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“Padres Baseball–More Than a Game”

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We sit here and wait.
We sit here and pray.
We sit here and hope.

America begins its 5th week of Virus-Crisis lockdown.

The numbers are staggering, those ill with Covid-19, those hospitalized, those in ICU, those who died.

The economy has been shattered, when you hear-read comparisons that date back to the failures of 2008, the drops to levels of 1929, and what his happening with bailouts, loans, unemployment.

All this makes the opening of the baseball season inconquisential.

But San Diego Padres is more than just an upcoming game with the Dodgers, interleague play with the Red Sox, free agent contract seasons, guys coming off Tommy John surgery, the standings, homesteads and road trips.

Think of the names Ron Fowler, Peter Seidler, Erik Greupner.  Some you know, some you don’t.  They are the ones atop of the Padres organizations chart at Petco Park.

It is just not GM-AJ Preller and his new manager Jayce Tingler.

Their lives have been forever changed, as has their job responsibilities because of what is happening globally.

The next time you go to a game, and you cast a glance into the owners box seats just to the right of home plate, or take a look at the owners sky boxes, understand what those three execs are dealing with.

Think the words….”Burden-Responsibility-Investment”

Padres baseball is more now than just pennant races and trading deadlines, injuries and roster moves.  It’s more than the Amateur draft, the International signing period, draft pick slot money. It’s more than just a 40-man roster, or the starting nine any given night.
It’s more than the Disabled List, Tommy John surgeries, rehab stints and what’s going on down on the farm in El Paso or Amarillo.

Fowler-Seidler-Greupner wake up each morning carrying the weight of the organization on their shoulders.  Making decisions that impact not just their employees, but their families too.

A survey of the Padres organization chart shows who works there, not just on the baseball side, but equally as important, the business side, and the community side.

Take a look at the structure of Padres baseball.
..56-different business executives in the Padres front office directory.
..40-players on the Padres major league roster-protected list
..45-employees in baseball operations working for the GM
..31-Minor league administrators
..50-Scouts in the USA and abroad
..84-Managers-coaches-trainers across 9-teams fielded by Padres

..136-Staff members who work on the business side for the Padres
..250-Minor league players under contract on 8-teams-Academy.
..250-Gameday and stadium employees.

At last count, the total 952-total people, baseball, non baseball, major league thru minor league, and game day who count on a paycheck from the Padres.  Think of that staggering number.

So while you the fans, those of us in the media, wonder about Manny Machado’s bounce back season, Will Myers’ strikeout issue, the emergence of young stars Chris Paddack-Fernando Tatis, the return to health of Garrett Richards, or the blue ribbon bullen, there’s a lot more to Padres baseball than just a game against the Dodgers on the schedule that is at stake.

And while baseball floats all these ideas of the Arizona-Bubble League, or the Grapefruit-vs-Cactus League circuit, just to try and get the game up and running, think of what is on the mind of Fowler-Seidler-Greupner every morning as they meet on Video Conference calls.

The Padres decision makers.  Baseball fans for sure, but understanding too , they are impacting so many other lives that revolve around all things wearing Brown & Gold.

The Padres baseball leaders, carrying a burden, taking a responsibility, dealing with the investment, that are as important as wins and losses when the umpire yells “Play Ball”.  It is more than a game.

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“There Will Be NFL Football–Where-When-Nobody Knows”

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We are two weeks out from the NFL Draft.  Everybody has something to say about the situation.  No one has any firm knowledge.  Not President Trump, Commissioner Roger Goodell, or the Governors nor the people at CDC.

The most common place word uttered these days about our health and pro sports is “Fluid”

Here is a capsule of where things stand right now.

NFL DRAFT…It will go on April 23-24-25, in a Video Conference call setup.  The NFL mandated all Owners-GMs-Scouts work from home and conference call in.  Many states barred teams from working at closed facilities, so the NFL, to be fair to everyone, mandated a Video Conference.  To complicate it, New Jersey-California have padlocked the NFL Network facilities because of the virus, so ESPN studios will be the epicenter of the broadcast, using a combined group of anchors from Bristol, that will also include NFL network personnel.

FORMAT…There will be live cut-ins to each team’s GM or Coach, not a war-room setup.  The NFL has also lined up 58-potential draft picks and will do cut-ins with them around the country.

