Bob in '09?

Bob Sheppard in 1951

Bob Sheppard still doing what he's loved for, nearly 60 years later

When Yankee Stadium closed last September, more than just The House That Babe Built came to an end, I'm afraid.

Since 1951, Bob Sheppard has been the announcer for all home games. (You can hear him on the other side of the Hudson in the Meadowlands, too.) His voice is unique. Classic. Classy. As you can imagine, having done the job for nearly 60 years, the man has become a legend and as much a part of the game experience as the action on the field.

I've heard he's not been doing well. In fact, he didn't announce games live at all in 2008, rather he sent in recordings. I was hopeful he'd be back for this season, if only for opening day. He thought so, too. So it was with a heavy heart I heard his wife had told Newsday “he doesn’t have the stamina yet to go back at this time.”

Be well, Bob. Be well.

PS - Bob's Wikipedia has a lot of interesting information. Click here .

So Long Freedom

There's much hullabaloo in the NY media today over a bad idea that was gently phased out over a year ago.

See that building above? It's 1 World Trade Center, thank you very much. In days when nerves and hearts were still raw, anything could have the word Freedom slapped onto its name - I'm looking at you French Fries - our idiot then-Gov, Pataki dubbed the first building agreed upon to be built in the space still to this day called World Trade Center by the MTA, Port Authority, City and city citizens, as The Freedom Tower.

It was always 1 World Trade Center. The marketing materials for the past year from the agency looking to fill it's space all call it by it's appropriate address, and henceforth, name.

Pataki's having none of it:

"The Freedom Tower is not simply another piece of real estate and not just a name for marketing purposes," he said. "In design and name, it is symbolic of our commitment to rise above the attacks of Sept. 11. Where 1 and 2 World Trade Center once stood, there will be a memorial with two voids to honor the heroes we lost — and, in my view, those addresses should never be used again."

Um, what about 3-7? 7 World Trade Center fell that day as well, yet not a peep was made about its replacement's name - 7 World Trade Center.

Me thinks this might have a little something to do with a certain ex-Gov's recent leaking that he might be interested in his old job again and getting his name back in the press...

Forget the name. Can we just build the damn thing already?

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I'll be staying as far away from Midtown and any Irish bars as possible today, but be sure to raise a glass for me if you're so inclined. Just be sure to stay away from the green beer, oh Danny boy.

Oh A-Rod, You Make It Too Easy

Q: What's even better than the above picture of A-Rod making out with himself in a mirror?

A: The opening of Details' cover story accompanying the photo.

"The night before his life changes forever, Alex Rodriguez calls from Miami with an urgent request. A-Rod is worried about something he said during our interview last night. I've been hearing mysterious warnings all afternoon: Alex needs to talk. Alex wants to clarify something. Can't say what. Alex will call you from his car.

"Listen," Rodriguez says. "I was thinking about one thing that I spoke about—it's something that's kind of trivial but will give me a hard time for no reason." He pauses. "The song."

Aha. Last night, he let slip his favorite Madonna song. The curious relationship between A-Rod and the pop icon makes for delicious gossip, of course. Is Rodriguez terrified that Madonna will resent the tongue-wagging? Or, better still, has he picked the wrong song as his favorite, and fears that an offended Madge might march her stilettos over his back? No: Rodriguez believes that revealing the song would lead to its being played every time he stepped to the plate during an away game. "The last thing I want to do is go to every stadium and have them play that song," he says. Fine—to be honest, it's not even a great Madonna song (if it had been something juicy like "Justify My Love," forget it).

Looking back, his preoccupation seems surreal. Just the day before, Selena Roberts, a reporter from Sports Illustrated, had confronted Rodriguez at a Miami gym, asking for his reaction to evidence that he'd tested positive for illegal steroids in 2003. And now here he was, sweating a Madonna song. It's like worrying about the in-flight movie as your plane is belly flopping on the Hudson River..."

If you're like me and can't wait for the issue to hit newsstands, click here for the full article.

Now That's What I Call Multitasking

Yet again, the office Ladies Room never fails to surprise.

From within the handicapped stall, I just overheard a woman conducting a business call on her cell loud enough to be heard above the musical chair of flushes in the surrounding stalls. While. Also. Vigorously. Pumping. Her. Breasts.

I realize a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do, but...damn! (Not to mention that contraption sounded like a medieval torture device.)

Can You Recognize This Celeb?

I recently had the good fortune to snag court-side seats at a Knicks game. Although the team is great fun to watch this year, one of my favorite activities at the Garden is to spot the Celebs. Sure, you're always bound to catch Spike and Penny Marshall, but the gentleman standing in this iphone captured pic is still making my brain hurt.

Who, oh who, is this guy? Come on, dear readers, help a girl out!

Xoxo,
Z.