Golf is an easier game to play on my laptop than in real life

Hi There. Well only 6 days til the start of fall sports practices and less than a month away from that first high school football game on The Mighty 1450. The schedule should be finalized in the next week or two and will be up on the website and sent out to the local newspapers. If you want to know how we pick the games it works like this. We have 7 or 8 core schools that we get on at least once a year. Then there are about 5 others within the listening area if it works out will get on because they're playing one of those core schools. Before the season we look at each weeks games and pick out about 3 or 4 games logistically we could do. We pair it down to 2 and go from there. On some weeks we'll do both a Friday night and a Saturday game. Rivalry games get priority preference. So that's why every year we do Warrensburg/Lake George or Glens Falls/Queensbury for example.
Reading Pete Tobey's football blog at the Post Star website the other day, I had no idea that South Glens Falls is adding lights to play night football games. That means there are now 6 local schools that play Friday nights. Those schools are Lake George, Schuylerville, Greenwich, Corinth, South Glens Falls and Saratoga. Personally, give me Saturday afternoon games any time.
Played golf Sunday in the mist and drizzle at Queensbury Country Club and I've come to the conclusion that I play better when I hit a crappy drive and have to scramble for par than when I nail one off the tee, put in the middle of fairway and have one of those easy approach shots to the green.
My one wish for the PGA Championship that starts Thursday is that Eldrick has a performance like he did in the British Open.
So the Mets have made a team pledge to not shave until they return to the .500 mark. Don Imus had a great line. The way they're playing they'll look like ZZ Top first before that happens.
Eli Manning is now the highest paid QB in pro football. Not bad for a guy who is only the third best quarterback in his own family.
After watching the first quarter of the NFL Hall of Fame Game, the throwback Houston Oilers unis are 10 times better looking than the current Tennessee Titans ones.
We need more quality programming on VH1 like the T.O. Show. Anything is better than "Brooke knows Best" or the latest finding love dating show.
Is Patrick Kane of the Blackhawks related to Pete Cloutier? Talk about cheap! Mr. Kane and another family member beat up a cabbie because the cabbie didn't have 20 cents change on him. The cab fare was $13.80, Kane gave the cabbie $15.00 and gave him a dollar tip when he asked for the 20 cents. Those rookie contracts don't stretch as far as they used to. Can you just imagine what would have happened if Pat Kane was on one of those two-way contracts?
The AHL schedule will be released Thursday at 4pm. Yes!!!!!
Since this is an American Idol free zone, there will be no mention of the judge who's left but may want to come back after all.
I'm giving out props to the folks at Les Mills for the release of Body Combat 40. Great moves and even better music to go with them.
Boxing wraps are a pain in the tuchis to put on before fitness class.
Finally, I made a break through with my almost 4 year old niece. When she came to visit last month I borrowed a couple of DVD's from the library for her to watch. One of them was the Tiny Toon Adventures. Last Saturday my sister bought her a DVD and what did Morgan Pavlot pick out? Tiny Toon Adventures and the Animaniacs! All right, chalk one up for Uncle Kenny! I can't wait til she says, "Hello nurse!" That kid will be brought up the right way. It's good to be an uncle...Leccese out!

In horse racing terms I was 2 pounds overweight

Hi there. Well the weigh in happened Saturday and to quote Maxwell Smart, "missed it by that much." I was between 207 and 208. So close but at the same time so far. I should be proud of the fact I've lost 35 pounds since the beginning of the year. However I told my Combat instructor afterward I wanted to go buy a couple of pints of Ben and Jerry's Brownie Fudge Overload or Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream and wallow in self pity eating them while watching chick flicks like "When Harry Met Sally" and "Sleepless in Seattle."
If you are a horse racing fan, you saw some great races this past weekend. Soul Warrior upsetting Big Drama and Mine that Bird in the West Virginia Derby and then Rachel Alexandra almost breaking the track record in the slop and winning by 6 lengths at the Haskell. O.K. does she shoot for the Travers? Not a clue. I defer to Kyle Brownell
If I hear anyone talk or write about adding an asterisk to those players that used P.E.D's on their hall of fame plaques just shut up please! Enough with the steroid era please! Here's my opinion. Every hall of famer in Cooperstown should have an asterisk on their plaque. All the ones who played before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier should have an asterisk because they didn't play with Black Americans. Pitchers who pitched before the mound was lowered in the late '60's should have one. You get my point. I've heard that clubhouses had amphetamines in a jar like penny candy. Do we put an asterisk next to the players who used and played during that time? The Bob Costas' and George Will's need to get knocked off Mount Olympus. Remember as long the Players Association has the clout it does, treading lightly and slowly is the best action to get the best results.
Funny People with Adam Sandler was tops at the box office this weekend. Big deal. The only Adam Sandler movie I can take in any large doses is Spanglish and its because of Paz Vega, not Happy Gilmore.
Plaxico Burress was found guilty of having that concealed unregistered handgun in New York City. He'll spend some time in jail. When the sentence is announced, he should get an additional couple of days for stupidity and wearing sweat pants into the night club.
Tennessee Titans running back LenDale White dropped 30 pounds this off season by believe it or not working out and eating right ,but by giving up drinking Tequila. No wonder my stocks in Jose Cuervo and Cabo Wabo took a nose dive. I'm busting my ass in the gym practically every day and portioning food out to lose weight and all this time the key was to stop drinking hard alcohol. I wonder if Dubray gave up his favorite adult beverage the opposite would happen and he would put on pounds?..Leccese out.

