The 16-year old felt as if his world came crashing down on him all at once. With aspirations of becoming a prize fighter, the last three years of training all seemed for naught when he was turned down at the prestigious Golden Gloves tournament in New York because he had a heart murmur, the result of being born with a hole in the organ.
Totally dejected, the youngster shed a few tears and then had a life-changing moment. He met a man by the name of Terry Robinson who told him, “Kid, I used to be a fighter. There’s always someone else that’s going to beat the hell out of you. You don’t need it. You have a nice body. Why don’t you go into bodybuilding?”
The teenager didn’t even know what that was at the time, but took Robinson’s suggestion to join the Adonis Health Club in his home borough of Brooklyn and began to lift weights. Within one year, he had built up enough confidence to enter the Mr. New York City contest. When he stepped on stage next to a much more experienced group of young men, he realized that he had a long way to go. Finishing in last place may have been a blow back then but in retrospect, he viewed it as the “best thing that ever happened” to him.
‘Him,’ of course, is the legendary Dan Lurie, who used to spend five cents on the subway to travel from his home in Canarsie to East New York where the Adonis Health Club was located. Money and proper nutrition were hard to come by in those days, so after every workout Lurie used to have what he called his “favorite health drink – a malted with pretzels.”
By the time he was 19, Lurie had been named America’s Most Muscular Man but was unable to break the monopoly that Bob Hoffman had on the AAU, the controlling body of all competitions. “They always kept me second,” recalled Lurie, who added, “All of his (Hoffman’s) men became Mr. America.”
An example of this occurred at the 1944 Mr. America contest in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Lurie finished as the runner-up to a Hoffman athlete by the name of Steve Stanko, who had a leg condition that prevented him from walking to the stage platform, which was inside of a boxing ring. For effect – and obviously also to hide Stanko’s limitations – the lights would go out while handlers carried Stanko in and out of the ring.
That same year, Lurie’s photograph appeared in an advertisement in “Your Physique” magazine, the precursor of “Muscle & Fitness.” Hoffman then stripped Lurie of his amateur status on the assumption that he was paid for it, but as Lurie put it, “I didn’t get a penny.” In another case of ‘us versus them,’ John Grimek appeared in advertisements on numerous occasions in “Strength & Health” magazine, but because both were under the Hoffman umbrella, it was overlooked.
Lurie began selling his own weight sets and partnered up with Joe Weider in promoting the products in “Your Physique.” After three years, the relationship deteriorated and by 1950, Lurie had become the first bodybuilder on television when he joined the Sealtest Big Top Show on CBS.
Every Saturday from 12 to 1:00 p.m., ‘Sealtest Dan’ performed feats of strength on the highest-rated children’s program, which was also the first to be shown in color. Although he did receive a salary, Lurie also enjoyed the fringe benefits of working for a company like Sealtest. “I got free ice cream, 20 gallons at a time,” Lurie said with a laugh. “I gave them out to everybody. I went through the toll booths on the New Jersey Turnpike and I gave out a gallon to all of them. I had to unload it because it would only melt, so I made friends with a lot of people along the way.”
By the time the next decade rolled around, Lurie had formed his own federation, the World Body Building Guild, and started a magazine called Muscle Training Illustrated, which eventually branched out into more publications – Fitness & Nutrition, Body Talk, Boxing Training Illustrated, Wrestling Training Illustrated, Karate Training Illustrated and Hot Rock Magazine, which covered music.
“I had a certain formula and the whole thing was to get an editor who was knowledgeable in that field,” said Lurie. “I bought my own print paper and didn’t have any overhead because I used my barbell business as an office. That’s what helped me keep the costs down and to make them grow. I was very proud of it.”
Another thing that Lurie was proud of was his WBBG, which included the Mr. Olympus contest. “I had them all, you name them,” he says now. “I even had Reg Park, who was on the first cover of my magazine in 1965. I had Sergio Oliva, Boyer Coe, Chris Dickerson, Steve Michalik, Harold Poole, Freddy Ortiz, Jim Morris, Lou Ferrigno…you can’t even remember them all.”
After 35 years of publishing, Lurie decided that it was time to retire. “I wanted to enjoy my time with my wife and my family and that’s what my goal was.” Throughout the years, he met some great people, including President Ronald Reagan in the oval office.
Today, Lurie, 86, still works out and has just released a book entitled “Heart of Steel – The Dan Lurie Story.” He is also part of a team that runs the annual Mr. And Mrs. Jones Beach USA contest along with Michalik and female bodybuilder Emy Silvagni.
“We have big plans for this year,” Lurie said of the show scheduled for August 9 on Long Island. “It’s going to be bigger and better. We’re going to have it officially known as the Muscle Beach of the East.”
