On the Road with Mike
April 14 by Leave a Comment
This week I had the opportunity to attend the premiere of Magic/Bird on Broadway. Eric Simonson’s play examines Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Larry Bird’s rise to NBA superstardom, their longstanding rivalry and enduring friendship. The show brought back a lot of great memories from when I coached against the Lakers and Celtics, and later when I broadcast many of their games including the Dream Team’s quest for Olympic gold in 1992.
A number of NBA dignitaries, former players and entertainers were in attendance, including Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. As a special bonus Johnson and Bird took the stage after the curtain call to greet the audience and acknowledge the actors.
All of the actors delivered impressive performances. The leads Kevin Daniels and Tug Coker did a wonderful job portraying the two very distinct basketball personalities, which must have been especially difficult knowing that their legendary subjects were in the audience.
I wish the producers Fran Kirmser and Tony Ponturo the same success that they had with Lombardi.
On the Road with Mike
March 11 by Leave a Comment
Before the NBA season got underway I went to see Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons at the PlayhouseSquare’s Palace Theatre in Cleveland Ohio. I come from the same area of North Jersey as Frankie and grew up listening to his music. Frankie is one of my favorite singers of all time, so it was a thrill to see the living legend perform in person. He put on a terrific show that lasted nearly two hours. After the concert Frankie and his manager Dean Egnater joined a small group of my friends for a dinner at Michaelangelo’s in Littly Italy, where chef Michael Annondono prepared a fantastic meal for us.
On the Road with Mike
February 29 by Leave a Comment
Pitbull was the surprise guest at TNT’s All-Star party on Saturday night. This year’s invitation only event took place at the House of Blues in Orlando. Pitbull played for about an hour and put on an electrifying show. There’s so much energy in his music, you can’t help but bounce around to the Latin-infused hip hop beats. In fact, I did some break dancing. Still, it was impossible to upstage Pitbull’s great performance.