Weighing at the gym and on the latest steriod with hunt

Hi There. Well today is the day. D-Day. My fitness challenge weigh in. I might just go to church and light a prayer candle and hope for a little divine intervention before Combat class. So if you're going to church I could use all the help I can get. Its gonna be close. Wish me luck.
First it was Alex Rodriguez and now Big Papi and Manny Ramirez are on that list of 103 players who were found to have P.E.D's in their system in a 2003 confidential test to determine if testing for steriods should happen. Does the idiot who is leaking these names to Selena Roberts and other New York Times staffers know he's breaking the law! Normally I'm against the MLB Players Association in most labor matters but this time if they have gripe, I'm backing them. Whoever this person is should go to jail and rot with Bernie Madoff. The test results were not supposed to be released! Besides how can you call the players who did it cheaters if there was nothing in the collective bargaining agreement saying they couldn't do it!
Hopefully this little rant I've just written helped me burn a few more calories...Leccese out.

Christmas in July has arrived

Hi there. Its been a while since I wrote a Wednesday entry, but so much has happened in so little time. Where to start?
How about a double dose of this weeks sign of the apocalypse. G-Force, a movie about guinea pigs as spies was number one at the box off beating Harry Potter; and Bubbles the chimp maybe on a hunger strike. Boy, it doesn't get much better than those two right there to get things rolling.
Has the soap opera, "As the Brett Favre Turns" really come to an end now that he told the Vikes he isn't coming back after all? Stay tuned. A third sequel maybe in the works. Brett do us all a favor. Sign a one day contract with Green Bay and officially announce your retirement as a Packer.
I think it would be in the best interest of Michael Vick to lay low for a while and not return to the NFL. Right now even you're still a freak among the side show acts at the circus.
Onto my favorite baseball team the New York Mess...I mean Mets. Tony Bernazard's firing was long overdue. He's smart guy, but his fiery personality at times is what the Mets need on the field. He needs to go to charm school for some lessons on tact. As for Adam Rubin, Omar Minaya shouldn't have called him out like that during the press conference. His choice of words was a train wreck and he used really poor judgement. The foundation is crumbling around Omar's tenure as GM. Shame its not CitiField's foundation that's crumbling. Sorry SK, I know you went to see Paul McCartney there and told me how great the place is, but I'll never be convinced.
I haven't talked about the Phantoms lately, but with Greg Gilbert being named head coach it seemed like a good time. Solid choice. Besides, how can I not like a guy who played for the 1994 Stanley Cup champion Rangers. The schedule breakdown is fine although I would have liked to seen that extra home game from the Atlantic division go to either Portland, Providence, or Hartford and not Bridgeport.
Today is Christmas in July. Start of Saratoga season. I talked to Kyle Brownell for a few minutes and I told him it doesn't get any better than this. He agreed. It's a good time if you're a horse racing fan. You got Del Mar going on in California, Mine that Bird will run Saturday in the West Virginia Derby at Mountaineer. The Haskell at Monmouth featuring Rachel Alexandra and Summer Bird on Sunday. I was telling Dan one thing was missing to make it even better for me. Football. I'm starting to get that itch to do a high school game or least watch some football. I'll have to look for some CFL or Aussie Rules games on the tube to hold me over til NFL pre-season or the start of college football.
If you plan on making a donation to one of our staff members who will be driving in the go-cart race on August 18th, give it to either Dan or Dave Thomas. Thanks.
The Princeton Review name Union College number 13 on its top party schools list. Alright Dutchmen! Next thing you know they'll be calling it a jock school.
Three days til weigh in at the gym and the measuring cups have been working overtime. Between the measuring and drinking all that water, I feel like an amateur wrestler trying to make weight for a match.
One last reminder. If you go to the track, don't bet on the steeplechases or the 2 year old filly first time starter races. Hope you cash 'em and not trash 'em...Leccese out.

