An Observation on Halls of Fame Electors

Sometime this afternoon, the results of the balloting for the Baseball Hall of Fame will be announced, and in a few weeks, the Pro Football Hall of Fame will also elect new members.

Coupled with these announcements will be some serious bloviating by the sportswriters who vote on these things.  It has started already with the self-important gasbag from MLB.com who has already announced why he did not vote for Greg Maddux.

The Cardinals of the Catholic Church who elect a Pope do not take themselves as serious as do Buster Olney, Peter Gammons, Peter King and others of their ilk.

Book Review: "Their Life's Work"

Got my reading for 2014 off with a bang with "Their Life's Work" by Gary M. Pomerantz.  The subtitle of this book says it all: "The Brotherhood of the 1970's Pittsburgh Steelers, Then and Now."

Now, when I first became aware of this book a few months back, I thought that it would be yet another regurgitation of facts and stories of the  Super Bowl Seventies Steelers.  You know, kind of like the endless stories we've all heard a million times over the years.  However, as I read the reviews of this book in recent months, it prompted me to put this book on my Christmas wish list, and Santa Marilyn came through.


Some reviewers have likened this book to a football version of Roger Kahn's classic baseball book, "The Boys of Summer", and it is an apt analogy.  Like Kahn did with the 1950's Brooklyn Dodgers, Pomerantz tells the story of the Steelers in their glory days, and then revisits many of the players in the current day.  Pomerantz is a national writer and author. He cut his teeth as a sports writer with the Washington Post and later as a general assignment reported with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  I think what makes this book special, besides the fact that he is a gifted writer, is the fact that Pomerantz is not a local guy who covered the team in its heyday.  This makes the point that the Steelers of those years were indeed special on a national and league-wide level to the point that they are an historic team.  And he gives a perspective on such people as Art Rooney, Chuck Noll, Joe Greene, Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris and others that were new to me.  Sometimes, I think that we in Pittsburgh are so close to the Steelers of that era that we can't appreciate just what they mean on a national level.

Pomerantz does not give a game-by-game summary of all the events of those six magical seasons.  In fact, he goes into detail on only three specific games: the Immaculate Reception game in 1972, the 1974 AFC title game with the Raiders, and the first Super Bowl win against the Vikings.  Each game is covered in about half dozen pages or so, but written in a such a way that those games that are so familiar to Steelers fans will seem new and fresh to the reader.

The book concentrates on the present day lives of four Steelers: Greene, Bradshaw, Harris, and John Stallworth, but in those chapters, you will also learn about the lives of all of the other big names from those teams.  Pomerantz also does not sugarcoat the down side of life that these players experienced, specifically the trauma and tragedy that was the life and death of Mike Webster.

Lots stand out to me from reading this book, but I will just highlight two of them.  One, that Chuck Noll was and remains a towering presence in the lives of all of these players, and two, the absolute heart and soul of those Steelers was Joe Greene.  No one else was even a close second.

You don't have to be a Steelers fan to like this book. It is that good.  And if you are a Steelers fan, it is an absolute must read.

I will close with just one passage, among many, in the book that stood out to me.  It describes Joe Greene on December 20, 1981, the day he decided to retire:

In the Astrodome that day, with both teams out of the playoffs, the thirty-five year old Greene played his 181st regular season game. He became wistful as he took in the scene one last time. He realized that the game carried no real meaning other than it being his last. Greene thought, Can you imagine playing games like this your whole career? What a sad statement that would be.

Terrific book.

Pittsburgh Football in 2013 - A Final Look Back

Before we get too immersed in the NFL Playoffs and Monday's BCS title game, a final look back (and a tentative look forward) on the local scene.

STEELERS

If you are really interested, you can see what I had prognosticated for the 2013 Steelers back in September here:

http://www.grandstander.blogspot.com/2013/09/its-steelers-time.html

If I say so myself, I think I was pretty perspicacious in my predictions.  However, if you don't want to read the whole post from five months ago, here is the relevant passage:

As for 2013, I see the team being anywhere from 7-9 to 9-7 and not making the Playoffs this year.  I see Baltimore winning the AFC North with the Bengals - I can't believe I'm saying this - finishing ahead of the Steelers, who will still be better than the Browns.

