Dwight Gooden, by all accounts, has turned his life around after having a career derailed by off-field transgressions.
This morning on WFAN's Boomer and Carton show, he talked frankly about his career, his drug use and even his endorsement of a certain little, blue performance enhancer.
As he is frequent to do with big name guests, Craig Carton invited Doc over for a little July 4th BBQ/pool party. To which Gooden noted he'd be happy to come but would have to bring "the rest of my kids. I have (uh) at least six kids and one grandkid."
Baseball's sweetheart Alyssa Milano, promoting her new book Safe at Home on WFAN's Boomer and Carton this morning, might have inadvertently answered the question as to why she's had so many flings with ball players, noting she's been a big baseball fan her whole life and "believes in that saying 'do what you love.'"
While she admitted the dirt on her relationships only takes up 4 pages out of 243 of the book, host Craig Carton peppered her on the age old question, "Why Carl Pavano?"
"Carl is a great guy."
When pressed that "Alyssa Millano needs to be dating baseball royalty, not Carl Pavano,"Milano admitted to being little more than a "front-running" groupie.
"This was right after he won the World Series. So he was kind of baseball royalty. It was before he came to the Yankees...and became the Carl Pavano you know."
Speaking of Boomer and Carton. Al Dukes, their producer and resident musician of Ron and Fez fame, wrote and sang an "inspirational" song for the Giants this weekend to the tune of the Steve Miller Band's Fly Like an Eagle.
It's about time someone with Eagles ties said what needed to be said. Conveniently, he did so 80 miles up the NJ Turnpike and out of earshot of most Eagles fans, on WFAN's Boomer and Carton show.
The former Eagles star wide receiver and current radio color commentator admitted that we've seen the Eagles' offense "stink" many a times this year and that it's their defense that has gotten them as far as they did. Not just that. He finally took the franchise' brass down a peg by saying that the team "backed their way into the playoffs" and admitted that he had plans to golf in Carolina this post season but was forced to stick around and cover games.
For fans used to being forced fed talking points about the team being the "gold standard" of the NFL, it was refreshing to hear one of their own admitting that this year's squad should be grateful to be where their at and that it was of their own doing that they are.
Quick rightfully praised they play of Dawkins, Mikell and others on the defensive end for firing up the team. He was also accurate in saying that they Eagles can beat any of the remaining playoff teams, but conversely could also lose to any of them.
On a side note, he told us that the reason that Hank Baskett landed Kendra Wilkenson, who has been hanging around the Philly locker room, is because he is a "big, handsome kid" who "hangs out at the right places."
Much to his co-host Boomer Esiason's lament, former Jersey Guy Craig Carton (accompanied by producer and one-time Ron & Fez lackey, Al Dukes) proceeded with his megaphone-enhanced "Let's Get Brett [Favre]" crusade at Jets camp yesterday.
All right, let me get this out of the way, quickly, because if we’re going to dwell on this for the next 5½ hours, we can’t do that. Not enough people care. It’s not that important. In the middle of making sure a 2-year-old doesn’t walk into the deep end of the New Canaan Field Club pool and trying to make sure [my son] ate his chicken nuggets and [my daughter] had her grilled cheese, and I try to lament me losing a tennis match 3-3 in the third set, missing overhead after overhead against [my opponent], Neil Best gives me a call on Saturday night, quarter to six.
First thing he tells me, "I hear the show is breaking up, can you comment?" It was the first I’ve ever heard of that, and Neil, who I like, nice guy, although he did trash my book, which drives me nuts, the "Mad Dog Hall of Fame" book, killed it, killed it, after he didn’t praise the first one. Killed it. But that’s neither here nor there.
I said, "Neil, that’s news to me," and I basically gave Neil Best of Newsday the quote that you’ve read and it still sticks, and that’s the basis of these four or five minutes here, and that’s the fact that I have a contract here at WFAN that runs for an extended period of time. It’s not up on July 2. It’s not up on Labor Day. And it’s not up on my birthday, it’s not up Christmas time, it’s not up at the Super Bowl. It’s not even up at the Final Four.
So this idea that somehow our program that we’ve had fun having done it for 19, 20 years, is on the verge of being dismantled caught me totally by surprise, totally by surprise. Now obviously when you are in this position you have negotiations that have to take place for both sides, Mike included, and sometimes there’s always a hiccup along the way, so people start to think, oh, boy, Chris isn’t rushing to do this or Mike’s not rushing to do that, and then everybody jumps to conclusions, looking to find issues between the two of us as the trigger point of why the show no longer will be the case.
