My Sandy experience November 10, 2012
Posted by Mike C. in Audiobooks, DVD, Health, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, News, Personal, Photography, Radio, Sports, Travel, TV, Weather.5 comments
The nightmare known as Hurricane (or Superstorm) Sandy was thrust upon my attention on the afternoon of Wednesday, October 24, hours before seeing pianist David Benoit perform at the Iridium Jazz Club. The first report I read about the storm had a few scenarios, which included turning east out to sea and taking a sharp westerly turn toward the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast U.S, combining with an approaching cold front. By the second report, the latter scenario became more likely. With each passing report, until it made landfall in South New Jersey on the evening of October 29, more and more models showed that worst case scenario. And with each passing report, I grew more and more paranoid and fearful of what would happen.
Sandy was so large that its effects were first felt through cloud cover on Saturday, October 27. The following day, October 28, showers and minor wind gusts began. I couldn’t stand hearing the wind plowing into the windows and wall from my Wantagh home’s east-facing bedroom. So, I slept in the basement that night.
When I woke up early on October 29, the worst still hadn’t arrived, but the wind was still strong, around 30 miles per hour with gusts in the 50s. Somehow, the power did not go out during the morning. By 1:30 PM, the power began to flicker off and on, and at 1:45, the power went out to stay and wouldn’t return until nine days later. Back in the basement, as the wind continued to howl upstairs, now approaching sustained winds of 45 mph with gusts to 60, I used my Sennheiser studio headphones to listen to audiobooks on my CD-playing Walkman. But spoken words were unable to completely drown out the sound of wind. So, rather than waste battery power on my iPod, I used the Walkman, which runs on AA batteries, to listen to music. I took two pairs of CDs that I used for my two recent WCWP Homecoming Weekend shows and a dozen albums. When I wasn’t listening to news radio for the latest on Sandy, or sports radio to forget about Sandy, I was listening to my CDs.
My parents, sister, and I were prepared with plenty of bottled water, bags of food, canned goods, AA batteries, C batteries, D batteries, and a generator. We didn’t use the generator until after the height of Sandy, which came around 8PM, shortly after it transitioned to a post-tropical cyclone. While the worst winds pummeled the house, gusting as high as 85 mph, we congregated in the living room where an extension cord ran from the generator in the backyard to the middle of the room. There, I plugged in a power strip and we plugged in a table lamp for light, and all our rechargeable electronics. For a time, we watched DVDs on my sister’s laptop. After a couple of hours, my dad turned off the generator and we all went to sleep. I returned to the basement for that.
Outside of a tree falling in my next-block neighbor’s back yard, two shingles falling off our roof, a toppled-over garbage pail on the side of the house, and branches and leaves on the grass, I was clueless about the extent of damage in my area. But a tree fell a block east of our house, which is why our power went out, and a few trees fell one block north and west.
At around 11AM on October 30, I walked around the exterior of my house to take aftermath pictures.
I began at my front patio, worked my way around the house, and then to the curb:
The pails on the west side of the house:
I fixed the pail that blew over about half an hour before taking pictures.
The container that covered the gas cans for generator fuel blew off:
When the power strip wasn’t connected to the extension cord, either the microwave or coffee maker were plugged in.
I turned this table upside down on Sunday and removed the tiles, stacking them on the ground near the wall:
The tile-less table was moved slightly by the high winds.
There had been a tree in the center of this empty space:
Part of it fell into our back yard:
Or it may have been from this tree which fell at around 6:00 the night before:
I was in the basement listening to a CD on my Walkman and could hear my dad in the kitchen saying “Tree down!”
You can barely see a tree down up the road to the east:
To the west, a utility poll was slanted (not visible in pic):
A week later, my sister took the following pictures on our street from east to west:
As bad as things looked on our block, the absolute worst hit areas were waterfront communities. Main floors and basements were destroyed. House and building fires that started after flooding began couldn’t be contained and had to burn out. Knowing all this gave me survivor guilt. I felt guilty that my house was hardly damaged and all I lost was power, while my friends in places like South Freeport, Baldwin Harbor, Island Park, Long Beach, Lido Beach, and Massapequa lost everything that wasn’t on the second floor or higher. The Rockaways and Staten Island were hit just as hard.
