I was getting ready to leave the house when I got a call from my buddy Steve in Boston, he tells me that Carl Beane, public address announcer for the Red Sox had been killed in a single car accident today in Sturbridge Ma. Carl had been the Red Sox announcer since 2003, winning the job over numerous others vying for the position. He had a great voice, definitely a voice made for radio and of course that’s where he got his start.

I had the privilege of interviewing Carl a few years ago, the way I came to meet him was actually out of an act of kindness on his part involving my daughter. Lindsey was returning to Atlanta from Boston and this was after 9/11 so there is no one allowed past security except those who are ticketed so Lindsey, who was about 15-16 at the time waited for her non-stop flight at the gate by herself and then it got delayed, so the 2 hour wait turns into over 3 hours. Well, Carl had heard Lindsey talking to me on the phone, answering questions like, “yeah, I’m okay, I’m at the gate, I promise I won’t wander around etc. When we got off the phone Carl and his traveling companion struck up a conversation with her and it wasn’t very long before she sees his World Series ring with the big “B” surrounded by diamonds and rubies. She asked him if he worked for the Red Sox and he said yes, he told her who he was and they continued to talk and basically he and his friend looked after her until they got on the plane.

Before they separated in Atlanta (Carl was continuing on to Florida) he gave her his business card from the Sox and told her to give it to her dad and he’d know who it was that kept her company. When I met her at the curb I was putting her bag in the trunk and I asked her about the wait and she starts telling me the story and when we got in the car she handed me the card and I saw who it was and I told her that it was very nice of him to keep you company. A few days later I called him and just wanted to thank him for taking the time to kind of look after her and he told me it was his pleasure, he was glad to do it, she looked bored, a little cranky about the wait but she was a really great kid and he enjoyed talking to her just like he did all the kids at the ball park. He then extended an offer for us to hook up with him the next time we were in town and Lindsey and I had flown up for the holidays to Boston, she was seeing friends in NH and I was staying with Steve outside of Boston, we picked her up and went to Boston and met Carl for lunch around the corner from Fenway, here’s the picture of all of us from that visit.

I had spoken to him that day about the interview and we tossed some stuff around but it wasn’t until I got back from the trip that I put the entire interview questions down, gathered some ideas from folks at TSN and the submitted them to Carl via email. About 3 days later I got them back, then he called and we went over the answers, I asked a few follow up questions and that was it. The interview went over well, got a lot of feedback from it, I really enjoyed it. I did see him one more time after that winter, Steve and I had gone to the Red Sox-Cardinals game and I called Carl the night before and he said let’s hookup before the game and we can go upstairs to the booth and chat for a few so when we got to Fenway I gave him a quick call and he came down and met us and we went upstairs to where the announcers all are, here’s Steve D with Carl.

Like frag said, Carl was as much a part of Fenway as anyone who played for the Sox, he gave an awful lot of himself too. He was very generous with his time, he had emceed weddings, one he did in a full Red Sox uniform, he did the auctions for the Jimmy Fund, the long time Red Sox charity that benefits kids at  Boston Children’s Hospital and Spalding rehab center, was involved with diabetes foundation and many other charities. He was a terrific guy, funny as hell, had lots of great stories and never would say no to anyone who wanted to talk baseball or just pose for a simple picture. RIP Carl Beane, your voice will be missed at Fenway Park.

If you want to watch a terrific interview with Carl who talks about how he got his job with the Sox, or other great stuff from his travels since the 70's covering baseball for WBZ-Boston and the Worcester Telegram this is one you will find enjoyable. 

http://www.newtv.org/video/booksandbeyond/april2012/

While you know who talks about why he doesn’t think he’ll ever be an NFL starting QB his new team, the New York Jets quite possibly are looking at a second straight season of HBO’s Hard Knocks. As Jets owner Woody Johnson put it, “we had a formal invitation that we can respond too, not an informal one”.

Now it’s wasn’t the spectacular coverage of a bunch of brainiacs that is getting them a second nod, we all know what’s going on here. We’ve all had our fair share of Rex Ryan and since he’s never seen a microphone or a camera he didn’t like we don’t need a 5 episode show to get his opinion on anything to do with football, snack food or feet for that matter. It’s about TEBOW and how he’ll overshadow Mark Sanchez at camp regardless of the role he’ll actually play on this team. I think we can all agree Mark Sanchez is about as mediocre a QB as you can have and adding Tebow to the mix gives the Jets another mediocre option, but what I really want to know is, WHY in the world would a team that is coming off the season they just did want this type of distraction at camp? For a team that just finished an awful year I’d think the most important thing on their minds would be righting the ship that clearly sank and fell apart while doing so, on and off the field.

