Some thoughts from a busy week to start a new week.
Remembering a Summer Tour. In the summer of 1988, I was working at SportsChannel, which for those who may not know, was a pioneer in so many ways beyond just showing local teams. Under the SportsChannel America banner, the platform brought the first national high school football and basketball games to broadcast television, united a group of regional networks into a united front the acquired and then broadcast the national schedule foe the NHL, integrated elements like a speed gun into baseball broadcasts and on and on. We also had an evening desk show out of Hofstra University’s studios, and that spawned a need for content way away from the broadcasts. One of the best ones that I helped lead that summer was a search for the best sports bars in the New York area. Bill Raftery, then doing New Jersey nets games and some select college broadcast for the network, joined me on weekly, sometimes night stops around the tri-state area to find the best of the best…and we brought along friends, staff members and other for a memorable two months. The list included Bobby Valentine’s in Connecticut, the Piper’s Kilt in New Rochelle, the Brooklyn Dodger, in yes, Brooklyn, the Ebbets Field Café on Long Island, Manny’s in Moonachie, NJ and a trio of Manhattan joints; Mickey Mantle’s, Oren and Aretsky’s, and the place where I at the ripe old age of 27, and Coach Raftery a little older, spent many nights, Runyon’s. There were also a few others as well, and I was reminded of those summer trips this week when one of the other New Jersey stop’s, The Crows Nest, announced it was closing. I don’t believe any of the places, other than Bobby Valentine’s in Stamford is still around, but the memories of that summer of ’88 are still strong. Time for another list!
Adieu Showtime: It was sad to hear that Showtime has announced it is also shuttering, this time its live MMA and boxing cards that the network was built on. Another trip down memory lane for me came with the announcement, because one of my mentors the late Jay Larkin (we worked together at the International Fight League and stayed very close until his death from brain cancer over a dozen years ago), was one of the builders in the HBO-Showtime boxing rivalry that really reinvigorated the sport. Jay always said competition bred competition, and Showtime’s Avis to HBO’s Hertz made everyone better. The boxing platform thrived well after Jay left, most recently under Stephen Espinoza, but now, like HBO’s boxing offerings, will be no more. The drive to streaming continues for the major networks and their affiliates. Jay would have been 72 Monday by the way.
Where to Find Stuff: One of the issues with streaming now, is where to find stuff. TechHive’s listing guide of where to find every sports streaming offering is a great one to bookmark.
Kidults Is A Thing: We are close to Halloween, and between Kelce and Swift and scary Barbie there are other things that are becoming “things.” Most notable the trend of “Kidults.” Simple to say…adults dressing up or taking great pleasure in dressing up as characters from their past, Superhero’s to athletes to pop culture figures, well away from the Eve of All Hallows have become a thing for years. Now its about buying toys…LEGO to puzzles to large scale projects that were maybe meant for kids but are being embraced by adults on their own…again. Much more elaborate than a Tiki Barber jersey at Met Life Stadium.
More to come…enjoy the week.