An example of how hard Freeport was hit can be seen in this video of damage to the Nautical Mile (Woodcleft Avenue), via The Weekly Freeporter YouTube channel:
Guilt aside, I developed cabin fever after two days at my powerless house (outside of generated power). So, on the night of Halloween, after riding out Tuesday night in my increasingly cold bedroom, I made the trip to a family friend’s house in Rockville Centre (power had just returned after only two days). I would spend the next week there while power was out at home. Of all the times for power to come back, on the afternoon of November 7, it was as a wet snow-producing nor’easter began to affect the Northeast. Unlike Sandy, however, the center of this nor’easter was far offshore and the winds were not too strong on Western Long Island. The wet snow bent but somehow did not break tree limbs, and it gradually melted or fell off the following day.
While power returned on November 7, cable did not come back until two days later.
After experiencing the March 2010 Nor’easter, Irene, and now Sandy, I can only hope that it’s a very long time before another major storm of Sandy’s magnitude hits the East Coast.
We’ll conclude this post with a few pictures in Rockville Centre on November 7 as snow began to accumulate…
…and a picture on November 8, hours after shoveling the driveway at home:
Also:
Laura Donovan: The Domino Effect Of Hurricane Sandy: Why One Natural Disaster Changed Everything For Me (dead link as of 10/29/18)
Peter Hoare: How Hurricane Sandy Ravaged My Town (Long Beach)
11/13 UPDATE: Yesterday, I walked my street from east to west to get a close look at the cut-up downed trees, and the damage caused by them:
As I took this last shot, Town of Hempstead sanitation trucks were making their way up the street to remove debris:
CJazzPlus with Mike Chimeri on WCWP: 2012 edition October 20, 2012
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, News, Personal, Photography, Technology, Video.1 comment so far
Previous CJazzPlus with Mike Chimeri recaps: 2011
Early this morning at 2:00, CJazzPlus with Mike Chimeri aired on WCWP 88.1 FM. It’s part of the station’s – and its university LIU Post’s – Homecoming Weekend, which started last night at 7:00 and ends late tomorrow night.
I recorded the show two weeks ago, on October 5, as seen in this picture…
And two vidcaps:
All of the above was shot on my Nikon D3100. The vidcaps were taken from behind-the-scenes video of the recording process. Here is the final cut of that video, which I produced last night:
And here is the finished aircheck, as recorded from the board.
As you listen, follow along with the complete playlist with written notes (click to view larger):
The “separate page” with the Jeff Lorber Fusion comparison table (click to view larger):
I’m heading up to LIU Post this afternoon for Homecoming festivities and the announcement of the 2013 inductees to the WCWP Hall of Fame. I’ll have a recap in a later post.
My experience at Day 2 of 2012 New York Comic Con October 15, 2012
Posted by Mike C. in Animation, Books, Comedy, Film, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, News, Personal, Photography, Technology, Travel, TV, Video, Video Games, Weather.add a comment
Other New York Comic Con recaps: 2014 Day 1, 2017 Day 1, 2018 Day 1, 2019 Day 1, 2021 Day 1
Friday marked my first time at the annual New York Comic Con, held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center on 11th Avenue on Manhattan’s West Side. The Javits Center stretches from West 34th to 40th Streets, but the main entrance is at West 37th.
My day at the event was scheduled around the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles panel, which was to be held at 6:45 PM. Bored at home, I left the house just after 1:00, 90 minutes earlier than I planned. I walked to the Wantagh LIRR (Long Island Rail Road) station (a 20-minute walk), bought a round trip off peak ticket in a ground-level vending machine, and waited on the platform for the train to arrive. I saw one person in costume, which meant I wouldn’t be the only one bound for NYCC on the train. With the air temperature in the low 50s and a stiff breeze, I was dressed for winter: a winter coat and a long sleeve shirt, but no costume. As the joke goes, I went as myself.