THE RISK…It will be different television production compared to past drafts, no fans, and probably a lot less production.  And there will be risks if there are any IT-failures at any of these locations.  And then additional fear is out there about possible hackers getting into the Video Conference systems, as happened last week when the NHL-NY Rangers introduced a just signed draft pick via video, and it was hacked with 45-racist messages posted on the screen.

THE COMMISSIONER…Goodell continues his public stance that he plans on having a full NFL season with the stands full of fans.  That is ambitious, and that is not what the science and medicine people say. Goodell said Thursday the ‘NFL can help the country heal’.  You can’t stay healthy if you open up stadiums and the virus breaks out again.  But all that happens as Boston-Houston-Chicago take virus-crisis hits, proves this is not under control.  New York is still reeling with upwards of 800-deaths a day still, each day more than the day before.  Science says until the virus trends down everywhere, till there is testing everywhere, till there is a vaccine, America will not open up for business, neither will the NFL, regardless of what Goodell says.

THE SCHEDULE…The calendar is now working against the NFL, with all OTA’s normally held in April and May wiped off the books.  It may be late June before limited minicamps can be held.  The entire 4-game preseason schedule could be axed, so teams can just practice and prepare for whatever the season looks like.  The NFL wants a 16-game schedule, but sources say they have devised a 12-game schedule too, that might not start till October 1st, if the pandemic is not under control in mid-summer.  August 1st becomes a big day, start camp , or pushback the entire calendar.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL….At risk also are the Division 1-programs.  Most already lost spring football.  Now their own preseason camps are in jeopardy come early August.  The NCAA oversight committee is looking at a pushback schedule too.  Drop non-conference games, play your conference schedule, 8-or-9-games, starting October 1st, and hope you can get to the bowl seasons.  The financial hits University’s are taking is monstrous.  Not just revenue lost in athletics, no March Madness-and loss of football ticket revenue, but the fact these schools will have to refund dormitory and food fees when they shutdown classes and sent students home 2-months early.  Can you spell catastrophe…’N-C-A-A’.

THE DAMAGE…The tsunami has not yet hit the NFL office on Park Avenue.  The NBA appears to have lost over 2B in revenue, from tickets, TV rights, sponsorship deals with the season suspended.  Baseball may not play till July 1st and has likely lost half of its revenue.  Each time a home game in cancelled, that is 1M-less a baseball team normally takes in.  We are looking at losing 3-months of home games for each club.  Calculate that damage.   And that does not even count what has to be discounted in TV revenue clubs get. The NHL wants to go to the playoffs directly, and had only 10-to-12 games each left on their regular season schedule, when the lights were turned out.  The NFL losses financially will be huge if they were to lose upwards of four regular season game.  President Trump says Americans should be prepared for ‘real pain’ the next two weeks.  The NFL hasn’t felt pain yet.  The Tidal wave has yet to hit Pro Football yet, but it is coming.

THE FANS:  Seton Hall University just released a poll conducted nationwide in NFL cities and it was not favorable.
..61% said they would not attend a game until a Virus-vaccine is developed.
..72% said if the NFL-MLB-NBA starts up without a vaccine they would not go
..13% said they would feel safe at games
..76% said they would watch games on TV if fans are locked out.

THE DOCTORS:  I tend to want to hear from science has to say rather than a President with a history of making generic, non-factual comments, lies-half truths-misinformation.  Dr. Anthony Fauchi said last night, with over 460,000 cases of the virus reported, over 16,000 deaths in the US, that there is no ‘1-size fits all’ in terms of reopening the country.  He said ‘America should not be reopened for business until we have control of this-and we don’t’.

The NFL’s favorite term come Draft Day is ‘on the clock’.    We are counting down towards the NFL being ‘on the clock’ in terms of massive cancellations and financial losses next, regardless of how much fun NFL Virtual Draft Day is.

There will be NFL Football News coming.  They are on the clock, and I fear it won’t be good.

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“Analyze This”

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People ask me, when they stop me these days, ‘What are you doing?’.

They also ask about the good old days of sports-talk radio.  And they want to know how I got into the business, why things happen, and what has happened.

