tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post7095916798107564257..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Opening DayBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-23078969046391039322015-04-08T14:33:56.217-07:002015-04-08T14:33:56.217-07:00VP81955
I had to look up Erich von Stroheim---what...VP81955<br />I had to look up Erich von Stroheim---what a fascinating read, and what a tragedy with the film, Greed. <br /><br />Thank you for sharing the progress on your screenplays. I'm sure there are many others who are interested but just don't bother to comment.diane D.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-65810943022806480432015-04-07T19:48:10.655-07:002015-04-07T19:48:10.655-07:00"It would be difficult lt to sell out a game ..."It would be difficult lt to sell out a game in Tampa in May when no team plays there. I must be missing your point."<br /><br />Yes, willfully.Mike Schryverhttp://otrcomedy.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-64247853090763393592015-04-07T13:59:56.473-07:002015-04-07T13:59:56.473-07:00Diane D. said:
Off the subject, are you entering...<i>Diane D. said: <br /><br />Off the subject, are you entering one of your screenplays in the April 11 competition you mentioned? Good Luck if you do!</i><br /><br />Right now, probably not. It's at about 120 pages, and I'm not yet at the climax -- it needs <i>plenty</i> of cutting. Better I wait, finish it up, then edit it to an appropriate length. Writing the romantic comedy equivalent of the Erich von Stroheim "Greed" (albeit with dialogue) probably isn't a wise idea; there are plenty of screenplay contests out there, and I might as well wait to get it right before entering one of these things.<br /><br />But thanks for your support; it's good to have folks like you in my corner as I try to emulate screenplay heroes of minue such as Ben Hecht, Robert Riskin (not many are aware of it, but he came close to marrying the lady in my avatar), Norman Krasna, Billy Wilder, etc.VP81955https://www.blogger.com/profile/11792390726196611188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-14843512461588322332015-04-07T13:54:39.690-07:002015-04-07T13:54:39.690-07:00It would be difficult lt to sell out a game in Tam...It would be difficult lt to sell out a game in Tampa in May when no team plays there. I must be missing your point.Kent Morganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09834261948994921554noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-18331463419446554362015-04-07T13:15:39.062-07:002015-04-07T13:15:39.062-07:00VP81955
I shouldn't have trusted my memory. I...VP81955<br />I shouldn't have trusted my memory. It was, of course a best of 5, and the embarrassing record Royko referred to was that it was the first time a National League Team had won the first two games and lost the next three.<br /><br />Off the subject, are you entering one of your screenplays in the April 11 competition you mentioned? Good Luck if you do!Diane D.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-64452407058487521002015-04-07T11:44:19.500-07:002015-04-07T11:44:19.500-07:00In defense of Scully (as if he needs it from me), ...In defense of Scully (as if he needs it from me), his radio work is different than when he strictly does TV. (The Dodgers are unique in that his first three innings are simulcast, something that often used to be the case for hockey and basketball -- I recall the Flyers' Gene Hart was simulcast in Philadelphia -- but Scully is about the only one left in that crowd. <br /><br />I recall when Harry Kalas did Phillies games on radio, he talked quite a bit more than for games on TV, where the picture told the story.<br /><br />About my only fault with Scully is his use of the phrase "chowder and marching society." Aside from that, he's great.VP81955https://www.blogger.com/profile/11792390726196611188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-30493980444011957282015-04-07T11:07:55.987-07:002015-04-07T11:07:55.987-07:00I know it's blasphemy, but I can't stand l...I know it's blasphemy, but I can't stand listening to Vin Scully. He never shuts up. I find the silence in the broadcast when you can hear the crowd and the vendors and the pop of the ball in the catcher's mitt to be a beautiful thing! Scully never comes up for air!Deannahttp://www.alongrun.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-33014728093203615832015-04-07T00:39:12.525-07:002015-04-07T00:39:12.525-07:00As rebuttal to Ken's statement: "OPENING ...As rebuttal to Ken's statement: "OPENING DAY – when hope burns eternal, even for the Phillies," I present two newspaper headlines after just one regular season game (an 8-0 loss) as evidence that hope has already been extinguished:<br /><br />Phils' offense won't get any better<br />Phillies fans have lost hope<br /><br />Bring on the 2015 MLB draft.<br /><br />MikeK.Pa.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-75246566138972383022015-04-06T21:38:47.225-07:002015-04-06T21:38:47.225-07:00Unrelated to baseball:
