Five Impossibilities

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

There are five events, match-ups or occurrences in sports that I know I'd like to see but am confident will never happen!

I encourage you sports fans to provide me with feedback and we can compare. The most enjoyable part of this short list to keep is to see whether I'm relating to the baby boomers or the older generation.

1) I've mentioned it in other blogs and I'll talk about it again. Since I'm from Hockeytown (Detroit), I wish Mr. Hockey Gordie Howe and Wayne "The Great One" Gretzky played in the same era as members of the Original Six NHL teams. I wonder how many goals Gretzky would have scored if his competition knew him inside and out. Would he have his NHL record 894 goals? I highly doubt it. Howe had 801 goals and he compiled his numbers against tons of Hall of Fame Players. Speaking of the Original Six, it would be neat if they were all in the same conference, but like the Howe vs Gretzky, all of this will never happen.

2) Washington Nationals pitching sensation Stephen Strasburg just underwent Tommy John Surgery today and is expected to miss between 12-18 months. The Nationals have millions of dollars invested in this 22-year old youngster. They even limited his innings and pitch count and tried to take things cautiously so he wouldn't get hurt. Unfortunately, the cornerstone of the revitalized franchise will be without their biggest draw until what figures to be 2012. So the question remains, will we ever see another starting pitcher ever complete 20 games in a season? No way!

Teams will continue to protect their pitchers. Baseball is so specialized with long and middle relievers, set-up guys and one inning closers. The only three pitchers that come to my mind that could have performed in my era of yesteryear are Roy Halladay & Roy Oswalt of the Philadelphia Phillies and Cliff Lee of the Texas Rangers. Growing up, pitchers used to work on three and four days rest. Now it's mainly five days.

3) It's time for me to pick on college football. It's the biggest revenue sport without a true playoff system to determine an actual champion. With all of the politics going on with the bowl system, these clowns know what the right thing is to do, but it will never get done!

Heck, we can't even get the "Plus One" scenario where the top team faces the fourth rated, and two would meet three with the winners playing that extra contest to decide a champion. With multiple unbeaten teams every year, just adding the one contest would somewhat quiet the debate.

When these clowns get it right, then we'll "See A Mule Win The Kentucky Derby." I've always been taught to never say never. I'm saying never and I'm sure there will be many people that would agree in this case.

4) I'd like to see the Super Bowl played at Lambeau Field in Green Bay. If they're going to play one in New York at the $1.7 Billion home of the New York Jets and Giants, why not up in Wisconsin? Like New York, it's a cold climate, so we'll see football played in the natural elements. I know there aren't any beaches or golf courses in Green Bay, but you still have the Packers Hall of Fame. There is ice fishing. The history in Green Bay would make the Super Bowl a memorable experience. Critics could argue that hotel accommodations there wouldn't be enough.

But when I was in Jacksonville, Florida they had cruise ships and that still wasn't enough to get the job done. I slept in a Rest Area for two days in My Jeep and in the Media Center on a Lazy Boy Chair the third night. I did bring a couple pillows and a comforter and the jeep was big enough to get the job done. Then I used truck stops to get cleaned up.

I understand that New York should be awarded for building their new stadium, is the largest city in the USA, but Green Bay's football tradition still tops New York. I also have no problem with a Super Bowl in New York as the city still does recover from the terrorist acts of September 11. I still remember my days watching the Detroit Lions when they played their home games at Tiger Stadium. It was neat taking blankets to the game and drinking hot chocolate in the stands.

The warm weather sites are OK 90% of the time, but it would be great to slip in a historic cold weather climate once in awhile. I'm still optimistic that the Big Ten Conference will play their championship game on the "Frozen Tundra."

5) Can you imagine the day if former Heavyweight Champion Mike Tyson steps into the Octagon and gets involved in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA)? Tyson was a great pay-per-view draw even past his prime in boxing. I'd love to see Tyson fight Brock Lesnar. I've heard that Lesnar is one of the craziest fighters in MMA. With that said, the promoters should jump on this one. When you hear Tyson want to eat Lennox Lewis children, get disqualified from his heavyweight championship fight with Evander Holyfield because he bit his ear off, go to jail in Indiana for a few years because of rape, plus have a tattoo on his face, the entire civilized world would like to see him get pummeled by Lesnar.

