This is why Dave doesn't like to go outside. He tells a story of his weekend at home. He was out doing the grocery shopping supporting the local merchants. While waiting on line, he notices a woman circling him and looking his way. She is ridiculously happy. She was so happy it looked as if she was about to burst open. Her smile stretched 3 counties. She was glowing. Slowly she approached Dave, gets right up to him, and says, "Terry?" Dave's been on national television for 24 years and the best she can come up with is "Terry?"

You know, when Dave was a teen, he bought his first car at Harrison Ford. "He'll treat you right."

Before the show, a lady in the audience came up to Dave's office and begged him to let her shave Ben Roethlisberger. Hmmm, the dreams and wishes of some people. . .

Sad news in the celebrity world: 7-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong and music sensation Sheryl Crow have broken off their engagement. There will be no wedding between the two. Dave has had both on the show and feels bad for the kids. To tell his side of the story, Dave invited Lance on to the show to shed light on just what went wrong. Dave introduces Lance. As usual, Lance rides his bike on stage and up through the back of the audience. But this time he stops halfway up. He gets off his bicycle and starts kissing a woman in the audience. She's not shy about it either! She gets right in there for the goods, too. Lance finishes up his afternoon delight and "rides" off to the back of the theater. The world is a crazy place.

Alan Greenspan has stepped down from the Federal Reserve and some are saying it was none too soon. He was acting a bit strange the last few weeks. You probably don't know about this.
Announcer:

"For 18 years, Alan Greenspan diligently steered our economy through some of its most challenging times. And while he's been credited with much of the prosperity our nation has seen in recent years, no one is infallible, which is why Greenspan would like to apologize for his final act as Federal Reserve Chairman: betting $1.3 trillion on the Seattle Seahawks. Effective immediately, everything west of the Mississippi belongs to this guy. Alan Greenspan: You win some, you lose some.

ANDY KINDLER GOES TO SUPER BOWL XL: We sent comedian Andy Kindler up to Detroit to cover the Super Bowl for the Late Show. My most enjoyable moment was his brief yet enlightening interview with the Hulk.
Why didn't we send Biff? Because Biff was in North Carolina celebrating his mother's 100th birthday!
Andy will be appearing at the Gotham Comedy Club on West 23rd Street February 9th-12th.

BEN ROETHLISBERGER: The youngest quarterback to lead his team to the Super Bowl championship! He's just a kid! And he's a M.A.C. guy, playing for Miami of Ohio in his college days. How did he do against Ball State? As a freshman, Miami defeated the Cardinals 28-24. They did not play each other in his sophomore year of 2002, and his junior year found Miami defeating the Ball State Cards 49-3. Ben was redshirted his first year at MoH , and the team suffered for it. Miami of Ohio was defeated by Ball State 15-10, ending the Cards 21-game losing streak. Ball State was a 28-point underdog going into the game. Ben entered the NFL draft after his junior year and was the 11th player picked in the 2004 NFL draft. It makes you wonder how his life would have been different if he stayed for his senior year at Miami. There would be no Pittsburgh. There may have been Houston Texans.
Dave is curious about the lead up to the Super Bowl. When did it finally dawn on Ben that this game, the Super Bowl, would be different from any other game he's played? Ben says he was comfortable all week going into the game. Nothing felt too much different. Of course there was a lot more attention from the media, but all in all, Ben was comfortable and confident and not bothered by the ordeal. And then just a few hours before the game, he went out onto the field to throw a few warm-up tosses. It's a routine he goes through before every game. In the stands there may be a few hundred fans. But for the Super Bowl, there were thousands already in the stands. The media was everywhere. Former Super Bowl MVPs were on the field. At that moment it finally hit him that this was going to be a totally different experience.

And what was it like right after the game? Lots of fun and drinking champagne and snapping of towels in the locker room? Ben says there were too many people in the locker room to go too crazy. That was saved for back at the hotel at the post-game party. Dave's mind sets the scene as being a "bubble of giddiness."
And what about that touchdown which Ben ran for? Was it really a touchdown? Ben says he didn't think he got in but wasn't going to argue with the referee when he called it a touchdown. Ben says the Steelers were ready to go for the TD on 4th down if they had to, with Ben suggesting he was to run it again.
And about the beard? Ben says he didn't shave before a win following a 3-game losing streak. He's just a little superstitious which resulted in his not shaving before the next game. They won. And so he didn't shave before the next game. And on. And on. And on. Right up to the Super Bowl. Well, there are no more game left in the season . . . let's shave the thing.

Dave pulls out an electric razor and places a sheet around Ben's neck. "Boy, did you see that Steeler game yesterday?" asks Dave playing the role of a barber. Dave invites the woman from the audience to help in shaving Ben. The two plow the razor through the beard of the Super Bowl champion. We go to commercial, as Ben is sent to the green room to finish his shave.

HARRISON FORD: Harrison dusts off the guest chair before sitting, not wanting to get any Ben-whiskers on his suit. Harrison also has a goatee/beard, the first Dave has seen him with this facial hair. Harrison responds with a simple, "Yeah . . . . leave it alone." Quick and to the point, Harrison was letting it known right up front that no one would be shaving his goatee tonight.
Dave is very fond of Harrison Ford movies and is a fan of the man, but wants to know more about what he does when the camera is off. What does he do for recreation? Golf? No. Tennis? Harrison says he plays a bit of tennis. Dave admits, "I used to play years and years ago but I stopped because . . . . I sucked." Dave presses Harrison about his tennis playing, asking about his serve and his forehand and his put-away shot. How many sets does Harrison play when he plays, "best 2 out of 3?" Harrison says, "I've never really played tennis." Huh? He explains that he plays with a pro simply for the exercise. And what is the pro's name? "Buster."
Harrison is in the film, "Firewall", which opens on Friday. Dave saw the movie and almost left halfway through because Harrison got himself in a predicament and Dave saw no way he could escape. But Harrison Ford being Harrison Ford, Harrison Ford did escape. Dave doesn't want to give too much away, but does offer a glimpse, "Boy oh boy, give this man a kitchen appliance . . . ."

Harrison recently spent some time with Tom Brokaw. Tom is not an easy guy to hang out with, says Harrison, always wanting to do some "wild stuff" which entails using up too much energy; kayaking, white-water rafting, mountain climbing. Harrison always refuses, but has taken him up on an invitation for dinner.
Harrison also likes to spend time on his ranch in Wyoming. Ever thrown from a horse? Harrison was out riding one day and packed a lunch before setting off. During the ride, he reached for a snack and sandwich. While enjoying the midday lunch, a plastic bag from his packed snack flew away and spooked the horse. The horse reared up and threw Harrison, who had a pickle in his mouth at the time. He was knocked cold. No information whether the pickle was a dill or a gherkin.
Harrison Ford - "Firewall" - it opens this Friday.

I always enjoy Harrison Ford's visits. Dave likes to poke and prod the big celebrity star and Harrison good-naturedly plays along the best he can. It is obvious that doing the talk show circuit is his least favorite part of making films.

ACT 5: It's Ben being shaved with the new Gillette Fusion razor blade. It's a nice close shave.
Gillette Fusion - features the breakthrough 5-blade shaving surface technology. The blades are 30% closer, allowing for less irritation and more comfort. Plus, it is equipped with a Flexible Comfort Guard which follows the contours of your face. Gillette Fusion - Super Bowl champion Ben Roethlisberger uses it.

And that was our show for Monday, February 6, 2006. Wahoo EXTRA!

I half watched the first half of the Super Bowl. I was helping my daughter with her Lion and the food chain science project. The 2nd half I watched up the block in the local pub. Keep that in mind when reading the following.
The big difference in yesterday's game was the Seahawks were penalized on their biggest plays. Pittsburgh wasn't. And they had a lot of bad calls against them. Plus, the Seahawks dropped too many passes.
How's that for an excellent recap. I bet you didn't read that anywhere else.

An illegal block below the waist? But Hasselbeck was tackling the guy! I was in a bar so I couldn't hear what was being said. Was this call explained by the announcers?
Pittsburgh tries two "gadget" plays and they both worked. Seattle secondary looked foolish on both.