With a man like Dan Lurie behind it, the show was an immediate success last summer in its inaugural run. The legend himself has given new meaning to putting your ‘heart and soul’ into a project.
He knew Chris Benoit and found it hard to believe that the same man was capable of committing such acts. A double-murder-suicide is shocking regardless of who is involved. Someone in the public eye polarizes that even more.
DiBiase, known in the wrestling circuit as ‘The Million Dollar Man’ and is currently a full time evangelist and motivational speaker for the Heart of David Ministry, had a hard time accepting what occurred that fateful weekend in June. “[Benoit] is the last guy that anyone would have suspected to be capable of doing what he did,” he said. “In his right mind, he wouldn’t have. There’s got to be something deep-seeded. A mental problem.”
Unfortunately, no one will ever know exactly what occurred in the Benoit home during those three days in June. What drives a man to bind and kill his wife; asphyxiate his 7 year-old son the following morning; and then take his own life via hanging a day later?
“Who spent the most time with the guy?” wondered Carmine Azzato, known as ‘Demolition Blast’ professionally. “There had to be some sign that something was going on. They keep saying that he was the best guy. There was no sign of some rage?”
Azzato knew Benoit from their days together when both wrestled for the NJPW (New Japan Pro Wrestling). He remembered him back then as being “skinny with a mullet,” and “always having a black eye or a bump.”
Benoit arrived in Japan in 1989, adopted a masked identity known as ‘The Pegasus Kid’ and won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight championship a year later. What transformed this thin-framed man competing in the juniors to the muscle-bound hulk that packed 220 pounds to his 5′10″ frame?
“JUMPIN’ ON THE JUICE”
Toxicology reports completed on Benoit showed that he tested positive for Xanax and hydrocodone and an elevated level of testosterone, and negative for anabolic steroids. Investigators also discovered prescriptions for anabolic steroids at the crime scene. In April, Benoit passed a drug test for the WWE administered by Aegis Labs. How widespread are steroids in the wrestling industry?
“Very widespread,” said Will Kaye, who has been wrestling in the independent circuit since 1996, most recently with the PWR (Pro Wrestling Revolution) and is known as ‘Brimstone.’ “The kids today think that the only way to get that spot is to look like ‘The Rock’ or ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin. At least 60 percent of the roster has done an illegal substance at one point in their career. You’re on the road over 300 days a year. Where do you find the time to work out that much? That’s why they take that stuff”
Azzato, who stands at 6′7″ and 350 pounds and has been wrestling for over 20 years, painted a clearer picture of the problem. “I personally witnessed guys shooting up steroids overseas in India, Germany. I was personally asked to do steroids. They even named them-Winstrol and Dianabol. People told me that if I really want to have my career take off [to take steroids], at my natural size, I would be a monster.”
Azzato and Kaye both stated that they have never used performance-enhancing drugs. “I saw what people go through,” Azzato said. “The mood swings, the rages. The guys that shoot up in the locker room, you’re in the ring with them 20 minutes later. They’re like a thoroughbred.
“Just one word, they erupt,” Azzato continued. “Being in this business 20 years, I’ve seen a lot of eruptions over the years.”
Bobby Riedel, an agent for some of the top names that have gone through the WWF/WWE such as DiBiase, Greg ‘The Hammer’ Valentine and George ‘The Animal’ Steele, admits that there are steroids present in wrestling. “I think it’s there,” he said. “I think that it was more then than now because it was legal then. I’ve seen some of [the wrestlers] inject steroids in the dressing room, stars - but not in the WWE.”
Riedel commented on the OVW (Ohio Valley Wrestling), which is an independent promotion and serves as the official training ground for the WWE. “No one is going to say to you that you have to jump on the juice. But it could be implied. What they want you to look like is a pro wrestler. That doesn’t mean that you have to take steroids. But you can’t look like a backyard wrestler. I will be willing to say that steroids are implied.”
” I know for a fact that a lot of guys in the OVW, if they’re looking small, someone, maybe even one of their peers, would say to them that the may need to take something,” Kaye said. “It’s killing them early. For 10 or 12 years of fame, you’re losing your life. Is it worth it?
“They do their cycles [of anabolic steroids] and say, ‘we’ll be on and we’ll be off.’ They’re killing themselves. Look at ‘Davey Boy’ Smith [former WWF star who passed away in 2002 at the age of 39 of an enlarged heart with evidence of microscopic scar tissue, possibly from steroid use]. He has a son that’s training as a wrestler and his father goes and dies. Now that is going to taint his son.”
“Steroids are present all over athletics now,” said Gary Rannazzisi, who wrestled on the independent scene in the ESW, PWA and PWR as ‘The Italian Sensation.’ “They’re training in the gym, lifting weights. That’s where the pressure starts.”
