Instrumental Invasion, 3/2/22: Show 100! March 3, 2022
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Basketball, Film, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio, Rock, Sports, Video.add a comment
The March 2 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was the 100th Wednesday night show! It was recorded on January 10 (four segments) and 11 (two segments). A pickup was recorded on the 12th.
The playlist was created on January 8, annotated on the 9th, and the script was drafted on the 10th before recording.
With the LIU Sharks men’s basketball team in the NEC (Northeast Conference) tournament, I had to prepare for the possibility of the show getting bumped back a week. Not only would that mean realignment of the six shows that followed, but I had to redub any references to March 2 in the 100th show. Here’s a compilation of those dubs:
My worries were for nothing and those dubs went unused. Yes, the Sharks’ quarterfinal against Sacred Heart University was at 7:00, but I was told the show would be joined in progress after coverage concluded. However, listening to the stream around 7:30 and 8:00, I noticed The Rock Show was running as scheduled. Apparently, the game – which the Sharks won – wasn’t going to be streamed. The 100th Instrumental Invasion aired in its entirety, as you’ll hear (scoped) below. (7:15 PM UPDATE: The game was not broadcast because of a telecommunications issue which should be resolved by Saturday for the semifinal game against Wagner College.) (3/6 UPDATE: They lost.)
The format for this milestone show – as I said on the air, I couldn’t have imagined this when I volunteered to record shows to fill airtime – is the same as the one last March 24. This was only the second show without a David Benoit song, but there was plenty of Jeff Lorber to go around.
Starting with this show, I don’t say “on 88.1 FM and WCWP.org” at the top of hour 2. The legal ID has run without fail every week but the first, so it’s unnecessarily redundant. It took me 99 shows to figure that out, including the shows where I said “on WCWP Brookville.”
Three songs were played for the second time as they were singles when making the playlist (first time in parentheses):
- “People Power” by Al DeGregoris (September 16, 2020 [show accidentally replayed the following week])
- “Lunchbox” by Marion Meadows (June 30, 2021)
- “March Forth” by Bill Heller (October 20, 2021)
I had the reverb shout for “People Power” in mind since hearing the song on SiriusXM’s Watercolors. I’d been meaning to play “Lunchbox” for a few weeks, but kept forgetting to include it. I learned “March Forth” would be the next single from Passage through Bill himself.
I was inspired to play the Jeff Lorber Fusion cover of “King Kong” after seeing Zappa, the Frank Zappa documentary mostly culled from his personal archives, on Hulu on Christmas Eve. I knew that Jean-Luc Ponty was part of The Mothers of Invention and post-Mothers ensembles, but I was surprised how many others were associated with Zappa, including one other performer on the JLF cover: Vinnie Colaiuta. Still another Zappa alumnus to play on the cover was Ed Mann.
I mentioned after “Sooki Sooki” by Gerald Albright that I saw his daughter Selina, who sang background vocals, at the Tilles Center in December 2017 as part of Dave Koz‘s 20th Anniversary Christmas Tour. Here’s a recap. Tilles is a short walk from WCWP’s Abrams Communications Building.
The last talk break was a pain to record because there was too much to say and too little time. It’s just as well since Hudson‘s cover of “Wait Until Tomorrow” started slowly fading out in its last minute. Plus, I didn’t get any sleep the night before, an occasional nuisance.
Click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below:
As you’ll hear, I included promos for WCWP-FM 57th anniversary programming to air before my show on March 16.
Instrumental Invasion, 11/17/21: 40th Birthday Special! November 18, 2021
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Basketball, Football, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, News, Personal, Radio, Sports, Technology, TV.add a comment
The November 17 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded one hour per day on September 29 and 30. I would have started recording on the 28th, but deferred to the next day due to insomnia the night before. Pickups were recorded on October 21 while remixing segments to 18:30 in length. (The first segment is still 18:40.)