Football and Saratoga is getting oh so close

Hi There. Hope everything is well and you're enjoying the summer. Hard to believe but its almost half over. Leading off, I want to take this time and apologize to all the loyal readers of "The Greenhouse Effect" that come away disappointed that you never see a picture of me with some attractive blonde in every entry unlike one of my colleagues. My brother in law Mike pointed that out. Just the usual talk of my mundane, average life and witty observations of the world around me.
My family was in town for a couple days and my Mom was in heaven. She had her kids and got be Nana and all of us had a great time. Morgan Pavlot is turning into quite a neat little kid. She's almost 4 years old and I learned a lot from her, especially who Walter the farting dog is. F.Y.I It is a children's book O.K.
My mom has been taking care of my Uncle Al's estate and getting things organized and in order. He recently past away on July 4th and was really good guy. He was a diver in the Navy and first time I really got to know him I was 11 years old. He took our family to a museum in Norfolk Virginia and showed me some of the stuff he recovered as a diver. It was cool. I also have an autographed baseball he got for me that I keep in my office here at the radio station, so I think of him everyday.
Bristol Tech is in an uproar over the sick perv who reenacted a scene from Porky's and decided to video tape sideline reporter Erin Andrews naked through a peep hole in her hotel room and post it online. I would be pretty pissed off to. I have to admit she's very attractive. However I was watching Sports Center this morning working out and Hannah Storm was wearing what looked like a black cocktail dress. Why do I feel that doesn't help the situation. Also the ESPY's have become this black tie/red carpet dress up affair. I know sex appeal sells but after the Joe Namath/Suzy Kolber incident, Bristol Tech should know better by now.
Here's why the Open Championship is the best of the four majors in golf. They don't trick up the course, they play in the elements and Tom Watson turning back the clock made it worth watching. You didn't need Eldrick in contention as the reason for tuning in.
Phil Mikelson is thinking of buying 105 Waffle Houses. There's nothing wrong with that. Waffle Houses are like Friendly's without the ice cream. Just don't have the employees wear some of those scary looking pants you've been donning lately, Phil. Phil Mickelson and John Daly should have a battle on the catwalk to determine the ugliest looking pants on the PGA tour.
One more fashion statement from golf. What's up all these players going into their uncle's closets and stealing the white belts? I thought white belts only came out with the matching white shoes for weddings at the VFW hall.
A sign that football season is getting closer and closer. Driving home Wednesday night I saw a Warrensburg football player running on Main Street with the ball tucked in his left arm. Even though hockey is my favorite sport, there is something special about Saturday's in the fall knowing I'm calling a high school football game that day.
More football news. The Yankees are bringing back college football to the stadium. Army will play a game at the big ball orchard in the South Bronx for the next four years. They start with Notre Dame in 2010 and then in 2011 my boys from Piscataway come calling. The so-called experts are hyping Rutgers. I'm not buying it just yet. I'll believe it when I see it. They lost too many skill position players to graduation and the NFL
Saratoga opens next week and here's a couple of betting tips for you. Avoid the steeplechase races (Thanks Shep), and races that feature 2 year old fillies who are first time starters. I will be watching a lot of TVG the next 6 weeks. Hope to make it down to the track at least once. I say that every year, but I never make it down there.
The Body Combat challenge at the gym is nearing the end and I will have those 10 classes done Monday. The 10 pound challenge is really frustrating me and the final weigh in is next Saturday. I don't know if I'm gonna make it.
Finally from the comic strip "Luann." If Luann's brother Brad can hook up with that cute female firefighter Toni, maybe there's hope for me yet. On second thought, Charlie Brown never did get the little red haired girl to notice him did he...Chuck Brown, I mean Leccese out.

