FB: New Jersey Athletic Conference

[Knightstalker]

Yeah but one Rams1102 is equal to ten fans.

[Pat Coleman]

Are you saying he's schizophrenic?

[catchball]

Welcome aboard. There aren't too many other Montclair fans on the board, so spread the word!

Thanks for the welcome  8)

[Knightstalker]

Are you saying he's schizophrenic?

That's between Dave and his doctor.   

[gordonmann]

Hall of fame shortstop and broadcaster Phil Rizzuto passed away today at the age of 89.

I don't remember Rizzuto as a player, but I do remember him as a broadcaster.  He and Bill "Whitey" White did the Yankees games on WPIX 11 which I watched a fair amount as a kid.

Rizzuto was the master of telling odd stories and self-deprecating anecdotes during the game.  I remember how he scored plays "ww" for "wasn't watching" if he missed something and his mistaken calls of homeruns that were caught in front of the wall.  Without ever realizing it before today, I think watching Rizzuto as a kid definitely impacted my approach to calling games.  He showed me that broadcasting should be fun and that it can be if you don't take yourself too seriously. 

There's a fine line between entertaining and irrelevant.  Rizzuto didn't just walk that line; he drew it.

Rest in peace, Scooter.

[Knightstalker]

RIP Scooter, my father said he was lucky to live when he got to see Scooter and Pee Wee Reese play against each other and in the same era.  He always thought that they were two of the best ever.  He also said that Ozzie Smith was the only one he saw that was close.

I remember one Yankees broadcast when Scooter showed up around the fourth or fifth inning and when White asked where he was, Scooter admitted he got lost driving to Yankee Stadium, at which White cracked; How long have you been coming here?

He brought personality to the Yankee broadcasts, something the new announcers don't do.  Sure he did the games like he took a few too many bad hops off the forehead, but he was our guy.

Scooter

[rams1102]

Are you saying he's schizophrenic?

I'm stuborn and Polish, maybe that qualifies.

[rams1102]

Are you saying he's schizophrenic?

That's between Dave and his doctor.   

Thank God for patient / client confidentiality.

[rams1102]

catchball

Welcome aboard and +K for joining the Mighty Red Hawk Family on the board.

Tough schedule, it all starts at Wilkes. Time to walk our talk. 8-2 would be one heck of a season. What do you think?

[rams1102]

Phil Rizzuto

Rest In Peace. Thanks For All The Great Times !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[MSUBIRDGANG]

Hello everyone!!!!

When I played at Montclair I swore I would never join this, lol but I needed my fix... ohh and the receiver who is transfering in to play at Montclair left his previous school for other reasons, it didn't have anything to do with academics...

[rams1102]

Hello everyone!!!!

When I played at Montclair I swore I would never join this, lol but I needed my fix... ohh and the receiver who is transfering in to play at Montclair left his previous school for other reasons, it didn't have anything to do with academics...

MSUBIRDGANG,

Thanks for joining in. +K for the effort. Don't be a stranger. Nice to here the transfer issue is not about academics.

[MSUBIRDGANG]

Rams...

just wanted to say on behalf of everyone at MSU thanks for being one of our biggest supporters, don't think we don't see you at all of our games with your vikings jacket on.. We are expecting some pretty big things this year, spoke to some of the guys a little while ago, and well after speaking with them and taking a look at some of the guys we have coming back, the transfers and the freshmen class... It kind of reminds me of 03 when we won the NJAC..

[rams1102]

Rams...

just wanted to say on behalf of everyone at MSU thanks for being one of our biggest supporters, don't think we don't see you at all of our games with your vikings jacket on.. We are expecting some pretty big things this year, spoke to some of the guys a little while ago, and well after speaking with them and taking a look at some of the guys we have coming back, the transfers and the freshmen class... It kind of reminds me of 03 when we won the NJAC..

Thanks. Give my best to Big Al. We'll start to have some fun on the board soon. Keep in touch. Let's get some support at the Wilkes game and get the season off to a good start.

60 Minutes Every Saturday, starting with Wilkes !!!

LET'S  GO  MIGHTY  RED  HAWKS  !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[phil]

I just wanted to add a thought about the passing of Phil Rizzuto.

Scooter was part of every baseball memory I had as a Yankee fan growing up. A fixture from my childhood and beyond. Hearing his voice on a broadcast would automatically take me back to the days of Mantle, which gave way to the days of Murcer and beyond. When I was older and living on my own — hearing him do a game was like catching a whiff of a certain smell which would instantly transport you back to memories of the safety and security of your parents' house.

Back in 1993 I was living in Pennsylvania and driving up to North Jersey twice a week to play in a softball league with old friends. I'd  drive up from work in Princeton, play the game, get showered and head for the bar. On these nights I'd stay with my parents, spend five minutes catching up and five more saying good-bye the next morning.

My dad was battling cancer for a few years at that point in time. He never wanted to talk about it with me, it was just an ongoing thing. On this one night in June after the softball game, I stopped home, showered and was on my way out the door when I stopped to catch the score of the Yankee/Cleveland game my dad was watching. Cleveland was his favorite team and Bobby Feller his favorite player.

On this night Rizzuto had Larry Gatlin of the Gatlin Bros. band in the booth and it was one of the wackiest things you'd ever wanted to hear. The game became an afterthought to Scooter while he tried to talk music (and his duet with Meatloaf) as Gatlin tried to talk baseball. The next thing I knew I sat down and wound up watching the entire game with my dad — probably for the first time since he took me to Bat Day at the stadium around '71. The Yankees beat Cleveland 8-5. Jimmy Key got the W. I lost my dad the following week — the game being the final conversation I ever had with him. To this day I have no idea why I decided to sit and watch that entire darn game — other than Rizzuto sucked me in and I was sitting there like I was 10 years old again. I thank God I did. So I owe a large debt of gratitude to Phil Rizzuto. He'll forever be a key part/architect of one of my most cherished memories. I shed a tear tonight when I heard of his passing. He passed away in the town I grew up in.

Thank you Phil and God Bless.