For what little I know about MMA, when these guys go after your feet first, slam you to the ground, whatever punching they do shows they're incredible athletes. I give James "Lights Out" Toney credit for trying this sport. But to see Tyson get his rear end blasted quickly would be heavy duty entertainment. He wouldn't have time to bite any one's ear off, especially Lesnar, who is an animal in his own right.

During his prime, Tyson was known for quick knockouts and had a chance to be one of the greatest fighters of all-time until he self destructed in and outside the ring. I was dumb enough to spend $50 on the pay per view event during the ear biting incident. I figured since I saw Tyson and Holyfield's first fight in Las Vegas lasted deep into the bout it was worth the investment for the sequel.

But I'd host a party at my place in Deerfield Beach, Florida if Tyson and Lesnar ever faced each other. Who would be the promoter, Don King or Dana White? We'll never know!

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com and his blog can be seen at www.scottsports33.com.

Detroit's Newest Bad Boy

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

The Detroit Lions have seen their share of fines over the years but there are two which standout in my mind.

When Detroit hired Steve Mariucci as its head coach on February 4, 2003, Lions General Manager Matt Millen was hit with a $250,000 fine for failing to comply with the NFL's Rooney Rule where teams have to interview a minority candidate for their head coaching job.

Needless to say, Lions Owner William Clay Ford Sr. was furious after this occurred but had to live with the decision. Ford defended his track record of hiring minorities for his organizations and wasn't pleased that his integrity was attacked.

Detroit's latest fine occurred on Friday as defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh found himself $7,500 lighter in the wallet by the NFL for his roughing the passer penalty on quarterback Jake Delhomme in an exhibition game against the Cleveland Browns.

The No.2 overall pick April's draft grabbed Delhomme's face mask and twisted it, then wrapped his arms around the quarterback's head and slammed him to the ground in the second quarter of last Saturday's game, resulting in a 15-yard penalty.

Even Cleveland Coach Eric Mangini said this week he didn't think the former Nebraska Cornhuskers standout intended to injure Delhomme.

Lions Coach Jim Schwartz certainly wasn't going to comment on the fine just the fact that the play cost Detroit 15-yards.

But deep down inside, Schwartz may have used this as an opportunity to use this as a "Teaching Moment," however, you can rest assure that he must have smiled and pat his rookie on the back for his passion and aggressive play.

As for the Ford's, both William Sr. & Jr, they must have enjoyed this fine as well because now there is a little a nasty streak on their defense anchored by the rookie.

The Lions recently added black to their uniforms because they wanted to toughen their image. Adding players like Suh will only enhance the team's new identity as it hopes to add wins for a franchise that has finished 2-30 the past two years.

Whether Ford actually pays the fine or if it gets payroll deducted out of Suh's check is the small story.

There will be a charity tax write off some place.

For all we know, the fans in Detroit would pony up the coin just to prove a point that they want to see more players with Suh's Blue Collar attitude around.

These are the qualities that saw Johnny Damon want to play the entire season for the Tigers because he loved playing in Detroit. Damon loved the loyalty of the fan base.

Detroit appreciated the Pistons "Bad Boys" era with that toughness. Now the city can embrace the latest "Bad Boy" who is probably too small to drive a Ford Focus.

But you can rest assure, that Suh will continue to focus on anybody that gets in his way. I can just imagine if he does the same thing to St. Louis Rams Quarterback Sam Bradford, the No. 1 pick in this years draft ahead of him, how much that fine would be.

Yet, knowing the Ford's, they'll smile and love every minute of it. They'll find a way to pay that fine.

I'm sure when Delhomme went to the sidelines and saw former Texas Longhorns signal caller Colt McCoy, he had to ask the rookie that when he faced Suh in college was this guy that much of an animal and impact player? There had to be a big smile and a definitive yes.

So beware defenders, the Lions have ferocious defensive side that the NFL will see plenty of in the future.

