Jim Monaghan's AllMixedUpRadio.com Ramblings

When "If" Is the Biggest Word In the English Language

2012-02-07T12:04:00.004-05:00

I don't know if I'd call it the best Super Bowl game I've ever seen - and I'm old enough to have seen each and every one of them - but I do know that Super Bowl XLVI came down to the last play of the game before it was ultimately decided. And for that reason, I have to say that it was certainly one of the most exciting NFL championship games we've ever had.

I'm writing this as thousands upon thousands of New York Giants fans are lining the streets of lower Manhattan for the team's victory parade, and just a handful of hours before the celebration moves to the New Jersey side of the Hudson River for the party at Met Life Stadium. And I can't help but wonder what if....

What if Wes Welker hadn't dropped that 4th quarter pass from Tom Brady? What if Aaron Hernandez hadn't dropped his own 4th quarter pass - arguably better thrown and an easier catch? What if Rob Gronkowski caught that deflection of that final Hail Mary pass in the endzone? What if Brady underthrows that final pass and Wes Welker (#83) - completely wide open in front of the end zone - catches it? What if Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw's stumble into the endzone (OF COURSE the Patriots let him score, they needed the ball back) ultimately left too much time on the clock and Brady manages to complete the final pass?

Let's just say the celebration today would probably be a few hundred miles to the north in a flotilla of duck boats.

That's not to take anything away from Eli Manning, his salsa-dancing wide receiver Victor Cruz, or any of the Giants who came from the depths of a 7-7 record and ran the table for the team's 2nd Super Bowl win in the last 4 years. The entire Giants organization, the players, and the fans should be very proud of what this team accomplished this season.

It's just that sometimes, "if" is a bigger word than it appears.

The 2012 High Holy Days

2012-02-01T15:15:00.003-05:00

February 1st and 60 degrees makes it official! Spring is on its way! I can't remember the last time we had a winter that was so incredibly mild. Save for a freak October blizzard, Mother Nature has been rather kind to us lately.

Here is official run down for the 2012 High Holy Days.

February 11 - Truck Day
February 19 - Pitchers and catchers report
February 24 - Position players report
February 25 - Full squad workouts begin
March 1 - First day of spring (unofficial)
March 3 - First Red Sox Spring Training game
March 10 - Morris County St. Patrick's Day Parade
March 16 - Matthew's birthday
March 17 - St. Patrick's Day
March 20 - First day of spring (official)
March 28 - 2012 Major League Baseball Opening Day
April 13 - Red Sox Home Opener

Rosanne Cash Twitter Request Concert & Radio Special

2011-10-23T07:29:00.003-05:00

This is VERY cool! Rosanne Cash invites WDHA "All Mixed Up" listeners to send requests and questions by twitter to @rosannecash to build the setlist for her first "Live from Zone C" concert she will record in her living room on 11/2. She hopes to have the recording turned around by Thanksgiving.

Tweets should include the hashtag #essentialrc (for Essential Roasanne Cash). Please also use either #WDHA or #AllMixedUp hashtags. Songs should be chosen from the Essential Rosanne Cash 2-cd set. The full track list and more about this are online at http://publicmediaservice.org/cash-twitter.

The lines for the requesting are now open through 10/31. Vote early & often!

The High Holy Days 2010

2010-01-12T16:24:00.002-05:00

I've been remiss in keeping up with this page over the past couple of months, but with the New Year just a few days old and what seems like the whole country in the midst of a brutal cold snap it's time for our annual announcement.

It's official! Spring is on its way! Here is official run down for the 2010 High Holy Days.

February 12 - Truck Day
February 18 - Pitchers and catchers report
February 22 - Position players report
February 24 - Full squad workouts begin
March 1 - First day of spring (unofficial)
March 3 - First Red Sox Spring Training game
March 13 - Morris County St. Patrick's Day Parade
March 16 - Matthew's birthday
March 17 - St. Patrick's Day
March 20 - First day of spring (official)
April 4 - 2010 Major League Baseball Opening Day
April 4 - Red Sox Home Opener

Fun With Numbers

2009-09-30T08:17:00.005-05:00

This was originally posted by Brian MacPherson from the New Hampshire Union Leader on his terrific blog One If By Land. I know you can make numbers dance just about any which way you choose (and no one can make numbers do the boogaloo like a radio station GM with the latest Arbitron numbers in his hands), but this still makes for an interesting discussion/comparison. After all, some people were ready to write David Ortiz off at the All Star Break, while the other player has people talking MVP.

"A little player comparison for your afternoon. Below are the numbers of two prominent players since June 1 -- one of whom should be relatively easy for Red Sox fans to identify:

Player A
* .265 batting average, .357 on-base, .558 slugging
* 27 home runs, 77 RBI
* 50 walks, 79 strikeouts

Player B
* .300 batting average, .386 on-base, .551 slugging
* 22 home runs, 76 RBI
* 52 walks, 76 strikeouts

Player B has a significantly higher batting average and on-base percentage. Player A has a slight edge in power numbers -- more home runs, more RBI and a higher slugging percentage. The walk numbers and strikeout numbers for the two players are almost identical.

Player A, of course, is the resurgent David Ortiz.

Player B?

Any guesses?

(Cue Jeopardy music.)

It's Mark Teixeira."

John Gorka Live On All Mixed Up

2009-09-12T17:28:00.003-05:00

Singer-songwriter John Gorka will be my guest in the 8 AM hour tomorrow morning on "All Mixed Up." The show streams live at www.wdhafm.com.

How I've Spent My Summer Vacation

2009-07-27T20:27:00.005-05:00

I turned to my wife Lauren last week and said, "I think I finally hit my limit."

Since March, I've been coaching 8-year olds for the equivalent of four seasons. My son Matthew played for a town recreation team this spring, along with a more advanced travel team sponsored by the training facility I work at. That travel team continued into the summer; we have a playoff game tomorrow and if we win that, a championship game on Thursday to finish up the season. Without sounding too much like one of "those" parents, he had a remarkable spring. He was one of the better pitchers in his town league (8 and 9 year-olds) and gave up only three hits all spring. So when it came time to put an 8-year old town travel team together for a local summer tournament, he was one of the first kids chosen. That in itself was fine, except that the other coaches unanimously asked me to be the head coach which I knew was going to present a conflict or two with two full-time jobs and the other travel team. However, the other coaches pledged full support and delivered BIG TIME (thanks Rich & Larry!). So for the past six weeks, it's been 6 to 7 games a week split between Matthew's two summer teams. Matthew has given up just two or three hits all summer on these two teams and has really blossomed as a pitcher. Lauren and I are already looking for ways to spend his signing bonus when he gets to the Major Leagues (I say, that's a joke son, and by the way, he gets the talent from my Dad who was scouted by the Red Sox while in high school.)

One other thing - you don't know just how hard an 8-year old boy can throw a baseball until one of those kids hits you in the face with a fastball. One of Matthew's teammates hit me on my right cheekbone last Friday night during a warm-up drill. I literally never saw the ball coming. All I remember hearing is another kid yelling, "LOOK OUT!" before everything went black for a second. I never lost consciousness, but I've had a pounding headache for more than 72 hours and there's some swelling, numbing and discoloration around my right eye. I'm lacking some of the better-known symptoms, but I'm pretty sure I suffered a low-grade concussion. (Side note - I suffered what the doctor called a "minor concussion" about 9 years ago and if these two situations are minor, I can't even begin to imagine what a serious concussion must feel like. Both times the headaches have been brutal and I have a reasonably high threshhold of pain.)

Matthew's travel team has a playoff game Tuesday night. If they lose, they're done; if they win they play for their summer league championship on Thursday. Either way, the season ends no later than this Thursday. By the time all is said and done, it will have been about 60 games since March. As I said, "I think I finally hit my limit."

Thank God!

And I wouldn't trade a minute of it for anything.

Jacoby!

2009-07-02T21:46:00.001-05:00

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-21T09:18:00.004-05:00

When I was a kid, I thought my Dad was the coolest person on the planet. And I remember saying to him on more than one occasion, "I wish you were a kid so we could play together."

He did some amazing things in his lifetime. He was an All State high school basketball player. He was scouted by the Red Sox based upon his high school baseball career. He served his country in the United States Navy in World War II. He was the first male in his family to graduate from college. He married a girl from Brooklyn and raised a family in places like Richmond Hill, Elkins Park, King Of Prussia and Basking Ridge.