After an hour-long train ride to Penn Station, I walked up to the street and had two slices of pizza at Famous Famiglia on 8th Avenue, one of many locations in New York alone. It was an appropriate lunch on the day of the TMNT panel.
After passing the Houndstooth Pub at the corner of 8th and West 37th Street, the site of many contemporary jazz shows I’ve attended, I crossed west and then north to walk on the north side of West 37th. There were groups of people ahead of me also heading to Javits. Part of the walk featured an overpass above Dyer Avenue, which leads into the Lincoln Tunnel. Once at the Javits Center, I walked in the green entrance.
Friday was the second day of four of the Con. A sold-out crowd packed the Javits Center, making the indoor temperature feel like close to 80. If only I had chosen a spring jacket and short sleeve shirt.
According to my camera, I took the first picture in this post at 3:18 PM, within 40 minutes of arriving at Penn Station. Let’s see those pics, shall we?
I expected to see press conducting interviews, like Bill Schulz and Jesse Watters did last year, but I only saw crews passing by with their equipment off (seen here after I left the Show Floor):
Taking the escalator to the Show Floor:
Leaving the Show Floor:
The next few pics are LEGO displays built by LUGs (LEGO Users Groups) in New York and Connecticut:
Quidditch:
I put the camera down for the next hour and a half to take in the sights and sounds, and grab an early dinner at the food court.
By the time I got to the conference room where the TMNT panel was, there was a line. I took this pic of the schedule board while waiting on that line, which went on to extend well past me:
As the wait continued, Peter Hastings, one of TMNT’s executive producers, walked by taking pictures of the line. I recognized him from a Talkin’ Toons with Rob Paulsen podcast back in May. As he passed near me, I asked him, “Are you Peter Hastings?” He said yes, then wondered as he shook my hand how I knew who he was. I told him it was from his body of work, and I cited Pinky and the Brain and TMNT; all I could think of offhand. I couldn’t tell if he was scared, shocked, or flattered that I knew of him. It reminded me of when I was at the will call booth at the old IMAC in Huntington before a Rippingtons concert in 2006. (You can see my pics with Jeff Kashiwa and Steve Reid here.) Musician Tom Huber was in line ahead of me and I recognized his name when he told it to the ticket taker. I told him I knew of him through his background vocals on two tracks from Steve Briody‘s (“BRY-dee”) “Keep On Talkin'” album. Tom’s response was, “Are you kidding?” In Peter’s case, he assured me the next day on Facebook that he was flattered. I thanked him for that.
NYCC staff opened the doors to the conference room just after 6:20. I managed to get an aisle a few rows in (behind a few reserved rows).
(After the above pic, I switched from my Nikon D3100 to a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ8 because I don’t yet have a long lens for the Nikon. I switched back after the panel.)
The panel began at 6:47 with the TMNT title sequence projected on screens and through theater-style speakers. The crowd erupted in cheers as Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Donatello approached the dais.
Donnie, Raph, Mikey, Leo:
The panel was moderated by Ray Rahman, a writer for Entertainment Weekly and “somehow, the senior Ninja Turtles correspondent, which is a title I take as seriously as you guys do”:
Here is Ray’s pre-panel write up.
The panel consisted of executive producers Ciro Nieli…
and the aforementioned Peter Hastings:
The rest of the panel was four cast members: the voices of three of the four turtles and their sensei.
Sean Astin as Raphael:
The aforementioned Rob Paulsen as Donatello:
Rob was also Raphael in the original TMNT series that premiered 25 years ago. (Talkin’ Toons podcast live: original cast reunion)
Greg Cipes as Michelangelo:
…and Hoon Lee as Splinter:
Rob acknowledged that TMNT voice director Andrea (“ahn-DRAY-uh”) Romano was in the audience. She stood up and waved to everyone:
(That was the best image I could get. Sorry about the poor quality.)