Meanwhile, Ndamukong if you continue the aggressive behavior, that will earn you trips to the Pro Bowl, plenty of local endorsements and the Ford's might even use your to promote their tough trucks.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com and his blog can be seen at www.scottsports33.com.

Introverted Twins

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

When former Detroit Pistons Vice President of Public Relations Matt Dobek died on Saturday August 21 at the age of 51, I got sick to my stomach!

Yet, his cause of death is something that I mentally deal with on a daily basis.

Dobek apparently committed suicide just months after losing his job with the Detroit Pistons.

In the past year, not only did Dobek lose his job of 29 years, but the loss of his father, former Pistons Owner William Davidson and Coach Chuck Daly also died and that obviously was too much for him to overcome.

I have known Matt Dobek since 1988. He was the first local Detroit Sports Public Relations Director to grant me credentials when I returned home from college in Florida, and one year in Sports Management in North Carolina.

My first assignment was the 1988 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers at the Pontiac Silverdome.

I never missed a big event at the Palace of Auburn Hills when I lived in Detroit.

Those crucial playoff games, finals appearances, ring and retired jersey ceremonies are long long lasting memories.

Dobek made sure I always had my season passes. When I went on road trips, there was never a problem.

There was a time when I took a cross country trip that lasted over 35 days, spanned over 10,000 miles where I drove a rented car which included NBA stops in Sacramento, Seattle, Portland, Utah and Indiana.

When these Public Relations Directors needed verification, Matt took care of the situation! There were times when I called him from the road and he told me to relax and drive safely after I told him the project I was working on.

There were other trips to Boston, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Miami and Orlando where we would talk, hangout at lunch or dinner.

In my eyes, Dobek was the Most Misunderstood person I've ever known!

While he maintained a low-keyed demeanor and wasn't the most outgoing person, Matt was cordial, cooperative, had a calmness about himself but more importantly was always there when you needed him!

The last time I saw Matt was in Miami in April of 2009 just shortly before Daly died of Cancer. Chuck lived in Jupiter, FL and Matt was not only his friend but his publicist. Matt was working the Pistons and Heat game and must have known that Daly's health was near its terminal stages thus it was a great opportunity for them to spend time together.

After Detroit won its second championship in 1989-90, Matt presented me with a plaque with a piece of the Pistons floor at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

It proudly hangs in my hallway in Deerfield Beach, Florida!

He told me that you deserve it!

Matt and his staff treated me with respect! They were like another family to me, My Basketball Family.

If you were loyal to them, acted professional, did an honest job but covered them not only when they were winning but also losing, they showed their appreciation. They used to send Christmas Cards every year to myself and Sports Editor George Eichorn.

They were a class act and that's attributed from the man in charge which was undoubtedly, Matt. It was easy to continue to write about this team, from Matt, to Tom Wilson, Mr. Davidson, etc... That's why I loved covering this team.

But as sadness about Matt's untimely death continues, plus lingering questions on why he committed suicide by hanging himself, I found that after this happened, we are more alike than I thought we were.

Matt and I like to keep things bottled up inside.

We don't like to burden our friends & family with personal and financial hardships.

Matt and I are proud individuals!

Therefore, I'm not surprised he committed suicide!

Everybody has their own set of problems and I won't add to them!

Although I'm 47, since I've relocated to South Florida in 2002, I've watched myself age by 53 years!

While I've enjoyed many great sports memories connected with my passion in the media, the inability to find a constant career in South Florida has been a tremendously huge lingering battle.

What I've discovered in this transient Sun-Belt Melting Pot during this process is that I'm over qualified for the majority of the positions I've applied for.

While there are dishonest people everywhere, there are more scams and cons in South Florida than any other place that I've ever been connected with.

I've seen human resource people that are late to interviews, fail to show up and don't hire you because they're concerned you'll eventually replace them.

I even had a youngster in his early 20's interview me and one of his first questions during the interview was, "What is your favorite toy?" He was looking at his list of questions in the back of his desk and just pulled it out of his drawer.

To me, this would be enough to drive anyone nuts!

My intensity to land a good career and competitiveness to be the best when I landed the position has led to numerous sleepless nights.

