What’s In A Number

Not a great photo, but it is with my IPhone (forgot my camera), and I had to at least capture the “Fleury” (is that lame!) of excitement as the Penguins would not be denied in the final minute of Game 6 at Mellon Arena. Thanks to Rob Scuderi, literally laying himself on the line, or crease, to be exact. And the “role” players. Everyone has been talking about how “deep” the Red Wings are.  As the  Pens go into Game 7, I think you can say they  have found their own depth. (I know, the photo is of Crosby and Fleury, I didn’t get Staal) That third line, with Jordan Staal and Tyler Kennedy, stepped up, and opened the door to a fitting end of an epic series.  I hesitated to call Game 6 “epic.” But several of the sports writers and radio hosts I respect had already labeled it as such. Both these teams deserve a Game 7 and you have to believe it is an indication of how evenly matched they are. This is only the 15th time a Stanley Cup Final has gone to a Game 7.

Unfortunately, some of the other stats surrounding the number 7 don’t favor the Pens. Each of the last six Game 7’s in a Cup final have been won by the home team. And the record for the entire 14 is 12-2. But a number I like. In all of American pro sports, the last team to win a Game 7 away from home was——The Pirates! Baltimore, 1979. 30 years ago. If you are superstitious— and Bryan Trottier, a winner of 7 Stanley Cups (one as an assistant coach with the Colorado Avalanche) told me  that hockey players are the most superstitious of pro athletes–you have to regard the Pittsburgh connection as a good omen. 

Of course, the home team has advantages, as former Penguin and FSN analyst, Jay Caufield reminded me.  On both line changes and face-offs. But he also says a Game 7 will, ultimately come down to the goalies. And I am putting my money on Marc-Andre Fleury. This handsome young man is a radio broadcaster from Fleury’s hometown near Montreal. His seat was next to mine in the press box for all of the home games. The day before Game 6, Renaud Barriere interviewed Fleury in Fleury’s home for almost an hour. Renaud told me before the game, that the drubbing he took in Game 5 would have no effect on him. That he has an ability to move ahead and forget about a bitter defeat, or a “soft” goal. Some analysts speculated after Game 5, that the shutout and the bouncing boards of Joe Louis Arena, would get in Fleury’s head. Renaud doesn’t think so. Not that I am prejudiced, but I really believe Pittsburgh will change the trend. If each of the last SIX series that had a 7th game was won by the home team–then , in this, the 7th in that string of Game 7’s, will be won by the away team.  Don’t you just love sports stats!

Best Of Three

 

I 

It has been four months since my last post. The Super Bowl. I could say that trips, sweeps, sick dogs, family and friends, and charities have all conspired to keep me from blogging—but my lingering aversion to the technology is probably a more likely  deterrent. 

But what better time to jump back in ,then two games away from The Stanley Cup?  Lombardi to Stanley. I have been at both home games, and I continue to marvel at this team, Mario Lemieux’s devotion to this town, and this coach, who is self-effacing, confident, and a superb teacher. Last night, at the podium he admitted to us reporters that when Detroit scored just seconds into the 2nd period,  he looked up and thought,”Oh goodness.” Dan Bylsma said he wondered, for a moment, if the Pens were headed for a replay of their poor play in the 2nd period Tuesday night. “Oh Goodness”?!  Who says that in our increasingly less-than-civil society?  It was refreshing, and I am sure, made some of us feel a little sheepish. 

But the momentary worry was unwarranted.  Jordan Staal’s short-handed goal set off a flurry (or should I say Fleury?) of scoring that changed the game, and perhaps the series.  

