Weekly Mail July 28, 2024

 

Hi Everyone:

Last week I celebrated a big birthday for one of my most long time dearest friends. Her husband and two sons planned a perfect party at our favorite Woodside establishment, Donovan’s. Got to catch up with some great people I hadn’t seen in a while. The drinks, the laughs and mostly the love and friendship flowed freely. An amazing time.

But now, as I sit here preparing to write this, I'm kind of waiting for another shoe to drop. 

I had gotten through 3/4 of my July 14 WM when the attempted assassination of Donald Trump happened in Pennsylvania. 

Then last week, I was all set to send out what I had written the week before, when President Biden announced on Sunday afternoon that he was dropping out of the race. 

I have on occasion spoken to family members and friends who were alive in 1968 to ask them what it was like living in that unbelievable year. I've read several books, watched a few documentaries and spent more time on the interwebs than I care to admit about 1968. (The textbook from a class I took in college had an entire chapter devoted to 1968, but the professor spent the entire class where that chapter was assigned talking about how Queens College had protests that rivaled the ones taking place at Columbia around the same time. Needless to say, I found that claim to be dubious at best). 

Two major political figures assassinated, including the candidate well on his way to clinching the Democratic nomination for President. The incumbent President announcing he would not seek re-election. A divided nation. And oh, by the way, the Democratic National convention taking place in Chicago in August. 

Our folks had 1968. We have 2024*. 

Now, thankfully Trump survived the attempt on his life, and Biden's announcement wasn't nearly the shock that Lyndon Johnson's announcement brought when he made it on March 31, 1968. And hopefully the DNC in Chicago won't be as chaotic this time around as was the one 56 years ago, but we are living in some strange times. I can only hope that when our kids ask us about 2024, we are looking back on it as some sort of aberration. My fear is that it's going to be thought of as standard procedure. That for our kids, it will be all that they know. 

As far as my reaction Biden's decision, well, obviously I have a lot of mixed emotions about it. I had been on the side of wanting him to stay in, while understanding the concerns of those who thought he should drop out. I also felt in my heart that when all was said and done, he would do what he thought was best for the country. 

And he did. 

Too many Democrats were coming out and saying he needed to step aside. For a man who preaches unity and togetherness, he couldn't go into his party's convention with a divided party. 

I'm not going to lie, I'm not really sure how Vice President Kamala Harris was able to get the delegates who were pledged for Biden to pledge to her. I say all the time I will figure out the meaning of life before I figure out how the delegate process in our country works. From what I have gathered, since nobody else besides Harris announced their intention to seek the nomination, the delegates didn't really have any other recourse. Had someone else decided to throw their proverbial hats in the ring, the vote would have taken place at the DNC. And that might have led to what we discussed in the previous paragraphs. 

I'll probably write more about him as his administration winds down, but my respect for Joe Biden has only grown this past week. The fact that Captain Orange and his pea-brained minions are still taking shots at him just re-enforces my admiration for the man. Biden has overcome so much in his life. Some of you think I'm full of it and quite frankly I don't give a f-ck. You're voting for the guy who was born on third base and thinks he hit a triple.  

The enthusiasm and support that Kamala Harris has received this week has been amazing if somewhat surprising. The party has clearly rallied around her. 

Fasten your seatbelts. 

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This past Wednesday marked the 20th anniversary of one of the most exciting days I have ever had. 

On July 24, 2004, I was en-route to Boston with a rental car full of office equipment. The lady who had hired me at the Post Annie Aquilina had offered me a chance to come help set up and manage the Post's satellite office at the 2004 DNC. The following is an excerpt from the July 17, 2016 edition of WM in describing that crazy day...

July 24,2004

So, I'm on my way to Boston, in a nice fancy rent a car, with thousands of dollars of office equipment in the trunk and back seat. I had left Woodside early, after having worked all night. I'm just getting into Boston when my phone rang. It was the Post. The editor, the great Bill Gorta, told me to "ditch the car wherever you are and get to Fenway Park. There was just a huge brawl between the Yanks and the Sox.

