Lets go Racin' and other Weekend Observations

Hi There. Seen a whole lot of racing in the past week. First thanks to everyone who either drove or came out and supported the annual go-cart race at Adventure Racing last Tuesday at 7am. It's a lot of work and a lot of fun at the same time. It can drain you both physically and emotionally. Compared to other races, it seemed cleaner than some of the past ones, but after talking with the drivers, they told me the hits weren't as hard there were just more of them. Next year I'm going to ask the club to name the race "The BlackFly 400," cause I was getting bit pretty good. Now the Brickyard 400. I find it hard to believe that Goodyear couldn't come up with an adequate tire compound for Indianapolis. They said they tested. Obviously not enough. That race was depressing because of the endless competition cautions. Finally on to Saratoga where Mother Nature dumped 5 inches of rain and washed out most of the turf racing for the first week. Is it just me or is there a love affair going on with these turf sprint races that go 5 1/2 furlongs? Congrats to Kent Desormeaux for getting win number 5000 Sunday. It's also good to see Richard Migliore riding again at Saratoga. "The Mig" and Julie Krone used to be automatic when I would watch them race at Monmouth Park in the 80's.
The Giants have arrived at UAlbany and Jeremy Shockey has arrived in New Orleans. It was a good trade for both teams. Jeremy Shockey is one of the top TE's in the NFL but he needed a change of scenery. I think John Mara, Jerry Reese and Tom Coughlin should have a team meeting and remind all those players who are unhappy about their contracts,(namely Plaxico and Brandon Jacobs) about the team concept. If the Giants had gone 5-11 instead of winning the SuperBowl would this be an issue? Do I think the Giants can repeat as champs? Ask someone else. I've been a Giants fan since I was 5 years old and I haven't figured them out yet.
Could someone tell the KC Royals to ditch the light blue alternate unis? Only the UNC TarHeels and Houston Oilers looked good in that color. The Denver Nuggets should also dump the light blue as well. I'm starting to believe that the Pittsburgh Pirates want to be known as the LA Clippers of MLB. I think the next trade the Bucs should make is trading PNC Park to the Rays for Tropicana Field and a couple of prospects. PNC Park is a gem of ballpark and it deserves to have winning baseball played there.
Between Danica Patrick going after another female driver because she wouldn't allow faster cars to pass during a race and the bench clearing brawl in the WNBA, I was wondering if the "Gorgeous Ladies of Wresting" was planning a comeback.
A casino in Connecticut whose name rhymes with the word "fun" is using 80's songs in their commercials. I can barely keep my lunch down when I hear Toto's "Hold the Line," but messing with Rick James' "Superfreak" is going too far. Here's a couple of suggestions. Why not use Men Without Hats "Safety Dance" or Glass Tigers' "Don't Forget Me When I'm Gone." Speaking of gone...Leccese out