And in this case that trigger point happens to be the quote unquote deteriorating relationship that supposedly Mike and I have been undergoing here for the better part of three or four months, which is not entirely accurate, and let me set the record straight on that. From Easter through May 9, Friday, Molly Russo’s birthday, Easter, right around that period, to May 9, Mike and I were having a lot of issues. If you’re a listener, I don’t have to tell you. Whether it’s Yankee Stadium, good or bad, whether it was David Ortiz-Manny Ramirez, whether it was Don Nelson Hall of Fame, not Hall of Fame, Shaq with Phoenix, Yunel Escobar with the Braves, you name it, we were fighting like cats and dogs.
Hey, our show, I have to take a good part of that responsibility. We were fighting like cats and dogs. The tolerance level of each other, Mike to me, me to Mike, was low. When that tolerance level is low like it is with your wife or your kids, you’re going to have some issues. So from that period to May 9, issues. After I took Sal LaCotta to Lake Compounce on that Sunday, Mother’s Day, with four little kids, Mark Chernoff, our program director calls me up and says, "Listen, can we talk tomorrow? Let’s get this straightened out."
After some initial balking by yours truly, I said, you know what, absolutely. We came down the next day, Mark brought us into his office, Mike and I. I apologized for acting like an idiot at times, Mike did the same thing. Next thing you know we’re back on the same page. So, although we had the occasional skirmish since, I can think of that show at the Belmont with the Manny Ramirez-Youkilis fight, and all those kinds of things, although we’ve had the occasional skirmishes – Spurs, we had a lot of fights on the Spurs – although we had occasional skirmishes, from May 11 or 12 to last Wednesday, I don’t think there was really any problem.
Now was it as good as it may have been in the heyday as far as relationships are concerned? No, because we were killing each other for six weeks. It’s going to take a little while to get back to the same page. So that’s No. 1. Deteriorating relationship? I don’t feel that. Maybe before May 12 I did, but I certainly didn’t feel that from May 12 on. So this theory that, ah, now I know why! They’re leaving! They hate each other! I don’t buy that. Nineteen, 20 years, you’re going to have your issues occasionally. You have to get through those issues.
Now listen, I mean, does that mean Mike’s going to sign a 20-year contract extension with WFAN? Probably not. Does that mean that Christopher Russo is going to sign a 20-year contract extension with WFAN? Probably not. Do I want to work 20 more years doing this? Probably not, probably not. But does that mean that last Wednesday was our last ever show together? That’s a little strong. That’s a little strong. That’s taking a big leap.
And, you know, Neil Best thinks he has something and he’s a good reporter and I like Neil. Again, I would never talk to him about anything like this because for whatever the reason, this is a guy who killed my book. That’s sensitive to authors, and don’t forget, I’m John Grisham. That’s sensitive.
I’ve talked to him about it, but I don’t forget that. He went out of his way to bury that book, same day I was on the Today show. C’mon. But listen, Neil thinks he has something, so he’s going to track me down in the middle of a weekend and he’s going to track Mike down in the middle of a weekend and he’s going to write something. But unless WFAN is going to pull the plug on yours truly, and that’s their right, you are renting their equipment, I don’t see how in the world this show is up by July 10. What’s the date I’m hearing now? July 11 or 12? I don’t see where that’s coming from.
Again, we are under contract. WFAN and Mike and Chris are not stupid. WFAN needs us. You know, everyone is replaceable. We’ve learned that. But they’d like to have us on. We have been doing it for 19, 20 years, and I’m not stupid. This is a great job. I need FAN. Again, that doesn’t mean tomorrow or the next day or whenever that I’m going to put my signature or Mike on a 20-year contract extension. You play it out and see what happens. But I have been here for 20 years. Twenty years. I’ve signed a million contracts with the radio station and I’ve never had an issue of walking out before one was completed.
And this one has a long way to go on it. OK. Can I get my parking spot back now, please? Can I get that back? And Neil is in a tough spot now because Neil is trying to come up with something and he’s put himself out there and I don’t know what he’s going to come up with exactly. He can write all the stories he wants, he can call me 30,000 times. And again, I like him. Good man. Good worker. Works hard. But I don’t know what he’s got exactly. What? That Mike and I are splitting up. Says who? Tell FAN that.
Contracts. Contracts. Contracts. You abide by contracts. Mine’s got a long, long way to go, not to mention that quote unquote non-compete clause following it. You’re never going to get rid of me here. OK, we get that out of the way.
It sounds like WFAN's afternoon blowhards are implying that their morning drive counterparts aren't a "pimple on their fanny."
Here's the gist: Someone called in to Fat Mike and Chris regarding Clark Kellogg's refusal to interview the day after brackets are announced. Boomer & Carton had attempted to get him on the air at that time, and CBS refused. When CBS then offered Kellogg the following day, the morning guys refused him in a form of turn around being fair play.
Mike and Fat Chris, being Mike and Fat Chris, implied that Carton and Boomer (who works CBS television with Kellogg), basically were a couple of ham and eggers.
