<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Journeyman:
Winky , I remember that story about Berman you told, the gambling related story..Could you tell it again ?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
***sure - but for those who have seen or read the GREAT michael freeman book from 2000 "espn the uncensored history" - it is in there starting on page 106.
back in 1982 - before satellite and the internet really took off, it wasn't uncommon for games to start at times different than expected. in this case, the game was set to start @ 7:30P (eastern time) in san diego - but instead started @ 7P. this was unknown to the local bookie - but known to the espn staff. the giants scored 6 in the top of the 1st inning. when the people working @ espn called their local guy(s) - they were told the giants/padres game started @ 7:30P - and they could STILL bet the game. this despite the fact - unknown to the bookie - the game started @ 7P and by the time everyone from espn called - the game was 6-0 SF. so basically everyone at espn bet whatever they could get their hands on with SF since they were up 6-0. how berman gets involved here is that some PA was going to put the score up on espn for all to see. he was all set to do it when chris berman told him NOT to do so. the kid basically told boomer (what bermna is called there) he had to update the score. berman knew if the kid did this all bets on SF would cease - and maybe even be nullified. he told the kid NOT to do it. the kid said he had to do it. berman finally told the kid NOT to do it - and the kid obliged. so now basically 90% of all employees of espn have a monster sized play on SF knowing they made it when SF was up 6-0 over SD. they were feeling really good. that is until SD made it 6-2 in the 4th, then 6-3 then 6-4 and finally they tied it in the bottom of the 9th inning. SD then WON THE GAME in extra innings - much to the shock and dismay of just about everyone who worked there - most of them bet money they didn't have - since who the hell expects to lose a game when you are leading 6-0 after 1/2 inning - and THEN you are allowed to make the bet. i got to espn 9 years after this game and it was strill brought up there about once a month. now - odds are almost none they could get away wth it today - but back in 1982 - it wasn't as tough to do.
as the book says, bristol is not exactly the kind of place where nightlife is alive and prospering. it is about 20 miles west of hartford. when you drive towards espn, there is basically nothing but farms and houses - and then SUDDENLY - THERE IS ESPN! for those who have ever driven to vegas from the L.A. area - it is somewhat like that - in that once you get out there on the way - there is NOTHING but road. the out of nowhere you get to barstow - and there are signs of life. then once you pass barstow - basically nothing for another 60 miles until you get to baker. that is what espn is like - something in the middle of nothing. when i was there - nothing was across the street except a mcdonald's, friendly's and a radisson hotel (fyi - EVERYONE from out of town who comes to bristol to work who doesn't live in the area - for example during football seasons - guys like steve young, sterling sharpe, tom, jackson, etc. - ALL stay at the bristol radisson since it is about a 2 minute WALK to espn right across the street. i know when bill sample used to do "baseball tonight" we would go back to his hotel room after the show - and his bathtub was FILLED with nothing but ice and bottles of beer)
now - as for what jjgold said - he is partly right. for the most part it is the somewhat OLDER guys who bet there - for they make more money. they are higher up on the "food chain" than the young (mostly) guys who are P.A.'s making squat per hour (in 1991 i made $7.50/hour - but was greatly helped by the fact i put in at least 10-20 hours a week of OT @ $11.25/hour - and keep in mind, you could share a rather large 2-bedroom apartment in bristol for around $700 a month - so if you were smart with your money - you could make do on the chump change espn paid you - espcially since all the P.A.'s made most of their long distance calls at work since no one really kept a watchful eye on that kind of stuff - unlike now from what i have been told by friends who work there). i know they had pools for golf (you picked a different golfer every week - like a football suicide pool - and whatever money he won - you got credit for it - and whoever had the most money at season's end won the pool - which was always multiple $100s), the ncaas (the woman - yes a woman - who won it - took duke that year over the powerhouse unlv team - and what i will never forget is her asking what conference depaul was in - at the time they were an independent school - and she won something like over $600 - and keep in mind payoffs went to something like the top 10 people), homeruns (it was called "the deep pool" - when someone came to bat, if