Well, the Steelers finished 8-8, so I was on target there.  Yeah, yeah, I know, I was way wrong about the Ravens, who failed to make the playoffs.

This is the second year in a row that the Steelers went 8-8.  In 2012, they started 7-2 and then crashed and burned , going 1-6 in the final seven games.  This year, as we all know, they started 0-4, then rallied to go 8-4 in the final twelve games.  What to make of that?  Nothing, because 8-8 is the very definition of mediocre, and, essentially, that is what the Steelers have been for the last two years.  I think it would be a mistake for anyone to think that that nice 8-4 finish means that things are okay with the Steelers going into next year.

On the positive side, the Steelers seem to be a good offensive team.  Ben Roethlisberger remains a franchise quarterback, and Le'Veon Bell came on strong after he got healthy and looks to be a Grade-A running back.  Despite everyone's constant bitching about OC Todd Haley, the Steelers problems do NOT appear to be on that side of the ball.

The Steelers defense continues to age and continued a trend from '12 of not being able to hold fourth quarter leads.  Can that ship be turned around for the 2014 season?  That is the big question in my mind as the off-season gets underway for Rooney U.

PITT

You can make all the fun you want about a win over a MAC team in a minor league bowl game, but the Panthers victory over Bowling Green in the Pizza Pizza Bowl, was impressive and, I think, important to the team as they closed out a season that sent somewhat mixed messages.  (In addition to that, it was an entertaining and fun game to watch!)  The fact of the matter is that Pitt did NOT win those minor league bowl games the prior two seasons, so that alone makes the Pizza Pizza win a good one.

As the guys in the ticket group I am in watched Pitt throughout the season, we kept wondering just what kind of team they were.  Well, they finished 7-6, won a game or two we didn't expect (Notre Dame) and lost some they should have won (Navy, North Carolina).  As my expert on all things Pitt (Dan Bonk) said prior to the season, "if they win seven games, that would be a good season for them." So, there you are.

I keep thinking that 19 freshman received significant playing time for Pitt this year, and I'll be optimistic and say that that augers well for the future.

I will say that Pitt fans had better enjoy and appreciate Tyler Boyd in 2014, as I am sure that he will be gone to the NFL as soon as rules allow him to opt for the NFL draft.  He is a remarkable football player.

PENN STATE

I have decided not to comment in this forum on what has gone on there this past week.  Still too touchy and emotional an issue, and I'm just going to let it lay there.  

NFL Playoff Predictions

As I have done in previous years, I shall predict the NFL Playoff contests, week by week.

Here you go:

Colts over Chiefs.  Have the Chiefs actually beaten a good team all season?

Eagles over Saints.  N.O. can't get it done outside in cold weather.

Packers over 49ers.  Aaron Rogers is back. Need I say more?

Chargers over Bengals.  All logic says that the Bengals will win this one, but when all is said and done, they are the Cincinnati Bengals.  If ever there was a game that BOTH teams could lose, however, this on is it.

As always, watch, but don't bet!

To Absent Friends: Phil Everly

The first Absent Friend of 2014 is Phil Everly of the Everly Brothers singing duo, one of the great rock & roll acts of the late 1950's and early 1960's.  Phil passed away yesterday at the age of 74.

In 2004, when Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel reunited for their Old Friends Tour, they included The Everly Brothers as a part of their concert program, and in his introduction of them to the audience, Paul Simon cited them as their heroes and a "major influence" on the young Simon and Garfunkel.  Pretty strong praise, and acts such as The Beatles and the Beach Boys also include the Everly Brothers as major influences on their music as well.

Marilyn and I consider us very fortunate to be at the Civic Arena in June, 2004 to see The Everly Brothers performing with Simon and Garfunkel during that tour.

The Brothers hits are many (and they are great) - Cathy's Clown, Wake Up Little Susie, Bye Bye Love, All I Have to Do Is Dream, Cryin' In the Rain, and I could go on and on.  In fact, they still hold the record for most Billboard Top 100 singles charted by a singing duo.  Here is one of my favorites, performed by the Brothers in 1983:




Listen to The Everly Brothers today.  They are easy enough to find in iTunes and YouTube.   You won't regret it.

RIP Phil Everly.

