Songs With the Same Title That are Different - Call Me -Chris Montez and Blondie

 

These two songs are certainly very different.

NYC Casey Stengel Chapter of SABR Meeting in Midtown Manhattan

 

Sadly, the COVID pandemic prevented the Casey Stengel Chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research from holding in-person since January 2020.  Today the group met at Scandinavia House on Park Avenue between 37th and 38th Street.

The first-panel session discussed New York Baseball at its Best with Marty Appel, a prolific baseball writer, and former executive with the New York Yankees, Tony Guida, veteran TV journalist for CBS, NBC, and CNN, and Anthony McCarron, a sportswriter for the Daily News who previously worked at Newsday and the Miami Herald.  The three discussed topics including:

• Controversy over whether Pete Rose should get into the Hall of Fame
• The Yankees are just not the same without Aaron Judge
• What salary will Otani get in 2024 and beyond?  They thought he would command a package with at least $500 million.
• The new rules in baseball.

The next speaker was Bradford William Davis who discussed investigative reporting in baseball.  He reported in 2021 MLB was using two different baseballs but kept it quiet.

Erik Sherman described the impact of Fernando Valenzuela on baseball in Los Angeles.  Before he came to the team in 1981, very few Mexican Americans attended Dodger games. When he pitched, Dodger Stadium was mobbed with his fellow countrymen.  He discussed Game 3 of the 1981 World Series when Valenzuela faced Yankee rookie Dave Righetti. The Dodgers won that game and took the World Series 4-2.

The day concluded with Erik Weiss's trivia contest.

Hopefully, the chapter will meet more regularly in the future.

Songs with the Same Title That Are Different - Run Run Run by Jo Jo Gunne

Songs with the Same Title that are Different was a feature of the Bob Shannon Show when he was on WCBS-FM.  He left for an undisclosed health issue over 10 years ago.  I hope he is doing well.  In my last entry, I posted Run Run Run by the Supremes.  Above is another Run Run Run recorded by Jo Jo Gunne, a one-hit wonder from Los Angeles.  It reached #27 on the Billboard chart.

Run Run Run by the Supremes - Obscure Oldie of the Day

 

Run, Run Run only reached #93 in Billboard in 1964 before the Supremes hit it big.  When I hear that expression, I imagine all the candidates that are running for president over a year before the nominating conventions.  Can any Republican stop Donald Trump when his opposition is so fragmented?  I think some people would vote for him even if he is convicted on several federal and state charges.

The Mets Drop to .500 as They Lose to the Toronto Blue Jays 6-4

 

Steve Cohen is paying hundreds of millions in salary, but after 60 games the Mets can only muster a .500 record.  Since it is Sunday, Bruce and Lee must be at Citi Field hoping for the best.

The Blue Jays jumped out to a 4-0 lead off starting pitcher Kodai Senga.  Buck Showalter took him out in the third inning.  Perhaps Senga needs more time off between starts.  The Mets tied the score at 4 with single home runs by Tommy Pham (2) Starlin Marte and Pete Alonso who leads MLB with 21 home runs.  He now has hit more home runs in Citi Field than anyone else with 72.

Brandon Belt hit a two-run homer off Dominic Leone in the seventh inning for a 6-4 lead that the Jay's bullpen protected.

Now the Mets travel to Atlanta to play the Braves.  They must get hot soon!

Game Recap

Rebecca Slaman Speaks at World of Dylan 2023 Symposium - Come Writers and Critics

 In 2021 during the COVID pandemic, an online Bob Dylan Symposium was celebrating his 80th birthday.  Two years ago, it would have been impossible to hold a large in-person meeting.  Since the pandemic is over (COVID is still out there) the wonderful people at the University of Tulsa decided to have an in-person conference.  I hoped it would be a hybrid conference but it was not.  My friend Sal who teaches at NYU said this conference was more academic than the 2019 conference that I attended.

Rebecca Slaman, an enthusiastic Dylan fan in her twenties, presented a talk about people who criticized Dylan over the years.  Certainly, Dylan fandom has transcended the generations.  Someone in the audience video-recorded her talk and uploaded it to YouTube.

The World of Bob Dylan 2023 Starts Today in Tulsa but I'm Not There

 

This conference will undoubtedly offer an excellent exchange of interpretations of Bob Dylan's works over the last 60 years.  I attended the first conference in 2019 which was in person and the 2021 virtual version.  Last year I traveled to Tulsa to see the Bob Dylan Center.

I decided to take a pass at this year's conference.  I enjoyed the 2019 meeting, but I felt it was too academic for me.  I regard myself as an avid fan, but not a scholar.  There will be many reports on social media of what transpires there.  Several of my Dylan friends including Sal, Danny, and Phil will be there and will discuss it at our next Google Meeting.

I expect that several years from now I will return to Tulsa to see the Bob Dylan Center again as museums change with time.