From the NBC Vault

At the end of one of his Olympic essays , Jimmy Roberts jsurprised Al Michaels's by pulling out a tape of a very young, shiny faced, sideburned Michaels talking hockey at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, Japan  with Curt Gowdy and Jay Randolph.  Which then led to the 1980 hockey assignment that assured him entry into the pantheon of iconic sports broadcasting moments: "Do you believe in miracles? Yes!!!!"  The reason he got to make the call?  He was, with his one game stint eight years earlier the ABC sportscaster with the most experience of any at the network.

Another night at the Apolo

Short track speed skating has it all: speed, skill, tactics, spills, danger, disqualifications.  Most of all it is unpredictable. Just when it looked like the Koreans would finish 1-2-3 in the 1500, one made a bonehead move on  the final lap, taking out a teammate and handing second and third to Apolo Ohno and countryman 19-year-old J.R. Celski.  For Ohno it was a Winter Olympic record-tying sixth medal, equaling the haul of Bonnie Blair. Celski, who nearly bled out after a blade cut at the National Trials last year required 60 stitches to close, gained an unexpected bronze in his first Games.

In an exciting women's moguls competition, the defending Olympic champion, Jenn Heil, took the lead with just one competitor left, but continued Canada's home Winter Olympic drought when Hannah Kearney of Norwich, Vermont snatched the gold with a perfect last run. Sweet redemption for Kearney, who was 22nd at Turino four years ago.

With teammate Shannon Bahrke taking home bronze, the U.S. had four medals on the day, the most ever in a single day at the Winter Olympics.

A sad footnote to the tragedy that killed a Georgian luger: less than 24 hours after he died when he was hurled into the air at 90 miles an hour and hit a trackside metal pole, the pole was covered with padding. Why wasn't the padding there when he was luging the day before?????? Seems such an obvious safety measure - as plain as the pole itself.

J.D. Drew - Underpaid, Underappreciated?

An interesting and enlightening article by Amalie Benjamin in today's Boston Globe about Boston Red Sox outfielder, J.D. Drew. A quiet Georgian who doesn't seek the limelight, Drew has been a solid, if not spectacular performer for the Sox the past three seasons: good range on defense (a necessity in Fenway's humongous right field), timely hitting, high on base percentage, good arm. Not quite Dewey Evans in right, but, as Benjamin's article clearly shows, well worth $42 million over 5 years. 

Chelsea 4 Cardiff City 1: Blues Advance to FA Cup Quarterfinals

Too tired to listen (TV feed blocked).  Awoke briefly just as Cardiff City was scoring equalizer, which is the second time in two games I have joined a broadcast just as the Blues were shipping the tying goal.  Hoping that same result (2-1 loss to Everton at Goodison Park on Wednesday) is not in store. Back to bed at the halftime whistle by Andre Marriner.

Wake up an hour later (still tired!) to what I expected would be the result: after the Bluebirds gave the Blues a case of the blues in the first half, a flurry of Chelsea goals in the second half (Ballack, Sturridge and Kalou all find, in Tommy Smith's quaint phrase, the "back of the old onion bag") to send most of the lunchtime crowd (except for the 6,000 Cardiff City fans from Wales) home happy.

It's on to the FA Cup quarter-finals.  With Man U, Arsenal, Liverpool all gone, Chelsea remain favorite to defend cup at Wembley.  In South Coast derby, Portsmouth beats Southampton by identical 4-1 score.  Good news for Pompey for a change in a season on the edge of both administration and relegation.

Let's see: Chelsea into the knockout stage of Champions League, with a juicy tie on 24 February at the San Siro against in form Inter Milan, eight points clear at the top of the table in Serie A (old pal Jose Marinho may want back to the EPL, but he can't be unhappy about Inter's performance so far this year); the Blues are ahead by one point in EPL, and into the quarter finals of the FA Cup.

But for the shocking loss away to Blackburn on penalty kicks in Carling Cup, it's been a good campaign so far, but a long way to go and injuries continue to be a concern.  The squad does seems deeper and more resilient this year under Carlos Ancelotti.  His steady hand as manager has been reflected in the general steadiness of the team over the course of the season.  A bit of a lull in December after thumping the Gunners 3 - 0 at the Emirates, but an unbeaten January (despite the loss of four players, including scoring machine Didier Drogba, to the African Cup of Nations).  It seems that every time a player goes down or unavailable because of national team duty, another player either returns from injury or steps in and performs.  If that continues, the game at Old Trafford on April 3rd may decide the EPL.

Hang on Blues fans. It's going to be quite a ride to the finish.

