Blackhawks President & CEO JOHN MCDONOUGH plans to take a step back and unwind this weekend following a grueling NHL season. The Blackhawks were eliminated from the playoffs Monday night, and now is the time to focus on himself, his family and recharge the batteries. McDonough: “There is so much volume in my life and so little time that you have alone. I really treasure that. Serenity is hard to find in this business.”
WITH HONORS: I am receiving the Founders Award from the De La Salle Institute on Friday at the Ritz-Carlton in Chicago. On Saturday, I am going downtown to the wedding of one of my best friends, TIM LEFEBVRE, who is the GM of Soldier Field. On Sunday, I am going to rest, exhale and go see my 8-month-old granddaughter, RILEY. I have three kids and they are all doing great. Two of them live in the city so I get a chance to visit with them quite frequently. My son lives right near Wrigley Field, where I worked for 24 years. One of the highlights of this year so far was taking Riley in her stroller to Opening Night. She didn’t go to the game, but that was still a big thrill for me. It was great reminiscing about my time with the Cubs.
READING RAINBOW: Because I live such a hectic, chaotic lifestyle, I want to make sure I find the time to read. I just like to be quiet for two to three hours at a time. I am a big fan of MALCOLM GLADWELL. I read a lot of his writing. I am also a big fan of “TED TALKS.” I try to read as much as I can and be as topical as possible. I also love going to the movies. I will watch “60 MINUTES” on Sunday, and I am a big fan of HBO. I have been watching “VINYL” recently. I am all caught up on episodes of “HOUSE OF CARDS” on Netflix.
BREAKING A SWEAT: Fitness is very important to me. I work out every day, whether it be the treadmill, elliptical, weights or just going for a walk. I love to bike through the forest preserves of the Western Suburbs. I was a golfer a while ago, but I had some knee injuries that required surgery. I love reading Men’s Health and Men’s Journal because fitness and nutrition really matter to me.
CAUGHT IN A BLIZZARD: My wife KAREN does the cooking in our household. I am a big fan of her salmon. My biggest weakness is Dairy Queen Blizzards. I like to go downtown and spend time in the city of Chicago. There is a restaurant that I frequent called Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab. I go there with my family and my kids periodically. It is a very nice upscale place. My biggest meal of the day is lunch, and I try to keep it light at night. When we are here at the United Center or on the road, you are eating catered food all the time.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN: I do a lot of traveling for work. I love L.A. and Vancouver, but I would say Boston is probably my favorite road city. I have a lot of good friends who work for the Red Sox, including SAM KENNEDY and DAVE DOMBROWSKI. Boston is very similar in many ways to Chicago. We used to have a place in Lake Geneva for a while. It is probably about 70 miles north of Chicago. We spend time there in the summer. It is a great getaway.