Something to Look Forward To in 2014

In February, the Winter Olympics will take place in Sochi, Russia.  You know what that means, don't you?

CURLING IS BACK, BABY!!!!

I can't wait!

Movie Review: "Saving Mr. Banks" and Other Thoughts

The first Grandstander post of 2014 actually should have been written last night, but what the heck.  

Marilyn and I fulfilled our New Year's Eve tradition of attending a movie and dining on Kentucky Fried Chicken afterwards.  You just can't top some traditions!  This custom was started, by the way, back on New Year's Eve, 1990 when we both got home from work early, and decided to take in a movie, "Home Alone".  Since then, that has been the drill.  Wish I could remember what each of those 24 movies has been.  I know that they included such flicks as "Titanic", "Silver Linings Playbook", and "True Grit".  I know that there have been more memorable ones among the list, but I'm drawing a blank for now.

Anyway, last night's offering was "Saving Mr. Banks", the story of the difficult road traveled by Walt Disney and his movie studio in dealing with author P.L. Travers as they were trying to make the classic movie "Mary Poppins".  While I had read the reviews and had an idea what it was about, I didn't expect the emotional wallop that this movie would deliver.  Very good to excellent movie, and Tom Hanks as Disney and Emma Thompson as Travers were, as always, terrific in their roles. How great is Tom Hanks? Surely one of the best actors of his generation.  And for good measure, throw in Paul Giamatti, also one of the greats of his generation, in a wonderful supporting role.

I suppose that now I will have to see "Mary Poppins", which, believe it or not, I have never seen.

While New Year's Eve has passed, if you are looking for a movie with a New Year's Eve theme, it's still not too late to watch one of the following (see, I told you this post should have been written yesterday)......

• "Ocean's Eleven", the original one with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr. and the rest of the Rat Pack.  The gang plans a heist of five Las Vegas casinos on New Year's Eve.
• "Radio Days".  Woody Allen's terrific memoir of old time radio and growing up in Brooklyn concludes with a New Year's Eve scene.
• "Sunset Boulevard", Billy Wilder's great movie about Hollywood contains a pivotal scene involving a New Year's Eve party planned by Norma Desmond.

Of course, these are all great movies to see, no matter what time of the year you might watch them.

Have a great 2014, everyone, and start it off by seeing "Saving Mr. Banks".

To All Loyal Readers.....

Please celebrate responsibly.

See you all here in The Grandstand in 2014!

The Gandy Dancer Saloon and Station Square

Marilyn and I celebrated our wedding anniversary on Friday by observing another tradition of ours - dinner at Station Square - but with a bit of a twist this year.  Instead of dining in the opulent Grand Concourse, we opted for the adjoining Gandy Dancer Saloon.  It is a more limited menu, but the food comes from the same kitchen and for a fraction of the cost.  Wise choice, and we had a great meal and a great time.

After our meal, we did take a stroll through the retail portion of Station Square, and found it to 

be a bit of a depressing experience.  What used to be a bustling retail complex, and a "must see" destination for visitors to Pittsburgh, now approximates a ghost town.  Sad to see.

Movie Review: "American Hustle"

We took in the flick "American Hustle" yesterday afternoon.  It is a flick that is popping up on lots of Best Ten lists and is getting lots of Oscar buzz.  It is loosely based ("Some of these events actually happened" is the on-screen prelude to the movie) on events surrounding the ABSCAM scandals of the late 1970's.    

Hard to classify this movie.  Part drama, part comedy, but entertaining.  Insofar as movies about con artists go, it's not "The Sting", and  it could have been about 15 minutes shorter, but we still liked it a lot.  The acting by all five principals - Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, and Jennifer Lawrence - was really good, and makes for a worthwhile movie going experience.

And you've got to love the '70's music, fashions, and, especially, hair styles.  Not everything was good about the good old days!  Although I've got to say, Amy Adams sure looked great!

In case you are wondering, the Traditional Sproule New Years Eve Movie Date will be to see "Saving Mr. Banks".

Absent Friends 2013

As the year draws to a close, it is time to look back.

In 2013, The Grandstander noted the loss of 33 Absent Friends, those who left us in this year whose mark on history, society, popular culture or just on me personally was such that I felt it noteworthy to comment upon their passing.  

