Sunday, March 27, 2011

A little basketball, some Bourdain and other thoughts from the weekend

Hi there. Well here's your Final Four. Kentucky, UConn, Butler and the Rams of Virginia Commonwealth. So I'm watching the Kentucky/North Carolina game and here I am rooting for the TarHeels even though I picked Kentucky to beat UNC to make the Final Four. Let's just say all four of those Elite Eight games were incredible and that's just one of the reasons why these three weeks are some of the best in sports. How cool is it that it's Butler and not Duke making it back to Final Four! That will be one heck of semi-final game when two of the best young coaches in college basketball in Brad Stevens of Butler and Shaka Smart from VCU match minds. You look at UConn and what they've done winning 9 games in the last 19 days and think how tough the Big East really was this year. They finished ninth during the regular season. Watching BYU lose to Florida was tough, but Arizona beating Duke later that night helped me get over it a lot faster. I know the BYU/Florida game went into overtime, but I thought both teams shot the ball poorly. You could have built a nice fireplace or outdoor barbecue with the bricks they were laying. I got asked a question from a friend about who's the player of the year in college. I should have took the fifth for fear of prosecution. Sorry everybody, you're gonna hate my answer. My choice is Kemba Walker from UConn. "The Leccese Curse" reared its ugly head. Last week, I declared how pleased I was that I didn't have listen to Gus Johnson calling any action during the first couple rounds of the tournament. So I rush home to watch BYU Thursday night and who's doing the play by play in New Orleans? If you guessed Gus Johnson, you move on to the bonus round. So Knicks fans how's that Carmelo Anthony trade working out? Not so good right now huh? The only "D" I've seen from the Knicks lately are the ones in the last names of D'Antoni and Stoudemire. When I wasn't watching college basketball, The Travel Channel had a "No Reservations" mini marathon on. You know my feelings about Tony Bourdain. Nuff said. Lawrence Taylor got six years probation for his rape charge of an underage girl. He goes on Fox News for an interview with Sheppard Smith and some of his answers made Charlie Sheen's recent rants sounding like Charlie was a card carrying member of Mensa. Sorry L.T., I admit that I'm not the most sexually experienced male on the planet, but unlike you I have never had or never will have the desire to hire a prostitute or female escort to improve my experience level. You claim all males have done it or want to do it. Orioles manager Buck Showalter recently contracted a case of foot in mouth disease. He made disparaging comments about both Derek Jeter and Red Sox's GM Theo Epstein. Talk about attacking two tank battalions with a BB gun. Who was he getting advice from, Vikings running back Adrian Peterson? So I got these tomato seeds from one of the garden supply companies that I order stuff from. I wanted to know what variety of tomato they were because it didn't say on packet. I contact the company to find out and they replied back, "We don't know either." That will be a big help to me when I start them in the next week or two and the label that I make to identify them says, "Don't a have clue what kind of tomato this is." This weeks' sign of the apocalypse comes from England where an appliance company is selling refrigerators with the likenesses of Prince William and Kate Middleton on them. I have one question. How much will it cost Prince Charles for the rehearsal dinner and bar tab at the reception? I didn't miss the Federation Tournament of Champions being held at the Civic Center this year did you?. Finally, thanks Jimmer Fredette...Leccese out.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Just because the calendar officially says its spring, doesn't mean it really is.