The playlist was created and annotated, and the script was drafted all on September 27.
The format for this week would have been used in my Homecoming Weekend prerecord if I was also granted a live show. Instead, it fit right in on my 40th birthday. I had a great birthday, by the way, and will have a separate recap post at a later date.
I didn’t realize how many males named Kim were in the show until recording began. It was a fun running gag. I was also surprised to learn that Dave Grusin wasn’t the one playing George Gershwin‘s “That Certain Feeling” at the start of his The Gershwin Collection album. It was a player piano playing a roll punched by George himself! Also, the Bryant Reeves “Big Country” reference tied in nicely with a Wayman Tisdale song to follow. As noted, they played basketball at rival colleges.
I made sure to play “Remember When” by Dan Siegel since Ed Alton played bass on it. That way, I could refer to Head of the Class, a show Ed composed for, which I rediscovered on HBO Max two weeks before recording. The reboot premiered earlier this month. (5/13/22 UPDATE: It was canceled in December.)
My use of the phrase “knock on wood if you’re with me” was an homage to (at the time of recording) Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden. About a week after recording, unflattering e-mails from Gruden’s past were leaked to the public, which led him to resign.
In case you missed it, this was the first show without a David Benoit song. Don’t worry. He’ll be back next week.
Click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below:
Pat Contri, Ultimate Nintendo: Guide to the SNES Library December 2, 2019
Posted by Mike C. in Baseball, Basketball, Books, Education, Football, Internet, Media, Radio, Sports, Technology, TV, Video, Video Games.Tags: guide to the nes library, guide to the snes library, pat contri, pat the nes punk, ultimate nintendo
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I photographed my copy of Guide to the SNES Library shortly after completing it Sunday
Two months and one day after completing Pat Contri‘s Ultimate Nintendo: Guide to the NES Library – which I reviewed here – my pre-order copy of the special edition of his Guide to the SNES Library arrived on my front porch.
Once again, the guide is as big as an educational textbook. Now that I think of it, this book is educational. There’s much to learn about the Super Nintendo Entertainment System within its 445 pages (plus a few pages listing Kickstarter contributors).
When I tweeted on Sunday that I finished reading, Pat wondered what my muscle gains were, considering the book’s heft. I replied thusly:
I was late in boarding the NES bandwagon, not getting a console until February 1990, over four years after its initial release in the New York Metropolitan Area. The Super NES, released on August 23, 1991, is a different story. Besides commercials, my first exposure to the console came at my friend Jessie’s house. I regularly played Super Mario World and F-Zero on her projection TV as 1991 gave way to ’92. After saving up part of the cost, my parents got a console for me and my sister Lauren in late January. In the months that followed, I spent many hours playing games, especially the aforementioned Super Mario World, Super Mario Kart (an 11th birthday present), and Mario Paint. I discovered all of Super Mario World’s exits and repeatedly watched the end credits. I would get emotional at the scene with the Yoshi eggs hatching. I successfully beat all cups in Super Mario Kart in all cc modes, and I loved the Rainbow Road theme. And as a weather buff, I had fun making radar loops with Mario Paint’s animation feature.
In nearly 28 years, I’ve amassed a collection of 46 Super Nintendo games. Reading this guide inspired me to add to that collection, at least somewhat.
Guide to the SNES Library chronicles all games released in North America and PAL territories in alphanumerical order, from 3 Ninjas Kick Back and The 7th Saga to Zool and Zoop. (Yes, those are their names.)
Pat Contri was not alone in reviewing the games. Returning from Guide to the NES Library are Asheton “Ashi” Phinney (I loved his alliteration, puns, and rhymes), Jim Evans, and Karen Niemla. The new recruits are Daniel Anderson, Daniel Greenberg, Dagan Moriarty, Kyh Yang, Alli Flanagan (who, like Pat, appeared in The Video Game Years), Pete Skerritt, and Mike Vito. (12/14 UPDATE: Dagan, Kyh, and Pete also wrote reviews for the third edition of the NES guide.) Visual effects artist Yoshi Vu provided cart and hardware images, and additional cover art. The foreword was written by Jirard Khalil, a.k.a. The Completionist.