Greg, Rob, and Sean reenacted a fight scene from the show while watching the scene on screen:
What they were reenacting:
Greg and Sean looked at the screen to their left (above) while Rob looked straight ahead at the reverse side of a second screen.
It ended with Donnie screaming in shock!:
What the scream looked like animated:
Ciro, Greg, and Rob watching the sneak previews:
As quickly as the panel began, it was over.
An hour flies when you’re having fun.
As the crowd left, a music video set to “Gangnam Style” by Psy played on the screens.
Meanwhile, Greg stuck around to greet fans and sign autographs:
Some of my pictures from the panel were vidcaps (or screencaps), pictures captured from my computer screen while playing video, which I then edited in Photoshop (cropping, adjusting color). My camerawork was iffy because I used a mini tripod and tended to shake. Neil Vitale did a much better job than me. Here’s his video:
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles airs Saturday mornings at 11:00 Eastern on Nickelodeon.
About ten minutes after the leaving the conference room…
…I was out of the Javits Center.
Fifteen minutes later, I made it back to Penn Station’s LIRR terminal. On the train ride back, I sat next to two people that also attended NYCC. One of them came with a group of anime fans and she was dressed as a character. But I don’t remember which one.
I arrived home at 9:45. It was quite an 8 1/2 hour adventure, one that I won’t soon forget.
We leave you with a picture of the ticket holder I wore and badge that it held:
10/16 UPDATE: Meredith Blake of the Los Angeles Times wrote on Friday about how New York Comic Con is catching up with the bigger Comic-Con (note the hyphen) International in San Diego.
10/19 UPDATE: Andy Levy of Red Eye with Greg Gutfeld was on the Show Floor last Friday when I wasn’t. Click here to see his report.
WCWP show next Saturday morning! October 8, 2012
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio.add a comment
I was at WCWP (at LIU Post) on Friday to record the 2012 edition of CJazzPlus with Mike Chimeri. The show is part of WCWP’s – and by extension, Post’s – Homecoming Weekend which runs from next Friday night, October 19, through Sunday night, October 21. Like last year, I have an overnight slot: Saturday, October 20 at 2AM Eastern (Friday, October 19 at 11PM Pacific) on WCWP 88.1 FM.
If you’re outside of the signal range, you can listen to the stream by going here and clicking on “WCWP 88.1 FM.”
I’ll be playing David Benoit, Ken Navarro, Jeff Kashiwa, Fourplay, and plenty more in my two hours on the air. The prerecord process was long, but worth it. It took three hours to record two because I made some mistakes that I had to edit out.
Castle Magic, Special EFX at Long Beach Jazz Festival 2012 September 23, 2012
Posted by Mike C. in Education, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Travel.add a comment
This year, the Long Beach Jazz Festival celebrated its tenth year in existence. Of the ten festivals, I’ve been to half of them, all but once at the Long Beach Public Library. The first three times were to see the Dharma All Stars, drummer John Favicchia‘s band. You can see post-set pictures from those first two shows here and a recap of the third here (featuring a set by Alan Bates before them).
My fourth trip came last year, after a three-year absence, to see Chieli Minucci & Special EFX at the Library. (Chieli had also played guitar for Dharma All Stars.) I was unable to get a good seat because I arrived a short time before their set. I refused to make the same mistake this year.
Before I get to pictures from the two sets I saw on Friday, here’s how I got to Long Beach:
In 2008, I took the LIRR (Long Island Rail Road) to Rockville Centre and hoped to meet a friend there for a ride down to Long Beach. Traffic delays held her back and I ended up walking through RVC, Oceanside, Island Park, and across the Long Beach Bridge before meeting her at the bridge-side McDonald’s. It was a five-mile trek, but one that gave me a nice tan and plenty of exercise.