 I cannot do this without giving a shout out the great sportswriter, Red Smith, who always used the term "Absent Friends" when writing about those who had died.  

And now, a final salute to the Absent Friends of 2013:

Earl Weaver
Stan Musial
Patty Andrews
Ed Koch
Ruth Ann Steinhagen
Roger Ebert
Annette Funicello
Jonathan Winters
Pat Summerall
Frank Bank
Richie Havens
Jack Butler
Ken Venturi
Bill Austin
James Gandolfini
Simmie Hill
Terry Lee
Karen Black
Ted Post
David Frost
Dixie Evans
L.C. Greenwood
John Ferguson
Scott Carpenter
Bum Phillips
Bud Adams
Lou Reed
Evan Chambers
Nelson Mandela
Peter O'Toole
Joan Fontaine
Paul Blair
James Ecker

Rest in Peace.

Lucky Socks

In 2005, one of my Christmas gifts, a stocking stuffer, appropriately, was a pair of Timberland socks, very similar to the pair pictured here.

How, you may ask, can I remember the specific year that I received such a relatively small gift? Well, I remember putting them on for the first time the morning that the sixth seeded Pittsburgh Steelers played the Cincinnati Bengals in the opening round of the NFL Playoffs.  The Steelers won that game, so I wore those socks once again a week later when the Steelers took on and defeated the heavily favored Payton Manning-led Indianapolis Colts. You can guess the rest of the story.  I wore those same socks on game days right up to that Super Bowl win over Seattle that year.  They became known as my "lucky socks" and they got the team through another Super Bowl win two years later over Arizona.

The socks are now eight years old and still in great shape.  (Timberland stuff is expensive but you really do get what you pay for.)  I mention this because I pulled out those socks last week and wore them as the Steelers took on the Packers at Lambeau, and, well, you know what happened.  I shall be wearing them tomorrow as the Steelers take on the Browns, where I am pretty sure that they will work their magic once again.  I can only hope that these powerful socks can make the dominoes fall for the Steelers in those other three games that will impact the team's playoff hopes for 2013. 

Hey, as those commercials say, it's only weird if it doesn't work!  And I will cut off any smart alec comments by saying that the socks DO get laundered after each wear.

OK, in the interest of Full Disclosure, I confess that I also wore them in that Super Bowl loss against the Packers, but those socks still have a pretty good record.

To Absent Friends: Paul Blair, James Ecker

As 2013 heads into its final week, let us wish a Melancholy Happy trails to two more Absent Friends, Paul Blair and James Ecker.

Paul Blair enjoyed a seventeen year Major League career.  I was well aware that he played on four pennant winning teams with the Baltimore Orioles, two of which went on to win the World Series.  I had forgotten, and would have been unable to remember if pressed on the matter, that he also played on two World Series winners with the Yankees in 1977 and 1978.  I, of course, have a distinct memory that he played on the losing team in the 1971 World Series.  He was 69 years old.

Pittsburgh criminal defense attorney James Ecker died on Christmas morning at the age of 84.  If you were regular watcher of TV news in Pittsburgh over the years, you are familiar with the sight of Ecker and his distinctive white head of hair as he accompanied one notorious or heinous accused criminal during a perp walk following an arrest or during one highly publicized criminal trial or another.  I suppose it is easy to look down upon a guy who "always" seemed to defend such "obviously guilty" people, but if we value the Constitution and the rights that it bestows upon all of us, we really should value the role that people like Jim Ecker play in our society.  To that end, I would highly recommend that you read Tony Norman's column in this morning's Post-Gazette:

http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/tony-norman/2013/12/27/Tony-Norman-Jim-Ecker-knew-his-job-well-in-spite-of-us/stories/201312270114

As an aside, I found it most interesting that in his spare time, Jim Ecker enjoyed reading John Grisham novels.

RIP Paul Blair and James Ecker.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Best wishes to all Loyal Readers for a Merry and Blessed Christmas.

Let's not forget the real reason for the season.....

....and let's also keep a whimsical spirit as well!

News from The Fan

 This is not "news" at this point, but following the recent firings at 93.7 The Fan (see http://www.grandstander.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-axe-falls-at-fan.html ), the station, KDKA-FM, has announced who will be replacing whom in the new program line-up effective January 6.