As with Guide to the NES Library, most pages in Guide to the SNES Library are devoted to two games. An image from one of the games is blurred in the background with two images from each game appearing above and below the review. The top of the page shows the games’ cartridge designs and lists their genre, release date, developer, publisher, number of players, special features, availability during the SNES’s life (from “very common” to “extremely rare”), and star rating. There are 10 ratings that range from half a star (one small star, “poor”) to 2 1/2 stars (two big stars and one small star, “average”) to 5 stars (five big stars, “classic”). Reviews can take up anywhere from a fifth of the page to a third of it, followed by the reviewers’ “reflections.” Reviewers are identified by their initials (i.e. PC, PS, AP, DG).
Eleven landmark titles with five-star ratings got full page reviews, including EarthBound, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Super Mario World and its sequel, and Super Metroid. Those reviews take up more space on the page than regular half-page reviews. I only own four of the games out of those eleven, and only two that I listed here. Some five-star games only got half a page, such as Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest, Super Street Fighter II, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time. I have two of those, along with one that I didn’t mention. You’ll have to buy the book to find out which other five-star games were only on half a page and which got the full page treatment.
The tone of game reviews ranged from clinical to critical, but not in your face or obnoxious. I’m just glad the SNES versions of Tetris 2 and Yoshi’s Cookie weren’t treated as harshly. As I mentioned earlier, I currently have 46 SNES games, and I plan on buying some of the easier-to-obtain games in the book with ratings of 4, 4 1/2, or 5 stars to add to the collection. If they cost over $100, forget it. No Pocky & Rocky for me.
There were plenty of sports games released for the Super Nintendo that I read about. At the moment, I only have four: NBA Hangtime (which I also have on the Genesis and Nintendo 64), NBA Jam: Tournament Edition, True Golf Classics: Pebble Beach Golf Links and Super Bases Loaded. While reading about Midway games like NBA Jam, I learned who that the voice of most of those games was Tim Kitzrow. Besides NBA Jam, Tim also voiced the NFL Blitz series, which I enjoyed on the N64. He included video of an appearance on FOX Sports West on his website:
NBA Hangtime, Midway’s successor to NBA Jam, was voiced by longtime Bulls TV play-by-play announcer Neil Funk, who is retiring at the end of this season. Other TV announcers and analysts to lend their voices to sports games on the Super Nintendo are Al Michaels, Jack Buck, Pat Summerall, and of course, John Madden, to name a few.
After 400 pages of North American and PAL releases, there are chapters on special and promo cartridges, test cartridges, select games from the Japanese Super Famicom library, a look at some unreleased games (by Evan Gowan of SNES Central), and the SNES console and its accessories.
Guide to the SNES Library concludes with supplemental articles. Three of the articles were based on the authors’ YouTube videos. James Rolfe‘s “The Console Wars: SNES vs. Sega Genesis” was taken from a two-part video in 2012, which was combined into one part on the Cinemassacre Plays subchannel:
James and Pat Contri’s friendship dates back to their early days on YouTube. They’ve occasionally collaborated on videos. In fact, their latest went up on Saturday night:
Kelsey Lewin‘s supplemental article was on the Life Fitness LifeCycle Exertainment Bike, based on her video from last year:
In addition to her YouTube channel, Kelsey is the co-owner with her husband Cody of Pink Gorilla Games and co-director with Frank Cifaldi of The Video Game History Foundation. For you sports fans, Kelsey’s father is play-by-play announcer Josh Lewin. You may know him from his stints with the Detroit Tigers and Texas Rangers on TV, and the New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, San Diego Chargers, and UCLA Bruins football and men’s basketball on radio. Those and other credits can be found here.
