By Otis Livingston

It’s official. Joe Torre has run his consecutive playoff streak to 13 years. The problem for Yankee fans their team didn’t do the same.

I find it quite funny that Torre was criticized in recent years for “only” getting the Bronx Bombers to the first round of the playoffs. The first year he goes to Los Angeles to manage the Dodgers, his former team doesn’t even qualify for the post season. Meanwhile the Dodgers have a date with the Chicago Cubs in the first round of the N.L. Playoffs.

Ever the classy gentleman, Torre hasn’t outwardly gloated about continuing his streak. But you know he’s human. He has to feel a bit of vindication. 

I’m pulling for the Dodgers in the playoffs for two reasons: I’m from L.A. and I like Joe Torre. I guess you can make it three reasons: I like Manny Ramirez. The Dodgers were a .500 team when Manny landed in L.A. They’ve gone 25-19 to blaze past the Arizona Diamondbacks and into the postseason since he got there. Manny can be Manny on my team any day. And Joe Torre can be Joe Torre on my bench any day too.

By Otis Livingston

I along with about 13,000 fans had the honor of walking on the Yankee Stadium field before the final major league game at the grand old stadium.

It’s customary for visitors to take tours out to Monument Park before games, but this was a true treat. Walking on the field that many Yankee greats had called their own personal playground. Don’t tell anyone but I did manage to collect some dirt and grass and stuff it into an old 35 mm film canister. Okay, I filled four canisters.

It was the first time in my 8 1/2 years of working in New York that I made the trek out to Monument Park. It’s a special place where the exploits of many of the game’s greats are recorded, The Babe, Gehrig, Reggie, and the rest. Some fans had tears in their eyes as they passed through this hallowed ground.

The highlight of the night for me though was meeting Julia Ruth Stevens, the 92 year-old daughter of The Babe. I was mesmerized by this woman. We’re always wondering what The Sultan of Swat was like. He was larger than life. She actually called him Dad!

Julia Ruth Stevens threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the final game at Yankee Stadium. She's the daughter of Babe Ruth.

“I remember when dad used to hit those towering Home Runs,” she recalled.

Unbelievable. I was speechless.

Ms. Ruth Stevens is still quite spry for age as witnessed by her ceremonial first pitch. I wonder where she got all that moxie? Like daddy, like daughter perhaps?

I look forward to going to games across the street at the new Yankee Stadium. And I will always look back at that magical day Sept. 21, 2008 not with a tear, but with a smile.

As I was going through my daily collection of news feeds, I found articles talking about the NTSB’s findings on the collision of two news choppers in Phoenix in July of 2007. 

As you may recall, five news helicopters were following a pursuit in Phoenix when two of them collided in mid-air, killing both pilots and both cameramen.

The pilots of each of the aircraft involved in the accident also served as reporters from the air. Though the findings do not determine who was at fault or how the accident happened, they do give insight as to what was happening leading up to the accident. One article I came across actually caught my attention and I thought was really interesting. 

At Tompkins from the Poynter Institute deciphered the technical language of the NTSB report into layman’s terms. 

In the report was talk of what stations in Phoenix have done in the aftermath of the collision. It is the action of one of the stations that caught my attention.  NewsChannel 3, whose helicopter was involved, has decided to place two pilots in the aircraft, along with the cameraman, if the pilot is to do reports. If the flight is only for video edited into a reporter’s story, then only one pilot will be required.

Personally, I do not think they went the wrong way with their thinking.  How about having the photographer report and let the pilot concentrate on ONLY flying?  I understand the novelty of being able to hear from “Captain Rick” high above in NewsChopper 6 telling you all that he knows from his vantage point.  Is that novelty more important than safety of the crews and the public below?  Does the cameraman sitting to “Captain Rick’s” left know less about the action down below than the pilot? 

Here in New York City, not one pilot goes on TV and does reports.  Except for WPIX, every reporter you hear or see from a TV chopper is also the camera operator.  With four control towers and many less experienced pilots in other types of aircraft flying around you, it is necessary for the pilot to concentrate solely on keeping the machine safe.  When you are away from the control towers, it is even more critical that the pilot keeps an eye on what is around the aircraft. 

