Draft Day with the Kings

So I had the pleasure to be invited to an NHLTweetup with other Los Angeles Kings fans for the 2009 NHL Draft. We had the chance to meet some great hockey fans, and I spent most of the draft with four great people:

- Melody Husky, who's official title with the Kings is Social Networking Coordinator, and made me and the others feel extra special
- Howard K. Brodwin, Managing Director of Team Marketing Systems, and a fellow Jersey boy now residing in SoCal (he and I were the only ones enjoying a hardy laugh that one of the draft prospects was being compared to former 80's Ranger Reijo Rutosalainen)
- Hedid Androl, host on Kings Vision and of the NHL.com program "The Cisco All-Access Pre-Game Show"
- Luc Robitaille, the newly minted Hockey Hall of Fame selection, who flew back that morning from Montreal to be at the event

For photographic evidence, I submit the following photo of Heidi and Luc posing for a picture with me.

Clearly this is my Robert Evans moment.

For those that don't get the reference: in the documentary film 'The Kid Stays in the Picture' about legendary Hollywood film producer Robert Evans, he talks about the night that he attended the premiere of the film The Godfather in New York, and walked the red carpet with his then wife Ali McGraw and the Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

His famous quote about that experience, "...I had the most beautiful woman in the world on one arm, and the most powerful man in the world on the other."

Working through more kinks - going live soon

Stop me if you have heard this one before: the radio shows are still in a holding pattern on the runway, ready for take-off. We're just experiencing one minor technical glitch.

In short, we are able to broadcast our voices onto the network, but the commercials and sound effects, both of which are vital to the show, are still not getting through our hardware equipment. We will be attempting to fix this again on Wednesday night, and if all goes well, we will begin broadcasting shows on the Sports Journey Broadcast Network starting on Monday July 6.

I'll keep you posted - thanks for your continued support and patience. I promise it will be worth the wait.


s7zakn2vgb

SHOWS WILL DEBUT JUNE 7 & 8

Okay folks, I know that this seems very much like "The Song Remains The Same", but we were in the process on this Saturday night, watching Detroit defeat Pittsburgh 3-1 in Game One of the Stanley Cup Finals and watching Orlando eliminate Cleveland tonight in the NBA Playoffs, of setting up to finally launch our sports shows this week.

For those not yet dialed into this situation, I'm going to be hosting a pair of sports talk radio shows on an Internet broadcast company called Sports Journey. But there have been a few delays along the way.

Tonight, it feels like I'm sitting inside the rocket, having it warm up on the launch pad, only to have mission control give us the thumbs down just prior to the final countdown before liftoff.

The bottom line is that we will get these technical issues worked out this week, and I can tell you that we will be debuting the two shows next week:

- Sunday Scores and More will debut next Sunday, June 7th, at 10AM
- SportsRock, which airs weeknights, premieres next Monday, June 8th, at 10PM

Thanks for your continued patience and support, and I look forward to talking about sports for your listening enjoyment next week. I will post more information this week as it develops...

Tom Petty stars as "The Boy Who Cried Crief"

Yes, the waiting is the hardest part.
Okay, okay, so one more freaking week, jeez....

Sorry folks, but the long awaited and much anticipated launch of Sunday Scores and More is now scheduled for Sunday May 31, which is 9 days from this posting. It will happen then, and we will have some great guests, and I will have much more on this in a few days time.

My thanks to all of you asking about the start of the show and for your support of both it and the weeknight version, SportsRock, which debuts the next night June 1st at 7PM local (10PM Eastern). Thanks - more to come...

Radio show updates and a quick take on Metro

Hey there Crief Case fanatics: can't get enough of my takes? Want to hear me as well as read me?

Well, we are getting closer to the launch of my radio shows on the internet. Here's the latest info:

- Sunday Scores and More will make its debut on the Sports Journey Broadcast Network on Sunday morning, May 24. The air time will be live from 10AM to 1PM Eastern time, which means 7-10AM Pacific time. My co-host will be Ray Manukay, and we are close to announcing our update anchor. Please check out the blog site that we have set up for the show, including details of guests for the first show, by clicking here.
- SportsRock, a nightly two-hour hosted by me from 10PM to midnight Eastern (7-9PM Pacific) Monday through Friday nights, begins on June 1st. For more info, you can visit the blog site set up for that show by clicking here.

