John Sterling, 1938-2026

Like George Steinbrenner, but not like George M. Cohan, who was actually born on a July 3, John Sterling was, to borrow Cohan's words, "a real live nephew of my Uncle Sam, born on the 4th of July."

Unlike Steinbrenner, on the day that John Sterling, under the name John Sloss, was born in Manhattan, July 4, 1938, the New York Yankees were in first place -- or, at least, tied for it, with the Cleveland Indians. They went on to win the World Series that season.

John grew up on the Upper East Side, and attended Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; Boston University, and Columbia University in Manhattan, before leaving school to work at a small radio station in Wellsville, New York, in Alleghany County in the State's Southern Tier. Like many Jewish broadcasters, he changed his name to ward off anti-Semitism, becoming "John Sterling," choosing the name because it sounded like he could "shine."

In 1970, he moved to Baltimore, broadcasting for the NBA's Baltimore Bullets, who reached the NBA Finals in his 1st season with them. He also broadcast football games for Morgan State University, a historically black school in Baltimore.

He returned to New York, and hosted a sports-talk show on radio station WMCA, 570 on the AM dial. He broadcast basketball for the ABA's New York Nets, remaining with the for a while after they joined the NBA and then moved to New Jersey. He broadcast hockey for the NHL's New York Islanders and the WHA's New York Raiders, and football for the World Football League's New York Stars.

In 1981, he moved to Atlanta, hired by Turner Sports to broadcast for baseball's Braves and the NBA's Hawks. On July 4, 1985, the Braves played the Mets at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Braves owner Ted Turner scheduled a postgame 4th of July fireworks show. But the game was delayed by rain, and didn't start until 9:04 PM. And it went to extra innings. A lot of extra innings.

In the top of the 18th inning, the Mets took an 11-10 lead. The only pitchers the Braves had left were 3 starters and the current reliever, Rick Camp. With 2 outs in the bottom of the 18th, there was no player left to pinch-hit for Camp, except for the 3 starting pitchers. He came into that game 10-for-168 for his career -- a lifetime batting average of .060. 

Sterling turned to his broadcast partner, Ernie Johnson -- who pitched for the Braves in Milwaukee and was the father of basketball announcer Ernie Johnson Jr. -- and said, "I'll tell you, Ernie: If hits a home run to tie this game, this game will be certified as absolutely the nuttiest in the history of baseball."

I was 15 years old, and watched this game on WOR-Channel 9, but, because of Sterling's call, it's the TBS version that seems to have been preserved for posterity and shown on highlights. Here's what Sterling said:

And he hits it to deep left! Heep goes back! It is... GONE! Holy cow! Oh my goodness! I don't believe it! I don't believe it! Rick Camp! Rick Camp! I told you Ernie, if he hits it out... That certifies this game as the wildest, wackiest, most improbable game in history!

But the Mets took a 16-11 lead in the top of the 19th. In the bottom of the 19th, the Braves closed to 16-13, had 2 men on, and Camp came up again. This time, Met starter Ron Darling, who had come on as an emergency reliever, struck Camp out to end it.

In 1989, Sterling came back to New York, as the radio voice of the Yankees, on 770 WABC until 2001, on 880 WCBS from 2002 to 2013, and on WFAN from 2014 until his retirement in 2024. In 1989 and '90, his partner was former outfielder (including for the Yankees) Jay Johnstone. In 1991, it was Joe Angel, who became better known later as an announcer for the Baltimore Orioles.

In 1992, he teamed with Daily News baseball columnist Michael Kay. The pair split in 2002, when the YES Network was founded, and Kay became their lead announcer, although the pair still teamed up to do the introductions every Old-Timers Day. Kay was replaced as Sterling's partner by Charley Steiner, now better known as a Los Angeles Dodgers announcer. And in 2005, Steiner was replaced by WFAN announcer Suzyn Waldman.

Like legendary Yankee announcers Mel Allen (1939-64) and Phil Rizzuto (1957-96), John Sterling was a "homer." He was not objective, supporting the Yankees throughout his 36-season tenure, longer than any Yankee announcer so far, except Rizzuto. And, like Mel and Phil, he made no apologies for it.

