(more NYC Sports Radio than TV/Music related, but I didn't think it belonged in Other sports or BS radio). Anyway. Longtime WFAN caller Doris from Rego Park passed away over the weekend.
That's sad. I personally had to turn off the radio when she came on because her cough cough was a little unnerving for some reason (maybe it's just me), but, R.I.P.
Six liters? Damn. I was a bad soda drinker at 2 a day. Anyway, yeah, I had to turn it off listening to her as well. Her devotion to the FAN was amazing though, it seemed whenever I turned on the radio (6pm, 2am, whenever), she was on. Much as I didn't like the Mets, she was a fan of ridiculous proportions. Sad news. FYI, anyone see the piece SI did on Miriam from Queens? She is blind and a NY Islander fan who listens to every game on the radio. She lives on a fixed income in a tiny apartment and had never been to a game. So last year the Islanders got her a limo, took her out to the stadium, let her walk on the ice, meet the players and watch a game from the luxury box. She had a blast, and it will go down as one of the coolest things I've heard a team do for it's fans. Props to SI and the Islanders for reaching out. As far as I know, the Mets never did anything for Doris, which is sad. Seems they could have gotten her down to be a part of the first pitch or something, even if she couldn't throw it necessarily.
There was a plan was to have Doris From Rego Park and Jerome The Lunatic Yankee Fan read the starting lineups at one of the Yankee-Met interleague games (how much more NYC can you get!) this past summer - but apparently Doris got ill and was unable to do it at the last minute. Sad now to think about it never getting to happen.
Yeah, that would have been cool, if only for the chance to listen to Jerome go "batting 7th, at third base, Robin Ventura...(screaming) I'm telling you, Joe, they gotta get this guy out of here he's batting .217 and hitting .195 with runners in scoring position I want him gone, trade him to Tampa!(/screaming)....batting 8th is Hideki Matsui..."
(Screaming some more) They're NOT getting Guerrero! There's no WAY the Mets are getting Guerrero! NO! WAY!(/screaming)
I honestly don't know how that guy doesn't have a heart attack on every call. He's like an angry Sam Kinison, but all the time. He embarasses me as a Yankee fan, but he is unintentionally hilarious.
I grew up listening to WFAN a lot even though I'm not from NY or a NY sports fan. I've heard Jerome from Manhattan and Doris from Rego Park many times. My favorite caller was "Eli from Westchester" because he always brought up a race issue/angle when he called. Mike Francesca yelling at him when he made his outlandish racial comments that was funny.
Ah yes, Eli. I think they finally banned him from the show. My favorite moment in the history of WFAN, and sports talk radio in general, happened years ago on the Fan. I believe the host was Russ Salzberg, back in the days before he got teamed up with Steve Somers. They had booked Phil Simms for the show - it was an extended segment not long after he had retired, probably close to an hour - and Salzberg, as well as the callers, spent just about all that time fellating the former Giants QB, to the point where it was just sickening. I'm going to paraphrase this extremely badly, but it was all quite boring until they got a call from "Antoine from Brooklyn" Antoine: ('black-sounding' voice): Yo Phil, it's great to talk to you, Big Giants fan here. It's a real honor to talk to a great like you. Phil: Nice to hear that, Antoine. A: <following a little more Phil-fellating> I've just a question for you, though, man. What's the deal with all these white quarterbacks in NYC? I mean, we had you, and Boomer...two blond-haired, blue-eyed white guys. So how come we can't get a brother in here? P: Well, I, uh...(sounding totally flummoxed and sand-bagged)...I don't think it has anything with race, Antoine... Russ: (sort of coming to Phil's defense) Phil does some more uncomfortable waffling... A: (getting a little more insistent) Well no, look, how about when you and the Giants were winning Super Bowls? I'm watching those games, and you're throwing to Mark Bavaro, or you're throwing to Phil McConkey. And there's Zeke Mowatt running around out there WIDE OPEN! At this point, they dumped Antoine. Russ: Uh, sorry Phil. Sometimes we get callers like that, ya know? They go to commercial break. Come back from commercial break Russ: Well Phil, we just got a little information that Antoine from Brooklyn wasn't really Antoine from Brooklyn. It was really Bernie McGuirk from the Imus show, calling from across the hall. Absolutely classic. And just barely better than Ed Coleman reading the winner of that night's Mets Extra Play Of The Game contest on the air - Al Kaholik, and not showing any sign of getting it.
Good one. My favorite Antoine from the Bronx call was the one he did to overnight guy Joe Benigno a coule of months after he started. Joe: And next up is Antoine in the Bronx. Antoine how are you? Antoine: Not good man, I'm upset. Joe: Why are you upset, Antoine? Antoine: I'll tell you man, and yo, don't cut me off because I'm black, man. In this big melting pot called new york we got to no brothers in there. We got no black coaches, no black quarterbacks, no black nuthin' man, we got to get some brothers in there for the brothers man. Joe: uh...well... Antoine: And some people be talking about hockey man, but I don't like hockey. Joe: well, that's your perogative... Antione: Yeah cause in hockey the only black thing is the puck and they be smacking that around! Anyway, it was funny. Poor guy.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0Wc8AkpMrE"]YouTube - Doris from Rego Park by Don Rosler (from "Rosler's Recording Booth") Final Mix‏[/ame]