you thought he would hit an HR, you would put $.25 in a cup they had downstairs in the screening room. if they guy didn't hit an HR - you lost your $.25 - but if he DID hit an HR - you got what was in the cup - minus about $1-$2 so there would always be money in the cup. i'll never forget one time i took darryl strawberry after he had something like a 2-1 count on him - and he hit the next pitch 80% of the way up the scoreboard in right field winning me the pool) as well as "first games" of new teams (when san jose played their first game in 1991, we took the roster of the players who suited up that night and everyone picked the player they thought would score the first-ever goal for the sharks - and whoever was right got the $18 - and the pool was won by none other than chris berman who picked "steve coxe" to get it). i also recall losing TWO bets to dan patrick in the 1991 season. i am a dodgers fan - and he liked the braves. we made a bet as to who would win the NL West - he got atlanta - i got the dodgers. the loser had to buy the winner dinner at a place called "The White Birch" - a decent restaurant located about 100 yards south of espn. as we know - i lost so despite the fact he made umpteen times more than me - i had to buy him dinner. we made another bet for the NLCS - he had atlanta - i had pittsburgh. as we know - i bought him another dinner there. the "worst" part was when he ate the dinner in the newsroom and i was there, too, he made sure to let everyone there know how nice i was (he is great at sarcasm) that i bought him dinner - when people asked him where he got the food from.
i will say the general is right - in that it is really chaotic there at times. when i was there the late sportscenter was done LIVE @ 2:30A - meaning we rarely got to go home before about 3:30/4A. i was single then (and still) but imagine trying to raise a family or make a wife happy - when you don't get home until an ungodly hour of the morning. it is impossible - and don't even think about asking for a day off for something "frivolous" - like your wedding anniversary or your kid's birthday. you better hope that happens on an off day otherwise your chances of getting the day off are slim (unless you have been there umpteen years).
now - having said all that - did i love working there? YOU BET! after all - i still have my espn employee ID card with me. i was able to (mis)use it a few times after i left - but don't now. imagine how great it is to be able to call ANY sports team and say you are calling from espn and you need their help with something. they ALL do it (with very few exceptions). i have pix taken on the set as well as a signed espn banner when i left (dan patrick, berman, and others all signed it). i have a few other token momentos from my time there - but not as much as i used to - since that was in my past and i no longer work in that field (i also know how espn works as far as behind the scenes unlike almost everyone else in america who has never been inside the place - up until tonite - and trust me - i doubt they showed a fraction of what espn is really like). that also brings up the point that espn can afford to work your ass off for little money since they know if you don't like it - they can find someone to replace you before you blink your eyes. as for me, i sent them a few tapes of my production work at first. i spoke to al jaffe (THE guy to talk to there if you want to get hired) and he told me i needed to come out for an interview before they would even consider hiring me. so, a few weeks later - i did that - AT MY EXPENSE and with NO guarantee of a job down the line (the whole thing cost over $500 - keep in mind this was 1991). all i was assured of was a 10:30A interview on the monday i was out there. i took a day off work (that monday) for the interview and caught the last flight out so i could be at work the next day (and i didn't get home until about 11P). the day they called me (monday, feb. 4, 1991) to formally offer me a job i had briefly left my apartment to got to mechanic. my car had electrical problems and was going to cost a lot of money to fix. i told him i would go home and think about it. i wasn't working full time and had no idea what to do. when i got home there was a message on my machine - from al jaffe at espn wanting to know if i was interested in a job at espn. needless to say i called him back ASAP and accepted and was in bristol the following thursday (valentine's day). i will never forget taking off from lax to go to hartford. because of some security regulations, only ticketed passengers were allowed to even go up the escalator at lax to the security checkpoint. i had lived away from home - but only about an hour away - not clear on the other side of the country. i recall hugging my family goodbye and telling them that if i never saw them again NOT to cry for me - because i was chasing a dream and be happy for me - not sad (a real tearjerker moment i gotta admit).