Mr. Tennis & Mr. Diet Coke jabbed that the Carton and Boomer had only been on "the air for 13 minutes." And probably don't know who Clark Kellogg is. Needless to say the morning guys had a nice little laugh about this.
Fat Mike and Chris spent an eternity arguing the Yankees' Billy Crystal stunt. While Mike essentially shrugged it off, Chris was vocally peeved by the whole thing. While people tried to argue that Russo would have no qualms getting on the court with Federer, and Willard pointed out he would likely jump at the chance to suit up for his beloved SF Giants, Chris was in full denial mode.
Let's just say the whole idea is "shaky" at best. Listen to the Doggy yelp.
We've teased Pags before for his Joe Morgan-esq aversion to the Moneyball philosophy. but, he is reasonably interested and for a group of guys growing up in the Yankees media market during his playing days, we take interest in the where-are-they-now aspect of the players we grew up watching the Scooter hoot and holla about.
As such, we check out his Dugout Central website to see what sort of knowledge he cares to drop on the world.
Apparently, we aren't the only ones who check it out as evidenced by his mailbag feature.
This weekend, Sam G asked: Which spring training parks are best/worst for fans who want autographs?
Pags: In Fort Myers, FL at City of Palms park, home of the Red Sox, fans are very close to the field. Seats along the 3B line provide access to players walking to and from the dugout. One of the most difficult places to get autographs is in Tampa at Legends Field. There is a lot of security, so it’s tough to get close to the players. However, the Yankees players accommodate fans often by signing a ton.
This stuck out to me because last week on Fat Mike and Chris' radio show, a caller bitched about how unaccommodating Yankee players were.
Note the last two sentences in Pags' response as you listen to the audio below.
1. "There is a lot of security, so it’s tough to get close to the players."
Then listen as the caller talks of how accessible Phillies players were.
2. "However, the Yankees players accommodate fans often by signing a ton."
Maybe Pags meant "none" rather than "a ton."
I don't often agree with Mike and the Doggy, but they actually put into perspective the point about not caring whether people make money off a guy who's making millions of dollars' autograph. Not like their livelihood depends on it.
Looks like Pags is trying to stay in favor of his old team. Or he just lies to his readers.
Last night I caught pieces of the interview Fat "Uuuuhh" Mike and Chris had with Cris Carter on WFAN. He continues to prove himself one of the most competent and knowledgeable former pros who now makes a living both in front of the camera and online.
As an Eagles fan, I never begrudged Carter for the success he went on to achieve with the Vikings. When he admitted the reason for his release from the Birds had more to do with his substance issues rather than Buddy Ryan's claim that all he did was "catch touchdowns," part of me was relieved he was finally able to recognize and overcome his demons.
I speak from personal experience.
When I was younger, my youth football league's banquets would often feature local teams' players. Notably, the late Andre Waters had made appearances several years in a row, often bringing younger teammates with him. One year, that younger teammate was a blinged-out Cris Carter sporting a nice full length fur (maybe chinchilla).
As kids lined up for autographs, shortly into the night it became apparent that Carter was in no condition to be around kids, and was asked to leave.
Now fast forward some 20-some years.
On Saturday, Carter deserves to join the ranks of the immortal in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, as do fellow wide receivers Art Monk and Andre Reed.
Carter not only went on to clean up his act and put up Hall-worthy numbers, but has proven himself as an ambassador of the game and a humanitarian with knowledge, contributions, and most admirably, his humility.
Craig Carton this morning on WFAN NY made a claim he figured would rile up Giant fans, saying the G-Men essentially had no chance in hell to beat the Cowboys in Dallas this weekend, begging callers to give him one tangible reason why he may be wrong. After 2 hours of no response, a caller noted Romo's inability to make a decision of late, saying Cowboy Tony was told to head to Cabo on his bye week to relax and to bring his favorite tight end. Romo brought Witten AND Simpson.
Fat Mike and Chris were really giving Mike Wallace and the Rocket the business today on WFAN. They cackled over the ridiculousness of the manner in which, as ESPN describes it:
Wallace asked Clemens if he swears he didn't used banned substances. "Swear," Clemens responds.
"Lidocaine and B-12. It's for my joints, and B-12 I still take today," Clemens told Wallace.
Case closed. He swore.
Our money was on him going the glucosamine and chondroitin route.
But then again, how would we know what he does and doesn't take in the butt.
Joe Beningo, who (personally) I find slightly more palatable in the mid-days on WFAN than the two knuckleheads that come in after him (Chris and Fat Mike), as pointed out by The Sports Hernia, shares a striking resemblance with a certain shady Seinfeld character.
Says the Hernia: "The Beningo gospel needs to be spread. I will never get over this guy."
