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…
An hour before the NCAA championship game, a diner in my community interrupted my burger, “Hey man, I watched your podcast. Good stuff.”“Thanks Tommy,” I said. “Much appreciated.”“So, you were a bookie?”“For seven years,” I said. “I even wrote a book about it.”“Wow. So, you know your stuff,” Tommy said. “Who do you like in tonight’s big game, Gonzaga or Baylor?”“Know my stuff?” I just laughed.Last football season on our podcast A Mick, A Mook,…
by Gil Vieira VSportsTalk As promoted in the tagline of the podcast, A Mick A Mook and A Mic, sports will be one of the frequent topics of discussion. Therefore, I thought it would be apropos to provide the website with my blog, vSportsTalk, to share sports insight and opinions – and to get the podcast’s fans blood boiling. With my old friend, the ‘Mook’, being a New York sports fan, and I residing…