Marc Blatte is an accomplished composer, commercial song writer and author. He is a Grammy Nominee for Writer of Best R+B Song, “When She Was My Girl,” the #1 record by The Four Tops.Blatte is also a winner of The ASCAP Award for Most Performed Country Music Song for “Read My Lips,” the #3 record by Marie Osmond. In addition, he was the recipient of The Ralph Peer Music Publishing Company’s Lifetime Achievement Award for writing

Since the dawn of the internet we, as a civilization, have had basically the entirety of human knowledge and creation at our fingertips. From the greatest works of literature to the most complex mathematical equations (explained as simply as possible for Dumb Brains like me). Almost every piece of recorded music in history can be listened to in a few seconds! It’s pretty freaking cool…and yet most of us end up watching/listening/reading the same comfortable

Can you imagine if this essay was about what it’s like to be incredibly good looking? As the self-described “most generic looking white man possible,” I think it would be extremely funny to wax poetic on how difficult life is when you’re ‘really really really’ ridiculously good looking. But, that’s clearly not what I’m here to blather on about. I’m here to talk to you as someone who is constantly overheating, someone who is usually dappled

Donnie Hammond is a two-time winner on the Professional Golf Association Tour. He will be joining Mick & Mook on May 18th.Donnie will recap the Masters Tournament for Billy and Frank and preview the remaining three upcoming majors starting with the PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club.Hammond was born in Fredrick, Maryland and attended Jacksonville University where he was a member of the golf team. He turned pro in 1979 and joined the PGA

Fred Claire is a former long-time executive with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He served numerous roles with the Dodgers from 1969-1998, including his position as Vice President/General Manager from ’87 to ‘98.Fred began his career with the Dodgers as an assistant in public relations – and in 1975, he became the VP of Public Relations.  During this term, he was instrumental in creating the team branding that became known as the ‘Dodger Blue’ campaign.A year

Yes, I’m a Boston Celtics fan. However, I guarantee you, the majority of NBA fans will agree with my following sentiments, including some diehard New York fans. Besides, most New Yorkers are Knicks’ fans and still consider the Nets as part of New Jersey. But, then again, their two New York NFL teams play in New Jersey, so….For those who don’t follow the National Basketball Association, the Celtics just swept the Brooklyn Nets in the

John Filo’s iconic picture of 14-year-old Mary Ann Vecchio screaming while kneeling over the dead body of 20-year-old Jeffrey Miller, one of the four victims of the Kent State shootings in 1970, won him the Pulitzer Prize in 1971.The shooting by members of the Ohio National Guard occurred at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio on May 4, 1970. The massacre, which resulted in the deaths of four students and wounding of nine others, changed

With legendary Baseball Hall of Famer Rod Carew the guest on the ‘A Mick A Mook and A Mic’ podcast this week, I thought it would be apropos to write about baseball. And while I had intended to write something positive about the game, sadly, LA Dodgers’ manager Dave Roberts stepped in and that plan went awry.However, allow me to first acknowledge the great Rod Carew.I met Rod via the ‘Mook’ (Frank Pace) more years

As soon as someone pointed out I should write a post about doing taxes, my mind splintered into a thousand pieces and began imagining a thousand different essays about it. From the Jerry Seinfeld, “what’s the deal with taxes?” type, to the anarcho-capitalist word vomit about how the government is simply a coercive monopoly stealing the sweat off of the collective brows of workers…but then, of course, I settled back into my own little corner

Rodney Cline Carew was born on a train in Gatun, Panama on October 1, 1945. He moved with his family to New York when he was fourteen years old, and signed with the Minnesota Twins on the day he graduated from high school.Rod Carew is one of the most talented players to ever don a major league uniform. During his illustrious nineteen-year career he was selected to eighteen All-Star teams. He is the all-time All-Star

Watching the recent NCAA Final Four, plus knowing UCLA basketball great, John Vallely, would be a guest soon on the ‘A Mick A Mook and A Mic’ podcast, ignited many fond basketball memories.It was in March 1970 when my favorite NCAA basketball memories occurred. Over 50-years ago…yikes!I was a sophomore in college. God, just a baby!  I was attending Jacksonville University (JU) in Florida – and finally getting over being homesick. Living south of Boston

 Frank & Billy are looking forward to a visit from the legendary UCLA basketball star and a first round pick in the NBA draft, John Vallely, on the April 13th episode of A Mick A Mook and A Mic. Vallely, a former NBA player and 2x NCAA Basketball Champion, was a star and All-American for the John Wooden led UCLA Bruins. He won his two NCAA championships in 1969 and 1970, and was a teammate of

