There was a good card of boxing at Roseland Ballroom last night. “Broadway Boxing,” put on by DiBella Entertainment and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson’s SMS Promotions, had eight bouts and was an enjoyable show. There was a nice, lively crowd which featured “sports fans,” and celebrities such as Susan Sarandon and Burt Young.
Burt is best known for his role as fighter “Rocky Balboa’s” brother in law in “Rocky,” the Academy Award winner for best picture of 1976.
A famous boxer’s namesake (George) and former middleweight champion Yuri Foreman won the feature bout, winning all eight rounds vs Jamaal Davis to pick up a unanimous decision.
In a female junior featherweight co-featured bout, Heather Hardy scored a TKO vs Cassie Trost.
Louis Rose and crowd favorite, Bryant “Pee Wee” Cruz highlighted the earlier bouts with impressive victories. Rose won a unanimous decision vs Akil Frederick-Auguste. Cruz, now (6-0), also scored a unanimous decision, his vs Nuwan Jayakody.
There was also a touching tribute to the late, great Emile Griffith–one of the all-time greats.
The next “Broadway Boxing” event will be at B.B. Kings/ Times Square in August.
Emile Griffith
On the 1970 New York Mets’ highlight film an opposing team runner is picked off, caught in a rundown, and tagged out.
The great Lindsey Nelson, narrating that section of the film (Ralph Kiner and Bob Murphy also voice narration) says, “Where are you going Rusty Staub? The player caught in that rundown, would of course, later become a Met and a key player for them in their 1973 National League Pennant winning season.
So who is going to win that pennant 40 years later? It is ridiculous to give a prediction but perhaps we have a good idea as to who will be the five playoff teams in the National League.
There is still a long way to go but the Atlanta Braves have a seven game lead in their division. Meanwhile the St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds have at least 5 game leads for playoff qualification.
That leaves the NL West where the Los Angeles Dodgers lead the Arizona Diamondbacks by a half game. Likely, but far from definitely the NL West winner, (I join the Dodgers’ bandwagon but would never give the 4 to 1 current odds) will join the other four in the playoffs.
Now I could say at least one of the four Atlanta, St. Louis, Pittsburgh or Cincinnati will not make it. I just do not see which other team will beat at least one of them in the standings.
Rusty Staub
Last night the World champion, San Francisco Giants paid tribute to Hall of Fame broadcaster, Lon Simmons on his 90th birthday.
Mr. Simmons, with his explosive “on the action” play by play is one of the greatest play by play men ever. He broadcast both the Giants and Oakland A’s in his career.
I get chills listening to his call of Willie Mays 600th home run. “Swung on hit deep to left” is how the play by play starts with the proper inflection that can not be taught and is so lacking in almost all of today’s announcers. (Michael Kay, who had never broadcast a professional game and yet was hired to do radio play by play for the New York Yankees, no less, is a vivid example.)
Lon was a great football announcer and called the famous Jim Marshall “wrong way” run as well as Joe Montana’s winning touchdown pass to John Taylor in the 1988 season Super Bowl. I also recall hearing a touchdown pass John Brodie to Bill Tucker, I believe, when the 49ers won their first divisional title ever in 1970.
Sure this is subjective but there are standards. Especially on radio, where the announcer serves as the listener’s eyes, it is so important for the play by play person to be accurate and quick.
Simmons was both and is one of the greats. When Jerry Rice breaks loose on a key play on the Niners’ winning drive in the aforementioned 1988 season “Supe,” Lon’s voice “explodes” and stays with Jerry’s progress down field.
Finally, tribute to two more announcing greats who showed incredible selflessness and allowed Lon to call great sport’s moments. In 1963, Russ Hodges, who of course had not so arguably, the greatest sports call ever on Bobby Thomson’s pennant winning home run in 1951, gave Simmons the microphone for Juan Marichal’s no hitter. In 1989, Bill King did the same for Lon as the A’s wrapped up the World Series, coincidentally vs the San Francisco Giants.
My giving is minimal but heartfelt. Happy 90th birthday to Lon Simmons and thanks for your incredible work. It means a great deal to me.
The National League pennant winner will be without the home advantage in the World Series. 22 of the last 27 World Series have been won by the team with the home advantage. This great run began with the advent of best of seven League Championship Series in 1985.