Have to admit many of these interviews could be book material down the road and I have been real calm the majority of the time. Sponging these experiences is priceless but it does nothing to help ones checkbook.

I even had a friend say to me one time that we can't even get a job we don't want. Go figure.

But like any athlete or person, I hate to lose and despise failure!

To complicate matters, I suffered a major lower back injury in 2007 and physically haven't been the same.

In June of 2009, I had back surgery to remove a disk and had two cages inserted to provide me with support. For the past 14 months, there have been major travel restrictions and I haven't been able to lift more the 10 pounds. Thus, a bad job market became worse.

I'm still on the mend and while there has been progress in the recovery, there seems to be no end in sight to a lawsuit that could take years to resolve but won't solve the hardships I've experienced financially, physically and mentally.

Besides the injury and poor South Florida job market, dealing with criticism by family members at meals, over the phone that make accusations that I'm lazy because they don't understand the complexity of how difficult it is to deal with liars and snakes on a daily basis is enough to drive anyone over the edge!

It would even frustrate Albert Einstein!

This entire situation makes it difficult to create a personal life with a potential significant other.

As I define Matt Dobek's legacy, there are certain ways to view things.

1) I've always had the belief that you "Live Everyday As If It Were Your Last."

2) It isn't Quantity, but Quality!

Todays job market has no loyalty. When I entered the work force 31 years ago, two weeks notice was a common courtesy. Now it's two seconds.

To work 29 years at one job and not be given severance pay as was the case with Matt, was idiotic. I've worked in industry's where politics prevented me from landing in other positions.

That's why Matt rejoined his other support system.

I don't know what God has in store for me.

But I do know that when my time is over, there is an All-Star Team waiting for me when I pass away.

In addition to Dobek, who was one of the greatest public relations people that I've ever worked with, there is Ernie Harwell, Mr. Davidson, whom I became very friendly with at Pistons games and is ironically buried in the same cemetery that all of my family is in back in Michigan, Daly, whom I enjoyed the time working with during the Bad Boys Era.

Add family members Terry Kroll, Morris & Celia Kroll, Sidney & Dorothy Caplan, Sidney Jacobs, Sidney & Sophie Jacobs-Morganroth along with other close people such as Fred Cullen, Ronald Grant & Peter Bluesten; this is a group that I miss dearly!

As most of these recent blogs turn into death related stories, it's hard to believe that Dobek has joined the likes of Harwell, John Wooden, George M Steinbrenner and Ralph Houk as painful deaths of 2010 that I've been associated with.

We haven't even reached Labor Day.

While watching a Pistons game will never be the same again without Matt, once again, he's taught me that it's not how many years you live, but how good they are!

The one signal that I'll know when My Life Is Over is I will not Live and Sell My Heart, Soul, Ethics, Integrity and Wallet Short "To Exist."

When the time comes that "I Live To Exist" then I'll Flip the Switch and "Non-Exist!"

For those who know me, while I'm glad I've accomplished a lot, enjoyed the memories we've shared together, I have no fear when my life comes to a halt as I'll one day reunite with My other All-Star Team.

I will never be trapped into a situation just to hang around a few extra years!

Meanwhile, Matt, you'll always be viewed as not only a colleague, but a great friend, and I hope you rest in peace.

I imagine one day we'll be at court-side one at the old Richfield Coliseum in suburban Cleveland watching Daly lead his Pistons to a victory in a nationally televised game talking about the "Bad Boys."

Thanks again for the piece of the championship floor and being a championship person!

I'll miss you greatly!

Scott Morganroth's blog can be seen at www.scottsports33.com and he can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com

Gork Hammered By A Dork

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

I have been to Fayetteville, Arkansas once to see the Razorbacks play a basketball game at the old Barnhill Arena (10,000 capacity) and I have to say that these are some of the most passionate college fans in the country.

During my hoops game, these folks had to have sore feet because they stood-up the majority of the contest and the energy is enormous.

But the Razorbacks energy took on an entire new meaning earlier this month, when in my view there was an over-reaction when an Arkansas radio personality was fired recently for wearing a Florida Gators hat to a Hogs press conference.