Detroit coach Mike Babcock said later, at the podium, ” I didn’t think we were very composed.” Ya think? He admitted that the Penguins had more energy, and the Staal goal was huge. The Pens went on to score two more goals–making it three in just over 5 minutes . And Mellon Arena was shaking, the fans were so loud. Loudest I have ever heard them. Sidney finally got his goal in this series, although Bylsma pointed out that he had been playing well all along. Someone asked Sidney if he sensed Henrik Zetterberg, who has been hanging all over him since Saturday, was getting tired. In characteristic understatement, Sidney replied, “It didn’t feel like that.” He is a sterling representative of his sport. And Marc- Andre Fleury.  He sooooo deserved being the first star in the game. 18 saves in the first period. Both nights, I was sitting next to a young radio journalist from Fleury’s hometown, and he talked to me about the beginning of Fleury’s career, how young he is, and the maturation process of a goalie. In one breakaway, I watched how he moves his feet in the crease, and I tried to imagine what it must be like to see someone moving like lightning, down the ice, ready to fire away at you. It is kinda masochistic to want to be a goalie, from my limited perspective. But admirable. I wonder if being a goalie has a lot of the elelments of just living life. You stand there, and keep taking shots. You let some in, but you get back up , shake them off, and try again. 

I think I heard Babcock say, after the first game, that goalie was the most important position on the ice. When you watch Saturday night, imagine yourself in Fleury’s postion for a moment. I don’t know if I have the courage to do even that. 

And before I close, Evgeni Malkin. I saw his parents and friends being surrounded by people in between periods. They were being swamped for photos and autographs. And has he been stellar in the playoffs, or what ? FSN’s Paul Alexander told me (I think I am remembering this correctly) that Malkin has had 12 multi-point games in these playoffs, and no one has done that since Mario, in the 1992 series that lead to Pittsburgh’s last Stanley Cup.  Here’s hoping Pittsburgh brings it back on home ice, Tuesday night. Guy Junker reminded me that a championship title has not been won IN the city, since the Pirates beat the Yankees in 1960.

Super Bowl Eve

Voted Coach of the Year, by the fans, online. Today, Mike Tomlin invited the families of the players to watch the final walk-through. Impressive move. Right now, I am watching Merril Hoge, who has been our analyst for our Super Bowl specials, and he and Trent Dilfer are making what would be their motivational speeches the night before the game. I am so happy for Merril–he has a much larger role on ESPN now, and deserves it.

Our crew is beat, but pleased that things have been clicking for all of us on the WTAE team . It’s been rainy, and cold (of course nothing like it has been in Pittsburgh. Winter seems positively relentless).

We had to write and edit for two days in the bowels of the hotel where the Steelers were staying.   As is custom with the night’s before a Super Bowl game, they go to an undisclosed location. We have also moved our show, to outside Raymond James Stadium, and will be there from 7am Sunday, until one am on Monday. That is me on the left, with the hood (just trying mightily to keep warm), writing my last piece for the 11 pm news on Saturday night. Photojournalist ,Dan Pratt is on one side of me, and Cary Toaso on the other. Marci Cipirani is in the right-hand corner. We are in the domestic Satellite compound, and it is where we will be all day before the Game.And this is what that Game is all about. Well, a symbol of it. I took this right before Tomlin’s last news conference prior to the Super Bowl. Media members were all scambling to get a photo with the trophy. There is one of both Andrew and me, but Andrew is blocking the prize. And the next picture I will post before tomorrow, is for good luck. I posted a blog the day of the AFC Championship, with photos from Antarctica, especially one with a Terrible Towel being held aloft on the White Continent. Well,  my friend, Elise Larsen, the Oceanites researcher, is back there, on the Lindblad ship, The National Geographic Explorer. She was at the AFC Championship game, had a great time, and took her towel with her on this trip to the bottom of the planet. I asked her to send me a new photo of her with the Towel, so I could keep the routine going. I just got it–so here’s hoping the Towel, being transported to the ends of the earth, will weave it’s magic.Myron  would be so tickled by all of this, and touched by the wonderful tribute poem his dear partner, Billy Hillgrove, read on the air in our last special Saturday night. We love and miss  you, Myron Cope. 

 

Can you see all the penguins in the background!!!!!???????

Media Day Madness At The Super Bowl

Media Day. If I use the word “circus” one more time to describe this cattle call, I will slap myself. It really isn’t as bad as we in the business like to paint it. And it is fascinating to see how many of us interview each other. ( I think I just blogged about that two days ago?) This is Chris Berman, the veteran ESPN anchor, a graduate of Brown University (Ivy League) whom we watched interview former Steeler, now Cardinal, Sean Morey, also a Brown alum. I didn’t get to use our interview with Sean, but he is going to the Pro Bowl for special teams and I  asked him if he had any idea his career would last this long. He said, frankly, no. He is such a great guy, and people in Pittsburgh loved his heart–you have to be happy for him even if you’re pulling for the Steelers. 