Perhaps, if the on-board cameraman was watching the action on the ground in Phoenix and the pilot kept an eye on the sky, this tragedy could have been avoided.

Another problem presented by adding a second person is weight concerns for the aircraft.  A helicopter can only lift a certain amount of weight, it.  To compensate for the weight difference, you add less fuel to chopper. That in turn shortens the amount of time you can spend in the air.  If one of these dual pilot choppers is covering a major breaking story, and your competition can last 30 minutes longer than you, I wonder how many of these guys will unsafely push the chopper to get as much time out of it that he or she can?  That places more pressure on a pilot than is needed.  I applaud NewsChannel 3 for trying to come up with a safer way of doing things, but more is not always better.

You can leave your comments below or e-mail me at dan.rice@nbcuni.com

There’s an interesting feature on a real estate site called StreetEasy.com (NYC and parts of NJ only). It allows you to filter the advanced search results by price changes (5 percent lower, 10 percent lower, or any increases). To see it in action, go to http://www.streeteasy.com/nyc/process/sales/edit_search

Example of what I found just now:

Sales in NYC
We found 172 listings where price changed less than 7 days ago where price changed
at least 5 %

Median price: $699,000 Median size: 1,065 ft² Median price per ft²: $798

Just when you thought your swimming pool was safer than the beach, there’s something new to worry about. WSJ’s Anna Prior has a piece about a parasite that’s affecting public pools across the country:

Rising infections from a chlorine-resistant parasite called Cryptosporidium are forcing pools and water parks across the country to take new measures — from ultraviolet-light water treatments to tighter swimming restrictions — to keep their water clean.

The parasite — commonly called crypto — is found in human and animal feces and is easily transmitted through water. When ingested, crypto can cause an illness of up to two weeks, with symptoms that include long bouts of diarrhea, abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting, headaches and low-grade fevers.

Read the article to get the full story. And here are some tips on how to keep safe, from WSJ and HealthySwimming.org:

My wife and I were in an Applebee’s recently, our first trip to the chain restaurant. It was also the first time we’d been to any chain since the NYC law went into effect forcing chains to list calorie counts on their menus. Gotta say it does make a difference to see the counts right next to the items themselves (680 calories for one appetizer; 1,300 for one entree).

We ended up not ordering what we’d originally wanted (I went with a grilled piece of tilapia – Cajun Lime Tilapia – “a grilled Cajun-seasoned tilapia fillet flavored with lime juice and topped with a black bean & corn salsa. Served on a bed of rice pilaf with a side of seasonal vegetables” – just 310 calories.)

It’s no mystery why Americans are getting fatter. We’re expending less energy to work, play, travel and acquire food. And we’re taking more calories in. And how!

New York City’s recent law requiring chain restaurants to post calorie counts on menus has revealed some intriguing — and appalling — information. Some observations:

Studies have shown that even dietitians often underestimate how many calories dishes contain, and no wonder. Applebee’s Fiesta Lime Chicken packs 1,290 calories. Pizzeria Uno’s Individual Chicago Classic (serves one) has 2,310. Who could eat another bite after an appetizer like T.G.I. Friday’s Jack Daniel’s Sampler at 2,330? Bear in mind that to maintain their present weight, most men should consume from 2,000 to 2,500 calories a day; most women from 1,500 to 1,800, depending on activity level and size.

Read the full story, watch a video and take an interactive quiz – How Calorie Savvy Are You?

By Dan Rice

July 1, 2008

Anybody over 35 probably remembers a show that aired on broadcast television called “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom” hosted by the late Marlin Perkins with his assistant Jim Fowler (the very same Jim Fowler who appears on TODAY).  It apparently is still on the air, now on Animal Planet but I have not seen this version.  After the last couple of days, I feel like we should start our own show, “Chopper 4′s Wild Kingdom.”

