JerseyMan Magazine V10N1

George Anastasia’s

MOB SCENE

CELEBRATING OUR 2019 MAN & WOMAN OF THE YEAR HONOREES

INSIDE: Philly’s MilkBoy Eagles in the Super Bowl Meet Katie Emmer Coach Billy Lange Volume 10 • Number 1 – $3.95

www.jerseymanmagazine com

PUBLISHER

FROM JerseyMan Magazine THE VOLUME 10 • NUMBER 1 ____________________________________________________________________________________

BY KEN DUNEK Ken Dunek Publisher

Welcome to 2020 By the time you are reading this, Christmas is in our rearview mirror.

For some reason this Holiday Season, I was thinking about Santa Claus. What made him so special to me as a child, and why does he still give me this warm and fuzzy feeling as an adult?

The child part is easy—I was a greedy little tyke who wanted toys.

And this jolly old fat man with a beard delivered them to me. (This could be the very reason I keep my whiskers at stubble length and try to suck in my gut for pictures so I am not mistaken for him).

The adult part of the question takes a little more thought.

Is it the warm feelings of childhood memories that continue to endear me? No, I think not.

The spirit of kindness and giving are the qualities that make Santa so special.

He is a caring and benevolent individual. Those are attractive qualities for everyone.

So, in my case, unfortunately, I may be starting to LOOK MORE LIKE Santa, but I want to BE MORE LIKE Santa with my caring and philanthropy.

Want to join me on my sleigh this year?

We can take this ride together.

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Ashley Dunek EDITOR George Brinkerhoff ART DIRECTOR Steve Iannarelli CONTRIBUTING WRITERS George Anastasia, George Brinkerhoff, Michael Bradley, Sam Carchidi, Alexandra Dunek, Mark Eckel, Albert A. Fox, Robert Kennedy, Sam Kraft, Dei Lynam, Anthony Mongeluzo, Andrew Ryan, Nick Santangelo, Kurt Smith, Brian Startare Administrative Assistant Alexandra Dunek Event Coordinator Jamie Dunek Editorial 856-813-1153 Advertising 856-912-4007 Printing Alcom Printing, Harleysville, Pa. Controller Rose M. Balcavage Sales Associates Ashley Dunek, Jamie Dunek, Terri Dunek, Allison Farcus, JP Lutz JerseyMan/PhillyMan Advisory Board Peter Cordua (Chairman). . . HBK CPAs & Consultants

Photo Nichole Howard

Dave Czarnecki. . . . . . . . . . CzarStar/Kriebel Security Nick DeRose. . . . . . . . . . . Legacy Treatment Services Joseph Devine (Emeritus). . . . . . . . . Kennedy Health Ted Flocco (Emeritus). . . . . . . . . . . . . Ernst & Young Bob Hoey. . . . . . . . . . . . . Janney Montgomery Scott Robert Kennedy. . . . . . . . . . The Kennedy Companies Julie LaVan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LaVan Law Michael MacFarland. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TD Bank Anthony Mongeluzo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PCS Mike Regina. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Big Sky Enterprises Greg Star . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Carvertise Les Vail. . . . . . Gloucester Co. Chamber of Commerce John White. . . . . . . . . . . . Peerless Business Advisors

“To be successful in business, you must act big, think big, and talk big.”

– Aristotle Onassis JerseyMan Magazine/PhillyMan Magazine, products of a partnership between Ken Dunek, Anthony Mongeluzo, and Alcom Printing Group, are published by New Opportunity Publishing, LLC, with offices at 7025 Central Highway, Pennsauken, NJ, 08109. Copyright 2020.

www.jerseymanmagazine.com

INSIDE

– Warren Buffet

JerseyMan Magazine VOLUME 10 • NUMBER 1

40 ON THE COVER

20 HERB MAGEE

“The rich invest in time, the poor invest in money.”

From left: Joseph Maressa, Jr., Daria Torres, Drew Polin, Jen Groover, Charles Holmes, Patricia Gohl

by DEI LYNAM

26 BEING A GRANDPARENT

by SAM CARCHIDI

28 MILKBOY

A Philadelphia Story

28

CELEBRATING OUR 2019 MAN & WOMAN OF THE YEAR HONOREES

Photo Chris Narisi | MilkBoy Philadelphia

32 KATIE EMMER

Meet the Flyers new pre & post game live host

36 EAGLES’ IN THE SUPER BOWL

A look back at the Birds’ three biggest games

48 BILLY LANGE

St. Joseph’s new hoops coach

Photo Sideline Photos LLC

54 KERRY FRASER

Making the right calls on ice and in life

60 KEN TOSCANO

48

Hangin’ with the stars

COLUMNS

1 2 J O T T I N G S • 1 8 G E O R G E A N A S T A S I A ’ S M O B S C E N E • 22 GET FIT 72 THE CIGAR GUY • 76 TECH TIME • 78 THE WINE MAN

Cover photograph Jeremy Messler Photography LLC

jerseymanmagazine.com

Photo NBC Sports Philadelphia

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JOTTINGS

In Memoriam

______________________________________________________________________________

BY GEORGE BRINKERHOFF

What we read.

A Beginner’s Guide to Free Fall

By Andy Abramowitz Lake Union Publishing (January 1, 2020)

F

or his sophomore effort, Philadelphia author Andy Abramowitz, whose first novel Thank You, Goodnight was at times both poignant and hilarious, has written another tale that’s, well, both poignant and hilarious. It’s a tale of two siblings, one an engineer who designs roller coasters and the other a journalist, whose lives take unexpected developments over the course of one summer. As their lives are propelled through each twist and turn, we’re along for the ride as they encounter, through Abramowitz’s clever telling, love, loss, redemption and the strength of family bonds. It’s a curious, funny and touching journey, a well-crafted tale with sharply drawn compelling characters. Like a rollercoaster ride, you’ll be both sorry when it is over but happy you took the chance.

Bill Lyon

Our columnist, friend and colleague Bill Lyon passed away recently in November at age 81, after a battle with Alzheimer’s disease. A longtime columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer and a giant on the Philadelphia sports scene, I knew of Bill’s talented and seemingly effortless writing long before I had the enormous pleasure of reading and editing his columns for this magazine. With his passion for sports and his humanity always on display, Bill filled his essays with a simple eloquence. He was a sportswriter’s sportswriter and a unique talent whose presence is greatly missed.

Our publisher Ken Dunek shared his thoughts on Bill’s passing: “As a professional football player in the early 80s, I always admired Bill Lyon’s folksy style of spinning a yarn as it related to whatever particular game he was covering at that moment. We were both from the farmlands of Illinois (Bill from Champaign, and me a bit farther north in Marengo, McHenry County).

After JerseyMan Magazine started in 2010, and subsequently PhillyMan a few years later, I received an email from Bill asking me if I was interested in having him contribute. Of course, my pride meter was off the charts, but I played it cool because I wasn’t sure if we could afford him.