Azzato further commented on the wrestlers he witnessed using steroids back stage before bouts, “They’re still alive and active, and people look up to them as role models. I don’t want to say their names.
“It’s in the business,” he continued. “I’m not saying Vince [McMahon, Chairman of the WWE Board of Directors] says you have to do steroids, but you look at some of the guys - they’re freaks of nature.”
DiBiase was not one of the biggest, but still a very successful wrestler in his prime. His feelings are that in order to succeed in the business, you have to be athletic and have charisma, as well.
“It’s not always the great big guys,” he said. “Look At Rey Mysterio. Any pressure is pressure that you put on yourself. At no time did I ever get pressured to take steroids. Do I think McMahon would expect the wrestler to look like an athlete and have presence in the gym? Absolutely. But I don’t think that anyone has been pressured to take steroids. I can only speak from personal experience. It may de different for other guys.”
‘THE ROCK ‘N’ ROLL LIFESTYLE’
Perhaps even more responsible for some of the tragedies in the wrestling world than steroids has been the ‘partying’ with so-called ‘recreational’ drugs and alcohol. Painkillers are also a problem, and go hand-in-hand with the physical abuse that their bodies take on a nightly basis.
The argument will be that wrestling is fake. A better way to put it is that it is fixed. The outcome of the match may be known before the combatants enter the squared circle, but they still have to entertain. And there is no way to fake falling from atop a steel cage to the ground.
The stars of professional wrestling can be on the road for more than 80 percent of the calendar year, going from city to city. The travel and demand can be stressful, and at times, they have resorted to drugs and alcohol.
“It’s not just the steroids killing the athletes now,” Rannazzisi said. “It’s the lifestyle, the painkillers, the cocaine and amphetamines.”
At one point in his career, DiBiase also had a problem with ‘The Lifestyle.’ “I use myself as an example,” he said. “I succumbed to the temptations of the road. The drugs, alcohol and women. At that point in my life when I got confronted with it, I made a decision. Ted DiBiase had to make a conscious decision to do something about it. It wasn’t Vince McMahon’s fault that I was doing it.”
Azzato began traveling as a professional wrestler at the impressionable young age of 17 and also fell victim to the temptations. “Back then, I’d go out for a drink, we’d get hammered. When I got married at 21, I stopped. Seeing what I see, the painkillers and alcohol in this business, it’s ridiculous. Some guys even went into the ring intoxicated.”
Rannazzisi elaborated on what goes on when the lights and speakers aren’t on. “Living in and out of hotels every day. Planes, eating on the run, the pounding in the ring and going out partying - the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle.”
Azzato added, “You always knew the wrestlers were there because they were loud and putting the beer and liquor away.”
Steroids are not the only issue here, as these gentlemen have made perfectly clear.
DEATHS IN PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING
Wrestlers have died at an alarming rate since 1985. Not all of them have left us due to drugs and the like. There have been accidents and injuries suffered in the ring, as well. But to have a list of 96 names that have died before the age of 65, leaving this earth as a result of old age is not in the cards if you are a wrestler.
Eddie Guerrero was a big name wrestler in the WCW and WWF/WWE and had numerous issues with steroids and drug abuse. In 2002, he died at the age of 38 due to what the coroner ruled as heart disease, complicated by an enlarged heart resulting from a history of anabolic steroid use.
“I met Eddie at an independent show at the Elks Lodge in Queens in about 2002,” said Kaye. “He had lost his job with the WWF due to the drug use - not the steroids. That was his down period. You can tell he was a beaten man.
“One of the best guys that I ever met. A class act. He was friendly and opened his arms to you. He kicked the habit and stopped with everything - even the ‘roids. He went back there (WWE) and they gave him a championship. I even cried that day. I was very happy to see that. And then he had his heart attack. It was a big loss.”
“What’s killing them?” DiBiase said, asking himself the question. “Most of them died from recreational drugs and alcohol.”
On August 13, Brian Adams was found by his wife unconscious. Responding paramedics could not revive the 43 year-old retired wrestler. His career in the WWF began in 1990 as ‘Crush,’ the third member of ‘Demolition’ along with Ax and Smash. It was speculated that Adams used steroids, but autopsy and toxicology reports were still unavailable at press time.
Adams remained a member of Demolition after Ax, Bill Eadie, had a falling out with the WWF, which resulted in a lawsuit over the name ‘Demolition.’ In 1992, Eadie and Azzato joined as a tag-team known as the ‘New Demolition’ - Ax and Blast,’ and competed in the UWS, IWF and NWA-NY. Because of their tight friendship, Azzato may have lost a chance at wrestling stardom.