And then it's on to South Africa. An embarrassment of riches for world football fans in 2010.

Houston, We Have a Problem!

Surprise, surprise, surprise. (Apologies to Gomer Pyle). Wayne Gretsky is the final torch bearer.

But wait. We have a problem.  Open the pod door, Hal. One of the four hatches in the stadium floor isn't opening. Wayne is standing there, beginning to perspire. The orchestra is covering up for the delay by continuing to play.  Steve Nash is trying to grin and bear it.  And it begins to dawn on Messrs. Lauer and Costas that the cauldron that the four athletes are going to light isn't emerging as planned.

At this point in the proceedings, I have stopped to write this post (note to self: get a laptop so you can watch and type at the same time).

A well-produced Opening Ceremonies may well come crashing down.  An luge athlete dies, now this????

Only three of the four columns (which look like giant crystals) are rising.  One of the four torchbearers is going to be odd person out (turns out to be Catherine LeMay-Doan).  Well, three out of four ain't bad.

The cauldron is lit but the air has definitely gone out of this balloon.

What an anti-climax. You win some, you lose some, some get rained out. (there's another one of those old baseball adages creeping into my blog again!).

Almost time for bed. A Chelsea v. Cardiff City FA Cup fifth round tie at Stamford Bridge to wake up early for.  Hoping to watch online, but if not, BBC London for the radio commentary. (much more about soccer/football after the break)

This Part is a Bit of a Snooze

The formal speeches are always kind of a drag at these things, and tonight was no exception.  NBC seemed, for some reason, to be caught off guard by the fact that a good chunk of the speechifying was in French, with no translation by either Lauer or Costas until the officials' oath and after Jacques Rogge and the Governor General of Canada, as surrogate for the country's head of state, still and seemingly always, Queen Elizabeth II, spoke almost exclusively in the language. Thankfully, I remembered enough from four years of French in high school and six total, counting two years of virtually worthless rote memorization in middle school, to get the gist of what they were saying.

Now that we have woken up from our snooze, it's time to see who has been chosen to light the Olympic flame, information known only to the Academy's accountants, Price Waterhouse ... The envelope, please. And, the winner is ... Avitar, James Cameron producer. Ooops! Wrong show!

My money is on The Great One, Number 99, Wayne. Wayne's world. Party time! (and, no, the fact that I am writing this at 1:20 in the morning, long after the Opening Ceremonies got over, does not mean I already know who lit the flame. I DVR'd it. I swear! Honest).

Joni Mitchell

A trip down memory lane with Joni Mitchell singing Both Sides Now.

Lyrics are still poetry today 40 years later:

Bows and flows of angel hair and ice cream castles in the air
And feather canyons everywhere, I’ve looked at cloud that way.
But now they only block the sun, they rain and snow on everyone.
So many things I would have done but clouds got in my way.

I’ve looked at clouds from both sides now
From up and down, and still somehow
It’s cloud illusions I recall.
I really don’t know clouds at all.

Moons and junes and ferris wheels, the dizzy dancing way you feel
As every fairy tale comes real; I’ve looked at love that way.
But now it’s just another show. you leave ’em laughing when you go
And if you care, don’t let them know, don’t give yourself away.

I’ve looked at love from both sides now,
From give and take, and still somehow
It’s love’s illusions I recall.
I really don’t know love at all.

Tears and fears and feeling proud to say I love you right out loud,
Dreams and schemes and circus crowds, I’ve looked at life that way.
But now old friends are acting strange, they shake their heads, they say
I’ve changed.
Something’s lost but something’s gained in living every day.

I’ve looked at life from both sides now,
From win and lose, and still somehow
It’s life’s illusions I recall.
I really don’t know life at all.


I used to sing the song in concert in college, and would still sing it today if it wasn't for the fact that I haven't picked up a guitar in a year or two. Note to self: need to pick up that guitar and play, just like yesterday (although I don't have to get on my knees and pray, if you don't mind!). Problem is playing is painful at the beginning, before the calluses build up on the tips of your fingers to keep the strings from digging into soft flesh. Ouch!

The funny thing about the song is that I think 40 years of wisdom and experience helps me sing it better than ever because, unlike when I was 19, I have perspective, which allows me to see life from ...

Exhilarating Screetch Fiddle Music From Newfoundland

The moon, maple leaf, dancers and fiddlers, inspired by a trip by producer David Atkins to St. Johns, Newfoundland, were exhilarating. Amazingly high energy; a mix of  Cajun fiddle with Riverdance. While it may be impossible to top Beijing in sheer technical razzle dazzle, the Canadians are putting on quite a show.

