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Spring Break Training PART I |
Spring Break Training PART II |
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SABRES, PENS, SHOTGUNS & METS |
BILL BUCKNER WAS INNOCENT |
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ANGRYWARD
Posts:690
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| 08-13-2008 - SelecA - |
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SECAUCUS, NJ– With apologies to all of you non-NewYorkers out there, as well as you youngsters, today’s post hearkens back to a time when the Mets and Yankees were as identified with their respective television stations as they were their uniforms. You see, way, way, way back when in the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s, Mets games were shown on WOR TV-Channel 9, and the Yankees strutted their stuff on WPIX-Channel 11. As mentioned here before, my brother was such a Mets nut that his loyalties even spilled over into loving Channel 9 and hating Channel 11. Each channel had their own personalities, starting with the baseball broadcasts. For the Yankees and PIX it was The Scooter, Bill White, and Frank Messer, an affable and entertaining bunch to be sure. But television was about visuals, even back then, and no one but no one could compete with the Mets’ Lindsey Nelson. When you were finally lucky enough to get a good color TV, Nelson’s outrageously patterned sports coats threatened to wreck the tube each time he appeared on screen. No joke! Those cabinet style color consoles almost buckled under the weight of the sensory assault his outlandish jackets presented. But baseball aside, each station had their own unique vibe. Channel 11 had two of the greatest TV reruns on every night in “The Odd Couple” and “The Honeymooners.” To this day, I’m not sure you can get a better late night hour of television than that. 11 Alive also had a newscast which featured both the hysterically sarcastic Jerry Girard as well as the worst weatherman ever to appear on the NY airwaves: Roberto Tirado. I mean if the guy said it was going to be bright and sunny, you needed a canoe; rain, and you planned a picnic. Over on Channel 9, they were seemingly putting their programming together on a shoestring budget and a prayer. Highlights included a cheeky British import known as “The Benny Hill Show” and a game show block in the evening that included such stalwarts as “The Joker’s Wild,” “Tic Tac Dough,” and “Face the Music.” Of course we’d be remiss if we failed to mention “Bowling for Dollars” hosted by Larry Kenney. As for late night programming, even though the aforementioned “Odd Couple” and “Honeymooners” double was unbeatable, my WOR-crazed brother insisted on watching “The Life of Riley” starring William Bendix, as well as “Sgt. Bilko” reruns. When it came to movies, WPIX had the market cornered on Abbott and Costello on Sunday mornings. They also had Chiller Theater featuring that great six-fingered hand and creepy voice. But how could you ever compete with “The Million Dollar Movie” on 9? Even when it was something like “Day of the Triffids,” that sweeping “Gone with the Wind” music made it seem like you were about to watch the greatest piece of cinema ever produced. As for the WOR news? Let’s just say that we all probably owe a debt of gratitude to wacko weatherman Lloyd Lindsay Young for most likely driving Sara Lee Kessler and Tom Dunn into early retirement. Speaking of retiring early, that is exactly what you had to do if you even had any chance of catching who the PIX Pal of the Day was on Channel 11. They broadcasted this crucial bit of information for kids sometime around 5 AM, right after most vampires hit the hay and the test pattern went off. You needed this info in case you were chosen to compete in their odd afternoon cartoon “intelevision” contests during the commercial breaks. Kids would randomly yell “Pix! Pix! Pix!” into their phones at the top of their lungs hoping that the corresponding video game on Channel 11 was firing a touchdown or hitting a home run. I know this sounds confusing but I can’t describe it any further, what’s left of my brain hurts. Somehow I think it’s kind of sad that the Mets are now on Channel 11 (at least every Sunday) while the Yankees surface on Channel 9 around as often as George Steinbrenner has a lucid thought. It just doesn’t seem right.
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Cookie
Posts:592
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| 08-13-2008 - SelecA - |
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I don't even know where to start-- because frankly you've hit every point about these two channels back in the day that I loved. I could NOT stop laughing out loud! You even brought back some memories which were somehow buried beneath the WPIX Yule Log. (At least the PIX Yule Log has survived and even endured... infecting other TV stations where non-NYC dwellers might not appreciate the full effect of the Yule Log.)
WPIX did have the better programming. Chiller Theater ('Chillll-eerrrrr!') and the Sunday Abbott and Costello fests were untouchable in my book. The only thing another channel had which I kinda could put in the same league was the Tarzan fests on Channel Five. (Anyone remember the call letters before it became FOX-- the 4th network??)
And what about the Lil Rascals.... WPIX.. i think? A plague upon Bill Cosby for scooping up all the rights to the Lil Rascals because 'the show is racist.'
