Roger Daltrey: Let It Be

There's plenty in the news right now that I would love to "rant and rave" about; maybe I could even blog from a remote location, like the hip and glamorous Rack & Roll. Hee haw! It's a joke dammit!

Anyway, for now I am just going to post this video that I found on youtube. It's a pretty good version of "Let It Be," performed by Roger Daltrey when he toured with the British Rock Symphony Orchestra back in 1998 and 1999. I actually saw all of them along with the very accomplished Boys Choir of Harlem at Radio City Music Hall in '98. It was really good and a top-notch place to see a concert!

For this one, Daltrey was on-stage with Simon Townshend (Pete's brother) and Zack Starkey (Ringo's son). I don't know who the black woman is singing, but she's great! Anyone who can identify her and the venue, wins a Starbucks' drink on me!

Classic Woody Woodpecker: Convict Concerto

I love this cartoon also, however, the one I am looking for is "Bunco Busters." That's the toon where the guy keeps saying, "If Woody had gone straight to the police..." This one is still great, though!

Woody Woodpecker: Convict Concerto [1945]

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Classic Woody Woodpecker: Chili Con Corny

Another hilarious Woody Woodpecker cartoon. They don't make 'em like these anymore do they?

Woody Woodpecker: Chili Con Corny [1972]

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Fragments

UFOs over Stratford, UK? The above picture says so, what say you?

POLITICS

President Bush gets no credit for the strong U.S. economy and continues to get hammered on anything and everything that goes wrong in the universe. Bush has made some poor decisions, but I bet you that history will judge him much kinder than the press and voters currently are. Bush should go after the Al-Qaeda and Taliban being protected in western Pakistan. The military must dismantle the nine terrorist camps in operation there and also nab the brain trust of the terrorist group. Allowing those camps to run unchecked means we are no safer than before September 11, which would be a disservice to Americans and all those troops who have been injured or killed during the War On Terror. Yes, Bush should send the military over the border from Afghanistan into Pakistan, until the job is complete.

Barack Obama was spectacular during the CNN Youtube debate the other night. Many people want to see Obama paired with Hillary Clinton, even though Obama is being pushed as an "outsider" and not a veteran of Washington D.C. politics, so teaming him with Hillary makes little sense from that standpoint.

Obama and Republican Presidential hopeful, Mitt Romney, both wrote essays in Foreign Affairs Magazine this month that are must reads.

SPORTS

Soon Barry Bonds will break Hank Aaron's home run record. This got me thinking about someone who got all red-faced and started screaming at me when I said Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak will never be broken. Yes, "never" is quite a long time, however, Joe D. set that record in 1941 and no one is breaking it this season, that I can guarantee you!

Michael Strahan may be a Giants' holdout...ho hum!

WFAN's Bob Heussler told Tommy Dee and I on Blog Talk Radio that he is bullish on the W.N.B.A. You may want to check out the Connecticut Sun playing the NY Liberty tomorrow night on MSG. I'm not really a fan of the W.N.B.A., but I respect their talents.

Al Arbour coaching his 1,500th game for the Isles is a stunt that surprises me because it involves Arbour. He'll step behind the bench on November 3 at the Nassau Coliseum against the Pittsburgh Penguins. This just stinks! It reminds me of when Gordie Howe skated one shift with the Detroit Vipers of the now-defunct I.H.L. (International Hockey League) just so Mr. Hockey could say he played in six decades. Just lame!

Classic Woody Woodpecker - Under The Counter Spy

"The story you are about to see, is a big fat lie." This is a classic, enjoy!

Blog Talk Radio

Hey gang! Come check out Tommy Dee and I on Blog Talk Radio as part of nykfanpage.com. We've had some really good guests, thus far. Yesterday, we had on WFAN's Bob Heussler and New Jersey Nets' play-by-play man, Chris Carino. To listen, click me. Happy listening! Oh yeah, you can talk to us, live every Sunday night between 7 and 8 p.m.

Odds & Sods...The Center Ice Version

There's a lot going on in the news right now, much of it twisted. So I'm going to do my best to untwist.