Winky , I remember that story about Berman you told, the gambling related story..Could you tell it again ?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
***sure - but for those who have seen or read the GREAT michael freeman book from 2000 "espn the uncensored history" - it is in there starting on page 106.
back in 1982 - before satellite and the internet really took off, it wasn't uncommon for games to start at times different than expected. in this case, the game was set to start @ 7:30P (eastern time) in san diego - but instead started @ 7P. this was unknown to the local bookie - but known to the espn staff. the giants scored 6 in the top of the 1st inning. when the people working @ espn called their local guy(s) - they were told the giants/padres game started @ 7:30P - and they could STILL bet the game. this despite the fact - unknown to the bookie - the game started @ 7P and by the time everyone from espn called - the game was 6-0 SF. so basically everyone at espn bet whatever they could get their hands on with SF since they were up 6-0. how berman gets involved here is that some PA was going to put the score up on espn for all to see. he was all set to do it when chris berman told him NOT to do so. the kid basically told boomer (what bermna is called there) he had to update the score. berman knew if the kid did this all bets on SF would cease - and maybe even be nullified. he told the kid NOT to do it. the kid said he had to do it. berman finally told the kid NOT to do it - and the kid obliged. so now basically 90% of all employees of espn have a monster sized play on SF knowing they made it when SF was up 6-0 over SD. they were feeling really good. that is until SD made it 6-2 in the 4th, then 6-3 then 6-4 and finally they tied it in the bottom of the 9th inning. SD then WON THE GAME in extra innings - much to the shock and dismay of just about everyone who worked there - most of them bet money they didn't have - since who the hell expects to lose a game when you are leading 6-0 after 1/2 inning - and THEN you are allowed to make the bet. i got to espn 9 years after this game and it was strill brought up there about once a month. now - odds are almost none they could get away wth it today - but back in 1982 - it wasn't as tough to do.
as the book says, bristol is not exactly the kind of place where nightlife is alive and prospering. it is about 20 miles west of hartford. when you drive towards espn, there is basically nothing but farms and houses - and then SUDDENLY - THERE IS ESPN! for those who have ever driven to vegas from the L.A. area - it is somewhat like that - in that once you get out there on the way - there is NOTHING but road. the out of nowhere you get to barstow - and there are signs of life. then once you pass barstow - basically nothing for another 60 miles until you get to baker. that is what espn is like - something in the middle of nothing. when i was there - nothing was across the street except a mcdonald's, friendly's and a radisson hotel (fyi - EVERYONE from out of town who comes to bristol to work who doesn't live in the area - for example during football seasons - guys like steve young, sterling sharpe, tom, jackson, etc. - ALL stay at the bristol radisson since it is about a 2 minute WALK to espn right across the street. i know when bill sample used to do "baseball tonight" we would go back to his hotel room after the show - and his bathtub was FILLED with nothing but ice and bottles of beer)
now - as for what jjgold said - he is partly right. for the most part it is the somewhat OLDER guys who bet there - for they make more money. they are higher up on the "food chain" than the young (mostly) guys who are P.A.'s making squat per hour (in 1991 i made $7.50/hour - but was greatly helped by the fact i put in at least 10-20 hours a week of OT @ $11.25/hour - and keep in mind, you could share a rather large 2-bedroom apartment in bristol for around $700 a month - so if you were smart with your money - you could make do on the chump change espn paid you - espcially since all the P.A.'s made most of their long distance calls at work since no one really kept a watchful eye on that kind of stuff - unlike now from what i have been told by friends who work there). i know they had pools for golf (you picked a different golfer every week - like a football suicide pool - and whatever money he won - you got credit for it - and whoever had the most money at season's end won the pool - which was always multiple $100s), the ncaas (the woman - yes a woman - who won it - took duke that year over the powerhouse unlv team - and what i will never forget is her asking what conference depaul was in - at the time they were an independent school - and she won something like over $600 - and keep in mind payoffs went to something like the top 10 people), homeruns (it was called "the deep pool" - when someone came to bat, if you thought he would hit an HR, you