In January of 1993, Azzato had ‘Classy’ Freddie Blassie, a wrestling legend, contact the WWF on his behalf. He was invited down to wrestle in a ‘dark match’ (not televised) on a WWF Monday Night RAW card. Following that, Azzato attempted to contact the WWF on numerous occasions without receiving a return call.
“Blassie told me that they [WWE] have an issue with Eadie, and that Vince hated him,” Azzato said. “Blassie said that if I ever wanted to see the WWF, I had to separate myself with Eadie. I committed career suicide. But I was not going to waver my friendship with Bill.”
Azzato did not know Adams well enough to comment on his possible steroid use.
SHAM DRUG TESTS?
The WWE first instituted drug testing in 1987 and in February 2006, instituted the Talent Wellness Program as a deterrent to steroid and drug abuse. “We believe our Wellness Program is at the very least comparable to those of professional sports and is a program that will benefit WWE superstars for generations to come,” the WWE released in a statement. “For 20 years the WWE has been doing something to address the issue of steroid and drug use.”
Jennifer McIntosh, Vice President of Media Relations for the WWE, said in a statement, “The substance abuse and drug portion of the Talent Wellness Program is one of the most aggressive of its kind compared to testing programs initiated by competitive sports organizations such as the NFL, Major League Baseball, NHL, NBA, NCAA and the International Olympic Committee, and is unique for an entertainment company.”
“I believe that Vince’s policy is as stringent as any,” DiBiase said. “They have a ‘3 strikes’ policy. First, a 30-day suspension without pay. Second, a 60-day suspension without pay. And third time - you’re gone.”
Critics have knocked the WWE’s drug testing, which apparently allows for a higher testosterone level than other sports before considering a test ‘positive,’ and that it prohibits only ‘non-medical’ use of banned drugs, giving a wrestler with a failed test an opportunity to produce a doctor’s note. Are these tests a sham?
“I think so,” said Azzato. “But that’s only my opinion. On the road, they [wrestlers] would drink vinegar to wash drugs out. They had a remedy for everything, either the juice or from smoking weed. They gave them a 24-hour notice in the WWE. I don’t know how strict they are with it.
“McMahon has the power to stop it in his company,” he continued. “He has to say ‘zero tolerance.’ He’s got to say that this guy was tested and suspended. And that means from the most popular to the least popular. Any wrestler.”
Kaye feels that testing is a step in the right direction. “I thinks it’s positive that he’s [McMahon} doing the testing. If they move forward with it, it will be better for business. You're keeping guys healthier."
What is the answer? "There is no answer," said Kaye. "There's always going to be somebody that wants to take it to the next level. If somebody is selling it, someone will be there to buy it. If it's not wrestling, it'll be baseball or football."
In a statement, the WWE said that they "find the abuse of drugs to be unacceptable," and that they "discourage" such behavior. The statement further reads that they "cannot account for the poor personal decisions a small minority may make outside the workplace."
'ROID RAGE?
The Benoit case is extremely complicated in that there had to be so much going on in his mind that led him to the tragedy. The easy culprit is to blame his actions on steroids. But is that so easy to determine? Everyone that we interviewed came to the same conclusion that an incident that took place over the span of time that occurred could not have been as a result of a rage caused by steroids.
"The media is going to make this a steroids issue," Riedel said. "I don't want people to forget that three people died and what drove this person to do this. People are saying it's 'roid rage. But not over three days.
"I don't believe that steroids caused this. It was way too thought out to be 'roids."
"Whatever was the beginning of it, there was a lot of thought. He was mentally unstable," said Azzato. "It was more than steroids. I didn't know the lifestyle he lived at that point. But to do something that crazy..."
"That's deeper than 'roid rage-over three days?" said Rannazzisi.
"Bottom line is, we all have out demons," DiBiase said.
The phenomenon known as 'roid rage' is something that would seem to occur in an instant, similar to what Azzato called an 'eruption.' The Benoit case has many differences with the time frame and the way the bodies were discovered. Bibles were found next to his wife and son's bodies, which has been speculated as Benoit trying to absolve their souls.
TIME OFF
Considering that wrestling does not have a season, per say, there is no 'offseason' for the wrestlers to have time off to recuperate and spend time at home.
Insider websites reported that Benoit had requested some time off before the incident took place to 'get his mental health in order' and was denied by the WWE. He was allegedly told to 'stay with it a little longer' and then he would be granted the time.
In the past, Benoit did request and was granted time off. "I know that Benoit had three months off while his wife had surgery," said DiBiase. "If you say to them that you need some time off, they'll (WWE) work with you and give it to you. Two times in my career when I desperately needed the time off when I almost got divorced, I was given it. I was part of the tag-team champions with I.R.S. and I went to Vince and explained it to him. He told me I got it and to come back when I can."