To me, the most interesting switch was the move of Andrew Fillliponi, aka, Andrew "Fullaboloney" from his early evening slot to the the mid-day slot, and teaming him with Ron Cook in the newly named "Cook and Poni Show".

As you can see from the picture, Filliponi is a young guy, only in his mid-twenties.  I do not hold his age against him.  God bless him for landing a job like this in a major league market at such a young age, but he can be a bit of a know-it-all wiseguy at times, and that can get old, but to his credit, he has had some interesting things to say in the times that I have listened to him.  It is the pairing of bitter, angry, miserable old guy Cook and hipster, millennial, wiseass Filliponi that shows promise of the oil-and-water fireworks that made the Vinnie and Cook Show Must Listen Radio.  Somehow, I just can't see Ron Cook getting along with this guy, either.

Despite killing in the radio ratings, The Fan managed to get rid of two, presumably, big pay guys on Paul Alexander and Vinnie Richichi and reshuffled its programming deck without hiring any new on air talent.  That's a tough business. 

Steelers Beat Packers; Still Alive!

In a wild game that was unbelievably entertaining, the Steelers beat the Packers yesterday, 38-31, and, amazingly, kept their playoff hopes alive as they head into the final weekend of the season next week.

This game had just about everything:

• another very good game by Ben Roethlisberger, who may well be having the best season of his career,
• a successful fake punt by the Steelers that resulted in a thirty yard gain,
• a 100 yard rushing game by Le'Veon Bell; it had been 22 games since the Steelers had a 100 yard rusher,
• an interception returned for a touchdown by Cortez Allen
• a blocked field goal,
• yet another fourth quarter lead that the Steelers defense could not hold, followed by...
• a fourth quarter TD by Bell that regained the lead,
• a Packer kick-off return and a Steelers penalty that almost allowed the Packers to tie the game,
• an incomplete pass into the end zone on the final play that would have forced the game into overtime,
• and, oh yeah, an apparently blown call by the officials following that blocked Packer FG attempt, that would have loomed REALLY large had the Steelers ended up losing that game.

Local media types have been trying to gin up a controversy over Mike Tomlin's decision not to eat up time on the clock by not having Roethlisberger kneel down for two plays and then kick a FG at the end of the game.  Instead, Bell scored the winning TD (and did the Packers let him score there?), and the Packers got the ball back with over a minute to play, and ended the game, thanks to that 70 yard kick return, inside the Steelers ten yard line with a chance to tie the game.

Sorry, but I'm with Tomlin on this one.  When you have a chance to score, you try to score on the very next play.  Plus, the idea of an Offense trying not to score, while the Defense tries to allow  you to score, just strikes me as wrong.  This happened in the Giants-Patriots Super Bowl two years ago, and it just didn't sit well with me.  Besides, how many times is a strategy like that going to work for you? One in ten times? A hundred times? A thousand times?  Yeah, it almost worked for Green Bay yesterday, but the key word there is almost.

Oh, and a word about Le'Veon Bell.  After a slow start, due to injuries, it is now apparent, Bell appears to be the real deal as an NFL running back.  Big, fast, strong and with an almost freakish ability to hurdle defenders.  One of the things I like most about him is his ability make what should be three or four yard losses into one or two yard gains.

As I have been saying for a few weeks now, whatever else the Steelers have been this year, their games, with one or two exceptions, have been tremendously entertaining, win or lose, and that game yesterday may have topped them all.

And you have to hand it to the NFL, they do know how to milk the playoff possibility game.  With a win next week and help from three other teams in three other games, the Steelers could find themselves with a seat at the table when the Playoffs begin the following week.  Probable? Not very, but still possible, and if it happens, I will remind you that all twelve playoff teams will start with a 0-0 record.  And to the Gloomy Guses who may root against this happening because it will "only spoil our draft position", get over it.

******

Two other NFL observations:

The Seattle Seahawks, who may very well be the best team in the NFL, lost yesterday to the Arizona Cardinals.  The Cardinals are now 10-5, very much alive in the NFC playoff hunt, and are coached by Bruce Ariens, who was shoved into "retirement" by Art Rooney II two years ago.  Make your own judgements there.

