Just Rambling

Monday, October 8, 2007

Just Rambling
In case you missed it in the Concord Monitor recently, Mike Degnan was named this year’s recipient of the Wheelock-Nardi Advocacy Award for exemplifying a high standard of commitment and advocacy to those with mental illness.

“J. Michael Degnan of Concord received the Mental Health Center’s Wheelock-Nardi advocacy award and will be honored at the eighth annual celebration for mental health October 29 in Manchester. The Wheelock-Nardi award is presented to individuals or organizations that exemplify a high standard of commitment and advocacy to those with mental illness. In 1983, Degnan co-founded and currently serves as president of Helms & Company, Inc., a distinguished healthcare management and consulting firm.” – Concord Monitor, September 30, 2007.

The announcement showed up in the newspaper the day after Deggie’s 60th birthday party, a typically loud and raucous event (just kidding about the loud and raucous part…..perfectly tame for a Degnan bash) at his School Street abode, which he confides is the same house he’s lived in for all 60 of his birthdays. Sorry, but the Monitor piece is not on-line so I can’t attach the picture of Deggie all decked out in his bow tie. Congrats, Mike. The mental health industry is most appreciative of your service. (congrats can be sent to: jmdegnan@helmsco.com)

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Have you seen that McDonald’s commercial where the two kids are standing in the parking lot rapping about chicken McNuggets? If the one on the right isn’t a drop-dead match for Matt Bonner at about age 14 – albeit a few inches shorter - then I’m giving my Double Cheeseburger discount card back…..and that would be serious action on my part.

And speaking of young Bon-Bon…….had a chance to chat with him at Green Street a couple of weeks ago at the Summer A League Championship game. Despite all his success, he still remains incredibly grounded. Said he’d be picking up his NBA championship ring at opening night this season.

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Congrats to NHTI hoops coach and athletic director Paul Hogan on his recent induction into the Plymouth State University (College?) Hall of Fame. Paul was the long-time basketball coach at Plymouth State. From an inside source, I understand that there is but one father and son HOF combination in PSC(U) history and that would be the Hogans.

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Who the hell is in charge of Wayne Newton’s publicity these days? Whoever it is: FIRE HIM OR HER. If you haven’t seen The Dancing Fig do his gig on Dancing with the Stars, spare yourself. His face has had so many tightening procedures that the temperature on stage has to remain below 68 degrees for fear of his face bursting like a mid-July hot dog on my overheated barbecue grill.

And I swear they’ve sewn his eyes open. Honestly.

Poor Cheryl Burke, his partner. After reaching the finals in both of the past two years, Cheryl might as well book passage out of town soon because Wayne-O isn’t going very far in this contest. In fact, he’s gone too far already.

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Probably shouldn’t complain about this one since it keeps McCarver and Morgan off the airwaves, but how in hell did TBS ever get the contract to televise the MLB playoff series in both leagues? And when you’ve answered that one, who was the mindless wonder at TBS or MLB who decided to tank broadcaster Skip Caray, the long-time voice of Atlanta Braves baseball on TBS, from the broadcasts? Hey, maybe he’s not that good, but long service must count for something.

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The moment the leadoff hitter for the San Diego Padres took his place at bat in the top of the first inning and looked at one pitch in the playoff (or play-in) game, MLB should have interceded and forfeited the game to the Rockies. No team should ever be allowed to play a game wearing such ghastly colored uniforms as the Pads do. I swear I turned the laundry that color one day when I frigged up the wash at home and put in some funky colored t-shirt with the white clothes.

Or was it one of the kids’ diapers that snuck into the wrong hamper? Shame on the Padre ownership for picking such a putrid color to wear at all let alone on the national stage for a playoff game.

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With one of our men’s basketball league team alums in the middle of the picture at its unveiling, do you suppose we might be able to use the marquee at the soon to be opened Red River Theater to post scores of games, leading scorers and upcoming games? Not likely.

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Before any of us get all gah-gah over Jacoby Ellsbury, please note that fastballs in the low to mid-90 range on the inside of the plate as well as anything above the letters with a count that includes two strikes morphs Jake into one of those wimps who get sand kicked in their face on the beach. You should also notice that not many pitchers are throwing low breaking balls from the middle of the plate in after Jake showed early that he could smack them around the lot.

Don’t get me wrong, he’s just fine. But don’t anoint him with the oil of Freddy Lynn just yet.

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Answer me these questions:
1. How much would Jerry Remy charge to come to my house and do the color commentary for Red Sox games throughout the playoffs and the World Series? He might as well because I’m muting the damn thing and making up my own story lines.

2. Does TBS have to pay MLB extra for carrying the crowd noise over the air? They’ve killed the crowd noise, which I guess is OK because if you kill the play-by-play you’re killing the crowd noise, too. It was deathly quiet in Denver Monday night when the noise should have been starting avalanches in the mountains and the din from the Sox first game win over the You Pick a City/County/State Angels could have been heard from an open window in a dormitory room in the Upper Valley, but you could barely hear it on the TV.

3. Are the Red Sox allowed to play Dirty Water at home if they win? How about Sweet Caroline? If TBS wants to do something good, ban the Wave.

4. Does Remy and Tina Cervasio even attend the games when they aren't broadcasting? Orsillo isn't because he was hired by TBS to do play-by-play.

5. Whatever happened to the bullpen cart? And why don’t they use it anymore? Couldn’t they squeeze out some more revenue by selling advertisements on the old rig?

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You heard it here first. From Dan Morin comes the following: Watch Theo in this off-season. Before the lilacs come back, the hometown team will have Yuke at first, Pedroia at 2B, ARod at SS and Mike Lowell at 3B. Ellsbury will be in LF, Torii Hunter in CF and Soriano in RF.

Lugo, Drew, Coco, and a quality young pitcher or two will be listening to Take Me Out to the Ball Game at Wrigley next year. Manny will be somewhere, likely in California, and his money will help bring in ARod and Hunter and re-up Lowell.

As for a lineup – top this one:
1. Soriano 2. Pedroia 3. Ortiz 4. ARod 5. Lowell 6. Hunter 7. Varitek 8. Yukilis 9. Ellsbury.

Order up the WS rings for 2008!

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The second greatest license plate apparently has been retired. In driving down Rockingham Street the other day, I couldn't help but notice that AUEN no longer rests upon the back of Tucker Golden's Jeep. AU, of course, is the symbol for gold and when added to EN one gets GOLDEN. It's been there a long time, but has been replaced with 426.

The greatest license plate? TRHS on the back of Donnie Tuttle's 1965 Ford Mustang.For those who don't remember, or didn't know, Tut was a David Janssen as "The Fugitive" groupie before there were such things. The very last lines from the ever-present commentator on the last show were: "For David Janssen, the running has stopped."

Next vehicle registration, Tut shows up with: TRHS on his Mustang. Remember, acronyms were no big deal back in the 60s, so for a while no one had the faintest idea of what his license plate meant.

Then one day he caved in and confessed: "The Running Has Stopped" made into an acronym for a license plate of: TRHS.