The WWE responded in regards to the question of Benoit requesting time off with, "Over the years, we have worked to reduce talent travel and time away from home," McIntosh said in a statement. "We provide time off for talent to address personal issues, as we did for Chris Benoit when he took time off from May to October in 2006." McIntosh further stated that the WWE does not have a record of Benoit requesting any time off in 2007.
'YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT THE INDIVIDUAL'
The general consensus is that you cannot place the blame on the WWE for what happened with Benoit, or for the matter, any wrestler that chooses to use steroids. Everyone makes their own decisions in life, and unfortunately, some of those decisions lead to tragedies.
"You have to look at the individual and not the company," Riedel said. "who knows what they're doing in their private time?"
Kaye added, "My biggest thing is that you can't blame an industry on what one person decides."
"He's [McMahon] not their babysitter,” said Azzato. “A guy is going to do what he wants to, regardless.”
DiBiase concluded, “At what point do we hold responsible those people for their actions? What do you want McMahon to do? The NBA to do? The NFL to do? They talk about unions. I don’t know what that will do.
“Can improvements be made? There’s always room for improvement in everything.”
In this instance, improvements may save a life or two.
Once the position players arrive, intra-squad games start, and eventually exhibition contests played against other teams. It is a relatively light atmosphere, with players being led through exercises on the outfield grass and managers seated on lawn chairs near the dugout. If you didn’t know any better, you may mistakenly think that those guys in the batting practice jerseys and caps are part of the shuffleboard or bingo crowd nearby.
That’s baseball.
Football is a different story.
NFL training camps opened at the end of July without the smiles and soft tosses. Two-a-days in helmets and pads under a brutal sun and temperatures nearing 100 degrees will never be mistaken for anything but what it is: complete and full preparation for 16 regular season and hopefully playoff games.
The reps done in July and August may seem trivial at the time, even to some of the players. But something perfected here can transcend into a much larger stage down the road.
While beaming in the victorious Indianapolis locker room, Super Bowl XLI MVP Peyton Manning spoke of how the rainy conditions did not affect him, unlike the Bears’ Rex Grossman.
“In training camp, we did wet ball drills by dunking a ball in a pail of water to practice snapping the ball,” Manning said in February. “Jeff (Colts center Saturday) was asking why. But doing that definitely helped me tonight.”
Following OTA’s and mini-camps, coaching staffs around the league prepared for the opening of the month long marathon before NFL Kickoff Weekend begins on Thursday, September 6. Veterans and rookie free agents alike will be working on the practice field and in the classroom learning the playbook that will be used throughout the long season.
“Training camp is about putting in the whole playbook,” Jets head coach Eric Mangini said. “You put everything in at that point and you review all the different facets of the system because you don’t know when you’re going to have to pull out certain things, and you want to have those reps, and the learning built up, and be able to draw on that experience.”
For players on the bubble, every snap in practice and the preseason games may be either their highlight or downfall. A visit by ‘The Turk’ when players start being released is always lurking, and two dates jump off the calendar for the fringe players. August 28 is the first hurdle when rosters must be cut down to 75 players. Only a few days later on September 1, the number decreases to 53. Those last 10 days can get extremely competitive in camp.
Even for players that are assured of a roster spot, the preparation during camp still has major importance. “For me, it’s about being available and making sure that I’m available for another 16 games,” Jets quarterback Chad Pennington said. “It’s all about consistency and the great thing about this league is that what you have done in the past has no bearing on the upcoming season. All 32 teams have a shot to be successful.”
There will be many questions being asked as camps open up, and hopefully they can be answered by the time they close. One close to home is how the Giants will replace Tiki Barber. Although Brandon Jacobs and newcomer Reuben Droughns are talented, having a questionable backfield will add more pressure on QB Eli Manning.
JaMarcus Russell was the overall first pick in the draft by the 2-14 Oakland Raiders, and the fans in the Black Hole will be chanting for him if he isn’t named the starter in training camp. But is he ready to step in and make an impact?
In New England, did the rich get richer with the acquisition of wide receiver Randy Moss? Does the Chicago Bears’ defense have enough depth to overcome the release of the troubled ‘Tank’ Johnson?
In Denver, Jay Cutler enters camp as the Broncos’ starting QB in his second season. His situation is similar to the one in San Diego a year ago with Phillip Rivers, who took over for Drew Brees and led the Chargers to a 14-2 record, good enough for first place in the competitive AFC West.
The AFC was far superior to the NFC in 2006, with five teams versus three in double-digit wins. Only four AFC teams finished below .500, while seven NFC clubs could not win half their games. The worst AFC division winner had 12 wins, while the Seattle Seahawks won the NFC West at 9-7.