And this is another guy whom Pittsburghers will wish well, while rooting against his team-Steve Breaston. The injury to Anquan Boldin this season, gave this Woodland Hills graduate his chance to step up, and he did. Another connection of Steve’s is to LaMarr Woodley, who was (and still is) his best friend at University of Michigan. Go Wolverines (I am an alum, and a bit obnoxious about it, I admit)! Both guys were generously cooperative about my interview regarding their friendship, and how hard-hitting it may become on Game Day. Steve said he expected LaMarr would be chasing him around. It is the positive aspect of competition–go at it with all you have got, and shake hands afterwards. I could do that in golf, but I am not sure I would be so forgiving if someone slams me to the ground. Another well-known Western Pennsylvanian who will be dividing some loyalties. Coach Russ Grimm is the best, a frequent visitor to our Winterfest at Seven Springs. I talked to him about what makes our region so rich in football tradition, and it is unquestionably its solid work ethic. As everyone knows, Russ was one of the candidates for the Steelers head job when Coach Cowher retired. Both he and  Tomlin are great coaches, but the Rooney’s choice of Tomlin has turned out to be  brilliant, and seems to be the right fit for the Steelers. As has this choice. Ben Roethlisberger. I was talking to The Professor–ESPN’s John Clayton –yesterday, and he was rattling off the amazing stats that Ben has amassed in just five years in the league. “Rarified” atmosphere, I believe John called the position in which Ben finds himself. He has been handling the media with poise and maturity, and we saw him and Hines Monday afternoon, as we set up for our special at the Steelers hotel. He didn’t have to acknowledge us (for fear we might come over and bug him) , but he called out hello to me, which was nice. I said hi, and then started to walk by, and Hines called me over. I was so nervous about talking to them outside a “media availability,” and Hines asked me when I had arrived. I said,” Am I supposed to talk to you? I am media?”. He  laughed and looked at me as if I were crazy. I know it this all sounds silly, but these guys get attacked if they stick their head out the door, and their accessibility is very tightly regulated. That is why Media Day is such a frenzy. Oh, one last thing. I was soaking wet, because I soooo stupidly wore my backpack. But it served as a great battering ram getting through the  throng.

And talk about a throng. The biggest Steeler star, other than Ben, is Troy. I admit, it is such a kick, when Dan Pratt, my photographer, and I walked over to his booth, he gave us a little wave before I asked a question. One idiot reporter kept hounding him about his hair, and I wanted to take our mike pole and whack the guy. 

And these familiar faces were part of that throng. DVE’s Jim and Randy. Randy interviewed me with an iPhone.  Never seen that before (although I know have one, and I am obsessed with it. They are broadcasting from here on Radio Row, and ESPN 1250’s and WTAE’s Guy Junker did a great piece on them.

 

Media Dominates The Super Bowl

It is stating the obvious–and when don’t most of us do that- to say the Super Bowl is a football game. But another cliche is that it is a spectacle. And who makes it so? The media, of course. So much so, that if you are not interviewing players, you are interviewing other members of the media. It’s incestuous. Another cliche!  But I love interviewing some of these guys of whom I am, admittedly, a fan. These two men are on the top of the list. It is probably my fourth interview with Mike and Mike (Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic), the morning duo for ESPN, including the Super Bowl in Detroit. They have also done remotes from Pittsburgh on a number of occasions–Steeler Monday Nights and the U.S. Open, for example. They have been together for 10 years, but I met Mike Golic when his first morning partner was Tony Bruno. Tony is an old friend, who actually discovered me when I was first starting out, when he heard my voice in a small town radio report. Because of that, I got my first job as a radio reporter. So, when Tony and Mike came to Pittsburgh for a remote, Tony actually put me on the air. 