"To borrow the kind o...Unrelated to baseball:<br /><br />"To borrow the kind of pop culture analogy the show's hero loves to make, this could have been 'AfterM*A*S*H,' when for the moment it feels like it could be on its way to being 'Frasier.' "<br /><br />-- a sentence from Alan Sepinwall's very positive review of the season finale (and the entire first season) of AMC's <i>Better Call Saul</i>gottacooknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-54586099162476748422015-04-06T20:21:41.485-07:002015-04-06T20:21:41.485-07:00John Brown
Did you ever hear of the famous quote b...<i>John Brown<br />Did you ever hear of the famous quote by Chicago columnist Mike Royko: "The Cubs only set embarrassing records." He said that when the Cubs had won the first 3 games of the play offs (in the 1980s, I think). No team had ever won the first 3 games and gone on to lose the Pennant, and Chicago was going crazy. The Cubbies managed to lose the next 4 games!</i><br /><br />Ah, typical Cub hyperbole. They won the first two games of the 1984 NLCS against San Diego, then lost the next three; it was then a best-of-five series (the final year of that format). And they weren't the first team to do that -- in 1982, the Angels (a team with its own history of heartache) beat Milwaukee in the first two games of the ALCS (the Brewers once were an AL team, kiddies), only to drop the next three in Wisconsin.<br /><br />The only team to rally from a 3-0 deficit to win a postseason baseball series is the Boston Red Sox (2004)...and their fans have been insufferable ever since.VP81955https://www.blogger.com/profile/11792390726196611188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-87169910542947659982015-04-06T20:19:22.199-07:002015-04-06T20:19:22.199-07:00Ok, ok.....I'll be the fanboy and nominate YOU...Ok, ok.....I'll be the fanboy and nominate YOU to replace His Vinship!<br /><br />It's a win-win, even if you fail.... <br /><br />(which you most likely will)<br /><br />Those who thought you could do it will write it off as The Scully Curse, strong enough to scare off even Costas, etc.<br /><br />While those who thought you couldn't do it......<br /> ......they'll remain your friends.DrBOPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07179469265158025584noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1949185169283956032015-04-06T19:45:24.767-07:002015-04-06T19:45:24.767-07:00For some of us, opening day is a reminder of MLB s...For some of us, opening day is a reminder of MLB shafting our team, cancelling the season, letting the team be dismembered, and then rewarding the villain in the piece with another franchise.<br /><br />And now we're still stuck waiting for Tim Raines to get into the HoF like he deserves.David Pnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-27896698941831820252015-04-06T18:42:26.242-07:002015-04-06T18:42:26.242-07:00"Jocketty and the Castellinis"
Weren..."Jocketty and the Castellinis"<br /><br />Weren't they a doo-wop group?Mike Schryverhttp://otrcomedy.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-17189044355149200332015-04-06T16:31:15.804-07:002015-04-06T16:31:15.804-07:00I have to confess, I'm a Red Sox fan, and alth...I have to confess, I'm a Red Sox fan, and although I think he has a tendency to ramble on like your Great Grandfather telling old war stories, and you wish there was someone that he can play off next to him, I greatly admire Vin Scully. To still possess keen insight and strong pipes at a advanced age is a wonder to behold.<br /><br />Friday Question: As an experienced baseball broadcaster, do you think it's best to for the Dodgers to hire an experienced but familiar voice, (like a Dan Shulman)to replace Scully when the unfortunate day comes, or do you think it's best if they hire someone from the minors with no big league experience, even though the shoes will be almost impossible for an inexperienced Major League broadcaster to fill? Dan in Rhode Islandnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-73261738687524614422015-04-06T13:46:22.699-07:002015-04-06T13:46:22.699-07:00Ken, what do you think of Cheers being #1 on the l...Ken, what do you think of Cheers being #1 on the list of shows that need to be remade?