We used to play catch all the time, until a tear in the rotator cuff in his throwing arm simply made it impossible to make more than a few throws.

Those are his three grandchildren; unfortunately he never got to see them which means they were never able to meet the man I thought was the coolest person on the planet. There isn't a day that's gone by in the last 28+ years that I haven't thought about him. In the faces of those three kids, though, I see him. And while I never got to be a kid with him, I got to play catch with all three of them. And I swear, there are moments when we're doing it that I just KNOW he's right there with us.

Happy Father's Day.

The High Holy Days 2009

2009-02-06T11:47:00.003-05:00

It's official! Spring is on its way! Here is official run down for the 2009 High Holy Days.

February 6 - Truck Day
February 12 - Pitchers and catchers report
February 16 - Position players report
February 18 - Full squad workouts begin
February 25 - First Red Sox Spring Training game
March 1 - First day of spring (unofficial)
March 14 - Morris County St. Patrick's Day Parade
March 16 - Matthew's birthday
March 17 - St. Patrick's Day
March 20 - First day of spring (official)
April 5 - 2009 Major League Baseball Opening Day
April 6 - Red Sox Home Opener

Athbhliain faoi Mhaise Duit ("Happy New Year" in Irish)

2008-12-31T18:27:00.002-05:00

It's New Year's Day
Just like the day before
Same old skies of grey
Same empty bottles on the floor
Another year gone by
And I'm thinking once again
How can I take this losing hand
And somehow win

Just give me one good year
To get my feet back on the ground
I've been chasing grace
But grace ain't so easily found
One bad hand can devil a man
Chase him and carry him down
I gotta get out of here
Just give me one good year

I'm burning oil
Engine's running rough
I drive from job to job
But it's never enough
I can't find the will
To just up and get away
Some kind of chains holding me down
To make me stay.

Just give me one good year.....

It's a bitter wind
In your face every day
It's the little sins
That wear your soul away
When you start giving in
Where do the promises all go
Will your darkest hour
Write a blank check on your soul

Just give me one good year
To get my feet back on the ground
I've been chasing grace
But grace ain't so easily found
One bad hand can devil a man
A good one can turn him around
I gotta get out of here
Just give me one good year
I gotta get out of here
Just give me one good year

Slaid Cleaves - "One Good Year"

Merry Christmas 2008

2008-12-27T15:16:00.006-05:00

I'm a little late doing this - two days to be exact. But I have an excuse...and a written note from my Mom, too!We tried something a little different at the Monaghan household this year - we started cleaning the house for Christmas before Thanksgiving. OK, so that's not exactly how it happened. Let me 'splain, Lucy.

Over the past couple of years we've had not one, not two, but three different episodes of the Dreaded Flooded Basement. I can't tell you how much memorabilia from my WNEW-FM days was completely destroyed in the process. The most recent episode happened in the fall. I woke up on a Sunday morning and went down into the basement/family room to check something before coming into the radio station to do All Mixed Up. As I moved around, I noticed that my socks were starting to get wet. And that's when I realized that water was coming out of the laundry room, and up through the French drain, through the rug and into everything that was on the floor.

I ran upstairs and told my wife what was happening. The two of us spent the better part of a half hour trying to pull buckets of water out of the sump in an attempt to get the water flow under control. With both of us having to go to work later that day, we ended up having my sister-in-law come down to keep an eye on things and empty the sump when needed. I borrowed a pump from my friend Bob and the Monaghans spent the next couple of days turning it on every couple of hours in an effort to make sure that no more water came in. No one was spared; even my Mom and our two younger children were put on pump duty. So what does this have to do with Christmas? Hang on.

The damage was extensive. All the carpeting downstairs was destroyed. Everything that was in the basement had to be moved upstairs. The house looked as if a bomb had gone off. In the process of replacing the basement rug, my wife and I decided that maybe we could afford to get new carpeting in the living room, too. After 12 years, three kids, and a dog it was time. I mean, Dad IS working two jobs, right? Maybe we could actually swing this financially. But if we were going to put new carpet in the living room, it meant that the living room also needed to be painted. So for three consecutive weekends, I had "help" from my wife's parents. In the interest of One Big Happy Family, let's just leave it at that. We made the appointment to have carpeting installed in both rooms and moved the living room furniture into the dining room. The house now looked as if a second bomb had gone off. What does this have to do with Christmas? I'm getting there.

To top it off, Daughter #1 had asked a few weeks earlier if, instead of driving into the city to have Thanksgiving with my sister and her husband as we had done for the past couple of years, we could have everyone come over to our house. You know, freshman year of college and all; she wanted to really feel as if she was home. That meant that all the painting and the carpet installation and moving of furniture and whatever had to be done by Thanksgiving Eve. The race was on.

Somehow we managed to get it done. All of it. The house (or at least the family room/basement and first floor) was done. And it was clean. Spotless. And with Thanksgiving a little later this year it meant that if we could keep an eye on things, we might actually be able to not have to scramble to get the house ready for Christmas.

For three and a half weeks my wife was positively relentless. If something was left on the kitchen counter for more than three minutes it disappeared. Our two little ones felt as if their parents had turned into Marine drill instructors. But the bottom line was that on the morning of December 24th, outside of wrapping some presents and making sure that we got the kids to church on time to sing at 4 PM Mass, we had very little to do.

Christmas Eve meant the Invasion Of the In-Laws. Santa made his phone call from somewhere over the South Atlantic. The kids were bouncing off the walls. In other words, business as usual around the Monaghan house.

2008 has been a strange year. The economy is an absolute disaster. We watched a historic presidential primary campaign turn into an even bigger historical election. As a country we're still mired in a war we can't seem to find an end-game to. But we're together. As dysfunctional as we all are sometimes, we're still together. Amid the chaos of flooded basements, and rugs, and painting, and the usual holiday stress, and whatever else gets thrown in our midst, we're still together. And THAT'S the point. THAT'S what this has to do with Christmas.

Christmas Day, I was nodding off on the couch in my in-laws' living room. Every so often I would wake up to hear someone laughing as stories about Christmases Past were being told. Funny, but in none of those stories were any presents mentioned. It was always about the idea of a family being together, working together, just trying to get through the day to day nonsense that attempts to drag us down. Think about that First Christmas - a young couple struggling against pretty heavy odds along with a rather unexpected baby, but together.

I hope you've been able to spend these past few days together with people you care about...together with people who care back.

Merry Christmas.

Take this silver lining
Keep it in your own sweet head
Shine it when the night is burning red
Shine it in the twilight
Shine it on the cold cold ground
Shine it till these walls come
Tumbling down

David Gray

Faith Rewarded. Again.

2008-10-17T16:08:00.012-05:00

Game Five of the 2008 American League Championship Series. With the Red Sox having lost 3 in a row and trailing 3 games to 1 to a white-hot Rays team, there could be no margin for error.

I watched the first inning at my 2nd job; the game hardly started the way I figured with Dice-K giving up a 2-run HR before an out had even been recorded. On the way home I put on WTIC out of Connecticut, opting to listen to the game through the static with the regular Red Sox announcing crew of Joe Castiglione and Dale Arnold instead of putting up with the painful experience of listening to the ESPN radio feed with Jon Miller and Joe Morgan. More TB home runs; more Red Sox runners left on base. F-bombs were flying through the car at lightning speed.

As I pulled into my neighborhood at 9:30 PM, my oldest daughter called me from her college dorm on my cell phone. "Dad, this is disgusting. What's happening here?" We talked of the fun we'd had on a couple of Fenway road trips we'd taken from NJ this year, lamented some key injuries to important players, and just figured we'd start counting the days until pitchers and catchers. When I walked in the door, my wife had turned the game off in the living room. The look of disgust on her face echoed my own sentiments. Our 7-year old son came downstairs when he heard me come in and asked me what the score was. "Well, maybe we'll get them in the next game," he offered, until I reminded him that this would likely be Tampa Bay's 4th win. I sent him back off to bed with a Manny-like "there's always next year" and headed down to the family room to check in on the game thread on the SoSH website and see what had developed. That was right about the time that Red Sox relief pitcher Manny Delcarmen left and closer Jonathan Papelbon came in. Like some others, I turned the game off when it got to 7-0. I figured that I wake up for job #1 at 4 AM; it's probably best to not torture myself any longer, so I went upstairs, kissed my wife goodnight, and headed to bed.