would put $.25 in a cup they had downstairs in the screening room. if they guy didn't hit an HR - you lost your $.25 - but if he DID hit an HR - you got what was in the cup - minus about $1-$2 so there would always be money in the cup. i'll never forget one time i took darryl strawberry after he had something like a 2-1 count on him - and he hit the next pitch 80% of the way up the scoreboard in right field winning me the pool) as well as "first games" of new teams (when san jose played their first game in 1991, we took the roster of the players who suited up that night and everyone picked the player they thought would score the first-ever goal for the sharks - and whoever was right got the $18 - and the pool was won by none other than chris berman who picked "steve coxe" to get it). i also recall losing TWO bets to dan patrick in the 1991 season. i am a dodgers fan - and he liked the braves. we made a bet as to who would win the NL West - he got atlanta - i got the dodgers. the loser had to buy the winner dinner at a place called "The White Birch" - a decent restaurant located about 100 yards south of espn. as we know - i lost so despite the fact he made umpteen times more than me - i had to buy him dinner. we made another bet for the NLCS - he had atlanta - i had pittsburgh. as we know - i bought him another dinner there. the "worst" part was when he ate the dinner in the newsroom and i was there, too, he made sure to let everyone there know how nice i was (he is great at sarcasm) that i bought him dinner - when people asked him where he got the food from.
i will say the general is right - in that it is really chaotic there at times. when i was there the late sportscenter was done LIVE @ 2:30A - meaning we rarely got to go home before about 3:30/4A. i was single then (and still) but imagine trying to raise a family or make a wife happy - when you don't get home until an ungodly hour of the morning. it is impossible - and don't even think about asking for a day off for something "frivolous" - like your wedding anniversary or your kid's birthday. you better hope that happens on an off day otherwise your chances of getting the day off are slim (unless you have been there umpteen years).
now - having said all that - did i love working there? YOU BET! after all - i still have my espn employee ID card with me. i was able to (mis)use it a few times after i left - but don't now. imagine how great it is to be able to call ANY sports team and say you are calling from espn and you need their help with something. they ALL do it (with very few exceptions). i have pix taken on the set as well as a signed espn banner when i left (dan patrick, berman, and others all signed it). i have a few other token momentos from my time there - but not as much as i used to - since that was in my past and i no longer work in that field (i also know how espn works as far as behind the scenes unlike almost everyone else in america who has never been inside the place - up until tonite - and trust me - i doubt they showed a fraction of what espn is really like). that also brings up the point that espn can afford to work your ass off for little money since they know if you don't like it - they can find someone to replace you before you blink your eyes. as for me, i sent them a few tapes of my production work at first. i spoke to al jaffe (THE guy to talk to there if you want to get hired) and he told me i needed to come out for an interview before they would even consider hiring me. so, a few weeks later - i did that - AT MY EXPENSE and with NO guarantee of a job down the line (the whole thing cost over $500 - keep in mind this was 1991). all i was assured of was a 10:30A interview on the monday i was out there. i took a day off work (that monday) for the interview and caught the last flight out so i could be at work the next day (and i didn't get home until about 11P). the day they called me (monday, feb. 4, 1991) to formally offer me a job i had briefly left my apartment to got to mechanic. my car had electrical problems and was going to cost a lot of money to fix. i told him i would go home and think about it. i wasn't working full time and had no idea what to do. when i got home there was a message on my machine - from al jaffe at espn wanting to know if i was interested in a job at espn. needless to say i called him back ASAP and accepted and was in bristol the following thursday (valentine's day). i will never forget taking off from lax to go to hartford. because of some security regulations, only ticketed passengers were allowed to even go up the escalator at lax to the security checkpoint. i had lived away from home - but only about an hour away - not clear on the other side of the country. i recall hugging my family goodbye and telling them that if i never saw them again NOT to cry for me - because i was chasing a dream and be happy for me - not sad (a real tearjerker moment i gotta admit).
