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Tuesday, May 22, 2007

N.Y. Daily News: Raissman: Ax swings over Torre story

...while a battle-ax swings over (Mad Dog) Russo.

If Chris (Mad Dog) Russo was really a dog, Suzyn (Georgie Girl) Waldman might have been charged with cruelty to animals on Saturday.

Yet, some might say Doggie deserved the verbal whipping Ma Pinstripe put on him. Russo mentioned the confrontation yesterday while working WFAN’s “Impostors in the Morning” AM drive-time show with Mike Francesa (FranDog also talked about it in the afternoon). Waldman, still upset over FranDog mocking her Clemens gaga trip the Sunday that Rocket announced his return to the Bronx (the frantic WCBS-AM radio description was played over and over), tore into Russo after the two came face to face outside the Mets radio booth at Shea.

Russo, according to well-embedded moles, tried defusing the situation by telling Waldman, “We were just having some fun.” Waldman wasn’t buying Russo’s damage control/jive. She said she hoped he had “his two days of fun,” but had “ruined her life” in the process.”

Following her down a corridor, Russo tried calming Waldman. But his attempt to soothe backfired. Momma P, screaming, dropped two fat F bombs on Russo before accusing him of “talking behind my back” for “20 years.”

Repoz Posted: May 22, 2007 at 12:13 PM | 45 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
Tags: announcers, media, television, yankees

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1. GregD Posted: May 22, 2007 at 01:29 PM (#2373987)

Raissman's column is one of the real mean-spirited joys in tabloid journalism. I don't really care about celebrities, so the gossip columns in the front don't interest me, but his is pointed and sharp.

2. Van Lingle Mungo Jerry Posted: May 22, 2007 at 01:45 PM (#2373997)

Francessa, Russo and Waldman are three of the most unpleasant on-air sports personalities I've ever had the misfortune to encounter. They should be locked in a cage and poked with sticks until they fight to the death.

3. Weekly Journalist_ Posted: May 22, 2007 at 01:54 PM (#2374005)

Waldman is in a class by herself. In order of intolerability, it goes

Kay
Francessa and Sterling
Russo
Waldman at the bottom

Yes, Kay is actually the most tolerable and most intelligent of that bunch. Shocking. For what it's worth, I'd put Don Orsillo up on the Sterling/Francessa tear of idiocy. Remy would be up in the tolerable sphere, somewhere above Kay but somewhere below Jim Kaat

4. Hang down your head, Tom Foley Posted: May 22, 2007 at 01:55 PM (#2374006)

I don't listen to any of these people, but is there really anything wrong with mocking a professional on-air personality for her on-air personality?

5. Sean McNally Posted: May 22, 2007 at 01:55 PM (#2374007)

She said she hoped he had “his two days of fun,” but had “ruined her life” in the process.”

And she's ruined the hearing of millions of radio listeners - I'd say its about even.

6. Sean McNally Posted: May 22, 2007 at 01:56 PM (#2374009)

Remy would be up in the tolerable sphere, somewhere above Kay but somewhere below Jim Kaat

Everybody's below Jim Kaat - God I miss him in the YES booth.

7. Weekly Journalist_ Posted: May 22, 2007 at 01:56 PM (#2374010)

Waldman was getting savaged on WEEI too. if she doesn't want to be embarrassed she shouldn't do embarrassing things like that. #### Waldman. she is completely unqualified for her job.

8. Sean McNally Posted: May 22, 2007 at 02:02 PM (#2374012)

#### Waldman. she is completely unqualified for her job.

No she's not - her job is to laugh at Sterling... attend to his needs... expound on the greatness of Miguel Cairo.. give the Red Sox out of town score first if Boston's losing...and if my father is to be believed - be the great Sterling's personal fluffer.

What? You thought she was heading down to the postgame show in eighth all this time?

9. Best Regards, Larry M. Posted: May 22, 2007 at 02:07 PM (#2374016)

Why do you think he sounds so excited when the Yankees win?

