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February 8, 2007
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LONGSHOTS: Talking a good game ahead on all-sports WGAM When you start a new radio program you want to do it with a bang. That’s why I picked Devin Hester to be MVP of the Super Bowl during my (plug, plug) inaugural broadcast on WGAM. And a scant 14 seconds into the game I was already ready to say “I told you so” after Hester ran back the opening kick-off for a TD. Alas it wasn’t to be, as after Tony Dungy made one of the great (or was it the most obvious) coaching adjustments in Super Bowl history Hester never laid a glove on the ball again, and QB Rex Grossman did — with decidedly less success. Oh well, just have to dazzle them with something else. If you didn’t know, after a meteoric rise with the good folks at WGIR, I hit the free agent market in December and landed with a new team. It’s actually more accurate to say I’ve landed in a new game as the station is called The Game, where I can be heard Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon at 1250-AM in Manchester and 900 AM in Nashua. Fortunately with a ton of things going on it‘s a great time to start a new gig and here‘s a sampling of just what you might hear me yakking about: Rivalry talk: With the Colts winning a Super Bowl, is the rivalry between the Patriots and Colts now even more distant from the NFL’s second best rivalry, which I’ll bet most can’t even name? Good hockey talk: What’s the first thing I see when I stick my head out of the foxhole after the football season ended? The Monarchs are in first and pulling away in the Atlantic Division. When did that happen? They’re exciting and the 119 goals allowed through Sunday shows they can stop the puck. That’ll come in handy as they try to end the Curse of Howard Baldwin by winning their first-ever playoff series come April. And then, after that, who knows, maybe the whole ball of wax. Stay tuned. Dynasty talk: I can just hear the Indy talk shows right now. “Since it‘s the salary cap era, and that means the definition of “dynasty” changes according to our definition, winning once in one year makes the Colts a dynasty!” You know what I say about that, but if you follow the logic that the definition changes based on circumstances, we may have the makings of one right here in River City. I’m hesitant to bring it up, as I’m guessing Doc (10) Wheeler takes the Belichickian position on talking about Central’s remarkable (as I write this) 45-game winning streak. While they still have a looooong way to go, they’re satisfying one of my major dynasty rules by continuing to win with the next group of guys. It’s like UCLA winning the title behind Sidney Wicks and Curtis Rowe after Lew Alcindor graduated to the NBA after winning three straight. This more balanced Central group has kept the pedal to the metal despite losing an all-time player in Tyler Roche and his Scottie Pippen-like sidekick Joe (born) Fremeau. As I said earlier, they’ve got a long way to go, especially with undefeated Salem dead ahead, but they won the Queen City Classic and are 13-0 at the moment so stay tuned. Best-ever talk: Not to pick on my friends at the UL or at Trinity, but after they killed all those trees in best ever coverage of the talented Pioneers group that won a lot but came up short in the end, I’m still waiting for a story wondering if Central of the last three years may be the best ever. I’m sure folks like Lance (short pants) Williamson will have something to say about where they stack up with his Bishop Bradley teams that won over 60 in a row when LBJ was in the White House. Matt Bonner talk: You know his Concord teams under Billy Haubrich are in that discussion. And he may also be responsible for someone actually wanting to talk about the NBA comes playoff time if his Spurs are making a run. And by the way who named him the Red Rocket? I get the alliteration, but rocket denotes propelling oneself into the air or blinding speed. Since he has serious range I can see Red Bomber. But rocket? I don’t think so. Medical talk: I’m no doctor, but I’ll probably play one on the radio when it’s time to talk of who the Red Sox closer will be in 2007. I mean I just don’t get how pitching 70 innings as a closer can be more stressful to Jonathan Papelbon’s shoulder than throwing 220 as a starter. Doesn’t make sense, especially if some rules are built into how he’s used in consecutive games and how many times he warms up. I think Theo Belichick’s medical “explanation” is his way of getting around the hue and cry that would come from moving a guy who had one of the greatest years any closer has ever had because Theo believes he’ll even more valuable as a starter. With Curt Schilling, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Josh Beckett in place and no closer in sight, we’ll see about that. Sports movie show talk: Before the Academy Awards we can focus on Robert Redford as Branch Rickey in the movie being made about Rickey bringing Jackie Robinson to the majors. I can’t wait to see it, or the sure-to-follow criticism from Spike Lee, but I can’t see how the (once) dashing Redford can evoke the crusty Rickey. That’s just a small sampling of what lies ahead from 10 to noon each Saturday. So give me a call and let me know what you think about these or any other topics. Dave Long is host of Home Team Saturday with Dave Long and Company, 10 a.m. to noon each Saturday morning on WGAM (1250 AM in Manchester and 900 AM in Nashua). |
2/1/2007 Manning the Super Bowl watch more difficult in '07 1/25/2007 Winning and what else matters in college coaching
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