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Journeyman:
I love that story Winky
The Boomer, did you care for him?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
***i would run thru a wall for berman at top speed. I LOVED the guy. 3 more stories now:
i will jump ahead here. my last few days at espn. one sunday after primetime, i am on the set with berman. he and tom jackson had to stick around since espn had an nfl game on - and they needed to do some work at halftime. i got to say goodbye to berman and he's like "what - why?" i told him i was leaving and going back home for another position (one that fell thru). anyway - i have a camera with me - and ask if i can get a pic on the set with him and tom jackson (as a die-hard broncos fan - TJ was "the man"). of course, berman says "yes." so i give one of the cameramen my camera and he takes a pic of the 3 of us. in the pic - berman has his left arm on my right shoulder and TJ is smiling. the pic came out great and i then got it blown up to a 20 by 30 and i have it hanging on the wall.
now - the BEST berman stories i can tell (there are some great ones i can't tell here - lol) one directly involved me - the other not.
the one with me: (quick intro first: in 1990 i am working for a local tv station in la. one day we go to an angels' game. we get there early for BP. i see berman there and my friend and i go up and say hello - and give him a nickname suggestion - of which he gets tons of them. the whole thing lasted maybe 20-30 seconds - if that) it is one of my very first days at espn. as the new guy i was taken around and introduced to everyone. when i get to berman, he stops and looks at me. he then says, "we've met before - haven't we." i start thinking back in my mind to the past season when we met for a few seconds at Anaheim Stadium. to say i am amazed he could recall that is an understatement. of all the guys he met - he recalled me - no way! i sheepishly tell him we have met before - the past august in anaheim stadium for a few seconds during BP of an angels/brewers game - and i can't believe he could remember that. he then tells me that wasn't it - i just look like someone he used to know. i breathe a sigh of relief - and am glad to know he is human after all. that guy's name was "dan" and for about the first month-or so i was there he would call me "dan" and then realize that wasn't right and call me by my real name.
it is the summer time. berman did "BBTN" (what they call baseball tonight there) so he was in the newsroom. i was up there and stopped to talk to him. i ask him where he is going tuesday - what game he is doing (tuesday nights he came out to the west coast to do the nightcap of the espn baseball 2b-headers). he tells me he will be in anaheim to do the angels - which is about 10-15 miles from where my family lives. i ask him (a dumb question of) "do you like chocolate chip cookies?" of course he says "yes." i ask him what hotel he is staying at - and he tells me. i tell him that when he gets to his hotel there will be something waiting for him at the front desk - so make sure to pick it up. he asks what it is - but i won't tell him - only to check at the desk. i then call my bro and ask him to stop by the place in so cal that makes THE BEST chocolate chip cookies in the area (Railbird - it is Campitelli's in brea - across from the mall) and can he drop it off at the hotel chris berman is staying at? he says he would - which i knew he would. come the next sunday i see berman in the newsroom again. he spots me and thanks me for the cookies saying they were some of the best he has ever eaten - and both he and the crew loved them. he asks what i can do to pay him back. i tell him i really didn't do anything - my brother did. he then asks if he can set up my bro with tickets to the angels' game that tuesday (2 days later) for he will be back in anaheim. i tell him i don't know - he'd have to ask my bro that. so i call home and ask to speak to my bro. he is there so i tell him to hold on for a second someone wants to talk to him. i then give the phone to berman to talk to my bro. berman come son the phone and SAYS who he is and then thanks my bro and makes the offer for the angels' tix - which my bro accepts. i had told berman my bro is a giants fan so for a few minutes they talk about the giants and what-not. berman gives me back the phone to talk to my bro. for one of the few times in his life - my bro is stunned. he said he thought i was playing a joke on him and he didn't realize it was really berman until he started talking about the giants (in all fairness - how many of us would ever expect to be