Two days after wearing the Gators hat, Renee Gork was fired by KAKS, a northwest Arkansas radio station that calls itself Hog Sports Radio.

Last season, Arkansas lost to the Gators 23-20 at Florida, and Hogs Coach Bobby Petrino commented on Gork's hat after answering a question she asked. He told her, "And that's the last question I will answer with that hat on."

Gork said that she grabbed the hat without thinking because it was raining outside and also sent a letter of apology to the university and Petrino. She was even going to apologize publicly on the radio but never got that chance because she was fired.

I know that the station is Hog Sports Radio, is very biased and support the Razorbacks 100%, but please, the woman made an honest mistake and owned up to it.

What bothers me about the entire decision is the man who made a big deal about the situation is anything but perfect.

In 2007, Petrino abruptly resigned from the Atlanta Falcons and didn't finish out the season. He was 3-10. Petrino quit on his players and the organization which paid him millions of dollars to try to make them a winner. He informed his players through a note of explanation in the locker-room instead of having the guts to talk to them directly that he felt more comfortable in college.

You talk about professionalism, who is Petrino to criticize anyone when he makes a boneheaded move like this?

I'll never forget the first time that I started covering FAU Sports.

I was interviewing Tennessee Titans QB Rusty Smith. He asked me where my college ring was from. I told him the University of South Florida. It just so happened that FAU was going to play USF in Fort Lauderdale that season.

Smith asked me who I was rooting for? I told him the truth. My allegiances are to USF but if you win, that won't bother me at all.

USF did win a close game in what was one of the most difficult contests that I've ever sat through. I bit my finger nails so bad that they were bleeding and my heartbeat was moving faster than open-wheel indy cars. I told Smith I wanted to see a competitive game and that's what I got.

FAU Sports Information Director Katrina McCormack and I used to joke around about my USF connections all the time and she politely asked me out of respect not to wear my alma-mater's attire around the university especially when they faced each other.

Of course, I had no problem with that, but I told her that the ring stays on my finger. She smiled and had no problems with that.

Former FAU Baseball Coach Kevin Cooney and I used to joke around about when these two teams faced each other and he would tell me that it must be a tough night for you. I admitted to him it was and yes, the finger nails took a beating.

But his pitching coach was Tony Fossas (2005-2008) who also attended USF. I did write a story on Fossas and we had a great time.

The bottom line is I understand there is a fine line to the area where you work and what your collegiate loyalties are, but Gork did try to take the high road, but the dork Petrino, who took the low road in Atlanta, should have cut her a little slack. He's anything but perfect.

Even an ESPN Sports Nation Poll asked a question as to whether Gork should have been fired for wearing a Gators hat. Of the 5,375 votes, 72% said no and 28% said yes.

As we enter another college football season, the only time these two teams could meet is if they play in the SEC Championship Game since they don't face each other during the regular season.

If they do meet in the SEC Championship Game, there is no doubt that the absurd end of the Gork situation would over shadow the game.

If anything good does come out of this, perhaps Gator Nation will give Gork a job at the university or a Gainesville radio station will hire her.

Scott Morganroth's Blog can be seen at www.scottsports33.com and he can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com.

Houk Is Next

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

I was hoping I'd be wrong and there wouldn't be another major death for awhile, but another legend is headed to his new eternal life.

This time, former New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox Manager Ralph Houk died Wednesday night peacefully because of natural causes at the age of 90 at his home in Winter Haven, Florida. He would have turned 91 on August 9 but was born in Lawrence, Kansas, the home of the Jayhawks.

Here is a trivia question.

Who was the first manager that worked for the late George Steinbrenner?

You guessed it, it was Ralph Houk.

He managed for Steinbrenner for one season in 1973, then resigned to accept a position for the Detroit Tigers where he piloted the club from 1974-1978.

Houk has nine World Series Championship titles. He earned six as a player with the Yankees a pair as manager of the Bronx Bombers and another as a Vice President in 1987 with the Minnesota Twins.

During his managerial career, he had a winning percentage of .514, and won 1,619 of 3,157 games. He is 15th all-time in wins in MLB history.

In Detroit, he compiled a 363-442 mark with a .450 percentage.