"Jim...I don't want to wake you...but I don't think you should miss this."

My wife was gently shaking my shoulder and had this edge of excitement to her voice. Big Papi had already hit his 3-run shot and Papelbon had shut the door in the 8th. J.D. Drew was up. I struggled to focus on the TV in the bedroom just as Drew's shot left his bat. I bolted upright and threw my arms in the air. Somehow I managed to blurt out, "DON'T LET US WIN ONE!" - echoes of Kevin Millar from the 2004 ALCS. Our 9-year old daughter heard the commotion and poked her head out her door. "Get in here!" I exclaimed. My wife mentioned something about it being late and a school night and I just gave her that look that said, "You're kidding, right?"

When Mark Kotsay doubled off the glove of Tampa center fielder B.J. Upton with two out in the bottom of the 8th inning, the phone rang. It was our oldest daughter calling from school. She and her roommate were making so much noise as Fenway was becoming unglued (to steal a phrase from Francona) that one of her dorm RA's came in to see what the problem was. That RA and another ended up watching the game with the two of them. So with my 9-year old talking on the phone with her big sister while wrapped in my arms in bed, and my wife clutching my shoulder, the four of us hung on for dear life during Coco's AB.

By the time the game ended with J.D.'s line drive, we were all screaming - my daughter in her dorm and the three of us in my bedroom...while our 7-year old somehow slept through the entire thing.

We flipped back and forth between ESPN and the TBS postgame show, not entirely believing what we had seen. I'm still not entirely sure that what I saw really happened.

Faith Rewarded.

Again.

John Farrell - Take A Look At This!

2008-08-25T14:34:00.010-05:00

If Clay Buchholz and Manny Delcarmen had this kind of form, the Red Sox pitching might be in MUCH better shape! By the way, he's not even 7 and a half yet!

Vacation!?!?!

2008-08-10T09:14:00.002-05:00

So let's see if I have the head count correct.

Five adults, four teenagers, two smaller children, and a kennel's worth of dogs. All packed into one house for the better part of a week.

What have I gotten myself into?

Congratulations, Daughter #1!

2008-06-03T21:06:00.002-05:00

Softball Dreams Do Come True!

2008-05-23T17:41:00.010-05:00

She was three years old when that picture was taken. Her 7-year old brother likes to tease her that she didn't get her hips to the ball and she was swinging underneath the ball (he's right, btw).

This past Monday, my now-18-year old completed her scholastic softball career. Though she was a four-year varsity player, this was the first time that Courtney actually got some serious playing time.

Freshman year, she felt lucky to just make the team. There were a some starts at DH, and some pinch-running assignments, and with a bunch of other freshmen on the team, there was a sense that this team was going to be good in a couple of years.

Sophomore year brought a new coach and some new challenges. Playing time was reduced a bit, but when her team beat our local town high school for the first time in at least four years, it was Courtney who pitched the first two innings, holding her opponents to a single run until the regular starting pitcher could get to the field. I will never forget the look on my daughter's face at the end of the game - "We won...and I had something to do with it!" The team's record was awful, but they played hard every game for this new coach, and the feeling from freshman year about how good this team was going to be was looking like a reality.

Junior year was almost a complete waste of time. Yet another new coach, and that meant having to prove herself all over again. Playing time was very scarce and limited to an occasional late-inning replacement in right field or second base. One disastrous pitching outing doomed her from ever getting back into the circle for the remainder of the year. One bad practice (a practice for goodness' sake!) and her playing time went down to almost nothing. She was hurt. She was angry. And she was determined to prove EVERYONE wrong.

Heading into her senior year, Courtney started going to a local gym. She ran. She lifted weights. And every Sunday for the better part of six months, she had me train her. As we got later into the winter, she upped the workouts to twice a week. We played long toss until I thought my arm would fall off. She did ground ball drills on her knees until they ached. I can't begin to count the number of swings she took. I told her again and again, "Hard work pays off." The last Sunday before tryouts, I looked her in the eye and told her, "You're ready." I don't think I've ever been more sure of anything in my life.

Trouble was, the one person whose opinion really mattered - her coach - wasn't convinced. Despite being named a co-captain by the coach, and showing VAST improvement in pre-season practices (she was the only infielder to reach 1st base from 3rd on the first day of throwing drills), she started the season on the bench. We continued to work out. We would go to outdoor fields and I would hit her ground balls over and over. I started to doubt my own ability to teach the game and evaluate talent. After one particularly strong workout in which she made play after play, I threw my arms out in desperation and pleaded, "What am I missing here? I don't understand why you aren't playing." Was it personal between her and the coach? Was I biased because this was my daughter?

Shortly after that day she got a start at second base. By Courtney's own standards, she had just an OK day. One routine ground ball out, a miscue on another ground ball, and a loss to the big local rival. Convinced she wouldn't play the next day, we were all stunned the next morning to find her back at second base in the opening game of an annual tournament at one of the local Catholic high schools.

Her team fell behind early (the coach chose this game to start one of the younger pitchers and by the time she made a change to the regular starter, it was 8-1). But something odd happened. The other team stopped playing well, Courtney's team scored a few runs, and all of a sudden the score was 8-6 and this game was actually within reach.

Enter the defining moment of her season.

Leading off an inning, the coach noticed a look on my daughter's face and asked her what was wrong. Ticked off by what had happened her junior year and frustrated at having already struck out in this game, she looked the coach straight in the eye and told her, "I'm frustrated by striking out and I am afraid you'll take it out on me and sit me." She then went out and drilled a single past the pitcher's head into center field to ignite what would be the tying rally. She also made two brilliant plays at second base and when she was injured on another play covering first, she waved off her coach - "I wasn't giving her the chance to take me out," she would later relate. Her team ended up losing by a run in extra innings, but the die was cast.

In the second game, she made a couple more great defensive plays and beat out an infield hit that drove in the go-ahead (and ultimately winning) run. All that work...those hours of ground balls...those stupid drills...all of it was finally paying off! "Are you crying, Dad?" she said to me after the second game. "Maybe a little bit," I responded. Shortly after that in the post-tournament award ceremony, she was named to the All-Tournament Team.

Vindication.

Courtney started almost every game the rest of the season. In another tournament, she once again sparkled with both her bat and her glove. Over the course of the rest of her season she made the great plays...she made the routine plays. She was NEVER out of position. She got some hits. She played. She had fun! Parents of her teammates raved about how she was the defensive glue of the infield. This past Tuesday night, her school held its annual spring sports dinner. She positively glowed when she was handed her varsity certificate and pin. When we came home, she threw her arms around me and said, "Thank you, Daddy."

No, Courtney. Thank you.

Trading Places

2008-04-17T14:53:00.003-05:00

Have you ever wished you could be someone else for just a little while? Welcome to my world.

During the 2007 baseball season, the Red Sox called up a kid from the minor leagues who in no time managed to capture the collective interest of Red Sox Nation (and especially that segment of the fandom somewhat derisively referred to as the Pink Hats) with his positively electric playing style.

Jacoby Ellsbury started the 2007 season in Double-A ball in Portland, moving to Triple-A Pawtucket before making his Major League debut over 3 stints with Boston. His Major League resume - even now only a few months old - is already pretty impressive. He hit safely in 27 of his first 32 major league games with an at-bat, including a 13-game hitting streak from September 1-15, during which he hit .426 (20-47) with 3 doubles, a triple, 3 home runs, 13 RBI, 11 runs, 4 stolen bases and 2 walks. The night in Fenway he scored from second base on a passed ball has already reached a kind of legendary status among Red Sox fans.

In the post-season, if he was even the slightest bit fazed by playing on baseball's biggest stage, he certainly didn't show it. In 11 post-season games, including the start in each of Boston's final 6 contests, Ellsbury batted .360 (9-25) with 4 doubles, 4 RBI, 8 runs, 3 walks and 2 stolen bases. His 4 doubles all came in the World Series. Say it with me - this kid is an absolute STUD.

