Happy New Year to All My Friends and Followers

 

I wish everyone a happy and healthy new year whether I have met you in person or not.  If I have not met you it means we have common interests such as:

• Baseball
• Oldies Music
• Bob Dylan
• Radio

Happy Birthday Bruce Springsteen

 I guess since I am more interested in the recording artists of the 60s and early 70s, I never developed a strong interest in Bruce Springsteen who is 73 years old today.  He covered Bob Dylan's Chimes of Freedom.  Below is a video of him performing it in Copenhagen in 1988.

Random Thoughts of the Day

Aaron Judge of the Yankees hit 60 home runs as his fans are greatly anticipating his 61st that would tie him with Roger Maris for the American League record for home runs in a season, The attendance at last night's game was 46,175.  On September 30, 1961, as a 12-year-old my uncle took me to the penultimate Yankee game of the regular season to see Roger Maris hit his 61st home run.  The attendance was only 19,061.  The next day when Maris hit #61 the attendance was slightly higher at 23,154.

The news on TV or radio is always very depressing.  A few times a week I listen to 1010 WINS for about 22 minutes just to know what is going on.  Whenever I go into a local bagel bakery, the owner always listens to WINS.  An all-news station must be repetitious by its nature.  I once asked her why she does that and she responded, "I like the news."  To each his/her own.

Why do I keep having dreams about working in a library almost five years after I retired?

 

Should Jeopardy Make Changes?

 

There is that old cliche "if it is not broken, don't fix it."  Jeopardy is very popular, especially after the big winners in Season 38.  The major sports and other game shows have modified rules over the years.  Here are some suggestions:

1. I read this on the iHeart app .  A player who runs a category should receive a bonus. Many fans oppose this change.
2. There should be a minimum of $5000 for the winner in the event all players miss Final Jeopardy.
3. The consolation prizes should be raised to $3,000 for second place and $2,000 for third place.  Inflation has taken its toll on the $2000 and $1000 that have been the consolation prizes for years.
4. If a player misses a Daily Double, the other contestants can ring in and if correct get the amount bid by the original player.

I heard that there will be Triple Jeopardy on the Celebrity version that will debut Sunday, September 25.  I hope that the celebrities will not waste time by gabbing.  I predict the answers will be easier than they are on regular Jeopardy.

Mets Beat Pirates 7 to 3 to Sweep Series and Tie a Major League Record for Strikeouts in a Game

 

The Mets played small ball as they scored 3 runs in the first two innings. Jacob deGrom was coasting as he struck out 13 in the first 5 innings.  He was obviously tired as he gave up back-to-back singles followed by a three-run homer by Oneil Cruz to tie the game.  There was no scoring until the 8th inning Terrance Gore served as a pinch-runner for the Mets, entering a tie game in the eighth inning and promptly stealing a base. Within minutes, he was back in the dugout, having moved to third on an error and scoring on Brandon Nimmo’s game-winning single in a 7-3 victory over the Pirates.  The Mets may have acquired Gore as a good luck charm as he won three World Series rings as a pinch runner.

The Mets tied a major league record as their pitchers struck out 19 batters in a 9-inning game.  They have a slim one-game lead over the Atlanta Braves for the NL East lead.

Game Summary

Hands Across the Water - Another Feature of Bob Shannon from his WCBS-FM Days

 Bob would play a hit by an American artist that was also a hit by a British artist.  I am featuring Time is on my Side by Irma Thomas which was covered by the Rolling Stones.  The later version was performed on the Ed Sullivan Show.

NJIT Gets Some Recognition as a Wrong Question on Final Jeopardy

 

Yesterday’s final Jeopardy answer was “Founded as a technical institute in 1900, its sports teams are the Tartans & its official mascot is a Scottish terrier”.  Luigi de Guzman (seen above) responded What is NJIT? Host Ken Jennings responded, “I assume that is the New Jersey Institute of Technology.”  The correct response which none of the contestants got was “What is Carnegie-Mellon University.” Luigi is now a five-time winner and could become a super champion as he has won his games decisively.

When I worked at NJIT for 25 years the university struggled to get recognition as an excellent technical university with a wide range of programs with an excellent faculty with research accomplishments. I was pleased to find out that NJIT was ranked as a top 100 National University by the U.S. News and World Report.  In New Jersey Rutgers and Princeton are household names but NJIT is not.  Its mention on Jeopardy by a lawyer from Arlington, Virginia is a small indication that it is known outside of the NY/NJ metropolitan area.

I would like to interject my frustration as a retiree in staying connected with my former colleagues at this fine university.  It consistently has been a one-way street as I have phoned and emailed people, but nobody ever took the initiative to contact me.  For example, when a long-time colleague retired, nobody even thought of inviting me to her retirement luncheon. I conclude that “out of sight and out of mind” supersedes keeping in touch. I thought that in this era of email and social media it would be easier to keep in touch with former colleagues, but I was wrong.

I determined that many universities including Rutgers have an association of retirees, but NJIT does not.  Establishing such an organization would a win-win situation as the retirees can stay connected with the university and with each other.  The university could target retirees for fundraising.  There is an active Alumni Association, but nothing for the retirees.  I feel uncomfortable suggesting to the upper administration of NJIT to form such a beneficial organization.

Please understand that I am not bashing NJIT or any individuals. I am just discussing a situation that disturbs me.  Perhaps someone from NJIT will read this and respond to me.

You may advance to 16:47 to see Final Jeopardy