparently McCarthy and his pals saw Charles hanging out in a Milwaukee bar early one morning and yelled, "Hey Barkley, show me how tough you are."
That was followed by an invitation to fight which was RSVP'd with the right to the nose.
A few hours later, Charles was arrested and held in the local lockdown for four hours before posting $500 bond. Eventually, the case went to trial before Barkley beat the rap because of self defense.
Barkley didn't only have trouble in the local bars in Milwaukee, either. Sometimes he even had trouble on the basketball court, like that time at the Mecca during the mid-‘80s when he brawled with Paul Mokeski.
Then again, ol' Chuck mixed it up in a lot of cities, like that time he tossed a guy through a window in Orlando in 1996. That was one incident that Barkley says he regrets.
"I regret we weren't on the second floor," he said.
Anyway, just because Barkley got arrested in Milwaukee doesn't make it all bad. The thing that makes it bad is that the police in Milwaukee have no trouble rousting Sir Charles when he hits town, but they just can't seem to figure out the caper of the guy who is killing and eating people.
Yep, in Milwaukee Charles Barkley goes to trial for bopping some lout in the nose, all while Jeffrey Dahmer was walking the streets.
So if you are looking for a reason to dislike the Brewers when they face the Phillies in the NLDS this week, there it is.
Ol' Charlie Barkley coming through for Philadelphia again.
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Gettin' back...
Speaking of coming through for Philadelphia and Chicago, how about that Jim Thome?
For those that missed it, Big Jim launched a 461-foot bomb well over the center field fence in the seventh inning to give the White Sox a 1-0 victory over the Twins in the playoff game to determine the winner of the AL Central.
With Thome's homer, the White Sox go on to play the Rays in the ALDS. Better yet, the win got Thome back to the playoffs for the first time since 2001 when he and Charlie Manuel went in with the Cleveland Indians.
On another note, it's hard to believe it's been more than three years since Thome last played in Philadelphia. Actually, it's 111 homers ago.
Who knows... maybe Thome will take a trip back to Philly in late October. Hey crazier things have happened.
The playoff predictions are coming on Wednesday morning... be ready.