Prolific author Horatio Alger never met Steve Papazian.  He is the epitome of an American success story.A Los Angeles native and graduate of Cal State Northridge, Steve started in the mail room at Warner’s after having served a tour in Viet Nam.  For the next nearly 50-years, Steve rose through the ranks to become the President of Physical Production for Warner Bros Worldwide.Steve worked on some of the studios biggest films during his long stint,

Humans love to say that they’re spontaneous, that they’re adventurous, that they’re impulsive (but in a fun “let’s not make dinner tonight, let’s go out” way, not an “I just put $60k on the Knicks to cover” way). But, guess what… that’s bullshit! Humans love predictability. Humans love discernable patterns. Humans love cause and effect that can be easily understood. All of this is why humans, now (and Will in particular) and throughout history (I

Let me be clear, if you’re an adult and not hurting children or a member of my family, I couldn’t care less what you wear or who you bed.  An adult in America is free to make their own life choices, as long as it’s within the law of the land or the rules of the game. If you’re not an adult, then those choices and decisions belong to your parents….not teachers, politicians, or corporate

Few people in the entertainment business have achieved the level of success of Mel Damski.  The versatile New York born director has helmed some of America’s finest work in television;  M* A*S*H, LOU GRANT, BOSTON LEGAL and PYSCHE …to MOW’s, BADGE OF THE ASSASIAN, A WINNER NEVER QUITS (starring Keith Carradine and Ed O’Neil) … to AMERICA’S BABY: THE RESUCE OF JESSICA MC CLURE.Mel’s feature films include YELLOWBEARD, starring the lads from Monty Python, to

Yes, you read the headline correctly. A plane crash that I experienced ended up saving my life!As I’ve mentioned a few times in my blogs, I started working in the Sporting Goods Industry in the early 1980s. My first job in the industry was with Ektelon, a leading racquetball company based in San Diego, CA.  I began with the company serving as its Eastern Sales Manager. Personally, I was based south of Boston and managed

One of America’s greatest female swimmers of all time, Donna de Varona, will be the featured guest on A Mick A Mook and A Mic on March 16th.  At the age of 17, Donna appeared on ABC’s Wide World of Sports, becoming the youngest and one of the first women sportscasters for a national network. Her groundbreaking career has earned her an Emmy, two Gracies, and the opportunity to cover a wide variety of sports

This is difficult to admit, but sports doesn’t mean quite as much to me as it once did. Age certainly has something to do with it, but there are many more negative happenings in professional sports that has added to it being a turn off. As mentioned in previous blogs, much of my life has been devoted to sports. Beginning with youth sports through high school, college and adult travel softball, I played actively for well

A Mick a Mook and A Mic may have more than it can handle when they welcome long-time Los Angeles Sportswriter and ESPN panelist on Around The Horn, T.J. SIMERS, into the studio on March 16.Know for his caustic humor and acerbic wit, T.J was the Page 2 columnist for the LA Times for nearly 25 years.  During that time you either loved him (John Wooden & Vin Scully) or hated him (too many to

On January 6, 2021, a violent mob of insurrectionists attacked the US capitol. It was a harrowing, disgusting few hours, but by that evening it was just that, a few hours. The mob was quelled, the capitol secured, and by the next week when it was time to write another essay, so much had been written about it that I decided to write about going on dumb little jogs for my dumb mental health. Since

With this week’s episode of A Mick A Mook and A Mic featuring the travel adventures of Billy and Frank (Mick and Mook), I thought I’d share some of my travel escapades, most of which were business-related. However, there were also many personal trips that I will always cherish.Over the years, I have traveled to 47 states, Puerto Rico, and 6 countries. The only states I have not experienced are Alaska, Montana and South Dakota. 

Cincinnati Bengals Hall of Fame quarterback and NFL MVP in 1981, Kenny Anderson, spent his entire professional career playing for the Bengals of the National Football League. Anderson was selected in the third round of the 1971 NFL Draft by the Bengals. Over the course of his 16-season career, Anderson led the NFL in passer rating four times, completion percentage three times and passing yards twice.  In 1981, Kenny was named the Offensive Player of the Year and won the NFL Most Valuable Player Award.  In

With songwriter J.T. Harding the special guest this week on the podcast, A Mick A Mook and A Mic, I couldn’t help but think about bygone times. So bear with me, as I take a hiatus from my sports blog and reminisce.The episode with J.T. is one in which I’ve looked forward to ever since I learned he would be a guest of Mick and Mook. However, I fear it may also be an interview

I’m an only child. That should be obvious. I’ve created a blog spanning a year-plus where all I do is write about things I think (classic “only child center of the universe” stuff right there).As a child, I didn’t have to share my toys or my parent’s attention…that part was pretty rad. I also spent a lot of time alone and when something would break or go missing, I had no siblings to blame it