The plan on Friday was to take two trains to Long Beach. The first leg took me from west on the Babylon Branch from Wantagh to Lynbrook. At Lynbrook, I walked down the stairs from one platform to another and waited for the Long Beach-bound train. This was my first ride on the Long Beach Branch. One day in February, I researched the railcar models the MTA uses for LIRR trains, specifically the M7. After finding out about that, I looked for YouTube videos of the M7 in action. One of those videos was this one on the Long Beach Branch (but only as far as Island Park):
Until Island Park, I sat on the opposite side of the YouTube user that posted the above video. I brought along my Nikon D3100 again for the Festival, but took some test pictures on the train ride:
The Long Beach Bridge:
I was in Long Beach with time to spare and got to the Long Beach Public Library shortly before the doors were opened to the performance room.
Before Special EFX, the audience was treated to Castle Magic, an upright bass trio, something I hadn’t seen before.
The trio was led by Santi Debriano:
with Harvie S.:
Call and response between Santi and Harvie:
Guitarist Steve Adelson, the founder and organizer of the Long Beach Jazz Festival, joined in on the last song:
Steve played the Chapman Stick:
Now, I know what an upright bass trio sounds like. Santi, Harvie, and Essiet were fantastic; as was Steve at the end.
Next up was Chieli Minucci & Special EFX, introduced by Steve Adelson, before he left for a set with his Stick-tet across the street at Lola’s Kitchen:
Chieli played electric guitar:
Jay Rowe on the keyboards:
Jerry Brooks on electric bass:
and Lionel Cordew on drums:
SET LIST
1. Courageous Cats
Originally heard on: “Jewels,” 1995 (Chieli solo album)
2. Bodybeat
Originally heard on: “Body Language,” 1995
3. Greenway North
Originally heard on: “Modern Manners,” 1985
4. Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers
Originally heard on: “Renaissance,” 1996 (Chieli solo album)
5. Mirage
From an album that will be released in 2013
6. Rush Hour (Chieli/Jerry duet)
Originally heard on: “Sweet Surrender,” 2007
7. The Night is Ours
Originally heard on: “Without You,” 2010
Here are sets of pictures from the set, starting with Chieli:
Jay’s solo pics from “Courageous Cats” and “Bodybeat”:
Jerry’s solo pics from “Bodybeat” and “Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers”:
Lionel’s “Bodybeat” drum solo:
Chieli asked for some water music from Jay to lead off “Greenway North”:
The “Rush Hour” duet:
The last note of the set:
It was an exhilarating set, as always; the perfect capper to an adventurous Friday that began in the late afternoon and concluded in the middle in the evening.
Here’s to ten more years of the Long Beach Jazz Festival!
Riding the Long Island Expressway July 29, 2012
Posted by Mike C. in Internet, Media, News, Personal, Photography, Travel, TV, Video, Weather.add a comment
I went to Hoboken last Saturday for my friends’ daughter’s first birthday party. On the drive with my parents to and from the Madison Bar and Grill, I took plenty of pictures. In fact, I shot more on the drive than at the party: 115 out of 224.
In this post, we’ll focus on pics taken on Interstate 495, the L.I.E. (Long Island Expressway).
Westbound, starting with Exit 37:
Exit 36:
Exit 33:
Exit 32:
Exit 31:
Exit 28:
Exit 27:
A tow truck got in the way for the next few exits. I resumed at Exit 20:
Exit 19:
Exit 18:
Exit 17W:
Exit 16:
Exit 15, the last westbound exit:
Eastbound starts immediately after the tolls with Exit 13:
Exit 14:
Exit 17:
Exit 19:
Exit 21:
Exit 22:
Exit 24:
Exit 25:
There was a bow below the rear view mirror in the way in the upper left. So, I rubber stamped it out in Adobe Photoshop 7.