So here goes, since we all have lots of time on our hands, self isolating, while most of us are waiting for the phone to ring.

I grew up in baseball family.  Born in Brooklyn, Utica Avenue-St John’s Place.   Father was huge baseball fan, the days of the Old Gas House Gang  of the St Louis Cardinals.  He was a pitcher, never got to the big leagues.  College educated man, who got stuck in the Philadelphia A’s system, and feuded with Connie Mack.  His show was Class B-Eastern League.  He actually worked at Ebbets Field as a teenager.  Biggest thrill, going to Cooperstown, Hall of Fame library, to research baseball records in minor leagues.  He died way too young.

Uncle was sportswriter, covering the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field for the Brooklyn Eagle, one of 9-daily newspapers in New Yo rk and Long Island (can you believe that) back in the day.  Became famous World War II correspondent in the Pacific covering MacArthur.  Saw some horrible things in combat, survived, but did not come back right.  I have spent my life piecing together his career, and have uncovered amazing scripts and broadcasts from combat in the Pacific.

Me, huge baseball fan, growing up on Long Island.  Hated the Yankees (Mantle-Maris), the Dodgers (Duke of Flatbush), the Giants (Say Hey).  Grew up Indians fan, but don’t know why, except I liked the Chief Wahoo logo, and that great pitching staff (Score-Lemon-Garcia-Mossi-Narleski).

Grew up NFL fan, no not the Giants (YA Tittle-Sam Huff)..but the Browns, guess I liked the color Orange.  Liked Jim Brown.  It was as if the Browns-Giants played every Sunday on TV.

Followed the NBA, again not the Knicks, but rather the Cincinnati Royals (Oscar Robertson-Jack Twyman) and so many more.

Hockey, do remember watching it, and liking the name Maple Leafs (still do).  Oddly became my first love in broadcasting.

Track and Field had lure to me, did compete in it, all-state distance runner, once hoped I could be 4-minute miler.  Actually ran in the high school division of the Wannamaker Mile at Millrose Games in New York City, got my ass kicked by kids that wound up going to Villanova, an NCAA power.

Athlete, yes, success, yes, till I got hurt.  Could throw the hell out of the ball, till I hurt my shoulder in high school.  I have a torn rotator cuff to prove it.  Distance runner setting school records, but got hurt in college second week of cross-country practice in college.  Never got healthy, sports medicine not being what it is now.

Education at very strictly disciplined St Philip Neri, Catholic school, on Long Island.  Tremendous education and got whacked a bunch of times by the nuns.

High school was at Northport High on Long Island.  Hated it.  Too crowded, split sessions last two years, felt I got cheated on my education.  Couldn’t wait to go to college.

College at Ohio University, on doorstep of Appalachia.  Started in Journalism, wanted to be a sportswriter-columnist, as I am now on my own website.  Drifted into Radio-Television, where I spent my entire broadcast life.  Wound up doing network football and basketball play-by-play for the Bobcats.   Changed my life.

Career started at small station in Southern Ohio, WLGN-Logan, spent four years there going from night time rock-and-roll disc jockey, to doing all types of high school play-by-play, and college games.  Became Program Director, sold advertising, made lots of money…Was working radio and going full-time to Grad School, burning the candle at both ends.

Went to upstate NY to do hockey, in the Eastern Hockey League, at WIBX-Utica.  Yes, the movie ‘Slapshot’ was real, it was a takeoff of the four years I spent in upstate New York.  The Charlestown Chiefs, were really the Johnstown Jets.  That bus, was our bus, the Mohawk Valley Comets.  I slept in those bunks, drank beers with those guys, and got hooked on hockey in the four years I was in the Iron Lung, or as we called it ‘Brotherhood of the Bus’.  Full disclosure-I fibbed to get the hockey job, had never done it, spent two weeks listening to Dan Kelly-St Louis Blues broadcasts to learn the game-fell in love with it.  Learned so much in News-Talk business.  Guys at my station went on to do Orioles baseball, Warriors basketball, Flyers-Avalanche hockey.