How things change. Tony left ESPN, moved on to Fox Sports Radio, then Sporting News Radio ( I think he is now with an L.A. radio station),  and Mike and Mike have become wildly popular , not just on radio, but simulcasting on ESPN2.  They come off like an old married couple, arguing, poking fun at each other…But their real gift is putting sports in a cultural context–always reminding us the role it plays, or should play, in American life. And this week, it’s place is fascinating, overblown, ridiculous, and touching. That is why we in the media love it.  I am running one day behind, so I will post all the photos from media day either tonight, or tomorrow morning.

Tampa Team Soaking Up The Bowl

Arriving in Tampa. Beautiful airport, beautiful weather–a welcome sight after a week of anticipation. We have a great crew, some of whom drove ther 13 hours down here, bringing our equipment and vehicles.   Dan Henninger, a veteran of one Super Bowl, and all of our Black and Gold Primetimes for the last 12 years is our fearless leader.

Andrew Stockey was had only been with WTAE for a year or so when he was with me in Phoenix for Super Bowl XXX. And this trip, we also have Guy Junker, doing double duty for us and ESPN Radio 1250, Marci Cipriani (who used to work here ). Our intrepid photographers include Dan Pratt. T.J. Haut, Andy Cunningham, Cary Toaso, and our engineer, Greg Kornides. Pratt, Henninger, Stockey, and Kornides were all in Detroit, and the memories of that frigid, gridlocked city are not pleasant—although, the end certainly was. We are all very lucky to be here, but it is hard long work, and sleep is something you do when you get home. Just love this photo. a GREAT BIG BEN and a little Andrew. Just kidding. After we got our luggage, and rental cars, Andrew and I drove to the Tampa Convention Center, which is NFL Media Center, to get our credentials. This massive poster is in what they call radio row. It had a great coffee shop, a Madden game center –I took some photos of Andrew playing someone for a few minutes–check out Andrew’s blog to see them (he is so much more diligent than I am in posting-haha), and then we actually played pool as we waited for the rest of the bunch.

About the only play we will be doing for the next nine days. More tonight, on chatting with Mike and Mike Monday morning, and hanging at the Steeler’s hotel.

Hoping for Antarctic Good Luck Against the Ravens

Okay. I said I was going to have more Antarctic photo and information, in a week. That was a month ago. My excuse–the Holidays, and a little thing called the playoffs.  I am sitting in the Steelers press box cafeteria, watching one of the most incredible receivers in the NFL- Larry Fitzgerald -put the Arizona Cardinals up by 11 points. Not that a 37 year old Kurt Warner didn’t contribute with an arm that is still amazing, especially at this point in the season!

But I digress, which is what I always do.  I am using this picture, with me holding the Towel with Elise Larsen, whom I wrote about in the previous Antarctic blog a month ago. She was the Oceanites researcher on board the National Geographic Explorer with us, doing research for the non-profit education and scientific organization, Oceanites. Lindblad and National Geographic have been working with Oceanites in measuring the impact of forces like climate change and tourism on the Antarctic Peninsula.  By the way, this photo is of an Adelie penguin, a species I mentioned before, and Jaqi Conomikes, my traveling buddy, took it. Her photography is so outstanding, I am just going to do a blog in a couple of days ( no empty promises this time) with some of her great stuff.

Anyway, during the holidays, Elise and her fiance, Jerry (who is from Pittsburgh) came into town and I joined them and their parents, Ron and Lida Larsen, and Jerry and Pat Hungerman, for dinner. Read the preceding blog for more on that connection, but suffice it to say, the Steelers were a big topic of conversation. It was before the San Diego playoff game, and Jerry, her fiance, was going.  Elise was preparing for a return to Antarctica, on another Lindblad voyage, for more Oceanites research. Only, this time, she is also going to the Falkland Islands and South Georgia, where she will also see King penguins, one of the largest species of penguins.

This is one of Jaqi’s photos of the King penguin we saw on our first landing of  our  trip.  We went nuts, because he was all by his lonesome with a bunch of gentoos.  Kings are not supposed to be on the Peninsula.  I turned to our expedition leader, Matt Drennan, and asked, “What the heck is he doing here?” One naturalist with us had sighted a King penguin last year, and speculated it was the same one. The amazing thing is to get from South Georgia Island (which is considered sub-Antarctic), he would have had to swim 850 miles. 

