Ramble On ... some good-byes and a welcome...

Good-bye to Dodgertown...

Some fond memories of days in Vero Beach with the LA Dodgers and spring training are now all that's left as the team closed up shop at their longtime spring training home on the east coast with plans of heading to Arizona in 2009.

I was only able to make it to Dodgertown twice and I treasured both trips.

Here is a quick news report with a quote from Vin Scully:

VERO BEACH, Fla. -- The Los Angeles Dodgers made their departure from Vero Beach official, terminating their facility use agreement.

After calling Vero Beach their spring home for 61 years dating to when they were the Brooklyn Dodgers, they informed Indian River County, Fla., officials that they were exercising their option to terminate the agreement in anticipation of opening a $100 million, two-team facility in Glendale, Ariz.

Craig Callan, the Dodgers' vice president of spring training and minor league facilities, notified Indian River County administrator Joe Baird and Vero Beach City Manager Jim Gabbard of the decision Thursday evening.

"I guess there's no particular place in the world -- including my home -- that holds more memories for me than Dodgertown," Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully said Friday in the Dodger Stadium press box that bears his name.

***

Good-bye Spectrum ...

Just as Dodgertown is in the rear view mirror, such is the same fate for the Spectrum in Philly.

The Spectrum holds a special place in my memory because of the great Phila 76ers teams of the early '80s. Just as I did in the Boston Garden and LA Forum, I cut my NBA teeth while working many a night, many a playoff series at the Philadelphia Spectrum. The '82-83-84 years all included multiple trips down the NJ Turnpike to Broad Street.

A bit earlier in time, the Spectrum meant one thing: The Broad Street Bullies of NHL fame. The Spectrum posed serious home ice advantage for the Flyers in their memorable battles against the NY Islanders of the late '70s and early '80s. All fond memories, not to mention the fact one of my best friends of all-time, Greg, went to school at Penn and we shot over to games whenever tickets became available.

One special day in Philly was spent with my cousin, Bob Brennan, who enjoyed a full day. LA Lakers at Phila 76ers at 1pm and a nightcap with the Flyers. Bobby was thrilled to be able to sit in the upper press area and watch the change-over performed as I finished up some work from the NBA afternoon.

Anyhow, here's the scoop on the fate of the Spectrum:

PHILADELPHIA (AP)—The Wachovia Spectrum, the former home to the Philadelphia 76ers and Flyers, will close and be demolished next year.

Arena owner Comcast-Spectacor, which announced the plan Tuesday, has plans to replace it with a complex of shops, bars, restaurants and a hotel. The 42-year-old arena, slated to shut down next spring, had been used forPhiladelphia Flyers and 76ers games until the adjacent Wachovia Center was built and opened in l996.

The Spectrum is currently home to a minor league hockey team, the Philadelphia Phantoms, and an indoor soccer team, the Philadelphia Kixx.

Comcast-Spectacor is in discussions to relocate the Phantoms to another facility in time for the 2009-10 season.

The future of the Kixx is clouded because its league, the Major Indoor Soccer League, shut down in May. The league is trying to restart in a new form sometime before the 2008-09 season.

An Arena Football League team, the Philadelphia Soul, also occasionally plays games in the Spectrum.

Comcast-Spectacor, a unit of cable giant Comcast Corp., owns the Flyers, 76ers, Phantoms, the Wachovia Center and the Wachovia Spectrum. It also runs arenas around the country and has food service, ticketing and advertising interests.

Comcast-Spectacor was started by Ed Snider—founder of the Flyers, chairman of the 76ers and co-founder of what is now Comcast’s local sports channel.

“This has been one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make,” said Snider, Comcast-Spectacor chairman. “The Spectrum is my baby. It’s one of the greatest things that has ever happened to me, but after a lot of thinking and discussions, we all feel it is in our best interest to close the Spectrum at the conclusion of the upcoming 2008-09 Philadelphia Phantoms and Kixx seasons.”

***

Tell me why it is the summer that I decide to move my family when all hell breaks lose on the national finance, banking and mortgage front.

***

A hellish day of travel on Sat. with the Hertz Rental car company experiencing major computer problems on Saturday morning. More to come on that after I calm down a bit. It came down to the Hertz rental car counter hand-writing rental agreements and handing out keys. I swear, Hertz still doesn't realize that I had a car and rented it in Massachusetts and properly returned it in NYC (early, I might add). To try to help Hertz along with the problem, rather than just show up at the rental desk, I called the company while I was making the three-hour drive to try to have them work the problem in the computer system. They had no ability to do so.

***

Croatia and Greece grabbed two of the final three qualification spots for the upcoming Olympic Men's basketball tourney. Germany and Puerto Rico will play for the last spot today. Here was the AP round-up:

ATHENS, Greece (AP)—Croatia overcame a 30-point, 13-rebound effort by Dirk Nowitzki to beat Germany 76-70 on Saturday, securing a berth at the Beijing Olympics. Greece also earned a spot in the tournament by beating Puerto Rico 88-63.

