Upton Bell is a former National Football League executive. He is the son of former NFL Commissioner Bert Bell and Broadway actress Frances Upton. In 1971, at the age of 33, Bell became the youngest General Manager in the NFL when he was hired to lead (then known as) the Boston Patriots. One of Bell’s first moves was recommending to the Patriots’ Board of Directors that they change the name to the New England Patriots.…
On the July 28th episode of A Mick A Mook and A Mic, former New England Patriots’ General Manager, Upton Bell, gives us a behind the scene look at the National Football League. Son of former NFL Commissioner, Bert Bell, Upton discusses how his dad developed the NFL schedule on their kitchen table. He also divulges information regarding the feud between former Oakland Raiders principal owner and general manager Al Davis and then commissioner Pete…
Beneath sparkling brown eyes, and salt and pepper hair, he flashed a wry smile before pausing and uttering one deliberate sentence about a Sean O Casey play. “It reads good.” Author and movie star, Stephen Lang, had deliberately used bad grammar to make his point. The classically trained actor knew that my partner Frank Pace and I would get it. After all, we were writers of sorts too. Stephen was referring to Sean O Casey’s,…
My assistant said, “Carl Thomas is on the line.” Carl Thomas was the Vice President of Marketing for Speedo, the country’s leading swimwear manufacturer. Armen Keteyian and I were working as a two-man P.R. group for a small San Diego based marketing firm called The Phillips Organisation, Ltd. (That is the correct spelling). Speedo was our client. “Put Carl through,” I said. It was early 1982. Carl had just gotten off a plane from Kona, Hawaii. He…
Are you familiar with the term Genericide? Genericide is the term used when a brand legally loses its mark by reaching a point where the product name is no longer differentiated and is therefore synonymous with the generic product. For example: consumers say “Kleenex” when referring to facial tissue, regardless of the actual brand they’re using. In other words, brands can be destroyed by their own success – and Little League could be a Genericide…
A Mick A Mook and A Mic is pleased to announce that We Can Coffee Company will become an official Presenting Sponsor of the ‘MMM’ Podcast. The product will be introduced on the July 28th podcast. We Can Coffee Company offers freshly roasted to order premium blends of coffee, which is delivered to your front door. Their beans are carefully roasted in small batches to give their coffee a rich, smooth and fresh taste. We…
The July 21st episode of A Mick A Mook and A Mic will feature Dwight Hicks, the former San Francisco 49ers’ All-Pro, two-time Super Bowl Champion and current actor. A native of New Jersey, Dwight began his NFL career in 1979, and became a key player in the 49ers dynasty in the 1980s, winning Super Bowls in 1982 and 1985. He played Free Safety and was named to four consecutive Pro Bowls from 1981-1984. He…
Frank Pace has produced three movies and more than 700 hours of network television. A Valhalla High alumnus, he has been involved with some of the biggest names in sports and entertainment. Yet when he decided to write a book — “If These Lips Could Talk” — it wasn’t about him, but the people he met along the way, including a stop as a public-relations man in San Diego. Pace’s TV credits include producing the…
A Mick A Mook and A Mic Newsletter subscriber, Cheryl Pronchick of California, has won an autograph photo of the Murphy Brown cast, featuring Candice Bergen and our July 7th guest, Joe Regalbuto, among others. The winner was announced on July 14th. A Mick A Mook and A Mic conducts frequent drawings of unique products. To be eligible, simply sign-up for our Newsletter…it’s FREE! Come back to aMickaMookandaMic.com often to learn of our next product…
By Will Peterman | July 4, 2021Hydration is obviously a large part of being a person. We’re like 60% water, which is crazy because I’m still not even 60% sure writing weekly essays is a good idea…anyways, I’m pretty damn good at drinking water. I carry a big ‘ole silver water bottle with me basically everywhere I go. I fill that guy up like three or four times per day. At this point, I get…
While watching the NBA Playoffs, thoughts brought me back to my most memorable night at a NBA game. It was November, 1977. It was a game at The ‘Fabulous’ Forum in Los Angeles. It was the Chicago Bulls versus the LA Lakers. It was a battle of 7-footers…Artis Gilmore versus Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Allow me to set the stage… I had recently moved from a small town south of Boston to Marina Del Rey, California. I…
By Billy O’Connor, Retired NY City Firefighter and 9/11 First Responder. It happened in Florida. Of course, it did. It also happened in what might cynically be called history’s richest third-world country. Profit is always first and foremost in the USA. Don’t dwell on the dead. Never mind the rescue workers who will have to put their lives at risk. As the first responder’s efforts inevitably change from rescue to recovery, my heart breaks for…