When something unusual happened on the field, he would turn to Waldman and say, "You know, Suzyn, you just can't predict baseball." In fact, baseball is among the more predictable sports.

For example, when a Yankee player hit a long drive, you had a 50-50 chance of correctly guessing that Sterling would guess wrong. Like Allen and Rizzuto, he tended to watch the ball, not the outfielder. In contrast, Red Barber, who broadcast for the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1939 to 1953, before coming to the Yankees and staying through 1966, told would-be announcers to watch the outfielder: If he looks like he thinks he can catch the ball, don't act like it's going to be a home run.

And so, Sterling would go into his home run call: "Swung on, and there it goes! Deep to left! That ball is high! It is far! It is... gone!" But, as so often happened, it would be, "It is high! It is far! It is... caught at the wall!" Or, "It is high! It is far! It is... off the wall!" One time, he said, "It is high! It is far! It is... a foul ball! Wow, Suzyn, that ball was gone!" No, it wasn't, it was foul!

Just as Allen tended to make up nicknames for Yankee players, Sterling would tailor home run calls around the hitter's name:

* Bernie Williams: "Bernie goes boom! Bern, baby, Bern!"

* Jorge Posada: "Jorgie juiced one!" (Instead of the seemingly obvious, "Hip, hip, Jorge!")

* Tino Martinez: "The Bam-tino!" (A play on one of Babe Ruth's nicknames, The Bambino.")

* Derek Jeter, after being named team Captain in 2003: "El Capitan!"

* Jason Giambi: "The Giambino!" (Same.)

* Alex Rodriguez: "It's an A-bomb for A-Rod!"

* Hideki Matsui, who was nicknamed Godzilla because he was from Japan: "It's a thrilla from Godzilla!"

* Robinson Canó: "Robbie Canó, doncha know!"

* Mark Teixeira: "Mark sends a Tex message! You're on the Mark, Teixeira!"

* Nick Swisher: "Positively Swish-a-licious!"

* Curtis Granderson: "The Grandy Man can!"

* Giancarlo Stanton: This one should have been obvious: "It's a Giac by Giancarlo!" Instead, he used “Giancarlo, non si può de stopparlo!” Sterling called a friend at the Berlitz Academy of Foreign Languages. Loosely translated from Italian, the call means, “You cannot be stopped!”

* Didi Gregorius: "Didi Gregorius makes Yankee fans euphorious!"

* Aaron Judge: "All rise! Here comes the judge!" (Reminding everyone of the "Here Come Da Judge" sketch on Laugh-In.)

* Gleyber Torres: "It's Gleyber Day! And like a good Gleyber, Torres is there!"

And two straight players hitting them "go back-to-back, and a-belly-to-belly!"

Let's be honest: Some of them were better than others.

On May 27, 1991, the Yankees were struggling, but came from behind to win a Memorial Day matinee against the hated Boston Red Sox, on a 3-run walkoff home run by Mel Hall. Sterling yelled, "Ballgame over! Yankees win! The Yankees win!"

He began using it after every game. By the time of the 1996 postseason run, the "The" had gotten stretched out: "The-uh-uh-uh-uh Yankees win!" The bigger the game, the longer the "The." At the end of a postseason series, he would mention it. "Ballgame over! World Series over! Yankees win! Theeeeeeeeeeee Yankees win!"

Eventually, a recording of it would be played by the Yankees' scoreboard operator, followed by Frank Sinatra's version of "Theme from New York, New York." In 2007, someone with a camera phone got a closeup of Sterling saying it, pumping his fists, shaking in his chair, and posted it on YouTube, calling it "The Sterling Shake."

Sterling was typical of Yankee figures: People who loved the Yankees loved him, and loved his whole shtick; people who hated the Yankees thought he was dumb and annoying.

He was not dumb. And the only time when he was annoying was when he went into "It is high! It is far... " and it turned out not to be gone.

When the YES Network was founded in 2002, Sterling became the host and narrator for its Yankeeography series. He also hosted the Yankees Classics series, including many games that he had broadcast himself. He won 16 Sports Emmy Awards, including 2 for Yankeeography.

He lived with his wife, Jennifer, in Teaneck, Bergen County, not far from the George Washington Bridge and The Stadium, until they divorced. They had 4 children. He then moved into The Avalon at Edgewater, overlooking the Hudson River, with a view of The Stadium. He lost that apartment in a fire in 2015, but found a new apartment in Edgewater.

