As kids, we went everywhere together: to camp, to college, across the Bronx Expressway.
And WCBS News Radio 880 definitely played a key role in my desire to be a news anchor.
Sports reports delivered every 20 minutes by stable intellectuals like Ed Ingles and Spencer Ross were heard for hundreds of miles and cherished until the sun went down.
I listened to it every night in my dorm room at college in southwestern Pennsylvania, 450 miles from New York City. Even the show, “Traffic and Weather Together,” upheld the traditions of my hometown, a land of bituminous coal.
WCBS 880 included on-the-ground reports of breaking news and thoughtful features on travel, health, education and law. Charles Osgood and Charles Kuralt’s well-written commentary served as a snack during the many car miles.
And when that signal weakened on long distance travel, I sought out the same station and others like it in Philadelphia, Washington DC and Atlanta.
But after 57 years, News Radio 880 was suddenly financially strained and declared extinct, to be sold and replaced by ESPN Radio NY, which had been struggling for a stronger signal.
But the signal appears to be the least of the issues.
ESPN-NY is loaded with boring, depressing and redundant programming that is clearly geared towards promoting ESPN/Disney merchandise and performers, plus irrelevant opinion pieces about Aaron Rodgers that air daily.
Forced laughs, personal insecurities, personal grudges, and childish “guy/sex” talk, as opposed to thoughtful, independent, personable sports talk, are staple topics that don’t generate lasting attachments.
And, of course, there’s no end of temptations to encourage listeners to lose their money and their souls on sports betting.
Goodbye, WCBS News Radio 880. It served me well throughout my childhood, especially as a kid.
Stephen Curry unhappy with Olympic behaviour
While Stephen Curry showed the world he was special, he was also eager to show them he was just like everyone else.
Curry’s extraordinary shot late in the gold medal win over France could have been an opportunity to show humility and let his achievement speak for itself.
Instead, he plays a fool who enjoys showing off, mocking his partner and going on cheap dates. Too bad.
This time last year, local media and fans were loudly rooting for the Jets to sign Dalvin Cook, despite his publicly-publicized brutal assault on an ex-girlfriend.
Local media, fans, Roger Goodell said that if he beat the hell out of her, “As long as you can carry that rock!”
The media silence is because he was a failure, not because the Jets asked for too little to sign him.
By today’s double standard, Red Sox guard Jarren Duran received the lighter punishment of a two-game suspension for hurling homophobic slurs at spectators he called “fans.”
The Red Sox and irresponsible Rob Manfred could have healed Duran months ago, when he proudly removed his team jersey to display an unprintably vulgar message for the television audience to enjoy during a post-game interview.
All they had to do was request Quit or sit down. In other words, grow up.
So, now that bottom-man Vince McMahon has nationalized the sex-fueled XFL and created the Snoop Dogg Olympics in honor of a criminal, gang-affiliated, pornographic, misogynistic rapper, what’s next for NBC?
I’d stick with Dogg, but add more Snoop-centric events like a drive-by shooting contest or Aspiring Rapper Murders.
Incidentally, rapper Travis Scott, who was arrested by Paris police after a physical altercation with a bodyguard at the Olympics and later released, was one of the performers in Goodell’s misogynistic, crotch-grabbing, N-word-spouting, X-rated Super Bowl halftime show, chosen for the show by Goodell.
ESPN is more woke than woke in its latest attempt to sell Serena Williams She’s such an American favorite that there’s a five-part series being broadcast on her, as if America doesn’t know about her.
Guess, ESPN, why the blockbuster movie about her father, “King Richard,” flopped so badly it lost millions of dollars: Is it because America has learned to hate the Williams family, despite the media’s blind pandering?
Well, Chris Russo The death of former MLB player Billy Beane, who came out as gay, has been confused with the death of MLB team executive Billy Beane, who became famous for “Moneyball,” but Beane is still alive.
I used to think so too, until I read “Bean vs. Beane” in print.
More Julie, less Megan please!
Former U.S. soccer star and NBC commentator for the Brazil vs. U.S. women’s soccer final, Julie Foudy, was fantastic.
She was balanced, agile and visionary. Brazil’s dominance of possession in the first half made set pieces with U.S. free kicks crucial, she said, and she handled them evenly.
The only thing marring the broadcast were repeated crowd shots of Megan Rapinoe, another obnoxious, vulgar “ugly American” that US TV networks think the public worships.
Dwyane Wade, NBC’s ill-prepared men’s Olympic basketball commentator, watched the constant shoving and shouting during the France-USA final and gleefully concluded, “This is what gold medal basketball is all about!”
Surely you wouldn’t want to be kicked out of the Olympic gold medal game?
With the Yankees losing 4-1 to the White Sox on Monday, Suzyn Waldman argued that the White Sox’s worst record in MLB is something fans and media obsess over, but the Yankees are either unaware or just ignoring it. Nonsense.
Are legalized sports betting businesses and their sports and media investors headed for a decline? The time has come.
1) They have spent huge amounts of money advertising everywhere.
2) According to their business model, customers stand to lose money, resulting in lower revenue and fewer guaranteed customers.
You can’t bet on something you don’t have anymore. Besides, a fool wakes up every minute.
Roger Goodell is a tough coach, to be sure, and the Commanders signed Martavis Bryant, a wide receiver from Clemson who hasn’t played since 2018 due to a third substance abuse violation.
The Braves beat the Giants 1-0 in Game 10 on Monday. Eight pitchers combined for 33 strikeouts.
Brittney Griner She cried tears of gratitude Standing The singing of the national anthem after the USA won the gold medal. It was a beautiful sight, even if it was a bitter experience.
ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball” play-by-play announcer Karl Labeck seems to be on a first-name basis with many of the major leaguers on air, including Red Barber, Marty Glickman and Vin Scully. We sent him to a room without a TV.