I turned the radio on and caught the tail end of what was going on. Something had gone down between Yankee third baseman Alex Rodriguez and Boston catcher Jason Varitek.

Now the only other time I've been to Boston was 12 years before, with Karl, Ray and Kevin (Buck) Ludwig. I have no idea how to get anywhere, and I certainly wasn't going to be responsible for losing all this office equipment. So I told Billy I was still a bit away. Luckily I found the hotel, checked in and hopped on the subway and headed to Fenway.

I went to the Cask 'n Flagon (big mistake) where I interviewed Yankee fans who had been tossed out of Fenway.  Then I went outside one of the gates and interviewed more fans as they were being thrown out. To me, that was the big story. Everyone I asked about the fight had the same answers, "I was f-ckin PUMPED MAN!" I mean how many times can you quote that?

But droves of fans were coming out, bitching that they had been ejected from the stadium. For seemingly innocuous reasons. Now I realize that some of these folks probably deserved to get thrown out, but some I really believe were booted out for nothing more than wearing Yankee paraphernalia. The Boston people freaked out because I was with the NY Post, but I was able to convince some of them that I was a Met fan and my team was 10 games out with no shot at the playoffs, so theoretically I had no dog in this fight. One group of Sawx fans invited me to their house for a BBQ, which was awfully nice of them, and in hindsight might have been a good move.

   And then there was the a$$hole hot dog vendor who kept telling me to stay away from his cart. I finally said to him, "I'm nowhere near your cart. What the f-ck is your problem besides the fact that I'm from New York?"
"I don't give a $h-t if your from New York, I just hate the press. They've burned me before!"
"You're a hot dog vendor! Why would the press care about you, much less burn you?"
He was threatening to get the cops, and judging by what went down between Varitek and A-Rod, I had no desire to mess with them, so I moved a bit further down.

The game itself was a classic Yankees-Sox affair. The Yanks struck first in the top of the second and added one in the third before Bronson Arroyo drilled A-Rod with a fastball in the elbow. A-Rod started mouthing off to Arroyo. Varitek said something to A-Rod, A-Rod got in Varitek's face, and Varitek shoved his glove in A-Rod's face and both benches emptied.

When the smoke cleared A-Rod and Varitek was ejected. The Sox tied it up, then took the lead. In the 6th, the Yanks scored 6 times, the Sox 4 times and the score was 9-8 Yanks. At the time I had no idea what the score was because I was interviewing ejected fans and fighting with a hot dog man with delusions of grandeur.

In the bottom of the 9th, with the Yanks up 10-8 and Mariano in to close it out, Bill Mueller hit a walk off home run, sending Fenway into a frenzy. I spoke to about 20 people and probably could have gotten a whole bunch more. I dumped my notes to the editors and headed out to get some dinner and maybe a beer or two.

I overheard some gal on the train say she was headed to Daisy Buchanan's so that's where I went. Wouldn't you know who would walk in about 10 o'clock but Jason Varitek himself? Every few minutes the bartender would open a beer in front of him and someone would yell "Yo, Tek, that's on me man!" Yo Tek, way to kick A-Rod's ass!" I thought about going over to talk to him, but I figured in this crowd, I best be keeping my credentials on the down-low. After all I was here for the convention.

Here is the story as it appeared in the next day's paper....

Author:	BILL GALLAGHER Post Correspondent
Date:	Jul 25, 2004
Start Page:	003

BOSTON - Now it's personal.

An A-Rod bean ball once again turned the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry bloody yesterday, setting up a series finale tonight sure to be filled with fireworks.

The third-inning melee, which seemed a distant memory after Boston's 11-9 win on a walk-off home run, lasted only five minutes, but led to two ejections and a pitcher beaten until blood poured from his face.

