GAGA ABOUT THE LADY
By Roy Firestone
Multi Emmy Award-Winning Journalist

Up Close with Roy Firestone

When they asked Steve Martin what it takes to break through in the entertainment business, he said it’s not about agents, contacts, or luck…it’s about, as he put it, “being SO good at what you do, that they can’t ignore you.” With that in mind, I give you the story of Stefani Germanotta. For years, this classically trained pianist and singer played in dumps, strip bars, and sleazy clubs. As a young kid…she idolized Judy…

New MLB Rules a Big Winner in 2023
By Gil Vieira

vSportsTalk - By Gil Vieira

With September upon us and the MLB regular season winding down, I thought I’d give MLB its due for the success of their new rules in 2023. Here’s a look at the four major rule changes that made a significant difference in today’s game. Larger Bases:  While I didn’t see the need for wider bases, I was very much in favor of changing the thickness of the bags. I never understood why the bases were…

Writer & Director, Stan Zimmerman, to Join Mick & Mook

Upcoming Guest

Stan Zimmerman is a TV Writer, Playwrite, and Director. From The Golden Girls to Roseanne to The Gilmore Girls to the Brady Bunch Movie, Stan has a lifetime of experiences and stories. Did you know Stan and his writing partner, Jim Berg, were once commissioned by Priscilla Presley to write a Broadway Play about Elvis? A student of the theatre, Stan has also written and directed a series of plays including the current run, The Diary…

Lukas & Willie Nelson: The Tradition Endures
by Roy Firestone Multi Emmy Award Winning Journalist

Up Close with Roy Firestone

Willie Nelson is now 90 years-old and still touring. He’s had the most remarkable life.   For nearly 70 years in show business, Willie has written great songs and sung them well. He has entertained millions of people and has sold equally as many records. In addition, he’s been an activist and an outspoken figure for Farm Aid and numerous other charities.   You would think with his tour schedule, which could have hundreds of…

MLB Umpire ‘Cowboy’ Joe West Joins Mick and Mook for Their 3rd Anniversary Show on 9/6

Upcoming Guest

MLB Umpire ‘Cowboy’ Joe West joins Billy and Frank on 6 September for the third anniversary show of their podcast, A Mick A Mook and A Mic.   Joe West, the retired, iconic umpire of Major League Baseball who, in his 43 years of service, set the all-time MLB record with 5,460  games in blue, has become a regular visitor to the show.  Joe will provide his unique county humor and vast baseball knowledge to this…

Remembering My First Pro Athlete Interview
by Gil Vieira

vSportsTalk - By Gil Vieira

August 9, 2023 It was August 1978. Forty-five years ago. Yikes! The first professional athlete that I was fortunate to interview was Red Sox second baseman Jerry Remy. We talked while leaning against the infield tarp located down the right field line at Fenway Park. I remember it like it was yesterday. Prior to the interview, I was thrilled to meet multiple players during batting practice…and for simply being on the field itself. Hell, I…

Emmy Award Winning Journalist, Armen Keteyian, Joins Mick & Mook on August 23rd

Upcoming Guest

Armen Keteyian is an 11-time Emmy Award winner. He has a decorated print and broadcast career spanning over 40 years. Armen will be joining Billy and Frank on the August 23rd episode of A Mick A Mook and A Mic to discuss his new, explosive book, “GAMBLER: Secrets from a Life at Risk”, which he co-authored with Billy Walters. The book is the amazing story of Billy Walters who, per ESPN, “is the greatest and…

The Development of an Iconic Filmmaker
By Roy Firestone
Emmy Award-Winning Journalist

Up Close with Roy Firestone

Steve was a lonely kid. He was ridiculed, bullied, and mocked, mostly because he was Jewish. He had few close friends, but he found relief from the sadness when he became obsessed with the movies. It helped him escape the pain of his parents’ divorce – and the wonder of making films was an escape to him, as it was for many lonely, hurting kids. And so, Steve made little movies using a Bell and…

Multi-talented Actor, Peter Onorati, Joins Mick & Mook on 8/9

Upcoming Guest

Peter Onorati is an extremely talented performer whose 40-year acting career includes titles like: Goodfellas, This Is Us, Civil Wars, S.W.A.T., Big Bang Theory, and Cop Rock. Peter was born and raised in Boonton, New Jersey. He attended Lycoming College where he received his B.A. degree in Business Administration. He later received an MBA at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Peter was also an excellent athlete, who was recognized as an NCAA All-Conference football wide receiver. He’s still a fitness…

“Goliath”…the Story of the Great Wilt Chamberlain
By Roy Firestone
Multi Emmy Award Winning Journalist

Up Close with Roy Firestone

Beginning next weekend and for the following three weekends, I will be one of the lead voices with recollections, stories, and interviews in a fascinating series about, easily, the most fascinating man who ever strode a basketball court. It’s called “Goliath”, and I am heavily featured in the 3-part documentary that tells the story of the most compelling athlete in basketball history…and yes, that includes Michael Jordan. What makes this series so groundbreaking, and I…

Joey Banks – Actor, Stuntman and Son of Baseball HOFer Ernie Banks Joins Mick & Mook on 7/12

Upcoming Guest

Joey Banks, the son of the legendary Chicago Cubs Hall of Fame icon, Ernie Banks, will join Billy and Frank on the July 12th episode of A Mick A Mook and A Mic. On this fascinating episode, Joey talks about the pressures, benefits, and drawbacks of growing up in the spotlight of his iconic father  He speaks fondly of playing catch at Wrigley Field with Hall of Famers Billy Williams and Ron Santo. Joey also…

A Night with Fellow HOFers – and Remembering the “Castle on the Hill”
By Gil Vieira

vSportsTalk - By Gil Vieira

I’ve written a little in the past about my historic hometown of Fairhaven, Massachusetts. Located on Massachusetts’ south coast on picturesque Buzzards Bay, it’s about halfway between Providence, Rhode Island and Cape Cod. It was the site of the first naval battle in the Revolutionary War, which was fought off the beachfront of Fort Phoenix – the guardian of the Fairhaven-New Beford Harbor and the largest fishing fleet in America at the time – and…

The Over the Hill Gang…Swings Again!
By Frank Pace

theMook - by Frank Pace (The Mook)

When Thomas Wolfe wrote You Can’t Go Home Again in 1940, the classic novel proposed that nostalgia causes one to view the past in an overly positive light. Going home is never as good as one remembers. The Writers Guild strike in Los Angeles inadvertently gave me the opportunity to test Wolfe’s theory.   l flew in from California to attend a loosely organized reunion of my childhood friends. We grew up playing baseball on the sandlots and…

India de Beaufort, co-star of the NBC hit series, ‘Night Court,’ Joins Mick & Mook on 6/28

Upcoming Guest

Actor and singer, India de Beaufort, will be the guest of Frank and Billy on the June 28th podcast of A Mick A Mook and A Mic.  India currently stars as assistant district attorney, Olivia Moore, in the NBC revived hit series, Night Court.  She  has acted in many films and television shows, including NCIS, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, Veep, Modern Family  and One Day At A Time.  In 2020, India released her single titled “Crack”.  Born Southwest of London in Kingston…

Actor Billy Moses Joins M&M 7/14

Upcoming Guest

William (Billy) Moses has delighted audiences since he broke into television on the TV series Falcon Crest, as a 21-year-old Cole Gioberti. Billy starred in Falcon Crest for six seasons. Moses then delighted audiences in Mystic Pizza (opposite Julia Roberts), Perry Mason, How to Get Away with Murder (opposite Viola Davis), and so many more, including a just recently completed turn on General Hospital. A terrific storyteller, Billy weaves tales about his 40 plus year career and…

The Beatles Meet Elvis
By Roy Firestone

Up Close with Roy Firestone

It happened nearly 58 years ago. One of the most significant meetings between the greatest forces in pop music history – meeting for one historic night . The date was August 27th, 1965, and the Beatles were on “fumes”. That is, they were dead tired, exhausted really. They had been touring almost non-stop, done hundreds of interviews, filmed two full length movies, and were asked to turn out three new albums a year. It was…