And speaking of sports, the third article based on a video was Norman Caruso‘s Gaming Historian 2016 episode on Nintendo‘s ownership of the Seattle Mariners, which he posted as Nintendo was selling most of their shares. The episode had periodic quote readings by YouTubers, and Pat read a quote – in a sinister tone – from Fay Vincent, commissioner of Major League Baseball at the time of Nintendo’s purchase. Unfortunately, MLB forced the removal of the video, so I can’t embed it here.
As for the rest of the supplemental articles, Chris Kohler’s entry on the SNES CD-ROM originally appeared on Kotaku last September. Roger Barr, Andre Meadows, and Karen Niemla supplied original articles. It’s worth reading each article, especially the ones based on videos so you can see differences in text.
It took 19 days to read 445 pages of Ultimate Nintendo: Guide to the SNES Library. Once again, I kept a journal of how many pages I read per day. Dividing 445 by 19, I averaged about 24 pages a day. I mostly imagined my own voice in my head as I read the reviews, but I occasionally thought of certain public figures narrating them. I had Pat’s voice in mind when I read his reviews.
Guide to the SNES Library was another great read! Thanks to Pat Contri and his fellow reviewers Ashi Phinney, Daniel Anderson, Daniel Greenberg, Kyh Yang, Karen Niemla, Alli Flanagan, Jim Evans, Dagan Moriarty, Pete Skerritt, and Mike Vito.
For those that grew up with the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, are collecting for it, or just want to learn about it, this book is a must. There are eight versions available for purchase ranging from $59.99 to $99.99, or $29.99 for just the digital download. I have the $79.99 special edition, but I recommend the physical/digital combo at $99.99. I should have bought that in the first place, but I didn’t mind paying an extra $10 yesterday for the digital download and paying the same price to download the NES guide. Having the books physically and digitally is the ultimate experience.
There will eventually be an Ultimate SNES Game Guide Collecting app for iOS and Android. I will update this post when it’s available.
12/12/20 UPDATE: A year has passed and there’s no app. Forget what I said.
Mid-season thoughts July 9, 2017
Posted by Mike C. in Baseball, Basketball, Hockey, Personal.add a comment
The first half of the 2017 Major League Baseball season ends today. I have watched very little of it. Considering the way the New York Mets, my favorite team, have performed, that’s a good thing. As I’ve told my Facebook friends, ignorance is bliss.
As for Tuesday’s All-Star Game in Miami, I expect the American League to win yet again. Thankfully, though, this will be the first time in 15 years that the winner doesn’t get home field advantage in the World Series. Starting this season, home field goes to the league champion with the better record, finally putting MLB on par with the NBA and NHL.
This was originally a Facebook post, but I revised it for the website.
Spyro Gyra at the Blue Note May 28, 2016
Posted by Mike C. in Basketball, Jazz, Music, Personal, Photography, Sports, Travel.2 comments
I was back at Blue Note on Thursday night to see Spyro Gyra‘s 8:00 show. This is a recurring expression in these recaps, but it was Spyro Gyra’s third night of a six-night engagement at the famous jazz club in Greenwich Village. It was also the first time I’d seen the band in nearly three years. This was the first time seeing them on land since June 2007 at the YMCA Boulton Center in Bay Shore.
My original plan on Thursday afternoon was to take the 4:27 westbound train from LIRR’s Wantagh Station (currently in the first phase of renovations) to Penn Station. But I was bored at home, so I left the house an hour and a half early. I walked 20 minutes to the train station and boarded the 3:09 train. I use a backpack, so I must have looked like a high school student to some fellow adults I passed. (Wantagh High School lets out at 2:19.) Wantagh Elementary School had a fire drill as I walked past it on Beech Street. I was glad to hear it was a whooping siren and buzzer instead of a ding-ding-ding bell. That’s why I dreaded fire drills as a kid. I don’t like surprises and I like those big bells even less.