<br /><br />http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/sitcom-revivals-that-should-actually-happen/Mikenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-18957302680059156872015-04-06T13:33:32.370-07:002015-04-06T13:33:32.370-07:00I'm watching The Dodger game via MLB.com as I ...I'm watching The Dodger game via MLB.com as I write. It gave me goose bumps as it always does when Vin Scully said "time for Dodger baseball!"<br /><br />This is one of life's moments you want to savor.<br /><br />God Bless Baseball and God Bless Vin Scully.<br /><br />AlohaH Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12482221297668464504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-38770426593801949162015-04-06T11:56:15.309-07:002015-04-06T11:56:15.309-07:00Hey Ken,
So glad you wrote about this today. I k...Hey Ken,<br /><br />So glad you wrote about this today. I kinda figured you would with your background and all. Opening Day IS one of the best days of the year for sure- and yes the winter here in the Northeast was terrible. <br /><br />And yes, the old time baseball announcers are treasures- Mel Allen, Ernie Harwell, Vin Scully<br /><br />--LLAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-50602367654454813652015-04-06T10:47:09.442-07:002015-04-06T10:47:09.442-07:00A popular joke in the UK in the early '90s:
&q...A popular joke in the UK in the early '90s:<br />"If Bush is seriously injured, the Secret Service are under orders to shoot Dan Quayle."Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06248182899977033579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-82312783707368414722015-04-06T10:24:34.453-07:002015-04-06T10:24:34.453-07:00Can’t wait for the game when the in-the-dugout pla...Can’t wait for the game when the in-the-dugout player interview coincides with a flash bench-clearing brawl, and the mic’d up player takes us running onto the field into the action. Play ball! Glennnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-15268489982695659212015-04-06T10:21:06.652-07:002015-04-06T10:21:06.652-07:00I miss Jack Brickhouse announcing for the Cubs in ...I miss Jack Brickhouse announcing for the Cubs in the 70s. I also miss Ken's take on last night's "Mad Men. Where have you gone Joe Pepitone, nobody misses you.Oat Willienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-69592992623933821272015-04-06T10:17:23.797-07:002015-04-06T10:17:23.797-07:00Go Mariners!Go Mariners!Jon B.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-25676119797717522212015-04-06T09:58:26.771-07:002015-04-06T09:58:26.771-07:00Oh, forgot to add this.
Ken, you remember the le...Oh, forgot to add this. <br /><br />Ken, you remember the legendary WLS jock and Cub fan, Bob Sirott. He tweeted this yesterday.<br /><br />"It'll be interesting hearing the Cubs on WBBM. They'll only tell you what the score is on the 8's"bensonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-16272824315962319682015-04-06T09:54:47.442-07:002015-04-06T09:54:47.442-07:00I know there are some fellow White Sox fans on her...I know there are some fellow White Sox fans on here. My son texted me last night at 8:05pm. <br /><br />"Cubs first pitch was a strike. Start planning the parade."<br /><br />So proud.<br /><br />bensonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-7140776932554556992015-04-06T09:50:46.089-07:002015-04-06T09:50:46.089-07:00It's opening day and the Cubs are already out ...It's opening day and the Cubs are already out of it.Bryan north of Seattlenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-35666270786892651072015-04-06T09:25:10.278-07:002015-04-06T09:25:10.278-07:00Happy Opening Day to you and everyone and thanks f...Happy Opening Day to you and everyone and thanks for mentioning Lon; those of us who've lived here for a while were very fortunate to have listened to him for many years. Jeez, to say 'what a wit' just scratches the surface. When he was broadcasting the A's, he was teamed with Wayne Hagin - who may have been a good guy but came off like Eddie Haskell- and so between pitches, Wayne is talking with Lon about growing up in San Jose and dropping the name of Dave Righetti and his brother, of whom Hagin said was "one of my better friends"...Lon waited a beat and said "Hmm, that's very interesting" Hagin says "what? the fact that I knew Dave's brother?" to which Lon replied "...strike two...no, the fact that you rate your friends good better and best..." RIP Mr. SimmonsVictor Velasconoreply@blogger.com