Channel 7 news reporter Anthony Johnson was doing a report on the snowfall in Ocean Township (NJ) exactly two years ago today when an Opie & Anthony fan pulled up behind Johnson at a Hess gas station waving an Opie & Anthony bumper sticker and holding an air-horn. John D. Walton then proceeded to blast Johnson into Monmouth County with his "Opie & Anthony XM Radio!" proclamation. Johnson is now suing Walton, Greg Hughes (Opie) and Anthony Cumia (Anthony) for "severe and permanent" damage to an eardrum...
This is just one of the on-camera incidents involved with an O&A "Assault on the Media" campaign but this one could wind up biting them if Johnson wins his case. Anthony Johnson missed work for two weeks because of his injuries and suffered permanent ear damage and loss of balance. That's the charge made by Johnson's attorney, Rosemarie Arnold who filed the lawsuit on Monday. The 'Assault' campaign was stopped after the Johnson incident which Arnold is happy about but she also said "Unfortunately it was too little, too late. The damage had already been done." ...
The amount of money asked for in the suit has not been disclosed and I'm not a lawyer but these cases usually result in punitive damages being awarded. I don't know if Johnson's wife, Pat Battle, another channel 7 reporter was on scene but she too is named in the lawsuit against Opie & Anthony. There has been no statement made either by O&A or XM...
10 Timeline Memories:
- 1790] Back up the van: Congress moves from New York, our nation's first capital, to Philadelphia. A massive system of hot stuffy air is seen headed south on the weather map...
- 1865] A ratifying experience: The 13th amendment is ratified, abolishing slavery...
- 1883] Debuted on this date: The Ladies Home Journal hits newstands...1948] "Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts" debuts and runs for a decade, ending in July, 1958. Some of the talent discovered on this show include Rosemary Clooney, Pat Boone, Steve Lawrence, Connie Francis, Patsy Cline and Rod McKuen: http://youtube.com/watch?v=PNGykgowYjE . Elvis Presley flunked an audition for the show in 1955...
- 1884] Monumental: Army engineers complete construction of the Washington Monument...
- 1923] On the Radio: Calvin Coolidge becomes the first president to deliver a radio address (to a joint session of Congress). This is Coolidge's voice taken from a speech a few years later: http://youtube.com/watch?v=r2RLKOFO7E4 ...
- 1957] What a blast: America's first attempt at launching a satellite blows up on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral...
- 1982] "D-I-V-O-R-C-E": Senator Ted Kennedy and wife Joan agree to disagree...
- 1988] "Happy Trails": Roy Orbison dies of a heart attack while visiting his mother near Nashville. Orbison who would be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 was just 52...
- 2002] Sticky fingers: Winona Ryder is sentenced to community service for stealing more than $5,500 worth of merchandise from Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills...
- 2003] Shooting blanks: Army becomes the first team in major college football history to finish 0 and 13 after a 34-6 beating at the hands of Navy...
Music Memories:
- 1969] 'Sympathy for the Devil': That's the song Mick Jagger was singing at Altamont Speedway, near San Francisco when a crazed and armed fan is stabbed by a member of Hell's Angels and the riot was captured on film: http://youtube.com/watch?v=jY6yYAlueUM&feature=related . Besides the Stones, the bill included Santana, the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young...
- 1983] Number One on this date: "Say, Say, Say" - Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson...
Commentary:
Len Zola responds to my Jammie Thomas feature: "As one who earned a fair portion of his salary doing freelance voice-overs, acting on camera and print modeling by means of residuals, etc. I'm on the other side. I believe the potential for punishment was well publicised via the media -- including on-line -- quite adequately for any intelligent person to understand that there are such things as Copyrights, but she chose to ignore the laws. I have no comment on whether the fine was correct or too much except that I assume the court used a logical formula to determine what it should be." ...
The Patriots-Ravens game on ESPN's "Monday Night Football" attracted the largest household audience in cable television history, breaking the record for most viewers. The game pulled a 13 rating and averaged over 12 million homes. The previous record, set last year was for a Giants-Cowboys game with an average of 11.8 million homes. The Patriots-Ravens averaged 17.5 million viewers.. In Boston the game delivered a 28.3 rating on ESPN and an 8.3 on channel 5. The Power of the Patriots, who shoot for 13-0 against the Steelers on Sunday at Foxborough...For those who celebrate Festivus (and don't we all?) on December 23, I've added the Seinfeld holiday in the Timeline Countdown making the Costanza's very happy...
"Happy Birthday...happy birthday":
Janine Turner (45), Steven Wright (52), JoBeth Williams (59), James Naughton (62), Jonathan King (63) and Dave Brubeck (87) Dave at Newport, summer of 2006: http://youtube.com/watch?v=dqEmfYo5uGk&feature=related ...
Timeline Countdown: Happy Chanukah, 17 days until winter, 18 days until Festivus, 19 shopping days until Christmas, 25 nights until New Year's Eve and 30 days until the NFL Wildcard Playoffs...