Exit 26:
Exit 27:
Exit 29:
Exit 30:
Exit 31S:
Traffic advisory sign:
Exit 32:
Exit 33:
Exit 34:
Exit 35:
Exit 36:
Exit 37:
Exit 38:
Exit 39:
Exit 40W:
Exit 40E:
Exit 41S:
Exit 41N:
Exit 42:
Exit 43:
A closer look:
Before HOV lanes were added, the Exit 43 ramp was here:
The original ramp can be seen in a video from WLIG-TV (now WLNY) after Hurricane Gloria hit Long Island on September 27, 1985. This is a vidcap (h/t Mike Erickson):
Video:
The vidcap was taken at the 1:03 mark.
Exit 44S:
That was our exit. From there, it wasn’t long before we got home. I spent several hours the next day editing all 224 pictures. The party pics were easy to edit because I used the flash and didn’t have to fix the color or smudge out license plates.
35,000 views June 15, 2012
Posted by Mike C. in Internet, Personal.add a comment
A few hours ago, MikeChimeri.com (previously The Mike Chimeri Blog) surpassed 35,000 views.
The next milestone post will come at 40,000.
1/5/14 UPDATE: The next post came at 50,000.
Where I was: Johan Santana’s no-hitter June 1, 2012
Posted by Mike C. in Baseball, Hockey, Internet, Media, News, Personal, Radio, TV.add a comment
(Updated with additional links.)
It’s been a whirlwind 56 minutes as I type. Here goes:
For stress reasons, I typically don’t watch or listen to Mets games until three hours after it starts. If I didn’t check ESPN.com at 9:42 PM EDT to see the name of the winner of the Scripps National Spelling Bee finals held last night – it was Snigdha Nandipati – I would not have known Johan Santana was three outs away from pitching a no-hitter. But I did.
I left my bedroom, and from the top of the stairs in the top floor hallway, I told my parents down in the den to put on SNY because Santana was close to achieving that no-hitter. This may be too much information, but while SNY was (and still is) recording on the DVR in my room, I listened to the last three outs on WFAN from the bathroom on the shower radio in there.
Mets lead radio play-by-play announcer Howie Rose was as loud as he was 18 years and five nights ago at Madison Square Garden, calling Stephane Matteau’s Eastern Conference Finals-clinching goal in double overtime for the Rangers against the Devils.
I don’t think any Mets fan, including Howie, thought tonight would ever happen. It took 8,020 games in 51 seasons for the first no-hitter in Mets history to occur. What a night.
An excerpt of the game recap from Steven Miller at MLB.com:
It took 50 years, but the New York Mets and Johan Santana finally have their no-hitter.
The 33-year-old Santana held the Cardinals hitless in an 8-0 victory Friday in front of 27,069 at Citi Field, who witnessed the first no-hitter in franchise history. The left-hander walked five as his pitch count climbed to 134, but manager Terry Collins could not pull his starter, who Collins said he would limit to about 110 pitches before the game.
“Wow — amazing,” Santana said after the game. “Coming into this season, I was just hoping to come back and stay healthy and help this team. And now I’m in this situation in the greatest city in baseball. I’m very happy, and I’m happy for [the fans], finally — the first one.
“It was a crazy night, trying to command my fastball, moving all over the plate. But I was able to locate it, command it and get some quick outs and get out of there.”
When asked how he felt after throwing the final pitch, Santana could hardly contain his excitement.
“That’s the greatest feeling ever,” Santana said, just as he received a celebratory pie to the face.
WFAN audio/SNY video via Deadspin
New York Daily News:
Anthony McCarron: Johan Santana tosses first no-hitter in NY Mets history during 8-0 victory against St. Louis Cardinals at Citi Field
Mike Lupica: On Johan Santana’s magical night at Citi Field, NY Mets fans finally see a no-hitter
Newsday (subscription required):
Roderick Boone: Johan Santana pitches Mets’ first no-hitter
ESPN New York:
Andrew Marchand: Johan Santana tosses no-hitter
WFAN/Associated Press/1010 WINS:
UNBELIEVABLE: Santana Throws First No-Hitter In Mets History
Steve Somers of WFAN (who now sounds years younger thanks to dental surgery last Monday):
Show Open
Interview with Mets catcher Josh Thole
Interview with Ron Darling, former Mets pitcher and current analyst for Mets games on SNY
6/6 UPDATE: Monday night’s Show Open and interview with Jerry Seinfeld
8/18 UPDATE: In recent days, Steve Somers’ speech has returned nearly to what it was before his surgery. He no longer sounds like he ingested helium.
