Bert Baron's Blog

Always assume the microphone is ON.

bbaron@greatermedianj.com (Bert Baron) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 16:01:51 GMT

We all got a laugh out of the unfortunate incident involving former TV news reporter AJ Clemente. If you missed it, and I don't know how you could, moments before the BRAND NEW anchor at an NBC affiliate in North Dakota went live on the air, he said 2 very bad words, loud enough for the microphone to pick up. His profanities went over the air, and Clemente, obviously, went out the door. Within hours, he became a You Tube sensation; so much that he's been a guest on both the Today Show and Letterman, JUST FOR SWEARING ON TV! (Note for the management of Greater Media: no, I'm not even THINKING it). Let me give you an inside look at broadcasting. From the moment I set foot in a radio station for the first, there was always one simple rule I keep in mind, and it's one of the ...

Lessons we can learn from the Boston Marathon bombings

bbaron@greatermedianj.com (Bert Baron) — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 22:06:03 GMT

At the time of the writing of this blog, 1 suspect is dead, and the other remains at-large in the Boston Marathon bombings. We saw the horrific images late Monday afternoon of 2 homemade bombs exploding near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, and we all conjured up images of who was behind them. Depending on your ideaology, you mave have instantly thought persons of Middle Easten origin were to blame. Or maybe someone who more closely resembled Timothy McVeigh, a natural-born US citizen who looked like the kid next door, and you would think the worst offense of his life would be constantly batting a Wiffle ball into your backyard. But what went though your mind when we got word these men were immigrants from Kyrgyzstan? The bottom line, no matter where on the world these guys came from, is we need to remember that this is a ...

What's next for Rice, Murdock, Pernetti, and Barchi

bbaron@greatermedianj.com (Bert Baron) — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 12:55:30 GMT

Wow what a week on "the banks of the ol' Rar-i-tan"! On Tuesday, ESPN's "Outside The Lines" airs the contoversial video of then-Rutgers basketball coach Mike Rice verbally abusing, man-handling, and ball-assaulting players at practice, Eric Murdock is sharing his story with the sports world, then-AD Tim Pernetti is defending his decision to only suspend and fine Rice for his actions, Rice is bounced out the next day by Pernetti, lawmakers, RU students, and faculty call for Pernetti's ouster, and on Friday, RU President Robert Barchi announces that Tim Pernetti has resigned. Whew! Did I get everything? I think so. With this whirlwind week behind us, what does the future hold for these 4 men? Let's look at each one individually. RICE: A good a gracious guy whenever I spoke with him, and his involvement with Coaches v. Cancer should be admired, but what basketball program, at ANY level, ...

The punishment fits the crime...or does it?

bbaron@greatermedianj.com (Bert Baron) — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 14:57:14 GMT

Today's firing of Rutgers men's basketball coach Mike Rice comes as no surprise to a lot of people. After all, when you see video evidence of a basketball coach hurling balls at players, and berateing them with insensative remarks, there's not a parent, fan, or elected official alive who wouldn't want the guy cooked. But let's back up for a second, to December of 2012, when we got word that RU Athletic Director Tim Pernetti was suspending the coach for 3 games and fining him 50 grand for "undiclosed violations". We went about our daily lives, assuming the situation was reviewed by AD Pernetti, and the appropriate punishment was handed out. We turned our focus back to recovering from Superstorm Sandy. Now, out of the blue, comes video of the incidents involving Coach Rice, complete with ball-throwing and bad-mouthing, and suddenly, Tim Pernetti's initial punishment is not good enough. So ...

"The Worm" needs to just slither away. Far away.

bbaron@greatermedianj.com (Bert Baron) — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 21:01:09 GMT

There are 2 words that I thought I would never find myself using in this blog, and those words are "Dennis" and "Rodman". After all, why would I? Great basketball player. Larger-than-life personality. Hell, I even read his autobiography and liked it. But he's a guy who has done enough crazy things in his life, that there would be nothing else to say about him. Boy, was I wrong. I thought Kayne West and Kim Kardashian was the most unlikely couple I'd ever see, but "The Worm" and Kim Jung Un, dictator of one of America's most hated enemies, is a matchup for the ages. First of all, how the hell did Dennis Rodman manage to get INTO North Korea in the first place? Don't you need like, I don't know...permission...to enter a nation that is so anti-American? Secondly, Dennis Rodman? Is that the best we can do to represent ...