He never asked about the money. He just wanted to ply his craft. When we met for lunch several years ago and he told me about his diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, I asked him if he would be willing to let me share his story in my Publisher’s column.

He agreed because he thought my words about him might help people. I hope they did Bill.

And I hope you knew how much I appreciated our relationship all these years. RIP friend.

Heaven just got one helluva writer.”

12

Just like a-ringin’ a bell...

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heck out this beauty! Gibson guitars, in partnership with the Chuck Berry family, has produced a first-ever, historically accurate signature guitar to celebrate the “Father of Rock n’ roll.” Chuck Berry’s legendary 1950’s performances of hits like “Johnny B. Goode” and “Maybellene” changed the world of music forever. Gibson pays homage to this musical pioneer with this Gibson Chuck Berry ES-350T replica, complete with historically accurate construction, hand-picked maple, matching pickups, a replica strap and even a replica of the Zuni “Sun God” bolo tie that Berry wore throughout the 50s. This is a limited-edition guitar and only 55 will be produced worldwide at $9,999.00 each. For more info, go to Gibson.com.

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FOOD OF THE GODS

I Photos www.theartisanmarshmallowco.com

T’S A QUESTION FOR THE AGES. Just what do the gods eat? If you said marshmallows, you’d be right, of course.

According to madehow.com, the name marshmallow comes from the mallow plant which grows in swampy, marshy areas of Europe, North Africa and Asia. The root of this plant was originally ground into a pulp and mixed with sugar.

“As far back as 2000 B.C., Egyptians were mixing

the marsh mallow root with honey. The candy was reserved for the gods and royalty.”

The Artisan Marshmallow Company of Mullica Hill, NJ, is now bringing this divine treat out of antiquity and making it available to everyone. They specialize in homemade gourmet marshmallows made by hand in small batches. The many varieties are only limited by the imagination of owner Cheyanne Forgatch, whos creations include such flavors as Bourbon Vanilla, Toasted Coconut, Peanut Butter, Caramel, Vermont Maple, Oreo, S’mores, Cookie Dough and Coffee.

The Artisan Marshmallow Co. has teamed with Operation Turbo, so you can support our military with a purchase of red, white and blue marshmallows with their signature www.theartisanmarshmallowco.com • 19D S. Main St., Mullica Hill, NJ Bourbon Vanilla flavor. You

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can also sign up for their Marshmallow of the Month Club. So go ahead and eat like the gods!

The Jersey Roots of Junie B. Jones

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NE OF MY FAVORITE CHARACTERS growing up was Junie B. Jones, a spunky little girl who is too funny to forget. You might recognize her name, “My name is Junie B. Jones. The B stands for Beatrice. Except I don’t like Beatrice. I just like B and that’s all.” or her mousy brown hair and glasses. The collection is still recognized as a New York Times Bestseller.

Copyright © 1995-2018 Penguin Random House LLC

The author, Barbara Park, was originally from Mt. Holly, NJ. Born to Brooke and Doris Tidswell on April 21, 1947. She loved the beach and spent her summers on Long Beach Island, eventually building a house there many years later.

Park was a graduate of Rancocas Valley High School, class of 1965 and attended Rider College (now Rider University) from 1965 to 1967. She finished her Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Alabama in 1969, where she met her husband Richard Park.

The two settled down in Arizona and had two children. Sadly, Park passed away in November of 2013 after a long, courageous battle with ovarian cancer. Her nephew, Brooke Tidswell told me, “She was awesome, a complete goofball who matched her books.” The Junie B. Jones series can still be found in bookstores and I promise, she will make your children smile and laugh. – Alexandra Dunek

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“Policing Is About People” book signing – Swedesboro, NJ

No Dog Gets Left Behind Fall Ball – Warminster, PA

Jessica “Jammmin Jessie” Sabella, On-Air Music Host for Radio 104.5 FM iHeartMedia (far left), NDGLB Founder Patricia Gohl, Tracy Flanagan, Steve Berman and Jerry Flanagan.

Julie LaVan and Special Agent Martin J. Schwartz at his book signing for “Policing Is About People”

USS Dewey change of command ceremony – San Diego

Steve Berman, Adriana Falco, Patricia Gohl and First Sgt Matt Eversmann, Retired, recipient of a Bronze Star for Valor for his heroism and leadership in the Battle of Mogadishu (Black Hawk Down)

Dan Ackroyd promotes his Crystal Head Vodka – Traino’s Wine & Spirits, Marlton, NJ

Cmdr. Neil Gabriel, pictured, from Mullica Hill, NJ, assumed command of Dewey, relieving Cmdr. Paul Lorio who led USS Dewey (DDG 105) from June 2018 to October 2019.

Gabriel assumed command of Dewey in accordance with the Navy’s fleet-up program after serving as the ship’s executive officer for 18 months. He graduated from the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, earning his Bachelor of Science degree in biological sciences, and a master’s degree in biological sciences from the University of Delaware.

He was commissioned through the officer candidate school program in October 2001.

Bill Brandt of Trainos Wine and Spirits with actor Dan Ackroyd 16

“It is an honor to become the eigth Commanding Officer of USS Dewey. This ship, crew, and namesake have a rich history and strong reputation, and to be a part of this legacy is a great reward,” said Gabriel.

MOB SCENE

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BY GEORGE ANASTASIA

The Hell’s Angels and the Pagans

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ell Boy swings a mean stick.

Just ask Jeffrey Shank.

The two outlaw motorcycle gang members “got together” one afternoon back in April 2018 at a gas station on Elizabeth Avenue in Newark. Shank, who had just left the Hells Angels’ clubhouse a few blocks away, stopped to get some gas for his bike.

Hell Boy, whose given name is Robert DeRonde, pulled into the station in a pickup truck. A video surveillance camera captured the action from there. DeRonde jumped out of his truck with a metal baseball bat in his hands and leveled his first shot, a two-handed swing from the right side, at Shank’s head. The biker, fortunately, was wearing a helmet. He went down, but then tried to scramble to his feet.

Hell Boy moved in, swinging from the left side this time, and cracked Shank across the back and shoulders several times. The camera then picked up two other men closing in, one wielding what appeared to be a long metal pipe that he used to bash Shank across the ribs and back.

The three hitmen then left the scene with Shank crumpled in a ball next to his bike.

DeRonde, who later pleaded guilty to an assault charge and was sentenced to four years in prison, was a member of the Pagans Motorcycle Club, according to authorities. Shank was an associate of the Hells Angels. The gas station attack was a vivid example of what law enforcement investigators contend is an escalation in tension between the two rival biker gangs who are vying for control and dominance in one of the darkest and most brutal segments of the underworld.