Hi there. So if we are to get 4 to 8 inches of wet snow on this the second day of spring, at least I know my cars are parked in the right spot so the guy who plows my driveway has plenty of room to put the stuff.
Bracketology update. Big East basketball suddenly morphed into Big East football. 11 teams got in, only 2 are left. UConn and Marquette. My two Big East final four picks both went down in the second round. So who do I have left of my final four predictions? Kentucky and Duke. If you want to call Butler a Cinderella, remember they lost in the championship game last year. They are no Cinderella. This years Cinderella's would be Richmond or VCU.
The whole CBS/TNT/TruTV/TBS thing is a good idea, but it needs some tweaking. It was painful watching Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith as studio hosts, and Marv Albert doing college basketball didn't seem right. He was always the voice of pro basketball to me. On the positive side, I didn't have to suffer like a person who just had a root canal having to endure listening to Gus Johnson.
The best part of watching and listening to the BYU games over the weekend wasn't seeing Jimmer do what he did on floor. I was lucky to see him do enough of that in high school. It was hearing Verne Lundquist and Billy Rafferty mentioning Glens Falls, Lake George and our little part of the world itself. The Cougars need to improve on their rebounding and low post defense if they want to make it to the Final Four.
One more basketball note. Saw the Bristol Tech 30 for 30 movie on the Michigan Fab Five. It was good, however Jalen Rose has gotten a whole mess of criticism for some comments he made about Grant Hill and other African American Duke teammates. He felt that way when he was 18 years old! Times change and your opinions change as you get older. When I was 18 I hated Georgetown, John Thompson and everything about the Hoyas! Now I appreciate how great those Georgetown teams were and the job that John Thompson did coaching them. If you wanted to attack a member of those Duke teams Jalen, it was Christian Laettner. Nobody liked him.
Met fans, its been a rough winter for us. Between the new management team, financial troubles and this lawsuit hanging over the Wilpons head by Irving Picard; it's been painful. The light at the end of the tunnel has been lit! Both Luis Castillo and Oliver Perez are gone!
I'm hoping Jason Isringhausen makes the team as its eighth inning guy.
I might just take a pass on the two Phantoms' home games this weekend just so I don't have to suffer through watching that guy who dances like a fool and throws t-shirts to fans.
Football fans, if you get a moment; say a prayer for a fast recovery to Steve Sabol who has a brain tumor. One big part of the NFL's success and popularity can be attributed to Ed and Steve Sabol.
No matter what your political opinions are, the bottom line is Bill Maher is one funny individual and "Real Time" is a must watch on HBO. The "New Rules" segment is my favorite and the captions are brilliant.
I know last week I made, "The Greehouse Effect" a Charlie Sheen free zone, but I'm rescinding that edict for one week. He makes this weeks sign of the apocalypse because his so-called, "one man show" has sold out in all 7 cities he plans on appearing in.
If "Two and Half Men" isn't gonna be on the CBS Monday night line-up next tv season, could you move "The Big Bang Theory" back to Monday's and into that time slot?
Speaking of one man shows, Paul Reubens, a.k.a PeeWee Herman is performing on Broadway doing a show with the characters from "Pee Wee's Playhouse." I watched it Saturday night and it was great. It will bring back some memories for fans of the tv show. You think he could convince Laurence Fishburne to go on stage and appear as "Cowboy Curtis" for one night?
This was the first weekend in a long time I wasn't congested and my back didn't hurt. I also worked out on a treadmill at the gym Thursday and Friday. It felt good.
To everybody at Big Brothers/Big Sisters, I will be back to bowl next year.
One of the best smells in the kitchen is when bread dough rises and you get that, "the yeast is activated" smell. You lift the towel or plastic wrap off the bowl and it hits you. It's intoxicating.
Finally, garden 2011 was officially started with pepper and eggplant seeds being planted. I looked out at where the raised beds are going in with 2 feet snow covering the area and I'm dreading all that work I have ahead of me when the snow finally melts and the mud finally dries out...Leccese out.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Bracketology time!