Two guys who knew it was time to hang 'em up

bbaron@greatermedianj.com (Bert Baron) — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 21:40:11 GMT

This past week, not one, but TWO long time public figures decided they had enough of the grind, and announced they would be retiring from their current positions. The first one, which REALLY took the entire world by surprise, was the declaration by Pope Benedict XVI he would be resigning at the end of the month. He is the first Pope in centuries to not complete the term, which ends, well...when you meet "the big guy upstairs". He cited health reasons, which I'm sure play a role, but let's face it: Pope John Paul II was a tough act to follow. No matter how hard he tried to relate to "regular people", Benedict XVI would never be cool enough to hang out with Bono from U2, like the previous Pope. That job requires yearly travel around the world, dealing with some tough controversies, and daily pressures that anyone else would ...

Who will miss the ol' RAC? This guy!

bbaron@greatermedianj.com (Bert Baron) — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 16:24:19 GMT

It's grey. It looks like an attempt to build a pyramid that either ran out of money, or ran out of interest. It has a flat roof. I never know which doors are open, and which are locked, each time I go there. When I stand by the basketball court, I feel like the chairs and bleachers are all about to fall on me. There are 4 big red pillars that I always seem to sit behind every time I go to a game. It's the Louis Brown Athletic Center in Piscataway, called "the RAC" by those in the know, and after 35 years, the ol' gal is having some work done. Think of it as a face-lift for one of the loudest...and most unique...venues in all of college sports. Visting players and coaches HATE it there, because of the noise level and the proximity of the hometown fans. Engineers ...

What Jersey can learn from New Orleans for next year's Super Bowl

bbaron@greatermedianj.com (Bert Baron) — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 01:45:36 GMT

I have some concerns as New Jersey gets ready to host the Super Bowl next February. Since it's Jersey's (and NOT New York's) game, I obviously want it to be the best-run, best-orchestrated, and best game of them all. But it goes without saying that a lot of things need to be checked, rechecked, and re-rechecked. Take this year's game blackout for example. How many years would it take for the world let us forget if the lights went out on OUR game? And what if the kickoff temperature is...I don't know...10 or so? The rest of the sports world would LAUGH at us. Now of course, if everything goes perfectly, and I think that's what we all want, you know damn well New York will get all the credit. So let the hype begin, and let's get ready for what we hope will be a GREAT JERSEY moment that ...

But HE IS the boss!

bbaron@greatermedianj.com (Bert Baron) — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 17:57:19 GMT

A lot of people (including the Governor himself), are not happy with the cover of this week's issue of TIME magazine. You probably are in exile somewhere north of the Arctic Circle if you haven't seen it yet, but in case you haven't, Governor Christie is portrayed as a Tony Soprano-ish mobster, gazing angrily into the camera, much like you'd expect a made guy's mug shot to look. The photo is stark...cold...almost scary. The shot is edited to make the Governor appear like he was just photographed following a low-speed chase in a white Ford Bronco, and about to face the trial of his life. But like it or not, he IS The Boss of New Jersey. He's proven that politcal allegiance sometimes needs to be trumped by common sense. There are times when a Republican Governor must break bread with "the enemy" (in this case, President Obama following the ...

When the hell will this madness end?

bbaron@greatermedianj.com (Bert Baron) — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 18:15:20 GMT

The school shooting in Connecticut is another in a disturbingly-long line of senseless mass murders. With the massacre in the Aurora, CO moive theater still fresh in my mind, here's another event that has ALL Americans, pro and anti-gun, shaking their heads in disbelief. (That's my last mention of politics in this blog. It's OK to keep reading.) What kind of a monster do you have to be to shoot and kill innocent children? As tough as it is to comprehend ANY murder, one that involves kids in a classroom is just beyond sick; it's deplorable. I don't care what issues this person had growing up; there is not an excuse in the world that could possible justify that type of action. Let's keep Newtown CT in our prayers, and keep the families in our thoughts over the Holidays. And for the gunman? Well, there's a special place where you're ...