VIN SCULLY INTERVIEW- PART ONE!

Here is part  #1 of my "Open Season"interview with 

Dodgers' announcer, Vin Scully, 

on KCAA-AM-1050.

He started with the Dodgers' in Brooklyn in 1950

 and is still going strong at the age of 87.

Enjoy!

https://vimeo.com/140211053

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VIN SCULLY ON "OPEN SEASON" TONIGHT!

Be sure to tune in to "Open Season" tonight 

for my 1-on-1 interview with Vin Scully. 

You'll get some great insights from the Dodgers' legend 

on his early career, 

his greatest moments,

 and his eventual retirement.

You will also find out who Vin Scully calls 

before every Dodgers' game. 

Also, Tom Hoffarth, the media columnist for the 

L.A. Daily News and the San Bernardino Sun 

will be on the show. 

"Open Season"

airs at 6:05 pm(pt) on KCAA-AM-1050

 and streams at www.kcaaradio.com.

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TBT- YOGI AND YOO-HOO

I was never a Yankee fan, 

but I couldn't help liking Yogi Berra. 

He wasn't Hollywood handsome. 

He wasn't the perfect height and weight. 

He wasn't glamourous, didn't have a coiffed look

 and he didn't have the "sweet swing", 

but man, that #8 could play!  

Yogi put on the gear, 

did the dirty work, 

then took his lunchpail and went home. 

He swung at bad pitches, 

turned them into rbi's,

 and made the World Series his annual fall vacation spot.

 Yogi hit my sweet spot when he started endorsing

 a chocolate drink called "Yoo-Hoo".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtbulcYcHc4

But Yogi showed his true intelligence when he 

became a New York Met. 

At first, it was hard to accept a Yankee in the Mets' midst,

 but we learned to love Casey and we grew to love Yogi, especially when he led the team on that 

miracle run to the 1973 World Series.

I am going to miss Yogi Berra and baseball is , too.

He played the game hard, 

made the most of his abilities 

and never seemed to take the world too seriously.

As Yogi might say:

"He hits from both sides of the plate. 

He's amphibious."

"You better cut the pizza in four pieces.

 I'm not hungry enough to eat six."

"It ain't the heat. It's the humility"

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Here is a link to bio.com, and a mini-doc 

that I participate in, about Yogi Berra.

http://www.biography.com/people/yogi-berra-9210325

R.I.P YOGI! 

You were a classic!

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MEMORY BANK MONDAY with JIM PIERSALL 9-21-15

HOP IN THE "WAY BACK MACHINE" with

 Jimmy Piersall and his 'BAT-A-ROUND"batting aid.

Maybe JP could teach you how to run 

around the bases backwards, too?

NEW YORK TIMES

March 25, 1962

*Interesting! The "Bat-A-Round" 

came with an autographed photo,

 but it wasn't of Piersall. 

The photo was of Roger Maris. 

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MEMORY BANK MONDAY with CA. ANGELS!!

TRIPPING DOWN MEMORY LANE WITH THE 

CALIFORNIA ANGELS

 IN 

1991- '92 and '93.

LISA LESLIE- HALL OF FAMER!

 Congratulations to Lisa Leslie on her induction to the 

Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame!

Was there ever any question?

Lisa dominated womens' hoops during her high school, college, Olympic, and professional careers, but she is so much more than "just" a basketball player.

I was privileged to call play-by-play for the L.A. Sparks for sixteen seasons. I saw almost every game of her WNBA career.

I called her historic dunk in 2002 

and so many of her on-court highlights.

I emceed the Sparks' championship ring ceremonies.

I hosted Lisa's jersey retirement festivities, too, and she and I collaborated on Lisa's autobiography

 "Don't Let the Lipstick Fool You."

When I was asked to write some Lisa Leslie remembrances

 for Hall of Fame week,

 I wanted to make sure that it was not

 "just" about points, rebounds and blocked shots,

 because Lisa Leslie is so much more…

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By Larry Burnett 

My most vivid memories of her playing time were Lisa's graciousness, gracefulness, kind heart and caring for others…combined with an incredible work ethic, confidence and tenacity.

