I didn’t wear any green today, not because I’m anti-St. Patricks Day, but because I have no green clothing. I think I might have a green shirt from a fun-run or something, but I only wear that when I eat messy foods.

A story:  James Tyree died yesterday after a fight with stomach cancer. He was 53. Tyree swooped in and saved the Sun-Times from liquidation in 2009. I heard him speak at a dinner last year where he talked about his excitement for the future of newspapers and media, even citing holograms as a possible future for the medium. He had battled some serious illness, including diabetes and stomach cancer. This is a quote from the Trib today: 

In an interview with the Tribune, Mr. Tyree said he suspected that a bout with food poisoning, triggered by a bad bowl of chili in a long-defunct Halsted Street restaurant when he was in his early 20s might have triggered his illness. Said Mr. Tyree: “I didn’t get out of bed for seven days, and a year later, diabetes showed up.”

Yikes. I wonder what Halsted Street restaurant that was? I’ll never eat on that street again. 

So what happens to the Sun-Times? The management team says they will be fine, but our esteemed former colleague and former Sun-Times media columnist Robert Feder wonders how long the paper can survive without Tyree.

B story: Our friends at the Tribune wrote up a very cute, nice, little editorial this morning, explaining that because the government is broke, it’s time to defund NPR. Really? A bankrupt media company is telling us how to run our business? Awesome. And may I remind you that it was this NPR affiliate that exposed their former Trib CEO’s ridiculous behavior, leading to his resignation and maybe giving the Trib the worst black eye in Chicago media history.

So thanks for the ink, but if you don’t mind, we’ll take it from here.

C story: Garrison Keillor has announced he will retire from hosting Prarie Home Companion in 2013. Let’s line up the replacements now! I say it should be someone from Chicago. But someone that also understands Minnesota. Also, someone who has hosted their own show and could do skits. That’s right, I say Ditka. Prarie Home Ditka.

Weather: Nice again! I actually guessed right and wore a lighter coat. Score one for me. Corned Beef and tons of beer on the front porch tonight! 

Sports: The NCAA tournament starts today. 11 teams will represent the Big East conference in the tourney. 11 out of 16 teams. You know who won’t be there? Our DePaul Blue Demons. Why? Because once again, they proved to the college basketball world that they might be better off playing division 2 basketball. They brought in a new coach with a proven record to compete in the conference. They finished with a record of 1-17. That’s pathetic for a school that represents the third largest basketball market in the country. Pathetic. 

I used to love the Demons. Rod Strickland can do no wrong. David Booth inspired me to wear Converse. Ray Meyer might as well have been my Grandpa. But now? This? In the city of Chicago? Listen, we don’t want to be Illini fans. We don’t care about Southern Illinois. Valparaiso University might as well be in a different state. Chicago college basketball is DePaul. Get your head out of your mascot costume and show the Big East and ultimately the country that you do belong. 

In other words, win. Like the women’s team, which by the way, is the third seed in their tournament and is celebrating their ninth consecutive tournament berth.

Kicker:ESPN does great commercials. This one grabbed my eye yesterday. Huston Street is a pitcher for the Colorado Rockies. Street has had serious arm issues in the past (so notice the awesome nod with the iced shoulder). This is a bit I wanted to do (exactly) with the White Sox. But I went down to the clubhouse one time and the players had ZERO interest in messing around with me. So kudos to ESPN for making an obvious, but awesome fantasy baseball joke: