Thanks For Everything, Scooter

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Len Berman, WNBC Sports Anchor

How could you not smile when you heard the name Scooter? It conjured up cannolis, birthday wishes, goofy broadcasts, and “Holy Cow!”

Phil Rizzuto was “Mr. Yankee.” For millions of Yankee fans, he was always there. As an All Star shortstop, a seven-time World Series winner, a “forever announcer” and finally a Hall of Famer in 1994, he “bled” Yankee pinstripes. And he did it for over half a century! How many people have such a life-long endearing relationship with one organization?

Of course he was at the mike when Roger Maris broke The Babe’s record in 1961. Just about any signature Yankee Stadium moment and The Scooter was somehow involved.

Aug. 4, 1985, was just perfect. They retired his No. 10 at the Stadium, and oh, by the way, Tom Seaver earned his 300th career win that day pitching for the White Sox. But at home plate, before the game, they presented Phil Rizzuto with a real-life Holy Cow — a live cow with a halo. And of course the cow nudged Phil, knocking him to the ground. Another big smile. One of millions he gave us.

Thanks for all the good cheer, Scooter. We’ll miss ya’.

Strange Feelings Over A Tainted Record

Len Berman, WNBC Sports Anchor

Strange feelings this morning. Baseball has a new home run king. And he defiantly claimed after the game “this is not a tainted record!” Is this guy delusional?

Baseball’s New King: Bonds Surpasses Aaron

This record is dripping in stench. If it wasn’t tainted how come his teammates just walked out to home plate and didn’t jump all over him? Go back and watch when Hank Aaron hit 715. See how the Braves reacted.

If it wasn’t tainted how come the commissioner of baseball wasn’t there? How come Hank Aaron wasn’t? How classy of Aaron to give a video tribute. It must have killed him.

We showed Barry Bonds first home run from 1986 at 6 p.m. last night. A skinny little kid running abound the bases. Now he’s two or three times the size.

This isn’t a tainted record? There will be no asterisk in the record book. The asterisk will live in all our minds. We’ll think of The Babe and Hammerin’ Hank and smile. We’ll think of Bonds and smirk. That’s what you call tainted, through and through.

By the way, the team that replaced the Giants in the Polo Grounds was the Mets. The kid who gave up the record setting homer? A former Met. The kid who caught the ball? He was wearing a Met jersey. Lives in Queens. The home of the Mets. The godfather Bonds hugged on the field? Willie Mays, who finished up a Met. Sure Bonds got his phony record. For me? It was night of Let’s go Mets!

Bloodied Met Fan Emerges With Bonds’ Ball

Mantle’s 500th Homer Shows How Baseball Has Changed

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Len Berman, WNBC Sports Anchor

While we wait for Alex Rodriguez to hit that 500th home run, let’s look back on when the milestone was reached by another Yankee — Mickey Mantle.

He hit his 500th at Yankee Stadium on May 14th, 1967. Wednesday night, I showed some tape of the historic homer on the 11 p.m. news.

The back story: Several years back, an NBC technician came to my office. He said he used to work at Channel 11. He was working that day when the Mick hit his milestone homer. And the technician took a pair of scissors and physically cut off the chunk of tape (two-inch tape at the time) and shoved it into his locker. He wanted to know if I wanted the tape.

Wanted it? It was the mother lode — the actual portion of the broadcast on WPIX that was long forgotten. It was 40 years ago, and that brief chunk of tape looks like the Middle Ages by comparison.

For starters, the announcer Jerry Coleman was plugging the upcoming Memorial Day double-header. All the teams used to play those. These days, nobody does. Also, the Mick wasn’t wearing batting gloves. The TV picture was taken from behind home plate. There was no center field camera, which is standard practice now.

After Mantle hit his home run, there was NO replay. Nowadays there would be 20. He simply hit the homer, ran the bases and headed back to the dugout. The only hint that it was something special was that a couple of fans hopped the fence near the dugout and patted The Mick on the back.

And there was no curtain call. That’s unbelievable. Now, rookies hitting homers are called out of the dugout. And still, as of this moment, Mickey Mantle is the only Yankee to hit his 500th home run at Yankee Stadium. My thanks to that TV technician for his scissors, his locker, and his realization that he had something very special that has now been shared with the world.

Heaven Help Us

Len Berman, WNBC Sports Anchor

Golfers often refer to the Golf Gods. Never heard of the Golf Gods? They’re the ones who make a perfect put lip out. You know, the ones who take a perfect tee shot and make it take one bounce too many into the sand. It’s the Golf Gods who make you triple bogey the next hole after your first birdie in a month. There are a bunch of deities up there who have nothing better to do that mess up some poor slob’s round. It’s all perfectly plausible. They operate from the next cloud over from the Baseball Gods.

Boy did those guys have a fun time last night. They messed with everyone. It was milestone Tuesday around baseball and Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez was gunning for his 500th career home run. And sure enough there was a record at Yankee Stadium last night. The Yanks tied their team record for most home runs in a game with eight. Everyone hit one. Balls were flying everywhere. Everyone, that is except for A-Rod. He went 0-for-5. The Baseball Gods were hootin’ and hollerin’ over that one.

The Mets Tom Glavine was five outs away from his 300th career win last night too. And then “the boys” went to work. They exposed the Mets bullpen. You could see the agony on the face of Tom’s wife. That sure must have brought some knee-slappin’ up on the Baseball God’s cloud.

Then there’s Barry Bonds. I have some inside information on this one. The Baseball Gods don’t care anymore. Once they made sure he wouldn’t tie the record at home they gave up having any interest. They feel that Bonds has done enough to screw things upon his own he doesn’t need any help.

The Baseball Gods have been having a whale of a season. They made all those Yankee haters think the Yankees didn’t have a chance at making the playoffs, and then pulled the rug out from under them. They allowed Met fans to think this would be a repeat of 2006 and then ushered player after player onto the disabled list. And you don’t even want to know what they have planned for the Cubbies before all is said and done. I just have one favor to ask of them. Can you put in a good word for me with your golf buddies? Enough’s enough!

A Light Goes Out

Len Berman, WNBC Sports Anchor

Yesterday was a tough day at the office. Tom Snyder, Bill Walsh, Ingmar Bergman and Eric Wishnie all passed away. Reports of their deaths all filtered in the newsroom as the day drew on. We’re all reporters. Death is in the news every day. But what happens if you know the people you’re reporting about? That’s when things become difficult.

I never met Ingmar Bergman, but I did meet the others. Tom Snyder was a giant in our industry. When his “Tomorrow Show” began airing on NBC it was a must watch. Tom didn’t do monologues. He just made observations. Many of his observations were random, but you paid attention. Good broadcasters compel you to watch. Snyder was a great broadcaster.

Walsh, a Hall Of Fame Football coach, was at the opposite end of the attention-getting spectrum. He had a quiet demeanor. Where Snyder would virtually shout, “look at me,” Walsh made you pay attention by his results. He lived the old “actions speak louder than words” saying. I remember walking into the 49ers locker room before a game I was broadcasting for NBC. He shot me a look. Walsh didn’t say a word. He didn’t have to. I wasn’t supposed to be there, but I was with my game analyst and former player Gene Washington so Walsh let it slide. I remember talking to a couple of players in the locker room that day. They were more than happy to have us there. Our presence broke up the boredom. But that’s one of those NFL rules that will never change.

Then there is the tragic story of Eric Wishnie. An NBC News Producer, he was married to Dawn Fratangelo who was an anchor with our station before becoming a network reporter. Everyone said he was nicest guy you’d ever want to meet.

These are just four of the people who left us yesterday. Each, in a way, left an indelible mark. And when you know them personally it becomes more poignant. My wife and I were watching Tom Snyder’s show in February of 1974. His guests that night were Bob Cousy and Bill Russell. While we were watching we realized it was time to head to the hospital. Our first child was born hours later. It’s a memory that will never be forgotten. For most people the passing of someone famous is just a name. For others, me included, its personal.

Does Anyone Tell The Truth Anymore?

Len Berman, Sports Anchor

So what do people really think? Tom Glavine won his 299th game last night. Manager Willie Randolph said he didn’t think much about it.

The guys in the clubhouse weren’t talking about it. Alex Rodriguez hit his 499th career homer last night in Kansas City. He said no big deal. He’s in the middle of a pennant race.

Does anybody tell the truth? Are you telling me A-Rod isn’t giddy over the prospect of his 500th homer? 300 wins. 500 homers – basically automatic ticket punchers for the Hall of Fame, unless your name is Mark McGwire.

What if you played major league baseball and hit your 500th homer. Here’s what you’d tell the media. “It’s an honor, but I’m just trying to help my team win.” Here’s what you’d really think. “Hooray for me. Aren’t I cool?” But you’re not allowed to say what you really think. No gloating in sports.

Why not? Look at Lastings Milledge, the kid on the Mets. He loves to gloat. He high fives the fans down the right field line at Shea and he gets chastised.

He dances after a home run in front of the dugout and he gets “spoken to.”

Is that what we want, a bunch of automatons? What happened to the Rickey Hendersons of the world – setting base-stealing records and proclaiming on the public address system: “I am the greatest of all time!”

Instead we get the Paul O’Neills of the world who hit a home run and run around the bases with their tails between their legs. We hate the calculated answers and the blandness, we criticize the showboats.

We can’t have it both ways. I hope when Glavine wins his 300th he tosses his glove in the air and says “take that all you people who thought I was too old and didn’t have a live arm.”

Of course he won’t. He’s much too classy. But I wouldn’t mind hearing it, just once.

One Of The Good Guys

Len Berman, WNBC Sports Anchor

It’s the easy to paint the world with a broad brush.

If you’ve read the papers lately, you’re probably convinced that athletes are rotten to the core. And the bad news hasn’t stopped.

On Wednesday there was another positive drug test at the Tour De France. When they started the race some of the riders staged a protest over all the cheats. Dozens of racers hung back at the start, causing a delay in the race. It makes you wonder why baseball players don’t stand on soap boxes to denounce the cheaters, or why football players don’t stand up and voice their outrage over the criminal elements in their ranks. But this is not about the bad guys.There’s no shortage of them.

The truth is, there are more good guys than bad in sports. And one of the best will announce his retirement this week. New York Jets running back Curtis Martin is officially going to hang up his cleats.

The short story is that Martin is an All Pro running back who will eventually be inducted into the Football Hall of Fame. The longer story is even better. Martin is one of the classiest athletes you’ll ever meet. He’s a leader on and off the field. Martin’s the type of guy we should all be saluting and leading our sportscasts with. Instead we’ve got the gambling ref, the dog-fighting quarterback, and the steroids bloated home run hitter.

Thursday will be Martin’s day in the sun. His knee surgery in 2005 was the end of the line. But he somehow “hoped against hope” that he could make a comeback. It never happened and he now faces the inevitable. He’ll retire as the fourth leading rusher in NFL History with 14,101 yards. For the sake of all that’s good in sports I pray another clown doesn’t set a baseball’s all-time home run record to rain on Curtis’ parade.

Am I A Sportscaster Or A Crime Reporter?

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Len Berman, WNBC Sports Anchor

I spoke on Tuesday to a group of teenagers who are taking a summer seminar in sportscasting at Hofstra. They were a group of bright-eyed kids who love sports — just like I did when I was their age.

Their questions: How will the Jets do? Should the Knicks sign Ron Artest? Good, fun sports questions. That’s why kids love sports. They want to know if their favorite team will win or improve.

When I was their age, my questions were similar. For example: Will Mickey Mantle hit a home run?

After leaving Hofstra I had to go to work to “do the sports.” Yankee highlights? Maybe. But more likely, the focus will be on the darker side of sports.

For example, on Tuesday NBA Commissioner David Stern talked about the referee betting scandal. And the owner of the Atlanta Falcons spoke for the first time about Michael Vick, his quarterback charged with illegal dogfighting.

There’s also the fact that Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig has been a no-show as Barry Bonds attempts to break sports’ most hallowed record. The reason is obvious. Bonds is a cheater, and Selig wants to keep his distance from the slugger.

And if I had more time in my sportscast, I’d talk about a Tour De France rider banned from the race for a blood transfusion.