Got chance to go to the big leagues at 3WE-Cleveland, as voice of the Cleveland Crusaders hockey, and to do sports-talk alongside the pioneer of the format, Pete Franklin.  Loved being in the WHA, but it folded the year after I got there.  Got to cover the boyhood teams I loved, Indians-Browns, then followed the Miracle on Richfield, the Cavaliers.  Went to Indianapolis to be the TV voice of the Indianapolis Racers, lots of fun, till they sold Wayne Gretzky to the Edmonton Oilers. But the WHA-NHL was merging, and lots of us got left out.

Wound up pioneering sports-talk radio at WHLO-Akron-Canton, covering all the Cleveland teams, and doing Akron U-Zips games.  Fun time, till station changed format, and we all got wiped out.

Life took me to the Valley of the Sun, KTAR-Phoenix.  They knew me, and my style and my philosophies.  They recruited me hard, sending me brochures from Chamber of Commerce, palm trees-swimming pools, girls.  The mail came in the winter, but they neglected to tell me on May 1st it went to 100-degrees everyday till October.  Learned to love the sunshine.  Did Arizona State Sun Devils football as it grew into a Pac-10 power.  Broadcast Rose Bowl as Devils beat Bo and Michigan.  In 1981, as I went there, ASU got put on probation (Frank Kush scandal), the 1st seed Suns got knocked out of the playoffs, and baseball went out on strike.   I had 61-straight four hour shows on  that station.  Think there were a few topics on the table.  The phone lines lit up like a Christmas Tree.

Phone rings, guy on other end wants to talk to me about becoming Voice of the Chargers, on radio station they were going to take News-Talk-Sports, XTRA-690 out of San Diego.  Tried to explain to me it was Mexican License 50,000-watt blowtorch signal.  Never understood the concept.  Told him I didn’t speak Spanish.  Dummy me-thought they wanted me to do NFL games in Spanish.  Came to San Diego, started sports-talk show on then 690-XTRA Gold.  Wolfman Jack was my lead-in.  Station became a legendary sports-talk station, third in the nation to jump into the format.  Became Voice of the Chargers, designed that 9-hour gameday  broadcast ‘Countdown to Kickoff’…built amazing following on ‘Sportswatch’ afternoon drive talkshow.  Broadcast the Super Bowl. Did Aztecs-USC also as station exploded into popularity.  Chargers left our station, and I promptly wound up as the voice of the Seattle Seahawks, had fun for 3-years before that deal ended. Sadly Clear Channel bought the station, decided to get rid of the format and the Mexican license.  We were moved to LA and eventually had contract bought out as they let everyone go.  Gave them 22-years of my life in the community.  They gave me a pink-slip in a brown envelope…’sign here’…not even a thank you.

Went to Sirius XM to work on ‘Home Plate Channel’ doing weekend shows on satellite, had a blast, met lots of people.  Thought I was moving to NY to do mornings on Chris Russo’s ‘Mad Dog Channel’, but then 2008-Wall Street hit, and we all went under.

Surfaced at Mighty 1090 doing sports-talk, watching the station grow, but as always, management decisions hurt the station, and it went off the air a year ago this week.

Since then, moved back into TV, and had a fun 3-years at CW-6.  They let me do a lot of creative packages, opinion pieces (I always have something to say), met fabulous people.  Yes you can teach old dog-new tricks.  Learned so much, really liked TV.  But then Televisa folded the entire news department, so we all became free agents.

Here is my website, going on 8-years, some 8,000-hits a week.  Do things just to keep my brand out there, like providing content.  Like to write (reverting back to my reason for going to college).  And yes, I know everything about everything, to the chagrin of the ‘haters’ out there.  Love doing a national sportstalk show, love writing about sports.  Still think there should be a place for strong journalism and opinions.

Wouldn’t trade any of it, though I would trade the outcomes of some of the jobs.  Stupid me thinking I could go out on my own terms.  I have made so many friends in broadcasting since that first job as ‘Voice of the Logan Chieftains’ in Southeast Ohio.  Still friends today.

I love sports history, probably have 300-books at home on history of sports, including the old Spaulding-Reach baseball guides that go all the way back to the 1930s…sentimental value more than anything else.

Have loved it, will continue to do it.  Oldest son is priest.  Youngest son flies helicopters Med-Evac.  So proud of them.