Probably one of the fastest players to ever wear a Red Sox uniform, Jacoby Ellsbury is literally everything I ever wanted to be in my baseball career. He's currently rotating as the Red Sox' fourth outfielder pending either an injury to a teammate, or a trade of Coco Crisp.

If the opportunity to trade places with someone for just 24 hours ever were to happen, I wonder how Jacoby Ellsbury would handle waking up at 4 AM?

Happy St. Patrick's Day From the Monaghans!

2008-03-16T09:57:00.003-05:00

The High Holy Days 2008

2008-02-07T10:31:00.002-05:00

I'm told it's a holiday of sorts in New England; to the best of my knowledge, no other team's fan base gets as excited about an 18-wheeler filled with baseball equipment as Red Sox fans do.

All I know is that this Saturday is "Truck Day" which means two things. One - the Red Sox equipment truck leaves Fenway Park on Saturday and Two - the High Holy Days are once again upon us!

February 10 - Truck Day
February 14 - Pitchers and catchers report
February 20 - Position players report
February 22 - Full squad workouts begin
February 28 - First Red Sox Spring Training game
March 1 - First day of spring (unofficial)
March 15 - Morris County St. Patrick's Day Parade
March 16 - Matthew's birthday
March 17 - St. Patrick's Day
March 20 - First day of spring (official)
March 25 - Opening Day: Red Sox vs. A's at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan
March 30 - 2008 Major League Baseball Opening Day
April 8 - Red Sox Home Opener

Giants/Patriots - The Dilemma Begins

2008-01-22T10:32:00.000-05:00

We have a small dilemma at the Monaghan home - we need to pick a team to root for in the upcoming Super Bowl.

First things first - I covered the Jets and Giants for three years in the mid-90's while at WNEW-FM spending virtually every weekend at Giants Stadium during that time. I had always followed both local football teams, but never declared allegiance to either much to the dismay of those people who claim you can't root for both teams. Fact is, when you cover a team you get to know the players a bit, you start to like them and then you start to pull for them. So yes, you CAN root for both teams (except of course when they play each other and then I generally pull for the Giants).

Unlike my undying allegiance to the Red Sox in baseball, when it comes to football I really don't have that one team that I call mine. On the contrary, I freely admit to hopping on the bandwagon of whatever team is hot, or I find a player I really like and root for his team. In high school it was Gene Washington of 49ers. I loved watching San Francisco QB John Brodie and Washington pick apart opposing defenses. And if it happened to be against the Cowboys, so much the better. The one year I played high school football, I kept trying to find a jersey with the numer 18 on it.

I stayed with San Francisco through Jerry Rice's Hall Of Fame career (Trivia - the only personalized jersey I own from any sport has RICE across the back). I still can't fathom what Rice was thinking when he decided to appear on Dancing With the Stars, but that's a discussion for another time and place. Jerry Rice was blessed with good speed and great hands, and was fortunate enough to have Joe Montana and Steve Young throwing the ball to him for most of his career.

I have been following Tom Brady's career since his rookie season. It's just my humble opinion, but I think he is going to go down as the greatest NFL quarterback of all time. He has lost exactly one postseason game in his already-remarkable career that is absolutely destined to take him to Canton, Ohio when his playing days are done. I would LOVE to see him cap off this incredible season with a perfect 19-0 record.

But then there's the case of Eli Manning. I've heard all the complaints from the agoraphobes who call into the radio shows, and the armchair quarterbacks masquerading as media types who haven't played a meaningful football game since high school (assuming they even made their high school team). "He can't play under pressure." "He throws off the wrong foot." "He can't play in bad weather." "He's not as good as his brother." Seems to me that over the course of the 2007 regular season - and especially over the past 5 or 6 weeks - Eli Manning has knocked a lot of things off that list this season, including big wins in the playoffs over both Dallas and Green Bay. So I am pulling for him to have a stellar game in 12 days.

Who to root for - history (you don't get to see 19-0 very often) or the kid who personifies the much beloved underdog?

By the way, the last time I was faced with a similar dilemma was during the 1986 World Series. Torn between which team to root for, I ultimately opted for the Red Sox. We all know how that one turned out. Stay tuned; this could be interesting.

Merry Christmas 2007 From All Mixed Up Radio

2007-12-26T15:27:00.003-05:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2007

All the streets are filled with laughter and light

And the music of the season

And the merchants windows are all bright

With the faces of the children

And the families hurrying to their homes

As the sky darkens and freezes

Theyll be gathering around the hearths and tales

Giving thanks for all God's graces

And the birth of the rebel Jesus

If you've ever seen my house, you know it's not very big...a Cape Cod that we expanded (a bit) to be able to finally put all three kids in their own rooms. That said, my wife's entire family invaded in waves on Christmas Eve. The first two waves landed by 7 PM...the other two followed shortly thereafter. By the time all forces had landed, there were 14 of us who for some reason were all crammed into the kitchen.

Well they call Him by the prince of peace

And they call Him by the savior

And they pray to Him upon the seas

And in every bold endeavor

As they fill His churches with their pride and gold

And their faith in Him increases

But they've turned the nature that I worshipped in

From a temple to a robbers den

In the words of the rebel Jesus

Actually, I like my wife's family, so don't read anything into that. It's just a lot different from the quieter, smaller, more reserved Irish family I grew up in. That said, things were a bit subdued - 8-year old Riane came down with strep throat and a 102 degree fever late Sunday and shivered her way through the day. Needless to say, I didn't think she'd have any trouble going to sleep at night once the prescription medicine kicked in.

We guard our world with locks and guns

And we guard our fine possessions

And once a year when Christmas comes

We give to our relations

And perhaps we give a little to the poor

If the generosity should seize us

But if any one of us should interfere

In the business of why they are poor

They get the same as the rebel Jesus

Santa made his customary cell phone call around 8:35 PM Christmas Eve; seems he was somewhere over Brazil at the time. Based upon the length of the conversation he had with Riane, it's a wonder any of the kids in Brazil received any presents. He told my 6-year old son that he was bringing him an electric guitar. Sure wish someone had warned Dad about that.

2007 has been OK by Monaghan standards. Work is going well...at both jobs. The Red Sox won yet another World Series title in my lifetime! More importantly, Daughter #1 has already been accepted at three colleges (my little baby is growing up!) and has grown into a strong, beautiful young woman. Daughter #2, strep throat and ear infection aside, is doing just fine, while Son #1 just spent the past 5 weeks playing in an indoor baseball league against 9 and 10 year old kids. He even made his pitching debut yesterday!

And if you're a regular listener/reader, you know how I feel about my wife. She is - bar none - the best thing to ever happen in my life. I like to think that I'm a better person for having married her.

I have to get back to work - about to leave the radio station for Job 2 - but let me leave you with this.

But please forgive me if I seem

To take the tone of judgement

For I've no wish to come between

This day and your enjoyment

In this life of hardship and of earthly toil

We have need for anything that frees us

So I bid you pleasure

And I bid you cheer

From a heathen and a pagan

On the side of the rebel Jesus

Jackson Browne - "The Rebel Jesus"

I'm neither a heathen nor a pagan. But I do have a special place for the music of Jackson Browne in my heart and that song has always struck the part of me that gets overwhelmed - and just a bit stressed out - at this time of year. If you don't celebrate, or if you're not a believer, the Christmas season (which seems to begin earlier every year) can be an absolute onslaught on your senses. Look, I've been in retail; I know what this time of year means to many businesses. But there's a point at which you say "enough." And if you've reached that point, then those lyrics are for you.

Merry Christmas from the Monaghan family to you and yours.

Glen Burtnik Live On All Mixed Up

2007-12-09T05:47:00.000-05:00

Glen Burtnik will be my guest on next Sunday's edition of All Mixed Up. You have a chance to win tickets to this exclusive, intimate performance this Sunday (December 9) beginning at 7 AM.

Glen's annual Christmas concert takes place on Saturday December 22 at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank. Complete details on the concert can be found here.

Daddy's Friend Dave

2007-12-04T10:22:00.000-05:00

It was about a year ago. My friends Maury, Tim, Chris, Mark and I were playing a gig at the Rattlesnake Ranch Cafe in Denville. A woman walked in, and Maury and I remarked to each other how much she looked like our friend Pam Kaskeski.

The consensus was that it couldn't be Pam because she and her husband Dave and their kids live in Delaware and there was simply no way they would be in Denville NJ on this cold December night.