The train ride was longer than scheduled due to a delay at Jamaica, but I still got to Penn Station within an hour of boarding. My girlfriend took Metro-North and the S and 1 trains, and we met at Penn 15 minutes after I arrived. We then took the A train to West Fourth Street. We walked up the stairs at West Third and killed time by watching basketball games at the West Fourth Street Courts. At 5:20, we decided walk up the block to Blue Note and wait for the doors to open. There was no line at first, but about 15 minutes, a line began to form.
Shortly after 6:00, the doors opened and my girlfriend and I chose our usual table at center stage. Our seats were the last before the stage.
Through dinner and dessert, 8:00 came, Spyro Gyra walked on stage, and the show began.
As he has been for all 40 years, Jay Beckenstein was on saxophone. He mostly played alto:
…but was briefly on soprano:
Tom Schuman, also with the band for all 40 years, played keyboards:
Julio Fernandez, with the band for 29 of the last 31 years, was on guitar:
Scott Ambush, in his 25th year, was on bass:
…and newcomer Lionel Cordew on drums:
Each night’s shows were at 8:00 and 10:30. Here is the set list from Thursday’s 8:00 show:
1. Catching the Sun
Originally heard on: Catching the Sun, 1980
2. Stolen Moments (Oliver Nelson cover)
3. Havana Moonlight
Originally heard on: Got the Magic, 1999
4. Morning Dance
Originally heard on: Morning Dance, 1979; Access All Areas, 1984; Road Scholars, 1998
5. Cape Town Love
Originally heard on: Original Cinema, 2003
6. Harbor Nights
Originally heard on: Incognito, 1982; Access All Areas, 1984
7. Good to Go-Go
Originally heard on: Good to Go-Go, 2007
8. Funkyard Dog
Originally heard on: Good to Go-Go, 2007
We’ve reached the part of the recap with various shots of each musician. We start with Jay Beckenstein:
Playing alto and soprano simultaneously on “Funkyard Dog”:
Tom Schuman:
Julio Fernandez:
Julio’s vocal intro to “Havana Moonlight”:
Julio was born in Havana.
Scott Ambush:
Lionel Cordew’s drum solo before “Funkyard Dog”:
Scott and Tom:
Julio and Lionel:
Scott, Jay, and Tom:
My girlfriend and I had a wonderful time. We couldn’t have asked for a better show. I can only imagine what the 10:30 crowd saw.
Spyro Gyra are still at Blue Note tonight and tomorrow night. So, if you haven’t seen them yet and you’re free either night, come on down to the Village and see them live.
Audiobooking December 2, 2014
Posted by Mike C. in Audio, Audiobooks, Baseball, Basketball, Broadway, Comedy, Commentary, Film, Health, Media, News, Personal, Politics, Radio, Sports, Theatre, TV.add a comment
While I may have indefinitely suspended photo album picture scanning, one constant since June has been audiobooks. What I’ve usually done is listen to a whole chapter while working out in the morning or on my portable elliptical machine in the afternoon. I only buy nonfiction and prefer that they are read by the author. I want to hear their words in their voice, not someone else’s, even if the author’s delivery is subpar.
This isn’t the first time I’ve listened to audiobooks. That goes back to a road trip with my parents and sister in January 1997, as we drove back from Florida. To show you how long ago that was, the audiobook was on cassettes. That book, The Hobbit, was the only time I’ve listened to fiction. It’s been all nonfiction since.
Between December 1997 – when I listened to The Big Show: A Tribute to ESPN’s SportsCenter – and June 2014, I would get an audiobook here and there, but I wasn’t a regular buyer. I didn’t exercise in the morning, either. That began in late March. It’s always best to get tough tasks out of the way early because your willpower drops as the day progresses. It helps to have something interesting to listen to while you’re working out, not something aggravating like politics and sports debate and discussion.