His 1st game with the Yankees was on April 4, 1989, a 4-2 win over the Minnesota Twins at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. On October 19, 2019, he broadcast Game 6 of the American League Championship Series, a 6-4 loss to the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park (now Daikin Park) in Houston. It was the game where Jose Altuve hit a Pennant-winning home run, and then yelled at his teammates not to rip his shirt open. In between, over 31 seasons and 5,060 games, John Sterling broadcast every Yankee game.

This included every single game in the careers of Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera; the 3,000th hits of Jeter and Alex Rodriguez; A-Rod's 400th, 500th and 600th career home runs; Rivera's record-breaking 602nd save; the perfect games of David Wells, David Cone and Domingo Germán, and the no-hitters of Jim Abbott, Dwight Gooden and Corey Kluber; the Opening Series in Japan in 2004; the London Series in 2019; the last game at the old Yankee Stadium in 2008; the 1st game at the new Yankee Stadium in 2009; the AL Wild Card Game in 2015, '17, '18 and '21; the AL Wild Card Series in 2020; the AL Division Series in 1995, '96, '97, '98, '99, 2000, '01, '02, '03, '04, '05, '06, '07, '09, '10, '11, '12, '17, '18, '19, '20 and '22; the AL Championship Series in 1996, '98, '99, 2000, '01, '03, '04, '09, '10, '12, '17, '19 and '22; and the World Series in 1996, '98, '99, 2000, '01, '03 and '09.

But advancing age and heart trouble were taking their toll. He missed games in the COVID-shortened season of 2020. He was making more mistakes. On June 10, 2023, while broadcasting a game against the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium, he was hit in the head by a foul ball off the bat of Justin Turner. He stayed in the game.

On April 14, 2024, he called the Yankees' 8-7 loss to the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field in Cleveland. It was his 5,651st game for the Yankees, counting the postseason. The next day, arriving back in New York, he announced his retirement, effective immediately. It appears he left on his own terms. He said:

I am a very blessed human being. I have been able to do what I wanted, broadcasting for 64 years. As a little boy growing up in New York as a Yankees fan, I was able to broadcast the Yankees for 36 years. It's all to my benefit, and I leave very, very happy.

The Yankees won the Pennant in 2024, and he was invited back to broadcast an inning of the World Series, which the Yankees lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

John Sterling died today, May 4, 2026, at Englewood Hospital in Englewood, Bergen County, New Jersey, from longstanding heart trouble. He was 87 years old, 2 months short of his 88th birthday.

And the New York Yankees are in first place. Cliché Alert: He would have wanted it that way.

He is... gone. But he will never leave us.

UPDATE: That night, before the game, a pregame ceremony was held. Highlights of John's calls were played on the big screen behind center field, and Michael Kay and Suzyn Waldman walked out together and laid bouquets of flowers on home plate.

July 25, 1993: Fandom Reborn

July 25, 1993, 25 years ago: An era ended, in a way, and a new one began. And most baseball fans don't know, and probably wouldn't care. But it was a big day for me.

I had been a Yankee Fan since 1977, at age 7. I wasn't old enough to remember Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio or Mickey Mantle. I was a little too young to remember the pre-renovation original Yankee Stadium, and slightly too young to remember Chris Chambliss hitting a home run to win the 1976 American League Pennant.

But I do remember the Yankees winning the World Series in 1977 and 1978, and the Pennant in 1981. I remember Reggie Jackson's 3 home runs (well, 2 of them, as my parents made me go to bed, as it was a school night), the 14-game comeback against the Boston Red Sox, Bucky Dent's home run, Thurman Munson's blast against the Kansas City Royals in the Playoffs and his death in a plane crash the next year, Ron Guidry's strikeouts, Graig Nettles' miraculous plays at 3rd base, Goose Gossage dominating in relief, Dave Righetti's 4th of July no-hitter in 1983, Dave Winfield's tomahawks into left field, and Don Mattingly's big hits.

But I also remember the near-misses of the 1980s, team owner George Steinbrenner's managerial musical chairs, the triumphs and tragedies of Billy Martin, the collapse at the end of the 1980s, and George's "temporary lifetime" banishment in 1990.

