Skip to main content

The Bronx is Burning


Great new mini series on ESPN about Billy Martin, Reggie Jackson and the 1977 New York Yankees. I remember that team well and as a nine year old I was captured by 'Captain' Thurman Munson, Reggie, Greg Nettles and, of course, Manager Billy Martin and coach Yogi Berra. I also remember NYC during that time and the general feeling of despair and decay. The series captures the mood well.

The Yankees website reports:
The mini-series is based on the acclaimed book "Ladies and Gentleman, the Bronx is Burning" by Jonathan Mahler, and it represents one of the most significant original programming efforts in ESPN's history. The story is set against the backdrop of a city that in 1977 was in financial turmoil and moral decay, where a bitter mayoral race was being waged, where Rupert Murdoch's brand-new influence on the Post tabloid was felt in a sensational way, where the Son of Sam case gripped a city in terror, where a heat wave and subsequent blackout led to widespread looting, where arson and racism and Studio 54 decadence all converged in a sordid, searing summer.

And right there in the middle of it all, surely in the starring role for this series, was the ceaseless battle featuring: a "superduperstar" known simply as "Reggie" (played by Daniel Sunjata); Martin (John Turturro), the firebrand manager who had won so often before as a Yankee infielder; and meddling club owner George Steinbrenner (Oliver Platt), who bought the Bombers in 1973 and was determined to see them win a title they had not seen since 1962 ... whatever it took.
Labels:

Comments

  1. Unknown6:41 PM

    ESPN made the mistake of premiering the series in NYC at 11 PM (after the 3-hr HR derby) -- so I and countless other NYers will have to catch it in reruns.

    ReplyDelete
  2. John Liotti7:44 AM

    I think you can see the episode on the website..

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PageMill, Wells Fargo and Sam Zell

Dear Friends,  Normal.dotm 0 0 1 888 5066 Northern California Urban Development 42 10 6221 12.0 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false As many of you know we've been in discussion recently with Wells Fargo and Equity Residential, the proposed buyers of the former Pagemill Properties on the west side of East Palo Alto.  As an East Palo Alto resident and leader I view this issue, and how Wells Fargo handles this important portfolio as a milestone event for our community and it’s residents. First, a little background (from my perspective):  A few years ago over 80% of East Palo Alto's multi family housing stock was purchased piece by piece by a predator equity group, Pagemill Properties. After the purchase Pagemill began systematically dismantling our rent control ordinances and aggressively evicting working class families. The community was in shock. However, the Pagemill group went bankrupt in 2009 and lost the property to Wachovia,...
1 comment
Read more

Non Profit Payday Loans?

Here's a recent New York Times article sent to me from Katie at NCHM on payday lending. I know that the NCUD / CTCU-EPA partnership is going to have to create the right program addressing the needs for short term lending for low income families. We don't have the answers yet, but it's definitely on our radar. APPLETON, Wis. — This city of 70,000 has five McDonald’s franchises, three Pizza Huts, four Starbucks shops — and 19 payday loan stores, brightly lighted storefronts with names like EZ Money and Check Into Cash that offer two-week loans without credit checks. Peggy Truckey, 53, knows the allure. Last year she owed nearly $1,300 to four of those stores, and was paying about $600 a month in finance fees alone. “I thought I was going to have to take a second job just to pay off the interest,” Ms. Truckey said. Then she heard about a new nonprofit program operated out of a Goodwill thrift store, one of several hundred lower-cost payday loan products that are now bein...
7 comments
Read more

Untitled

Posted via email from JOHN's posterous
Post a Comment
Read more