With all that in mind, I’ve listened to the following audiobooks, on CD or through Audible, since June:
- President Me: The America That’s In My Head by Adam Carolla (via CD) – an outline of all the things Adam would do to improve the United States if he were president
- Not Quite the Classics by Colin Mochrie (via Audible) – improvised stories based on the first and last lines of select novels and poems
- I’ll Be Back Right After This: My Memoir by Pat O’Brien (via Audible) – Pat’s memoir chronicled his early life, television career, and struggle with addiction. Knock on wood, Pat has been sober for six years and counting.
- Killing Patton: The Strange Death of World War II’s Most Audacious General by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard (via CD) – This is the latest in Bill and Martin’s “Killing” series that factually recounts the events of historical figures leading up to their tragic deaths. Their previous books focused on Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, and Jesus of Nazareth, respectively.
- Still Foolin’ ‘Em: Where I’ve Been, Where I’m Going, and Where the Hell Are My Keys? by Billy Crystal (via Audible) – Billy’s memoir ran the gamut of emotions, from funny to heartbreaking, recalling major events in each decade of his life as of publication last year. I learned things I never knew and recalled fond memories of what I already knew. The only downside to the book is that Billy peppered his liberal ideology throughout it, outlining his liberal points of view and maligning right-leaning personalities and media. I’m not a lockstep conservative, but I do tend to take criticism of or jokes about people, places, and things that I like personally. But I didn’t let that completely ruin the listening experience.
- Shatner Rules: Your Guide to Understanding the Shatnerverse and the World at Large by William Shatner with Chris Regan (via CD) – When I was searching for the next audiobook to listen to, as Still Foolin’ ‘Em was winding down, I recalled William Shatner had a memoir out called Up Till Now: The Autobiography. But then I noticed that Shatner Rules had come out later than Up Till Now. So, I opted for Shatner Rules instead. The big message I took from the book was to say “yes” to as many things as possible. “‘No’ closes doors,” William said. “‘Yes’ kicks them wide open.” Shatner briefly drifted into politics, too, but the environmental kind. His doomsday scenarios were frightening. I didn’t let that completely ruin the listening experience. (ding) Rule: I highly recommend Shatner Rules as either the written book or spoken audiobook.
- Brief Encounters: Conversations, Magic Moments, and Assorted Hijinks by Dick Cavett (via Audible) – It was here that I did let politics completely ruin the listening experience. This is not a memoir. It is a compilation of Dick’s columns at The New York Times’ Opiniator blog. That structure is similar to that for Things That Matter, a compilation of Charles Krauthammer’s columns over his 30-year career to date. Charles is Dick’s polar opposite. But I didn’t know any of that until my second day of listening. And it was this rant of a column that Dick read for Brief Encounters – combined with frustration that the book was not what I expected – that led me to request a refund from Audible. Thankfully, they granted it. I did learn a few things, though, about Dick’s days writing for The Tonight Show. I also learned that Arthur Godfrey preferred to address only one member of the listening or viewing audience (“you”), not the entire audience (“everybody”).
- Scribe: My Life in Sports by Bob Ryan (via Audible) – I bought this in place of Brief Encounters. I’ve been listening for nearly a week and I’m enjoying it.
There will be more audiobooks to come in the weeks ahead as I continue to try to keep myself in shape.
June 17, 1994 June 17, 2014
Posted by Mike C. in Basketball, Education, Golf, Hockey, Media, News, Personal, Sports, TV, Video.add a comment
I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the white Bronco in the room (as opposed to an elephant). Many things occurred 20 years ago today, as the June 17, 1994 ESPN 30 for 30 film – which is not affiliated with this post – documented:
- The New York Rangers’ ticker tape parade along the Canyon of Heroes and ceremony at New York City Hall, three nights after winning the Stanley Cup
- Arnold Palmer’s last round at a U.S. Open, held that year at Oakmont Country Club (the last U.S. Open carried by ABC; covered that day by ESPN)
- Game 5 of the 1994 NBA Finals, in which the New York Knicks defeated the Houston Rockets at Madison Square Garden to take a 3-2 series lead (they went on to lose the last two games in Houston)
-
O.J. Simpson and Al Cowlings in a slow-speed police chase in O.J.’s white Ford Bronco
Also that day was:
5. One final exam for me at Wantagh Middle School (I’m not sure what subject; probably Social Studies)
For more on #4, I refer to video of ABC News’ coverage of the chase and a retrospective report from Fox News Channel’s Shepard Smith Reporting (dead link as of 6/17/19).
