The “dragonslayer” of the hardwood Basketball Hall of Famer Lenny Wilkens passed away on November 9, 2025, at the age of 88. We’ve written about Wilkens a few times here at The O’Leary Review. What follows is a newer draft of a column originally published earlier this year. May 25, 2025 In an age where spectacle passes …
The Portland I Left Behind, The Healthcare Debate That Never EndedRepublishing My 2009 Oregonian Column I was digging through my archives earlier today, and to my surprise, I came across the column that follows this introduction. Sixteen years ago today, The Oregonian published my guest column on healthcare reform. I lived in Portland then. It is my …
A single phrase from John Wayne’s 1956 Western masterpiece traveled from Monument Valley to Liverpool, inadvertently launching the most influential rock ‘n’ roll band in history In 2008, the American Film Institute (AFI) named The Searchers (1956), starring John Wayne and directed by John Ford, the greatest American Western. It also ranks 12th on AFI’s list of …
Before Ronald Reagan saved the free world from Soviet nuclear annihilation, he was a $75-per-week radio announcer recreating Cubs games hundreds of miles from Wrigley Field For those who grew up in the 1980s and 1990s, Harry Caray was synonymous with the Chicago Cubs. He was the Chicago National League Ballclub’s television voice on the …