We were wrong.

Rattlesnake Lounge Surprise

Dave, his wife Pam, and Johnny & Karen Fecco (who came all the way from Knoxville TN!) showed up en masse that night, along with a number of friends from the Unofficial Martin Guitar Forum, in what turned out to be a kind of farewell for all of us. Dave's cancer had recently returned and while he was putting up a good front, we would eventually lose him in the spring of 2007.

But for a few hours on that late December night, we were all together. Laughing, singing, joking. And my kids (shown dancing with my Goddaughter in one of the pictures) were finally able to put a face to "Daddy's friend Dave" who they were praying for every night.

I miss you, Dave.

Where'd I Put My Resume?

2007-11-27T10:56:00.000-05:00

"Dad, can we move to Boston?" "Well I suppose we could, Matt?" "Yeah...and I'll just bring my friends with me!" Oh to be six again and think it's all that simple.

But the fact of the matter is, there's an opening in the Red Sox front office - Vice President of Public Affairs - that is quite similar to the job I held with the Newark Bears a few years ago.

Where'd I leave that resume...and when was the last time I updated the darn thing?

"Alice's Restaurant" - What's the Big Deal?

2007-11-20T11:53:00.000-05:00

Every year a couple of days before Thanksgiving, it starts. It's slow at first, and then turns into a non-stop avalanche of phone calls. And no matter how many times a station runs promo announcements telling people exactly when it will be played, the calls still come.

"What time are you playing 'Alice's Restaurant?'"

Poor Arlo Guthrie. Don't get me wrong. I like Arlo. He's a part of American folk history, and honest-to-goodness he has recorded more than one song! His version of Steve Goodman's "City Of New Orleans" is among my favorite versions of the song. But for 364 days of the year, no one gives a rat's you-know-what about Arlo. Then, you get within a sniff of Thanksgiving and it's "What time are you playing 'Alice's Restaurant?'" You don't want to know how many phone calls radio stations get on this. One year when I was working Thanksgiving Day morning, I literally answered the phone with the times the song would be played that day. Not "hello," or "WNEW." Just the times that the song was being played. Kids are dying left and right in Iraq, we're spending BILLIONS of dollars a month over there, but dammit, we better get "Alice's Restaurant" on the air. Priorities, you know.

Mind you, this song - now 40 years old! - has ZERO significance in 2007. Wait - I take that back. Just like 40 years ago, we are mired in a war thousands of miles away in a place that I guarantee you many Americans couldn't find on a map if their lives depended up on it. But I digress. First, there's no longer a draft. Second, if you're not from the NYC area, you don't know the significance of Whitehall Street. And if you are under the age of fifty-freaking-two or three, there's an excellent chance you never went through a draft physical or won't understand many of the other dated references contained in the song.

One year, we had a program director at WNEW-FM who was trying to overhaul the station. He decided that we weren't going to play the song. This program director was an interesting sort of guy - no one had his home telephone number, which meant that if anything happened during off hours, no one had a means of getting in touch with him. So anyway, there's poor Ken Dashow on the air getting absolutely HAMMERED on the phone by listeners who are in a blind rage that a Thanksgiving is going to happen and WNEW-FM is not going to play this stupid song!

"It's tradition, man! How can you NOT play that song?!?!?!"

Long story short - Ken finally calls the station general manager at home who tells him to play the song. Wanna bet what went on behind the scenes on Monday morning when the PD and GM met in the hallway?

I'm all for tradition. We try to take the kids to the parade in New York every year. We gather as a family and tell stories and laugh. We tell each other how glad we are to have them in our lives. We don't need Arlo or anyone else playing in the background to make or break our holiday.

How's this for an idea - spend the $1.99 to download it to your IPOD and play the song non-stop.

So anyway, yes WDHA is playing "Alice's Restaurant" on Thanksgiving. 9 AM, noon and 6 PM. Far be it from us to mess with tradition.

Hy Lit 1934-2007

2007-11-18T20:14:00.000-05:00

If you listened to Philadelphia Top 40 AM radio at all in the 1960's, you should remember the name Hy Lit. Hyski, as he often referred to himself on the air, was to Philadelphia radio as any of the legendary WABC jocks were to New York City radio.

Along with afternoon jock Joe Niagra, Hy Lit (6-10 PM) was the pulse of Philadelphia, rocking on WIBG with ratings numbers that are still hard to comprehend (at his peak, I think Lit had something like a 40-share at night - he virtually owned the young adult audience in Philly!). Scott Muni and Murray the K here in New York always talked about their relationships with the Beatles, but Lit could go them one better. When the Beatles first came to Philadelphia in 1964, they stayed in Lit's home instead of at a hotel.

I can't even begin to tell you how many nights I listened to Hy Lit's show on a transistor radio tucked underneath my pillow. His signature close is still in my ears -

"Lookin up at the old clockarooni on the wall, it indicates its time for Hyski to split the scene and leave it clean...make way for the Frank X Feller record machine. What say we do it again, tomorrow night 6-10 in the pm...in the meantime, inbetween time, maintain your cool, don't be nobody's fool, live love laugh be happy, and go in peace...peace and freedom for all mankind."

Hy Lit passed away on Saturday November 17 from heart and kidney failure at Paoli Hospital in Pennsylvania. He and all those guys at Wibbage, as WIBG was called back then, were instrumental in creating a love of rock & roll and radio in me at a very early age.

Rock on, Hy Lit.

Memo To Theo - Short & Sweet

2007-11-13T08:08:00.000-05:00

SIGN MIKE LOWELL!!!!!

Red Sox - World "Serious" Indeed!

2007-10-29T17:57:00.000-05:00

Red Sox - World "Serious"

2007-10-22T08:06:00.000-05:00

World "Serious." It's one of the last little-kid-isms my 6-year old son has left in his vocabulary, but it's so absolutely perfect in describing how fans feel when their team makes it to the championship game. In fact, my wife, oldest daughter and I have all told Matthew's 8-year old sister Riane that she is to stop correcting him on it. We're not too sure that she understands why, but so far she's willing to go along with the rest of us on this.

Down 3 games to 1 against a Cleveland Indians team that had dismantled the Yankees, I have to admit that the mood in the Monaghan household wasn't all that positive, although once Josh Beckett started to announce his presence with authority (to steal a line from Bull Durham), I started thinking that winning this thing might be possible after all.

This has been a terrific season so far. Among the highlights - just about any time Jacoby Ellsbury has been on base, holding off the Yankees, winning the division, steamrolling through the first round, and of course pulling out the pennant after being down 3-1 against a very good Cleveland team.

But the best part of the baseball year for me actually happened rather quietly during a mid-summer's day game in Fenway Park. My 17-year old daughter and I took in a game while looking at New England colleges. On a beautiful sun-drenched afternoon watching the Red Sox win, I turned to her and said, "This is one of my favorite places in the whole world. I love sharing this with you." She turned to me and said, "It's one of my favorite places, too. Thanks for taking me here."

Last night she and my wife surrounded me on the couch as Dustin Pedroia slammed a double off the Green Monster, Kevin Youkilis drove a ball high and deep into the Boston night off one of the Coke bottles in left, and Coco Crisp made another ESPN Web Gem catch to end the game. And as Jonathan Papelbon beckoned for Jason Varitek to "come to papa" in celebration of the 27th out, they were both telling me how much they wished they were at Fenway. But at that moment, sharing the experience of having my favorite baseball team in the World Series with two of the most important people in the world to me, there was no other place on earth I wanted to be.

J.D. Drew - Better Late Than Never

2007-10-21T17:11:00.000-05:00

He has a reputation for being soft. One Red Sox front office executive told a gathering of team fans earlier in the season that there was some concern that while he has all the tools to play baseball, J.D. Drew doesn't always appear to play with any passion.

Last night's first inning grand slam changes everything. EVERYTHING.

Oh, and guess who was supposed to be in Fenway Park last night for the festivities? I HATE when work gets in the way of having fun!

Of Fathers, Sons, Baseball and Healing

2007-10-02T12:24:00.000-05:00

That little boy in the picture is my 6 1/2-year old son Matthew; the photo was taken this past Saturday on the Bronx campus of Fordham University at an alumni baseball event. Matthew is an absolute baseball junkie. He eats, breathes, sleeps and lives baseball. His first words in the morning are very often "Dad, did the Red Sox win last night?" When I told him earlier in the week that we were going to a baseball-related event at the school on Saturday he immediately wanted to know if he could wear his uniform and bring his bat and glove.