10. Sean McNally Posted: May 22, 2007 at 02:10 PM (#2374018)

Listening to that audiocast again, Sterling actually comes out pretty good on it. He doesn't get all gaspy and excited and keeps cutting in on his own interview to keep listeners informed of what's happening on the field.

Among Sterling's many faults - and he has many - he's always pretty good about not missing game action, even during interviews or goofy stories.

11. Designated Sitter (GGC) Posted: May 22, 2007 at 02:17 PM (#2374023)

A David Halberstam (not THE David Halberstam) wrote a history on sports radio in New York a few years back. In it, he compared Sterling to Ted Baxter. It was the most apt description of him that I've read.

I'd rather listen to the FAN than EEI, but the AM reception at work is terrible.

12. Weekly Journalist_ Posted: May 22, 2007 at 02:20 PM (#2374025)

At least the FAN isn't headlined in drive time by right-wing racist human pond scum like John Denis and Jerry Callahan.

13. Designated Sitter (GGC) Posted: May 22, 2007 at 02:34 PM (#2374037)

Oh Callahan hasn't been on in a while. I think that he lost his voice when the Patriots traded for Randy Moss. Regardless of his politics, he sounded like a bitter bitter man. Plus, that show talked too much about TV and other entertainment for my tastes. I suppose Dale and Holley are listenable. The Big Show has five people talking at once. It's like an Altman film. The best part is the Whiner Line at the end but that's damning with faint praise. I wnder about the mental health of the guys who spend their days rehearsing bits that they call in to that show. They must have less taxing jobs than the typical Primate.

14. Van Lingle Mungo Jerry Posted: May 22, 2007 at 02:42 PM (#2374040)

I haven't lived in Boston since '89 - is Eddie Andelman still around? He's sort of the New England Francesa.

15. Weekly Journalist_ Posted: May 22, 2007 at 02:45 PM (#2374043)

Well, Eddie Andelman's sons host a popular cable access show about food and restaurants called the Phantom Gourmet. Eddie is a frequent guest host to talk about his love for hot dogs and the pupu platter at Kowloon. Eddie Andelman also runs the annual Hot Dog Festival at Suffolk Downs.

16. Designated Sitter (GGC) Posted: May 22, 2007 at 02:48 PM (#2374046)

Weekly Journalist, whatever happened to Jack Who Resembles Voros? I haven't seen him around in ages.

17. Weekly Journalist_ Posted: May 22, 2007 at 03:00 PM (#2374055)

Yeah, he hasn't posted much here lately. He's obsessed with the Cavaliers right now and not paying much attention to baseball.

18. The Bones McCoy of THT Posted: May 22, 2007 at 03:25 PM (#2374073)

No she's not - her job is to laugh at Sterling... attend to his needs...and if my father is to be believed - be the great Sterling's personal fluffer.

Well, a truly competent employee pays attention even to the tiniest of details.

Best Regards

John

19. IronChef Chris Wok Posted: May 22, 2007 at 03:31 PM (#2374078)

Kay
Francessa and Sterling
Russo
Waldman at the bottom

Yes, Kay is actually the most tolerable and most intelligent of that bunch. Shocking. For what it's worth, I'd put Don Orsillo up on the Sterling/Francessa tear of idiocy. Remy would be up in the tolerable sphere, somewhere above Kay but somewhere below Jim Kaat

I enjoy Kaat and O'Neill in the YES booth, especially when they're trying to cover up for Kay's idiocy.
Russo isn't that bad.