The New Jersey State Commission of Investigation (SCI) aired the video at a hearing in Trenton back in October that focused on what investigators say is growing concern over the violent resurgence and expansion of the Pagans.

The three-hour hearing included testimony from investigators who have tracked the activities of the club. They said there has been a rise in both membership and assaults over the past two years.

The hearing also included recorded testimony about life in the biker underworld from 18

Like the mob, bikers believe in a code of silence. And like the mob, bikers have always used violence as both a negotiating tool and a way to settle disputes. three former club members whose voices were disguised to protect their anonymity. And finally, there were appearances by three alleged leaders of the New Jersey branch of the organization, all of whom repeatedly cited their fifth amendment right against self-incrimination while refusing to answer nearly every question posed to them.

Like the mob, the bikers believe in a code of silence.

And like the mob, bikers have always used violence as both a negotiating tool and a way to settle disputes. The beating at the gas station was a little of both. Authorities say the Pagans are trying to move into Hells Angels territory in both North Jersey and New York.

One investigator who testified at the hearing said it was “just a matter of time” before a war breaks out between the two groups and expressed concern that “civilians get caught in the middle.”

The Pagans and the Hells Angels have been

there before.

The Hellraisers Ball on Long Island back in 2002 is one graphic example. A group of about 60 Pagans stormed a catering hall where the Hells Angels-sponsored event was being held.

The affair was open to the public and included blues bands, porn stars, motorcycle exhibits and tattoo contests. One Pagan was killed and dozens of others were injured in the melee that ended with multiple arrests. Police seized nearly 500 weapons that day, including guns, knives, bats and clubs. Civilians—non-bikers attending the event—were simply collateral damage, caught in the line of fire.

N A SMALLER SCALE, Pagans often boast about what is known in the biker underworld as “The Bloodshed at the Woodshed.” The Woodshed was a bar in Burlington County where on New Year’s Day in 2005 a group of Pagans and their associates attacked and brutally beat three Hells

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Angels who at the time were recruiting members in South Jersey and Philadelphia. Several Pagans, in fact, had “patched over,” giving up their membership in the Pagans to become Hells Angels.

A few weeks after the Woodshed attack, one of those Pagans-turned-Angels was killed in a drive-by shooting on the Schuylkill Expressway in Philadelphia after being followed by members of the Pagans from a local go-go bar.

The Pagans may not boast the membership numbers of some of the bigger clubs—the Hells Angels, the Outlaws and the Bandidos— but they have always matched or exceeded them when it comes to violence. No one has ever been arrested in connection with that murder or with the attack at the Woodshed.

It is the conventional wisdom in law enforcement circles that the Pagans thwarted the Hells Angels’ attempted move into the Philadelphia–South Jersey area back in 2005. Now, the SCI seems to be saying, the Pagans have embarked on an expansion plan of their own.

One clear example, authorities said, is a change on the “colors” that club members wear. The blue denim vests or jackets with word Pagans in large letters across the back often included the location of the local chapter along the bottom. Now, authorities say, that is being replaced with the words “East Coast,” a signal that the club wants a regional rather than a local identity.

Whatever the locale, however, the club is still heavily involved in extortion, drug dealing and violence, say investigators. Meth is still the drug of choice for both sale and consumption within Pagan circles, say police. But now instead of manufacturing their own—for years Pagan Purple was a recognized brand in the meth business—most of the meth being sold by the bikers is imported from Mexico in a distribution deal with drug cartels from south of the border.

Little else has changed within the organization, with drugs and extortion being primary sources of income; violence and intimidation being a way of life, and misogyny a big part of the club’s social set.

“Women are lower than dogs,” one expert testifying before the SCI said during the hearing in October. Women can never be members. Like the mob, the biker underworld is one of the last exclusive men’s clubs in America. Women are designated as “property of” different club members and can be shared sexually. They are also used to transport drugs and weapons and as messengers bringing information to and from different chapters.

The SCI hearings opened a window into the operations of the outlaw gang. The testimony and evidence reinforced much that has already been said and written.

A former Pagan, James “Jimmy D” DeGre-

gorio, offered similar insights after he became a cooperating witness back in the 1980s. DeGregorio, interviewed for a documentary now available on YouTube, described himself as a former “cooker”—meth manufacturer—for the club. He said he turned to the government after members of his own organization tried to set him up for murder.

This was at a time when the Pagans boldly clashed with the Philadelphia mob then headed by Nicodemo “Little Nicky” Scarfo. Scarfo tried to impose a “street tax” on all drug dealers not affiliate with his crime family. Many paid. But the Pagans balked.

In fact, DeGregorio and an associate kidnapped two mobsters during the ongoing dispute and DeGregorio shot one of the mobsters as he tried to flee. DeGregorio was arrested—the shooting occurred in downtown Philadelphia and within view of several police officers. Jimmy D said he was ready to do his time for that assault. It came with his life as an outlaw biker.

What he wasn’t ready for, he said, was a plot by several Pagans who conspired with the mob to have him killed. That’s why, he said, he began cooperating In the same interview, he offered an explanation for the biker’s code of silence, the code that he broke.

The two expressions Pagans would shout to one another after being arrested, he said, were “argo” and “nunya.” That was code, he explained, for what a biker should say in response to any question posed by law enforcement. Argo was short for “ah go f--- yourself,” he said, and nunya stood for “none a ya f---ing business.”

Nothing subtle, it was an outlaw biker’s version of omerta.

Bold, brash and in your face.

Like a metal baseball bat to the head.

Just ask Jeffrey Shank. n

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DEI LYNAM

_______________________________________________________________________________ ___

The Uniqueness of Herb Magee

W

E LIVE IN A TIME where free agency in sports is what so many aspire to achieve: “When do I get to make a move and start a new chapter?” We watched years ago “The Decision” on television to learn LeBron James was taking his talents to South Beach. This past summer in the NBA, there was unprecedented movement of star-level talent, including Kawhi Leonard, Anthony Davis, and Paul George. So when I share that a college basketball coach became the second man in history to achieve 1100 wins, and he won them all at one institution, I hope you can appreciate the uniqueness of Herb Magee.

Magee is currently in his 53rd season as the head basketball coach at what is now called Thomas Jefferson University. The institution has undergone several name changes in the same amount of time one man needed to reach those 1100 victories, an accomplishment shared only with Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski.

Krzyzewski is 72 years old, while Magee is 78.

Where he finishes in this race is not essential to this Philadelphia treasure.

“The number never really meant a whole lot,” Magee said. “The big thing he has, and other coaches do too; they have more National Championships. I have one; I think he has five.

Bobby Knight has three. John Wooden had ten.

Now we cannot compare our two programs.

But the real success of a season lies in getting to the NCAA tournament first, and then how well you do in that tournament. When I run into the guys who played for me over the years, those are the conversations.”