Just the idea alone that I was back at Fordham is probably cause for a raised eyebrow or two. I called the school "home" for five years but since graduating in the late 70's I have not exactly been the Poster Boy For Universitas Fordhamensis Alumni and in fact it was probably the first time I have been back on the campus in a decade. Suffice it to say that certain university policies both during and after my time as a student have not always met with my approval.

That said, there's always been a rather big connection between my family and Fordham. My Dad came home from the war and after working for Pennsylvania Power & Light for a few years enrolled in the school and graduated in 1954. A large number of cousins on both sides of my family went there as well. And truth be told, I brought Matthew's two older sisters along on Saturday with the hope that 17-year old Courtney would take one look at the campus (which has always been beautiful) and say, "Dad, I think I might like to go to college here."

Matthew knows little about Fordham other than it's in the Bronx near the zoo and both his Daddy and his grandfather went there. He is completely unaware of my rather tumultuous relationship with my own father while I was in college or the myriad of medical malfunctions my body was going through at the time (Doctor to me during my post-lottery military physical - "Son, don't worry about the draft. It would cost the Army too much to fix you up."). The surgical scars on my knee are visible but as you probably know from your own personal experiences, it's the invisible scars that often are more painful and take longer to heal.

So there Matthew and I were on Saturday - on the same field where my Dad and I, his only son, once walked around. "Want to have a catch, Dad?" I often wonder how many times I asked my Dad that question as a kid and now here was the spitting image of that man - albeit a miniature version - standing there asking the same question of me. I called my wife and told her that she wouldn't believe the range of emotions rushing through me while Matthew and I were working on his circle change (how many 6-year olds have a circle change?). And as he and I stood there on an exquisitely beautiful autumn Saturday afternoon playing catch ("Let's use a hard ball, Dad."), Fordham almost felt like home again.

Thanks, Matthew. Your grandfather would be so proud of you. I know that I am.

Putting Yankees/Red Sox Into Perspective

2007-09-16T09:35:00.001-05:00

Columnist Jackie MacMullen had a great quote in this morning's Boston Globe -

"All of us. Let's be clear on this. When Boston loses to New York one time, it feels the same as getting swept in a four-game series by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. It means at least three taunting text-messages from your obnoxious college friend in Brooklyn, at least one smug phone call from your dad, who grew up in Queens, and, to be sure, at least six dozen e-mails from Red Sox fans who are convinced this time the sky - including the Prudential, the John Hancock, and the Citgo sign - truly is falling."

That about sums it up I think.

Marshall Crenshaw Live On All Mixed Up - Win Tickets 9/16 and 9/23

2007-09-15T13:56:00.000-05:00

Old friend Marshall Crenshaw will be my guest on an upcoming edition of All Mixed Up and starting this Sunday you will have a chance to win tickets to an exclusive, intimate taping which will take place on Wednesday September 26 at the Original Music School in Cedar Knolls. Be listening starting in the 7 AM hour for your chance to win. Marshall's latest CD is called What's In the Bag; his website is here.

Marshall has two NJ shows coming up - September 27 at the Stanhope House and October 6 at the Central Baptist Church in Atlantic Highlands. Click on the above link to Marshall's website for full information on those shows...and make sure you're listening to All Mixed Up these next two Sundays for your chance to win.

Clay Buchholz

2007-09-02T09:47:00.000-05:00

I was supposed to be in Fenway Park last night, but I had trouble reaching my ticket connection. Didn't miss anything...that is if you don't think throwing a no-hitter in your second Major League start is anything.

There's been a lot of talk (hype?) about young pitchers this season - the Yankees have three whom the fans are salivating over. Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy are considered to be the future of the franchise. The Red Sox already have Jonathon Papelbon set as a dominant closer, Manny Delcarmen has pitched extraordinarily well out of the bullpen, and now rookie Clay Buchholz has thrown a no-hitter in just his second Major League start. Chamberlain's slider is absolutely filthy. Hughes started off great before an injury set him back a bit. And yesterday, Ian Kennedy looked very strong against a Tampa Bay lineup that had spanked Hughes around the night before. If they have any kind of poise, pitchers generally have an advantage the first time they face a team. The Orioles had never seen Buchholz's curve ball before, so they had no idea what the break of it looked like. He even fooled the plate umpire a couple of times.

Look what's happened to Hughes. Great start. A near no-hitter himself in his 2nd outing before getting hurt. Now, he's having some trouble getting people out. Why? Well for one, he's had enough outings that there's all kinds of video on him now. Plus, hitters like to talk to one another, so word's getting out. As great as Chamberlain has looked, remember that most teams are only getting one look at him in a series (think there's a message in "The Chamberlain Rules" that have been dictated to Joe Torre by the front office? They're probably scared to death that Torre will do to Chamberlain what he's done to other relievers - burn him out). It will be interesting to see what happens next season if the Yankees put Chamberlain in the starting rotation. Major League hitters make adjustments all the time; sometimes those adjustments happen game-to-game and sometimes they happen within the same game. Put Chamberlain on the mound for 7 innings every 5 days for a couple of months and see what the results are. I'm not saying that he won't do well. What I am saying is that 1) he won't be able to hit 100 consistently over the course of a game and 2) the hitters are going to make adjustments.

Look at Mariano Rivera - why are some teams able to handle him now? One is age is catching up to him and another is that the hitters know what his pitches do because they've seen him so often. Not that he isn't still very good most times and sometimes still dominant, but he's not the same as he was in the days when John Sterling dubbed him the Greatest Relief Pitcher Of All Time.

So while last night there was all kinds of talk on ESPN and Red Sox-related Internet forums about putting Buchholz in the starting rotation for the remainder of the season, keep in mind that he had a distinct advantage last night. Talk to me after he's gone through a half-dozen or so starts and the adjustments start.

So Where Were We?

2007-08-21T12:47:00.000-05:00

With temperatures in the 50's and rain on August 21st it's more like October outside than the so-called dog days of summer, but the American League appears to have allowed the Yankees to creep right back into the pennant race - not just for the Wild Card but the Eastern Division pennant, too!

Two months ago the Yankees were in second place in the East with a 35-35 record, sitting 10 games behind the Red Sox. They were also 6 games out in the Wild Card race. Since then, they've gone 35-20 (.636 winning %) and cut the Eastern Division lead in half and shaved three games off the Wild Card lead (remember, it's the loss column that counts).

How'd they do it? Some of it is the law of averages. With ARod, Jeter and Posada all having career years, and a payroll over $200 million the Yankees simply weren't as bad as they may have looked at times before the All Star Break. The Red Sox - as good as they are - also weren't going to play .700 ball for an entire season. Injuries, slumps, the Gagne Mess - all of that contributed to an evening-up of things in the Eastern Division.

Some random thoughts -

Phil Hughes is very good, but let's not make room for him in Monument Park just yet.
Joba Chamberlain has a filthy slider, but I still think that at least part of his success here in the very early days of his Major League career is due to the fact that he's only pitching one inning at a time, and so far not on back-to-back days. Major League hitters make adjustments on pitchers all the time. Why do you think the Red Sox have been able to handle Mariano the past few years? Because these two teams play each other 19 times every season. Let's see what happens with Joba after he's been through the league a few times.
Tim Wakefield should get 7 more starts this season and has a chance to win 20 games for the first time in his career.
Yankees GM Brian Cashman did an amazing job of rebuilding the bullpen.
The Mets have a combined 13 games remaining against the Phillies and Braves. And Pedro is having some difficulty getting hitters out in A ball.
To read some of the comments from readers of The Boston Globe, you'd never know that the Red Sox still have the best record in baseball. Terry Francona must be doing something right.

Welcome Back, Jon Lester

2007-07-23T10:31:00.000-05:00

On the surface, this would seem to be about a baseball player coming back off the disabled list and playing in the Major Leagues again. But it's so much more than that.

