Orioles 6 Yankees 2

Selfie of Yours Truly at Yankee Stadium

The only time I root against the Yankees is when they play the Mets.  We like to visit the Stadium about twice a season.  I found out today that Yankee fans emulate Chicago Cub fans as they throw home run balls by visiting players back on the field.  Chris Davis, Jimmy Paredes, and Alejandro De Aza hit dingers into the right field stands to lead the Orioles to a 6-2 win.  The Yankee bats were just not there today.

Game Recap

Funky Nassau and Fraternity Brother Harvey Nassau

On tonights 60s 70s show Bob Radil played Funky Nassau by one hit wonder Beginning of the End which charted at 94 in May 1971.  It eventually peaked at #15 on the Billboard chart.  Anyway the song always reminded me of Harvey Nassau who was my Sigma Beta Phi fraternity brother at CCNY.

I remember Harvey lived in Rockaway, was heavy set, and had a girlfriend name Enid whom he eventually married.  He went to medical school in Philadelphia and became a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine.  I hadn't seen or heard anything about Harvey in over 40 years.

After I heard the song I Googled Harvey Nassau and found out that he passed away in 2006 at the age of 57.  

This is very similar to my story about Valerie and the Ronnie Dyson hit,

Strange things happen in this world.

Johnny Donovan of WABC Announces His Retirement

Johnny Donovan on the WABC Rewound Cruise

in June 2007

Allan Sniffen announced on the New York Radio Message Board that Johnny Donovan will be retiring after 43 years on WABC.  He worked at the station when it was a music station and later as a talk radio station.  I took the photo above at the WABC Rewound Cruise.  Peter Kanze can be seen in the extreme right of the photo.

Wikipedia biography of Johnny Donovan.

No Buses, Trains or Aggravation Today!

If you are familiar with my commuting blog you have read about my complaining about commuting delays on public transportation.  Today I had the unique experience of driving to work.  I presented a paper to the librarians at Stony Brook University in eastern Long Island.  I must say that it was a very beautiful campus.

I drove to Merrick in Nassau County where I met Selenay Aytac, my research collaborator.  From there we drove in her car the rest of the way.  There were a few places with heavy traffic, but no major tieups.

Driving to work does have its problems as often traffic is a problem.  I would have to pay a fortune in tolls if I drove to NJIT in Newark.  Parking is usually a problem as well since spots are limited.  Most universities charge employees to park.

You just can't win.

Random Comments of the Day

I signed up to take the online test for Sports Jeopardy.  I am not as good as I used to be with sports trivia, but I have nothing to lose by taking the test.  Since only 3 people a week are chosen as contestants, it is high unlikely I will be selected,

Politics in New York and New Jersey are becoming ugly again.  A few months ago Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was indicted on fraud and extortion charges.  Yesterday State Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos was arrested on corruption charges.  So both Democrats and Republicans are crooks. It is a shame that we elect people to office and then they abuse their office. Two former aides to NJ Governor Chris Christie, Bridget Kelly and Bill Baroni, pleaded not guilty in a 9 count indictment in the Bridgegate scandal.  I hope they are found guilty and face  to jail time.  Traffic is bad enough in this region and these people had to be spiteful and cause massive jams which inconvenienced thousands of people and threatened public safety.

Meanwhile Governor Christie's approval rating is down to 35%.  Even if he was not involved in this scandal, he is responsible for the actions of his subordinates.  To quote the late Richard Nixon "In any organization the man on the top must bear the responsibility..."  Heaven forbid  Chris Christie becomes President of the United States.  He should drop his unannounced campaign for the Republican nomination and concentrate on governing.

Mets Shut Out 1-0 for the Second Day In a Row by the Washington Nationals NAtiona

I am trying to be optimistic as radio personality Don Tandler said the last time the Mets lost two games in a row by 1-0 scores was in 1973 when they won the National League pennant.  Last night I saw the game on TV, but today I was at Citfield to see the lack of hitting.  The only run was driven in by a bloop single by Ryan Zimmerman in the first inning.  The Mets are now 16-10 as they lost 3 out of 4 to the Nationals.

Game Recap

Ben E. King Passes away at 76

We got the bad news today that Ben E. King passed away at age 76. He is best known for Stand By Me which was a big hit when it was first released in 1961.  In 1986 it was re-released as it was the title song of a movie by the same name.  One of his lesser known hits that I enjoyed is Supernatural Thing.