Orsillo is OK, Remy is Ok when he's not trying to sell you his krap

20. The Essex Snead Posted: May 22, 2007 at 03:38 PM (#2374083)

I'm a Red Sox fan, so take this with a grain of salt, but:

- I believe Jerry Remy is a national treasure and should be given all the women and peeled grapes he desires
- Don Orsillo is one step removed from one of those fan-inflated people-streamers you see outside newly-opened restaurants
- Sean McDonough has a posse, & they want him to do more than college football & women's basketball games, damn it

- Jim Kaat was great as long as he didn't schill (sp?) for some awesome new Elias Bureau stat that fortified his belief in the way baseball should be played
- Al Leiter is the new Jim Kaat
- I kinda miss the good old MSG days of Dewayne Staats & Tony Kubek, until I tune into a FSN Devil Ray broadcast
- I kinda miss the good old days of Sterling & Jay Johnstone, until I listen to a Sterling / Waldmyn broadcast & Sterling holds court on the varied mysteries of baseball
- my nostalgia for the Staats / Kubek // Sterling / Johnstone teams might have to do w/ my fondness of the Azocar / Maas Yankee squad

21. The Essex Snead Posted: May 22, 2007 at 03:40 PM (#2374086)

I would also love (in a sadomasochistic manner) to hear Fatso & Fruit Loop do the play-by-play of a Yankee game.

22. Weekly Journalist_ Posted: May 22, 2007 at 03:40 PM (#2374087)

and far below, far far below, that group..

Chris Berman
The "boom goes the dynamite" kid
The Mute Button
Jim Rome
Some type of algae
Hawk Harrelson
The two headed alien pod race announcer from The Phantom Menace
John Dennis
Foregoing sports forever and moving into a Franciscan cloister
Jerry Callahan

23. Repoz

Posted: May 22, 2007 at 03:40 PM (#2374088)

No she's not - her job is to laugh at Sterling... attend to his needs...and if my father is to be believed - be the great Sterling's personal fluffer.

The Melk Lady delivers!

24. RB in NYC (Now with New iPhone!) Posted: May 22, 2007 at 03:49 PM (#2374093)

I would also love (in a sadomasochistic manner) to hear Fatso & Fruit Loop do the play-by-play of a Yankee game.

Didn't they do a Mets game a couple of years back? Possible as some gimmick with Gary Cohen and...someone else doing the M&MD; spot in the afternoon? Or am I insane?

25. Designated Sitter (GGC) Posted: May 22, 2007 at 03:49 PM (#2374094)

Snead, are you off of Route 9?

I would also love (in a sadomasochistic manner) to hear Fatso & Fruit Loop do the play-by-play of a Yankee game.

IIRC, they've done a Mets game or two in the past.

I have a theory on jocks in the booth. They usually start off well, then tail off as less and less of their contemporaries are playing.

26. Designated Sitter (GGC) Posted: May 22, 2007 at 03:49 PM (#2374095)

I owe RB a coke, it seems.

27. There are no words... (Met Fan Charlie) Posted: May 22, 2007 at 03:53 PM (#2374099)

No she's not - her job is to laugh at Sterling... attend to his needs...and if my father is to be believed - be the great Sterling's personal fluffer.

The Melk Lady delivers!

The whole tone of this thread is conjuring some deeply disturbing visuals.

Well, now you all can rock me to sleep tonight...

28. The Essex Snead Posted: May 22, 2007 at 03:54 PM (#2374102)

Oh god, those two fartbags doing a METS game (given their non-biased Mets bias) would be even better. I was fond of the time I heard them proclaim their lack of bias before going off on a 10-minute blather about how the 2K6 Mets were just warming the NL East stoop in preparation for the Braves' inevitable return.

In an effort to spread the broadcaster hate nationwide, I'd like to note that those of us in the NE US should be happy we're not saddled with the FSN Halo team of Steve Physioc & Rex Hudler. They make Waldmyn & Sterling sound like Churchill & Roosevelt.

29. There are no words... (Met Fan Charlie) Posted: May 22, 2007 at 03:56 PM (#2374103)

I would also love (in a sadomasochistic manner) to hear Fatso & Fruit Loop do the play-by-play of a Yankee game.

IIRC, they've done a Mets game or two in the past.

They did 1 last season, for charity.

30. Buster Olney the Lonely Posted: May 22, 2007 at 04:10 PM (#2374119)

and far below, far far below, that group..