Thrills….being on radio, even in small market Appalachia…1st broadcast from Maple Leaf Gardens in hockey…broadcasting the Rose Bowl…an AFC-Championship game win with the Bolts in Pittsburgh (I love gameday)…the Super Bowl (even with Steve Young throwing 6TDs)..my first broadcast from Yuma with the Padres, and my first broadcast from historic Vero Beach-Dodgertown.  Talking to Bob Costas and Jack Buck when they both tried to convince me to come work in St Louis…My first interview with Vin Scully

Disappointments…Some print media guys who thought it was their job to smear me (even got punched out by one)…Wished I had sued two others-but didn’t….Dean Spanos leaving XTRA-690 after all we did for that franchise…..then taking the Chargers out of San Diego after 55-years of loyalty from the fans (will never-ever forgive him).

Not many regrets, except I turned down a lot of job offers at really big stations, KMOX-KNBR-KABC-ESPN, and didn’t take an NHL offer from the Ducks-because I stayed loyal to the Seahawks.  Always wonder ‘what if’.  Loved San Diego, didn’t want to move my kids, was loyal to my stations, wanted to take care of my wife.  End of day, loyalty didn’t mean much, and that’s my only disappointment.

That’s who I am, how I got here, what I do, what I like.

As Robert DiNero told Billy Crystal in the famous movie about the psychiatrist and the mafia……”Analyze This”

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“Baseball-Arizona….Good Idea or Bad Idea?”

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They all want to get on the field, but at what cost.

Day-by-Day, new fragments of information surface as Major League Baseball tries to configure a way around the Corona-Virus-Crisis, to get teams back together, on the field, and playing games.

The latest, the Monday-Tuesday conference calls involving different committees, about the idea to bring all 30-teams together in Arizona.

They would use Chase Field, the Diamondbacks home, and 10-other Cactus League sights, to stage a two week spring training camp, and then open the season, with locked out Stadiums.

There are all kinds of flags being run up the flagpole on this idea.

Assign 3-teams per spring training camps, which all have multiple lockerooms that could be used as headquarters, and as many as 8-different practice fields for workouts at each facility.

MLB would want to open the season on June 1st, and play at least the first month of the season in locked out spring training stadiums.  Just players, staff, baseball officials, the media, and no one else.

The goal, get games in the books in June, with the hope the Virus-Crisis would be gone by July’s hot weather and all teams could return to home stadiums for a July 4th celebration open to the fans.

But for this to happen, lots of things have to happen.  Lots of questions have to be answered.

You cannot request baseball be ‘open for business’ while the rest of the nation sits at home, can you?

Is using medical people to tend to baseball players, more important than doctors, nurses, police, Med-Evac people?  How is that perceived in the nation?

Can you secure a large enough supply of Virus-test kits to make sure you can test everyone in your facilities daily?

Where do you lodge the players-a team hotel, or let them stay in apartments?  Is this for players only, asking them to be separated from their families for at least two months?

Can you secure this ‘Baseball Bubble’ in your facility and in hotels, but what do you do about all the people who have to service a franchise  on a logistical daily basis?

This is more than a 29-man roster, it’s everyone around who helps make a game-day go.

What happens if a player, a trainer, a club exec tests positive during the process.  Do you quarantine a team, what happens to your schedule then?

Do you use the ‘laboratory idea’, including 7-inning games for doubleheaders, and even the electronic strike zone?  Do you cancel video reviews of plays because it involves more personnel?  Do you invalidate the credibility of the actual game if you chop some rules?

Do you think sitting players 6-feet apart in the stands, rather than in the dugout, is actually enforceable?

Where are you going to feed these players?  You going to think players won’t want to go out on their own time away from the yard.?

Do you think limiting mound visits and limiting other rules, helps the game?

All this sounds novel, unique and different.  It matches where we are today as a society.

But the bigger question.

Owners want to make money, players want to be paid, but at what cost?  Are you going back into the discussion ‘risk-vs-reward’ if you start games up?

Is this for the fans, or the owners, or someone’s bank account?

I’d rather wait to the all-clear is sounded by medical and science, not the President, and I’d be prudent.  Let it start July 1st…August 1st…whenever the virus is totally shutdown…so society can start up again without fear of relapse of risk.

For the first time in my baseball life in the media, I don’t care about how this looks in the record book.  You will put an asterisk next to this season.  So who cares if its 140-games…100-games…3-months or not.