But this is the Jets, and it’s New York and yes Rex Ryan will undoubtedly have a lot to say about whether this happens or not and for that reason alone I believe if he ok’s this again he will demonstrate just how piss poor he is when it comes to doing what’s best for the team he coaches. Anyone dealing with the woes the Jets did this past season would have to be out of their fucking mind to allow camera crews follow their every move while attempting to regain a playoff caliber team. When cameras are rolling there’s a lot of horse play, everyone mugs for their few minutes of face time and of course we get gems like this:

If the Jets aren’t interested in putting last season behind them and focusing on nothing but football then just remember where you read it when they don’t make the playoffs or choke because it’ll all come down to what their priorities were, show time rather than to show up for football season prepared. 

Hi Folks,

Ark Razor of TSBN & the Gab has generously gone ahead and ordered a tree and plaque to placed in City Hall Park in Gaithersburg Maryland, just up the street from his house. Now that the order has been placed we'd like to ask if any of you would be interested in donating to this fundraiser to help pay the costs for the plaque and tree. If there are any funds leftover we'll be forwarding them to the family. 

I've been in contact with Jud's daughter Sasha who is serving our country in the Air Force at Langley AFB. She has been very grateful for the outpouring of support from all of us who have honored her dad and looks forward to returning home once the tree is planted. I had sent her the proof of the plaque and she loved it.

Between the Gab and our friends at TSBN we feel we can easily come up with the $350 for the cost of the tree and plaque. If you'd like to donate to help defray the costs you can use the Pay Pal account I set up below.

I'd like to thank you all in advance for helping us all remember our friend 3rd Stone. 

http://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_donations&business=yougabsports%40live%2ecom&lc=US&item_name=3rd%20Stones%20Plaque%2fTree¤cy_code=USD&bn=PP%2dDonationsBF%3abtn_donateCC_LG%2egif%3aNonHosted

Okay Gabbers, who do you have in mind for this weeks' Tool of the Week? There's a few that stand out to, let's see if we're on the same page. 

It really makes my skin crawl when I come across stories like this one Beeze pointed out to me. I come from a family of firefighters and have friends who are in various departments, all in the greater Boston area, my grandfather Joseph P. Sullivan was a Captain on the Malden Fire Department. While my dad was still in elementary school he and my ten aunts and uncles (yeah, lot of warm winters in the Sullivan household) lived in a double-decker just around the corner from the fire house. Whenever my grandfather went out on a call that was a large fire my grandmother and some of the other wives would throw together meals and bring them to the scene. I’ve heard lots of great stories about my grandfather, a tough ole Irishman who came to America newly married with one daughter and another on the way and found a living as most Irishmen did, in the Fire Department. He could drink you under the table and then carry you out on his shoulder afterwards.

We all have a special place in our hearts for firefighters especially since 9/11. On that day as I saw the first of the two towers come down I said to my wife, a lot of firefighters just got killed going up those stairwells. I don’t even think the news media caught that part nearly as quick as I did, but I’m sure anyone from a firefighter family knew it that very moment, and it was chilling to the bone to think about. It takes a special kind of person to walk into a burning building never knowing what’s waiting for them once inside.

Which brings me to our Tool of the Week, Jordan Liflander, he has none of the above mentioned courage, what he has for a resume is all lies and he was doing just fine going around telling anyone who would listen of his 9/11 heroics as a first responder and captain of Ladder 133 which lost 12 firefighters, until some actual NY firefighters heard that he had given a speech in Spartanburg, S.C. on 9/11 of 2011. He was asked to speak in front of a crowd at a football stadium by a group he was a member of, all former military, police and firefighters who did a mediocre background check on this jerk when he first became a paid volunteer in S. C., at that time it appears they only verified he was a firefighter but not his rank and certainly not if he had been involved in any way as a first responder, who claimed to have attended 42 funerals for the real fallen heroes of 9/11.

Liflander claims he just got caught up in the lie and wanted to stop, but from video I’ve seen and stories on the net I’ve read including interviews of friends, one who recommended him to speak at the memorial were blown away by these developments and none of them ever said he had came to any of them looking to “clear the air”, and I think it’s a safe bet he’d be pawing himself off as that same hero of 9/11 to this day if it wasn’t for actual NY firefighters calling the press and exposing this fucking fraud for what he is. There’s a special place in hell for guys like this and his spot is warm and waiting for him.

After reading this story it reminded me of the guys who go around telling everyone that they’re Navy Seals, in that story an actual SEAL who runs a website that researches upon request those who claim to be former or current Seal operatives. I forget the actual number of SEALS he claimed there were that were either active or retired but it wasn’t ‘a large number, we’ll say 5,000 but he claims he’s met all 250,000 former SEALS, meaning there’s more frauds than actual Navy SEALS. Since I couldn’t find a video of a fake firefighter, I remembered this one I was sent a while ago and dug it up, this is pretty funny shit so just pretend he’s Jordan Liflander instead of a SEAL team 6 member, they’re both TOOLS!