Stunning visual effects at Opening

The technical wizardry of David Atkins is on stunning display at the Opening Ceremonies. The whales, seemingly breaking the surface to spout, are breathtaking. The familiar voice of Donald Sutherland, the soothing tones of song stylist Sarah McLachlan. Her voice is so pure, so silky. All I can say is WOW, they are putting on quite a show!

Opening Ceremonies - Costas and Lauer On Their Games

Bob Costas and Matt Lauer doing a wonderful job announcing the Opening Ceremonies. Costa's dry, sardonic humor (after detailing a skier's privileged background, he deadpans, "and despite such hardships he somehow managed to make to the Olympic Games.") works well with Lauer's even drier wit. The banter has been delightful.  It's probably more geography lesson than anything else, but, hey, I might need the information if I were ever to be on "Jeopardy."

Winter Olympics Top Ten Moments

I have been watching the Winter Olympics since I was eight (Squaw Valley 1960).

My top 10 moments:

1. 1980 Lake Placid: Miracle on Ice. What can I say that hasn't already been said. In another weird coincidence, as I was watching Al Michaels' call of the end of the game, who should I hear live on NBC's opening telecast of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics in the background? Yup: Al Michaels.
2. 1984 Saravejo: Torvill and Dean win gold dancing to Ravel's Balero. The way the performance built with the music so beautifully. Still gives me goose bumps.
3. 1976 Innsbruck: Franz Klammer wins men's downhill in front of home fans. On the edge of my seat the entire run.  Frank Gifford and Bob Beatty's call is a classic. Count the number of times they say he is "on the edge."
4. 1968 Grenoble: Peggy Fleming wins gold in ladies' figure skating. A vision in lime green! (note commentary in video from Peggy's coach, Carlo Fassi).
5. 1994 Lillehammer: Dan Jansen, denied gold medals by falls at the 1988 and 1992 Winter Games, wins his one and only gold medal in the 1,000 meters in his last race as the Olympics. I cried.
6. 1980 Lake Placid: Eric Heiden wins all five men's speed skating races, setting four Olympic records and one world record in the process. Just an overpowering performance; best in U.S. history in the Winter Games.
7. 1960 Squaw Valley: U.S. Men's Hockey Team, in an upset not nearly as famous as the 1980 team, takes gold, upsets the powerful Czechs, Soviets, and Canadians.  Brothers Bobby and Billy Cleary (go Crimson!) lead the team. If it weren't for the fact that only an NCAA trophy, not a gold medal, was at stake, the victory by the Harvard men's hockey team over Minnesota, in St. Paul of all places, in 1989 has to stand as big an upset as in 1960 or 1980, but I digress.  
8. 1988 Calgary: the Battle of the Brians. Brian Boitano edges Brian Orser in one of the greatest two-man battles in Olympic figure skating history. Both deserved to win.
9. 1994 Lillehammer: Italy upsets host and heavy favorite Norway by less the length of a ski in the 4 x 10 km cross-country skiing relay.
10. 1994 Lillehammer: Bonnie Blair wins third consecutive gold in 500 meters speedskating in the oval known as the Viking Ship. It was impossible not to like her. Loved her squeeky Wisconsin twang. 

Georgia On My Mind

The news this afternoon of the death of a luger from the Republic of Georgia cast a pall over the Vancouver Olympics even before the Opening Ceremony. I hope it isn't a harbinger of things to come.

Speaking of which, in a very spooky coincidence, what was it that Canadian singer, Michael Buble, sang this morning on "The Today Show"?

"Georgia on My Mind."

A few hours later, we all do.

The Story Behind My Blog Title

I was telling a friend yesterday about my new blog. When I mentioned the title, he said he thought the phrase was "Take two and hit to right."  A bit embarrassed,  I told him that "Take two and hit to left" was one of my late father-in-law Bud's favorite phrases, along with "There's no such thing as a free lunch" and "It's okay to okay till payday."

It seems that my friend was right (no pun intended; as a lifelong progressive, his politics are, like mine, anything but right). Entering the phrase "take two and hit to right" into Google immediately sent me to a post on a blog called "Hardball Mysteries" by a baseball fan in Nashville named Jonathan Gantt delving into the origin of the phrase. 

