Was that Jim Cantore or Mike Seidel I saw at the British Open when the heavy rains and wind hit

Hi there. Hope you had a nice week. We start with the British Open or The Open Championship as they like to call over there on the other side of the Atlantic. Darren Clarke is a good guy who deserved to win a major. Felt bad for Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson who took the gas pipe. Sort of like my putting performance at Kingswood Sunday. Decent off the tee, rock solid with my irons, but on the greens...fuhgett about it! 3 was a magic number when it came to my putting. The hi-light of the tournament for me was seeing 61 year old Tom Watson hit a 178 yard 7 iron one bounce and in for a hole in one during the second round. The other was seeing the conditions that the golfers often played in. The wind and the rain. At one point I thought that Jim Cantore or Mike Seidel would be providing on course reporting following the leaders. Playing one of those links courses in the Britian, Scotland or Ireland is high on my bucket list.

What is wrong with our justice system? Roger Clemens perjury trial was declared a mistrial for some video that was seen on the second day of testimony. Casey Anthony is acquitted of murdering her 2 year daughter because the jury felt their wasn't enough evidence to convict her. Yet Plaxico Burress goes to jail for 21 months because he accidentally shot himself in the groin with an unlicensed gun in a nightclub.

In the last edition I wondered about Brian Wilson the Giants closer. Well after seeing the outfit he wore to the ESPY's, its has been confirmed that he is certifiably a freak.

I know we should be disappointed that the U.S womens' soccer team lost in the finals of the World Cup, but considering all the stuff that Japan has been through with the earthquake and tsunami. I'm kind of glad they won to boost the country's moral.

O.K. so doing the right thing and receiving a reward for being a good person happens to be taxable. Christian Lopez the lucky young man who caught Derek Jeter's 3000th hit not only got 4 tickets to every remaining home game regular season and play-offs in a luxury suite and some autographed items from Jeter, he was hit with a $14,000 gift tax bill from the IRS.

So tell me football fans, are we really gonna be that upset if we miss one meaningless exhibition game if the work stoppage goes on for another week or two. I didn't think so either.

Want to take a moment to wish nothing but the best to two of my good friends and fitness instructors who have big days coming up. First is Jenn Carbone. Congratulations on your wedding Tuesday. Many of us gym freaks who you teach wish you all the best for a long, happy marriage. Secondly, Jason Gardner is doing the Iron Man triathlon this weekend in Lake Placid. I know you'll do great. Next time I see you at gym freak get together, I'm buying a round and we'll toast your success. I won't take no for an answer either

Saratoga season starts Friday and in less than 30 days its the start of football practice. I am so psyched. Hi to all the rest of the gym freaks and instructors...Leccese out.

A new entry about a lot of nothing. Kind of like a Seinfeld rerun, but not as funny

Hi there. So here I am in a really good happy place enjoying a Sunday afternoon writing this entry while watching a "No Reservations" marathon on the Travel Channel combined with the Guinness that I'm drinking by my side. This entry was inspired by one of Mike Lupica's columns, who I read religiously every Sunday morning before I watch, "The Sports Reporters."
Let us start with a trip to the dentist. Next to driving over bridges and open heights, I'm deathly afraid of the dentist. Thank god I didn't need braces growing up. That would have been a disaster! I fear and dread those trips to have my teeth examined twice a year. I'm not good in a dental chair. I will need some implants and cleaning done. I'll be O.K. since I'll be knocked out cold while the surgery takes place. Somehow I managed to survive and when the doctor put his arm around me and said, "I will help you get over this fear and I expect to see you sooner rather than later" I felt just a little bit better. Not really, but at least he tried to ease some of the fear.
Another thing I'm not good with are tools. Somehow I channelled Mr. Fix-it and actually replaced the ignition box in my Char-Broil professional 4 burner stainless steel grill. I love that grill! Any good cook or foodie knows the value and importance of a great grill and I've got one of those. Tim Allen and Bob Villa would have been proud of me. Took out some screws, removed a couple of side plates, opened up it up and got that bad boy working again like a finely tuned instrument. I felt so invigorated about my triumph that I wanted to head to the Craftsman Tool department at Sears and start looking at cordless power tools and ponder my next challenge.
Watched a Mets/Giants game hi-lights and I took one look at Giants closer Brian Wilson and wondered if that guy is in the witness protection program with that freaky looking beard of his. I've seen Halloween costumes and masks with better looking facial hair than his. Are you really growing it that way Brian, or is the government hiding you from somebody and is Brian really your name?
Derek Jeter who is the epitome of class got his 3,000 hit Saturday. You could be the biggest Yankee hater on the planet, but still like Derek Jeter. What was even classier was Christian Lopez, the young man who ended up with the prize ball, gave it back Jeter and really didn't want anything in return. The Yankees and Jeter gave him a lot of cool, good stuff. He made out O.K. However people are skewering this young man for not keeping the ball and making a fortune by selling it. You know what, there are still a lot good people in this world who are not consumed by greed or trying to get their 15 minutes of fame!
On a sadder note, you know by now what happened in Texas where a fan died trying to catch a ball thrown in the stands by outfielder Josh Hamilton. Leaned over the railing too far to grab it, fell about 20 feet, landed on his head and lost his life in a horrible tragic accident. You should say a prayer for both the family of this guy and Josh Hamilton. He feels real bad about this. I remember several years back a young hockey fan lost her life when a puck shot by Columbus BlueJackets forward Espen Knutsen accidentally struck her in the side of the head. Knutsen was never the same player.
Michael Douglas is one hell of an actor. Saw the sequel to "Wall Street" and it was an amazing film. Loved every minute of it. Really enjoyed the scene where Gordon Gekko bumped into Bud Fox at a charity function. "Greed is good, now it seems it's legal." to quote Mr. Gekko from the sequel.
I'm finding it hard to believe that their are that many women who really like camping. My idea of roughing it is not having room service, continental breakfast, or pay per view movies in the room at the hotel I'm staying at.
Political opinions aside, Anne Coulter is one attractive, woman who has the intelligence to go with the looks. The total package. And that's not the Guinness talking right now either.
Must watch music video, "Deer in Headlights" by Owl City. Any video that has the DeLorean time machine from "Back to the Future" is a good thing. The song itself isn't half bad either.
I mentioned this product in one my recent Facebook entries. Neutrogena Ultimate Sport SPF 70+ sun screen spray or lotion. It's good stuff...Leccese out.