sitting at home and then out of the blue be talking to berman?). my bro is giddy and thanks me. i tell me bro to get berman some more cookies and drop them off at the same hotel - which he does. i tell berman he will have more cookies when he gets to anaheim (when i see berman the next sunday he tells me it is a good thing i told him about the cookies for they placed them in the fridge in his room and if he didn't expect them he never would have gone looking for them). he wants to get my bro's work number so he can call and make sure things are OK - so i give it to him. i also tell berman my brother has fire orange hair. so come tuesday, my bro later tells me, the secretaries in the office were picking up every single phone call in hopes it would be berman. the ONE call they don't pick up and my bro does - IS BERMAN! yes - you got that right - chris berman called the brother of some P.A. to make sure all was set for the game that night. my bro was on cloud nine now. so come time for the game - sure enough - berman leaves 2 PRIME seats to the game for my bro and sis. they get there early - in time for BP. my bro is at field level and sees some of his friends there. he goes to see them. they are calling for chris berman to come over and see them - but berman doesn't do that - doing nothing but waving at them. that is until he sees my bro. he sees the fire orange hair and (correctly) guesses it is my bro. so now berman comes over to my bro and his friends. without my bro saying a WORD, berman sticks out his hand and says something along the lines of, "glad to see you here, pete - are the seats i got you 'ok' - i hope you enjoy the game." my bro told me his friends and all around were stone silent and the only sound you could hear was their jaw bouncing off the cement floor wondering how he could do that (berman ignoring them and then coming over to see my bro and berman also got my bro tickets to the game - what made my bro so special - not knowing where i worked and what was done ahead of time). my bro later told me he felt 30 feet tall when berman did that and had a smile on his face a mile wide. at this point my bro knows everyone is glued to the 2 of them - so he hams it up some and thanks berman for calling him at work that day to make sure all was OK. berman then thanks my bro for all he has done and leaves. again - all eyes are glued on my bro and jaws still dropped. my bro walks away and leaves the guys stunned. this should tell you what kind of guy berman is - or at least was.
one final bermanism. one sunday i am watching the angels/a's game at espn. i then get the hilites done in time for berman to do them on BBTN. i rush a sheet into the producer who is sitting next to the director in the technical studio. the producer tells me they are going to open (lead off the next segment) with my hilites - so during the break make sure to get them to berman. i tell him "no problem." so i get into the studio and wait for a commercial break. when it happens i walk over to berman and tell him it is for the angels/a's hilites leading off the next segment. now - the next time berman does "primetime" take a look at the desk in front of him. the scripts are all scattered all over the place like a tornado hit - not nice and neat like most. so after i hand him the stuff, i go to the back of the set so i can watch him do my hilite package. he reads the lead-in and then they go to the hilites. only problem is berman can't find the sheet I HANDED HIM about 90 seconds earlier. berman is looking for what i gave him, when suddenly i hear a LOUD VOICE booming thru the headsets of the camera people and floor director (and one probably heard in china), "WHERE THE F**K IS...(my last name)." he is all set to KILL ME for telling him i would get the stuff to berman - and not following thru on it - or so he thought. odds are he would have gotten me fired right then and there if i had "bagged" him (when someone lets you down at espn - they call is "bagging" someone). thankfully - berman finds the stuff i gave him and reads the package with no problem. the producer then realizes it was NOT my fault and that i had, indeed, done what i had said i would and got berman the information between commercials. the producer never says anything to me about it because he realized it was NOT my fault - but berman's (and i am certain berman would have stoof up for me if i had been blamed).
i did get to see berman at the 2000 pro bowl and while he isn't as nice and friendly as he used to be - he is still very cool - or at least was to me.
i will NEVER say anything bad about berman. NEVER!
the late tom mees - YES! berman - NO!