What does this all mean for 2007? It remains to be seen, although the AFC is still viewed as the deeper conference.
It all culminates on February 3 in Arizona.
Play ball.
A wild final minute in regulation time saw three lead changes and two tied scores. Off a missed three-point attempt by Charles Jones with Strong Island leading 98-97, Ricky Johns converted a fast break to give Westchester a one-point advantage. The Sound came down the court and former Minnesota Timberwolves second-round draft choice Gordon Malone was fouled underneath. The 6′11″ center hit one of two to knot things up at 99 with 50 seconds left.
The Sound then had a stop on defense and pushed the ball in the paint to Malone, who was fouled again with seven seconds left. After front rimming the first attempt, he made the second to give his team a 100-99 lead. Westchester rushed the ball over the time line and head coach Teresa Weatherspoon called time out with five seconds to go. The ex-New York Liberty star called a play for Johns in the corner, who was double-teamed. Somehow, he was able to throw up a desperation three-point shot that banked in, giving the home team a 102-100 lead.
“He was trapped,” Sound head coach Dytanya Mixson said. “You couldn’t ask for a better defensive effort. We’re only up by one so you can’t foul.”
With only two ticks remaining, Mixson called time out and instructed Raphael Edwards to inbound the ball to the top of the key on the opposite end to Shawn Simpson. With the ball in flight, Simpson was held by Jomo Belfor, sending him to the line for two free throws. With ice water in his veins, the man nicknamed ‘Murder’ calmly sank both attempts to send the game into overtime.
“The only thing that mattered to me at that time (following regulation) was to tell my players to let it go,” Weatherspoon said following the game. “We’ve got three minutes.”
Belfor opened up the extra session with a three-pointer, and the Phantoms never looked back. When the lead swelled to seven, the Sound could not find their touch and had to resort to fouling to keep the clock from winding down. Westchester was very effective from the charity stripe all day and was able to maintain a comfortable cushion.
Mixson reflected on what happened in the overtime period. “That shot (three-pointer by Johns) just took the air out of the balloon,” he said. “They worked so hard in the fourth quarter.”
Early in the game, it appeared that Strong Island would come away the victor, opening up a 23-9 lead following a 10-0 run after the first 8:10 of action. Sean Dantzler came off the bench and immediately contributed by hitting from beyond the arc, helping Strong Island maintain their lead and the score was 31-21 at the end of the first quarter.
The Phantoms went on a 6-2 run to start the second quarter and were able to keep it close. A turning point in the quarter was Belfor getting fouled while attempting a three-pointer with the 3-D rule in effect. Belfor, a local favorite from Mount Vernon, hit all four attempts from the line and the game was even at 33 at the 8:55 mark.
Richard Pollack worked hard underneath and gave Westchester their first lead since the early going on a put-back, 49-48, with 2:35 left in the first half. The Phantoms outscored the Sound by 11 in the second quarter and led at halftime, 57-56.
Starting off the third similar to the way they ended the second, the Phantoms hit a quick three and a two to lengthen the lead. They were beating the taller Sound players to the boards on the offensive end, making their opponent pay for being slow on defense.
Dantzler ignited a Strong Island run by hitting two jumpers and then followed that up with one from downtown off a steal by Jones to give the Sound the lead again with 3:57 left in the third. The Phantoms responded and led 85-81 heading into the fourth quarter.
End to end action led up to the frenzy in the final minute, and the crowd at Peekskill High School was very vocal in their support of their new team, which moved from Brooklyn at the completion of the 2006-07 season.
Elton Brand’s alma mater was definitely a lively place during and after the game, and his high school basketball jersey was displayed proudly on the wall behind one of the baskets. His mother, Daisy, and brother Artie McGriff are the Phantoms’ owners and the Los Angeles Clippers star must have been proud of his family and the good win.
The folks in attendance cheered the loudest for Weatherspoon, the former WNBA Defensive Player of the Year who retired after the 2004 season. She had the same intensity from her days with the Liberty and Los Angeles Sparks and is a very good addition to the league. “I really love it,” Weatherspoon said regarding her first ABA experience. “What I really like the most are the young men that I’m involved with every day.”
The Sound look to rebound in their next game on Friday, November 9 in Delaware against the expansion First State Fusion. Strong Island’s home opener is on Sunday, November 11 at 7:15 p.m at Suffolk Community College in Selden versus the Fusion. Tickets are available at the door and by visiting www.strongislandsound.com.
When the expansion Metropolitan Baseball Club was looking for the right combination back in 1962, they went in a different direction. Instead of hiring familiar New York names, they inked Ralph Kiner, Bob Murphy and Lindsey Nelson as their television and radio personnel.