Eleven months ago to the very date (Aug 23, 2006) Boston Red rookie pitcher Jon Lester walked off the mound in California in a game against the Angels. Lester had been wracked up pretty badly in a game versus the Yankees five days earlier in Fenway Park. It was revealed shortly after the Yankee game that Lester had been involved in a minor traffic accident on the way to the ballpark. He was still OK enough to pitch against the Angels and even won that game. However when he realized that the post-accident pain in his lower back wasn't going away he went for some tests and found out some devastating news - he had cancer.

When you're 22 years old as Jon Lester was at the time, you tend to have a feeling of invincibility. It's the nature of being in your early 20's. And though the doctors told him it was a treatable form of anaplastic large cell lymphoma when you hear someone tell you that you have cancer, your entire world changes.

It's an insidious disease that sooner or later touches everyone of us. You may be battling cancer yourself at this moment. I lost a very close friend in early May to lung cancer. Three members of my immediate family have all successfully beaten cancer.

Tonight in Cleveland, 11 months to the date of his last Major League appearance, Jon Lester will take the mound for the Red Sox once again. For anyone who is fighting cancer, take a moment today to rejoice because Jon Lester is living proof that cancer can be beaten. This really isn't about baseball. It's about life.

No Song List This Week?

2007-07-18T06:07:00.000-05:00

Nah. No one's reading it here anyway. They're all over at AllMixedUpRadio.com.

The Songs I Played Sunday July 8, 2007

2007-07-08T09:16:00.000-05:00

Lawyers should not attempt to tinker with technology.... Ever.

6-8AM

Opening Theme - "Signe" by Eric Clapton

Please Be With Me - Eric Clapton
Diamond In the Rough - Shawn Colvin
If You Could Read My Mind - Don McLean
How To Save A Life - Fray

Be On Your Way - Lee Alexander
The Man - Pete Yorn
Box Of Rain - Grateful Dead
8:05 - Moby Grape
Two - Ryan Adams
Brooklyn - Steely Dan

Are You Alright? - Lucinda Williams
Save It For Later - Pete Townshend
The Fever - Bruce Springsteen

Perfectly - Judd & Maggie
Best You Ever Had - Joe Colledge
Sway - Rolling Stones
The Door - Keb' Mo'
Everything But You - Glen Phillips
Nightswimming - R.E.M

8-10AM

You're All I Have - Snow Patrol
Crash Into Me - Dave Matthews Band
Driven To Tears - Police
Could You Be Loved - Bob Marley & the Wailers

If I Broke the Record - Dave Potts
Our Country - John Mellencamp
It Must Have Happened - Mary Chapin Carpenter

On A Night Like This - Bob Dylan
One Headlight -
Feelin' To Know - Poco
Full Moon Nights In Pine View Heights - Trailer Park Troubadours
Rebels - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
You Make It Easy - Golden Smog
Teacher Teacher - Rockpile
Mr. Soul - Rush
Dream Big - Ryan Shupe & the RubberBand

Beauty Of A Broken Heart - Page McConnell
Times Like These - Foo Fighters
Two Hearts - Ryan Adams
Harvest Moon - Neil Young

Ain't Wastin' Time No More - Allman Brothers Band
Follow You Down - Gin Blossoms
Got My Mind Set On You - George Harrison
Calling All Angels - Train

Closing Theme - "Take Five" by the Dave Brubeck Quartet

Thanks for listening this morning. Enjoy the All Star Game.

The Songs I Played Sunday July 1, 2007

2007-07-01T10:03:00.000-05:00

Here is a list of the songs I played this morning.
6-8AM

Opening Theme - "Signe" by Eric Clapton

Happiness - Weepies
Help Me - Joni Mitchell
These Things - Tim O'Reagan
Bandit - Neil Young

Goodnight Rose - Ryan Adams *
Human - Pretenders
The Door Into Summer - Monkees
O Mary Don't You Weep - Bruce Springsteen
Is This Love - Bob Marley & the Wailers
Perfectly - Judd & Maggie

Two - Ryan Adams *
Sing My Songs To Me/For Everyman - Jackson Browne
Kiss From Eve - Gandalf Murphy & the Slambovian Circus Of Dreams

For Us - Pete Yorn
Forget Her - Jeff Buckley
Californication - Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Sun Also Sets - Ryan Adams*
Crush - Dave Matthews Band

8-10AM

This Is Us - Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris
Undeniably Human - Phil Roy
Before This Time - Ollabelle
Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen - Santana

Rip Off - Ryan Adams *
Everything But You - Glen Phillips
Almost Hear You Sigh - Rolling Stones
Missing You - John Waite & Alison Krauss

Full Moon Nights in Pine View Heights - Trailer Park Troubadours
Times Like These - Foo Fighters
Shinin' Brightly - Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band
Two Hearts - Ryan Adams *
Dance Tonight - Paul McCartney
Two Steps Behind - Def Leppard
You Are All I Have - Snow Patrol
House We Used To Live In - Smithereens
It Must Have Happened - Mary Chapin Carpenter

Vahevala - Loggins & Messina
Happy - Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes
The Picture - Son Volt
Two Lights In the Nighttime - Bonnie Raitt

If I Broke the Record - Dave Potts
Seven Turns - Allman Brothers Band
Water Song - Hot Tuna

Closing Theme - "Take Five" by the Dave Brubeck Quartet

* from the new CD Easy Tiger now available

Thanks for listening this morning. Have a great Fourth!

Another Month Gone By And....

2007-06-21T09:19:00.000-05:00

So where were we? On May 21st the Red Sox were 30-14 with a 9-game lead in the loss column over the Yankees who were still floundering at 20-23. Since then? Boston has gone 16-11; New York has gone 15-11. And that means that virtually nothing has changed.

I suppose I should be nervous about Curt Schilling missing two starts with God-only-knows-what bothering his shoulder, but then I keep seeing Julian Tavarez go out and do what he did last night - 7 shutout innings against Atlanta. No one will ever confuse Tavarez with the Second Coming Of Cy Young, but consider this - while Tavarez is now 5-4 with a 4.50 ERA, he's unbeaten in his last seven starts and has allowed three runs or fewer in nine of his 13 starts.

A month ago there was talk of Joe Torre losing his job. Thankfully, that nonsense appears to have stopped. But some of the other nonsense hasn't. Jason Giambi has been called to the principal's office to talk about steroids, Johnny Damon - less than two years into his deal with the Yankees - is an increasing defensive liability, and Miguel Cairo who is terrific off the bench simply isn't an everyday player anymore.

71 games in the book. 10 to get to the half-way mark. Stay tuned.

What A Difference A Month Makes

2007-05-21T09:56:00.000-05:00

Just a short month ago, the Yankees were in third place in the American League East, trailing the Red Sox by three games. Since then, Boston has gone 19-8 while the Yankees have gone 11-15, leaving New York still in third place, but now 10 games out in the loss column (it's still too early to call it the "all important loss column").

What have we learned as Major League Baseball hits the quarter pole? Well for one, it was a huge mistake for the Yankees to have Carl Pavano as one of the cornerstones of their pitching staff. For another, this Yankees team is playing old. Giambi (who apparently has more steroid issues to deal with), Damon (his body is breaking down at an alarming rate) and Abreu just aren't getting it done. Whatever lightning Melky Cabrera and Robinson Cano caught in a bottle last year seems to have disappeared (have you ever seen a player bounce a throw off his foot before as Cano did over the weekend against the Mets?), and I'm still not convinced that Mariano Rivera is OK.

That said, keep this in mind - the Red Sox just aren't this good. Julian Tavarez winning 2-1? Kason Gabbard? Throw him through the league a couple of times and let me know what the results are.

Realistically, though, the Yankees have to take at least two of these three games for a couple of reasons. One is to possibly save their manager's job. Two is to remind some Red Sox fans that division races aren't won in May.

New Logo For My Sunday Morning Radio Show

2007-05-03T06:25:00.000-05:00

How do you like it? I had been tossing some ideas around for awhile, but couldn't come up with anything I really liked. Thanks to Tom Hackett who put this together using some baseball team I happen to root for as the theme.

Clear Eyes...Full Hearts...Can't Lose!

2007-04-25T10:33:00.000-05:00

While still waiting for word on what NBC plans to do with Friday Night Lights, the critically acclaimed TV series that has had a tough time in the ratings battles, I thought I'd share with you the original halftime speech Coach Taylor made to the players during the season finale a couple of weeks ago. This is slightly different from the version that actually aired on that episode.