As I explained much of this to the teenagers, their eyes glazed over. I can’t blame them. They want to be sportscasters, not crime reporters. Alex Rodriguez got his 100th RBI last night, and the Yanks have only played 78 games. Shouldn’t that be the lead story?

Not these days. Referees are under investigation for betting and football players break the law. Baseball players cheat and bicycle riders are always guilty until proven innocent.

When we were kids, sports were about hits, runs and errors. The hits and runs don’t seem to matter anymore.

NBA: All Bets Are Off

Len Berman, WNBC Sports Anchor

I have to admit I’ve thought about NBA referees fixing basketball games for 30 years. A former coach brought up the subject to me back in the 1970s.

He told me he wouldn’t be surprised if NBA refs were on the take. At first, I just shrugged it off as a coach who argued virtually every call against his team. A coach who truly thought the referees was out to get him.

But I’ve thought about it off and on over the years since. The coach’s argument was it would be easy for a ref to affect the point spread. Nobody would know if it happened. Subjective calls like charges and blocking fouls are the norm. How many calls can go either way in an NBA game? If the ref had money on a game or was trying to help out a friend, he could make the call go whichever way he saw fit.

Basketball has a big problem on its hands. When a questionable call goes against your team or the team you bet on this season, your first thought will be the referee is on the take. It’s human nature.

I was listening to the New York Mets game Sunday on the radio in the 6th inning when El Duque threw ball 4 to Luis Gonzalez of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Mets announcer Tom McCarthy did not understand why the pitch was called a ball. My first thought? The ump is on the take. On the next pitch Dodgers infielder Nomar Garciaparra hit a two-run homer. The game was easily affected by one subjective call of the umpire.

Maybe El Duque was rattled by the umpire’s call and grooved one to Nomar. Do I really think the ump was on the take? No. Am I 100 percent sure? No. And that’ll be in the case from here on out.

The sports leagues, particularly the NBA, will have to do something to restore confidence in its officials. Will they resort to public lie detector tests? Is that what sports has come to?

We’ve spent all this time dealing with players who have cheated, now the officials are under the microscope. If that former NBA coach was right 30 years ago, have three decades of NBA games been rigged? You have to wonder.

You Never Know

Len Berman, WNBC Sports Anchor

Not to bore you with the details, but a lot of thought and effort goes into putting on a sportscast. We just don’t take a ‘bunch of high lights’ and throw them up against a wall to see what sticks.

Last night at 11 p.m. was somewhat typical. We had an exciting Yankee game and the Mets off to a good start in San Diego. But what then? That’s always the issue. We know the Yanks and Mets are the most important, but what comes next?

Last night, for us, it was Andy Phillips, Tiger Woods, Rutgers Football, and some Tour De France bloopers. I thought they were all interesting stories.

Phillips is the Yankee first baseman with his major league career hanging by a thread. His wife and mom are battling health issues. And the lowly paid Phillips, on a team of superstars, had the biggest hits for the Yankees in two straight games.

Woods? Getting ready to defend his back-to-back British Open crowns he has a cute line about heading to the golf tournament to ‘get some rest.’ Anyone with a newborn at home can relate.

Rutgers? They were picked third in the Big East conference this season after their breakthrough season.

Tour De France bloopers? Uh, oh. Don’t mess with bike riders. On Tuesday a dog wandered onto the course and one rider collided with it and fell off his bicycle. Trust me, nobody got hurt. The dog and rider were fine. It called to mind other weird happenings over the years in the Tour De France. There was a streaker running along side the racers once. Another time there was a collision between a bicycle and a parked car. An amateur photographer once walked in front of a rider to snap a picture, and the racer and the shutterbug went down in a heap.

So what did the morning e-mail bring? Not one comment about the Yanks, Mets, Phillips, or Woods. It was all about the bikes.

One viewer was livid that we showed the dog being hit. And three viewers wrote to correct my auto identification. I said the bicycle collided with a Volkswagen. The viewers wanted me to know it was a Citroen.

The bottom line:

1. I’m glad people are watching.

2. You never know what’s going to get their dander up.
3. Thank goodness I’m not a Formula One announcer!