Now, back to the Steelers. The reason I put in another Towel photo, is Elise is actually here, at Heinz Field. She came with her fiance, and this is only her second Steeler game(an AFC Championship one at that. I told her how lucky she is). The first was the regular season San Diego game, and it was just before her first trip to Antarctica. The Steelers won. She reasons that, since she is leaving for The White Continent again, in just two days, that it is a good omen for this AFC Championship. I heartily agree. Hence, the post. The players may say they are not superstitious, but I believe in good luck omens, and for me, having her here, in the stadium again, is definitely one.

And this is another one. The other Oceanites researcher, John Carlson (he took this photo of me), had assured me, a couple of weeks ago, that the Steelers were going all the way. I was a bit worried, but he had faith–and he is from Montana!!! And one more–on the ship, our first night, the Steelers beat the Pats–in Foxboro!!! Soundly!! When did that happen last?! 

Of course, the Steelers are winning because they are the best team in the NFL, with a smart, young coach, who has them peaking at just the right time. Not to mention a stellar defense, an offensive line that is coming together around a quarterback who is in his third AFC Championship game in five years. 

But writing about connections, and omens was the only way I could somehow write about Antarctica again, as I had promised, while I am waiting for the game to begin. GO STEELERS!!!!!!!!!!!

Real Penguins Meet The Terrible Towel In Antarctica

My apologies for not updating these more often. Part of my procrastination was my lack of patience with the spotty internet service that far south, and the difficulty posting photos—which are the point, after all. I admit, with some embarrassment, that my mild seasickness crossing the dreadful Drake Passage made sitting down and doing close work on a computer less than appetizing. The Drake is not really that dreadful–just some of the roughest 600 miles of ocean on the planet. Imagine crossing it in a rowboat, which Ernest Shackleton and some of his men had to do in his famous, failed Antarctic expedition, starting in 1914.  During our crossing down to the Peninsula, the swells and winds were only moderate! I got queasy, nothing more, and, as you can see  from the photo above, we finally  made the crossing (eminently worth it), and got up close and personal with several species of penguins on the Antarctic Peninsula. This is a gentoo penguin, a species that is growing in numbers, as the region warms, filling a niche previously dominated by another species, the Adelie penguins. More on that in a later blog. 

And one of the scientific researchers, who is counting all these penguins, brought along our Trusted Towel. The Terrible One. Elise Larsen is working on her doctorate at the University of Maryland, and she is engaged to a Steelers season ticket holder from Pittsburgh. Of course, that makes her an automatic fan! Coincidentally (it is the coincidence that fueled their getting to know one another when they first met!), her parents have been living in Pittsburgh for several years , because her father is one of the deans at the University of Pittsburgh. She was doing research with John Carlson, who is  a wildlife biologist with the department of Fish and Wildlife in Montana. But both were on board the National Geographic Explorer as National Geographic-funded researchers for Oceanites, the non-profit education and science foundation. It’s major project here is the Antarctic Site Inventory. By the way, that is me in the orange hat. One of the other passengers gave it to me when mine blew off in some 90 knot wind gusts.

I will be writing a series of blogs over the next week. There will be more on Oceanites, its connection with Lindblad ,  and the important information it provides about the impact of climate and people on Antarctica.  Then, there are the stories about how the  National Geographic Explorer deftly handled a violent storm the day after the Drake Passage. And more on seals, icebergs, and PENGUINS! You just can’t get enough of them.

A Trip To The Bottom Of the World

When you tell someone you are going to Antarctica, the person either says, “Why would you do that, “ or expresses amazement. It is considered by many as the last wild place on earth, a continent that belongs to no country, that has beckoned explorers, adventurers, sealers and whalers for centuries, and now has become an increasingly popular tourist destination. Not that popular. One of the guests on our ship said he read that for every million people on earth, only four have visited Antarctica. In annual numbers, it is between 30 and 35 thousand a year.  By the way, that little guy below is a chinstrap penguin–aptly named because of that little line of black feathers under his chin. He was one of four species of penguins we saw on our first landing in Antarctica. But back to the beginning of our trip. 

