First of all, Happy New-ish Year, and, unlike certain residents of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, I would like to apologize to my worldwide audience for forgetting to foist another pulse-pounding, mind-boggling blog upon your impatient orbs for the past (AGGGGGH!) FIVE months. There have been SOOOOOOOOO many topics popping up in the news, from the Presidential race to the Super Bowl halftime to Baby Yoda that I haven't had the time to wrap my feeble little brain around them. It may be late for Christmas, but my Naughtiest Newsmaker of 2019 would have to be Generalissimo Trump and the Nicest would have to be (posthumously) Carroll Spinney, better known as the man behind Sesame Street's iconic Big Bird and Oscar, and I would like to cast an early vote for Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gigi, who left this world too soon after a tragic helicopter crash. The world of sports and the world at large will never be the same.
If you've been tuning in from the very beginning, you know this blog was created after suggestions from a friend who worked at Madison Square Garden at the time, and I still believe MSG is one of the greatest landmarks in New York and on the face of the Earth in general, but one of their top draws, the New York Knicks, have been performing (or not!) so poorly that fans have been serenading MSG CEO Jim Dolan with screams of "SELL THE TEAM! SELL THE TEAM! SELL THE TEAM!" The Garden and all its pleasures, from superstar concerts to once-in-a-lifetime sporting events such as the Professional Bull Riders, the Harlem Globetrotters and indoor tennis championships to guaranteed seat-fillers such as the WWE and UFC, to the Rangers, and, the aforementioned Knicks, are why I moved within walking distance, but, although I'm a loyal fan of the Orange and Blue, I may have to join my fellow fans in this chorus of disapproval. LET'S GO, KNICKS, but PLEASE don't stink TOO badly!
Last year, you'll recall I said goodbye in my Special Blog to New York's legendary radio station 95.5 WPLJ after its owner Cumulus Media sold it to Educational Media Foundation, the parent company of the K-LOVE Christian radio format, and all the personalities who made it my favorite place on the dial. Well, you'll be happy to know that former midday host Race Taylor has moved to WCBS-FM in the same daypart and the cast of TODD AND JAYDE IN THE MORNING is also doing quite nicely thank you, with Johnny Mingione performing his street reporter duties for Karen Carson on WNEW-FM, Joe "Monkey Boy" Pardavilla pursuing a career in stand-up comedy, and, as for the hosts, Jayde Donovan's inspirational weekend morning show can be heard on WINK 104 in Harrisburg, PA, among other stations coast-to-coast, and on the Tune In and iHeart Radio apps,Anne Marie Leamy is hosting her own morning show at Q92 in her hometown of Poughkeepsie, NY, and Todd Pettengill is back in the saddle with the kind of radio show I think he's always wanted to do on HeyTodd.com . It combines everything he's learned from working with the great Scott Shannon, helming his own morning show, working as one of the founding cast members of the DISH NATION comedy-entertainment news syndicated show, and even as a sideline reporter for the WWE. Joined by his daughter Amanda (Pettengill) Schott and his producer (DON'T ASK!) Howse, Todd delivers heaping helpings of song parodies, phone scams, and what he calls "extemperaneous jocularity."HeyTodd.com may not TOTALLY bring back the good old days, but it makes these new days AT LEAST a little easier to take.
Long time T&J listeners will remember that Jayde celebrated her baby shower at a place DIRECTLY across the street from MSG, and, I will withhold the name of that particular establishment,except for saying that it has something to do with owls. I celebrated the Super Bowl at that owl place with my hostess Megan, and the highlight of the night was her attempt (along with a fellow employee) at emulating the somewhat racy dance performed by Jennifer Lopez and Shakira at the halftime show. I HOPE she has a more wholesome terpsichorean future employer in mind such as the Rockettes or the New York City Ballet. (At least she performed the duties required by her current owly employer well!)
Well, that's all I got, but I promise I WILL make up for all that lost time as 2020 rolls on, so, until the next time I talk to you, Happy Valentine's Day, remember love is love, and don't take any wooden owls! (Yeah, I know that doesn't make any sense, but I might as well get it out of my system!)
Steve out!