Magee has 30 Rams teams that talk about those memories and their respective accomplishments. And while he is in the coaching business to win, the daily enjoyment has a broader base.

“As a basketball coach, you not only get a chance to teach these guys how to play basketball and win games but also about life itself; what’s important, what isn’t important,” Magee shared. “That is why we have had such 20

Coach Magee gives instruction to senior guard Kylan Guerra

success with our graduation rate over the years. We probably graduated in the high 90’s, probably closer to 98 or 99 percent of them.”

He remembers statistics and how games played out, players’ names, and where they are today, but he can’t pinpoint when he decided to be a lifer on Henry Avenue.

“I am not sure there was any single time,” he said. “It was more like one year becomes the next year, and ten years becomes 20, then

30. Thirty years becomes 35 years, and so there was no one moment. But early on I made a decision that I would stay there.

“Coaching, to me, is coaching. It does not matter if you are a high school coach, a Division III coach, Division II, or coach at a Kentucky or Duke - it is all the same to me. I just wanted to be a coach.”

There is one thing that possibly could have taken Magee in a different direction.

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OACHING THE JEFFERSON RAMS has been the fabric of Magee’s life, along with sharing time with family and friends. He admits he thinks about retirement, and discusses it occasionally with his wife, Geri, on their daily morning walk. What would ultimately influence him to make a change?

“Probably the way I feel physically, and I do feel fine,” he said. “I am a fortunate guy as far as health is concerned. And then also emotionally. Can I handle the rigors of it because there is a lot to it? I am dealing with the ups and downs of a season; injuries, academic

Photos courtesy Thomas Jefferson University

“The lure to leave would be to make serious money,” he said. “But I was never a guy that needed—look I would like to have more money—but I never needed to have serious money. I figured the kids have to go to school. I will pay for their education. I will speak at 60 or 70 basketball camps this summer. But I never considered that to be a hassle; I enjoyed doing it.”

He enjoyed the summer basketball camp speaking circuit so much that he still is sharing his shooting wisdom to this day. Magee estimates eight Mondays every summer he makes the trek to the Poconos to speak at a camp called Hoop Group, the place he got his moonlighting start.

casualties, players’ attitudes. You can’t do anything about injuries, but you can do something to impact players’ attitudes and how they approach practice and games.”

There will be no TV show announcing Herb Magee’s retirement decision. Instead, Magee will take inventory. He will listen to his body, talk to his family, and acknowledge the beckoning golf course. The Hall of Famer is astute at reading situations.

“The one thing I have never done is second guess myself,” he said. “I never say I wish I had done this instead of that. Or maybe if I had played zone instead of man, I don’t do it because whatever I decided, at the time I made the decision, it was right in my mind.

As a basketball coach and player, you have to have tremendous confidence in yourself and your abilities to handle different situations, and I have that. n

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GET FIT

_____________________________________________

BY ALEXANDRA DUNEK

Tips From a Fit Chick

S

IX YEARS AGO, I wrote my first article for this magazine where I introduced eight lifestyle tips. Twenty eight articles, two fitness competitions and one personal training certification later, I decided to share my top six tips in light of a new year.

1. MOVE MORE. My parents make it a priority to walk every morning or night. Frequent walks/runs or adding a fun activity to your routine can really make a difference in how you feel and look especially if you work a desk job. Of course, you must enjoy it too. My goal this year is to track my daily steps.

2. LEARN TO TRACK MACROS. Macro tracking is a similar concept to Weight Watchers except instead of focusing on calories, you are focusing on how much protein, carbohydrates and fats are in the foods you are eating. Even if you try it just for a couple of months, you will learn a great deal. I stand by this strongly because it teaches you awareness. I would not be where I am today with my nutrition without the knowledge of macros and flexible dieting. You can learn more on my Instagram @TipsFromAFitChick.

3. SNACK PREP. You might not be a fan of meal prepping and that’s okay. But at least prepare your snacks! Wash and cut up your fruit and vegetables or portion out some favorites of yours to grab and go. This is an easy way to have healthy options, prevent hunger and stick to your goals.

4. LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. “No days off,” is a popular phrase that needs to go away. If I told you that I work out about 3-4 times a week and occasionally take a week or two off from the gym, would you believe me? Well, it’s true. Sleep, rest and recovery are just as important as everything else.

5. TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT. The more you stay stuck to your routine, the harder it is to get out of your comfort zone. Try a local yoga class or do a couple of rock climbing sessions. You never know what you will like until you actually try it. I want to take a self-defense or Muay Thai class.

6. WATER IS STILL IMPORTANT. I wrote this final tip in the first article and it’s still a golden rule. I’m not going to lie, it gets difficult remembering to drink water especially if you are constantly in and out all day. I always try to carry a water bottle with me or keep the water pitcher filled or fridge stocked. Flavored seltzer water makes it a whole lot easier also. Make it a habit!

For more guidance, follow Alexandra, NASM Certified Personal Trainer on Instagram at @TipsfromAFitChick 22

Alexandra Dunek

Photo Ryan Scott

Nothing better than being a grandparent.

Absolutely Nothing!

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APQUEST is a fine mobile app for getting driving directions on your iPhone, but, for me, switching to Waze became a

The author takes in a Phillies game with his grandson James

Photo courtesy Sam Carchidi

high priority.

Not because it was necessarily better, but because the voice singing the directions belongs to Cookie Monster.

My grandson, James, who turns two on March 1, loves Cookie Monster, so, naturally, I now do, too. Got to keep James smiling when he’s in my car and I need driving directions.

James also loves Elmo, playing with trains, giggling, browsing through books with animals, knocking down plastic bowling pins, giggling, playing Foosball, pushing a toy lawnmower that makes bubbles, giggling, eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches—he likes to fold the bread and bite out the middle to form a perfect circle—and hundreds of other things. He even talks to Alexa, Amazon’s virtual assistant, and asks/tells her to “Play ‘Baby Shark.’”

All those things are now on my “favorites” list. Anything to please my little buddy. Anything to have something in common with him.

Anything that brings joy to that sweet, innocent face and that wonderfully curious personality.

James has made me look at life through the eyes of a toddler. Those eyes aren’t worried about politics or climate change or the neverending rising cost of New Jersey property taxes.

The eyes of James, and his unbridled thirst to learn, to love, to experience, well, it’s why my grandson is absolutely, positively perfect.

As you may have detected, being a Poppy—or BaBa, as my grandson currently calls me— is….let’s see….what’s the word?

Magical.

If you are a grandparent, you know the joy this first-time Poppy is feeling.

If you aren’t a grandparent, here’s hoping you become one someday. There’s no better feeling. Nothing compares to seeing your daughter and son-in-law, or son and daughterin-law, become amazing parents.

Unless, that is, becoming a grandparent.

I always loved being a parent and was fortunate because I got to be “Mr. Mom” when my two kids, Sara and Sammy, were growing up.