 

Why am I here? I fell in love with our polar bears at the Pittsburgh Zoo . Of course, there are no polar bears  in the southern polar region, and no penguins in the northern polar region . So that Christmas coke commercial with the bears and penguins being so chummy? Would never happen. Not that a carnivore would be friends with a penguin–and penguins and polar bears don’t drink coke. Enough! What does this have to do with the Antarctic? Last June, I visited the Arctic to see polar bears and walruses and found the region enchanting and wondrous. Another person on the Lindblad cruise aboard the National Geographic Endeavour suggested that my friend, Jaqi Conomikes, and I visit the other end of the world within 6 months. Since Jaqi’s husband had no desire to do it,  we decided to give it a go. From one end of the world to the other, in less than half a year. I should have my head examined. But how many times have I been told that!

 

It is spring here. And it takes a long time to get down to this part of the planet. We flew into Santiago, Chile,  took a bus tour around this city of over 6 million. Then the next day, we took a four hour flight to Ushuaia, Argentina–which is called the southern- most city in the world. While waiting to board our ship, we visited Tierra Del Feugo (Land of Fire) National Park in Lapataia Bay, and took a catamaran trip around the bay, seeing South American sea lions and numerous species of seabirds–like dolphin gulls, imperial shags, and Antarctic terns. It was just a taste of what was to come. 

 

Then, finally, we stepped aboard the National Geographic Explorer. On its maiden voyage in Antarctica, it is a completely re-built ship, having once been a ferry–stripped down to its hull– and then fashioned into a state-of- the -art expedition cruise ship. Lindblad and National Geographic now have  a partnership, and there are National Geographic photographers and writers on these cruises, not to mention a host of other fascinating naturalists and historians who are part of the Lindblad staff. The ship is in the smaller class of vessels that tour Antarctica, and I wouldn’t travel there any other way. Fewer passengers allowed us to off-load in Zodiacs and walk among the penguins–sometimes twice a day. More on that in the next posting.

A Helping Hand for Animals And Owners In Need

I want to thank everyone for coming out November 18 to the first fundraiser for the Animal Care And Assistance Fund. We had a Celebrity Bartender event at SBar on the Southside, and owner, Gabe Fontana was so incredibly generous to donate ALL the food and drink. The founder of the organization is the handsome guy with the beard on the far right, Dr Kenton Rexford. He is the head of the Emergency Department at the Pittsburgh Veterinarians Specialty and Emergency Center, and the Fund is the benevolent (non-profit) extension of the Center. The Fund is designed to help out people who qualify, under its criteria, for assistance in paying for emergency or extensive treatment beyond routine care. 

DVE’s Val Porter, in the front of the photo, graciously agreed  to be my co-host, and the guys at Channel Four were great. Andrew Stockey , Demetrius Ivory, Bob Mayo, Janelle Hall are in this photo, with Mayor Ravenstahl, who took time out to drop by and support the K-9 officers we invited . The guy standing next to him is  Dr. John Payne, a great surgeon at the Center , and the man beside him is an Animal Control officer. 

This is one of the Pittsburgh Police K-9 officers, with one of our board members, Celeste Kopf. The dog is gorgeous, only 20 months old, and several of my friends there remarked that he looked just like my Quino, who died over a year ago. The dog is German-bred, and one of the results of the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation. Way to go, Ben.  

Kelly Frye was amazing. She,  Erin Kienzle and Janelle were actually serving drinks, and Kelly was like a whirling dervish back there. I used to work in my ex-husband’s bar a loooooong time ago, but I was worthless. 

And kudos to these two people–Michele and John Bozic. They have been instrumental in helping Kenton start the organization. John is our Secretary/Treasurer, and Michele, the director of programs, pulled the event together, with the special help of other board members, like Laura and Charles Aftosmis, and Jamie Sarris, who put together great raffle baskets, took these photos, and filled the bar with supporters. Michele got Jim Rooney to give us an autographed, authentic game ball to auction off. This was from the 11-10 San Diego game, and I think it was signed by Willie Parker. A great night, thanks again to the never-ending generosity of the people of Pittsburgh.