Imagine a locker room full of young, impressionable high school athletes facing the biggest collective challenge of their young lives at that very moment. And imagine the thoughts racing through the mind of a 40-something coach trying to give them the incentive to not give up despite what the scoreboard says.

“Every man’s going to lose a battle in his life. But what makes him a man is in the midst of those battles, he does not lose himself.

“His pride and character cannot be reflected on a scoreboard. When Jason Street went down in the first game of the season, everybody wrote us off. Everybody. We did not quit.

“It happens deep inside the human heart, gentlemen. When you look to the guy next to you, and you realize that no matter how difficult things are going to get out there, that he can trust you and you can trust him -- that there is no quit, that you’re going to fight out there to the bitter end – we call that clear eyes, don’t we?

“When you give everything that you’ve got, and then you realize you gave a little bit more that you didn’t even know you had, that you selflessly sacrificed for that guy next to you, we call that full hearts.

“Y’all are winners. There are no losers on that field today. This battle is not over. So let’s hear it one more time, together.

“Clear eyes. Full hearts. Can’t lose!”

NBC is expected to make an announcement concerning the future of this show within the next few weeks. In a television world populated with one lowest-common-denominator show after another, there has to be a place for a program as well done as Friday Night Lights.

Red Sox - Yankees...17 More Of These?

2007-04-21T12:03:00.000-05:00

First things first - no team in the history of Major League Baseball has ever won a pennant in April. Well, OK, there was that 1984 Detroit Tigers team that started the season 35-5 and kind of ran away and hid from everybody else. But you get the idea.

So excuse me if I'm not overly excited about the Red Sox having a two-game lead over the Yankees on April 21st. It's simply too long a season to get all that worked up over anything that happens in April. Injuries, trades...there's a good chance that the teams you saw on the field last night will be a lot different come August.

That said, you just KNOW that I was crowing a little bit last night watching Mariano Rivera implode against the bottom third of the Red Sox lineup. If manager Joe Torre has a flaw, it's the improper use of his bullpen. We're not even through the month of April yet and his relievers are already overused. And just think - these two teams play each other a total of 18 times this season!

RANDOM THOUGHTS
Manny can lose the dreadlocks anytime now.
Roger Clemens will be in the Yankee rotation by Memorial Day.
ARod will eventually cool off and the Yankee "faithful" will start booing the best player in the game once again.
Despite the moaning of Mets fans on WFAN, David Wright will start hitting for power again (had to throw a Mets reference in).

Coach Pitch Baseball - Diary Of A Dad's Loss Of Sanity

2007-04-16T16:07:00.001-05:00

Between playing or coaching, I have been involved in baseball for 44 years. I've had all differents kinds of experiences from staring off into space during my own Little League games to a free-agent tryout with the Yankees to a front office job with a minor league team. One of the two jobs I have right now involves teaching kids how to play baseball. I've also been a successful coach at the high school level. But nothing - absolutely nothing - could have prepared me for the experience that is called "head coach for a coach-pitch baseball team."

Take this past Saturday for example. At one point in the middle of the game, my second baseman was crouching down in the catcher's position, my right fielder was writing his name in the dirt (his spelling was perfect, BTW), my shortstop - one of the top three players on the field - threw the ball to first base once-twice-three times underhand (!), and my pitcher was rolling around in the dirt. So yes, that was me standing in short right field wondering exactly what I had gotten myself into.

Is it a bit exasperating? Well sure. But it's also a lot of fun and more rewarding than I thought it would be going in. There's nothing like the look on a little kid's face when he swings at the pitch and actually hits the darn thing. And for the parents of that child, it's an indescribable joy as they watch their son or daughter sprint (okay, maybe jog is a better word) to first base. My own son couldn't wait for this season - "It'll be real baseball, Matt. No more T-ball. Coach pitch is the just the start." Of course, he wants to know if when he gets to "kid pitch" the players then pitch to the coaches, so some of the finer points of the game are still beyond his grasp. I can tell you this - nothing...and I mean NOTHING...comes close to describing the rush of emotions when my son comes up to the plate to hit against me. He smiles at me; I smile back. And then I make a motion with my glove to let him know that a "fastball" is coming. He "digs in" even deeper in the batter's box. I wouldn't trade those moments for anything in the world. And I don't think he would, either.

As for the team's performance so far, we're 0-2. Our starting pitcher (that would be me) may have to come to the realization that when 6-year olds start taking you deep it may be time to consider hanging the spikes up. Something tells me that when the Yankees start the process of looking for Joe Torre's replacement I won't be on the short list.

Friday Night Lights - Television's Best Show - Are You Watching It?

2007-03-27T09:49:00.000-05:00

Haven't seen the movie; haven't read the book. But I am totally enthralled with NBC's "Friday Night Lights" which airs on Wednesday evenings.

I initially got into the show because during the first couple of episodes I saw, I was able to relate to the character of Coach Taylor who not only has to deal with his players, but also the pressure that comes from the parents and team boosters. I have coached baseball at every level from T-ball through high school and if you've ever coached a team that has any kind of competitive edge to it, you know what some parents can be like.

However, the more I watched the show the more I realized that it's the character development that really makes "FNL" shine. The actors playing the high school students (and yes, I realize that only one main character is actually played by a teenager - all the others are in their 20's) bring a sensitivity to their characters that allows these fictional teens to almost come to life, and actually treats teenagers with a sense of respect. And the interaction between Kyle Chandler (Coach Taylor) and Connie Britton (Mrs. Coach as some of the kids call her) is one of the best husband-wife portrayals on television these days. One TV columnist offered that the show could easily be subtitled "Scenes From Inside A Marriage." Britton, in fact, may be the best thing about the program. The dialogue between her character and both her on-screen daughter and husband are funny, poignant, realistic and emotional. A recent episode dealing with 15-year old Julie wrestling with the decision of whether to have sex with her football-player boyfriend contained a scene in which Britton gave an Emmy-winning performance.

You don't have to like football to appreciate "Friday Night Lights." You just have to like intelligent television.

Glen Phillips Interview/Performance On All Mixed Up Sunday March 11

2007-03-09T12:16:00.000-05:00

The interview with Glen Phillips, along with his stunning performances, will be on All Mixed Up this Sunday morning March 11 in the 8AM hour.

Glen Phillips Live On All Mixed Up - Win Tickets Sunday 2/25

2007-02-23T18:55:00.000-05:00

Glen Phillips, lead singer and songwriter with Toad the Wet Sprocket and a solo artist as well, will be my guest on an upcoming edition of All Mixed Up and you will have a chance to win tickets to this exclusive taping this Sunday morning.

Be listening starting in the 7 AM hour for your chance to win. Glen's latest CD is called Mr. Lemons; his website is here.

The High Holy Days Are Upon Us!

2007-02-12T13:29:00.000-05:00

And not a moment too soon I might add. They are - in chronological order -

February 13 - Pitchers and catchers report
March 1 - First day of spring (unofficial); Red Sox first Spring Training game
March 10 - Morris County St. Patrick's Day Parade
March 16 - Matthew's birthday
March 17 - St. Patrick's Day
March 20 - First day of spring (official)
April 1 - 2007 Major League Baseball Opening Day
April 10 - Red Sox Home Opener

On Waking Up At 4:15 AM

2007-02-07T15:33:00.000-05:00

OK, let's get one thing very clear - I am NOT a morning person. It can take me hours to become something approaching civil when the alarm goes off. So what exactly was I thinking when I agreed to do the morning show at WDHA when management at the radio station approached me with the offer last May?

My wife is what you might call "terminally perky." She can have a pounding migraine and come bouncing into the house with a big smile on her face, laughing with the kids. She's better known as the "anti-Jim" among people who know the two of us well.

So anyway, it's up at that ridiculous hour and off to two different, full-time jobs before getting home somewhere between 8 and 9 o'clock at night. Hey, it's a tough job, but someone has to do it, right?

Is This Thing On?

2007-02-05T10:24:00.000-05:00

Blog? Me? Well now that's kind of bizarre. I mean I have a website and message board just for the radio show. I even have a MySpace page (much to the shock of my 17-year old). So what's up with this?

Call it my inquisitive nature; call it my "no one will see this anyway so why not" phase. Call it just another excuse to waste time on the Internet.