Monday, July 14, 2008

Sad Weekend


Former White House press secretary Tony Snow died Saturday morning. Regardless of how you feel about his politics, you couldn't help but like the guy. Snow was a conservative Republican. FOX took some heat when it hired Snow to host "FOX News Sunday" in 1996. He proved the critics wrong. Snow played it straight. You couldn't tell what way he leaned.

Tony Snow had a radio talk show for a couple of years. No one around here carried it, but I was a frequent listener via XM. All too often, hard core political talk shows, both Republican and Democrat, are shrill and mean spirited. Unlistenable. Snow's show was different. He said what he believed, and he was a gentleman in doing it.

Vice President Dick Cheney said Snow would have been a great candidate for any public office. I agree. The man had charm and charisma. You can't teach that.



A friend said it best-- when Bobby Murcer died Saturday, he lost part of his childhood. I'll never forget what a shock it was when the Yankees traded Murcer to the San Francisco Giants before the 1975 season. Murcer seemed crushed. His fans felt the same way.

Who could forget Murcer's 5 RBI performance in the first game after Thurman Munson's funeral in August of 1979? The YES Network re-runs the game occasionally. Do yourself a favor. Watch it next time around.

We ran a "sound bite" with Yankees' manager Joe Girardi on Newswatch 16 Saturday night and Sunday morning. Girardi was nearly in tears. It was moving stuff.

Murcer went in to broadcasting after retiring from baseball. Television has a way of exposing the phonies, letting people know who you really are. I think everyone agrees that Bobby Murcer was a very nice man. You can't fake "nice."