NBA: The New King of Flopping
By Gil Vieira

vSportsTalk - By Gil Vieira

Step aside soccer, there’s a new king in town. And, no, I don’t mean King Charles III. For years, soccer players were considered the biggest floppers in sports…and rightfully so. It was one of the few reasons why I, along with many other Americans, couldn’t embrace the sport. Players flopping all over the soccer field, known as the ‘pitch,’ were difficult to watch. And this comes from one of Portuguese decent – with all my…

THE GOLDEN AGE OF LATE NIGHT HAS COME & GONE
by Roy Firestone

Up Close with Roy Firestone

Jimmy Fallon’s late-night audience is now about 2 million. When he began his show, it was an audience of 11 million. But he’s not alone. All late-night talk show’s audiences are down considerably and there are many reasons. Too many shows, too many clips of its best moments can be seen online….streaming…and frankly, boredom. Look, I’m a political person and I loved great political humor when it was beginning. But every night, every SINGLE night…

Umpire Joe West & Columnist T.J. Simers Join M&M on 5/17

Upcoming Guest

Mick and Mook go out on a limb when they put together jovial MLB Umpiring Legend Joe West and his record setting 5,460 games over 43 seasons with LA’s Sportswriter of the Year, and often acerbic and always controversial, T.J Simers. Will it be a combustible combination or will the two get along seamlessly like Bert and Ernie of Sesame Street fame? You won’t want to miss this podcast folks. It airs on the May…

Photojournalist John Filo Discusses His Iconic Kent State Photo with Mick & Mook on 5/31

Upcoming Guest

Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalist John Filo, whose picture of 14-year-old runaway Mary Ann Vecchio screaming while kneeling over the dead body of 20-year-old Jeffrey Miller on the Kent State campus, will join Billy and Frank on the May 17episode of A Mick A Mook and A Mic. The iconic photo horrified the world and turned the tide of the Vietnam War. Now, on the 53rd anniversary of that historic day in Ohio, John will recount in detail to Billy and…

Multi-Talented Actor, Rider Strong, Joins Mick & Mook on 5/3

Upcoming Guest

Rider Strong, best known for starring as Shawn Hunter on the ABC sitcom Boy Meets World, which he reprised in its sequel series Girl Meets World, will be joining Billy and Frank on the May 3rd episode of A Mick A Mook and A Mic.  In addition to his acting talents, Rider is also a producer, director, and screenwriter. He also hosts with his Boy Meets World co-stars, Will Friedle and Danille Fishel, on the…

ON APPOINTMENT VIEWING
by Will Peterman

Inside Will's Brain - By Will Peterman

Streaming has been one of the biggest changes to how we consume media in my lifetime. I was born during the era of VHS tapes, I grew up at the dawn of DVDs, and I became a disgusting teenage gremlin right around the dawn of YouTube. The thing about all of these consumption methods is that you weren’t usually watching any new traditional media. You could watch Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift as many times…

Legendary Pitcher, Jim Palmer, Joins M&M 4/19

Upcoming Guest

Jim Palmer, one of the greatest pitchers in Major League Baseball history, will be  joining Billy and Frank on the April 19thepisode of A Mick A Mook and A Mic. Palmer, the winningest MLB pitcher during the 1970s with 186 wins, has also won 3 Cy Young Awards as the best pitcher in MLB. He was also a 20-game winner in eight seasons and is the winningest pitcher in Baltimore Orioles history with 268 wins.…

Baseball Memories and My Favorite MLB Pitchers
By Gil Vieira

vSportsTalk - By Gil Vieira

Since learning that Jim Palmer, the great Hall of Fame pitcher of the Baltimore Orioles, will be an upcoming guest on the podcast, A Mick A Mook and A Mic, many fond baseball memories came to mind. While I played three sports in my younger days, baseball was my favorite…and probably the one in which I played best. Since I lived only a short walk to a park with three baseball fields, I remember playing…

Remembering Don Rickles
by Roy Firestone

Up Close with Roy Firestone

(Ed. Note:  Frank Pace – The Mook – produced Don Rickles series, DADDY DEAREST. Frank didn’t write this blog, but he could have.) ,Don Rickles has been gone for exactly 6 years. He made it to the age of 90, and for about 65 of those years, Don Rickles made people laugh…and laugh hard. Not all people found Don funny, and that’s fine. If he wasn’t your cup of tea, or if he made you…