Kiner was a slugging outfielder that came up with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1946 and hit 51 home runs in just his second season. He spent eight years with the Bucs and also played for the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians before retiring in 1955 at the young age of 32 due to a back injury. His announcing days began in 1961 with the Chicago White Sox. Murphy began his illustrious broadcasting career working in his home state of Oklahoma calling games for a Cincinnati Reds farm team, and then in 1954, moved up to work alongside the great Curt Gowdy doing Boston Red Sox games. After a two-year stint with the Baltimore Orioles, Murph’s call of Roger Maris’ 60th home run in 1961 became part of his audition tape that landed him the Mets’ job. Nelson, who will always be remembered for his loud sports jackets, took a different route to Flushing. He started out broadcasting football games for the University of Tennessee in 1948, later did the play-by-play of the Cotton Bowl and was the voice of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. In 1957, Nelson began doing baseball broadcasts on the NBC television network.
The three jelled on WOR-TV and became a sign of the times. “Kiner’s Korner” was a must-see following the game and will always be a page in Mets history. They remained a part of the New York baseball community for 17 seasons before Nelson left the east coast to work for the San Francisco Giants in 1979.
Sadly, Kiner is the only surviving member of the original three. Nelson passed away at the age of 76 in 1995, and Murphy died in 2004 at 79.
Fast forward to 2006. The Mets were starting up their own network, SportsNet New York, and needed a strong presence in the booth. The man that Murphy passed the microphone to when he retired in 2003 was none other than Gary Cohen, who was his radio broadcast partner for 15 years on WFAN. The Queens native was tabbed to be the play-by-play man on the fledging network, and none other than two heroes from the Mets’ glory days in the 1980’s, Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez, would flank him.
“It’s like a frat house,” Cohen said of the three-man booth. “They [Darling and Hernandez] both have so much knowledge that they bring to the table. Ron with the pitching and Keith with hitting and defense. And they have a great sense of humor.”
What sets them apart from the average broadcast team is that light-hearted approach, and Hernandez can always be counted on to bring up a subject that will encourage laughter.
“I’m never liked a dry, straight broadcast,” the former Met first-sacker said. ” I am conscious of it and do it on purpose. I grew up in San Francisco listening to Russ Hodges and Ron Simmons. They spoke about where they were going to eat on the air. When they were in New York, they would talk about the Russian Tea Room and Toot Shor’s. I always found that exciting.”
Darling, who began his broadcasting career a decade after retiring from the game and served as the color commentator for the Washington Nationals during the 2005 season, agrees that ’stuffed shirts’ in the booth is not their style. “With Keith, he keeps it light,” he said. “It’s important to know the nuts and bolts of the game, but we’re also here to entertain the fans for three hours.”
Perhaps one of the biggest differences between the 1962 booth and today’s is that all three have strong New York ties, and two are former players. That goes a long way when calling the complicated strategies of today’s game.
“They both are so intelligent and can convey their knowledge,” said Cohen. “There are plenty of former players in broadcasting, but what sets them apart is their knowledge.”
Darling, who won a 2006 Emmy Award for ‘Best Sports Analyst,’ commented, “Keith is a student of the game. He is inquisitive about the pitching side of the game. Even off the air, he’ll ask me about it.”
Hernandez has been serving as a Mets analyst since 2001 on MSG, and agrees that having a former teammate seated next to him is a big plus. “The importance of that is that Ron is a pitcher,” he said. “I was on a non-pitching side. He brings that to the broadcast.”
In only their second season together, the three seem to have great chemistry, not unlike their early predecessors. “Gary is like the rudder in the ship,” Darling said. “All those years working with Murph, he’s tireless.
“I’m like the great mediator sitting in the middle of them,” Darling continued. “Keith is old school, and Gary is like a walking museum to Met history. I just enjoy working with this group.”
“I think it’s worked out great,” Hernandez added. “There’s not any selfishness. We go out of our way to make sure that no one dominates the broadcast.”
Cohen may be the legacy from that first three-man team, even though Kiner still sits in as a guest announcer from time to time. He is a throwback to those more innocent days, and his inspiration was never very far from him. “I grew up listening to Bob, Ralph and Lindsey,” he said. “Working with Murph was an incredible honor. Bob had an ability to bring the game home in the late innings [for the listeners].”
Darling may not have grown up in the Big Apple like Cohen, but understands what those names mean to the franchise. “Anytime we try to live up to any of those guys…,” he said without having to finish the statement.
“We’re so lucky,” Darling further commented. “Last year, we went to the 7th game of the NLCS. Those guys [1962 Mets] lost 120 games. I don’t have enough talent to keep the people entertained through that. How did they keep everything so light and fun? They dedicated most of their time to Casey Stengel. [The fans] had that as a foundation back in ‘62. We can’t compare ourselves to them.”
