NKOTB

Rob By Rob Morrison, Anchor

I turn 40 soon.  And I do so with a sense of relief, having unburdened myself of a deep secret I’ve kept for decades.  I admitted on-air today that I like New Kids On The Block.  It’s a fact I once secretly acknowledged to my (much) younger cousin Amanda back in the late 80’s.  She, however, broke our confidence and told other members of my family…much to their surprise and delight.  The teasing was too much for my fragile ego to take at the time and I angrily denied it. 

I thought the skeleton was buried in my closet forever until today when our Plaza was besieged by thousands of still-loyal NKOTB fans.  They’ve reunited here to kick off a new tour. 

So, much to the surprise and delight of my co-workers, I admitted the truth today.  The teasing has resumed, but I feel I’m in a better place to handle it now.

 

 

Otis’ Blog: A Busy Weekend

 

 By Otis Livingston

I recently had the honor of being inducted into the University of Idaho’s Alumni Hall of Fame.

The award was given to me for my work in broadcasting.

I’ve had the privilege of covering such events as the Athens and Torino Olympics, NBA Finals, World Series, U.S. Opens, and Super Bowl XVII.

The weekend was embarrassing and humbling. For a man that gets paid to speak, I was almost speechless when we were given the opportunity to address the different reception audiences.

 

My wife and I enjoyed 3 days of being treated like royalty. Many of my family members and friends were there as well. The campus sure has changed since we left there 14 years ago. The people hadn’t. They were as kind and caring as I remembered.

 

The funny part was at that same time as my induction into the Hall of Fame, another very important event was going on in the Livingston family.

 

My son’s AAU basketball team, The King Street Kings, were playing in the New Jersey 11U State tournament. You can imagine how torn I was.

 

But once again, technology to the rescue! My daughter, mother in-law, and fellow King Street parents text messaged me on my Blackberry.

 

In fact, I told the first crowd what was going on back home during one of my speeches and sure enough — BUZZ, BUZZ! — We’re down 3 to start the second quarter. The speech was not as smooth the rest of the way. Fortunately, they won that game by 19. They also won the semifinal by 30, and I got the word about the state championship game while they were introducing the three Hall of Famers during the commencement.

 

King Street wins by 20. The rest was a blur. I barely noticed the thousands of students getting their diplomas. One name did stick out: Jeffrey T. Lyons. I was waiting for Alison Bailes’ name to be called next.

 

My family had one of those weekends we’ll never forget. If only we could’ve had some sort of Webcam hookup back-and-forth. This Saturday I will emcee an event for Juvenile Diabetes in Connecticut. This will be my second year of being bestowed this great honor. The King Street Kings will be in Washington D.C. for an important National tournament.

 

Needless to say, the BlackBerry will be fully charged and on vibrate.

 

 

 

 

 

Doing A Story About Coffee When You’ve Never Had A Cup

By Ida Siegal, Reporter

When I was a kid, coffee was one of those grown-up mysteries I never understood. Why on earth would they drink that hot brown stuff that smelled so weird?

I now appreciate the varied aromas and the desire for a jolt of caffeine, but I never developed a taste for the coffee itself. I’ve been told I’m the better for it; perhaps, perhaps not.

Either way, if you’re like me, when your producer tells you to become an expert in a couple days, you become slightly anxious. Not only did I need to learn about coffee, but also, I needed to find the best bang for the buck. Yes, good, cheap coffee.

It turns out that you don’t have to drink coffee to understand that it is like most other things in that you get what you pay for.

While there are plenty of places to get a decent Cup of Joe at a good price, there is a reason Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts do so well.

I found a newsstand on 42nd Street offering a cup for 69 cents. It was the cheapest cup we could find.

The owner said he is loosing money on the coffee, but was new to the block and needed to attract customers. He also offered a 99-cent cup of “café chino,” according to his sign.

Though I didn’t taste it, it smelled good and people seemed to like it enough. However, they didn’t have lattes, whipped cream, special syrups or non-fat soy options. And they didn’t have that round, green stamp of brand approval we all know so well.

Thankfully, I didn’t need to taste the Starbucks brew to understand why people are willing to pay $4 for a cup. Nor, did I need to taste the 99-cent café chino to understand why these days, brand approval or not, it may very well be the better cup. Non-fat soy is great, but a café chino that is $3 cheaper may be even better.

Mary Tillman

Rob Morrison, Anchor

We decided to take advantage of Tuesday’s beautiful weather and talk with Mary Tillman out on the Plaza.  She’s been in town discussing her book, Boots On The Ground By Dusk, including a recent appearance on the Today Show. 

What a lovely woman.  She seemed most concerned about dispelling any notion that the book was written out of anger.  She didn’t strike me as an angry woman.  Maternal, thoughtful, kind…yes, but not angry.  Rather, she says, it’s about her search for the truth about Pat’s death, and the fact that there are many similar, lower-profile, stories still out there.

The interview airs Monday on Today in New York. 

How Sweet It is

By Otis Livingston, Sports Anchor

 

I’m not sure how many of you are happy New Orleans Hornets Head Coach Byron Scott won the NBA’s Coach of the Year award on Tuesday. I’m ecstatic on a couple of levels.