The rebuilding of the Yankees under general manager Gene Michael was underway. By 1993, the Mets were a mess both competitively and behaviorally, and the Yankees were ready to contend again. The Mets have not been definitively the best baseball team in New York ever since, not even during the 2015 season, when they won the National League Pennant and the Yankees lost in the AL Wild Card Game.

Buck Showalter was the manager. Mattingly was already the last holdover from the Eighties. Now, there were dependable veterans like Wade Boggs, Jimmy Key and Paul O'Neill, and rising players like Bernie Williams. More trades would be made, and more prospects would develop.

But you could sense that something good was happening. We didn't yet know if, say, 1996 would be a new 1976, or a false dawn that would collapse by 1999 as it did in 1989. But things were looking good, and the Yankees spent the Summer of '93 battling the defending World Champion Toronto Blue Jays for the lead in the AL Eastern Division.

On July 17, I was with the youth group at the Aldersgate United Methodist Church in my hometown of East Brunswick, New Jersey. Given our location, some of us were Yankee Fans, a few of us were Met fans, and a couple of us rooted for the Philadelphia Phillies, who were in the other direction, but not much further away than New York was. (The church was 49 miles from Yankee Stadium, 50 miles from Shea Stadium, and 63 miles from Veterans Stadium. The ballparks have changed, the distances have not.)

We spent the night of July 17-18 at a church in Fredericksburg, Virginia. We had lunch on the 18th in Dunn, North Carolina, just off Interstate 95. At Triangle Waffle, I had the best hamburger I'd ever had to that point. It was so good, I ordered a second for the road.

We arrived at Kingstree, South Carolina, with the Carolinas caught in the middle of a terrible heat wave and drought, while the Midwest, especially Iowa and Illinois, had some of the worst flooding in American history. It was a stark contrast. The State, South Carolina's largest paper, based in the State capital of Columbia, had a cartoon showing the State flag, with the traditional Palmetto tree replaced by a cactus.

At night, inside my sleeping bag (we were about 7 to a room), I would fiddle with the radio dial on my Walkman, and picked up the New York radio stations and their baseball broadcasts. I got broadcasts from as far west as St. Louis and New Orleans. (Then as now, New Orleans had a Triple-A team, but I didn't get their game, only a news station.) I still have that Walkman, although it no longer works. And it's my fault: I left it unused so long, the batteries leaked, and ruined the interior.

In the morning, with the Internet still just a rumor to me (we were still using the phrase "the information superhighway"), I would get newspapers. I saw the color photo of the press box fire at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium on the front page of the Charleston, South Carolina-based Post and Courier. Color pictures in newspapers was still a big deal, and the Atlanta Braves were the closest Major League Baseball team to the house where we were staying, but it was still over 300 miles to the west, with Baltimore (and Washington, then without an MLB team) over 450 miles to the northeast.

The fire was put out, no one was hurt, the regularly-scheduled game was played, and, with newly-acquired Fred McGriff hitting a home run, they beat the St. Louis Cardinals.

We spent 5 days fixing up a house, and at the end, were treated to a Carolina chicken dinner. Too spicy for me. On Saturday, the 24th, we headed for the shore and the boardwalk -- not the Jersey Shore, but Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Not only was I not impressed, but it was about as rednecky a place as you could get and still have a beach.

We spent the night at a church in Raleigh, North Carolina. According to the pictures on the wall in the foyer, one of the church leaders was named Michael Jordan. Sure, it's a fairly common name, but we were in North Carolina -- and the news of the Michael Jordan's father having disappeared was in the news. He hadn't yet been found, and we didn't yet know that he'd been murdered.

And so, that Sunday, July 25, 1993, we went up first Interstate 85, then I-95, heading north, back home. And we went back and forth, listening to whatever radio broadcast of baseball we could pick up. The Yankees were then on WABC, AM 770, but we couldn't yet reach them in Virginia.

Nor could we pick up the Mets on WFAN, 660; and it didn't matter, anyway, because they were playing the Dodgers in Los Angeles, and were a 4:05 PM Eastern Time start. Same with the Phillies, at AM 1210, then with the call letters WOGL, as they were playing the Giants in San Francisco. But the Baltimore Orioles, at WBAL, 1090 (a.k.a. "Radio 11"), were loud and clear. There was, of course, no Washington Nationals yet.