Of his three stops, this was undoubtedly his most challenging position. During his tenure, the team sunk to 102 losses in 1975 and had only one winning season. In three other seasons, the team lost 87, 88 and 90 games.

But in his final campaign of 1978, the Tigers finished with his lone winning year compiling an 86-76 mark.

I'll never forget the only time that I interviewed Houk in 1983 during Spring Training when he was managing the Boston Red Sox. I asked him about his experience in Detroit and I found "The Major" to be one of the nicest people I've ever met.

He took the job as Tigers Hall of Famer Al Kaline was retiring.

I asked Houk if the Tigers job was a bigger challenge than he expected. He laughed with a big grin and said it was but never regretted taking the position.

In fact, he told me because of the support from the Tigers front office, he worked harder to rebuild the franchise and bring it back to respectability.

Despite all of the losses, in 1976, the Tigers were the most exciting 74-87 team in baseball history and Houk had the best seat in the house on the perch of the dugout.

While fans paid good money to see a young pitcher by the name of Mark "The Bird" Fidrych, the skipper watched the AL Rookie of the Year compile a 19-9 record, with a 2.34 ERA and 24 complete games.

Fidrych finished second in the AL Cy Young Award voting and along with Rusty Staub, Ron LeFlore, played in the 1976 All-Star Game and was the starting pitcher.

As I heard the announcement of Houk's death during the Washington Nationals VS Cincinnati Reds game featuring baseball's newest upcoming star Stephen Strasburg, be limited to 97 pitches and 5.2 innings, it made me think of Fidrych.

It's already been said that the Nationals will shut Strasburg down when he's reached the clubs innings limit for the season.

How many pitchers, especially Strasburg, would ever do what Fidrych did in 1976 when he had two complete game 11 innings wins? One of Fidrych's victories was over future Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven. Would Strasburg have amassed 24 complete games? Absolutely Not!

In Houk's old Yankee Stadium stomping grounds, 52, 707 fans watched the skippers prize rookie win a 3-0 decision over Dock Ellis as "The Bird" talked to the ball, along with the rest of his mound antics, thus leaving more New Yorkers talking about what they saw on that September 12 evening.

To go along with Fidrych's memorable season, Houk piloted the Tigers against the Milwaukee Brewers as Hall of Famer Hank Aaron had his last at bat which was an RBI single to short stop off Dave Roberts in the bottom of the sixth inning on Oct 3 in Wisconsin.

In the end, Houk is the man that build the nucleus of the Tigers 1984 World Championship team which Sparky Anderson managed. Then, in 1987, with the Twins, it was Houk who saw his Twins defeat the Tigers and Minnesota won the World Series.

While Houk has nine championships, he's really responsible for 10 titles!

Houk's work in Boston from 1981-84 enabled him to build the core of this franchise that reached the 1986 World Series.

With all that he accomplished with four cities and even the lessons todays baseball people have learned how to handle young pitchers despite Fidrych's short and sweet career, it's unfortunate that I'm writing another tribute and feel like an obituary story.

Now the total is five legends since May 4 and it gets strange wondering when the next icon will pass. But stay tuned, we're on a roll for all of the wrong reasons. I hope another one doesn't bite the dust anytime soon!

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com and his blog can be seen at www.scottsports33.com.

George Steinbrenner Memories

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

I've dealt with a lot of unbelievable people over the years.

But the most intimidating, yet misunderstood, had to be the late New York Yankees Owner George M. Steinbrenner, who passed away on July 13 at the age of 80.

Back in the 1980's, I met Steinbrenner for the first time at his hotel in Tampa, The Bay Harbor Inn.

We were walking down the hallway and I asked him for his autograph.

At first, he didn't give it to me as he walked past because there were a lot of people nearby. But as I walked further down the hallway, he approached me and asked, "Son where would you like me to sign?" I had a piece of paper and he was very polite. I thanked him very much and he said it was his pleasure as we shook hands.

I used to go to The Bay Harbor Inn a lot because it was very convenient being located off of Route 60 otherwise known as the Courtney Campbell Causeway. I took this route to see my best friends Gus Pantelides and Mike Pantel, who lived in Clearwater Beach. Pantelides once took me to a rib place for a birthday in the hotel.