If anyone finds any DVD's of Chiller Theater for sale... I'm all over them. |
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Cookie
Posts:592
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| 08-13-2008 - SelecA - |
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I almost forgot:
'PIX! PIX! PIX!!!'
Why they didn't call me... I'll never know. I was SO prepared. |
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cnc63
Posts:34
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| 08-13-2008 - SelecA - |
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AW what a great article, brought back some fond memories. Thanksgiving seems to be missing helpings of Gorilla & Godzilla which were annuals on WOR!
Our own Bob Murphy was the original host of Bowling for Dollars before Kenney took the reigns.
Llloyd Lindsay Young actally became a friend of mine and even had me out the set of ch 9"s evening news. He's now working for KERO TV in california.
I originally found it difficult to move to 11 ,but agree with you at least they are consistent with the broadcasts and we continue to have the better team calling the game by far ,TV or Radio!
PS: for cookie- The original call letters for 5 were WNEW-
metromedia tv ny. |
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Vinny From Brooklyn
Posts:128
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| 08-13-2008 - SelecA - |
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| I wanted to kill the dumb asses that they had yelling PIX! All you had to do was yell it over and over as fast as you could. It was a combination of Pong and a early Space Invaders. |
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Janet
Posts:203
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| 08-13-2008 - SelecA - |
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| I nearly spit my coffee on the computer! Very funny! You captured some great memories there, Ward. How about Jack McCarthy and Popeye? |
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ActiveForums 3.6
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MATTS-MATICS: NY Jets vs NY Rangers |
BRAVE Fan Talks REDSKINS
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ROY HOBBS ON STEROIDS??? |
MEAGHAN & JAKE: COOLEST FANS |
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Nobody Remembers The Loser |
Giant/Super Tuesday |
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MATTS-MATICS: Hockey Nuts Go At It |
See us on: "Law & Order" |
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MATT FACTS:
Chad Pennington is NOT a Brett Favre fan... Hillary Clinton and Don Nelson have never been seen in the same place... Jerry Manuel is not related to Charlie ManuelJerry Manuel is not related to Charlie Manuel... Somebody namd Michel coaches the Pittsburgh Penguins... Tiki Barber quit the Giants. The Giants then won the Super Bowl... The New England Patriots only lost ONE game out of 19!!! Aaron Heilman was actually funny in re to Eli and Plaxico Burress helping the Mets as a pitcher and outfielder, respectively. Repeat, Heilman was funny... Jessica Simpson would rather date Tom Brady - trust us... Eli Manning is better than Archie - now... Alyssa Milano is a Met fan. RRRRR... Rickey Henderson speaks in the 3rd Person... Shawn Green has big ears... Howard Johnson likes to stay at the Holiday Inn, ironically... Sandy Alomar, Sr. is the youngest of 9 kids. That's why he was quick around the dish. Jiminy Cricket was the Philly Phanatic in a previous life…Fred Wilpon is pals with Sandy Koufax... Mike Ditka is a really tough guy.. Buffalo has a Triple A baseball team. They are NOT called The Snowballs... Chan Ho Park has people thinking of naming a ballfield after him - it would be called Chan Ho Park Park... John Maine has never been, oddly enough, to Maine... Curt Gowdy, Jr. has never been to Yellow Knife, Canada... Kevin Mitchell played 6 positions for the Mets in '86 and, according to Doc Gooden's book, didn't like cats... John Olerud & Wayne Gretzky have never been seen in the same place... Kevin McReynolds now makes his living doing laugh tracks for sit-coms... Tony Gwynn is nearing 300 lbs... Carlos Beltran has Mercedes Benz dealerships named for him in Barcelona, Spain... Willie Montanez was called Guillermo by Lenny Randle... Rusty Staub beat Jeff Kent in a race – TODAY... Jay Horwitz is a dynamite Cricket players – somebody said... Jeff Wilpon was a decent minor league catcher... Ziggy Palfy lives in Slovakia and is a big Met fan... Superman Returns, yet still can’t hit Billy Wagner... David Wright will win the Triple Crown – on a horse... Omar Minaya is Tobey McGuire’s stunt-double in Spider Man 3... Hilary Clinton has Mr. Met pajamas – we think... Albert Einstein was a HUGE Met fan... The Metropolitan Opera House was named for the Mets after their 2nd season in ’63... Wally Backman, ’86 sparkplug, considered changing his name to Wally Back-Matt... Neil Allen and Mike Stanton, former Mets, have Allen & Stanton Streets on Lower East Side named for them.
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