Germany and Puerto Rico will play for the final Olympic spot on Sunday.

Croatia, which qualified for the Olympics for the first time since 1996, held Nowitzki to only 10 shots but his aggressive drives allowed him to get to the foul line, where he went 19-of-21.

Croatia jumped to a 24-14 lead after the first quarter, but, with Nowitzki scoring 13 in the second and Chris Kaman putting up eight points in the third, the Germans clawed back to take a 49-47 lead heading into the fourth.

Croatia tightened its defense even further and allowed the Germans only one point over the next four minutes, eventually building a 63-53 lead with 3:30 left in the game. The Germans closed within 69-67 on Nowitzki’s layup with 38 seconds left but then fouled Croatia’s Davor Kus 4 seconds later. Kus made the first shot and missed the second, but Croatia grabbed the offensive rebound and held on for victory,

“The referees allowed Croatia to play a very physical, not dirty, game and it took us more than 10 minutes to adjust to that and become more physical, too,” Germany coach Dirk Bauermann said.

***

And finally, a welcome to a newborn cousin, Riley Lyons, a little girl who was born in Chicago, IL on Friday night to her proud parents, my nephew Sean and his wife, Casey. Welcome to the family Riley McKenzie Lyons.

-30-

Ramble On ... Fate lends a hand.

This week, Fordham University and WFUV paid tribute to the one and only Vin Scully.

I love Vin Scully. Adore his voice, his delivery, his insight. He is the dean of sports broadcasters. When MLB started the MLB Extra Innings pass, I bought it for two reasons. Clare and the kids could watch the Sox at 7pm and I could listen to Vin Scully at 10:30pm.

When Scully came to town, he was interviewed by many of the East Coast and NY-based reporters. They treated Scully as they should, with respect. ESPN's Mike Greenberg went so far as to call him, "Mr. Scully" on air and the veteran brodcaster brushed it off promptly by saying, "No one calls me Mr. Scully."

I am going to cut and paste a wonderful item that Phil Mushnick ran in this week's NY Post. Phil ran with the item in its simplest form. He wrote a simple answer to a simple question - not all of the "sky is falling bullsh&%" about black uniforms, too many graphics and the all too familiar nit-picking on the MSG Network, the starting times of games and the human mistakes made by sports commentators. (by the way, Phil, no matter what time you start a game in this wide-world of sports, you screw some little kid somewhere...i.e. the Parisien kids who would like to watch Tony Parker and the Spurs).

Mushnick should take a page from Scully and his class-act repertoire and write some more insightful columns on what makes some of the great broadcasters great. How did they get where they are today? Who gave them a break? Tell the story about that one moment in time that changed their life. Just like he did with this gem of a column:

By Phil Mushnick

FATE, kismet, the turn of a card, the turn in a road, a turn in the weather, 30 sec onds later or earlier in any direction. For all our plans, luck, good and bad, is still a power hitter.

For Vin Scully it was Marguerite Clark.

Scully, not merely the Voice of the Dodgers since 1950, but the voice of elegant and intelligent play-by-play since 1950, will be in town Tuesday when Ralph Branca will present to him the first Vin Scully Lifetime Achievement Award from Fordham's WFUV radio station. In 1947, Scully was a WFUV original.

When we asked him the other day whether there was a spin-of-the-wheel episode in his life, the kind that would allow us to hear Vin Scully for so many years, he thought a second, then said, "Marguerite Clark."

His voice coach? Academic adviser? Tarot-card reader?

"She was a secretary at Fordham, a friend of mine. Senior year I went to her with Broadcast magazine. It was time to hunt for a job, and she was going to help me send out letters to radio stations, from Massachusetts right on down.

"When we saw the listing for 'WTOP AM and FM, 50,000 watts, Washington D.C.', I dismissed it. 'That station's much too big; it would never hire me. I'm just a college kid,' I told her.

"But Marguerite said, 'Why not? It's only another three-cent stamp.' That's how long ago that was.

"I was a big spender in those days, so I went for another three cents. WTOP wrote back, 'Please send a sample of your work.' Back then you had to make sample recordings on these 331/3 discs.

"WTOP again writes back, 'We don't hire sight unseen. Come down for an audition.' Well, I was hired as a summer replacement, a station announcer.

"My first professional on-air words were a commercial for WTOP's FM station, one of the first in the country. FM was sold as an alternative to AM because you didn't get interference and weather static. I was supposed to say 'summer thunderstorms.' I said, 'thummer sunderstorms.'

"But being hired at WTOP was a huge break. That was a big CBS station; Arthur Godfrey and Edward R. Murrow worked there. That's where I met Red Barber [who would recruit Scully for Dodgers broadcasts].

"I later learned that I was the one hired among 54 candidates. If I'd known that the odds were so great, I never would have even bothered to travel to Washington for the audition.

"And none of it would have happened if not for that push from Marguerite Clark, the secretary at Fordham. Marguerite Clark."

