The arrival of mud and black flies

Hi there. We start off with good news from Easter Sunday. I did not either hurt or aggravate my back video conferencing on Skype with my family who were in South Carolina like I did at Christmas time. Easter was both Skype and pain free.
We fought and won the American Revolution so we'd no longer be ruled by the British Monarchy. So how come we are still obsessed with them 245 years later? Example, at the home page on my laptop, it had a page that you could go to and send a congratulatory message to the happy royal couple on their impending nuptials. Personally, I would have been more impressed if they announced a royal elopement or they snuck off and got married by Elvis at one of those chapels in Las Vegas. Does Will and Kate have a bridal registry and what do you give a royal couple as a gift? Crystal champagne flutes, candle sticks, gift cards to Harrods?
Speaking of getting married, maybe there's hope for me after all. I read where Rob "Deuce Bigalow" Schneider tied the knot. Who's up next, David Spade?
One more wedding note before we move on. This young lady named Robin goes to a Milwaukee Brewers game with a banner proposing marriage to Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun. The delusional fan made the mistake of putting her cell phone number on the banner and it managed to make it on camera. Bad move. Robin you've got as much of a chance of marrying Ryan Braun as I do of marrying my secret crush, Lisa Robertson. Slim and not gonna happen.
NBC pulled the plug on Paul Reiser's new show after only 2 episodes! It wasn't all that bad. Come on peacock network execs, don't you remember "My Two Dads." Now that was bad!
Check out the video on You Tube in which Billy Crystal stars with Helen Mirren and Rob Reiner in a spoof to the sequel of, "When Harry Met Sally." Very funny.
One more funny note. HBO did an hour long round table comedy discussion called, "Talking Funny" with Ricky Gervais, Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock and Louis CK. (Who the heck is Louis CK anyway?) It was and is a fascinating and humorous program that really gives you insight on the world of stand up comedy.
Is it just me or is there a lack of interest in the NFL draft this year while the fiasco known as the collective bargaining agreement negotiations hangs over it like a 2 ton weight?
With both the Rangers and Knicks making quick first round play-off exits, does that mean the Madison Square Garden renovations will be completed ahead of schedule?
Who would have thought that Mariano Rivera would have more blown saves than Francisco "K-Rod" Rodriguez at any point of the baseball season.
Would like to power wash the patio and start lettuce seeds if we get a few dry days in row...Leccese out.

Yo Russell Stover, where the heck are the Jelly Beans in my coconut nests?

