Please excuse me, a personal comment. When I first started covering sports in L.A. traveling with the Dodgers, Angels and Rams I faced a certain hazing from the veteran sportscasters and sportswriters. There were only two veterans who made me feel at home and helped me learn the ropes, Vin Scully and Brad Pye Jr. Brad was the sports editor of the Los Angeles Sentinel, L.A.’s black newspaper. Brad and I shared many meals together at the Dodger Stadium Press room and a lot of laughs on the Dodger plane. Brad was a true friend and mentor. So I am very sad to report a great sportswriter, human being and my friend, Brad Pye Jr. died Sunday. He was 83.
Got a fabulous documentary, called A Most Beautiful Thing. 22 years ago Arshay Cooper, a black student at the poor South Side ORD Manley High School met Ken Albert, a visiting Rowing coach. Arshay was interested, got 3 other friends interested and the first African American High School Rowing Team was born. They were laughed at, lost all their matches but never gave up. Then Olympic rowing star Mike Teti heard about them and offered help. The laughs turned to respect and even a following. Then the ORD police became fans and helped in ways you would not believe. In this day of mistrust and conflict, this is a true breath of fresh air. A Most Beautiful Thing will be in Theaters July 31st, it’s a documentary that will make you feel good again.
Odds and Ends: Having met and interviewed celebrities, politicians and powerful people over the years, I am never amazed at their ego’s. Which reminds me of a dinner I was having decades ago, when Tom Brokaw was visiting Hawaii. It was Brokaw, his wife, a Honolulu politician and his wife, a local TV Anchor and his wife and me and a date. I’ll never forget, when introduced to Brokaw by the local anchor, I stuck my hand out to shake hands and he said, “Hello, I’m Tom Brokaw, NBC News.” Ego, party of one.
Leave a Reply