If there is any group that can come close to the long tenure that Kiner and company had, it would be this one. “Gary is the face of the Mets. I think he’ll be here forever,” said Darling. “I hope that the Wilpons would love to have me around.”
Hernandez commented on carrying on the tradition, “I would hope so. They are great announcers and Hall of Fame announcers.
“I love Ralph and I loved Murph,” Hernandez added. “We’re in a relay race and just got the baton from Ralph and Murph.”
Mets fans can only hope that this new trio is still running for many years to come.
One of Arnold’s ‘Early’ Training Partners, Leon Brown, Still Going Strong -
The loud knock at the front door of 15 Horizon Avenue one early Sunday morning woke up 20-year-old bodybuilder Leon Brown and his friend Greg, much to their surprise because the two New Yorkers did not know that many people in their new home in California.
When Brown opened the door, it was none other than Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was also 20 at the time. “C’mon, get up,” he said to Brown in his now-famous Austrian accent. After a quick bite to eat, they went to Gold’s Gym to train together, and they would do so for the next year.
They met by chance the previous day back in 1969 when Brown and Greg happened to walk by Schwarzenegger and Art Zeller, the famous bodybuilding photographer, playing a game of chess on Santa Monica Beach.
“My friend said to me, ‘Who’s the guy with the big arms?’ I knew Artie (Zeller) back from New York and he introduced Arnold to me,” recalled Brown. “We started talking and Arnold asked me where I lived, which was a block away from ‘The Pit’ (the original Muscle Beach).”
Brown, 62, moved out west from Staten Island for the same reasons so many other aspiring bodybuilders did, but he had been training for six years already and won two of the six contests he entered. “I started competing at 18,” he said.
He finished as the runner-up in the 1966 IFBB Mr. Eastern America in the Teen Short class in his rookie show. Two years later, he tasted victory for the first time by taking the Medium class of the IFBB North American Championships and followed that up with an overall win at the 1968 Mr. New York City contest.
In between, Brown had competed in the 1967 IFBB Mr. Eastern America (second place), 1967 IFBB Mr. Universe (eighth) and Dan Lurie’s 1968 WBBG Pro Mr. America (fourth). Looking to take that step up to the next level, he packed his bags and found himself in sunny California.
“It was 100 percent different,” Brown remembered. “When I walked into Gold’s Gym for the first time, I had never seen a gym like that in my life. It was my first week out there and Joe Gold said to me, ‘Pay me when you get a job. Just go train.’”
Brown had a friend that attended the University of Southern California and he helped get him find employment at the college as a janitor pulling the 5:00 PM to 1:00 AM shift. “I wasn’t like these other guys that didn’t have a job,” he said. “I trained in the morning with Arnold and those guys and at night I went to work.”
By 1970, Brown didn’t have to worry about paying any gym dues after he more than met a challenge that that Joe Gold made to him. “One day I walked into the gym and this guy named Art Peacock starts posing in front of me,” Brown vividly recalled. “Joe said to me that if I could beat this guy he would give me a free lifetime membership.”
Of course, Brown won the Mr. Western America that year hands down. Peacock? “He came in sixth. Not even in the top five,” Brown said with a laugh.
His four and a half-year stay out west may have been much longer if Brown had taken up an offer from none other than Joe Weider back in the early 1970s. “He offered me a contract if I stayed out there but I came back here to New York,” said Brown. “I messed up.”
Perhaps so, but Brown didn’t miss a beat by winning the 1974 IFBB Mr. Eastern America once he was back on familiar soil. He continued to show perseverance by placing in the top three in the vast majority of contests he entered throughout the rest of that decade and the next one.
After taking the 1990s off, Brown returned to the stage in 2000 by finishing second in the NPC Masters Nationals 50-plus Lightweight division. He also competed in the 2002 and 2003 Masters Olympia.
Still training today, Brown is going to don the posing trunks once again at this year’s Atlantic City Pro, Masters Short Over 60 class. “I still can squat 450 pounds for at least six good reps,” he said proudly, and rightfully so. “No spotter and I don’t even use (knee) wraps.”
It will be Brown’s first show since 2006 and he not only sounds ready, but looks the part, too. Come to think of it, wouldn’t it be fitting for him to win again on the 40th anniversary of meeting the great Austrian Oak? The two remain friends to this day and see one another every year in Columbus, Ohio at the Arnold Classic.
Schwarzenegger may be many miles away in his governor’s office on September 12 as his good friend Leon Brown takes the stage for what may be the final time, but you know that both men will have their mind on each other.