Hi there and a Happy Easter. Oh there are so many good juicy things to talk about. Lets start with major league baseball. First is the Barry Bonds trial where the government spent 75 million dollars to prosecute and try the former Pirate and Giant on a variety of charges and the only one they got him on was obstruction of justice. I've written this many times regarding the P.E.D era in major league baseball and how the blowhard purists like Bob Costas and George Will want all the records either stricken from the books or an asterisk put in front of them. Leave the records in place. Since there was nothing in the collective bargaining agreement that said they couldn't use them, nothing was done wrong. The person that should have been gone after on any criminal charges was Donald Fehr, head of the players union. If you've ever heard Marvin Miller speak, he is even more defiant than Fehr is on the topic.
Other baseball news, Major League Baseball is taking control of the Dodgers while the McCourts go through a nasty, messy divorce. Why couldn't Bud Selig do that for us Mets, Royals, and Pirates fans too please!
I guess $425,000 doesn't go that far anymore. I didn't realize how high the cost of living in Cincinnati really is where Reds pitcher Mike Leake was caught shoplifting 6 shirts worth just around $60.00.
Happy Birthday Giants first baseman Brandon Belt. The team got you a little present. It's a bus ticket to Fresno! You've been demoted to Triple A. Don't forget to make a wish and blow out the candles!
Its time for the first soccer mention of the year and it comes from the MLS where the scariest mascot is that of the Portland Timbers. Timber Joey is a real life lumberjack with a chain saw so big that it would make Tim Allen go back to "Tool Time" if you know what I mean . When the Timbers score a goal, he fires up that big old bad boy and actually cuts off a piece from this huge log that's on the sideline. I'm not making this one up.
Poor Miley Cyrus, Hannah Montana is touring South America and Australia and is also not debuting any of her new music back here. She feels unloved in her home country. Thanks for not sharing the new material. I might just plan and hold a, "Party in the U.S.A" over that revelation!
Now for some really serious stuff. Last football season a young man named Declan Sullivan died when a 40 foot hydraulic lift he was video taping a Notre Dame football practice on blew over in a 53 mph wind gust. The final investigation found that no one was at fault or to blame. Excuse me. This comes from a university where they fired George O'Leary before he ever coached a practice because they found inconsistencies on his resume! Brian Kelly keeps his gig after a student volunteer dies while taping one his practices! Big time Division 1 uber conference college football is becoming totally out of control and is so screwed up. Our biggest complaint about the sport is we don't have a play-off to determine who is number 1!
You gotta love our beloved New York state legislature. Instead of trying to figure out how stimulate economic and business growth by cutting back on all the red tape. They are creating lists of risky and dangerous activities at summer camp. On the lists: dodge ball, kick ball, wiffle ball, red rover, and freeze tag among others. Now the reason behind this is that they don't want kids getting hurt and many places don't have adequate medical staff to care for the scrapes and bruises. Let's see we have a child hood obesity probem and kids are spending way too much time inside playing video games, texting, and watching television. So how do we rectify the problem? Not by saying games are dangerous. Not by regulating fat, salt and sugar in the foods they eat. Not by banning toys in fast food kids meals. It's up to the parents to force their kids outside and play. Take away the video game, cell phone and laptop for a while. Limit the trips to the fast food restaurant. There was something in our show prep where a woman in her divorce papers asked for $60.00 a week from her ex to fund her one of her kids fast food restaurant habit! Portion control and healthier choices!
I've been reading a lot about school budgets in the daily and weekly newspapers. It is a hot topic to say the least. Somethings' got to give. You want everything to be the status quo and yet you don't want taxes being raised or jobs, sports, or other programs cut to balance the budget. There's got to be some compromise on both sides no matter how painful the cuts maybe.
The eggplant seeds finally sprouted. I have this feeling that I'll be buying some plants for the patio.
F.Y.I - There will be no Skyping Easter with the family. The folks and kid sister will be celebrating in South Carolina with no video hook up to me here where there is still snowpiles behind my driveway. My back is appreciating that very much after what took place Christmas. I guess I'll just have watch the Heritage Classic from Hilton Head on tv to get my fix of the area. However I am planning to make a trip down there in September.
Finally my favorite Easter Candy is the milk chocolate coconut nest made by Russell Stover. One little problem. They're making them different now and they're screwing you out of the jelly beans that used to be in them. What's up with that?..Leccese out.

Welcoming the arrival of Mud Season

Hi there. Finally getting to writing this latest entry after filling in for Dan and Pete. I've mentioned this before, but if you have ever been in the studio to see first hand how The Morning Club works, you know its not easy with even with two people taking care of the various elements. Having one person is like climbing a different high peak every morning. You have to be really organized. It's fun but it zaps your energy. By the time 10am comes along, you're gassed. Welcome back boys. It's amazing what 3 days of weather with temperatures in the 60's and 70's will do to melt the snow. It's been a very uneventful 10 days and we'll start off with, "The Masters." It's been 25 years since Jack Nicklaus made his magical run to a sixth green jacket on the back nine. I remember watching the whole thing in my dorm room at Adams Hall at Dean College in Franklin Mass. I told my friends I was skipping dinner that afternoon cause I didn't want to miss anything. It was worth it. Even the two slices of bad pizza from that Greek place down the street from my dorm actually tasted O.K for once. This may seem wrong, but I didn't care who won as long as it wasn't that guy named Eldrick. I was rooting so hard against him. I have this feeling that as long as his back holds up, Freddy Couples will always be in contention at some point during the tournament. He has this way about him, 20 years after he won his green jacket. After that horrendously bad start, seeing the Phantoms turn things around and the buzz that Civic Center had as the team was winning at home at the end of this year, it brought back those great memories when opposing teams dreaded coming into Glens Falls on a Saturday night to play the Wings with a packed house when they were coached by Bill Dineen or Barry Melrose. Note to John Paddock, Paul Holmgren and the Brooks Brothers. The first decision to be made this off season is bringing back Joe Patterson at any cost! In an earlier entry I wrote how the Phantoms should ignore the Redwings past here and create their own identity. I was wrong and I apologize to the fans. I watched with an open mind Paul Reiser's new show on NBC. I was a big "Mad About You" fan. Come on guys admit it, you had the hots for Helen Hunt big time! You hoped that somewhere, out in the real world was a woman who looked and acted like Jamie Buchman. I know I did. I loved the show until they had the kid. Then it went downhill. I thought the opening was great with the monologue that showed photos of "Mad About You." The game show was a riot! So these last two items come from the show prep service we get. The first being this kid in Virginia gave up talking for Lent. He did it because of his faith and he truly believes it. That's honorable. I think we all know a few people who we wish would do the same thing as that kid. Also from our show prep service was a study done by a university in Spain that found drinking beer was a good way to replenish nutrients after a workout. I'll raise my pint of Guiness to that one. Bad news is I work out at 10am and it wouldn't look good to have one after my hour of cardio or fitness class before heading for the office 5 days a week. I guess the chocolate milk will still have to do for now. Tomato seeds are planted. Pepper plants are growing. I just wish the stinking eggplant seeds would finally germinate!..Leccese out.