Gantt's blog suggests a number of explanations: that the phrase calls for a batter to take two pitches and then try to hit the ball to the right side of the diamond; that it suggests that the batter take two big swings for the fences and then choke up on the bat and guard the plate; or that it was intended as an insult to an inept batter rather as helpful advice (I don't buy that one). He thinks he will find the answer in a book called "Take Two and Hit to Right: The Golden Days on the Semi-Pro Diamond" by Hobe Hays, but even Hays doesn't have a clue as to the origin of the phrase.  All he knows is that it a baseball phrase he had been hearing all his life. 

Coming up empty and admitting that the lack of an answer to the phrase's origin was "messing with [his] mind," Gantt ends up offering two free tickets to a Nashville Sounds' minor league baseball game to anyone who could give him documented proof of the origin of the phrase. Since there is no update to the blog, which appeared in June 2008, I assume no one came forward to clear up the mystery.

I don't have an answer either, although not knowing isn't messing with my head.

All I know is that Bud was, like I, a lifelong baseball fan.  In the early 1940's he was apparently quite the player, good enough to pitch a no-hitter for the Riverdale School and, as he told it, to pitch for a short time in the Chicago Cubs minor league system before he hung up his cleats to join the Navy, where he saw action in1945 in the Pacific in the final assault on Japan aboard the aircraft carrier, Bon Homme Richard (like most WWII veterans, he didn't talk much about the experience).

My best guess is that, like Gantt, Bud intended the phrase to convey "as much a life lesson as ... a baseball strategy."  His frequent use of the phrase, "There's no such thing as a free lunch" (a very good piece of advice, it seems to me - one that even my Republican friends would agree with) seems to support that view.

I don't understand exactly why he turned the phrase around, although I think it had something to do with the fact that one of his favorite players, Ted Williams, was a left-handed batter. 

All I know, in the end, is that calling my blog "Take Two and Hit to Left" just feels right on any number of levels. It reflects my deep and abiding love of the game of baseball (more in future posts), my political philosophy, my eccentricity (as you will discover if you follow this space, my mind works in very mysterious ways and some of my comments will seem to come out of left field; I once was told my mind was filled with junk), even the fact that I am left-handed (although, unlike Teddy Ballgame, I batted righty - go figure).  It also keeps the memory of Bud alive (even though he has been gone since 1991, the good times we spent together - on the golf course, on the slopes, in restaurants, on the Vineyard, watching  - it is as if he died yesterday). 

So, to those of you out there in the Internet ether who have stumbled on this blog, and for my late father-in-law, this Buds for you.

Anthem Rate Hike Is Clarion Call for Health Care Reform

Anthem Blue Cross's response to Health and Human Services' Secretary Kathleeen Sebelius's request for an explanation for the 39% rate increase for its 800,000 individual policyholders in California makes some sense if viewed in isolation from the much larger problem - the elephant in the room, actually - of ever-increasing health care costs which, unfortunately, none of the bills stalled in Congress adequately address (on this point, I agree with Republicans, although their proposed solutions - medical malpractice reform to reduce the practice of defensive medicine and allowing insurance companies to sell across state lines, which would have them moving to whatever state had the least regulatory enforcement, as the banks did in moving their credit card operations to South Dakota and Delaware, won't yield even a fraction of the necessary savings.

The answer, in my view, is a single payer system that covers all Americans so that the risk can be spread across the entire population, but that was taken off the table by the Democrats before a single hearing was held (Max Baucus's Senate Finance Committee, for instance, didn't even invite a single payer advocate to testify back last Spring).

Next best would be a government mandate for individuals and businesses, but, and it is a big but, with a public insurance option so that the government isn't simply handing the health insurance industry 30 million new customers with no obligations to treat them fairly or do anything to control costs. In addition, let's not only repeal the antitrust exemption but give the Justice Department Antitrust Division the funding to break up heavily concentrated health insurance markets that exist in many states and which, as any lawyer who has even a basic understanding of Section Two of the Sherman Act (and I am such a lawyer) will tell you leads inevitably to monopoly pricing (see Anthem's 39% rate increase).  If health insurance companies were forced to compete, not only with a government-sponsored (but not subsidized) health insurance plan but with each other (after being broken up into smaller companies), then they would have a powerful economic incentive (that they don't currently have) to actually control costs in a way that also delivers better health care outcomes.

Better and lower costs health care outcomes would depend, in turn, on an emphasis on preventative care, voluntary adoption of best practices(the ones who don't will be priced out of the market), and major changes in the health care delivery system (such as paying doctors salaries not based on the number of procedures they perform but on their health care outcomes, such as in the U.K., where doctors get bonuses by persuading their patients to, for example, quit smoking and lose weight so as to reduce the risk of stroke and diabetes) and reigning in the enormous costs associated with end-of-life care (such as by reimbursing doctors for having providing end-of-life counseling so that patients, if they elect, can put in place living wills expressing a desire not to be kept alive by extraordinary means).