Meanwhile, I will keep you posted on other appearances I'll be making on other shows as they happen.

**********

So as many of you know, I use the local bus and train service here in Los Angeles to get around. For the most part, it is one of the best kept secrets in SoCal, that you can actually get where you need to without driving a car and sitting in traffic, provided you are willing to do a little prep work and route yourself.

But I wanted to take a minute to express some frustration with the folks at Metro, because they could be doing a better job of serving the community and they need to do a better job. A couple of issues that I have are:

- Customer Relations: while its nice to have the ability to call Metro's 800 number and get routed on-the-fly, the service is only available between 9-6 weekdays, and fewer hours on weekends. This should be available 24 hours a day. Furthermore, there is no one live to register complaints about service (or lack thereof), which is very frustrating in the moment.
- Drivers: these fall into two categories: one group is dedicated, friendly, courteous, and try to do right by the riders. However, I would say that this group only makes up about half of the drivers. The other half are surly, unprofessional, and uncaring. They are unhelpful and disrespectful. This needs to be addressed further.
- Lack of Real Time Tracking: Other area bus companies, such as the Big Blue Bus in Santa Monica, have the ability to track their buses in real time using GPS. So if you are waiting for a bus that is late and you call their CS line during business hours, they actually pinpoint where the bus and let you know when it will arrive. How its possible that Metro can't do this is beyond me. It would ease a lot of frustrations with passengers if they could get updates on late arriving buses.
- Safety: For the most part, Metro is good about the safety of their passengers. Still, there are certain bus lines that have buses get so jam-packed with passengers that it is unsafe for them to ride. The 720 line that runs down Wilshire Blvd is notoriously overflowing with passengers during most hours of the day. Why they don't correct this problem with more buses running is beyond me. Perhaps they are waiting for an accident which causes passenger deaths, leading to media-driven outrage and/or wrongful death lawsuits, before they correct this...
- Fare enforcement: This is the worst one. In other cities, you have turnstiles that prevent people from riding the trains without paying the fare. In Los Angeles, they use the honor system, which doesn't really work well. So, in order to recoup what must be staggering losses, they've started using LACSD officers to check fares at various locations. The problem though is two-fold with this: (1) they are constantly slowing down people trying to get onto connecting trains by checking people AFTER they've completed their ride. Shouldn't the idea be to check people BEFORE they get on the next ride? And (2) are you telling me that the crime and murder rates in LA County are so minuscule that we can allow these officers to spend their time checking for fare-jumpers as opposed to solving more important crimes? Plus, it just seems disingenuous that Metro, which from my experience has about a 75% on-time rate (which could be much better), is hassling customers when it isn't providing impeccable service.

Don't get me wrong, I swear by Metro, it's been better than I could have ever anticipated it would be. But it could be so much better than it is right now.

guest spot with Lake Lewis May 6

So as preparations continue for the launching of not one but two radio shows, I took time out of my busy schedule to appear as a guest on the Sports Journey radio show with Lake Lewis. Sports Journey also happens to be the name of the network that both of my shows will be appearing on.

To listen to an archived version of the show, click here. I appear at the top of the third hour talking NHL Playoff hockey with Lake, and also taking some good-natured ribbing for burying his Capitals two weeks ago when they trailed 3-1 to the Rangers.

Hope you enjoy it, and very soon, all details will be fully unleashed.

My new future ex-wife: Julia Stiles

It's been a while since I have addressed this publicly. In fact, I don't believe I have ever revealed this throughout the vaunted history of this blog. But today, a new person has leaped into the number one spot on the list. A very special list.

Mind you, the list has changed over the years, mostly for superficial reasons. But there is a very valid reason why Julia Stiles has now taken over the mantle as being the person that I most desire to become my future ex-wife.

Never mind the fact that she is a talented actress. Never mind the fact that she appeared in all three versions of the Bourne movie trilogy, with Matt Damon being the only other to hit that trifecta. Never mind that she has a classic beauty and a charismatic smile that makes me stop flipping the TV tube around the dial whenever she comes on-screen. Never mind of all that, because in addition to all of that, there is one reason above all the rest that has elevated her to the top of the list:

She is a fan of the New York Mets. And not just a "I root for some baseball team" kind of fan either.

