Losing a few great ones...

Forgive me for not blogging lately. I didn't give it up for lent, but have been busy here.

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If you're younger than 40, then you know no other voice than Harry Kalas when it comes to the Phillies. Look at any media site in Philadelphia and the suburbs. You'll see tributes abound. I'm sure Youtube is flooded with them.

When the Phillies won the World Series in October, I was lucky enough to be able to pick up WPHT in Philadelphia up at my parents' house that night. The radio signal was 10 seconds behind the TV play-by-play. When I saw Brad Lidge kneel on the ground in disbelief, I turned up the radio so I could hear Harry's call. I'll never forget the joy in his voice that night.

I credit whoever had the foresight at Comcast Sportsnet to put a camera in the press box to record Harry making the final call, and Chris Wheeler celebrating like crazy.

WBRE used to carry a few Phillies games here and there, and I'd occasionally watch and listen to Harry, Richie Ashburn, and Andy Musser. I've watched the Phils more in recent years, and smiled anytime I got to hear "Outta Here!"

A few years ago, we had a Harry Kalas call as a contest cue. "Here's the stretch. The 1-0 pitch. Swing and a LONG DRIVE... IT'S OUTTA HERE!!!! TREMENDOUS HOME RUN, JIM THOME, AND THE BIG MAN DELIVERS AGAIN!" Vintage Harry Kalas.

Thanks for the Memories. Eternal High Hopes.

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As I type this, Al Kovy is playing Night Ranger's "Goodbye"... "I was never much good at goodbye" is the lyric that sticks in my head.

An hour ago, I found about John Madden's decision to retire. Since 1979, John has been on NFL telecasts. He was probably one of the few broadcasters to be prominently featured by all 4 major networks... CBS, Fox, ABC, then NBC.

For the first time in a very long time, he took a week off last season. I sensed retirement was near, but not this soon. It's tough to imagine watching football without hearing his voice. To me, Pat Summerall and John Madden are still the gold standard in broadcasting teams.

John picked a good time to go out on top. He and Al Michaels had one of their best games ever in Super Bowl 43. Not many people can go out on top. Good luck, John.

Frank Caliendo is crying somewhere, because he won't have any new material for a while.

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WYOU dropped their news department a few weeks ago.

They were the top news station in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in the 60s and early 70s. However, the ownership couldn't keep up with WNEP once Newswatch 16 went full steam ahead in the 70s. When they finally moved to 415 Lackawanna Avenue, things slowly got better. They were at their best in the mid-90s, especially with the 11:00 leading into David Letterman. They really scored points with us in the media who were watching their coverage when Bill Clinton came to Wilkes-Barre.

When WYOU was sold to new owners around 1997, things began to change for the worse. Five high-priced talent were let go, including Debbie Dunleavy. Honestly, the news product looked alright for a few years during the 22 Action News era. Unfortunately, it's gone. I'm glad my buddy Scott Stuccio went to work for the Penguins when he did.

When the (bonehead) owners of WYOU in 1998 entered into the shared services agreement with WYOU, we were all skeptical. Most of their footage could be seen on both WBRE and WYOU. Some people referred to the two as Channel 50 (22+ 28).

Speaking of (bonehead) owners, another leader in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in the 60s and 70s is on life support. The Mighty 590 W-A-R-M was the station to listen to from 1958 through the 70s. By the 90s, they were news/talk, and I listened often... especially when their signal went to FM in 1995.

Then Susquehanna Broadcasting sold them and their sister stations in 1996 for $10 million. Slowly, WARM became lower on the priority list. Lately, WARM has been oldies via satellite and running on the backup transmitter. That transmitter went kaput two weeks ago. Not sure when it will be back.

For both WYOU and WARM, the people who have been working there the last 10-12 years should be credited for trying to make lemonade out of a pretty small lemon. It's too bad that their owners don't live in the area and don't know the people who make things tick around here.

That's what I've always liked about working here... I see the owner every day. He grew up here, and he knows the area. That's just about true for everyone who is here.

I've worked for the big corporation, and never saw anybody associated with direct ownership... just via e-mail and memos. I'd love to see the rules return to a company only allowed to own one am, one fm, and one tv in a market... I can dream, can't I?

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Buckle Up,
TS