"A thing of value"

Hello to you.

This may be one of the angriest blogs I've written. If you've had a bad day, read this later. It won't cheer you up.

If you've followed TV news, and the ever-increasing folly that is Luzerne County politics, you've seen a seemingly-endless parade of government officials get caught doing something illegal.

I haven't blogged about it, I just shook my head and put on WGAL... that way, I know I wouldn't have to watch any news about it.

Today, the biggest figure of all this (literally and figuratively) submitted a guilty plea. Former Luzerne County Commissioner Greg Skrepenak admitted his guilt in illegally accepting "a thing of value, namely $5,000," quoting the charges. Simply put, bribery.

Have we finally reached the caboose of this crazy train? Beats me.

The count is somewhere above two dozen now... the number of people who are in trouble because of these illegal actions. You can also associate those people who replaced the resigned who are also in trouble, too... now we're somewhere around 30.

I know two of them.

Skrep is the most famous.

He graduated from GAR, my alma mater. I admired him as a great football player, and a kid who was full of potential. He was a starter at Michigan, then with the Raiders and Carolina Panthers. He came home, dabbled in local media and politics, and was ultimately elected Luzerne County Commissioner.

Sadly, there he is pleading guilty in a courtroom today. Ironically, his attorney was an altar boy with me back in the day.

I read the plea agreement and charges online... it sent a chill through my body when I saw his signature on the plea. It was the same signature that was part of my autograph collection.

Here's what pains me about all this, and angers me to a degree.

#1 How the hell do you think you could get away with it? You hold a public position, live in the public eye, and know that if you screw up, you're gonna get pounced on. There ain't any shoulder pads that can stand up to this amount of piling on.

#2 How did you break it to your family? All of these people have families. I could never face mine knowing that I let them down.

It hasn't been a easy 30-day stretch for me... one idol dies, another's going to the hooscow, two cousins passed away, a boyhood friend was seriously hurt in the Middle East, and a few other hardships among friends.

I'm thankful that my parents, teachers, friends and bosses molded me the way they did...

Bottom line... if it's illegal, don't do it, you'll get caught eventually.

I'm done ranting. I feel better. Always find an avenue to release your pent-up frustration... never leave it bottled up. There's always someone who will listen to you, whether you know them or not. Don't believe me? You probably don't know me, and you just read this. See, it works. Have a pleasant day.

Buckle up,
TS

A la carte, please, Comcast?

I'm not as happy as I used to be with the selection of channels I'm getting with my $57.80/month I pay to Comcast. I have no need for the digital package, even though I really miss Game Show Network and would like to watch NFL Network in the comfort of my home.

Last I saw I wasn't allowed to get a dish, so it's cable or nothing (rabbit ears don't work anymore).

Last month, we were stripped of Fox 29 without explanation. My guess is because Fox is threatening to charge cable systems for carrying their stations, instead of the long-running practice of offering free transmission of broadcast affiliates. It's something like what led Shen-Heights to not carry WBRE and WYOU because the station owners wanted transmission fees.

Here's what I would like offered to us on our cable menu...

1. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton stations: WNEP, WBRE, WYOU, WOLF, WSWB, WQMY, WVIA. I would also like to see WYLN Hazleton in there, too.

2. No New York stations... aside from 10 or so Yankees games, do we need WWOR? We used to get Fox5 and WPIX, but they also got dropped along the way.

3. More Philly/Harrisburg stations... at least one more, and make it a CBS. We have 2 NBC, 2 ABC, 2 CW, and 2 MyNetwork affiliates. Why not another CBS, like KYW CBS3 Philly or WHP CBS21 Harrisburg? And if the WYOU brass complains, drop WYOU, because they no longer have local news. Definitely keep WGAL, MyPHL17 and WPVI. WLYH doesn't offer me much anymore.

4. I don't need 4 shopping channels.

5. Keep the government channels & news networks... we all need a good laugh every now and then. Keep Comedy Central and TVLand... we all need a good laugh every now and then.

6. If you're gonna put something on channel 11 (where Fox29 was), put WFMZ there. They do mention Schuylkill County in a lot of their newscasts.

7. Just about everything else is okay, but let me pick and choose what I want. I'm hardly home, and I stick to the staples when I watch... the local channels, ESPN, CNN, and the Weather Channel.

For my $57.80/month ($4 of which goes to local government), let me choose 40 channels, broadcast or cable, and I'll shut up and enjoy. I'll take four ESPNs (1,2,U, and Classic), CSN Philly, FSN Pittsburgh, MASN & MASN2, NFL, Weather Channel, CNN, HLN, MSNBC, Fox News, Food Network, PCN, CSPAN 1 & 2, GSN, E!, CNBC, ABC Family, Nick, TV Land, Comedy Central, TVG, HRTV, and 14 locals... WNEP, WBRE, WOLF, WSWB, WQMY, WVIA, WGAL, WHP, KYW, WITF, WPVI, WFMZ, WYLN, and KDKA Pittsburgh.

Buckle up,
TS

Losing a career influence...

Depending on who and where you are, names mean different things to you. This is true especially when there a two prominent people with the same name. Perfect example is Adrian Peterson. One is the Vikings' running back, the other is the Bears' running back. There was a successful pro bowler, and a popular actor, both named Don Johnson.

When I say George Michael, you probably think of the lead singer of Wham! However, if you're from the Washington DC Metro, Philadelphia, New York City, or anybody in radio or TV, George Michael is an icon.

George was the #1 radio personality in Philadelphia at WFIL from 1966-1974. He replaced Cousin Bruce Morrow at WABC New York, and was #1 from 1974-1979. In the latter part of his time at WABC, he was also a weekend sportscaster at WABC-TV. He then moved to Washington DC's NBC affiliate, and had a magnificent 27-year run, as a sportscaster and host of "The George Michael Sports Machine."