Jon Miller, now with the Giants, was then the voice of the Orioles, and he has the perfect voice for baseball on the radio. And he told us that the Yankees were already losing 8-0 to the California Angels in the 2nd inning. Melido Pérez had already been knocked out of the box. Forget it, it was over.

How over was it? According to Baseball-Reference.com, at that point, the Angels had a 97 percent chance of winning the game.

Among the scoring was a home run by Charles "Chili" Davis. This guy always hit the Yankees well. I was so glad the Yankees acquired him in 1998, not for anything he could do for them, but for the fact that he would no longer be doing anything to them. He did, however, help the Yankees win the World Series in 1998 and 1999 -- but in 1993, we had no idea of what was ahead for the Bronx Bombers.

Mike Stanley, then the Yankee catcher, led off the bottom of the 2nd with a home run, but it was still only 8-1. Nobody expected any comeback.

Anyway, we went back to the Orioles at 1090. They were in Minneapolis, and ended up losing to the Minnesota Twins 5-2.

Other American League scores that day: Boston Red Sox 8, Oakland Athletics 1 at Fenway; Cleveland Indians 11, Seattle Mariners 9 at Municipal Stadium; Detroit Tigers 3, Kansas City Royals 0 at Tiger Stadium; Milwaukee Brewers 7, Chicago White Sox 3 on the South Side; Toronto Blue Jays 9, Texas Rangers 7 in Arlington.

In the National League: Florida Marlins 7, Cincinnati Reds 3 at Joe Robbie Stadium; Braves 13, Pittsburgh Pirates 1 at Three Rivers; Chicago Cubs 3, Houston Astros 1 in 11 innings at the Astrodome; Cardinals 5, Colorado Rockes 4 in 11 innings in Denver; and Montreal Expos 5, San Diego Padres 4 in 10 innings at Jack Murphy Stadium.

We got stuck in traffic on the Virginia side of the Potomac, found our way around the Capital Beltway, and headed back up I-95 toward Baltimore. But by the time we reached Camden Yards, vacant as the O's were on the road, Miller was giving the out-of-town scoreboard, and informed us that the Yankees had come back, and it was 8-7 Angels in the 7th inning.

Now, WABC was coming in. And the Yankees got the 1st 2 men on in the bottom of the 8th. But they couldn't get those men home, and still trailed 8-7 after 8.

By now, the Mets' game in L.A. had begun. But there was only 1 Met fan in that van, 1 Phillie fan, and about 10 Yankee Fans. We were sticking with the Pinstripes.

Bottom of the 9th. Steve Frey pitching for the Halos. Danny Tartabull led off, and drew a walk. Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety. Stanley came up, and hit what we later learned (on the TV news) was a perfect double-play grounder to short, but Gary DiSarcina let it go between his legs, Bill Buckner-style. For the 2nd straight inning, the Yankees had 1st and 2nd on, and nobody out.

Cliché Alert: "He runs well for a catcher." Well, nobody ever used that cliché on Stanley, so Showalter sent in a pinch-runner: Hensley Meulens, once a tremendous prospect known as "Bam-Bam" for his power, but, by this point, a massive disappointment.

Bernie Williams was at the plate. Angel catcher Ron Tingley couldn't handle a Frey pitch, and it was a passed ball. Now, the tying and winning runs were in scoring position. In spite of the fact that nobody was out, Angel manager Robert "Buck" Rodgers ordered Bernie intentionally walked, to load the bases and set up a force play at home.

The batter was Paul O'Neill. He hit a fly ball to left, deep enough to score Tartabull with the tying run.

Up came the shortstop. Number 2. No, not Derek Jeter. We had barely heard any whispers about him, as he was in only his 2nd, 1st full, season of pro ball. This was Mike Gallego, a part of the Oakland Athletics' quasi-dynasty of 1988-92, and a decent player, but hardly what Jeter would become. He flew out to center. Meulens, who hadn't advanced to 3rd on O'Neill's fly, did so now. The winning run was on 3rd, but there were 2 outs.