Hi there.
Well it has arrived. That magical time of year known as the NCAA Division 1 Mens Basketball Tournament. I'll give you my Final Four predictions right off the bat and heeeere they are: Duke, Kentucky, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame. Sorry Jimmer fans, I see the BYU Cougars losing to Pitt in the Southeast Region final. As for a couple of Cinderella or mid-major teams who could make a dent in the plans of some uber conference teams; I'll throw out 2 to watch for. Richmond and Utah State.
Unless you win your conference tournament, I don't care how tough a schedule you play or what conference you come from. If you have at least 10 losses you don't deserve an at large bid. Understand that Michigan State, Tennessee, Marquette, Illinois, Penn State and that includes you too Michigan.
I'm going to have a hard time getting used to seeing Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith as studio hosts.
My favorite announcers to listen to while watching the tournament are Sean McDonough and Bill Rafferty.
I have to ask, who at the NCAA came up with the dumb idea a few years back to have all the basketball courts at the tournament venues look the same? Sort of boring and drab looking to me.
Now for a couple of non tournament thoughts. With the high school sports season on WWSC having come to a close, I want to thank all the athletic directors and coaches at the high schools we cover for putting up with me and John for another year. Your kindness and co-operation in helping us put a good product out over the air is invaluable. I hope you also understand we truly like coming to your school and broadcasting the games
My favorite one of those credit card commercials with the vikings is the one where they go to New Orleans. The goat with the sunglasses singing is fall off the couch funny. Even better than the Las Vegas one.
Finally, here's the real reason I joined Facebook. Very simply, shameless, self-promotion! It's all about me! Getting the word out on the WCKM and Hits 95 Nine pages about where and when the next high school football, basketball, or hockey game on WWSC would be. I also wanted to get the word out letting you readers know that I wrote a new edition of this blog or places I will be on location at.
Don't forget Bowl for Kids Sake Sunday in S.Glens Falls at 12:30pm...Leccese out.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Taking in a lot of hockey and some other random thoughts

Hi there. Did you remember to set your clocks ahead an hour? Just relaxing and sitting in front of the laptop after a long Saturday of watching hockey. Don't get me wrong I love the game and could do nothing all day but watch marathons on NHL Network or MSG. It was the trip to Utica and back that wore me out. You want to why going to state tournaments are special. The volunteers. Those people are the backbone of what makes these events great. I saw people who I haven't seen in a couple years remember me and there was such a good vibe in the building. I've watched the Queensbury Spartans play all year and trust me it was shock to the system to see them dominated and humbled by one tough Cazenovia team. I want thank Scott Stuart, Dean Williams and those kids on the QHS team for a great year and it was a pleasure and privilege calling your games.
If the head coaches at RPI, Union, or for that matter any Division 1 hockey program read this blog; you'll have a hard time convincing me that Kevin Valenti isn't good enough to play on your teams.
I want to also thank the listeners for their patience about the delay at the start. The Queensbury game was the second of the day and was scheduled for 12:30. However the first game went into overtime, plus their was a 30 minute delay when a pain of glass broke and needed to be taken care of. John and I were just as anxious to get going.
Two more notes about Utica. I find hard to believe that no other city bid against Utica for the rights to the State hockey championships. And no matter how much paint or polish you give to it, the Aud is still a dump.
I have one more high school hockey game to think about. My alma mater Middletown South is playing in a NJ state championship game today. GO EAGLES!
On to the Phantoms. Great job with the Hall of Fame ceremonies Saturday night. Barry Melrose, Jody Gage and Hugo Belanger were well deserved inductees. They are the epitome of class and what makes Glens Falls a great hockey town. Hugo was one of a few reasons you wanted to watch the Icehawks/Frostbite play. I wish I could have met Jody Gage. Note to Coach Melrose. When are you going introduce me to John Saunders so I can beg him to put me on The Sports Reporters?
I'm liking Dax more and more, but I'm still not convinced that he's really a beaver.
Yes, I will be renewing my Phantom season ticket for next year as soon as my tax refund comes.
Jimmer Fredette went off on New Mexico for 52 points Friday night! What a stupid idea to go to bed early.
I wish Big East football was more like Big East basketball.
Unfortunately life isn't fair and many times it deals you a real crappy hand on occasion. That's how I feel about the tragedy that happend to that kid from Michigan Wes Leonard. Made a game winning shot in a big high school basketball game and loses his life right after due to an enlarged heart. It also happened locally to a kid named Cole Roque from Whitehall who was studying at RPI and was one hell of a football player.
The Greenhouse Effect is officially a Charlie Sheen and NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement free zone. No more mentions for either of them til sanity, a settlement or labor deal is done.
I'm not cuckoo for the new Cocoa Puff donut! Not chocolaty enough for my taste buds.
Bowl for Kids Sake is next Sunday and you can donate to team CKM at our Facebook page or be listening to Hits 95 Nine for the annual Bowling Ball auction. Thanks to Eric Thomas and the folks at 900 Global for the donation. This years bowling ball looks just like a soccer ball. It's cool looking, trust me. Unfortunately, I won't be bowling this year unless my chiropractor performs a miracle on my back in the next 7 days. I've mentioned on more than one occasion that Bowl for Kids Sake is my favorite thing we do here at the radio station. I'll have to admit it's been a really frustrating time for me recently. I just want this stupid head cold, congestion thing to go away for good and my back to get better so I can golf and go to the gym to workout and take fitness classes. I really miss seeing my friends there and you know who you are. I've been befriending and sending friend requests to you on Facebook.
Bracketology coming up later in the week...Leccese out.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