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BY SAM CARCHIDI

James has made me look at life through the eyes of a toddler. Those eyes aren’t worried about politics or climate change or the never-ending rising cost of New Jersey property taxes.

For years, I couldn’t understand why my Italian uncles called their own kids “Daddy.” Uh, YOU’RE the Daddy, I would think to myself.

And, yet, there I was, calling James what he calls me, BaBa. I guess it just means I like the sweet, sing-song way he addresses me and I want to return the favor.

But I digress…

••• During that time of my writing career, I was covering primarily high school sports at The Inquirer and mostly working at night—or starting my workday late in the afternoon. My wife worked during the day, so I had the joy of taking care of the kids during that time.

We would play virtually all sports, take trips to playgrounds, get them together with other kids in the neighborhood, read books, and watch The Elephant Show, Sesame Street, or VCR tapes (remember them?) of various kids’ shows.

It wasn’t all fun and games, of course. The biggest concern was their health, and there were the inevitable illnesses. My wife always says I was overprotective and, looking back, I was. When my kids were babies, I can remember literally sleeping on the floor next to their crib when they were ill, wanting to be as close to them as possible in case they needed help in the middle of the night.

Maybe that’s why being a grandparent is so great. You get all the joy and fewer worries. Oh, I still get very concerned if James is ill, but probably not as much as his parents, Sara and Brian. Parents do the worrying. Grandparents do the spoiling.

My wife, who goes by “Nonna” to her adoring grandson, calls James “Puppy,” probably because he likes to climb on your lap and give you unconditional love. Me? I must have at least 10 nicknames for him, including Sugar Pop, Jamesy, King James, bud, little man, and Ba-Ba. The last one is curious even to me.

I BEGAN WRITING SHORT NOTES to James that he may want to read when he’s older. Like these: Saturday, April 13, 2019 Hi James: You are a little over 13 months old and we went to the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore today. You loved the giraffes the best. The smile on your face and the amazement in your eyes was priceless as you looked up to see the giraffes in their inside “house.”

When we arrived at the zoo, I took you out of your car seat, where you were sleeping for the 25-minute ride from your house. You went into my arms and held onto me with all your might. I did not want to let go. It was the best part of my day, and Mommy took a photo of it on her iPhone which I was so grateful to have!

About 30 seconds later, you jostled in my arms, opened your eyes— and were VERY surprised you were at the zoo! You laughed and let out a squeal in delight. It was so loud and spontaneous! You couldn’t believe you were there! And you gave me, Nonna and Mommy a laugh— and a lasting memory!

Thank you, my Sugar Pop! Later that day, when we were back at your house in Baltimore, I was pushing you on your bike-stroller and Mommy was calling from her bedroom window upstairs. You heard her voice and got a big smile on your face, but you looked all around the street and couldn’t find

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her. I picked you up out of your stroller and you craned your little neck up and saw your Mama at the window and you smiled sooooo wide and kicked your legs because you were soooo happy as you waved to Mommy.

Thanks for a great day, James. Being with you is such a delight! I love you!

Dear James: It’s late September, and Daddy and I took you for a hayride at Zimmerman’s Country Market in Sewell, N.J. You even got to pick out your own little pumpkin. As we sat in the gigantic wagon, I could see the wheels in your little head turning as you watched the 4- and 5-year- old kids and observed what they were doing. You are about 1½ years old and so observant. You like to study people before you interact with them. At one point, the man driving the tractor that pulled the wagon wanted to help you get off, but you clung to me because you weren’t sure who he was.

Like most toddlers, you want to feel comfortable with someone before they earn your trust. I like that.

By the way, I love that you want to spend time with me because I know down the road you will want to be with your friends. That’s only natural, so I’m soaking in all the James Time I can get right now. Spending time with you is the best part of my week!

Dear James: You are about 19 months old, and Nonna and Poppy babysat you in Baltimore tonight and took you to a cozy corner pub called Knotty Pine for dinner.

By the time you read this, you may or may not still be a vegetarian, Your Mom and Dad want you to make your own choice when you get older. They are always looking out for you James, and are wonderful parents.

They try to limit the amount of sweet things you eat, like ketchup, but I must confess that we let you splurge tonight. The look on your face as you dipped your fries into ketchup was priceless! (I keep using that word, but it’s so appropriate.) You then started dipping and not eating your fries. Instead, you just dipped and licked off the ketchup.

Over and over and over.

And your smile seemed to reach from Baltimore to Wenonah, N.J., where we live.

You could have been eating lobster, or shrimp, or filet and you wouldn’t have had more satisfaction!

You giggled as you ate it, of course. Everything is an adventure for you, and we enjoy watching you sooooooo much and having fun out of the silliest things!

Nov. 29, 2019 (Black Friday) 26

Photo courtesy Sam Carchidi

Dear James: You are almost 21 months old, and this is the first Christmas in which you know who Santa is. Mommy, Daddy, Nonna and Poppy took you into Philadelphia today to see the great Christmas light show at Macy’s. We also waited in a line that must have had 700 kids in it—I am NOT exaggerating!—and it took a more than an hour in line before you saw Santa. The nice thing was we walked through Charles Dickens James with parents Sara and Brian Village along the way, and you were amused by all the characters we passed, including Scrooge.

Santa wasn’t your favorite person. When Mommy tried to put you on his lap, you got scared and wanted no parts of him, so you stayed on her lap as Santa talked to you. Eventually, you loosened up a little and even gave Santa a half-hearted high-five.

Later in the day, Mom and I took you to Exley’s Nursery in Sewell, N.J., to pick out a Christmas tree. They have a toy train show there and your eyes got as big as saucers and your mouth opened wide as you watched them travel around the Christmas village they set up. You watched the trains. I watched your face. You had the same amazed expression as when you licked ketchup off your fries!

James, I wish you had met my mom, rest her soul. She would have been your great grandmom and she would have loved you to pieces as we all do. She used to always say her grandkids were “perfect angels.” and could do no wrong.

I know exactly what she meant. n

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MilkBoy owners Tommy Joyner (L) and Jamie Lokoff

MILKBOY

A Philadelphia Story Like all great Philadelphia stories, this one starts with a couple of underdogs,

BY ANDREW RYAN 28

more than a few maxed-out credit cards and the kind of indomitable passion for music and the arts most financial advisors would sternly warn against. It’s been two decades since MilkBoy owners Tommy Joyner and Jamie Lokoff transformed a scrappy music studio on the second floor of a family music store to a nationally respected Philadelphia recording studio, restaurant, bar, cafe and live music venue. MilkBoy has become somewhat synonymous with the Philadelphia music scene,

as it’s impossible to be aware of one without being aware of the other. Having recorded artists such as Miley Cyrus, Meek Mill, Dave Matthews, The Roots, and countless others, MilkBoy has earned the title of being Philadelphia’s most recognizable and accomplished studio to date.