I love that story Winky
The Boomer, did you care for him?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
***i would run thru a wall for berman at top speed. I LOVED the guy. 3 more stories now:
i will jump ahead here. my last few days at espn. one sunday after primetime, i am on the set with berman. he and tom jackson had to stick around since espn had an nfl game on - and they needed to do some work at halftime. i got to say goodbye to berman and he's like "what - why?" i told him i was leaving and going back home for another position (one that fell thru). anyway - i have a camera with me - and ask if i can get a pic on the set with him and tom jackson (as a die-hard broncos fan - TJ was "the man"). of course, berman says "yes." so i give one of the cameramen my camera and he takes a pic of the 3 of us. in the pic - berman has his left arm on my right shoulder and TJ is smiling. the pic came out great and i then got it blown up to a 20 by 30 and i have it hanging on the wall.
now - the BEST berman stories i can tell (there are some great ones i can't tell here - lol) one directly involved me - the other not.
the one with me: (quick intro first: in 1990 i am working for a local tv station in la. one day we go to an angels' game. we get there early for BP. i see berman there and my friend and i go up and say hello - and give him a nickname suggestion - of which he gets tons of them. the whole thing lasted maybe 20-30 seconds - if that) it is one of my very first days at espn. as the new guy i was taken around and introduced to everyone. when i get to berman, he stops and looks at me. he then says, "we've met before - haven't we." i start thinking back in my mind to the past season when we met for a few seconds at Anaheim Stadium. to say i am amazed he could recall that is an understatement. of all the guys he met - he recalled me - no way! i sheepishly tell him we have met before - the past august in anaheim stadium for a few seconds during BP of an angels/brewers game - and i can't believe he could remember that. he then tells me that wasn't it - i just look like someone he used to know. i breathe a sigh of relief - and am glad to know he is human after all. that guy's name was "dan" and for about the first month-or so i was there he would call me "dan" and then realize that wasn't right and call me by my real name.
it is the summer time. berman did "BBTN" (what they call baseball tonight there) so he was in the newsroom. i was up there and stopped to talk to him. i ask him where he is going tuesday - what game he is doing (tuesday nights he came out to the west coast to do the nightcap of the espn baseball 2b-headers). he tells me he will be in anaheim to do the angels - which is about 10-15 miles from where my family lives. i ask him (a dumb question of) "do you like chocolate chip cookies?" of course he says "yes." i ask him what hotel he is staying at - and he tells me. i tell him that when he gets to his hotel there will be something waiting for him at the front desk - so make sure to pick it up. he asks what it is - but i won't tell him - only to check at the desk. i then call my bro and ask him to stop by the place in so cal that makes THE BEST chocolate chip cookies in the area (Railbird - it is Campitelli's in brea - across from the mall) and can he drop it off at the hotel chris berman is staying at? he says he would - which i knew he would. come the next sunday i see berman in the newsroom again. he spots me and thanks me for the cookies saying they were some of the best he has ever eaten - and both he and the crew loved them. he asks what i can do to pay him back. i tell him i really didn't do anything - my brother did. he then asks if he can set up my bro with tickets to the angels' game that tuesday (2 days later) for he will be back in anaheim. i tell him i don't know - he'd have to ask my bro that. so i call home and ask to speak to my bro. he is there so i tell him to hold on for a second someone wants to talk to him. i then give the phone to berman to talk to my bro. berman come son the phone and SAYS who he is and then thanks my bro and makes the offer for the angels' tix - which my bro accepts. i had told berman my bro is a giants fan so for a few minutes they talk about the giants and what-not. berman gives me back the phone to talk to my bro. for one of the few times in his life - my bro is stunned. he said he thought i was playing a joke on him and he didn't realize it was really berman until he started talking about the giants (in all fairness - how many of us would ever expect to be sitting at home and then out of the blue be talking to berman?). my bro is giddy and thanks me. i tell me bro to get berman some more cookies and drop them off at the same hotel - which he does. i tell berman he will have more cookies when he gets to anaheim (when i see berman the next sunday he tells me it is a good thing i told him about the cookies for they placed them in the fridge in his room and if he didn't expect them he never would have gone looking for them). he wants to get my bro's work