Somehow, she managed to balance sensitivity and femininity with amazing intensity, physicality and a never-ending will to succeed.

I would watch Lisa prance down the court after making a basket. She could look like an elegant deer with her head high and her arms at waist level.

Then seconds later, Lisa would be in "battle mode". She would be in hand to hand, elbow to elbow, body to body contact, ready to tear an opponents head off in order to secure a rebound.

The title " Don't Let the Lipstick Fool You" came from an incident Lisa had with Latasha Byears, when Toto was playing for the former Sacramento Monarchs.

The two were jostling for position as they waited for a free throw to be shot. It was always intense when those two got together. Byears called Lisa a filthy name and Lisa responded with, "Don't Let the Lipstick Fool You. I will knock you out!"

Ironically, it was Byears who assisted on Lisa's history making first dunk in WNBA competition.

That event sticks out in my mind when I think about Lisa.

I called it from high above Staples Center, on July 30, 2002, as Lisa broke away, got the pass and took a clear path to the basket against the former Miami Sol.

Betty Lennox got the closest look at it.

I said on the air, "What's she going to do?" and then " She dunked it! For the first time in WNBA history..."

That was exhilarating! That was headline material! That was history!

Lisa had so many "moments" during her high school, college, Olympic, and WNBA career, but it was her day-to day, practice-to-practice, game- to-game consistency that was so impressive. That, and her faith and concern for others.

I did not find out until two years ago that, on the night of the dunk ( July 30, 2002) the Miami Sol team bus was harassed and threatened on their drive back to the hotel.

A driver carrying a gun forced the bus to pull over to the shoulder.

He got out of his car, brandished the gun and marched back to the crowded bus.

As this terrifying scene is unfolding, a car pulled over to the shoulder. The driver recognized the team bus and wanted to make sure that everybody was okay. That driver was Lisa Leslie.

On one of the biggest nights of her life, Lisa was driving home, by herself, on a dark Los Angeles evening.

She could have been celebrating or thinking about her accomplishment.

Instead, she took the time to care about the welfare of that night's opponents as they waited in fear in that bus on the side of the freeway.

That is the Lisa Leslie that I will always admire and remember. So much more than just a basketball player. 

Congratulations Lisa Leslie

 on your Hall of Fame life!

**

STEALING HOME, BABE!

When Elvis Andrus stole home against the Padres, it marked the Rangers first steal of home in 15 years. It was also unique because Andrus stole the plate with a left-handed batter up and a right-handed reliever on the mound.

 I got to wondering about all-time "home stealers"

and I was not surprised to find Ty Cobb at the top of the list

 with 54 thefts of home.

Max Carrey is next on the list with 33 home plate robberies.

Jackie Robinson is well down the rankings with 19 

and Rod Carew stole home 17 times in his career. 

Lou Gehrig pulled it off 15 times 

and the biggest surprise to me, was that Babe Ruth

(that's right, "The Babe" "Bambino", "Sultan of Swat")

 stole home successfully10 times during his Major League Baseball career. Ruth was no Ty Cobb, when it came to stealing bases, but he was a pretty amazing athlete.

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FAN SAFETY- ASHBURN STYLE!

There has been a lot of talk recently, and rightfully so, about fan safety at sporting events, but this is not a new issue. In fact, one of the most interesting fan safety situations occurred way back in 1957 and it involved Phillies' outfielder, Richie Ashburn.

Ashburn was batting against the New York Giants when he fouled a pitch into the stands. It hit spectator, Alice Roth , in the face and broke her nose. It was very bloody and medical personnel rushed to Roth's side to tend to her. The game was stopped for a few minutes and Roth was placed on a stretcher so she could be taken from the stands to get more medical attention.

When the game resumed, Ashburn fouled the very next pitch into the seats and, you guessed it. The ball hit Alice Roth  as she was being carried out of the stadium on the stretcher. To recap. Richie Ashburn hit the same spectator with foul balls on consecutive pitches in the same at bat. They didn't install any protective netting  to improve fan safety back in 1957, but after getting tattooed twice by Mr. Ashburn, Ms. Roth chose to sit in the left field bleachers for future Phillies' games.

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