First off, I’ve always been a Lakers fanatic especially the 80’s Showtime era. Byron Scott was Magic Johnson’s running mate on the court. I’m also happy for Byron because he’s a former Nets coach. He was unceremoniously fired during the 2003-04 season. He was fired after making the NBA Finals the previous two years, his first two seasons as a head coach at any level.

Scott was as much the face of the organization as Jason Kidd was, but he never got enough credit. It’s been rumored that Kidd was the force in the locker room that wanted Scott out as the head guy in Jersey. The two didn’t connect anymore. As is the case with most sports teams, the star on the court is irreplaceable in a battle like that. Scott was soon unemployed.

One man’s trash turned into another team’s treasure. Scott has turned that organization around. He also has a super star in another point guard Chris Paul who looks like he’ll be a perennial MVP candidate. I found it especially sweet that Scott received his Coach of the Year trophy hours before sweeping the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs. Who was on the losing sideline? A former Nets point guard named Jason Kidd.

 

Caleb Campbell

Rob Morrison, Anchor

This busy sports weekend included the NFL Draft, held right across the street from us at Radio City Music Hall.  There was an emotional moment in the seventh round when the Detroit Lions drafted Army safety Caleb Campbell.  A spontaneous chant of “U.S.A.” erupted among the excited and apparently patriotic football fans.

The outburst struck me as awkward.  Campbell is eligible, under a new Army rule, to side step his active duty obligation to pursue pro sports.  The Army feels it’s the type of success story that could boost sagging recruitment.  Meanwhile, the majority of Campbell’s West Point classmates will more than likely be sent off to do what they were trained to do, which is lead troops into battle in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Presumably, it’s what Campbell envisioned for himself when he chose the Military Academy.

Some of our nation’s most beloved sports heroes served during wartime and went on to have success in pro sports…Roger Staubauch and Ted Williams are two.  Pat Tillman is another name that comes to mind.  We all know by now that he gave up a lucrative contract in the NFL to enlist after 9/11.  I’m interviewing his mother, by the way,  next week about her new book, Boots On The Ground By Dusk.

I disagree with the Army’s PR philosophy.  I think Caleb Campbell would be a more inspirational role model if he were to put off his football dreams until after he has honored his original commitment.  The same commitment thousands of young, less athletically gifted, men and women have been expected to honor.

Daddy Day Care

By Cat Greeleaf

One of my best friends is a stay-at-home dad of one-year-old twin
girls. On Wednesday afternoons, he has a sitter for a few hours, and
today we took a walk through my neighborhood. An hour in, I realized
he’s changed. He’s gentler, calmer. I want what he has - that
serenity. Does that come with kids? Do babies force you to realize how
little control you actually have over the world, so you can just let go?
I don’t hear a lot of parents talking about it, but if, indeed,
children bring balance, then what a lovely byproduct.

Earth Day ‘08

Rob Morrison, Anchor

Here we are (Chris, Otis and me) reporting for duty in East Harlem.  We were proud to join about 200 NBCU volunteers and members of the New York Restoration Project to plant trees at the Martin Luther King Jr. Housing Campus.  It’s all part of our ongoing Green is Universal “Earth Week.”

We didn’t mean to strike this Three Stooges looking pose, but we needed to fill out some forms and there was very limited table space, so…

 

Good Morning

Erika Tarantal, Reporter

TINY has a big secret!

Shhhhh…..I’ll tell you what it is in just one (hyphenated) word “Ess-A” …. as in Ess-A-Bagel. Every morning the most marvelous breakfast bread product ever invented is delivered to the 6th floor newsroom at 30 Rock… at least a couple dozen, piping hot!

Here’s another secret, and the explanation for my excitement over the warm, wonderful O-shaped offerings. I am a self-admitted carb-addict, and my carb of choice is the bagel.

Being as this was my first time ever filling in on Today in New York, being greeted by my familiar friend (from Ess-A no less!) was a nice treat. Oh sure, people are always putting down carbs and cutting them out of their diets….but consider the foundation of the food pyramid….that’s right grains are down there. So shouldn’t the bagel have a firm place in the foundation of my day?! Especially when that day begins with an alarm clock buzzer at 2:30am! With the price of wheat growing….and the price of bagels growing too, I have an even deeper appreciation for the free-bee.

But I have to say what was even better than the extra topping on that warm bagel….the warm welcome of the morning crew. Thanks for making the day so delightfully delectable, and thank you all at home for watching.

 

 

Slow Going

By Cat Greenleaf

The word we’d heard was that, after getting all our papers to our lawyer, we would be sent to get fingerprinted within 10 days. (The fingerprinting is to ensure we have no record of child abuse.) But our attorney’s office just informed us that the government clerk who’s dealing with our file is really backed up, and it could be two weeks to a month until we get fingerprinted.

We’re in no rush, but I’m wondering if this is a glimpse into the whole process. Will it be “hurry up and wait”? Will there be massive stretches of time with no word from anyone? And once we’re certified (basically, licensed) to adopt, will it be a year, or a day, until we get The Call?

We’re buckled in for the ride, but it’s funny: Biologically pregnant people know just when their ride ends. We could be riding a while. What else can we say but: Weeeeeeeee!