45 going on 75

Hi there.
As we get older, our body tends to not work like it did when we were younger and I am starting to believe its true. For example, my back is like a piece of Fillet Mignon steak, very tender. I've had problems with it off and on for more than 20 years now. Well Thursday was a day I wish I could have been shot. I don't know what I did to it, but whatever it was it wasn't good. Between that and the sinus infection, I was one seriously hurting individual. My 67 year old father looked and felt younger than I did. I could barely walk and the coughing and blowing my nose didn't help the cause either. You know you're in pain when moving your foot to press the gas pedal or brake causes anguish. It didn't help that I had a 100 mile round trip drive to drop my Dad off at the airport in Albany.
I've spent most of my spare time at home on my stomach with an ice pack to my back. I've turned the corner and the treatments and the occasional Advil have helped the healing process. Somehow I was walking normally and managed to do the hockey game we had Saturday night unscathed and actually felt pretty good afterward. At least I had a voice. My partner JP couldn't make the broadcast. I guess someone likes me after all.
Speaking of that hockey game, I had a feeling Queensbury would win when it was 2-0 at the end of the first period. Kevin Valenti's first goal was thing of beauty. One more thing, I have a ton of respect for those play by play guys who broadcast minor league games. They have 18 minutes to kill between periods. The average in high school is about 10 to 12. When the ice re-surfacer was having troubles in between the first and second periods, I had to use all my games notes and my knowledge of those machines to describe the problem and get through an extended break in the action.
I applaud BYU for their decision to suspend Brandon Davies from the basketball team. I was considering going to out to Provo thinking I might have a year of eligibility left and try out as a walk on, however it was pointed out to me that I drink tea so I'm in same boat Mr.Davies was in. More colleges should have honor codes like that.
Is it that hard to figure out how to distribute 9 BILLION DOLLARS Roger Goodell and DeMaurice Smith? Come on guys don't screw this one up. Get the deal done now!
Last Year it was Tom Hanks with Bosom Buddies and this year it will be John Travolta appearing at this years TVLand Awards with the cast of "Welcome Back, Kotter." That's totally cool.
This weeks sign of the apocalypse. I joined Facebook. I know I said I wouldn't, but I needed to as way to promote what I do and what we do on the radio station. I wanted to post stuff on the CKM Facebook page and the only way I can do it is if I had a page of my own and was made an administrator.
Get well soon Serena Williams. Tennis needs you.
Seeing Mark Roth who has been recovering from a stroke he suffered a few years back really depressed me. He will always be my favorite pro bowler of all time.
Have you noticed the Phantoms have won their last 3 games at home. By coincidence I haven't been to the last 3 Phantoms home games.
There's some great kids out there and a bunch of them raised over 326 thousand dollars at the South Glens Falls dance marathon this past weekend.
Getting close to planting those eggplant and pepper seeds and spring is officially two weeks away...Leccese out.