In the NL East the Atlanta Braves were denied a berth in the division series the last two seasons in heartbreaking fashion. In 2011 they lost a big lead in the wild card race and were eliminated on the last day of the regular season. In 2012 the Braves lost in the extra one game playoff at home. At the All Star break, they have a nice 6 game lead in a bid to get into the division series this season.
In the NL Central, the St.Louis Cardinals, the team that eliminated the Braves in both of those seasons, have a one game lead over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Meanwhile in the NL West, a five game over .500 record is good enough for the Arizona Diamondbacks to have a two and a half game lead. The Los Angeles Dodgers at .500 and with their big payroll are fortunate to be just two and a half games out. The defending world champion San Francisco Giants, eight games under .500 are six and a half games out of first place.
There is no question about Mariano Rivera’s greatness. How great can be discussed another time. However, a pitcher who pitched one shutout inning with his team ahead (3-0) does not deserve the MVP award.
Sooner or later, another pitcher will also pitch one scoreless inning with a lead. Will he be the star of that game? I do not think so.
I have little faith in Hall of Fame voting and in the sports media in general. Last night was another example why I feel that way.
In fairness, there was no obvious choice for game MVP last night. Chicago White Sox hurler Chris Sale pitched two perfect innings with the game tied. Again Rivera, obviously a sentimental choice based on his great career, pitched one scoreless inning ahead (3-0).
Miguel Cabrera set up the game’s first run with a leadoff double. He certainly has established himself as a star. Sale with two perfect innings while the game was tied would have won the award had it not been for the Rivera sentiment.
While one can see the sentiment in picking Rivera, it does slightly tarnish the award. Clearly, if anyone else did what Rivera did in the game, they would not have been considered for MVP.
The 2013 major league baseball season has reached the All Star break. This year, as opposed to last year, finishing first in the division would seem to have very significant meaning.
First of all, the six division winners avoid the one game playoff. That is “reserved” for the two wild card teams in each league.
Next the two top finishers in each league play the first two and potential decisive game(s) of a best of five series at home. Hence a look at the divisional races. Today the American League and later this week, the National League.
In the American League, the surprising Boston Red Sox, rated the lowest in the A.L. East at the beginning of the season have a two and a half game lead. The Toronto Blue Jays with the division’s highest pre season rating are in last place, eleven and one half games behind first place Boston.
The Detroit Tigers have a one and a half game lead over the Cleveland Indians in the A.L. Central Division. The top heavy favorite, Tigers have won 7 of nine vs Cleveland but have not pulled away by any stretch.
The Oakland A’s who swept the Texas Rangers in the last three games at Oakland last year to win the A.L. West, currently lead the Rangers by two games in the division. The high priced Los Angeles Angels, with the highly paid Mike Scioscia at the managerial helm, are 5 games under .500 and 11 games out.
Tim McCarver was an outstanding catcher on some near great St. Louis Cardinals teams that won 3 pennants and 2 World Series from 1964-1968. I really liked him as a player.
I can not say the same thing about his “on air” career though he was chosen for the Baseball Hall of Fame in that category.
Trust me, he in his truly loud voice (at the 1985 World Series I stood at the back of the broadcast booth and while neither Al Michaels nor Jim Palmer could be heard, McCarver could be) has made so many factual mistakes over the years.
One I remember is McCarver saying Bucky Dent’s home run in the one game playoff for the Yankees vs the Boston Red Sox was in the early 1980’s. Of course it was in 1978.
Yesterday, listening to the final game of the 1993 World Series, I note that McCarver said every game of the Yankees’ 4 game sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1950 World Series was very close. In game 4, the Yankees led 5-0 going to the top of the 9th and won (5-2). That is not very close.
Interviewing Paul Molitor, McCarver asked “if in his wildest dreams, could you (Paul) imagine a World title in his first year in Toronto?” “Wildest dreams,” the Blue Jays were defending World’s Champions.
On Tuesday, McCarver will be broadcasting his last All Star Game, with the Mets the host team for the first time since 1964. Oh 1964, Mc Carver the fine player hit the key home run in the 10th inning of the World Series also in a game at New York (Yankee Stadium).