***

By the way, I will add my "spin-of-the-wheel, turn-of-the-card, turn-in-the-road, one moment-in-time story and must tip my hat and credit the great Bernie Beglane as my "Marguerite Clark."

It was December of 1980 and I was seeking an internship for my final semester (Jan 1981-May 1981) at St. John's. It was a six-credit required course and I made an appointment or two with then-St. John's Dean of Athletic Administration Beglane. "Bernie" as he was known in the sports journalism world, was a longtime reporter and columnist for the old Long Island Press, the rival to Newsday. The Press went out of business in the '70s and Beglane, who I read religiously growing up out on the Island, went to work at St. John's as the school created one of the first undergraduate programs in "Athletic Administration," aka Sports Management.

My schedule called for classes on the Jamaica campus of St. John's on Monday-Wed-Friday and left time for the proposed internship on Tuesdays and Thursdays, all day. With Mr. B's connections and a subway token, I trekked into Manhattan to interview at the Office of the Commissioner of Major League Baseball. Bowie Kuhn was presiding at the time, by the way. I interviewed well but was informed that they were seeking help for, at least, three days a week. I was out of luck and returned to see Mr. B, somewhat devastated.

He loved to tell this story to the many St. John's students who followed in my footsteps in the late '80s and '90s, and would elaborate on every fact: He said that I "came back to campus with my tail between my legs thinking that my life was over and that I would have no chance at a future in sports."

Of course, Mr. B. gave me a good, swift kick in the ass and sent me on my way the very next day to interview at the National Basketball Association where, on December 21, 1980 I met with Matt Winick. Matt and Bernie knew each other for years and years through the Mets. The NBA needed some help and I think Bernie had it arranged in stone with Matt before I even walked in the office. The rest, as they say, is H-I-S-T-O-R-Y.

***

My favorite Vin Scully line was about the injured Andre Dawson. "Andre Dawson has a bruised knee and is listed as day-to-day," he said with a silent pause. "Aren't we all."

***

Presidential candidate Senator John McCain of Arizona has proposed a health care plan that made Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of former Senator and presidential candidate John Edwards, jump to the cameras. Senator Clinton also volleyed in from the campaign trail.

The healthcare plan falls short in the areas of covering pre-existing conditions and in providing employers incentive to provide health-care plans for their employees. Here is a piece of the story from CNN.com:

For individuals with pre-existing conditions, the costs of obtaining insurance could even be higher, critics said.

Critics also said encouraging individuals to buy health insurance could undermine the system of employee-based health insurance, with no guarantee a new system would emerge to replace it.

Hillary Clinton picked up that argument while criticizing McCain, saying in a statement, "John McCain is proposing a radical plan that would mean millions of Americans would lose their job-based coverage."

"So while people might have a 'choice' of getting such coverage, employers would have no incentive to provide it," she said.

I've always been amazed by bridges, ever since the Verrazano Narrows bridge went up linking Brooklyn and Staten Island. This week, China opened a new bridge to bring traffic from Ningbo to Jiaxing, near Shanghai. It is now the world's longest.

BEIJING (AFP) - China Thursday inaugurated one of the world's longest bridges, which will provide an important new route into Shanghai, state press said.

Presented as the "world's longest sea bridge", the 36-kilometre (22-mile) structure connects Jiaxing city near Shanghai to the port city of Ningbo in the eastern province of Zhejiang.

It is slightly shorter than the 38.4-kilometre Lake Pontchartrain Causeway Bridge in the southern United States (New Orleans), which is often billed as the world's longest.

The 11.8 billion yuan (1.7 billion dollars) bridge cuts the length of the road trip from Shanghai to Ningbo by 120 kilometres, the official Xinhua news agency said.

Construction of the six-lane bridge started in November 2003 in an effort to reduce traffic congestion in the booming area, and hundreds of people attended an opening ceremony on Thursday afternoon, noted Xinhua News.

It is just amazing -- the things you can learn in The Blog @ terrylyons.com, huh?

***

NESN.com launched a new version of their website. Previously, the site was a subsection of Boston.com with shared video elements. NESN is now doing the NESN.com content in-house. It looks much better.

***

NBA TV took the EuroLeague Basketball feed from Madrid and aired a doubleheader on Friday afternoon. The league tv station usually had voice over commentary from Secaucus by Rick Kamla, Simone Sandri and Tim Capshaw. The European-based commentary scored high marks on the unintentional comedy richter scale, according to ESPN.com Page 2's Bill Simmons, the Sugar Hill Gang of bloggers.

Heard frequently were comments like "Aye-yeye-yeye."-"can you believe it"-"i tell you"-"miss"-"rebound."

Ziri Zidek made me long for my fave five of Mike Breen, Marv Albert, Doug Collins, Mike Tirico and the one and only Hubie Brown.

***

Although you have to give credit where credit is due with the David Bowie music, any list of an all-time great or century team that includes Anthony Parker sort of worries me. See HERE.

See the video here, too, along with the link I'm providing for Ian Whittell's great coverage for ESPN.com

See: