Thursday, January 03, 2008
FirstNews Goes Curly!
Listen! You can still hear...right through this interweb...somebody whistling Sweet Georgia Brown! There was a legend on FirstNews Thursday morning and, for once, I'm not talking about Kris Ketz or Donna Pitman or Johnny Rowlands. Fred "Curly" Neal of the Harlem Globetrotters brought his magical presence to the show. The Globetrotters are doing five shows at the Sprint Center starting Thursday January 3 (KMBC Night, which, if I'm not mistaken, means Larry Moore will actually dribble and slam dunk Kris Ketz at some point during the evening.) and running through Sunday January 6. It was a true honor and a big bunch of fun to have Curly Neal in the studio.
When I was a kid, it seemed like the Globetrotters were on ABC's Wide World of Sports every weekend. I think they were actually a part of each season's opening show. Then, they showed up on Scooby Do! They used Mr. Neal's head as a basketball on that episode. Of course, there were other TV shows featuring the team's antics like The Harlem Globetrotters Popcorn Machine! And, of course, one of the great combo deals of all time The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island! I watched them all.
Curly Neal was born in 1941 and played in more than 6000 games from 1963 through 1985, visiting some 97 countries. He played in front of presidents, kings and queens but made...and makes!...every audience member feel like royalty. Now, on Saturday January 5, at the 7:00 p.m. show, FirstNews' own Donna Pitman will be suiting up for the Globetrotter's opponents, the Washington Generals. So, being a good sport, Curly showed Donna a few moves this morning including some fancy dribbles and passes. I attempted the fancy dribble that you're supposed to catch with your knees. It didn't quite work for me but I can now sing the high tenor part in the church choir. Anyway, Donna and Curly made a great pair and it bodes well for the fun of Saturday evening's performance.
We do try to bring energy and good humor to FirstNews everyday but, with Curly Neal in the building, we all got a lesson on how it's really done.
When I was a kid, it seemed like the Globetrotters were on ABC's Wide World of Sports every weekend. I think they were actually a part of each season's opening show. Then, they showed up on Scooby Do! They used Mr. Neal's head as a basketball on that episode. Of course, there were other TV shows featuring the team's antics like The Harlem Globetrotters Popcorn Machine! And, of course, one of the great combo deals of all time The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island! I watched them all.
Curly Neal was born in 1941 and played in more than 6000 games from 1963 through 1985, visiting some 97 countries. He played in front of presidents, kings and queens but made...and makes!...every audience member feel like royalty. Now, on Saturday January 5, at the 7:00 p.m. show, FirstNews' own Donna Pitman will be suiting up for the Globetrotter's opponents, the Washington Generals. So, being a good sport, Curly showed Donna a few moves this morning including some fancy dribbles and passes. I attempted the fancy dribble that you're supposed to catch with your knees. It didn't quite work for me but I can now sing the high tenor part in the church choir. Anyway, Donna and Curly made a great pair and it bodes well for the fun of Saturday evening's performance.
We do try to bring energy and good humor to FirstNews everyday but, with Curly Neal in the building, we all got a lesson on how it's really done.
Posted at 5:09 AM
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