This concludes my obligatory acknowledgement.
NFL Network coming to Cablevision!!! August 16, 2012
Posted by Mike C. in Baseball, Basketball, Football, Media, News, Personal, Radio, Sports, TV.add a comment
Effective tomorrow, NFL Network and NFL RedZone will be added to Cablevision’s lineup. Via NFL.com:
BETHPAGE, NY and NEW YORK, NY — August 16, 2012 – NFL Network and Cablevision (NYSE: CVC), the largest TV provider in the nation’s top media market, announced today that they have reached a multi-year agreement for carriage of NFL Network and the NFL RedZone channel.
NFL Network will make its debut in Cablevision homes beginning Friday. NFL Network will be available on channel 150 in both standard-definition and HD for customers who subscribe to iO Preferred, iO Silver, iO Gold or the iO Sports & Entertainment Pak. NFL RedZone, which airs on Sundays throughout the regular season, will be offered in both standard-definition and HD on channel 151 as part of the iO Sports & Entertainment Pak, which is now included in the new iO Gold package, which was launched last spring. …
Cablevision customers like myself have been waiting for this day since the network launched nearly a decade ago. I learned of this from Steve Somers on WFAN twenty minutes before publishing this post.
NFL Network will round out a trio of channels devoted to professional sports leagues. iO (Interactive Optimum) channel 148 is NBA TV and 149 is MLB Network.
Thank you very much, Cablevision.
8/18 UPDATE: Here is the Steve Somers monologue that tipped me off to NFL Network’s arrival on Cablevision. After talking about the Mets and Yankees results, he got to the big deal at the 9:02 mark. My transcript (listen along):
As you have heard [earlier in the day on WFAN], Cablevision has taken on the NFL Network, giving the face of the NFL Network, Rich Eisen, the opportunity to extol the virtues of the cable industry in general, and the NFL Network in particular, as we heard on his live infomercial, apparently sponsoring Joe and Evan this afternoon. Rich will also appear with Joe and Evan sometime soon, where we will actually hear from him discussing football! …
Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts filled in for Mike Francesa all this week.
Will Donato & Elan Trotman at Houndstooth recap March 12, 2012
Posted by Mike C. in Basketball, Hockey, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Sports, Travel, TV, Video.add a comment
Saturday night, to coin a borrow a previously used term, was saxtacular! Saxophonists Will Donato and Elan Trotman performed at Houndstooth Pub, a few blocks north of Penn Station. It was the first time I’d seen Will in concert, but the second for Elan, who I saw last April with Brian Simpson.
But before taking the LIRR to Penn Station and walking those few blocks to Houndstooth, something noteworthy occurred in my neighborhood and another thing in my family. It was my mother Lisa’s birthday. My presents to her were two scratch-off lottery tickets, she won $2 with each, and a Chicago CD. As for the noteworthy neighborhood event, a curbside tree by my neighbor’s house was taken down by a crew from what I assume was the Town of Hempstead. They also removed a tree a block north and west away on Thursday.
Here are two before vidcaps. This one is from February 5, 1995:
And from November 11, 2011:
The next three are after pictures that I took before going to Wantagh’s LIRR station:
I suppose the next step is to redo the sidewalk.
With that business out of the way, on to the show at Houndstooth.