Only 31 more days til football practice

Hi there. Yes its hard to believe but my sabatical is almost over. Fall sports and football practice is one month away. The process of figuring out the games we'll be doing on WWSC has begun. Hopefully by the beginning of August it will be finalized and on the website. On to other things.
This weeks sign of the apocalypse. Hong Kong Phooey is being made into a major motion picture. Hanna Barbara cartoons of the 70's aren't classics like the ones of the 60's. Shows like Inch High Private Eye, Clue Club, Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch and others didn't have the staying power the Flinstones or the Jetsons had. If you were going to make a full length feature from the shows of the 70's, my choice would be Valley of the Dinosaurs. On second thought after the disaster that was Land of the Lost, that would only be adding fuel to the fire.
So Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson have split up. As long as Tony doesn't go back to Carrie Underwood (that chick really freaks me out.) However you won't see me consoling Jessica. I'm on the line willing to console Richard Jefferson's ex fiance Kesha Nichols. Richard got cold feet and blew about 2 million bucks on the non wedding. He also forgot to tell some of the guests that the affair was off.
After watching some of the British Open, I need to know who makes John Daly's pants. I'd like to buy a pair for Cloutier. They would look good and fit in perfectly with the rest of his wardrobe. Also would some major network please try to hire Ernie Johnson away from TNT.
Got to love the people of Minnesota. First they elected Jesse "The Body" Ventura as governor, and now have decided that Al Franken should be one of their two senators in Washington D.C. You read correctly Stuart Smalley is now in Congress because he's good enough, he's smart enough, and gosh darn it people like him.
Those 22 Emmy nominations for 30 Rock should make it easy for Tina Fey to forget she won't be impersonating Sarah Palin anymore.
Bernie Madoff went off to jail. He should have been sent to Colorado to that maximum security prison where all those terrorists and mass murderers are kept, instead he gets to go to some farm in North Carolina.
Well midway through the Combat challenge at the gym I've dropped 4 1/2 pounds and I've done 6 classes. Only 4 more classes and 5 1/2 more pounds to go.
Get to play Uncle Kenny this weekend. The Carolina crew is coming up for a couple days...Leccese out.

Its been a real slow week and other observations

Hi There. Its been a real slow, boring 10 days since the last entry and mean real slow and boring. Where to begin. There's nothing better than July 1st. It's Black Friday for NHL and NBA teams when free agency starts. The rush to sign players to contracts. The money burning holes in teams pockets like a raging wild fire. One team that won't win the Stanley Cup is the Chicago Blackhawks. They signed Marian Hossa. Lets see in the last two years he's played for the Penguins and Redwings and they've both lost in the finals the years he's played for them. Sorry 'hawks fans the Stanley Cup drought will continue. On a positive note, it's still not as long as Cubs fans have been waiting.
The Rangers signed Donald Brashear to a two year contract. If you can't beat up the bully, pay the bully to beat up other people for you.
Eldrick won the tournament that he hosts which was his tune up for the British Open in two weeks. Interesting stat note. He has won the tournaments that were played 2 weeks before the Masters and US Open, and so far he's gone 0 for 2 in those majors. Make it 0 for 3 at Turnberry.
Tennis needed a kick in the pants and they got it with the men's final Sunday. Bristol Tech should go to NBC for the tape of that match and re-air it as an, "Instant Classic." Andy Roddick and Roger Federer played one of those knock down, drag 'em out 15 round championship fights for 5 sets and over 4 hours. You have to feel for Roddick though. I hope he's gotten over it, but after putting it all on the line and battling like he did, this loss is gonna hurt for a long, long time. A real long time.
I was stunned to learn of the death of boxer Alexis Arguello. Saw him box Ray Mancini and Aaron Pryor and he was good, real good To quote Arthur George Rust, Jr. "Heck of a fighter."
Everybody's favorite hot hockey mom decided to hang it up as Governor of Alaska. Thanks for playing Sarah Palin. Here's a copy of the home game as your consolation prize. So what's Tina Fey gonna do now in her spare time?
Note to CBS. Please return The Big Bang Theory to its original 8pm time slot instead of placing it at 9:30 after Two and a Half Men.
It's July 8th and I've now officially given up on the Mets. Listen to me Omar Minaya. Become a seller at the trade deadline and off load Santana, Reyes, Church, Pelphrey, Wright, Beltran and K-Rod for some top notch prospects to re-stock that barren farm system of yours and while you're at it, blow up Citi Field for me. The All-Star break can't come soon enough...Leccese out.