My next encounter with Steinbrenner occurred at Fort Lauderdale Stadium when the Yankees used the facility for Spring Training and then had a team in the Florida State League.

When I was working with the Hallandale Digest, I convinced Publisher Peter Bluesten to let me cover the Fort Lauderdale Yankees.

His son Dan was totally against the idea because it wasn't local.

I felt the weekly paper needed a South Florida identity. It had to be a factor in the area not limited to our city therefore, I convinced Peter that by marketing in all areas, covering all sports, it could increase revenues and give our publication a major league identity.

It would put the Hallandale Digest on the Media Map.

Peter decided to give me the freedom to run the Sports Department and told Danny that "I have a young writer that I want to see develop and I want to see what he can do!"

Thus, Danny was forced to live with his fathers decision and told him to concentrate on the papers business side.

Dan and I had a respectful working relationship but I felt there was an adversarial side where he wanted to try to challenge me at every opportunity that he could.

Thankfully, Peter was there to be the buffer between us and this enabled me to do my job.

Dan once told me that he felt former Dodgers Manager Tommy Lasorda wouldn't remember me after an initial interview which we had months earlier. I proved Dan wrong when I played the tape in front of Peter, who gave me a big, smile, hug and kiss.

But back to the Yankees. I loved baseball and knew that it would be a lot of fun to write about the most storied franchise in sports. I thought Class A Baseball would be great because it gave me an opportunity to view "Tomorrows Stars Today" because these future major leaguers have to come from somewhere.

The Florida State League was an excellent training ground for younger players because the ballparks statistics wouldn't be misleading because of spring training.

I enjoyed writing feature stories about future players that went on to have productive & outstanding careers. I enjoyed presenting ideas to Dan and while he reluctantly accepted some of them, as I would track their progress and see them get promoted, while I knew I had Peter's respect, I began to gradually gain Dan's confidence and was questioned less because I depended on my eyes and instincts.

I'll never forget the time when I walked into the office one day and Dan said that he heard that Steinbrenner was at Fort Lauderdale Stadium. I told him "is that right or are you just kidding me?" He told me he was serious. This entire conversation took place in front of Peter.

I told Dan, "what you heard was true but I have to tell you something. I interviewed Steinbrenner and that story will appear in next weeks paper."

I proceeded to pull out the tape and played it to them. These two guys were shocked!

Peter proceeded to rip Danny again and told him that I told you he knew what he was doing!

You could hear this conversation from the United States to Iceland.

During the interview with Steinbrenner, I asked him the easy questions about developing his farm system, why he traded younger players for more established ones, what players he expected big years, how he felt about the teams slow start. He was candid about every question that I asked him "until the very last one."

This question was about why he changed managers so frequently. He explained the success to me in a very authoritative voice on how many championships his teams won under his tenure and after he finished answering my question, he abruptly ended the interview.

I knew even at the age of 20, to start with the softer questions and hit him hard at the end.

By the end of the interview, I had everything I needed and was satisfied with what I accomplished. By no means was I upset as to how things ended.

We're talking about a guy that fired Billy Martin five times and dismissed Dick Howser after a 100 win season. All Howser did was win a World Series after he left the Yankees with the Kansas City Royals.

With Steinbrenner having seen so many people, he never remembered that we met at The Bay Harbor Inn. I didn't care to bring it up either because my role this time was as a writer.

The message I pounded home to Danny was loud and clear. You can find great story ideas anywhere as long as you're out there available to to the public.

By covering the Fort Lauderdale Yankees, this enabled me to be able to write about the New York Yankees for a couple years. I had great memories dealing with Dave Winfield, Martin, Don Baylor, Butch Wynegar, Ken Griffey Sr and many others.

I would gain a measure of satisfaction when Steinbrenner appeared on ABC News Nightline with Ted Koppel. Like myself, the managerial firings were one of Koppel's questions and "The Boss" ripped Koppel as he did myself explaining the success of his decision making methods.

The Wonderful World of Journalism has moments where you can't be afraid to take chances and ask the tough questions. It's the publics right to know information and feelings about subjects pertinent to them.