 It is sad that the language in the health care bills reimbursing doctors for providing end-of-life counseling - language that, once upon a time, before the Republican party became the Party of No, had bipartisan support - got thrown under the bus by the Democrats after it was horribly twisted and miscast by Betsy McCaughey and her evil twins, Sarah "Death Panel" Palin and Chuck "Pull the Plug on Grandma".  While it seems to have become the third-rail of the health care reform debate, the potential cost savings are so huge (a 60 Minutes story a couple of months ago pegged it at north of $50 billion per year or $500 billion over ten years) that it should be put back on the table (memo to the President: how about raising the issue at the health care summit with Republicans on February 25th?).

Truth in Journalism

An interesting story by Renee Loth in today's Boston Globe about a former Newsday editor teaching students at Stony Brook State University on Long Island about recognizing the three pillars of reliable journalism (independence, verification, and accountability). Citing a 2009 Pew Research survey, she notes that only 29 percent believed the media generally "get their facts straight" - the worst ranking ever recorded.

Not surprising, of course, in the age of cable news that are more entertainment and opinion masquerading as journalism ("Fair and Balanced" my ... you know what).

Perhaps that's why I don't rely on any single source (like the vast majority of those who watch Fox News) for news and information. I don't even trust MSNBC to give me the whole story: what they tell me, at least from 4 p.m. on, has a progressive bias, although Rachel Maddow does a very good job, in my view, of presenting the facts straight up and is scrupulous in her interviews to begin by asking if her factual preamble is accurate (which her guests nearly always admit is the case). Both Keith Olbermann and Rachel also aren't afraid to admit when they have goofed, accountability that is all but absent from Fox. 

Come to think of it, Fox fails on all three prongs: it isn't independent (reading Republican talking points word-for-word, the protests to the contrary from Roger Ailes and Billow notwithstanding), doesn't verify much of what it spews out (as Jon Stewart and Keith Olbermann point out, what it does is ask a question like "Is Obama moving the country towards socialism?", then use that question later as a bootstrap for reporting that "Some believe Obama is moving the country towards socialism", which finally morphs into the seemingly straightforward and factual declaration that "Obama is clearly a socialist."), and virtually never admits it has made an error, except when it is caught with its hand in the cookie jar, such as when Jon Stewart pointed out that it spliced into a Tea Party rally old footage of a much bigger Tea Party rally earlier in the year.

And I am afraid things are only going to get worse.  The course at Stony Brook is a valiant effort to stem the tide (as is the work of such organizations as Media Matters), but the tsunami has already crested and to say we are drowning in a sea of half-truths and outright falsehoods is perhaps the understatement of the century.

Our New National Anthem: Oh Say Can You Hike?

Wonder why the American people are angry at Washington? Because, despite the fact that a clear majority still want Congress to pass comprehensive health care reform (the need for which was driven home, yet again, by Anthem Blue Cross-Blue Shield's outrageous 39% rate hike in California) nothing is getting done! But maybe, just maybe, if enough us say we are mad as hell and not going to take it anymore, if enough of us say we are no longer going to sing the insurance company's tune, we can finally get the health care reform that this country has long desperately needed.

Temple Grandin

Just got through watching the movie, Temple Grandin, on HBO. I highly recommend it. Claire Danes gives a tour de force performance as an animal scientist who overcomes autism to design systems for the humane treatment of cows in feedlots and slaughterhouses that are now used by half of the nation's beef industry.

A beautiful, touching movie. One which, I predict, will earn Danes an Emmy and put the film in the running for best movie honors (continuing HBO's domination of the category). Those of you out there who are suckers for movies that pull at your heartstrings and are inclined to end up at Waterworks, better have a box of Kleenex handy.

It is Grandin's inability to emote due to her autism which, paradoxically, allows her to understand the pain and fear cattle experienced in the feedlots and slaughterhouses of the 1970's; insight that helped her design systems that ease their pain and fear on the way to dying for our dinner table.

The pull-no-punches realism of the script (including some graphic scenes that some might find disturbing) not only treats the audience like grownups but provides a fascinating window into Grandin's remarkable mind.  Dane's performance is first rate, on a par with Russell Crowe in "A Beautiful Mind", Patty Duke in "The Miracle Worker", more powerful than Wynona Ryder in "Girl Interrupted"   A wonderful supporting cast, including Julia Ormand, Catherine O'Hara and David Strathairn.