number so he can call and make sure things are OK - so i give it to him. i also tell berman my brother has fire orange hair. so come tuesday, my bro later tells me, the secretaries in the office were picking up every single phone call in hopes it would be berman. the ONE call they don't pick up and my bro does - IS BERMAN! yes - you got that right - chris berman called the brother of some P.A. to make sure all was set for the game that night. my bro was on cloud nine now. so come time for the game - sure enough - berman leaves 2 PRIME seats to the game for my bro and sis. they get there early - in time for BP. my bro is at field level and sees some of his friends there. he goes to see them. they are calling for chris berman to come over and see them - but berman doesn't do that - doing nothing but waving at them. that is until he sees my bro. he sees the fire orange hair and (correctly) guesses it is my bro. so now berman comes over to my bro and his friends. without my bro saying a WORD, berman sticks out his hand and says something along the lines of, "glad to see you here, pete - are the seats i got you 'ok' - i hope you enjoy the game." my bro told me his friends and all around were stone silent and the only sound you could hear was their jaw bouncing off the cement floor wondering how he could do that (berman ignoring them and then coming over to see my bro and berman also got my bro tickets to the game - what made my bro so special - not knowing where i worked and what was done ahead of time). my bro later told me he felt 30 feet tall when berman did that and had a smile on his face a mile wide. at this point my bro knows everyone is glued to the 2 of them - so he hams it up some and thanks berman for calling him at work that day to make sure all was OK. berman then thanks my bro for all he has done and leaves. again - all eyes are glued on my bro and jaws still dropped. my bro walks away and leaves the guys stunned. this should tell you what kind of guy berman is - or at least was.
one final bermanism. one sunday i am watching the angels/a's game at espn. i then get the hilites done in time for berman to do them on BBTN. i rush a sheet into the producer who is sitting next to the director in the technical studio. the producer tells me they are going to open (lead off the next segment) with my hilites - so during the break make sure to get them to berman. i tell him "no problem." so i get into the studio and wait for a commercial break. when it happens i walk over to berman and tell him it is for the angels/a's hilites leading off the next segment. now - the next time berman does "primetime" take a look at the desk in front of him. the scripts are all scattered all over the place like a tornado hit - not nice and neat like most. so after i hand him the stuff, i go to the back of the set so i can watch him do my hilite package. he reads the lead-in and then they go to the hilites. only problem is berman can't find the sheet I HANDED HIM about 90 seconds earlier. berman is looking for what i gave him, when suddenly i hear a LOUD VOICE booming thru the headsets of the camera people and floor director (and one probably heard in china), "WHERE THE F**K IS...(my last name)." he is all set to KILL ME for telling him i would get the stuff to berman - and not following thru on it - or so he thought. odds are he would have gotten me fired right then and there if i had "bagged" him (when someone lets you down at espn - they call is "bagging" someone). thankfully - berman finds the stuff i gave him and reads the package with no problem. the producer then realizes it was NOT my fault and that i had, indeed, done what i had said i would and got berman the information between commercials. the producer never says anything to me about it because he realized it was NOT my fault - but berman's (and i am certain berman would have stoof up for me if i had been blamed).
i did get to see berman at the 2000 pro bowl and while he isn't as nice and friendly as he used to be - he is still very cool - or at least was to me.
i will NEVER say anything bad about berman. NEVER!
the late tom mees - YES! berman - NO!
Winkydink,
Good read, how is Peter doing these days? I was at UCLA for the tennis yesterday and ran into Coach Daniels yesterday, very nice guy. I had a few beverages with Tom Mees in Oakland during the 88 series, was very cordial, there was Tom his freind and a couple of black ladies and myself, was a nice time.
My favortie Berman nicknames were- Andy On again off again Mcgaffigan, Bert be home Blyleven, Julio will you take me on a sea Cruz, Brian 10 Downing street.
Good read, how is Peter doing these days? I was at UCLA for the tennis yesterday and ran into Coach Daniels yesterday, very nice guy. I had a few beverages with Tom Mees in Oakland during the 88 series, was very cordial, there was Tom his freind and a couple of black ladies and myself, was a nice time.
My favortie Berman nicknames were- Andy On again off again Mcgaffigan, Bert be home Blyleven, Julio will you take me on a sea Cruz, Brian 10 Downing street.