As evidenced by this story she wrote for the Wall Street Journal reviewing her take on the Mets home opener a while back at Mookie Wilson Stadium (I refuse to call it by the corporate greed moniker), she not only is a fan of the Mets, but has a clear understanding of the game as well.

I later found out that she also has a blog site as well. So not only am I letting the tens and tens of Crief Case Nation readers know about it, and encouraging all of you to visit her site everyday, but we're adding her onto the famous Blog Roll located over on the right.

Welcome to the club, Ms. Stiles - your jacket awaits you.

********************

Still awaiting the official ability to make the official word on my official broadcasting upgrade announcement to become official. When it is, I will spill the beans. What I can tell you is that the May 3 debut of Sunday Scores and More has been pushed back two weeks until May 17. Many more details soon to follow...

Crief the Guest Star

Be sure to listen to Sports Journey on the Sports Journey Broadcast Network today between 4-7PM Eastern to hear me as a guest talking NHL playoff hockey. I'll be talking about Wednesday's games and previewing Thursday's action with Lake Lewis, the show's host.

Here's a link to the site:
http://www.sportsjourney.com/

In case you missed it, go to the home page linked above, and click on the TAB button that says 'Past Shows'. When the page changes, under the section titled 'Recent Archives', be sure to click on the show labeled '04/23 Sports Journey with Lake Lewis'. It's that simple. I am the first guest on the show, and it appears about 15-20 minutes into the first hour.


Also, another major announcement or two is forthcoming - stay tuned...

Heidi Heidi Heidi Hi

I'll have a new posting here this Friday about the NFL Draft. Also, be sure to go to the home blog page for the new radio show by clicking this link:

http://sundayscoresandmore.blogspot.com/

There, you will soon find info about our guests for future shows and much more.

Also, be sure to go to my L.A. Kings Examiner page to keep up to date on the Kings throughout the off-season. Today, we posted a feature story on Heidi Androl, who is currently being loaned out by the Kings to the NHL as co-host of their daily on-line program called Cisco All-Access Pre-Game Show

See you Friday morning when we go "on the clock"...

In memoriam: Doug Kessler

When I graduated high school in 1986, I'm sure I felt like most of my peers; invincible and able to begin a long journey on the road of life. But even before graduation day arrived, my classmates at Pascack Hill High School experienced two introductions into the cold reality of life that would haunt us. During our junior year of high school, one of our classmates committed suicide. Then during the summer between our junior and senior year, another was killed in a car crash involving a train.

Since then, we've seen other classmates taken from us in various ways. I'm sure this makes us no different than other classes from our school, or other classes that graduated the same year which we did. Still, by the time we reached our 20-year reunion in 2006, ten of our class members were gone. Perhaps just as innocuous is not just how many have passed on, but how they succumbed. One to breast cancer; one involving a shooting outside a nightclub; one involving a gas station robbery where they were at the wrong place at the wrong time; one to HIV; two from drug related issues; one from brain cancer; and another reportedly from an accident swimming in the ocean where a strong tide current slammed him into a pier.

And now I've learned of yet another loss recently. It's my sad duty to report that Doug Kessler passed away in March after an 18-month battle with colon cancer. Unfortunately by the time Doug was diagnosed, the cancer had already begun to spread to his lymph nodes, liver, and spine.

Greg Blue filled me in on some of the details of Doug's passing. But what I was struck by, in even the briefest of messages, was the impact Doug had on Greg in those final months. Greg made sure to tell me about Doug's spirit in battling the disease, and remaining active in terms of athletic pursuits. He also shared with me how loving a husband and father Doug was to his wife and their two children. I know that Doug and Greg were part of a tight circle of friends from high school that still remained friends 22 years following graduation day.

So, I wanted to acknowledge Doug's passing today with this posting. Doug and I played on soccer and baseball teams together when we were little kids, and he was always a gentle and kind person. I'm very saddened by his loss, and wish to extend my condolences to his wife Ivy, and their children Ryan and Emily. I also want offer my apologies on their loss to his parents and his brother Andrew, as well as all of his close friends from our class. I also understand from Greg that donations can be made in Doug's name to the following:

JCC of Central NJ
1391 Martine Ave.
Scotch Plains, NJ 07076

Greg also wanted me to mention that if you make a donation to please notate that it is in memory of Doug Kessler, because that money will be applied towards the creation of a new recreation facility being built there. I know that times are tough financially for all of us, but any positive gesture on your part would be greatly appreciated.