Somewhere between the Baltimore Beltway and the Delaware State Line, we were going nuts in that van.

The batter was Pat Kelly. A good 2nd baseman, and an okay hitter. Nothing special. Except for this moment. He faced 1 pitch, and hit a sharp line drive to left field. Meulens scored. Yankees 9, Angels 8. John Habyan was the winning pitcher, in relief. Attendance: 50,429.

I thought I could hear Phil Rizzuto yell, "Holy cow!" from 150 miles away. The game was on WPIX-Channel 11, and, as I learned while watching the 11:00 edition of WABC-Channel 7's Eyewitness News, he did yell it.

There is an urban legend that says that this was the 1st time that John Sterling, on the radio, used the words, "Ballgame over! Yankees win! Theeeeeeee Yankees win!" But I never heard him drag the "the" out until Bernie's walkoff home run in Game 1 of the 1996 AL Championship Series against Baltimore. He did use "Yankees win! The Yankees win!" as early as the Jim Leyritz Game, Game 2 of the 1995 AL Division Series against Seattle.

But in that van on that warm Sunday afternoon on the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway in Cecil County, northeastern Maryland, we were bouncing around that van like a pinball machine. Until the 1 Met fan asked us if we could now switch to the Mets broadcast.

So we did. By the time we got back to the church in East Brunswick, the Mets were on their way to wrapping up a 4-0 win over the Dodgers at Chavez Ravine. So, for the day, New York 2, Los Angeles 0. Fine with me. Like the O's, the Phils lost 5-2, to the Giants.

I was a little older than most of the kids on the trip: 23, as opposed to these 14-to-18-year-old high schoolers and recent graduates. It was the 1st time that I felt like an adult baseball fan.

That week, between the newspapers and the radio, it felt like my fandom, for both the sport and for my individual team, had been reborn.

And the next few years would both test and reward my fandom.

I can't say I loved every minute of it. But I loved a lot of those minutes!

Farewell to Arthur George... and Other Thoughts

Art Rust Jr. has died. "Arthur George," as he so often called himself, using his middle name, was a hero of mine going back a long, long way. Well, as long as I go back, anyway.

He was one of the first black sportscasters, starting in 1954 on New York's legendary rhythm-and-blues station WWRL. He would talk about sports, and interview athletes, and also some entertainers with an interest in sports, such as James Brown (a former Golden Gloves boxer) and Miles Davis.

If James Brown were an athlete, he'd have been Frank Robinson: Controversial in some ways, but pioneering, understanding who to put up with, and how far to let them go, and no farther; and, ultimately, a unifying figure: Just as James unified Boston with that concert at the Boston Garden after Martin Luther King's assassination in 1968, so, too, did Frank bring together not just black and white teammates but black and white fans in Baltimore, which was a very tense place in 1966, when he arrived and led the Orioles to their first Pennant and first World Championship. It was a mark of respect that the O's named him their team captain almost immediately. James would have settled for nothing less.

If Miles Davis were an athlete, he would have been Bob Gibson: An intimidating, uncompromising genius. Gibson pitched in St. Louis, not far from Miles' home town of Alton, Illinois.

Arthur George later worked on WNBC-Channel 4, WMCA and WINS, before starting his influential talk show on WABC in 1981. It was this show, as well as shows by his white contemporaries Bill Mazer and Marty Glickman, that made all-sports stations such as New York's WFAN possible.

It was through his WABC show -- often on prior to Yankee broadcasts at the time -- that I got to know of him. It quickly became apparent that this man was what I already thought I was, but was far from: Somebody who knew everything about sports. He knew everybody. He wrote a few books, including Recollections of a Baseball Junkie. (Speaking of junkies, in the 1980s, he said, "If cocaine were helium, the NBA would float away.)

I've often thought about writing a book titled Confessions of a Sports NUT! If I ever do get around to writing it, I should definitely mention Arthur George in the acknowledgments. And Marty. (That's Glickman -- not Brodeur. Well, maybe him, too.) And "The Amazin'." (That's Mazer -- not the Mets.)