In Detroit, Coach Jim Schwartz, a singularly annoying individual, with time on the clock and times out in his pocket, elected to play for a field goal to tie the game with the Giants yesterday rather than try to score a touchdown.  The fans at Ford Field made the displeasure with this strategy known, and Schwartz was seen turning towards the stands and jawing with the fans about it.  The Giants won the game in OT, and Schwartz is said to be on the ropes in Detroit.

A Classic Obituary

An obituary in the New York Times today notes the passing of New York pornographer Al Goldstein at the age of 77.  I mention this not because I was a fan or supporter of Mr. Goldstein - far from it.  In fact, you will note that I am not using my standard "Absent Friends" notation in referencing this death.  It would be appalling and wrong on a thousand levels to include the likes of Goldstein with people such as Stan Musial, Annette Funicello, James Gandolfini, David Frost, and Nelson Mandela, to name only a few names form 2013, that I just will not do it.  Call me judgemental,  but so be it.

Rather, I note it because the obit in the Times is just so well written by reporter Andy Newman that it begs to be read.  It starts with the headline, "Al Goldstein, Who Made Porn Dirtier, Dies at 77" and just gets better from there.  

It also includes these great quotes from noted civil liberties lawyer Alan Dershowitz, who at times defended Goldstein in court:

“He clearly coarsened American sensibilities,” Alan M. Dershowitz, the civil liberties advocate and Mr. Goldstein’s sometime lawyer, said in 2004.

“Hefner did it with taste,” Mr. Dershowitz added, referring to Hugh Hefner, the founder and publisher of Playboy, which predated Screw by 15 years. “Goldstein’s contribution is to be utterly tasteless.”

Is that not great stuff?  Here is a link to the entire obit.  As I said, it is masterful writing, but it does describe Goldstein's dubious "career", so if you're squeamish about such stuff, I get it if you want to take a pass.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/20/nyregion/al-goldstein-pioneering-pornographer-dies-at-77.html?ref=obituaries&_r=0

I will close with another quote about Goldstein that I saw someone make on Facebook today:

He is one of those rare people of whom it may be said without hesitation or doubt that the world would have been better had he never lived.

What an epitaph!

The Big Break NFL Concludes

SPOILER ALERT: If you recorded the concluding episode of Gold Channel's "Big Break NFL" and are planning on seeing it later, you may wish to delay reading this entry, as I will divulge who won.  If you are so inclined, please come back and read when you have seen the show.

Golf Channel's latest rendition of its Big Break series concluded last night when Team Dolman, the only team that did not suffer a loss in the series, came up against Team Rice in the "four quarters" of match play.  Kind of hokey, but Golf Channel had to stick with its football theme.  I found myself rooting for Jerry Rice and his squad because (a) Rice was a likable sort throughout the series, and (b) Chris Dolman was not.  I felt bad for the two golfers who were paired with Dolman throughout, but they were in the final show, so maybe his methods worked somehow.

Of the two football players, Rice was clearly better than Dolman, as evidenced by a scrambling par 5 that Rice made after driving in grass that was as high as his shoulders on one hole, and by a topped drive on one hole by Dolman that didn't clear the ladies tees.

In any event, the winning team was........

TEAM RICE!!!!!

Big Breakers Emily Talley and Isaac Sanchez won exemptions into primo tournaments on the big circuits.  Talley will play in the LPGA Shoprite Classic that will be held from May 30-June 1, and Sanchez will play on the PGA Tour's FedEx St. Jude Classic on June 5-8.   As I did with the winner of Big Break Mexico's Taylor Collins, I will follow up and report on how Emily and Isaac do when they get their Big Breaks come June.

Another entertaining entry in this Golf Channel Series.  Can't wait for the next one! 

"The Fan" - Later in the Day

News arrives this morning that some major players at 93.7 The Fan have been given their walking papers, effective immediately.  Merry Freakin' Christmas, as morning co-host Paul Alexander would say.  Oh, and speaking of Paul Alexander, he is one of the two on air personalities to be let go!  The other is mid-day co-host Vinnie Richichi.