But MilkBoy is more than just a recording studio; MilkBoy is a bona fide Philadelphia empire. Foodies and music-lovers might already be aware of their two eponymous (and

rather successful) restaurants that expertly blur the lines between gastropub and live music venue, one located in Center City, the other on South Street. Audiophiles will appreciate MilkBoy’s foray into the world of sound design in the form of SHAKE Audio Post—an award-winning sound design studio that has worked with various media companies, including ESPN, NBC Universal, NPR, Nat Geo, Golf Channel, as well as just about every major media agency across Philadelphia and New York. And just when you think MilkBoy couldn’t possibly pick a more difficult industry in which to succeed, they defy your assumption with two (half) words: rom-com. In 2015, Joyner and Lokoff co-produced the Center City-based romantic comedy Slow Learners under the banner of MilkBoy Entertainment, an offshoot of MilkBoy Studio, starring Adam Pally (The Mindy Project), Sarah Burns (Enlightened), and Kate Flannery (The Office), as well as Kevin Dunn and Reid Scott (Veep). The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2015 and is still available via iTunes, YouTube, Amazon Prime, and Google Play.

S

Photos Chris Narisi | MilkBoy Philadelphia

o how did two young upstarts build a second-floor music studio into one of Philadelphia’s most thriving enterprises? According to Joyner, quite slowly at first, considering MilkBoy’s first major milestone was upgrading from a four-track cassette recorder to a digital eight-track. “I just wanted a place to record my own band,” recalled Joyner, leaning against a high table amid the bustling after-work patrons of MilkBoy’s Center City bar and restaurant. “I was doing that in my basement in New York. A friend of a friend was a Philly guy and was like, ‘You know, my parents would probably give us the second floor

of the music store rent-free. We should do this for real, make a business of it.’”

Doing just that, Joyner relocated to Philadelphia in 1994 and opened a small recording studio and music label where he recorded local bands and released a few full-length albums and compilation CDs. It wasn’t until 1999, when Joyner met his long-time business partner Jamie Lokoff, that things really began to take off. “[Lokoff] is a composer and musician and had been hired to write a jingle for a toy. So he hired the studio—me—to work on it with him,” said Joyner. “[Lokoff] approached me later and said, ‘You’re doing this all by yourself, would you like some help?’ And I said yeah. So we worked out a deal for him to become my partner at the studio, and it’s been that way ever since.”

“I went to school for theater, not at all for music,” said Lokoff, as he sat comfortably in a recliner in the expansive, well-decorated lobby of MilkBoy Studio (think “man-cave” for those

with minimalist taste and an impeccable eye for detail). Around him, dozens of gold and platinum records line the studio walls, the Philadelphia skyline dominating the giant windows as if to underscore the role MilkBoy plays in Philadelphia’s music and entertainment culture and vice-versa. The lighting: perfectly warm and dim. An Xbox sits in the corner attached to a flat screen for hanging out and relaxing between recording sessions.

“I lived with a couple of music majors,” recalled Lokoff, discussing his background.

“This was right around the time the fourtrack came out. At the time, you couldn’t multi-track in your home unless you had so, so much money. One of my roommates got one of the first editions of that. He played me something he recorded. He was harmonizing, it had multiple guitars…I was so blown away by it, so hooked. After that, all I wanted to do was write songs.”

L

ike all great and powerful empires before them, MilkBoy’s earliest challenge was also the oldest and most obvious. “Always money,” Joyner said. “We did that thing where you max out a credit card and then, once your introductory APR is up, you flip that over to another card. And then you break out another card and buy something else. Running a studio is very capital-intensive. You’re always chasing technology. You always have to keep up with that and spend, spend, spend.”

In 2002, Joyner and Lokoff opened their second recording studio in Ardmore, PA. Lokoff partly credits MilkBoy’s success to their willingness to think outside of the box and diversify amid the file-sharing, Napster-ized 29

‘‘ Photo Chris Narisi | MilkBoy Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA IS AN INCREDIBLY MUSICAL PLACE. IT SEEMS LIKE MUSIC IS IN THE WATER HERE.”

music recording culture of the early-to-mid 2000s. “The music industry was changing,” said Lokoff. “Home recording was becoming so cheap. Record companies were losing money and weren’t spending as much money, and the studio business was getting tougher and tougher. So we wanted to diversify.

“At the time, we had some interns—a couple of high school kids—they decided to do an open mic promotion at a coffee shop

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[in Wayne, PA]. We said that we’d give them studio time as the winning prize, and there was a line of kids around the block wanting to perform.

“Somebody once came to us and said ‘MilkBoy is like the only cool thing to do in Ardmore, what do you think we have to do to bring the youth back?’ And we pointed to that. You know, why do we have to go to Wayne to do something like that? And that

was the sort of impetus of the idea. Just on a whim, we started writing a business plan for a coffee shop that would become a music venue. I guess it was meant to be because we somehow found the money to create that, and that’s how this whole thing started.”

It was this rough business plan that would eventually become MilkBoy Coffee, a boutique coffee shop and live music venue opened in 2006, right around the corner from their Ardmore recording studio. Lokoff also credits the popularization of social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter as being a major marketing engine for MilkBoy at that time. “All of a sudden, everybody was posting on social media ‘I’m playing at MilkBoy, I’m doing this at MilkBoy, I’m doing that at MilkBoy,’” Lokoff said. “It certainly got the MilkBoy name out into the public much more than just the studio did.”

F

rom those humble coffee shop roots, the MilkBoy every Philadelphian has come to know and love was truly born.

In 2011, MilkBoy Coffee traded in their coffee beans for a liquor license and moved location to Center City (under the simplified name MilkBoy), opening their first bar and restaurant on Chestnut Street, right across the street from Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, where they discovered a previously untapped market: third-shifters. “We do a sevento-ten happy hour for the people getting off the overnight shift at Jefferson,” said Chris Beyer, Director of Operations. An ingenious and lucrative revenue stream, to say the very least. As Beyers laughingly pointed out, “We crush it, man.”

Shortly afterward, in 2012, Joyner and Lokoff purchased their current North 7th Street studio location from legendary producer and arranger Larry Gold. “It was originally called ‘The Studio’ and was primarily known for its string arrangements,” explained Beyer.

“Larry had been operating out of there for years. We kind of partnered with Larry and breathed a little bit of new life into the studio.

Larry is sort of pseudo-retired right now. He keeps on saying I can have his office, but he’s there every day!”

Since then, MilkBoy has done nothing less

than dominate the local music, entertainment, and hospitality scene, becoming as synonymous with Philadelphia as Rocky Balboa, cheesesteaks, and whatever the hell Gritty is.

