I saw this headline today on NJ.com…the web site of the Star-Ledger newspaper in Newark:

Former Marine pleads guilty in road-rage shooting of NJ resident

Why? Why did they write it that way?

First of all, any Marine will tell you…there’s no such thing as a “former Marine.” Once a Marine…always a Marine!

But, really…the bigger issue is this. Why did they see the need to identify him as a former military guy? Would they write “former accountant?” “Former teacher?” “Former construction worker?” “Former store clerk?”

I know why they did it. It stretches back to the Vietnam war, when returning veterans were wrongly and unfairly pegged as some sort of deranged baby-killers who could SNAP at any moment.

And, the defendant’s attorney says this “former Marine” suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, after serving in Haiti.

Haiti? Stressful? For a Marine?

I digress.

The story itself is a good one. And, because of the defense lawyer’s claim, the defendant’s past military service is arguably somewhat germane to the story. (You can read the whole story here.)

But for the headline to blast Former Marine is sensational and unfair.

And, unnecessary.

This is just a quick note to pass along something that I think is really cool.

For many years, Spike O’Dell was the morning host on Chicago’s legendary WGN Radio 720. Spike retired at the top of his game a year or so ago, and he and his wife, Karen, moved to Tennessee…where they’re now enjoying the fruits of their hard-earned success.

Spike has a hobby. Bird-watching. Well, bird-feeding, too.

And, he’s installed a live web cam that looks right at the feeder outside his office window.

You should check out his live stream. You’ll find yourself spending more time than you should watching the birds as they fly up and chow down. He’s got all kinds…red ones, blue ones, grey ones. It’s fun!

Please take a few moments to relax…and watch Spike’s birds!

Have a great day!

Steve

My wife, Jeanne, and I saw Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig in “A Steady Rain” on Broadway Saturday afternoon. It was a powerful, although somewhat dark, show…and, it was cool to be up close to Jackman and Craig in their two-man show. Each actor did a very nice job.

After the show, Jackman and Craig held an impromptu on-stage auction, benefiting Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids. It’s a great cause. 

We ended up buying a couple of Playbills hand-signed by Jackman and Craig. 

If you’d like to support this very worthy cause, please check out this web site.

Thanks!

p.s. - “A Steady Rain” closes this coming Sunday, with a specially-added 7pm show…in which all proceeds will benefit local, NYC charities.

I’m just askin’…

And, please don’t try to blame “bad lighting” or something like that.

(photos courtesy Getty Images)

  When Game Six of the World Series reached the top of the 9th inning last night, I turned down the sound on the TV and turned up the radio. If the Yankees were going to win the World Series, I wanted to hear John Sterling make the call. John didn’t disappoint.

“Ballgame over! World Series over! Yankees win! THHHHEEEE YANKEES WIN!”

I know there are a lot of Yankee haters out there. That’s fine. Whatever.  I’m not one of them.

People here in New York who were born Yankee fans - or at least grew up with the team in the late 1990s - may think that winning the World Series is a birthright. It’s not (as witnessed by the last nine Series-less seasons).

I’m what you call an “acquired taste” Yankee fan. I’m a Yankee fan by choice, thank you…not birthright. I was born in California and then lived 20+ years in Chicago before moving here a few years ago. I don’t know when I started liking the Yankees a little. Maybe all the way back in the 1970s, watching the bickering between Billy Martin and Mr. Steinbrenner.  Maybe it was the late ’90s, with the emergence of Jeter, Pettitte,Posada and Rivera. It was certainly solidified when I joined WCBS 880, the radio flagship of the Yankees. I became a fan!

This is the first time that a team I really liked has won the World Series since the Oakland A’s of the early- to mid-1970s, when I was a kid growing up in California. Oh, I was in Chicago when the White Sox won in 2005. It was fun to watch their World Series run, but I was never a die-hard White Sox (or Cubs) fan.

I’m not a jump-up-and-down kind of fan. But, as I listened to John Sterling call the final out last night, I found myself quietly doing a Derek Jeter-esque bent-arm clenched fist. The radio broadcast on WCBS was several seconds ahead of the TV broadcast…so I knew the outcome before my wife saw the final play on TV. I turned up the sound on the radio.

 Ballgame over! World Series over! Yankees win! THHHHEEEE YANKEES WIN!

Indeed!

So, excuse me, Yankee haters. Let me - and other Yankee fans - enjoy the Yankees’ 27th World Series title.