Backing Will and Elan up were Jay Rowe on keyboards:
Kenny Harris on bass:
And Chris Marshak, brother of guitarist Matt Marshak, on drums:
I was on hand for the first set. Elan went first. Here’s what he played:
Elan Trotman:
1. Lil’ Too Late
2. 100 Degrees
3. Heaven in Your Eyes
4. Last Dance
Jay’s second solo on “Heaven in Your Eyes”:
Elan made way for Will Donato:
Will Donato:
5. New Life
6. I’ll Be Around
7. Jaywalking
8. Always You
9. Funkability
Guitarist JJ Sansaverino joined the band for Will’s portion of the set, seen here during his “New Life” solo:
Will went into the audience multiple times:
“Jaywalking” began with a bass solo by Kenny Harris:
And he had a simple “it’s you” vocal on “Always You”:
That song also had a wild guitar solo by JJ:
Back into the audience during “Funkability”:
He even went behind the bar!:
After “Funkability,” the set was complete.
And what a wild set it was! Elan was exciting and Will was lively! I can only imagine how much wilder the second set must have been. Before I left, I got to meet Elan and Will in person for the first time. Elan told me he liked my Brian Simpson show recap and I thanked him for the compliment.
On the way back to Penn Station, I remembered that the championship game for the Big East Tournament was taking place that night at Madison Square Garden. Before walking into Penn, I took a picture of the tournament’s banner:
In the championship game, the Louisville Cardinals defeated the Cincinnati Bearcats 50-44. About twelve hours later on the same basketball court, the Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers squared off. Unfortunately, the Sixers won. After the game, the court was taken apart and the hockey rink was set up as the Rangers faced the Islanders a few hours later. The Rangers won 4-3 on a Marion Gaborik goal with six seconds left in overtime.
Back on Saturday night, the 10:45 Babylon-bound train was a few minutes late, but I made it back to Wantagh on time.
Thanks to Will, Elan, Jay, Kenny, Chris, JJ, Steve Butler, and Ed Tankus for another great night at Houndstooth.
11:47 PM UPDATE: After posting this recap and linking to it on Facebook, Elan had this to say:
Nice job – yet again. Really nice work.
Thank you again, Elan. I’m very glad you liked it.
I also got this from Will:
Mike I really enjoyed your amazing blog. The photos really captured the night and I am honored to be reviewed with such passion and care!
Thank you, too, Will.
MikeChimeri.com 
Audiobooking 2: Listen Up! November 12, 2015
Posted by Mike C. in Audio, Audiobooks, Basketball, Blu-ray, Christmas, Comedy, Commentary, DVD, Film, News, Personal, Politics, Sports, TV, Video.add a comment
Early last December, I listed all the audiobooks I had listened to while working out between June and the day I wrote the post. I said “there [would] be more audiobooks to come in the weeks ahead.” This follow-up post will list those books, all of which I listened to on Audible.
Since my misadventure with Dick Cavett’s left-leaning
bookcollection of New York Times blog posts, I’ve only listened to apolitical or right-leaning audiobooks.From last December to now, here is what has guided me through workouts, bedtime, and boredom:
allmost episodes of Wings on DVD for seven weeks. All By My Selves took up half of January. It was written back in 2010 and chronicles Jeff’s life from birth to meeting his now-wife Audrey, and all my favorite characters: Walter, Peanut, Achmed, Jose, and Bubba J. For the record, I’ve pre-ordered Unhinged in Hollywood on Blu-ray. It comes out next Tuesday, my 34th birthday.I have many more audiobooks I plan on listening to between now and the next post, whenever that will come. Just today, I started Mort Kondracke and Fred Barnes’ book on Jack Kemp. It’s called Jack Kemp: The Bleeding-Heart Conservative Who Changed America. After that, I’ll move on to the another Rush Revere book: Rush Revere and the Star-Spangled Banner. Then, a series of autobiographies should keep me occupied through the summer. Until next time…