Recently, we were watching a bear cub in Totowa. Then, soon afterward, several bottle-nosed dolphins in the Navesink River.  TODAY had Amy Robach in Sea Bright talking about the wayward dolphins.  They asked if we could show the lost mammals during her report.  Of course the station said yes.  Normally I hate doing assignments like these.  The Navesink and Shrewsbury Rivers aren’t exactly small and trying to find a dolphin or two from 1,500 feet in those large waterways is much harder than it sounds.  However, with a little guidance from Amy on the ground and the sharp eyes of my pilot, Lars, we found them. (If you know the old “Wild Kingdom,” then you might know that one of the jokes about the series was that Perkins and Fowler would go deep into the heart of an African jungle or desert where dangerous animals roamed.  Then, Perkins would send Fowler to get up close to the lion while he stayed in the Jeep to narrate and be the expert.  Sometimes I feel like the Perkins to Lars’s Fowler!)

Getting back to the dolphins, I started to get excited that we had found a couple of them.  As we watched I began to realize that there were more than just a few.  I have to admit that it was fun watching them swim and frolic.  Almost on cue, when Amy and the gentleman she was interviewing, spoke of the boaters needing to slow down, a boat came speeding up the river and the dolphins disappeared until the wake subsided.  When they resurfaced, there seemed to be even more dolphins.  It was quite fun to watch.  If we did not have to refuel we would have stayed longer.

Be sure to tune in later when Jim Fowler and I…….I mean Lars and I, go looking for more wildlife around the tri-state area!

June 30, 2008

It was Tuesday, May 9, 2006.  My pilot, Lars, and I were told to go to Livingston because somebody had spotted a bear in their backyard.  We arrived around 6:30am and I started to do a report about the bear sighting.  As I was about to wrap it up, Lars told me over the headset that the bear was in the video.  As I zoomed in, we followed the bear through several backyards until he disappeared.  We looked for another 30 minutes or so but he never came out.

Fast forward to last week.  As we took off, we were told to go Hobart Place in Totowa for a bear that was seen in a backyard.  We arrived shortly after 6am.  I started to look at the streets and a couple of police cars as Lars circled the neighborhood.  We were in the first commercial break of the 6 a.m. hour when, by luck, I saw the bear cub walking though a back yard.  Before I could tell Lars where it was, Kevin (Ford, the Assistant Director) told me we going live right out of the commercial break.  That is when we showed you the cub going through several back yards, climbing fences, looking for cover to hide.  We followed it for several blocks before he disappeared into a wooded area off of Chamberlain and Hudson.  We looked for another 45 minutes but he never came out.

Watching this bear reminded me of the time I had a bear in my backyard.  It was the summer of 2006 and we had just come home from a day with Jim Smith’s family.  When we pulled into the driveway I saw what looked like a large dog in our trash, behind a bush.  I started to walk closer to it and realized it was a young bear, possibly a yearling.   My wife called the local police while I went into the house and grabbed the video camera.  The officer used a bean bag shell to scare the bear and followed with a concussion shot to help condition it to not come back. It seemed to have worked!

As we continue to develop more and more of New Jersey, bears like the one we saw are going to be forced to roam into our backyards.  Where else do they have to go?  I live in the Northwest part of New Jersey where there are plenty of woods.  It is not all that out of place to see a bear.  We should not see them in the more populated areas like Livingston and Totowa.  Just a sign of the times. 

As always, you can post your comments below or e-mail at chopper4@nbcuni.com

By Megan Meany, Traffic Reporter

With one month under my belt as Today in New York’s new traffic reporter, it seems like a good time to introduce myself! So, here’s the scoop …

Before I hit the roads, I hit the red carpet, the runway and the reality TV world working as a freelance reporter and host. I am also a spokesperson for the Kohler company (hold your laughter: toilets and traffic!?). Up until now, I’ve enjoyed the flexibility of sporadic assignments because it allowed me to draw on sidewalks and join the chorus in music class with my son, Kellen, who turns three this fall.

But one day I looked longingly at the professional gals buzzing down the block, coffee and paper in one hand, hailing a cab with the other. I felt like I was hanging on to my career by little more than a Velcro strip on a Huggie’s Overnight. 

So along came an audition and suddenly a Monday through Friday gig really appealed, not to mention the opportunity to be on NBC! No more jumping on airplanes to head to the latest location. No more last minute scrambling for a sitter. And what great timing, as Kellen graduates from my care to preschool in the fall.