NEWS
Greta Van Sustern did a nice job interviewing Chavo Guerrero Jr. last night on Fox News' On The Record. She treated the third-generation wrestler with great respect and showed interest in his chosen profession. No smirks or chuckles. Chavo was one of the folks who was receiving those eerie text messages during the last few hours of Chris Benoit's life. Chavo is also the nephew of Eddie Guerrero who died in 2005.

Bad job - as usual - by former Westchester D.A. Jeanine Pirro trying to insinuate that someone in the W.W.E. may have been involved in murdering Benoit. The Wikipedia entry regarding Nancy Benoit is peculiar, but to suggest anything more without evidence is sloppy. But then again we are talking about Miss Lip Gloss, who regularly saw evidence as an annoying inconvenience while Westchester D.A.

Sadly, I have to report another pro wrestler has passed away. John Kronus, who was most well-known for being one half of The Eliminators' tag team was found dead in his New Hampshire apartment yesterday. No further details were given. He never worked for the W.W.E. but I'm sure the press will say he did.

Does anyone think that yesterday's steam pipe explosion near Grand Central Terminal might be a 'dry run' by terrorists?

Marianne Pearl is suing several members of al-Qaeda and a Pakistani bank in connection with the brutal slaying of her husband. I'm not sure what will ever come of it, probably nothing. But she is a brave woman, which was clearly shown in A Mighty Heart; the best movie of the summer.

I've read that General David Petraeus is the best military man this country has seen in 50 years. There is good news on the ground in Iraq, that is only being reported sparingly. This is a great thing because our troops are not leaving that country anytime soon. Congress can grandstand all they want; they will never vote to pull the troops out. The Democrats who keep saying they want the troops home, we'll never vote that way because they are not strong in their convictions.

SPORTS
The N.F.L. has a big problem on their hands with Michael Vick. Do you suspend him without Vick getting his day in court? Does anyone think that other N.F.L. players are not involved either directly with Vick or in this sort of thing? I think we are just scratching the surface of another disgusting display of behavior off the field by professional athletes. But I'm willing to let the fact bear themselves out. In America, we are innocent until proven guilty, last I checked. Still, the guys in charge have a tough decision to make. There is going to be a great deal of pressure for Vick to be suspended, but what if he is found not guilty. Either way the N.F.L. has big problems.

Shocking that Garry Sheffield has gotten himself in trouble for shooting his mouth off! Just shocking...

I'm sure it was a very happy 67th birthday for Joe Torre last night when the Yankees won their fourth straight series by beating the Blue Jays.

Unless you are a complete Kool-Aid drinker for whatever team you root for, you have to acknowledge A-Rod's greatness. Maybe, he's more comfortable in New York and ready to have a big post-season. I'm not sure about that, but it's hard to deny his talent. Nonetheless, he's laughing all the way to the bank.

Is it possible that the Rangers might have two Alaskan natives on the team this season? Scott Gomez and rookie Brandon Dubinsky.

The Blueshirts are counting on cutting Darius Kasparaitis and his $3 million salary some time before the season starts. This way they can get below the $50 million cap. However, reports are circulating that Kasper is in top notch shape, having lost a significant amount of weight, and is ready to stay with the big club. Could get very interesting!

Again, the hiring of Brent Sutter as the Devils' Head Coach is a brilliant one. Only thing is that now GM Lou Lamoriello can't blame anyone. He's got the best coach behind a Devils' bench since Pat Burns.

Blueshirts open camp on Friday September 14th and then start the pre-season against the Devs the following Friday at MSG.

Gary Player - who has a book coming out, don't they all? - says that a couple of guys on the P.G.A. Tour admitted to him that they are using steroids. I remember hearing some folks on the radio screaming that there is no possible way either M.L.B. pitchers or golfers could be "juicing." I guess they were wrong, again! Amazing!

OK, I admit I snapped a photo of one of my hockey jerseys...It's a joke dammit!

Stay Onsides!

Overture

Greetings and salutations, folks! There's a lot to cover as always so I'll get right to it.

CHRIS BENOIT

As I pen this post, the toxicology report on Chris Benoit has been released. This basically is all about how you look at things. Anabolic steroids were not found in Benoit, yet testosterone was. This is what Benoit was getting from his doctor. Having low testosterone levels is consistent with someone who has abused steroids for years. The media and the talking heads are jumping all over this, of course, and saying that Benoit had 'roid rage. For more on the story click me.