My WCBS 880 colleague, producer Lou Zambrana, put together this nice AudioFile that brings you the sounds of the Yankees’ Game Six win.

Now…bring on the parade in the Canyon of Heroes!

(Yankee celebration photo courtesy Getty Images)

It must be hard to be a New York Mets fan today. 

The Mets’ hated rival, the Yankees, have advance to the World Series…where they will play the Mets’ hated rival, the Philadelphia Phillies.

What’s a Mets fan to do?

Just ignoring the World Series is not an acceptable answer. Mets fans are some of the most loyal, most passionate fans in all of baseball. And, they are baseball fans. They could never just ignore the World Series.

It’s mathematically impossible for neither team to win the Series. So, that option is out for Mets fans.

I know a bunch of Mets fans. Most of them say they will root for - get this - the Phillies. Yes, their hated division rival…the team that has kept the Mets out of the playoffs the past few years. These Mets fans so hate the Yankees, so despise them, that they will root for any one to beat them. In this case, that “any one” is the hated Phillies.

I don’t know who will win the World Series, but it must really be tough to be a Mets fan right now.

What IS a Mets fan to do?

(Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

What was DirecTV thinking?

I was watching the Yankees/Angels ALCS game on Fox last night…and was shocked by a commercial that I saw.

The ad is for DirecTV. It shows the actor David Spade…and, the late comic actor Chris Farley. Chris Farley, as you may know, was an alcohol- and drug-abusive man-child, whose addictions led to his death at age 33.

The  commercial showed Chris Farley at his stereotypical worst. With the help of modern technology, an archival clip of an obviously intoxicated Farley was mixed with a current version of David Spade. Somehow, this was supposed to convince me to buy DirecTV.

What a terrible message from from DirecTV.

The commercial glorified and mocked the very abuses that killed Chris Farley. And, it portrayed Farley’s intoxicated state as something fun and goofy. The message to kids watching last night’s game: “Hey, look at me! It’s pretty fun to get all f*cked up!”

As a journalist in Chicago in 1997, I covered Chris Farley’s drug-induced death. I was outside his home at the John Hancock Center when his body was taken from the building. I’ve seen the photos of Chris Farley’s body from inside his apartment. Google them. Serious, Google them and take a look. You’ll see that he died a horrible, horrible death.

Is this the lifestyle and behavior DirecTV wants to promote in its advertising? I don’t think so.

A friend of mine defended the ad…comparing it to ads featuring old clips of the late actor Humphrey Bogart. With all due respect to my friend…sorry, this is apples and oranges. The Bogie ads were cool and dignified, showing a dashing movie star from days gone by. The DirecTV Farley glorifies the very drug and alcohol excesses that killed Farley.

DirecTV should pull those ads…now! They should not air again…especially in a program with a large audience of kids.

What was DirecTV thinking?

Shame on you, DirecTV! Shame on you!

(Steve’s note: The above photo is not from the commercial. It shows Chris Farley and David Spade in happier times: Before Farley died his horrible death…bruised, with vomit coming out his mouth.)

The brand new USS New York left Avondale, LA, this morning. She’ll be officially commissioned here in New York City on November 7th. 

The USS NY was built with 7 1/2 tons of World Trade Center steel, which was welded into her bow.

God bless the USS New York and her crew. Fair winds!

(photo courtesy ussnewyork.com)

Today is a happy day here at WCBS 880. Our good friend and colleague, producer/writer Martin Untrojb, was sworn in today as a United States citizen! 

Martin was born in Argentina, but he knows more about the United States than most native-born Americans - or 2 Americans combined! Whenever we have questions in the newsroom about U.S. history or current events in Washington, Martin is the guy we turn to. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of U.S. history and government.

But, he’s more than just a great co-worker. He’s a wonderful guy.

His story really is inspiring - from a young boy in Argentina, to a successful journalist and loving husband and father in New York City. It may sound trite, but Martin Untrojb is the American Dream.

I’m honored to call Martin my co-worker, my friend…and, now, my fellow citizen of the United States of America.

Congratulations Martin!

Congratulations to my WCBS 880 colleague Irene Cornell, who was honored with the New York Press Club’s President’s Award over the weekend. 

No one can tell a radio news story like Irene Cornell. Next year, she will celebrate 40 years covering courts and cops for WCBS. It is a pleasure to know her and an honor to work with her.

Congrats Irene!