You had to be there
New book (re)views great moments
In a soon-to-be released book entitled “Being There” (Lyons Press), Eric Mirlis gets the list of the Top 5 Sports Moments some of the biggest names in the media business have seen in person, along with recollections from their experience at each event.
Some of the fun stories told include Marv Albert talking about Willis Reed and Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals; what was going through Joe Starkey’s mind as he was calling the final play of the 1982 Cal-Stanford game; Verne Lundquist’s thoughts while Tiger Woods’ chip was hanging on the edge of the 16th hole at the 2005 Masters, and many more.
Other people involved in the project include Keith Jackson, Pat Summerall, Keith Olbermann, Ernie Harwell, Bob Wolff and The Post’s Steve Serby and Jay Greenberg. In total, there are 100 Top 5 lists. It is already available for pre-sale on Amazon.com, and will be on shelves May 1.
The most popular events listed in the book were: 1994 Rangers win Stanley Cup (13 people); Mookie Wilson-Bill Buckner (11); Cal Ripken breaks Lou Gehrig’s record (7); Super Bowl XXV – Giants-Bills (7); Lake Placid (6); Kirk Gibson’s 1988 Game 1 World Series home run (5) and Christian Laettner’s 1992 overtime buzzer-beater that beat Kentucky in the East Regional Finals (5).
The first famous Titan
Ryan Boyle, assistant captain of the New York Titans National Lacrosse League team, had a bizarre brush with fame recently. In the first lacrosse game at the Garden on Jan. 20, Boyle scored two goals and registered two assists in the Titans’ victory over Chicago. However, the former Princeton standout will mostly remember that, unbeknownst to him at the time, one of the hundreds of kids who asked for autographs and pictures after the game was Cody Lohan, the younger brother of actress Lindsay Lohan. Days later, a photo of Boyle and Cody appeared on Perez Hilton’s gossip Web site. “I couldn’t believe how many calls, e-mails and text messages I got from people,” Boyle told The Rumble. “It was completely crazy. I was hearing from people I hadn’t seen or talked to in years. Everyone was laughing at me and giving me trouble since my picture was on the same page next to Britney Spears, Angelina Jolie, Paul McCartney and Cameron Diaz.”
A commercial success
A Seton Hall Sports Poll conducted Jan. 22-25 of people who say that they intend to watch the Super Bowl finds that 40 percent of the 441 people randomly called across the country say they will watch the game very closely, while 31 percent say they will watch the commercials very closely. In fact, 28 percent of those watchers were unable to identify the names of both teams. And 76 percent said they would pay more attention to commercials (above is a frame from an American Heart Association spot) during the Super Bowl than they do to commercials during regular-season games. “It’s no wonder that advertisers spend millions to get into this telecast,” noted Rick Gentile, director of the Seton Hall Sports Poll, conducted by The Sharkey Institute. “You have a captive, festive audience, almost as much in tune to the commercials as to the game.”
It’s a Marvelous life
Marv Albert warmed up for his fifth Super Bowl radio play-by-play (on Westwood One, on a record 650 outlets, including WFAN, with Boomer Esiason) with dinner Friday night at South Beach’s renowned Prime 112. The joint was packed with celebs, including Tom Brady; Mark Wahlberg and Vince Papale of “Invincible” and Mark Ciardi, who produced the upcoming movie “The Game Plan” starring the Rock (with our Steve Serby in a bit part). Last night’s guest list was expected to include Eli Manning; A-Rod; Jerry Jones; Sammy Sosa, Mike Ditka and a bevy of NFL owners.
Albert’s radio play-by-play of Super Bowl XLI will make him the only person in history with five Super Bowls, five Stanley Cup Finals and 12 NBA Finals on his Hall of Fame resume. “With Peyton [Manning] at quarterback from a play-by-play point of view, it’s much easier because of all the time he takes at the line,” Albert said.
A Starbury is born
As a private company, Steve & Barry’s, the exclusive outlet for “Starbury” discount sneakers, has yet to release exact sales figures on Stephon Marbury’s kicks. But Marbury told The Post’s Marc Berman that the figure is approaching two million pairs sold. That doesn’t include all the T-shirts, sweatshirts, sweatpants and hoodies that are adorned with various Starbury and Brooklyn insignias. Marbury said the 50-item apparel line is going to expand to a 200-item line in March.
A-Rod joins the party
Wednesday night at The Forge, Miami’s hotspot for celebs and athletes, drew Alex Rodriguez, Marlins pitcher Dontrelle Willis, Deion Sanders clad in neon bling, ex-Met Cliff Floyd, Warren Sapp and Jermain Taylor. The Forge hosted the Bears’ pre-game party Sunday night, thrown by Adewale Ogunleye and Thomas Jones. The players enjoyed soul-food favorites such as fried chicken and waffles and BBQ ribs, while their guests mingled in between shots of chilled Patron tequila.
Peyton Manning went straight from the airport Monday night with his entire offensive line to snack on Cafe Mortarano’s world-famous meatballs as Bears middle linebacker Brian Urlacher sat a few tables away … Table 8, the Colts’ hotspot co-owned by Dwight Freeney, hosted Pacers great Reggie Miller … Goose Gossage was guest bartending at Blair Perrone Steakhouse in Midtown Monday to help raise money and awareness for the Dennis Blair Foundation. Goose was mixing drinks and signing baseballs … Tiki and Ronde Barber were swarmed by picture-taking fans at RARE Bar and Grill.
Bush takes itto the hoop
Reggie Bush has just signed on to participate in this year’s McDonald’s NBA All-Star Celebrity Game presented by 2K Sports on Feb.16 at the Mandalay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Bush attended Helix High School outside of San Diego, the alma mater of NBA legend and Hall of Famer Bill Walton and, despite never having played on an organized basketball team, is certain to turn heads once again in the star-studded competition featuring celebrity basketball fans from the sports, acting and music worlds. The game will air on ESPN at 8 p.m.
Working with Major League Baseball on its goodwill trip to Ghana, Spalding became the first company to send baseball equipment to Africa, according to Spalding representative Ray Negron, who is also the author of “The Boy of Steel.” Two hundred copies of “The Boy of Steel” were also sent to Ghana.