Some thoughts on the 4th of July

Hi there and Happy Birthday U.S.A. I celebrated the day that the Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence (remember, it wasn't signed until August 2nd) by doing nothing after being on the air. In doing some deep thought I realize that I take some of the freedoms our founding fathers fought the British over for granted. I don't vote, even though I should. I don't believe its an honor to serve on a jury. I think it should be an option, like military service to our country. As a member of the media, I am privileged to be afforded a Bill of Rights amendment that allows for Freedom of the Press, but in many cases we abuse those freedoms and over step the boundaries of respect and good taste. We should learn to use restraint more often than not.
I try not to talk politics in this blog, but its a different story when the topic is the national debt. Enough with the bi-partisan bickering and lets gets this spending in a down cycle economy under control. You want to why I don't vote? Here's why. Because no politician on any level from local, state, or federal has given me an answer on what we should do eliminate the national debt! Its O.K. to tax the wealthiest Americans more and eliminate many corporate tax breaks. These people made money because they are smart and they've already got a team of good accountants with knowledge of the tax laws who can easily figure out how to outsmart the I.R.S! I also think congress should re-instate the line item veto. If the president thinks we can't afford something, cut in out. That will eliminate some or even a lot of the pork barrel spending we hear so much about.
The last time I saw a zoo of reporters and analysis outside of a courtroom like I've seen during this Casey Anthony trial, there was a white Ford Bronco and a pair of bloody gloves involved in some double murder trial back in 1994 and 95.
Just when I thought the Phantoms' parent club were going be twiddling their thumbs this off season, the Flyers make a huge splash like an over weight guy doing a cannonball off the high dive. Trading both Jeff Carter and Mike Richards, then signing 39 year old Jaromir Jagr? The goaltending situation is more cloudier than a rainy day. They now have Bryzgalov, Leighton, Backlund, Boucher and Bobrovsky. We still don't know who Joe Paterson is going to have play in net for him.
The NBA is in lockout or work stoppage. Who cares.
Congrats to Jimmer on being picked 10th overall. My advice to him is to rent and not buy a place in Sacramento, since the Kings maybe heading to Anaheim next year.
As a Mets fan, I feel bad for Jason Bay. This guy has been nothing but a class act and I wish he would get his stroke back. I want him to succeed sooo bad. He's fought through injuries and having to play home games in that joke of ballpark Fred Wilpon built to pay homage to the Brooklyn Dodgers doesn't help. The game winning hit over the Yanks Sunday might just get some of that confidence back.
Another level of fitness hell has frozen over. The guy who is trying to make friends with the weights is taking a second Body Pump class during the week. That is one more than the Body Combat class that I love so much.
I have this feeling I'm going to have a lonely next couple of months. A new gym is opening up owned by some of the fitness instructors who teach the Les Mills classes I take and many of my gym freak friends are defecting over. Unfortunately my contract doesn't end til early next year and it doesn't have an out clause I can invoke. I am so screwed big time.
Finally Joey Chestnut ate how many hotdogs at this years Nathan's Famous Contest on Coney Island? 62 of them....Leccese out.