The last time I saw Rust was in 1996, on an ESPN Classic program called Fights of the Century. He and Jack Newfield, the great New York Post columnist who was one of the world's biggest experts on boxing, were interviewed by Al Trautwig on the subject of the second Joe Louis-Max Schmeling fight, at Yankee Stadium on June 22, 1938. Newfield was born that year, but Rust was 11 and remembered the situation very well. He knew Louis, and told the story of how Louis told a friend of his, on the morning of the fight, "I'm scared." What are you scared of, Joe? "I'm scared that I'm gonna kill Schmeling tonight." He didn't kill Schmeling, but he did knock him out in 2 minutes. Not rounds: Minutes.

Arthur George was 82. Now, of the three -- Rust, Glickman, and Mazer -- Mazer is the only one still alive. He turns 90 this year.

Bert Sugar is still alive, at 73, but while he's in the category of pundit of voluminous sports knowledge, he wasn't a New York sports radio (or TV) icon from the old days. His milieu was print. It wasn't until ESPN Classic came along in 1995 that I started seeing him regularly. I love Bert, but I haven't loved him since I was a kid. Actually, that's also the case with Glickman: I didn't really discover him until I was older. But Mazer and Rust were, as far as I'm concerned, the guys who invented sports-talk radio.

We should thank them.

I think...

Hey, it's not their fault that quite a few people have corrupted their invention. Right, Dog?

*

Two nights ago, the Devils played the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Counting regulation and overtime combined, there were 96 shots between the two teams -- and no goals. It went to a shootout, and even that couldn't find a winner in the three regulation rounds. They had to go to a fourth round, before Patrik Elias (whom Devils broadcaster Matt Loughlin calls "the Ranger Killer") finally put one past Henrik Lundqvist (whom Ranger fans call "King Henrik" and "the King of Shootouts," and Devils fans call "Queen Henrietta"). So the 104th shot of the game is what won it.

My mother said she couldn't have taken all of that. I probably couldn't have, either. Especially as I would have been stuck in the same building with 17,000 Ranger cunts (and maybe 1,000 Devils fans).

It was one hell of a battle, and the Rangers certainly did not stink. But they still suck!

The Devils have the best record in the Eastern Conference, with 65 points. In the entire NHL, only the Chicago Blackhawks, continuing their renaissance, have more, 66, but the Devils have 3 games in hand on them.

*

Devils Captain Jamie Langenbrunner has been named Captain of the U.S. hockey team at the Olympics, next month in Vancouver. Zach Parise and former Devil Brian Rafalski have been named Alternate Captains.

Paul Martin (if he's healthy) will also play for Team USA. The Rangers will sent their Captain Chris Drury (hero of the 1993 Little League World Series, I wish he'd stuck with baseball instead of hockey like Tom Glavine did) and Ryan Callahan to Team USA. No other "locals" -- New York Islanders or Philadelphia Flyers -- are on the roster.

Martin Brodeur and former Devils Captain Scott Niedermayer are on Team Canada, which will be Captained by Calgary's Jarome Iginla. No Rangers, no Islanders, and only one Flyer, new Philly Captain (but hardly a new star) Chris Pronger.

Former Devils Captain Elias will Captain the Czech Republic, where he'll be the only local. The Rangers' Marian Gaborik is Captain of Slovakia. Lundqvist backstops Sweden, where the Devils' Johnny Oduya will be a teammate. Kimmo Timonen of the Flyers will play for Finland, and his Philly teammates Oskar Bartulis will play for Latvia and Ole-Kristian Tollefsen for Norway. Mark Streit is the only Islander in the Olympics, and he'll play for Switzerland. No locals on Russia, although with Alexander Ovechkin, Pavel Datsyuk and Evgeni Malkin, they are loaded, and will probably battle it out with Canada for the Gold Medal. No locals for the other two teams to qualify, Germany and Belarus.

*

Carlos Beltran had surgery for a longstanding injury, and will likely miss Opening Day. He went to his own doctor in Colorado, without even telling Met management or Met medical staff.

This is ridiculous. It's bad enough that the Mets are making Arsenal look positively healthful by comparison. But now, the Met players don't trust their own team's doctors? Come on. Fred Wilpon is becoming more and more of a Charles Dolan, raking in the bucks from his sports operations (son James Dolan runs the Madison Square Garden Corporation and thus the Knicks and Rangers -- runs them into the ground).