I will never (with rare exceptions) take delight in a person losing his or her job.  It has happened to me in my life, and it is not a pleasant experience.  That said, I can say that I will most definitely not miss Paul Alexander.  There was so much about this guy, including his incessant use of the juvenile adjective referenced in the prior paragraph, that irritated me to the point where I could not listen to The Fan Morning Show for more than about 10 or 15 minutes at a time.  I am assuming that Paul will still have his Root Sports Pirates and Penguins gigs as well as his hair replacement commercials, so he's got that going for him.

On the other hand, I am going to miss Vinnie.  I suspect that I will be in the minority on that score since Vinnie had two major handicaps going against him that the provincial Pittsburgh audience almost never forgive: he spoke with a pronounced New York accent, and HE AIN'T FROM PITTSBURGH!!!!  I mean, how can this guy tell us abaht the Pirates and Stillers n'at if ain't from here, right?  Another handicap facing Vinnie was that he had to work with the miserable and bitter Ron Cook.  The dislike, which Bob Smizik assures us was real and not a gimmick, between Vinnie and Cook often time made for an entertaining, train-wreck style show, but, just as often, made you squirm when listening.  Still, I liked Vinnie and his somewhat bumbling style.  He was kind of like an Everyman given the chance to host his own radio show.

Not sure where Vinnie will go from here.  Like a lot of guys in the radio business, Vinnie has been all over the map, and I suppose an almost four year gig at The Fan (like Alexander, Vinnie was an original cast member from when The Fan went on the air back in February, 2010) represents as close to permanence as one can get in that business.  I suspect that he will turn up somewhere on the radio dial, and if it means leaving Pittsburgh, so be it.  Before he does leave, I hope that he gets to do a "tell all" interview, either on air or in print, on what a total jerk Ron Cook was in their almost four years together.

Oh, and just for fun, I will close by reprinting an excerpt from the very early archives of The Grandstander:

Monday, February 15, 2010

"The Fan" - Later in the Day

Caught some of the mid-day show on The Fan. The 10:00 to 2:00 show is called "Vinny and Cook" and features PG columnist Ron Cook and, some guy named Vinny.

Now Ron Cook is Ron Cook so we should all know what we're getting with him. Vinny is a newcomer to town, and he appears to have a New York accent, and both of these facts will no doubt cause the provincial Pittsburgh audience to not like him. However, in the 20-30 minutes that I heard while driving this afternoon, I have a good first impression of the guy. He describes himself as a huge baseball fan and can't wait to start going down to PNC Park on a regular basis, and he does not appear to be coming in with an I-hate-the-Nuttings-and-bobbleheads-and-fireworks attitude that the entrenched media (and first caller to the show that I heard) has.

Farewell, Vinnie.  At least one listener is going to miss you.

To Absent Friends: Peter O'Toole, Joan Fontaine

One of the great actors of his generation, Peter O'Toole died yesterday at the age of 81.  

O'Toole, who will be best remembered for his role in "Lawrence of Arabia", was nominated for acting Oscars a record eight times, but never won the award, although he was given a special Lifetime Achievement Oscar.  A great dramatic actor, my personal favorite O'Toole performance came in the 1982 comedy, "My Favorite Year".

In that movie, set in the 1950's, O'Toole played a washed up swashbuckling movie star who was in New York City for one week to guest star on a Sid Caesar-type comedy variety TV show.  O'Toole didn't often do comedy, but he was positively brilliant in this one, and it earned him one of those Best Actor Oscar nominations.  

One line in the movie had O'Toole's character quoting another famous English actor who was purported to have said on his death bed, "Dying is easy.  Comedy is hard."  Perhaps so, but Peter O'Toole made it look easy.

He had another great line in that movie when he said, "I'm not an actor, I'm a movie star!"  Trust me, in the context of the movie, the line was hilarious.


Another Hollywood passing this weekend was the death of Oscar winner Joan Fontaine at age 94.  I'm not going to pretend to know a lot about Miss Fontaine or her overall body of work, but I was aware of the fact that she was the younger sister of actress Olivia de Havilland, and that the two of them had a feud that was legendary, even by Hollywood standards.  They had not spoken to each other and barely acknowledged each other's existence since the 1930's.  Read the obits about it.  It's kind of fascinating.

Miss de Havilland, by the way, is still living and is 97 years old.  Wonder if she is taking any satisfaction in knowing that she outlived her rival sister?

RIP Peter O'Toole and Joan Fontaine.