But I feel grateful that in both of my dealings of Steinbrenner that the man was cooperative. I learned different lessons from each experience. I'm glad that Steinbrenner passed away as a World Champion and he has now won seven titles.

When we spoke in the 1980's, he had only one two World Series. He learned to become more patient over the years winning five with two managers. Since 1996, there have only been two Yankees skippers as I mention Joe Torre and Joe Girardi.

Indeed, Steinbrenner mellowed over the years, listened to his baseball people and was rewarded as a result. As "The Boss" rejoins Martin in heaven, will these two men begin attempting to win more titles with the likes of the many past Yankees immortals at the old Yankee Stadium? Whether Martin and Steinbrenner win championships elsewhere, I'm sure the man upstairs will be completely entertained by this duo.

We'll let the imagination take over and draw your own conclusions.

But this story has given me the unique opportunity to share a couple nice memories about Steinbrenner, in addition to my father like relationship with my loving mentor Peter Bluesten.

Steinbrenner's bold behavior taught me to never to take things personally and gain as much out of every interaction.

As for Peter, he was just "one of a kind" and both of these individuals are in good hands with the man upstairs having positive impacts on those people they were around.

I'm grateful to George and Peter and I hope you both rest in peace.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com and his blog can be seen at www.scottsports33.com.

Who Is Next?

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

When you hear about deaths, there is an old saying that they happen in threes.

In the past eight weeks, the sports world has been rocked with four legends passing away.

From the Midwest, to the West, to the Northeast, three major cities have lost iconic figures. I'm not going to get into a long drawn out story this time. I've already written two tributes already with another one on the way.

But here is a brief recap.

It began on May 4 when Cancer claimed the life of Detroit Tigers Hall of Fame Broadcaster Ernie Harwell. When I saw Ernie in December of 2008, I really thought he could have lived until 100, but at 92, Harwell came up eight years short.

One Month later, the greatest college basketball coach ever John Wooden (99) passed away on June 4 due to old age. He would have celebrated his 100 birthday on October 14 and I could just imagine the celebration there would have been on the UCLA Campus if he had reached that milestone. We all know that Los Angeles knows how to throw a great party. If there is a disadvantage to having a birthday late in the year, this was it.

It took five weeks as the ESPN family of networks pounced on another tribute. This one came on July 11 as long-time Yankees Public Address Announcer Bob Sheppard (99) passed away. Like Wooden, Sheppard was due to celebrate his 100 birthday later in the year on October 20. It's unbelievable that Wooden is just six days older than Sheppard and they both died five weeks apart.

As if New York and Yankee fans had enough to grieve about, it took 48 hours for another legend to go down.

The baby of this group was Owner George M Steinbrenner.

He just celebrated in 80 birthday on July 4 and on July 13, the day of the All-Star Game, this controversial stick of dynamite found himself in heaven reunited with his old buddy and Manager Billy Martin watching the game at the old Yankee Stadium.

I'll do a separate tribute on Steinbrenner in a couple days because I had a couple of interesting experiences with him that are worth sharing. But for now, I'm just amazed that as I was gearing up to watch the Mid-Summer Classic, I found myself listening to tributes on Steinbrenner all day as Fox and ESPN blanketed this story finding every credible person to voice their experiences.

When you add up the ages of these four men, we're looking at 370 years worth of life. The memories and impact that they had on their communities will last forever. But to see them pass so quickly and close to one another is mind boggling.

There is no doubt that Harwell, Sheppard and Steinbrenner have seen a lot of curve ball's in their baseball careers, so I've decided to throw one myself.

During this May 4-July 13, time frame, Diff'rent Strokes Actor Gary Coleman, who was 4 feet, 8 inches, died on May 28. He celebrated his 42 birthday on February 8, and while he certainly didn't live as long as the other four legends listed above, his impact on television with those of us in our 30's-50's for his great sense of humor on that television show will never be forgotten.

So as the headline says, Who Is Next? I hope we don't find out for a long while. But I have a feeling that won't be the case. I hope I'm wrong.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com and his blog can be seen at www.scottsports33.com.