Unfortunately, Johan hasn’t been the same pitcher since the no-hitter.
The New MikeChimeri.com! May 14, 2012
Posted by Mike C. in Internet, Personal, Technology.add a comment
The Mike Chimeri Blog is now the new MikeChimeri.com. This change was two months in the making. Resources from the old MikeChimeri.com were moved here, the domain was transferred to a different host, and the nameservers were transferred to WordPress. It’s the old MikeChimeri.com pages and files combined with The Mike Chimeri Blog pages, posts, and files.
But don’t worry. You can still reach this site from the old mikechimeriblog.com domain. You’ll just be redirected.
Enjoy!
MikeChimeri.com 
The Barclays at Bethpage Black recap August 27, 2012
Posted by Mike C. in Commentary, Golf, Internet, Media, News, Personal, Photography, Sports, Travel, TV, Weather.add a comment
For the first time in three years, Bethpage Black Golf Course in Farmingdale hosted a PGA Tour event. This time, it was The Barclays.
The weather this year was much better than it was at the 2002 and 2009 U.S. Open Golf Championships, especially than the latter. It was rain-free.
Earlier in the year, my dad got final round tickets for me and him. Before we get to a recap of that, here are recaps of the first three rounds:
Round 1 recap
Round 2 recap
Round 3 recap
After Nick Watney’s third round struggles, I predicted that Sergio Garcia, the leader going into the final round would win. I was wrong.
Unlike at the two U.S. Opens the Black hosted, cell phones were allowed, but had to be on silent or vibrate. My phone was on vibrate as I provided live updates throughout the day on Facebook. Here’s how that went:
11:23 AM: “I’m headed to Jones Beach where a shuttle will take me and my dad (and other passengers) to Bethpage Black Golf Course at Bethpage State Park. We’ll be catching the final round of The Barclays. Golf Channel coverage runs from 12:00 to 1:30, followed by CBS from 2:00 until play concludes, which should be around 6:00.”
12:03 PM: “I’m on the bus headed to Bethpage Black. I saw some license plates in the parking lot from as far away as Michigan and Tennessee. Also, New Jersey, Connecticut, [Massachusetts,] and Maryland.”
12:21 PM: “Almost at Bethpage Black. I plan on following the second-to-last pairing: Kevin Stadler [son of Craig] and Brandt Snedeker [‘SNED-uh-kur’].”
1:32 PM: “I ended up following Phil Mickelson and John Senden for the first two holes, then stopped at a concession stand. We’ll catch up with Stadler and Snedeker at the 3rd.” Despite shooting a 76, the fans loved him, as I could tell from the wild cheers I heard at 17 later in his round.
I put my phone down until Stads and Sneds were halfway through.
3:32 PM: 9 holes down, 9 to go.
Then, I waited another five holes before writing another update.
4:46 PM: “Crossing Round Swamp Rd. 4 holes to go.”
After the pair’s second shots at 15, Dad and I jumped ahead to the last three holes. Then, the updates became more frequent…
5:02 PM: “Skipped to 16th fairway. CBS’s [course reporter] Peter Kostis is to my right.”
5:18 PM: “Up to 17th green. Live CBS feed is on video leaderboard.”
5:26 PM: “Now at 18th fairway. Again, a leaderboard with CBS’s feed is straight ahead. The green is to the left.”