Is it really April?

Hi there. I took one look at the calendar and saw it was April 3rd. Boy the first 3 months of the year went by like a blur! Well maybe it was because I was congested and my back hurt most of the time. So Butler and UConn are playing for the national championship in Houston. Please all you media hounds and they're have been a ton of you working the room speculating when Butler coach Brad Stevens will get a boat load of Benjamins, Lincolns and George Washingtons to leave the Bulldogs for some uber conference team that needs to be re-built. I know you probably will some day, but for now if you and your family are truly happy Brad Stevens stay at Hinkle Fieldhouse and enjoy the ride. Same thing goes for you Shaka Smart over at VCU. Baseball season has arrived and before you fans start jumping off the South Glens Falls bridge because your team has no hope, wait at least til Memorial Day. A couple of last thoughts from spring training. First we have the Orioles' Jake Fox who broke some unwritten rule about swinging at 3-0 pitch during a blowout with runners on. Not only did he get harassed by Jim Leland but by his own manager Buck Showalter. I've never understood why on a 3-0 count any batter would put the bat on the shoulder and take a pitch. The pitcher has to throw a strike so swing at it. Jake if you want to make nice with Jim Leland, just send him a carton of smokes and I think everything will be fine. Then there's Brian Cashman, Yankees GM who scolded the Mets for the way they used pitcher Pedro Feliciano. Feliciano has apparently a little shoulder stiffness. This coming from a guy who signed Carl Pavano and Kei Igawa. Brian find that episode of the Brady Bunch and learn what "caveat emptor" means! Finally we have Rays third baseman Evan Longoria who along with teammates David Price and Reid Brignac had the home they were renting during spring training broken into. A variety of watches, electronics items and a big screen tv were stolen. Oh and one other thing. Longoria had his AK-47 assault rifle stolen! Excuse me! As the face of the franchise, how do you explain to the kids who look up to you that you own one and it wasn't locked up in a secure gun cabinet! The best line came from the local sheriff's office. "Perfectly legal." I wanted to throw up when I read that line. Getting away from baseball. After watching the progress of the Phantoms lately, as much as I want the season to come to an end, there's a part of me that wishes that there was a couple of more home games. Love watching Matt Read, both Mike and J.P.Testwuide, Harry Zolniercyk, and Erik Gustafsson play. Friday night I thought the ref blew a great opportunity to take control of the game early when he gave unsportsmanlike conduct penalties to Matt Clackson and Leblond from Albany in the first period. After what had happened during the previous game in Albany, I would have tossed both of them out to send a message to both benches not to let the game degrade into some scene out of, "Slap Shot." What idiot schedule maker at the AHL came up with the brilliant idea to have the Rochester Americans come into Glens Falls for their only visit on a Monday night? I think Stan Lee is losing his mind. The man behind Marvel Comics is planning a new animated series around Arnold Schwarzenegger called, "The Governator." That is just as brilliant an idea as the NHL Guardian Project. You're saying what the heck is the NHL Guardian Project? Find out and you'll be shaking your head wondering, "Huh?" I love this story from Florida where a 17 year girl forced her Mom to buy her a car at gunpoint! The child even pistol whipped Mommy! Mom did not want to press charges because her precious little girl had been accepted to several Ivy League schools. The gun was a stolen one, too. I know that colleges besides SAT scores and grades want to know what activities, clubs and sports that perspective students are involved in before accepting them. Taking a stolen firearm and forcing mom at gunpoint to buy car for you does not look good on the transcript. Finally this weeks sign of the apocalypse comes Rutgers University where Nobel Prize winning author Toni Morrison will be giving the commencement address and everybody's favorite vertically challenged cast member from "Jersey Shore" Nicole Polizzi spoke to students. I'm not making this up but Snooki got 2 grand more to speak than the Nobel Prize winner. Snooki got 32 thousand, while Toni Morrison got only 30 thousand. Just when I thought the dumbing down of America had hit rock bottom, the canyon has been dug a little bit deeper...Leccese out!