I first saw him on the Sports Machine in 1984. While visiting my uncle's in 1989, I remember listening to Don & Mike on WAVA radio, and George did a sports segment every day. I watched him on his sports report and was captivated. Being the pack rat that I was/am, I taped his sportscasts any chance I got.

I had the privilege of being invited to an Orioles game in Baltimore in 1998, in a luxury box. When I found out the TV could pick up, George's sports report, I was glued to it.

I faithfully watched the Sports Machine, the last 8 years of which I watched on WGAL.

It pained me when NBC started slashing budgets and wanted to cut more than half of George's sports department. Instead of cutting those positions, including his wife's, he opted to step away. His last sportscast was 3/1/07.

One listen or one view of George Michael, and you knew he was on top of his game every single time. He was a legendary demander of perfection. He never settled for anything less than the best.

When I first learned that George was on radio before TV, and started to listen to tapes of his old show. I knew I wanted to be just like him. I never could replicate his signature voice or endless enthusiasm, but I've tried on a few occasions on the Party Zone.

I e-mailed George when he retired, wishing him luck, and showing him the blog post I made that day. Four months later, he replied. Some of his comments included, "I want to thank you for the very kind note... Thanks for the posting. What a memory trip! George Michael".

Now, it's my turn to say thank you for the memory trip.

George passed away yesterday morning. He had been quietly suffering from leukemia for the last two years. Radio and TV has lost a legend. I lost the guy who is a huge career influence. I repeat what a lot of my colleagues and fellow media members say... there will never be another George.

He lives on in our memories and in tapes and videos of his work. There are plenty of YouTube postings, as well as airchecks on MusicRadio77.com, Famous56.com, and Reelradio.com.

George leaves his wife, two children, and a large amount of fans... me and a few of us here at the station included.

God Bless You, George, and thank you.
TS

Hershey in December

Believe it or not, I'm not referring to football...

I will be there for state football championships this weekend. I highly advise not going to Hershey if you aren't going to the Selinsgrove/Manheim Central game on Friday night. I expect 10,000 of my closest friends to be there. Saturday would be a better option.

I've blogged before about Sara Bozich of the Harrisburg Patriot-News and her fantastic weekly column. Well, she's written a book about Hershey. Hershey: A Guide To The Town Built On Chocolate is now available online. If you haven't been off of Hersheypark Drive when you've been to Hershey, then this is a great read. Find out more at www.touristtown.com/books/hershey.html.

Happy reading!

Buckle up,
TS

The adventures of Sunday driver...

The weather was not kind to me yesterday. If you drove between 8AM-11AM, you drove slower than usual, or not at all.

I parked on the side of the road, awaiting snowplows on route 443 from 8:15ish-9:50. As I decided to hit the road, one did come the other was on 443 in Friedensburg.

I was supposed to be in Elizabethtown by 9:30... ended up getting there at 12:45. The inclement weather often leads to road closures, crashes, and detours. Did I hit them? Yes, yes, and yes.

No wonder I had a headache.

The advisories were posted the night before to start at 5AM, then got moved up overnight to 7AM. Lesson learned? Travel waaay ahead of time, and shell out a few sheckles for a hotel room and good tires.

Believe it or not...

Hockey season starts today. Yes, I know. It's still technically summer.

But, my favorite hockey team, the Hershey Bears, start training camp today. Team Broadcaster John Walton has all the details on his excellent website, www.johnwaltonhockey.com.

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The T-102 Netcast game for this Friday will now be Schuylkill Haven at North Schuylkill.

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Buckle up,
TS

Residency

I mark 10 years this week that I'm an official Skook. After working in State College for eight months, I returned full-time to T-102.

The day I moved was even hotter than today's temperatures. The Summer of '99 was a hot, dry one. It was 95 degrees on the 4th of the July. I remember it because I was on air that day and night. The owner of the station I worked at in Happy Valley also coordinated fireworks shows. Through a sophisticated system of computers and antennas, I ran the 1999 State College fireworks. All I did was click a mouse... and put up with lousy air conditioning in the studio. I never got to see any of them until the staff meeting two days later.

The day after, RC asked me to come back to T-102, and I said yes.

A month later, my parents and aunt came to Bellefonte with a U-Haul to help me move. Wouldn't you know it, the day move was the day it rained cats and dogs. Three of us made the trip from I-80 back to Wilkes-Barre through a line of storms. That weekend was also my parents' anniversary. Their dinner was at the Wendy's at Buckhorn, sitting beneath windows that leaked.

These are moments that memories are made of... especially with family. I went to a family reunion last month, and had a ball. In fact, it is now my responsibility to add to the photo album for next year. Dad and I will start working on that over Christmas. I had another family get-together this past weekend, at my Godson Josh's graduation party. Hot as hell, but it was fun to see everyone again.

Josh starts classes at King's next week. You couple that with the fact that there is a head coach in the NFL younger than I am, and you can tell I'm getting old.

I look forward to the day that I can host family get-togethers at my place of residence... wherever it may be. I think I can count 12 states where I have relatives (PA, NJ, MD, FL, IL, GA, CA, LA, SC, NC, MA, VA, and probably more)... not bad for a kid who has roots in the mid-South, Ireland, Poland, and Lebanon. My great-great-great-great-great-uncle is a Saint... Nimutallah Kassab Hardini, who was born 200 years ago. I also remember my great-grandmother telling me I am also a descendant of Vice President John C. Calhoun.

I have more investigating to do.

Buckle up,
TS