By this time, the drunk fans that are wont to cheer too loud, yell catchphrases out of context (i.e. “GET IN THE HOLE!” on a tee shot at a par 4 or 5), paraphrase the “Olé” song using Nick Watney’s surname (as I heard on my DVR later), and heckle players they don’t like (Sergio Garcia) got to me:
5:34 PM: “It’s not fun when a reserved guy like me is next to enthusiastic and/or drunk fans.” Sober fans acquitted themselves well, as they always do.
5:36 PM: “Snedeker and Stadler are on the green. Sergio Garcia and leader Nick Watney are approaching.”
5:39 PM: “Last pairing in fairway. CBS’s [other course reporter] David Feherty walked by, got cheers.”
5:44 PM: “Watney’s on the green, Sergio’s in the bunker, to the delight of some fans. I feel sorry for him.” A “USA” chant broke out as if we were at the Ryder Cup, speaking of out of context. And there were two Spanish people standing next to us. I felt sorry for them, too. I finished the update by saying “[t]he crowd at the green is cheering.”
5:47 PM: “Sergio bogeyed. The stage is set for Watney.” He birdied!
5:49 PM: “Put it in the books.” That’s what Mets radio announcer Howie Rose says after a win. “Nick Watney has won The Barclays. Final score: -10.”
5:52 PM: “Feherty interviewed Watney for CBS [briefly interrupted by Nick embracing his wife], then off to sign the scorecard and back to 18 for the trophy presentation.”
5:53 PM: “Leaderboard reads ‘Congratulations Nick Watney, 2012 Champion’ with a headshot of him.”
5:58 PM: “CBS’s Ian Baker-Finch is [hosting] the presentation.”
5:59 PM: “The champion is back.”
6:06 PM: “After getting the trophy, Finchy [one of Ian’s nicknames] interviewed him. He ‘couldn’t be happier,’ ‘overjoyed.’ He thanked volunteers, fans, and wife. After the interview, he hoisted the trophy.” His cousin Heidi, of the soon-to-launch Time Warner Cable SportsNet in Los Angeles, was also there.
With The Barclays complete, it was time to go home.
6:07 PM: “Now, we’re walking to the shuttle bound for Jones Beach.”
6:24 PM: “The shuttle is departing…”
6:48 PM: “Walking to the car at Jones Beach. Next stop: home.”
7:19 PM: “I got home about ten minutes ago. Phew.”
I ate a hearty meal of pasta and watched some of my DVR of CBS’s coverage, but not before taking two pictures.
This is how I looked as I walked the course:
My ticket stub, pins, and two copies of both the spectator guide and final round pairings:
Here are the post-round links:
PGATour.com:
Round 4 recap
Nick Watney press conference
Daily Wrap-up
Results
PGA Tour Replay podcast
Newsday (subscription needed)
New York Daily News
Golf Channel:
Doug Ferguson: Watney wins Barclays; Garcia 4 back
Jason Sobel: Watney becoming more comfortable in spotlight
Barclays photo gallery
Rex Hoggard: Watney’s psychologist credited for Barclays win
The day after, I returned to Bethpage by bus and by foot, taking these pictures along the way:
Welcome sign at Farmingdale LIRR station:
This sign was up approaching Round Swamp Road while walking west on Bethpage Road:
The next three pictures were taken from Round Swamp Road:
This sign was at the main entrance on Quaker Meeting House Road:
After the above picture, I made my way back to Quake Meeting House Road. The inside of the park was closed until three days later.
This was the last relevant shot of the day before heading home:
The Barclays returns to Bethpage Black in 2016, part of a four-year rotation with other New York area courses. I hope the weather is as great as it was this year. Congratulations again to Nick Watney, your 2012 Barclays Champion. Best of luck in the final three FedExCup Playoff events.
NOTE: I decided to write entirely in the past tense rather than the present except for “yesterday” referring to when the final round was played. I did this despite “the day after” being today and “three days later” being Thursday, among other examples.
8/15/21 UPDATE: The PGA Tour will be replacing this tournament, renamed The Northern Trust, with the FedEx Cup Championship. That means this year’s tournament, the 55th, will be the last.