Last Vacation Of Summer

(Kevin is off until Monday, August 27)

I’m out of here after today and going on vacation although I’m not leaving the area and planning on enjoying the beach while my son leaves for his senior year at Penn State and my daughter gets ready for her sophomore year of high school. Some of my fellow co-workers have been busting me about taking what they perceive as a lot of vacation time but in truth I get the same 3 weeks as most of them do. However I need to use all mine before the start of the high school football season which kicks off in just a little more than three weeks.

I have to throw out a comment on the lawsuit filed by a member of the Rutgers women’s basketball team Tuesday against radio personality Don Imus and CBS. Kia Vaughn filed the suit in New York alleging slander and defamation of character and damage done to her reputation. This comes more than four months after Imus was fired for comments made about the Scarlet Knights in what was a poor attempt at humor. Rutgers officials say they are not connected to the lawsuit, which does not have a dollar amount tied to it. However the suit does claim that Vaughn was humiliated, embarrassed and publicly mocked and the full effect and damage remains to be seen.

To be honest the Rutgers players and program gained much more then they lost over this incident. Claims that the comments took away from their accomplishments are simply not true…as a matter of fact Rutgers got more notoriety for losing the NCAA championship game than Tennessee did for winning it. What’s more the nation got to see first-hand the quality of the women who comprise the team and my guess is that when all is said and done the players and program will emerge the big winners. Ironically the lawsuit was filed on the same day that Imus reached agreement with CBS on his contract and subsequent lawsuit against the network for firing him.

Comment on the passing of Yankee great Phil Rizzuto. As a lifelong Mets fan and Yankee basher I loved the scooter. There was nothing like listening to him broadcast a game, especially when he worked with Bill White & Frank Messer.

How to you humble a 9-time sportscaster of the year? My assignment tonight is to help announce the Hermit Crab races at Salty’s on Route 35 North in Lavallette. I’ll be there from 6-8pm and I’ll be the guy hiding in my shell.