The bottom line is that this is a tragedy and that more should be done to rid pro wrestling of illegal drug use. But there is a great deal of sloppy reporting going on, which makes me ask why should I trust these media folks with anything if they are so careless with this story? Are you listening Nancy Grace? Geraldo Rivera?

Meanwhile, Monday Night Raw did a 3.4 rating last night, which is the lowest summertime rating in nine years according to 1wrestling.com. I'm not entirely 100% sure that the low rating is all about the Benoit situation. The storylines have been really boring the last couple of weeks, which is not surprising since Dusty Rhodes is now part of the creative team for the W.W.E. Dusty was a great wrestler, but is and has always been a horrible booker. Rhodes has even thrown himself into the ring at this Sunday's Great American Bash pay-per-view against Randy Orton in a bull rope match. Dusty, by the way, is 62. I get that he's trying to push his son, Cody, but the "American Dream" should stay out of the "squared circle." Randy Orton's nickname, "Legend Killer," has been dropped since the Benoit tragedy.

ENTERTAINMENT

Art Bell announced his retirement recently from radio and the Coast To Coast AM Show. Bell, however, has retired more times than Barbara Steisand, so I doubt this is permanent. Meanwhile, regular C2C Host, George Noory, did a nice job when he went on with Larry King. L.K. had a panel of guys on to discuss the 60th anniversary of the Roswell UFO incident, including Buzz Aldrin and former Arizona Governor Fife Symington, who is most infamously known for the "Phoenix Lights" sighting, which took place in 1997. I've posted a pic above.

I got to see Colin Hay from Men At Work perform in downtown Stamford, CT. Overall, I would say it was pretty good.

SPORTS

The Rangers may have made a big mistake today in dealing Matt Cullen to the Carolina Hurricanes for d-man Andrew Hutchinson, a pick, and a prospect. The Blueshirts are poised to make a run at the Stanley Cup and need a guy like Cullen who has tremendous speed, decent hands, and superb penalty killing skills. Cullen also gelled quite nicely with youngsters Ryan Callahan and Petr Prucha. This move was all about dumping salary due to the fact that the Rangers need to sign Sean Avery and Marcel Hossa; while allowing wiggle room for a possible additional defenseman. Apparently, the Rangers are going to give Brandon Dubinsky and Artem "From Russia With Love"Anisimov a long look in camp. Some of you have told me that you really like when I preview line combos, so why not do a mid-summer looksie:

Forwards

Martin Straka-Scott Gomez-Jaromir Jagr

Sean Avery-Chris Drury-Brendan Shanahan

Ryan Callahan-Brandon Dubinsky-Petr Prucha

Marcel Hossa-Blair Betts-Ryan Hollweg

Extras: Colton Orr, Nigel Dawes.

D-Men

Marek Malik-Michael Rozsival

Fedor Tyutin-Dan Girardi

Paul Mara-Marc Staal

Extras: Jason Strudwick, Thomas Pock

Goal

Henrik Lundqvist

Stephen Valiquette

Moving right along...Just when many folks thought the Devils were dead, they go out and hire Brent Sutter. My friends, with that move they are one of the best in the East.

Can Gary Sheffield please shut the **** up?

OBSCURE and GUARANTEED TO IMPRESS YOUR FRIENDS

Everyone likes to refer to George W. Bush as 'Bush 43,' while his father is referred to as 'Bush 41.' However, only 42 men have been President of the United States. Huh? Well, Grover Cleveland served two terms; from 1885-1889 and 1893-1897, in the middle of that Presidential sandwich was Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893). Cleveland led in the popular vote, but lost to Harrison in the electoral college. Sound familiar?

Tell 'em where you got it!

I've Got A Hunch...

I would love to rant and rave about the idiocy that reigns supreme in our government, particularly, the number one offender of anyone with an inkling of common sense: Michael Chertoff. The Department of Homeland Security's head is playing down reports today that al-Qaeda is as strong right now as they were pre-9/11. Chertoff has said more than once over the last couple of weeks that he believes an attack on American soil will occur this summer. There have been reports this week that the "chatter" is scary high and that the word "nuclear" keeps being used. Throw in the fact that al-Qaeda's leadership has reconstituted itself in western Pakistan - also known as Waziristan - after Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf made some "look the other way" deals with the tribal leaders there. So Chertoff's got a "hunch."

