Definition of a Gamer, TV Style  So, I show up to the stadium early, and Kim Jones is already there. John Flaherty shows up a few minutes later.  We all take a little stroll, along with Ken Singleton, in the Great Hall, so we can get a firsthand feel for the place.  It’s great, by the way. You can tell a buddy or best friend… “Dude, (or Dudette), meet me under the Thurman Munson banner.”  Or the Paul O’Neill banner.  Just take your pick of a host of ballplayers. Cool viewing and a great way not to walk around the stadium on your cellphone going, “Where the heck are you?!  No, I DON’T see you?! Oh, really? You’re in your Yankees jersey?!  Well, so are 30,000 other people, Slick!”  Anyway, back to the “gamer” portion of the program… KJ and Flash got in late from Tampa and the road trip… so did Michael Kay and Coney… and all were working on just a few hours’ sleep. Yet, I defy you, if you happened to see the pre or post, or review either, to see vapor trails coming off any of them.  Now, Flash and Kim did mention that they might be slipping into some form of sleep dementia, ever so slightly, during the game.  But, come postgame… Showtime, Baby!  They stepped it up.  True pros.  Same with Coney. You give ’em the ball, even on fumes, they’ll throw it through a brick wall for ya!  That’s a gamer.

Yo, Paulie, What Are You Doing Here?  If Paul O’Neill were any of us, he’d weigh 600 lbs.  That’s just reality. KJ’s blogging about this, too, I believe, but I’m going to Blob about it, because she and I were in the lunchroom at the same time, and I believe in blog revenue sharing…As we’re in line for food in the media lunchroom, Paul O’Neill walks in…it’s a few minutes after 1:09 p.m., also known as “after first pitch.”  I look at Paul and say, “Who’s calling the game today?”  Well, lo and behold, it’s Kay, Singleton and…. oh, I don’t know… what’s his name again… PAUL O’NEILL?!!!!!  We’re on the air and Dude’s in the lunchroom getting some grub!  Took off his headset, left his boothmates behind, walked into the joint and said, FEED ME!  Or at least, show me where to get a plastic plate and some napkins.  So, Paulie eats then.  After I do my Mohegan Sun Sports Bar pop (in which I took a friendly shot at both Flash and Jones!), I return to the YES broadcast booth… and in subsequent interviews during the game, Bernie’s in… the MLB commish is in… and so is the new Archbishop… Paul GLADLY gives up his headset for them…walks off…and as I look to the right by the door, there he is…eating something!  Almost every time!  I’m just telling you… I know he still works out, etc… but can I just grab a bit of whatever incredible genetic composition is in that guy… and duplicate it in a lab?!  For the betterment of Mankind!!!

Musings From the Field Before I Am Re-Caged in the Studio  Musings…that’s what the Blob is all about, isn’t it?  Wherever I go.  After the pregame, I stayed on the field for the opening day ceremonies… one of the great things about Yankees fans is, they just get it… all the Legends come out, they get great applause and cheers…young fans still understand what the Old Timers did… they don’t ignore it, they respect it. You will never see that from any other organization.  A live fly-over by fighter jets will never get old…it’s amazing to see them quietly approach the stadium, then roar across the sky until they quickly disappear.  So awesome. Did you see during the pregame, KJ interviewing Nick Swisher and AJ Burnett gives him a quick smooch as he walks by?  That’s the great thing about live TV… fun stuff happens that you never expect…and it gives you the feeling that these guys like to work hard but have fun, too.  We should all have that attitude, I think.  Work hard, play hard. OK, if anything else comes to mind, I’ll Blob about it tomorrow. Hope you enjoyed the festivities.  Until next time, keep on Blobbin’….