The stands also began buzzing, with dozens of fights and a slew of ejections. Yankee fans were showered with beer as they dejectedly made their way toward the doors after the loss.

"This was a classic Red Sox-Yankees game," said Tom Magnifico, 19, a Yankee fan who drove up from East Rutherford, N.J.

"After the fight, the mood changed. It was a little more hostile and more passionate."

The brawl began when Boston hurler Bronson Arroyo tattooed Alex Rodriguez in the elbow with the Bombers leading, 3-0. A-Rod chucked his bat and began shouting at the pitcher.

The home plate umpire and Sox catcher Jason Varitek jumped in the middle, and after harsh words were exchanged, the catcher gave a two- handed shove to A-Rod's face. He responded by grabbing Varitek.

In an instant, the benches had erupted, with players and coaches joining the fray. A-Rod and Varitek were booted. The teams square off tonight at 8

The rest of the week was fun too. Greg Birnbaum the Post's political editor gave me his press pass so that I could walk around the Convention floor on the odd chance he needed me to do anything there. I mostly tried to see how many tv networks I could get my face on, and imagined myself playing against the Bruins and the Celtics. (The hockey boards were still up.) I also went out drinking with some interns from the Weekly Standard, and met a guy at the Clask and Flagon who was a cross between the Boston  Globe's Bob Ryan and my late great Donovan's pal Pete McGuiness. 

20 years later it was the most fun I ever had while working. A life lasting memory. 

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SPORTS: Mets sweep Subway Series..

I went into last week's two game set with the Yankees in the Bronx just kind of hoping for a split. Having won the two games played at Citi Field, one win at the Stadium would ensure that the Mets would have won the series and for what it's worth, some bragging rights.

I figured the game on Tuesday would be the one we'd have the best shot at winning. Luis Gil had looked like a Cy Young candidate when the Yanks were dominating in the first two months of the season, but has crashed down to earth as of late. I like our chances against him more than against Gerritt Cole, who I figured would be out to avenge his poor start in Queens.

Gil actually pitched all right. 1 run and 6 strikeouts over 5 innings, but Jose Quintana matched him after giving up a leadoff homer to Gleyber Torres. And the Mets bullpen, who had been awful for most of the season came up big, especially Jake Diekman, who I had wanted to send packing more than a couple of times. Diekman got the save, including striking out Aaron Judge. 

Cole was the starter on Wednesday, and he looked like his Cy Young self for the first couple of innings. When Juan Soto robbed Jeff McNeil of a homer, I thought it wasn't going to be our night.

But the Mets ended up hitting 3 more homers off of Cole and scored 12 runs overall to win it 12-3 and complete the season series sweep. So no matter what happens from here on in, I can hang my blue and orange hat on that. 

On Saturday the Yanks made a trade with the Marlins for Jazz Chisholm Jr. and all I have to say about that is that now I'm really sorry John Sterling packed it in when he did. First I'd love to know how he would call Chisholm's home runs. But also keeping track of how many times the voice of the Yankees inverted the first two letters of Jazz's first and last names. Boomer and Gio had a whole compilation of how many times Sterling called him Chas Jiz.. well, you know the rest. 

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I didn’t watch any of the Opening Ceremonies at the Paris Olympics on Friday. Apparently there was some controversy about a depiction of the Last Supper. Maybe I should be upset about it, but I don’t know. There are about a million things going on here in America that concern me more.  

That’s just me though.

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I'm not going to be in the city for the next two weekends. I'd like to get at least two more blogs posted in the next three weeks before we take our late summer hiatus after August 18. The other caveat to that of course is that the DNC is starting August 19, and if Chicago 2024 turns into Chicago 1968, I may have to keep the presses rolling as it were. We'll burn that bridge when we get to it. 

For now

Stay Safe

and Have a Great Week. 

*The calendar for 2024 also lines up exactly as 1968 did. Complete with a Thursday February 29 Leap Day and Election Day on November 5.