These sub-committees discussing this on conference calls, for the first time ever, should understand, the decisions you make are not about baseball, but society too.

The games financial health has been hurt.  American’s health is now paramount.  Batting averages, payrolls, the standings and scoreboards,  have been superceeded by death counts, body bags, morgues and mass burials.

Getting back not ehe field should less important than America getting finally healthy.

Baseball owners owe that to society first and then their fans too.

Baseball in Arizona, right now.  Bad idea.

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“NFL–No Season Yet–Lots of Movies”

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The lockdown continues across our country and that means more time watching movies.

Last week I walked you thru the Baseball Movie Vault.  Today, a look at what football has brought to the movie screen, with my final four included at the top of the list.

1)..REMEMBER THE TITANS…Denzel Washington’s emotional coaching job in Arlington, Virginia in the beginning of high school integration…bringing a broken community and a team together…the famous quote enroute to an undefeated season against racist coaches…”You make them remember the day they played the Titans.”

2)..THE BLIND SIDE…True story of Michael Oher’s rise from homelessness-poverty to becoming an honor student at Ole Miss and a lot round pick of the Baltimore Ravens…A great cross section of storylines about the inner city, the elite rich of Memphis, racism, the NCAA.  Great acting by Sandra Bullock from start to finish made this movie a rage.

3)..FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS…Billy Bob Thornton stars as a possessed high school football coach in the possessed state of Texas, with people possessed by winning.  How good was it?  From book, the movie, to TV series…that still endures.

4)..BRIAN’S SONG…The story of RB-Brian Picollo’s fight against leukemia and the friendship shown by Gayle Sayers in the Chicago Bears camp…Well done for a 1970s equal to Love Story.

5)..WE ARE MARSHALL…I am biased because I covered the plane crash story that wiped out the Marshall football team in West Virginia…Matthew McGonaughey’s tremendous acting weaves the story of the fabric of the Huntington, West Virginia town, it loss, it’s rebirth.  I cried the first time I watched it.

6)..DRAFT DAY…Had to be another sports movie with Kevin Costner in it-leading the dysfunctional Cleveland Browns to glory on the day of the NFL draft.

7)..JERRY MC GUIRE….”Show Me the Money”….great acting…great fiction…but lots of fun.

8)..RUDY…For the subway alums of the Fighting Irish, a story for a lifetime about a college walk-on who makes the Notre Dame team against every odd possible.

9)..ALL THE RIGHT MOVES…Tom Cruise debut in a sports movie as the young Western Pennsylvania recruit who does not want a life in the steel mills.  Made me feel like I was back in Aliquippa.

10)..NORTH DALLAS 40….Makes the list because it was one of the first to take an internal look at franchises, coaches, teams, personalities and the people of pro football.

Honorable Mention:

LONGEST YARD…Pick either the Burt Reynolds original or the Adam Sander comedy followup.

ANY GIVEN SUNDAY…Al Pacino’s portrayal of a fading coach, his family, politics, players and the big game.

REPLACEMENTS…Gene Hackman was a better coach-actor in ‘Hoosiers’ but his conflicts with Keanu Reeves made good theatre.

KNUTE ROCKNE…From the black and white era, Ronald Reagan, ‘Win one for the Gipper’.

IRON MAJOR…The true story of Coach Frank Cavanaugh, World War I veteran coming home to coach Boston College after being wounded in the Great War.  Pat O’Brien superb acting job in the 1940s.

LEATHERHEADS….What football used to look like in the 1920’s.  Quite a combo acting job George Clooney-Renee Zellwegger.

THE EXPRESS…It was the Ernie Davis story of life at Syracuse University and his derailed career with the Cleveland Browns.  Movie had potential but was flimsy on content and legitimacy.

THE WATERBOY…If you like Adam Sandler, then you will like this.

VARSITY BLUES…Again, it’s about all things Texas high school football and you know that is important everywhere in the Lone Star State.  Players-vs-overwhelming coach.

BLACK SUNDAY….A terrorist threat at a Super Bowl Sunday game…Likely the NFL’s worst ever fears in what global terrorism has turned into.

Pick one, you’ll like them all.  You have time to watch them right now too.

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