A Shark Sighting and other Weekend Observations

Hi There. For all you people who thought a major golf event couldn't survive without Eldrick the Gimp, you were wrong. It did very nice thank you very much. Greg Norman turned backed the clock to the late 80's and early 90's and the Shark made a nice run at Royal Birkdale but in the end Padraig Harrington made it back to back Claret Jugs. Wait a minute is this the same guy who played with a very painful wrist injury? This was the greatest performance in the Open Championships' history!! David Duval also turned back the clock with his play in the first 2 rounds. Unfortunately, he still has the personality of a wet fart. I want to know how many times you played golf and the winds gusted to 40 mph? Also, how many times did you hear anyone mention that the R and A tricked up the course? Not once. That's because they don't unlike the Masters and U.S. Open. ABC did a O.K. job with their coverage. Tom Watson was insightful as a commentator. One of the most underrated hosts on sports television is TNT's Ernie Johnson.
I watched "Outside the Lines" yesterday morning, and they showed a piece that really disturbed me. People are actually teaching kids younger than 10 years old mixed martial arts and they hold competitions and stuff. Only a parent with a lack of decency and common sense would let their kid do it. What happened? Did all the pro wrestling schools for ages 10 and under close?
The New York football Giants have announced that they are going to charge season ticket holders a hefty personal seat license fee so they can cover their portion of the costs to build that new stadium they will share with the Jets at the Meadowlands. I have a question. How come the Colts can build a retractable roof stadium for $675 million dollars and the Cardinals built a stadium not only with a retractable roof but a retractable field for only $455 million dollars? Think about these numbers. Add the cost of Lucas Oil Stadium and the University of Phoenix Stadium together and it comes out to 1.13 billion dollars which is about 71 percent of the 1.6 billion dollars it will cost to build the 82 thousand seat open air facility scheduled to open in 2010. I can understand inflation and increases in the cost of materials. What is it though that makes is so much more expensive to build a new stadium or arena in New York City and New Jersey? Somebody please explain it to me.
My dad does not embrace new technology easily. When he does, talk about a croc of s--t. His favorite line is, "We did all this time without it, why do we need it now?" You name it, he rejected it. Calculators, FM car stereo, cable TV, microwave oven, just to name a few of the things. He would eventually cave in or my Mom would force it upon him. The latest is his cell phone. My sister gave him a Trak phone as a gift and after 5 years he finally had it activated. Well now he thinks he's hot stuff because his provider has service at my home and he can text people. Big deal.
I have to send out props to my friends at Global Fitness in Queensbury where I workout for the event they held Saturday. They launched the new fitness classes outside at the bandstand in Crandall Park and at the same time raised over two thousand dollars for the American Cancer Society. Speaking of fundraising, the go-cart race is tomorrow. See you there...Leccese out.

Midweek Musings

Hi There. I woke up this morning, sat in my favorite chair and watched my favorite of golf's majors: The British Open or The Open Championship as they like to call it on the other side of the big pond while eating breakfast and reading the Post Star. Since I don't want to let the Leccese curse out of Pandora's box, I'm not picking a winner. I once wrote in a previous edition of this blog that one of the five things I have on my bucket list is to play a round of golf on one of those courses. Links golf is a different animal. The elements, course layout and having to play shots that you normally wouldn't try on the well groomed places that we play here is intriguing to me. I've played a links course on Fripp Island in SC and it was awesome! What was memorable was playing the last hole which was on the beach and as I was chipping from the back of the green, my brother-in-law told me to step back and look to my right. This group of dolphins were jumping out of the water. You don't see that around here. Maybe the occasional fox or some other woodland creature but a dolphin, I don't think so.
Speaking of dolphins, a school of them have decided to take a sight seeing tour of the Jersey Shore and make their way up the Navesink and Shrewsbury Rivers. Trust me there is not much to see, but the blue crabs are pretty good.
We are all sick of the the soap opera known lovingly as, "As the Brett Favre Turns" but another story in the NFL caught my attention. The situation with the Rooney family and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Apparently the team is equally owned by the 5 sons of the late Art Rooney Sr, and 4 of them want to sell. From what I've read the brothers are involved in owning horse and dog racing tracks which the NFL frowns on. Dan Rooney wants to buy the shares from his brothers so the team stays in the family. However, an agreement on a selling price is not going well and there is someone who wants to buy them for some serious money. I hope something can be worked out.
Between the racing season at Saratoga and the Super Bowl Champion Giants (Sorry Dan) training at UAlbany, the next six weeks are looking pretty good to me.
Billy Joel played the final concerts at Shea Stadium. Don't get me wrong, I like Billy Joel, but Paul McCartney doing the honor would have been more appropriate since the Beatles played Shea twice during the 1960's.
Just read that Brett Michaels broke up with the winner of "Rock of Love 2" and a third one is in the works. John Pratt over at the sister station says it best about Brett Michaels. "Why would he need help finding women?"
Remember the go-cart race is coming up Tuesday...Leccese out.