Chertoff told reporters he had a "hunch" something was coming, basically because he supplied nothing further to back up his claim that the U.S. is going to get hit in the next couple of months. Many people are skeptical because of the timing of his statements. Are they a distraction from Iraq?

If it is true that al-Qaeda is getting stronger than we've got big problems. Reportedly, their media wing is working o.t. releasing over 60 messages so far this year. But saying that you've got a "hunch" when it comes to the security of the homeland is a joke. I've had no faith in Chertoff from day one, but this pretty much shows that he is the number one boob around. But I'm going to stop myself from ranting and raving right now. That's because I feel a hunch coming on. I think I know where former NHL forward Joe Murphy's skates are. What? Pardon me while I transmogrify this post from the cynically serious to an attempt at being clinically funny. The story goes that in the middle of the "glorious" 1999-2000 season, Joe Murphy was invited to train with the New York Rangers for a couple of weeks and then if all went well he would sign with the team. Murph worked out with the Broadway Blues up at their former training facility at Rye Playland for a bit and then decided instead of signing with the Blueshirts, he would head to Beantown to play for the Bruins. The General Manager at the time, Neil Smith, was so incensed when he heard the news, that he raided Joe Joe's locker and threw his skates off the boardwalk into the Long Island Sound. I posted the above picture because this is the general area of where those skates were deposited. I'm thinking of diving in and searching. Maybe, Geraldo Rivera could host a show when I retrieve Murph's skates.

One more gem about Joe Joe: During the 1992-1993 season, Murphy played for Head Coach Mike Keenan and the Chicago Blackhawks. During a game, Keenan tapped Murphy on the shoulder to go in; Murphy in all seriousness turned around and told "Iron"Mike that "Joe Joe doesn't feel like playing right now. He's too tired." Needless to say, Murph's ice time was cut down the rest of the season.

See that wasn't too bad. Just a mini rant!

Really Catching Up!!!

I haven't blogged in a bit so there are quite a few things that I need to catch up on. Most importantly, Happy Independence Day to everyone! We should all count our blessings, starting with the fact that we live in this great country!

ENTERTAINMENT
First off, I thank anyone and everyone who tuned in to the interviews Tommy Dee and I did with Frank Isola and Phil Mushnick. The Isola spot was really good; he was very accommodating. The Mushnick interview was a bit hard to swallow. Tommy Dee thought it was great radio, which I am sure it was. However, I did not like the fact that it was just too difficult to ask a question without being interrupted. At some points, I felt like I just had to shout him down or talk over him. Phil likes to make himself out to be the "moral watchdog," but his first lesson should be with himself and developing some simple manners.

My stance on the tragedy of what has gone on in pro wrestling may have gotten a bit muddled. I want there to be more done to prevent those in the wrestling industry from dying so young. At the same time though I believe in personal responsibility and I don't see how any reasonable person can pin the loss of so many wrestlers on one individual.

Meanwhile, I watched WrestleMania 23 on W.W.E. 24/7 and thought it was one of the most exciting events I've ever seen; sport or entertainment wise. The athleticism of guys like Shawn Michaels, John Cena, and Edge is unparalleled. I do hope that all of the current wrestlers learn a lesson from the Chris Benoit tragedy and get off any drugs they might be using.

Incidentally, Benoit's wife Nancy was known as Fallen Angel earlier in her career and played the role of Kevin Sullivan's sidekick in an alleged cult. I'm figuring that's where Hulk Hogan recently came up with the ludicrous idea that Nancy was into devil-worshipping. I thought the Hulkster knew this stuff is staged. I am curious to see how the Benoit tragedy affects the W.W.E. Will celebs still get involved? Apparently ratings have not been impacted because the W.W.E.'s programming is still number one on the USA Network, Sci-Fi, and CW 11.

