Being program director at WRKO had its perks, one of which was sitting in the press box at Boston Patriots games. I can thank News Director Roger Allan for pulling the strings on that one. I saw my first Patriots game over 40 years ago when the team had no home and would play games in a corner lot if it was available. The Red Sox had kicked the Patriots off the Fenway Field turf and home field traveled mostly between Boston College's Alumni Field and Harvard Stadium. Schaeffer Stadium in Foxborough became home to the Patriots in 1971. The team finally had its own stadium. I still have the kit given to all media attendees on press day, August 15th when the stadium opened - even walked on the artificial turf. I saw the first pre-season game when the 'New England' Patriots beat Fran Tarkenton's Giants and the season opener, a win over Oakland...
The 2008 New England Patriots march toward perfection is just three wins away but light years away from the Pats of old who would test your patience and sanity with each game they played in the 60s and 70s. One win over Jacksonville tomorrow night at home and then a Divisional playoff game, also in Foxborough. Should they win that game they'll appear in their 4th Super Bowl this decade. A win in Arizona on February 3rd and not only will perfection be theirs but so would the NFL 'team of the decade' title...
The New England Patriots have joined the Yankees, Auerbach-era Celtics, Shaq and Kobe Lakers and Notre Dame football as teams either loved or hated. They've also become one of the highest rated TV shows of the fall. The Patriots games against the Giants, Colts, Steelers and Cowboys are the four highest rated shows of the season, finishing ahead of "Dancing With The Stars" and "CSI"...
Beating physically tough and talented Jacksonville tomorrow night will require a perfect game for the Patriots but it's something they're getting used to in their march to perfection. GO PATS!!! ***With their win over Jacksonville, January 12, the Patriots are now 17-0 and 2 wins away from perfection...
10 Timeline Memories:
- 1949] Debuted on this date: "Arthur Godfrey and His Friends" on CBS-TV. It will run 10 seasons on the network (1/12)...1958] "Seahunt" starring Lloyd Bridges which airs 4 seasons on CBS-TV before going into syndication (1/11)...1965] "Hullabaloo" on NBC-TV. Runs for one season (1/12)...1966] "Batman" on ABC-TV. The original series runs 2 seasons (1/12)...1971] The Archie Bunker era begins as "All in the Family" debuts on CBS-TV. In this episode 'Meathead' wins some money: http://youtube.com/watch?v=mrmciEMB2Ro&feature=related . The show morphs into 'Archie's Place' in 1979 and spawns "The Jeffersons" (1/12)...1981] "Dynasty", inspired by "Dallas" starts an 8-year run on ABC-TV (1/12)...
- 1958] Deuces are wild: The NCAA adopts the two-point conversion option after touchdowns. The AFL started using this when it began in 1960, the NFL followed in 1994 (1/12)...
- 1962] 'Happy Trails': Brilliant TV comic and production innovator Ernie Kovacs dies in a car crash on a rain-slicked road in California at 43 (1/13)...1976] Mystery writer Agatha Christie dies from natural causes at 85 (1/12)...1978] Former Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey is the victim of terminal cancer at 66 (1/13)...2003] Following emergency abdominal surgery, Maurice Gibb dies from cardiac arrest at 53 (1/12)...
- 1969] Super Sunday: Joe Namath's guarantee holds up when the Jets shock the NFL with their upset win over the Baltimore Colts to win Super Bowl III in the Orange Bowl (1/12)...1970] Hank Stram's Kansas City Chiefs win Super Bowl IV with a 23-7 victory over Minnesota (1/11)...1981] The Oakland Raiduhs become the first Wild Card team to win the Super Bowl with a win over Philadelphia (1/11). Since the Wild Card system started in 1970, 8 WC teams have reached the Super Bowl with 4 winning as recently as the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2006...
- 1976] 'We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto': Dorothy Hamill wins her third consecutive national figure skating title (1/11). Here she goes for the '76 world shot program title: http://youtube.com/watch?v=8r42MTdTTCc&feature=related . Dorothy has recently been diagnosed with breast cancer. If anyone can beat this, it's this true champion...