Getting to be the cool uncle, going back in time and other weekend observations

Hi There. Well it was a long weekend to say the least. Had a family reunion in Rhode Island Saturday as we celebrated my uncle's 90th birthday. The trip was nice and uneventful, but I have to know why Exit 11 and 11a on the Mass Turnpike are 12 miles a part. While on I-495 heading towards Providence, I passed the town of Franklin which besides being the home of Garelick Farms Dairy is where I got my start in this crazy business. WGAO Power 88.3 FM Dean College radio. It's 125 watts and not your typical college radio station. It was and still is a class rock station. Tuned in and listened for about half an hour. Brought back some memories. Boy how the time flies. On the way back home I stopped off and drove through town and around the campus. Not much had changed. The rest of the weekend I got to be Uncle Kenny. My sister and niece came in from NC for the family reunion and to spend a couple of days with my parents and me. Morgan is almost 3 years old and she's pretty sharp for a little kid. I'd like to think I'm a cool uncle. You know, the one that always plays games and does things like coloring pictures and blowing bubbles. I watched a couple of kiddie shows on Nick Jr. that confused me. "Max and Ruby" who are a couple of rabbits, and the "Wonder Pets". Talk about putting Morgan in a hypnotic trance. We also went to Magic Forest and rode the rides and fed the goats and sheep. It's interesting to see her with my parents. I knew my Mom would be great, but my Dad has surprised me. He really enjoys playing with her and teaching her things on the computer. On to more pressing things. Sorry Pack fans, I am sick of the soap opera that is becoming,"As the Brett Favre Turns." Just give Aaron Rodgers the keys to the offense, please! Come on Cheeseheads get on with your lives. Can you believe the Mets have won 9 straight. I know 6 of those wins have come against bottom feeders like the Rockies and Giants. Dan Warthen is my new hero the way he's worked with the pitching staff, especially Big Pels and Aaron Heilmann. As I said in the past Bubbles the Chimp would have made a better pitching coach than Rick Peterson. So there's a "Hell's Kitchen" video game in the works complete with Gordon Ramsey's obnoxious voice. I like the guy, he's nothing like the television persona he plays on any of his shows. I still think an "Iron Chef" video game with Japanese commentators and the English voice-overs would be funnier. The summer box office champ will officially hit theaters Friday. The latest Batman movie, "The Dark Knight." Bobby Murcer lost his fight with brain cancer over the weekend. Life doesn't always deal you a fair hand I guess...Leccese out.

My Achy Breaky Back and other Weekend Observations

Hi There. There's nothing better than having back spasms to ruin a persons weekend and they put a damper on mine. I tried playing golf Saturday and my cranky back affected my game. I popped a couple of Advil like they were M&M's after playing 9 holes. It didn't help. When it comes to the July 4th, I'm starting to rank it up there with celebrating the New Year. I'm not into it. Don't get me wrong, I am very grateful that my ancestors came to the U.S. from Europe to make a better life for themselves. I am also fortunate to live in a country that respects an individuals rights and freedoms. I'm also not into fireworks. They used to only be shot off on July 4th, now its seems they are everywhere. When Brian and I were broadcasting the Lumberjacks on WWSC, I dreaded fireworks nights. They always drew big crowds so you could never leave the ballpark as soon as the post game show was over. You'd get stuck in the after game traffic. Sometimes it was worse than a rain delay. Speaking of rain delays, what the h-e-double hockey sticks were the umps at yesterday's Mets/Phils game thinking? The rain started in the bottom of the eighth inning with the Mets up 1 to 0. It goes on for 2 hours and 50 minutes and they didn't call it. The game started at 1:30 in the afternoon and finally wrapped up 7 hours later! Good for the Brew Crew getting C.C. Sabathia from Cleveland for some prospects and a Bernie Brewer Bobble Head doll. You go Milwaukee. I really hate the Chicago Cubs and anytime the Fuzzy Cubbies lose, it's a good thing. Speaking of the Cubs, the NHL has decided that the next Outdoor Classic will be held at the friendly confines of Wrigley Field. Here's one hockey fan that won't be watching. Speaking of classic ballparks, sad to hear that Tiger Stadium finally succumbed to the wrecking ball. Mitch Albom was lamenting about it Sunday on Bristol Tech. WKRP in Cincinnati has finally made it to DVD and I picked up the first season last week. Great show. It was probably the most accurate portrayal of what goes on at a radio station. The new season of "No Reservations" begins tonight on the Travel Channel at 10pm. Anthony Bourdain is the "man." He's up there with Les Stroud the dude from "Survivorman" and Mike Rowe from "Dirty Jobs." Week One of the HS Football season is in 60 days...Leccese out.