Verdi gets new gig

Verdi had the driest wit I've ever experienced. True story: We're in a PGA Tour media center watching the first few minutes of that day's broadcast of the tournament. A Cialis commercial comes on. When it gets to the part where the narrator says in a disclaimer: "If you have an erection that last longer than four hours, please call your doctor." Verdi watches the rest of the commercial, then says, "If I have an erection that lasts longer than four hours, I'm calling everyone."

 

Sounds about right. You had to have been within three feet of him, though, or you wouldn't have heard it.

 

Verd was covering the Black Hawks when I started as a copyboy at the Trib, the switched to baseball. He was the most entertaining hockey beat guy I've ever read, and he was the most entertaining baseball beat guy I ever read, and I was thrilled to one day share pressboxes with him. One of the classiest guys in the business, and the Blackhawks website will be bookmarked by me, for sure.

 

I wondered what happened to him at GolfWorld. Can't believe they laid him off. His back-page columns were great.

 

Remember watching him work a Cubs clubhouse with such ease and comfort among the players, even though he wasn't a bobo for them. Thought, "Now that guy owns his beat" the way I wanted to some day.

 

They laid him and John Hawkins off about two months ago.

Verdi is class personified. And I'm not just talking about his columns, which were always one of the first things I read in Golf World every week.

He had time to talk to everyone, then he'd pound out a story that would alternately crack you up and inform the hell out of you with his command of his subject and the English language.


And Hondo... still cracking up over that story.

 

Good for Bob, one of the absolute best and a great guy, too.

 

Geez, Hawkins too? Liked reading both of them. But you're right about Verdi, he could mix humor and info together effortlessly. GolfWorld lost a couple of good ones.

 

Verd's wit is priceless. It's maybe 25 years ago at Chicago Stadium, and the slumping Blackhawks are playing high-flying Philadelphia, with Pete Peeters in the Flyers' net. The Hawks win, and Verdi shares his perfect headline with us: Hawks beat Peeters, end dry spell.

 

Ok, since someone had a Verdi wit story I thought I would add this one. We were at a PGA Tour event and I was bored, so I went up to him and said "Bob, I need you for a reference for a job." He said, "Really, what newspaper?" I said it wasn't a newspaper, I found a better paying job mopping up the video stalls at the Adult Bookstore. I totally thought I had outwitted him. He doesn't even miss a beat and says, "Well, it's certainly more admirable than the profession you are in currently."

 

Brilliant.

Absolutely brilliant.