MY DAD DOTH PROTEST: My dad reads my blog. So does my mom. Oh, and I think at least one of my sisters-in-law reads it, and even my two brothers check in from time to time. A few of my work-pals read it. My best friend's sister reads it. Some other bloggers who I've stumbled across have stumbled back, and so they read it. And people looking for nude pictures of Rudi Bakhtiar also read it, albeit unhappily, I'd suspect.

Anyhow, there's this mixed bag of folks who blow by here now and again, which is great. And I guess at some level, if you're weird enough to keep coming here, then you must be at least mildly interested in the meatloaf of ideas that somehow get served up as my worldview.

Coupla days ago, I mentioned how my dad likes to root against home teams. I forgot he's actually a regular reader, and for some reason he's intent on setting the record straight. Apparently he cares that this band of misfits -- you, my readers -- know him for who he is. I'll let him tell it. In an e-mail titled "Not True," he writes:

I have rooted for the Cubs for a lifetime....also the Bears, though less hardily...and, at one time, (when Hull, Hull, Hall, and Mikita were playing) the Blackhawks....In Cincinnati, I stuck with the Chicago teams and when we moved to Detroit I stuck with the Chicago teams with the exception of cheering for the Redwings. Perhaps I have rooted against Detroit teams (which hasn't been hard at all) for your entire lifetime....cheers, D

So there you go, Dad. Now everyone knows you're not a naysayer, a curmudgeon, or even a fair-weather fan. You're a jaded Chicago sports fan who's moved around a bit, and a guy who can be forgiven for jumping on the Red Wing bandwagon, given that Detroit is pretty much a one-bandwagon town.

Still, I wonder: Where did I get the impression you're an anti-home team guy? Like I said, my mom reads this blog, too, and I think she might weigh in on this stuff before too long.