Wade Boggs inducted his old buddy, the late Curt Hennig into the W.W.E. Hall of Fame back in late March. I guess he doesn't blame Vince McMahon for Hennig's death. Nor do Curt's wife or his father, former wrestler Larry “The Ax"Hennig, who were both in attendance at the induction.

Live Earth lacked punch for some reason. The list of folks performing didn't get me charged up. I think I'm a bit skeptical about Al Gore anyway. Contrary to reports, The Who did not perform, and were never scheduled to, which kind of surprised me because they usually play at festivals with big crowds and that sort of thing. But they had a previous gig scheduled in Denmark. They also closed out the festivities at Glastonbury on June 25 and will wrap up their extensive world tour in Helsinki tomorrow night.

The last couple of years have been pretty busy for them with the new album Endless Wire being put out and the story that the album is based on The Boy Who Heard Music being made into a musical and currently being performed around the world. Pete Townshend's memoirs are due out in the next year or so and then there is the 40th anniversary of the Tommy album in 2009. A movie is planned about the band and another one about Keith Moon is due out starring Mike Myers; plus there may be another album. All in all I guess they'll be pretty busy. There are rumors that they will be coming to NYC in October or November. I hope so. It's been a couple of years since I've seen them and hope to see them again.

I remember I bought tix to see The Who and Robert Plant and Jimmy Page at Madison Square Garden a few years ago; I think it was 2002. But Page hurt his leg so he and Plant had to bail out. The show went on and was great, but I don't recall the band that opened for The Who. I do remember literally bumping into the very tall Lenny Kravitz.

SPORTS
So Islanders GM Garth Snow says that he was really targeting Mike Comrie and Bill Guerin all along. Yeah, right. We're all stupid Garth. I'm sure he was fine with losing Ryan Smyth after giving up essentially three first round picks for him.The Rangers nabbed the top free agents available in Scott Gomez and Chris Drury and everyone moans. Hey, there within the cap so what difference does it make? Besides, let's see how the team gels before we crown them Stanley Cup champions. Another defenseman would be nice also.

The Devils signed former New York Rangers’ Karel "The Raccoon" Rachunek and Kevin Weekes. Weekes was disappointed that he did not play more with the Rangers, however, I don't understand how he could feel that he is going get more ice time with the Devs, then with the Rangers. The easiest and least active job in sports is backing up Marty Brodeur. Still, the Blueshirts had no intention of bringing Weekes back. Stephen Valiquette cost less, it's that simple. Plus super prospect Al Montoya figures to get a look also. Montoya is of course cheaper than Weekes.

The Rangers showed no interest in resigning checking forward Jed Ortmeyer, which I believe is a mistake. New York's season turned around not only because Henrik Lundqvist picked up his game but also due to the return of Ortmeyer, whose tireless work on the penalty kill will definitely be missed. Orts was once labeled a "future captain" by Mark Messier, I guess he'll do that some place else. I'll add this: come trading deadline the Rangers will be looking for an Ortmeyer-type. Good luck in Nashville, Jed.

I think the Knicks and Nets did well at the draft. I'm just concerned about another bad apple in Zach Randolph being on the team. No one questions his talent, but off the court it's another story. Do the Knicks need more bad p.r?

I know July 4th just passed, but Giants' and Jets' football will be here before you know it.

Can the Yankees please somehow get rid of Johnny Damon? Pretty please? I've heard it suggested that the Bombers will go after Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki in the off-season who is a free agent.

NEWS
For some reason the press didn't pay much attention to the attempted assassination on Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf. Uh, a nuclear-armed Pakistan being taken over by jihadists would be pretty bad news. No?

Incidentally, Al-Qaeda's number two released a video tape and then the attempt on Musharraf's life occurs. I've read and heard on t.v. that every time Ayman al-Zawahiri puts out a video message something bad happens. But somehow we are supposed to believe that the central command of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan have no influence on what's going on? Yeah right.

BOOKS
I finished a good one recently: The Bravest Man, which was about the lethal sub, the USS Tang during WW II. I just jumped into Rangers In World War II, which is about the very beginning of the U.S. Army Rangers. I'll report back to you on it.

Finally, what would be a posting without a funny video? This guy had a tough night at the office hosting his talk-show. Just take the kiddies out of the room before listening!

Stay Cool!