With the 12th pick in the first round

Hi there. This is one of those rare entries in the 3 1/2 year history of this blog where it was a very calm uneventful week. We'll open up with the passing of "The Big Man" Clarence Clemons. With all the great music that Bruce Springsteen has made, you think of 2 guys beside him. "Little" Steven VanZandt and Clarence Clemons. The E-Street band will go on but it won't be the same.
At least the team I picked to win the Stanley Cup won. Only in Canada could you have hockey hooligans after the riots that took place in Vancouver after the Canucks lost game 7! And it wasn't the first time they did it. They rioted after losing to the Rangers back in 1994! I have a lot friends who love the Bruins and I'm happy for all of them.
I think we should stage an octagon like MMA battle between the soccer hooligans from England and the Vancouver hockey hooligans. It would have to be somewhere other than New York which is the only state in the country that doesn't allow MMA stuff to take place.
Rory McIlroy had one of those great dominating weeks that all athletes dream of in winning the U.S. Open. So why did every member of the media constantly have to bring up his collapse in Augusta or mention Eldrick the Gimp? Ruined it for me.
During the tournament the city of Bethesda Maryland acutally shut down and fined a lemonade stand run by some kids raising money for a childrens cancer charity near the golf course because they didn't have the proper permits. We're talking about a lemonade stand, people! Kids learning to be entrepeneurs for a good cause.
Terell Pryor had a press conference to apologize for what he did to Coach Tressel and letting down all the fans of THEE Ohio State University. I would have cut him some slack. However when that bridge troll of an agent Drew Rosenhaus was sitting right next to him, I doubted his sincerity. Its like everytime there's a press conference with some female who claims some important male committed a crime against her, attorney Gloria Allred is standing by her side as her council.
You want to know where I see Jimmer going in the NBA draft Thursday? Either 12th to Utah or 15th to Indiana. I don't he'll slip to the Knicks at 17. They need rebounding help more than a point guard.
I would talk about the NHL draft, but since the Phantoms parent club have hardly any picks, what's the point. Are the Flyers even going to show up for the draft or just trade the rest of them for the signing rights to some other free agent they dont need?
Finally played some golf. Got a long way to go to get my game in shape for South Carolina in September...Leccese out.

It's not a weasel, its a marten!!

Hi there. No golf this year and no body combat class in nearly 3 weeks makes Kenny a very unhappy person. With the rain we got this weekend, it was total bust trying to do anything. Well almost anything. I swept the downstairs of my garage. Talk about a pig sty!

I'm going to lead off with the latest in a long line of terrific HBO sports documentaries. This one on the Borg/McEnroe rivalry in tennis and the 80 final at Wimbledon. Once again just phenomenal. You don't have to be a tennis fan to like this one.

Mike Tyson was inducted into the boxing Hall of Fame this past weekend. It's a shame what happened to Mike after Cus D'Amato past away. If he had stayed alive, I don't think half the stuff that Mike Tyson brought up himself in and out of the ring would have happened. Yes in effect I'm blaming Don King for Mike Tyson's downfall.

I find it ironic that in light of the scandals that have hit the Tennessee, Ohio State, and USC athletic programs recently that Bristol Tech aired its 30 for 30 film called, "The Pony Excess" on the SMU scandal of the early 80's last weekend. I think the NCAA should be dangling the death penalty axe over big time college football and basketball programs to force them to clean up their acts.

You may or may not believe me when I say that I was more happy seeing Jason Kidd get a championship ring than LeBron James not getting one this year. What he did for the Nets in taking them to back to back NBA finals. The last person who gave the Nets that kind of swagger was Julius Erving and that was in the ABA almost 40 years ago!

Well so much for the Calder Cup prediction of the Aeros in five games. My friend Jerry is a Senators fan and I guess even Binghamton is entitled to win a Calder Cup once.

Anthony Weiner (Insert your own joke here.)

The garden is coming along nicely and lettuce is ready to be picked as you can see in the photo.

One more thing. On New Years Eve of 2008 I got on the scale and it read 242 pounds. I went on a strict weight loss and exercise program and lost 37 pounds over a period of 9 months. I was down to about 205. Well the other day I got on the scale and it read 239. Yup almost 2 years later I gained nearly all the weight I that I had worked so hard to lose back. I've been fighting for a long time to get my gym groove back and seeing that number on the scale may have been the thing to finally kick start it again. It also doesn't hurt that I've got a great group of gym freak friends on my side who will help me along the way in case I might slip. I'll update you on my progress...Leccese out