They’ve worked with countless national recording artists and have successfully branched out into other industries more adeptly than any of their peers, something Joyner partially attributes to Philadelphia itself. “Philadelphia is an incredibly musical place,” said Joyner, reflecting on the city. “It seems like music is in the water here.”

“To me, we wouldn’t be anywhere if it weren’t for Philadelphia,” Joyner continued.

“I don’t think this could have been successful in any other place. Opening a popular bar in the middle of a big city was an amazing thing for us to do. And we’ve paid so many dues to do it. We struggled. It’s been a very long, slow build. And I don’t know if you could have a long, slow build in another city. Philadelphia is forgiving that way.”

“Now the biggest challenge is staying interesting and being relevant,” said Joyner, quite humbly. “Staying on top of what’s important to Philadelphia. To get people to come to a place that’s been here for a little while and staying in the conversation.” n

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Katie Emmer

brings midwest moxie and positivity to Philly’s sports scene

BY NICK SANTANGELO Philadelphia is not Minnesota.

The Minnesota Vikings quickly learned as much in January 2018 after receiving some churlish responses to their dressing the Rocky statue up in purple and yellow. And it didn’t take NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Katie Emmer much longer to reach the same conclusion.

“Football is crazy around here, so it’s been fun to experience that firsthand so far this season,” she acknowledged while sitting in a Wells Fargo Center conference room.

Across the street at Lincoln Financial Field, the Eagles are nearing the end of a up-and-down season, but the city’s passion for the team never waivers despite the standings. Emmer was bemused

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when, during her first Sunday in town, the pews in a South Philly church she attended were filled with families in midnight green.

Falling into Place But while the broadcaster couldn’t help but notice Philly bleeds green, it’s the orange and the black that Emmer moved here to cover. The Minnesota native came

here in September 2019 to host Flyers pre and postgame shows on NBC Sports Philadelphia. She left a job covering the Minnesota Wild, Twins, Lynx, Timberwolves and Golden Gophers at Fox Sports North to do so.

Transitioning to covering just hockey in an NFL-obsessed Northeast city has been a major shift for Emmer, but an exciting one. She’s been a lifelong hockey fan. It probably doesn’t hurt that the onice product surpassed expectations early in the season, with the Flyers having their best November since a 22-year-old Eric Lindros was captaining the 1995-96 squad.

But while everyone loves a winner, Emmer has always known she wanted to be around sports her whole life regardless of win-lose columns. Eventually, the five

Photo NBC Sports Philadelphia

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“

My mom always wants to take credit, so I’ll give her credit, but she was like,

‘You should be on TV.’

sport athlete (she played volleyball, basketball, softball and soccer in addition to hockey) realized that being on camera was her path to reaching that goal.

“I see a lot with other great women in this industry—and men too—everyone has their own sort of story,” she says. “I had a friend in college who said he was calling games in high school, and I have those memories, but honestly it just came upon me one day. I think that my mom always wants to take credit, so I’ll give her credit, but she was like, ‘You should be on TV. You’re going to be on TV in your career.’

“And, I said, ‘We’ll see. Yeah, we’ll figure it out.’ And, it all just fell into place. I played basketball in college for a short stint, and I realized, ‘You know what, I’m going to hang everything up. What’s a way to stick around sports?’”

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Of course, it wasn’t quite so easy as hearing she should be on TV and then one day being there in a top-five media market. After starting school in Hawaii, Emmer transferred back home and finished her broadcasting education at Minnesota’s St. Cloud State University.

There, she joined the student broadcast crew covering the school’s Division I hockey team.

“It was a dream come true for me in Minnesota,” she recalls. “And, you get that pressure, and you get that feel right away, and you’re younger and you get to... just get all the vibes.”

Stepping Up They were vibes that Emmer loved. Being in front of a camera when, for example, a graphic cue goes down and it was on Emmer to find a way to keep the show going made her panic some at first, but it also served to round

her into form. Anything can happen during a live TV show, and Emmer learned as a student broadcaster to be ready for that.

But while getting that experience while still in school was important to Emmer’s success, she credits her willingness to work hard and take on virtually any assignment with getting her to where she is today. Early in her career, the broadcaster offered to hold papers for others, to do behind-the-scenes work in production trucks and even to work scoreboards.

Doing that sort of yeoman’s work can help anyone break into the industry, according to Emmer. While she acknowledges that sports broadcasting has historically been a man’s world, Emmer says that’s not so much the case these days. Maybe it helped that she grew up with six brothers who all played sports, but Emmer never stopped to consider whether the reality for women was different in her chosen profession.

Having a great role model helped, too—Emmer made it a point to emulate NBC Sunday Night Football sideline reporter Michele Tafoya’s approach of never accepting that she was any different than her male colleagues.

Aspiring sports broadcasters of any gender can flourish if they seize every opportunity.

“I think that my biggest advice would just

Coach Vigneault Emmer doesn’t know if her opinion of Flyers head coach Alain Vigneault matters. And it’s probably fair to say the veteran NHL coach isn’t going to change his approach or have his performance shaken by what anyone outside his team says or does.

But this is a town and a team with a penchant for chewing up and spitting out coaches who don’t win championships.

The overwhelming majority of them haven’t been able to deliver on that front, so there’s no shortage of outside pressure on or expectations for Vigneault. But he’s got at least one fan on the team’s broadcast crew.

“I really like him, and I’m going back to when I was excited to accept this job and seeing a new head coach, too,” gushes Emmer. “I like his history and his attitude in what I’ve seen, too. And, even in our post-games, just how candid he can be.”

The coach seems to avoid “coach speak” – the art of using many words to say very little, perhaps best personified by former longtime Eagles head coach Andy Reid. When asked about postseason aspirations, Vigneault could have said he’s taking things one game at a time instead of asserting that the Flyers will be playing past game number 82.

“He’s just a very assertive coach,” confirms Emmer. “I think he’s a good guy for the players, too. I don’t know as much [as the players], but from what I’ve seen, he just seems like a good coach who can tell you truthfully why you’re not getting enough ice time or something like that. He just seems like a good leader for this team.”

that’s seen them make seven unsuccessful Stanley Cup Finals appearances and parade through a seemingly endless string of individuals tasked with minding the net since Ron Hextall last solidified the goaltender position in 1999. None have stuck around for long enough to get the job done, but the team hopes that’s different now with 21-year-old Carter Hart, who started 2019 in even more impressive fashion than he did during his promising 2018-2019 rookie season between the pipes.

While Hart has been getting the job done on the ice, the Flyers strong start to the season is probably also due in part to new head coach Alain Vigneault. The 19th man to hold that position since Fred Shero—who coached the team to its only two Stanley Cup championships during the still-glorified 1970s Broad Street Bullies era—Vigneault hasn’t exactly been shy about the team’s aspirations. Asked in a sports radio interview in November if he thought the Flyers would make it back to the playoffs after starting their summer early last season, the coach avoided coach speak and said outright this is a playoff team.