- 1979] Pushed or jumped?: Singer Donny Hathaway dies after a fall from the 15th floor of a Manhattan hotel. Donny was only 34 (1/13)...
- 1982] Nothing funny about it: An Air Florida 737 crashes into Washington D.C.'s 14th Street Bridge after taking off in a snowstorm. The plane lands in the Potomac killing 78 (1/13). Howard Stern is fired when asking on-air when the next flight was scheduled to arrive at the 14th St. Bridge...
- 1982] Going to Hall: Hank Aaron and Frank Robinson are elected into Baseball's Hall of Fame (1/13)...2000] Carlton Fisk who caught for the Red Sox for 11 seasons and the White Sox for 13, is elected into the Hall of Fame, along with Tony Perez of the Reds (1/11)...
- 1989] Guilty as charged: Subway vigilante Bernhard H. Goetz is sentenced to one year in prison for gun possession (1/13) but is freed the following September...2005] Britain's Prince Harry apologizes after a newspaper publishes a photo of the young royal wearing a Nazi uniform to a costume party. Somewhere a beautiful princess is spinning (1/12)...
- 1998] On tap: Linda Tripp provides Kenneth Starr's office with taped conversations between herself and Monica Lewinsky about you-know-who (1/12). Here's part of that evidence: http://youtube.com/watch?v=w86yFIHFGbY ...
Music Memories:
- 1957] Recorded on this date: "All Shook Up" - Elvis Presley (recorded in a Hollywood studio) (1/12)...1965] "Do You Wanna Dance" - Beach Boys (1/11). From a TV appearance the same year: http://youtube.com/watch?v=zC_X6Q0yCWw ...
- 1959] Seed money: Berry Gordy Jr. borrows $800 from his sister to start Motown Records (1/12)...
- 1959] Number One on this date: "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" - the Platters (1/13). Straight from the record: http://youtube.com/watch?v=hpwlE9YHiFI ...1963] "Go Away Little Girl" - Steve Lawrence (1/12)...1964] "Ring of Fire" (a compilation LP) - Johnny Cash (1/11)...1974] "The Joker" - Steve Miller Band (1/12)...1977] "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" - Leo Sayer (1/11) and 1985] "Born In The U.S.A." LP - Bruce Springsteen (1/12). This replaced the "Purple Rain" LP (Prince) that was #1 for 24 weeks...
- 1995] Going to Hall: The Allman Brothers, Al Green, Janis Joplin, Martha & Vandellas, Neil Young, Frank Zappa and Led Zeppelin go in (1/12) on a "Stairway To Heaven": http://youtube.com/watch?v=lKg4g9zMeHI ...
Commentary:
You knew him as "Brother Dominic" from the Super Bowl award winning Xerox commercial but his real name was Jack Eagle. Jack, father of sports play-by-play man Ian Eagle, passed away yesterday at the age of 81. No cause of death was given...We also lost a figure who made the history books in 1953 - New Zealand's Edmund Hillary. Hillary, along with his Sherpa guide, Tenzing Norgay were the first people to reach the summit of Mt. Everest. Hillary died from a heart attack yesterday at 88. 'Happy Trails' to both...
"Happy Birthday...happy birthday":
(1/11) Amanda Peet (36), Mary J. Blige (37), Vicki Peterson (Bangles) (50), Golfer Ben Crenshaw (56), Naomi Judd (62), Clarence Clemons (66), Rod Taylor (78), Grant Tinker (83) and Don Cherry (84)...
(1/12) Heather Mills (40), Jeff Bezos (44), Christiane Amanpour (50), Howard Stern (54), Rush Limbaugh (57), Kirstie Alley (57), Joe Frazier (64), The Amazing Kreskin (73), Glenn Yarborough (78), Ray Price (82) and Luise Rainer (98)...
(1/13) Orlando Bloom (31), Patrick Dempsey (41), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (47), Richard Moll (64), Billy Gray (70), Rip Taylor (74) and Francis Sternhagen (78)...
Timeline Countdown for Sunday, Jan. 13, 2008: 7 days until Conference championships in NFL, 17 down and 2 to go for the Patriots, 21 days until Super Bowl and 32 days until pitchers and catchers report voluntarily...(updated January 13, 2008)...