When I’m not monitoring the commute, I am tracking the trends in fashion  and the interior design world. Fashion has been a long-standing passion since I was awarded “Best Dressed” in the eighth grade! By far my favorite interior design project is my country house in Connecticut. When I’m not thumbing through Harpers Bazaar I’m tweaking my living space. I definitely have a black belt in shopping. When it comes to a wardrobe makeover or room redo, friends and family have come to rely on me for the latest list of “Megan’s Must-haves.”

But back to the job I get paid for ….

I can tell you my first month has been challenging. Having never covered the commute before, I’ve found the process of delivering the information authoritatively, visualizing maps and absorbing the local vernacular for bridges, tunnels, main thoroughfares, etc. to be quite daunting. Throw-in studio camera cues, new computer systems and trying to be personable while you’re doing all this and you realize this ain’t easy. But I’m so appreciative to my colleagues at Shadow/Metro traffic who trained me well (and continue to answer my daily IMs) and to my TINY teammates – possibly the nicest crew I’ve ever worked with in television.

As far as the alarm going off at 2:45 a.m. everyday, the truth is I fly out of bed because I am happy. I have a balance of an exciting career and the entire afternoon to hang out in the best city in the world with my kid. Besides, fighting off fatigue is just one iced latte away.

By Dan Rice, Chopper 4

As I have mentioned before, Chopper 4 is periodically used by the TODAY Show for their Toyota Summer Concert Series. Back on May 19, I was surprised by the size of the crowd the band The New Kids On The Block drew. When I heard that Coldplay was going to perform, I knew we’d be flying overhead on Friday.

Naturally, I expected a really large crowd, but I did not expect it to be as gigantic as it turned out. For eight years now I have worked with the TODAY Show and I do not remember a crowd as big as Friday’s. Trust me, Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi and Ricky Martin all drew enormous crowds. I feel safe in saying the crowd for Coldplay was the biggest to date.

We arrived overhead around 7:20 a.m. and the crowd not only filled The Plaza, it reached back to the front doors of 30 Rock, where the Rockefeller Christmas Tree normally stands. The crowd even filled the South side of West 48th Street and people spilled around the corners of West 48th and West 49th Streets at Rockefeller Plaza. I am sure if most of those people could see anything. But regardless of where they were standing, they got one hell of a show!

Normally the musical part of the concert begins around 8:40 a.m.  Coldplay started right at 8:30 a.m. and played right up to the local newsbreak. Then, they played an encore at the top of the 9:00 a.m. show, which I’ve only seen happen two or three times over the years.  Nobody left early and the band gave it their all for their fans.

If you watched, you saw the sweat coming off of Chris Martin. He worked the crowd, even heading to the West 48th Street side of The Plaza to connect with the people in the back of the crowd. Considering they played at Madison Square Garden several nights earlier in the week and were heading to Philly Sunday, I really impressed by Coldplay as people giving back in some way to their fans, not just as musicians.

I know TODAY has many talented people scheduled for the rest of the summer. However, it is going to be hard to impress me the way Coldplay did on Friday morning.

Please share your comments below or you can e-mail me chopper4@nbcuni.com

By Otis Livingston

I got the chance to hit tennis balls with a real star on Thursday. I think my 16-year-old daughter Alexandria is a tennis star in the making, but Monica Seles is a 9-time tennis Grand Slam champion.

Seles was in town as part of a promotional tour that featured her “playing” against another legend Jim Courier on pop up Wimbledon style courts around the city.  Today In New York was the first stop on her tour. In honor of Wimbledon and the grass courts of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club I wore all white, all the way down to my wristband and headband. Unfortunately, It didn’t help my game. Seles was very gracious as we volleyed with one another. Seles showed off her another talent by talking and volleying at the same time, which I found very challenging.

Getting to eat strawberries and cream from the cart that was on site was another treat for me. Strawberries and cream are a staple for fans who attend Wimbledon. On the morning show, I posed the question what’s better than watching Wimbledon on 4 New York in June? For me it was meeting and then playing with Seles on a Wimbledon style court. We had a blast. And afterward we both scarfed down some strawberries and cream in our all-whites. It doesn’t get much better than that.