Fred needs to do what Big Ed McCaskey, son-in-law of George Halas, did with the Chicago Bears when his son Mike was frittering away the talent from the 1985-86 Super Bowl season: Admit that Sonny Boy is screwing up the franchise, take it back, and give it to someone who has a clue. Someone who will restore organizational credibility. Someone who will make sure that not only will money be thrown out there to potential free agents, but that the organization is committed to winning, not just to profits from cable-TV and marketing the new ballpark.

*

This morning, Mets John Maine and Daniel Murphy -- and Mr. Met -- were on ABC's Good Morning America, promoting the team's annual winter coat drive. Certainly, a worthy cause. GMA news anchor Juju Chang, who admitting to being a big Yankee Fan, told them to "throw those coats in there." Juju, if you're really a Yankee Fan, you'd know: If they could throw, they wouldn't be Mets!

Juju also mentioned that it was only a month until those magical words: "Pitchers and catchers report to spring training." Mr. Met rubbed his hands in anticipation. On that, Ol' Big Head, we agree completely. (If English soccer fans don't mind me using the nickname of the late, great manager Brian Clough -- known, in the H-dropping accent, as "Old Big 'Ead.")

*

Ashley walks up to me and says, "I want to see Yankees!" She means the panoramic 8 x 12 photo I have of the old Stadium in my room, that Mommy (my sister) got me a couple of Christmases ago.

I finally figured it out: She doesn't want to see the Yankees, she just wants to go in my room. Hey, if the devious little girl (she just turned two and a half) wants to come in my room and see stuff (and, more likely, touch stuff), she should just say so. Like her sister Rachel does.

I am very upset at Palmer. Not Jim. Not Arnold. Not even Violet. Hap. Hap Palmer is a singer of children's songs, and he has one titled "Touch Your Toes to Your Nose," to the tune of "Turkey In the Straw." Ashley keeps jumping on the bed and touching her toes to my nose. She's not yet old enough to have stinky feet, but that's not the point. Besides, her feet are usually cold.

Palmer also has a song titled "Daddy Be a Horsie." Ashley doesn't seem to grasp the facts that I am not Daddy, and I am not a horsie. Daddy, my sister's ex, also has a problem with his legs, although not the same as mine, so he can't "be a horsie," either. And both grandfathers, while still alive and somewhat active, are too old to do that sort of thing. (At least they have both grandfathers: By the time I was their age, one of mine was dead, and the other was an invalid due to decades of torrential smoking.)

I'm not really mad at Hap Palmer. After all, somebody has to play those CDs and DVDs for the girls. Thanks a lot, Mom/Nana!




*

Days until the Devils play another local rival: 5, next Monday, a matinee on Martin Luther King Day, against the Islanders at the Nassau Coliseum.

Days until the 2010 Winter Olympics begin in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, right here on this continent, if not in this country: 30. One month.

Days until the NHL's Olympic break ends (at least for the Devils): 48, on Tuesday, March 2.

Days until Opening Day of the 2010 baseball season: 82. Less than 12 weeks.

Days until the next North London Derby between Arsenal and Tottenham: 87, on April 10, 2010 at White Hart Lane.

Days until the Yankees' 2010 home opener: 90. Just 3 months.

Days until the 2010 World Cup begins: 150. Just 5 months.

Days until the World Cup Final: 181. Just 6 months.

Days until the new Meadowlands Stadium (still unnamed) opens: 205.

Days until Rutgers plays football again: 224, presumably on Saturday, September 4. I can't find an official schedule anywhere. They know they're playing Army at Yankee Stadium on November 12, 2011 (that's Army, not Notre Dame, as I said in yesterday's "Top 10 Reasons to Hate Notre Dame" post), but a simple schedule for the calendar year we are now in, isn't available? Only 3 games are fully set (including playing Army in the first college football game at the new Meadowlands Stadium), and even then not completely, as the times could be changed for TV purposes.

Days until East Brunswick plays football again: 240 (presumably), on Friday, September 10.

Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Thanksgiving clash: 316. (Yes, I'm counting it down already.)

Days until Derek Jeter collects his 3,000th career hit: 486 (projected).

Days until the Rutgers-Army football game at Yankee Stadium: 668.