Chris Berman
The "boom goes the dynamite" kid
The Mute Button
Jim Rome
Some type of algae
Hawk Harrelson
The two headed alien pod race announcer from The Phantom Menace
John Dennis
Foregoing sports forever and moving into a Franciscan cloister
Jerry Callahan

lol, WJ. Are primeys still given out?

31. IronChef Chris Wok Posted: May 22, 2007 at 04:16 PM (#2374125)

Hey, I kind of like teh Hawk. At least you know he's sincere.

btw, I'd watch any hockey game Rick Jeanerette calls.

32. Fly, the most judgment-free human being on Earth Posted: May 22, 2007 at 04:19 PM (#2374128)

I despise Rick Jeanerette.

Actually, let me rephrase. I despise him on TV. On radio, he's great, but on TV, he's the same as he is on radio. This doesn't work for hockey. I can SEE who has the puck, I don't need EVERY SINGLE PASS described to me when I'm watching the game myself. You can use the same play-by-play guy for radio and TV in baseball, but not in hockey. In hockey TV, less is more.

33. Dr Love Posted: May 22, 2007 at 04:30 PM (#2374133)

btw, I'd watch any hockey game Rick Jeanerette calls.

It would be a lot quicker to just put your head in a vice and have a friend turn it until your brain oozed out.

34. winnipegwhip Posted: May 22, 2007 at 04:31 PM (#2374135)

I always thought the SAP button stood for STUPID ANNOUNCING PREVENTION and was to be used whenever Michael Kay was talking. Unfortunately there is no SAP button on the radio for Yankee broadcasts.

As a Yankee fan one thing I am envious of is the Red Sox announcers (both radio and television) in comparison to the Yankees announcers (Bobby Murcer and John Flaherty excepted).

35. Eric Chalek (Dr. Chaleeko) Posted: May 22, 2007 at 05:31 PM (#2374170)

I think I might add the new Red Sox radio PBP guy, Glenn Somethingorother to the intolerable list. Fills space during dramatic moments with endless tidbits at best tangentially related to the game situation, delivered with a total lack of flair. What's saddest is hearing Castiglione sitting quietly by as this Glenn fellow prattles on.

And by the way, does anyone know how to predict when this Glenn guy or when Dave O'Brien will be in the Sox radio booth? There seems to be some sort of formula for it, but I can't find it in bb-ref's glossary section.

36. Fly, the most judgment-free human being on Earth Posted: May 22, 2007 at 05:59 PM (#2374182)

New Glenn guy is horrible. He's completely unlistenable. He sounds like he's in high school.

"Boom goes the dynamite!"

37. Designated Sitter (GGC) Posted: May 22, 2007 at 06:02 PM (#2374185)

I guess that I'm not discerning enough to be an announcer snob. My main complaints about Geffner are that he's a house plant and that his voice is too high. How much announcing experience does he have? Wasn't he basically a PR department imp before this year?

38. The Essex Snead Posted: May 22, 2007 at 06:06 PM (#2374189)

Isn't "boom goes the dynamite" the catch phrase that Ball State student used during his excruciating sports-update spot?

39. Biff isn't really an apt handle anymore Posted: May 22, 2007 at 06:09 PM (#2374191)

and far below, far far below, that group..

Chris Berman
The "boom goes the dynamite" kid
The Mute Button

Wow. I think the Mute button definitely beats out Berman.

40. The Essex Snead Posted: May 22, 2007 at 06:13 PM (#2374193)

OK, I'm a dolt - I thought the new Red Sox guy was whipping out "boom goes the dynamite."

41. Dewey, Steven Wright Wannabe and Soupuss Posted: May 22, 2007 at 06:16 PM (#2374199)

I think the Mute button beats out 99% of sports announcers.

42. Devin has a deep burning passion for fuzzy socks Posted: May 22, 2007 at 06:57 PM (#2374225)

If he's still working somewhere you need to put Fran Healy in between Berman and the "boom goes the dynamite" kid.

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Tuesday, May 22, 2007

N.Y. Daily News: Raissman: Ax swings over Torre story

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