It’s been a while, but I think the time is finally right: strap in because after a run of normal essays, I’m ready to drop another weird one. We live in a world dominated by capitalism and consumerism. Every time you buy a new product, it’s the best one they’ve ever made. It makes all previous versions obsolete! Without this new product, you’re nothing and nobody! But sometimes, there are products that theoretically last forever,…
With Father’s Day upon us, I’d like to take a break from sports and write about my Dad…a real life hero. Many children look to their fathers as their hero…and rightfully so. If you were lucky enough to have a Dad that gave you reason to think of him in that manner, be thankful. I hope you cherished him and continue to do so to this day, whether he’s still physically with you, or just…
My face lit up. Wow! Of all the gin joints in all the world? When she walked in, I was tending bar in a dollar beer joint on Wall Street, the one’s with a steam table for a quick lunch. Although clad in white shirt and tie, I was usually the kind of guy who showered after work, not before. A staunch union man, when I was reading to my young children, I started every…
Being an adult kind of sucks. I’m hardly the first person to posit this thought but it’s still true. Even the things that, as a kid, I looked forward to aren’t nearly as cool as I’d hoped they’d be: Driving a car? Sure, have fun in traffic on the way to work. Booze? Yeah beer is great, hangovers and beer guts though, not so much. A steady paycheck? AHAHAHAHAH! I’ll let you know when I…
Having a “thing” is great. It’s probably one of my favorite parts of being a sentient being. But what is a “thing”? Well it’s kind of like a hobby, but it can be much broader, much vaguer than just a hobby. It’s something that you’re thinking about during the middle of a work day. Something you’re excited to do, or watch, or just think about more over the weekend! One of the beautiful things about…
The tubercular character created in 1969s “Midnight Cowboy,” Ratzo Rizzo was as repulsive as he was unforgettable: a hacking, limping, confused miscreant struggling to survive amid a jungle of cement, conmen, and car horns. In 60-Truck, an FDNY firefighter named Jack Rizzi was well groomed, mannerly, and so honest that you could play craps with him over the phone. Because these two men were total opposites, the brothers Christened Jack Rizzi, “Ratzo Rizzi.” The…
Let me say right off the top…I hate ‘greatest’ lists – especially those offered by writers barely out of school. Kids ranking basketball greats who have never seen the likes of Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson or Jerry West play should be automatically disqualified from a greatest ‘ever’ NBA list. Recently, I was reading a list by a young writer who is published in a reputable sports website. I won’t embarrass or promote him…
(Excerpted in part from the book, IF THESE LIPS COULD TALK) How did I become pals with Cowboy Joe West, the man who will set the major league record for most games umpired in baseball history (5,376) tonight (5/25) in Chicago? The man of whom someone once said, “This is a guy who will walk into a blast furnace with two gasoline buckets, he doesn’t give a damn.” Racquetball. That’s right, racquetball. You remember racquetball. It was…
The highlight on my career was an invitation to Don Rickles 70th birthday party. It was an incredibly star-studded event, even for Hollywood. The guests included Frank Sinatra, Robert DeNiro, Sharon Stone, Bob and Ginny Newhart, Milton Berle, Marty Scorsese and Red Buttons along with movie moguls Marvin Daly and Bob Daly. My wife and I were seated with comic Jack Carter ,his wife and noted cosmetics maven Tovah Borgnine (wife of Academy Award winner,…
A warning to the younger people who read this blog…when you reach a certain age, some things in life become intolerable, which includes watching insufferable sports professionals. Also, get ready for some old-man ‘back in my day’ comments. However, my life is all I have to compare happenings over the years – and trust me, there have been plenty of years to analyze. I promise, you’ll be there one day, too, if you’re not already.…
Make no mistake, baseball is America’s pastime. As the Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum often says, “Baseball is sewn into the fabric of America.” The word pastime has multiple meanings. To me, it’s a manner in which to pass time. Unlike the fast-paced Millennial and Gen-Z generations, former generations lived a slower, more in-the-moment lifestyle – and viewed baseball as a means of gathering with family and friends to enjoy watching the ‘boys of…
One afternoon, many years ago I was tending bar when an ominous looking man with a Boston Blackie style pencil thin moustache walked in and slid into a seat. He was barely at his stool when the Killer said, “Alcohol is the cause and solution of all problems.” “Killer Miller” was an exterminator, hence the benign rhyming nickname. As a former drunk, the sentence hit my ears like a powerful left…
Time flies. One year, I’m 19 years old and watching Artis Gilmore lead Jacksonville University to the NCAA finals, the next thing you know I look in the mirror to shave and see a 71–year old man. We really do have to make the most of every day. As trite as that saying may seem, nothing is promised. Two recent tragedies remind me of that adage. The death of the 19-year-old Kentucky guard Terrace Clarke…