His three run homer in game 5 helped the Cardinals win the World Series in 7 games. It is that McCarver and not the broadcaster McCarver that I admire.
Once, McCarver during the 5th game of the 1986 NLCS in talking of the previous longest NLCS game said the Reds won and Pete Rose’s home run was decisive. McCarver was right and I am the one who told him Rose hit the home run. I am still waiting for his thank you.
Bob Dishy has done some incredible work and is truly an outstanding actor. He has appeared and stood out in such films as “Brighton Beach Memoirs” and “Don Juan DeMarco.”
Though he is the “actor’s actor,” I feel Mr. Dishy does not get enough credit. In a word, he is brilliant.
Recently I saw him arrive just before doing two readings of Murray Schisgal plays under the auspices of “Food for Thought Productions.” He took off his jacket and went to work. His performance was outstanding.
He had two great co stars. In “The Man Who Couldn’t Stop Crying,” he worked with his wife Judy Graubart. Next, without batting an eyelash, he worked with Zach Grenier in “Death, Thou Shalt Die.”
After the performance, Mr. Dishy was very pleasant and he showed his versatility as he detailed game one of the Miami Heat/Indiana Pacers series. I had missed the game and wanted details.
He knew more about the game than most, if not all of the commentators, who abound in the sportscasting wilderness. He had an almost total recall of the game’s key moments though he had no idea that would be what I wanted to know.
I thought of and admittedly researched some of his many roles. I did remember him as the Jewish man who was to marry Maude’s daughter Carol (played not by Adrienne Barbeau but by Marcia Rodd) and about to meet Archie in a pre “Maude,” “All in the Family” episode.
In that episode and in countless roles, he displayed humor and created pathos. He possesses a rare gift and the audience is so fortunate to have the likes of Bob Dishy around.
The readings were part of the great program at Food For Thought Productions created by Susan Charlotte and Mary J. Davis. A new season highlight will be “Masks,” starring the great Fritz Weaver on October 3rd.
Andy B with Bob Dishy
The first edition of “Carson on TCM” aired last night. Hosted by Conan O’Brien, interviews conducted by Johnny Carson from the Tonight Show will be shown on Monday nights from 8 until 9 Eastern time. What a treat in this heat.
Last night Johnny’s (few called him John but one who did was his mother) interviews with Doris Day, Charlton Heston, Chevy Chase, Steve Martin and Tony Curtis aired.
Surely they were “chopped” a bit but it was great to look back.
The TCM promo, narrated by the wonderful Robert Osborne, stated the audience would be privy to some type of interviews that would not happen today.
One such instance aired last night, 27 odd years after its first time on television.
Chevy Chase was on the Tonight Show to promote his movie “The Three Amigos.” Film critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert came on after Chase’s solo chat with Carson, and while complimentary to other Chase films, were not enamored with “The Three Amigos.”
It was Ebert, who said he could not recommend “The Three Amigos” and it was fascinating but not “instigated” television tension.
In light of all that has happened and always does happen there is perspective regarding comments and criticism. Both Siskel and Ebert are deceased and “The Three Amigos” was not “Gone With The Wind.”
I look forward to looking back next week when Turner Classic Movies will present the second “Carson on TCM” at the same time on Monday night.
Click this link for a brief video
I attended a “titillating” event at Rick’s Cabaret New York, the upscale gentlemen’s club in midtown Manhattan. The lovely Rick’s Girls were models in a “Lingerie Fashion Show.”
The Rick’s Cabaret Girls walked a makeshift runway wearing silky and skimpy attire from the Rene’ Rofe’ collection. The crowd, comprised of mostly well dressed business types, loved it. (They showed their appreciation after the fashion show by showering the girls with money. Now that’s an unusual fashion show.)
The girls modeled the latest in lingerie fashions, and did so in a sexy, tasteful, classy manner which is the standard at Rick’s Cabaret.
The club is a favorite spot for pro athletes, who usually sit right along side the Wall Streeters in the VIP sections. The Rick’s Girls were available to the press for interviews after the show, so I took the opportunity to ask them about sports, particularly baseball. Do they know their baseball? Look for my interview with three beautiful girls from Rick’s Cabaret next week.