From Rick Macke of Kettering, Ohio:

"There is about six hours of pregame show and they can't tell us who the players are until the game starts? I'm looking at some steeler player telling us who he is while there is a play going on. Nice job.
This has to be the year of the refs in the NFL. There really is no reason to watch because my eyes see one thing while the ref tells me it really didn't happen that way. Just tell me who wins at the beginning of the game and save me some time."

My Super Bowl pool. My box was Steelers 0; Seahawks 2. When the numbers were picked, only two remained; a 2 and a 3. I already had the Steelers with 0. I was the last in the row. I was hoping a 2 would be picked for the box above me. No such luck. A 3 was picked. I ended up with the 2. I could have won the 1st quarter.
Exciting stuff, huh?

Super Bowl commercials:
-Something about Paul McCartney as a Beatle selling for an investment company bothers me. It's just not right.
-Toyota Tacoma - a car being whacked by incoming ocean waves - I saw that at the bar and immediately thought of Hurricane Katrina and the tsunami in Indonesia. I'm sure that's not what they had in mind. And since these commercials aren't written over night, I have to wonder when this one was brain-stormed. Back in September I wonder?

Two years ago, Janet Jackson's breast popped out during the halftime show. Last night, I was expecting Mick Jagger's teeth to pop out.

Last Friday: My favorite sports writer Phil Mushnick pushed for a marching band during the Super Bowl halftime. Just like me. Bring back the marching band, the top one in the nation, and you will have fans clamoring for more more more.

I saw more celebrating and gyrating down on the field after the opening kickoff than there was following the final whistle in Super Bowl III.

So I watch the 2nd half in the gin mill up the street. Of course, it wouldn't be a local bar if it didn't feature a fight at the end of the game. Two guys who just met were getting along fine throughout the game, but a few minutes after the game was over they decided to fight. No punches were thrown but there was a good amount of wrestling and turned over chairs. Everyone jumped up to try to break it up. I'm entertained by barroom brawls so I just sat back and watched the spat and my money. The fight lasted a pretty long time, for a bar fights that is, but not to the point where it got boring. When it was nearly over, I looked behind me. The only ones not involved in the fight or stopping the fight was me and 6 women sitting at the bar. I laughed. The barkeep noticed what I noticed and laughed too. I said, "How do we expect peace in the Middle East if we can't get along in a simple bar?" He nodded, then asked, "Why, what's going on in the Middle East?"
The two people fighting were my age. It was a sad display, though the sadness made it that more entertaining.
(I made up the part about the Middle East. Sorry. It must be the James Frey in me.)

Oh, I almost forgot. This year's winner for the most useless commercial goes to the Johnny Depp pirate movie. It doesn't open till July 9th.

What did I do during the Super Bowl pre-game shows? I cleaned the grout on my kitchen floor.

Former Washington Redskin wide receiver Art Monk, one of the greatest ever in the game, was once again not voted in to the Football Hall of Fame. Why? I guess he didn't dance enough after scoring a touchdown.

I'm listening to Rush Limbaugh on the radio the other day. A commercial comes on. It's for Campbell Soup and it features Donovan McNabb. I found this a bit odd.

The New York Knicks should stop harassing women and start harassing the opposing point guards.

Fayard Nicholas died last week. He and his brother Harold tap-danced in the final scene in the Lena Horne film, "Stormy Weather." I've always said that scene was the greatest dance performance I had ever seen. Reading his obituary, I found that Fred Astaire and others said the same thing.
"Stormy Weather" - watch it if you get the chance . . . at least the last 20 minutes, anyway.

Hey! The "75th Anniversary of CBS" Special is no longer featured on the CBS website. It aired on November 2, 2003 and stayed up on the site for another year and a half, at least. I meant to keep an eye on it but it sort of slipped away without my notice. On a similar note, the Rod Stewart billboard on Broadway just south of 53rd Street still remains. It advertises his July concert at Madison Square Garden . . . July of 2004. What a shame. Some company is paying big money for that billboard. . . and I'm sure that someone in that same company has to work two jobs to make ends meet to live in this city.