Another reason why I need a girlfriend and men get married

Hi there. So last weekend I bought a new mattress and box spring set. Had it delivered, set up and my old set removed the other day in no time flat. That was the easy part. I went from a full size mattress to a queen size. Going from one size bed to a larger one means having to buy new sheets and a new bed spread set that comes with pillow covers and the thing you put between the mattress and box spring so you can hide stuff under the bed and nobody sees what's really under there. Who would of thought picking that stuff out could be so hard! I went to three or four different places and couldn't find anything I liked that would be tasteful and fit the decor of my home, yet have that hint of masculinity fitting of a single male. The sheets were another story. Now we're getting into fabric types like cotton blends and thread counts. Just one more reason why men get married and I need a girlfriend. To pick out bed sheets and other stuff like that for me.
One of the stores I went to in my search was one of those major chains with the initials B.B@B. I'd never been in a place like that (I never thought I would need to.) Half the store was about bedding and towels and the other half had the stuff you see on all those television infomercials.
SF Giants catcher Buster Posey got run over by Chris Cousins of the Florida Marlins in a home plate collision and now people are calling for protection of catchers in baseball like the NFL protects the quarterback. Look, its part of the game! We're over reacting here. Remember, the catcher has more protection than the guy running into him does. The guy you got to feel sorry for is Cousins who has apologized on more than one occasion, yet has received death threats from fans and Giants GM Brian Sabean has called him out as well.
I think it would be a lot simpler if we just let Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal play a winner take all 5 set final and not even bother to have 62 other players try to win the French Open. They are that far ahead of the competition.
Is Jim Dolan that stupid? The answer is a resounding yes. Letting Donnie Walsh go after he cleaned up the mess that the Knicks were in and making them a viable team again, not a good move. If Mr.Dolan even hints about bringing back Isaiah Thomas, David Stern should take the team away from him.
Sorry to see Shaquille O'Neill retiring after 19 seasons. There was something about, "The Big Diesel" that made him fun to watch. When he was in college at Louisiana State, one of his teammates was a guard named Chris Jackson. That guy could also play. The two of them were electrifying on the court together.
I forgot to mention in the last edition of a fourth out break of foot in mouth disease. Scottie Pippen became infected. He said in a radio interview that he thought LeBron James is better than Michael Jordan. I just want to know if he tested positive for any hallucinogenic drugs in his system. You're kidding me right? Scottie for that comment alone, you should be thrown out of the sidekick Hall of Fame. That's what you were on those Bulls teams, MJ's sidekick.
Still haven't played a round of golf yet. Got to figure out this thread count thing with the bed sheets first...Leccese out.

Still Complicated

What's today? June 1st. The year is almost half over? Time is flying by way too fast. Last Saturday was one of those surreal days that you couldn't believe. I get home around 1pm after my workout and visit to the dry cleaners. The heavens opened up and around 4 1/2 hours later I couldn't believe the sight. The heavy rain and thunder already made the drenched ground even worse and turned roads and the golf course where I live into a mini-version of the Schroon or Hudson rivers. This is where having a decent cell phone comes in handy. Took some remarkable photos of the aftermath. It was amazing the sheer force and power of the rushing water. Unbelievable.
Last week we had an major outbreak of foot in mouth disease. 3 cases. Fred Wilpon in the New Yorker magazine. Tiki Barber comparing concealing an affair from his pregnant wife and hiding out to some one trying to avoid being tracked down and sent to a concentration camp by the Nazi's. Last but not least, Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis saying without football on Sunday, we'll see a rise in the crime rates. At least Fred Wilpon admitted that he screwed up Citi-Field big time.
Does anyone really care who won Survivor, American Idol or Dancing with the Stars? I didn't think so either.
Hockey predictions - Bruins in 6 games, Aeros in 5.
Welcome back to the NHL Winnipeg. Hopefully the Jets name will be coming back as well.
I have no problem ripping Bristol Tech at the drop of a hat. Today they get complimented for two reasons. First one. Saturday mornings on Bristol Tech 2, Australian Rules Football! Yes! That is one of the things on my bucket list. To travel to Australia and see one of those games in person. Love watching that sport. It is sick and awesome in a good way. Remember playing, "Kill the guy with the ball" as a kid. That's what Aussie Rules reminds me of. 2 teams of 18 guys running around in total chaos beating up the one who has the ball while trying to score. The second compliment goes to "Outside the Lines" and their story last Sunday about 7 on 7 AAU touch football/passing leagues.
Jim Tressel, don't let the door hit you on the way out of Woody Hayes Hall at, "The Big Horseshoe!"
The garden is finally planted! My garden is like having thanksgiving with the family. Every year I claim I'm gonna cut back and plant less, but it ends up being the same or even more. Just like Thanksgiving. You want to cut back on what's going to be served, but nothing ever does get cut or left out of the menu. Big thanks to Dave Thomas for letting me borrow his Mantis tiller. That thing is great! Helped out a bunch with loosening up the soil.
Baseball fans, take a moment to think about and pray for Gary Carter and hopefully he'll beat those brain tumors they found. "The Kid" was one hell of a catcher for the Expos and Mets. Happy Birthday Cloutier and Dubray. Still complicated...Leccese out.