I'll admit -- I only vaguely remember Bobby Murcer from the 1981 World Series against the Dodgers (he barely played). I was 8 years old and just starting to watch baseball and don't recall too much except that the Yanks lost.
But I do remember and cherish years of watching games since then and listening to Bobby as a broadcaster -- with Phil Rizzuto, Rick Cerone, and most recently with Ken Singleton and Michael Kay.
He was such a personable guy in the air. I could tell that he and his collegues genuinely enjoyed each others' company. They relished their time in the broadcast booth, calling and analyzing the plays and reminiscing about their own careers on the playing field.
I also fondly remember when Bobby took the field a few years ago at Old Timers' Day and agreed to wear a microphone. What seemed at first like a silly idea turned out to be a lot of fun as Bobby narrated the game while he was playing.
There he was in the outfield, chasing down a ball hit to him! He exclamed into the mic something about being terrified, giving his buddies in the booth -- and the viewers -- a hearty laugh.
I'm pretty sure he caught that ball.
Thanks for the memories, Bobby.
>>WATCH THE YES NETWORK TRIBUTE TO BOBBY MURCER
You can still vote for your favorite player that got snubbed in the initial All-Star vote. Check out this voting widget.
Bon Jovi will be performing a FREE concert in Central Park on Saturday, July 12. The concert is a part of the city's All-Star Game celebrations.
Although the concert is free, you will need to ticket to get access to the Great Lawn. The city will limit attendance to about 60,000 fans.
HERE'S HOW TO GET TICKETS
Starting Wednesday, you can get tickets IN PERSON by going to any of the four pro baseball parks in the city:
Yankee Stadium in the Bronx (will distribute the bulk of the tickets)
Shea Stadium in Queens
KeySpan Park on Coney Island (home of the Brooklyn Cyclones)
Richmond County Bank Ballpark on Staten Island (home of the Staten Island Yankees)
Tickets will also be available on MLB.COM and BONJOVI.COM.
And a reminder that the 2008 All-Star Game will be played at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday, July 15.
You can watch the game on FOX 5.
A friend of mine is appearing on a quirky online talk show called The Daily Special... My friend, Michelle, is the legal analyst... Check it out...
Hundreds of thousands of people in Myanmar (Burma) are suffering and could die if they don't get the help they need after the devastating cyclone.
The country's military government is resisting help from outsiders, though some aid is getting in. If you can, please consider donating to a reputable relief agency or fund.
UNICEF has done some great work around the world. The agency is well-funded, so perhaps you might contribute elsewhere. But here is the link if you do want to make a donation:
>>INTERVIEW WITH PRESIDENT OF U.S. FUND FOR UNICEF
>>DONATING TO OTHER RELIEF AGENCIES
I went to two games at Yankee Stadium in recent days, and I came away with some observations.
These are things that make NO SENSE to me:
1. Fans who wear jerseys and caps of sports other than baseball. Dude, I get
it, you like the New York Rangers. Get your butt down to the Garden then.
2. (Corollary to #1) Fans who wear
jerseys or caps of baseball teams other than the two on the field. Listen, there's
no rule you have to be a Yankee fan to go to Yankee Stadium -- but what's with
the Mets gear? Fly your colors at Shea or at a Subway Series game, but other
than that you look like a jackass. Worse still is the guy who flaunts a Phillies jersey at a Yanks-Tigers game. Seriously? At least the Mets are a
local team. If I were at Wrigley Field for a Cubs-Cardinals game, I wouldn't
wear a Yankee cap. Why not? Because I'm not an idiot.
3. If a jackass insists on wearing Red Sox gear at a Yankee game EVEN THOUGH
THEY'RE PLAYING THE TIGERS, why would said jackass sit in the bleachers? Do you
WANT to get heckled? Now mind you: A sports rivalry should NEVER be an excuse for violence, ever.
4. Tickets for left field upper deck that are labeled with instructions to
enter at Gate 6, which turns out to be at right field... forcing the
ticketholder to shove his way from one wingtip of the stadium to the other
through pre-game crowds? Why the hell wouldn't the Yankees let the fan enter at
Gate 2 at left field?
5. Uniformed police officers that remove their hats and place them over
their hearts during the National Anthem. Nope. You're not civilians AND you're
in uniform. Keep the hats on and render a hand salute. You'd never see a
full-dress Marine remove her 'cover' outdoors. Ever.
Just when I think there's nothing new to discover in music, I'm proven
wrong. I have fallen in love with the words and music of
singer-songwriter Brendan James. He 'friend-requested' me on MySpace.
I'm usually skeptical of those requests because more often than not the
request is from some amateur wannabe whose music sucks. But I clicked
on Brendan's link... and I'm so glad I did. Here are the lyrics to "All
I Can See." I also love "Hero's Song."
Listen to his music at
http://www.MySpace.com/BrendanJames.
ALL I CAN SEE
By Brendan James
I want to walk through this doorway
I want to open my mind
I want to pledge my allegiance to all I can find.
I want a car that will crash through the barriers
to a road no one knows.
I want to feel less control,
want to bend and I want to land far from home.
The revolution of the earth around the sun
is the perfect lesson of how it should be.
So if i cannot learn
to journey and return,
to never rest till I've seen all I can see...
I want to learn a completely new language,
one I don't understand.
I want to help someone lost, someone helpless,
with the strength of my hand.
I want to come to the base of a statue built
before they counted the years,
and there I'll fall with my face in my hands and cry
and feel their hope in my tears.
The revolution of the earth around the sun
is the perfect lesson of how it should be.
So if I cannot learn,
to journey and return,
to never rest till I've seen all I can see...
Train rides and pastures colliding...
colors and customs I've never seen...
I know I, yes I know I,
I know I will stumble
but time is precious my friend.
Those who journey can easily understand,
the more they see the more they'll learn,
the more that they will be.
So this I swear to you, and this I swear to me,
I'll never rest till I've seen all I can see.
No, I'll never rest till I've seen all i can see.
I want to know where the strength of a person lies,
in their past or their future.
Is it in the way that they hurt or they love themselves
or is it all an illusion?
I want to crawl from this skin that I'm painted in...
Body, please let it give.
I want to find the creator of all good things
and ask what it means to live.
http://www.MySpace.com/BrendanJames
