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Fixation: Holy Crap! I'm Being Chased by Elephants

April 30, 2009 8:04 AM

April 30, 2009 in Dan Harris | Permalink | User Comments (1)

Quick Fix: Is Asking Questions to the Man on the Street the Saddest Job in the World?

April 29, 2009 9:25 AM

April 29, 2009 in John Berman | Permalink | User Comments (4)

JuJu Juggles: Parents Debate Date Night vs. Happy Hour

April 28, 2009 1:06 PM

April 28, 2009 in Juju Chang | Permalink | User Comments (3)

Quick Fix: What Does an Economic Recession Look Like?

April 27, 2009 9:34 AM

April 27, 2009 in Bill Weir | Permalink | User Comments (2)

Mitt Romney and Big Thighs

April 24, 2009 2:53 PM

There was a big development in the world of politics today.  U.S. Speedskating announced that former Olympic gold medalist Derek Parra is taking over as the national all-around coach for the upcoming Olympics.

Why does that matter in politics?  Well Mitt Romney talks a lot about Derek Parra's big thighs.  Seriously.  I am not making this up.

I spent the better part of 8 months following Republican Mitt Romney on his way to the White House.  OK, he didn't actually make it there. But he did make a lot of speeches trying to get there, and I listened to a good many of them.  And one of his favorite stories was about his encounter with gold medalist Derek Parra during the 2002 Olympics.  Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom can quote it almost verbatim.  Romney would say: 

“I asked Derek, what was your favorite moment during the Olympics. Was it winning the gold? Was it winning the silver? No, he said his favorite moment was during the Opening Ceremony when he carried in the flag that had flown over the World Trade Center on 9/11. You see, Derek was expecting people in the stadium to cheer and applaud. Instead, total silence. Complete reverence.”

It really is an inspiring story, and one that Romney told quite well. However, he would always preface it with a physical description of Derek Parra, that was at least a little awkward.  He almost always noted that Parra had "big thighs," or sometimes he would say, "great big thighs."  And I vaguely even remember him once saying, "big powerful thighs."

Really this says less about Romney, than the fact that as a campaign reporter you sometimes have to listen to the same story a hundred times...so you occasionally find humor in strange places.  Even big thighs.

Is Parra's new job the first significant development in the 2012 campaign?

April 24, 2009 in John Berman | Permalink | User Comments (0)

My last visit to the old Yankee Stadium

April 24, 2009 11:20 AM

This was a note I wrote after my last visit to the old Yankee Stadium on 6/8/06.  It really happened.

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Tonight, Drew Millhon (an ABC producer) and I went to Yankee Stadium to see the Red Sox play the Yankees. We saw 7 innings of really good baseball, then we left. Actually we had to leave, because we were thrown out.

Drew and I were thrown out of Yankee Stadium.

This is what happened. In the 7th inning, Red Sox captain Jason Varitek hit a 3-run home run to put the Red Sox ahead 7-3. The ball landed about 20 feet from where we were sitting in right field (in seats given to us by ABC’s Ron Claiborne for a reasonable price.). The home run made us happy.

Then, 2 batters later, the Yankees pitcher hit Kevin Youkilis, my favorite player. This made us sad, or actually a little angry. After the brave Mr. Youkilis was so savagely targeted, I exclaimed something to the effect of, "unbelievable, he should charge the mound!"

It was then that we noticed a very large man sitting across the aisle from us. He wasn't just large, he was inebriated, wearing a Yankees jersey, and had no excess of teeth.

This man disagreed with my assessment of the blatant attack on young Kevin. He said, if Youkilis charged the mound, "he would get his 'blank' kicked.". He also said the Red Sox played in a town called, "Hooterville.". Both Drew and I have been to a lot of places, but neither of us are familiar with "Hooterville.".

He went on to say that the, "Red Sox suck."  This was not friendly. Nice people don't talk this way.

Trying to reason with the man, Drew gently reminded him of a time in 2004 when the Yankees were leading the Red Sox 3-0 in a 7 game series, but did not actually prevail. It is a matter of historical record...you can look it up.

But this man was not impressed with Drew's logic, the man said, "yeah, well the Yankees have won 26 World Series."

That is also part of the historical record. The Yankees have, in fact, won a great many World Series. So my response to the large, inebriated, toothless man in the Yankees jersey was, “and it was all because of you.”

In retrospect, perhaps I should have taken a different approach, because the large, inebriated, toothless man in the Yankees jersey then got up out of his seat, approached us and said, “yeah, well it is gonna be all because of me when I kick your ass.”

This was the best point the gentleman made all night. And despite the fact that I have been working out, and despite the fact that Drew is quite powerful, we decided that engaging this man physically would not be wise. So we stayed in our seats, silent, and tried to watch more baseball.

It was then that the valiant security guards at Yankee Stadium swooped in. But did they approach the large, inebriated, toothless man in the Yankees jersey who was using profanity and threatening physical violence? No. They came to us, asked to see our tickets, and demanded we leave (they escorted us out) while leaving the the large, inebriated, toothless man in the Yankees jersey in his seat. They told us they have a zero tolerance policy. Zero tolerance of what? Can it be at Yankee stadium, it is against the rules to be threatened by large drunk people? If that is the case we were guilty.

Drew pointed out that the other man was the only one using profanity. This only confused the Yankee Stadium staff, because profanity is a word with a lot of letters.

It was clear the only thing we were guilty of was being Red Sox fans. (Drew actually argued that he is an Indians fan, but that did not win him clemency.)

So we were thrown out of Yankee Stadium for liking the Red Sox and for almost getting beaten up.  New York, New York!

By the way, Boston won.

April 24, 2009 in John Berman | Permalink | User Comments (3)

Quick Fix: Fashion and Football Collide

April 24, 2009 8:44 AM

April 24, 2009 in John Anderson | Permalink | User Comments (0)

Quick Fix: "10 Things I Hate About Christianity"

April 23, 2009 9:20 AM

April 23, 2009 in Dan Harris | Permalink | User Comments (30)

Quick Fix: Hustle and Bustle of a Press Scrum

April 22, 2009 9:25 AM

April 22, 2009 in John Berman | Permalink | User Comments (0)

Quick Fix: Mommy vs. the Nanny

April 21, 2009 9:28 AM

April 21, 2009 in Juju Chang | Permalink | User Comments (1)