“You know what? Anything Alain Vigneault says, I will agree with,” says a smiling Katie when asked if she shares the coach’s optimism and confidence.

And why not join him on the bandwagon?

The Flyers entered December in position to make the playoffs and looking like they can hang with just about any team with an impressive statement win over the then-topseeded Boston Bruins. But even on disappointing nights, such as a 7-1 October shellacking by the hated Pittsburgh Penguins, the show must go on. Ensuring that happens, says Emmer, can be crazy.

“A typical game day, everyone’s so organized, and we collect thoughts on a conference call, and we go over different things going on,” she explains. “For example, you know

[Flyers rookie center] Morgan Frost was a big topic [after the game].

“Social, we talk about how we’re going to incorporate that and promote that. We have a great team, as well, on the web. They’re ready if Morgan Frost is going to score a goal, they’re ready for a story to come out on that, and just being on top of everything has really helped me a lot, too, to just see how hard people work around here and the passion for the company to succeed and do better.”

A Bright Future?

But all the preparation in the world can’t ever get Emmer entirely ready for what happens that night on the ice. The broadcast crew always has hot topics and stats on-hand for the pre-game show, but everything changes the moment the puck drops, so there’s no telling what the topic du jour will be during intermissions and post-game shows. Good thing, then, that her time covering the St. Cloud State Huskies prepped Emmer to be ready for anything.

“It’s not about me, it’s about the Flyers, but, of course, I came in new, and I looked at the team. I’m like, ‘New head coach, we have a new studio, we have, new things going on.’

But again, it’s all about the team, and when I came into this, I knew there was going to be a spark. I was covering the Wild last year, and I kept up, seeing Carter Hart’s debut, and so it’s been fun to meet these players, and especially see them. Again, not too fun, because it’s been a tough first quarter of the season.”

For the Broad Street Bullies, being “tough” was the only way to be. These new Flyers are redefining Philly toughness by beating teams on the scoreboard instead of in fights. It’s a novel look for Philadelphia, but then, so is a Midwest broadcaster who calls herself “the most optimistic sportsperson ever.” So far, the novelty seems to be as strong a fit for Emmer on set as it is for Carter Hart on ice. n

be, to take any opportunity, even if it’s like— and I know you hear that all the time, and I remember hearing that all the time, but it really is a true piece of advice that you should [pursue] anything that gets you around the game. I learned so much more just working in a truck and answering a producer phone for an NFL game, then I would have just sitting at home watching it.”

Eternally Searching These days, what she learned has Emmer sitting behind a desk and in front of a camera while the Flyers continue their 44-year-long quest to win a third Stanley Cup. It’s a quest 35

Coach Doug Pederson holds the Lombardi trophy after winning Super Bowl LII

Eagles’ Flights to the Super Bowl

BY MARK ECKEL

There is nothing else like it in all of sports.

Everyone, from the serious bettor to little old ladies, has some kind of wager on it. There are parties all over the country for it. And there has even been talk of making the day after a national holiday since nobody goes to work anyway.

It’s the Super Bowl.

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February 2, 2020 in Miami will mark the 54th, or LIV in Super Bowl numerals, edition of the game.

Eagles fans might remember the one two years ago where the organization ended a 56-year championship drought and brought an NFL title to Philadelphia for the first time since 1960.

That was the team’s third trip to the Big Game.

Here’s a look back at that affair and the two previous encounters that didn’t end up quite as well.

Super Bowl Quiz Bergey

1. Only one team has multiple Super Bowl wins without a loss. Who is it?

2. What was the site of the first Super Bowl?

3. Who is the only 3-time Super Bowl MVP? 4. Who is the youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl?

5. Who is the oldest?

6. Only one player ever had three interceptions in one Super Bowl game. Name him.

Super Bowl XV, January 25, 1981

Oakland 27, Eagles 10

7. What quarterback threw the most touchdown passes in one Super Bowl game?

Site: New Orleans Super Dome MVP: Jim Plunkett, QB, Raiders (13-for-21, 261 yards, three TDs, 145.0 QB rating).

8. What quarterback threw the most interceptions in one Super Bowl game?

How They Got There: The Eagles went 12-4, won the NFC East and earned the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs. They handled the Minnesota Vikings, 31-16, in the divisional round and got a break when wild-card Dallas upset top-seed Atlanta. The Eagles then hosted and beat Dallas, 20-7, in the NFC Championship Game.

Photos courtesy Philadelphia Eagles

Key Stat: Oakland linebacker Rod Martin intercepted three Ron Jaworski passes in the game. Only one Eagles wide receiver, Harold Carmichael, caught more passes (5) from Jaworski that day.

9. Two players have won consecutive Super Bowl MVPs. Name them.

10. Who was the only special teams player to win a Super Bowl MVP?

Cowboys was their Super Bowl. The team was also too tight, almost too nervous. Oakland, meanwhile, enjoyed the New Orleans nightlife, had fun and used their underdog status as best they could.

Post Mortem: The Raiders became the first wild-card team to win a Super Bowl and would win their third one three years later as the Los Angeles Raiders. The Eagles made the playoffs in 1981, but were eliminated in the first round and wouldn’t see the postseason again until 1988.

The Quotes:

Jaworski

Plot: The Eagles had beaten the Raiders, 10-7, in a defensive battle at The Vet during the regular season and were installed as three-point favorites that grew to six points throughout most of the Delaware Valley by game time.

Story: It was over early. Martin’s first interception led to a two-yard touchdown pass from Plunkett to Cliff Branch and after an Eagles punt, Plunkett went 80 yards to Kevin King and it was 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.

Story Behind the Story: This was two teams with two different perspectives. The Eagles win over the

11. Who threw the touchdown pass to Nick Foles on The Philly Special?

12. What one-time Eagle was the first player to score a two-point conversion in a Super Bowl?

13. Who has the longest run from scrimmage in Super Bowl history?

14. Who has scored the most Super Bowl touchdowns in his career?

15. Who is the only QB to win a Super Bowl with two different teams?

“After the Dallas game, it was almost like, ‘We did it.’

Oh, by the way, we have one more game and they happen to call it the Super Bowl. I don’t want to say that Dallas was our Super Bowl, but you know something?

Dallas was our Super Bowl. If you can’t get ready for a World Championship Game what the hell can you get ready for? But we put so much into that Dallas game mentally and physically and we couldn’t get it back, not even close.’’ — Eagles linebacker Bill Bergey.

16. What team has been to eight Super Bowls and played a different opponent each time?

“I noticed the Raiders were loosey-goosey as can be.

We were tight as hell, tight as banjo strings. We went in and the tension you could cut it with a knife. I tried to say a few things to loosen the guys up and there was no response.’’ — Eagles assistant coach Jerry Wampfler in “The Ultimate Super Bowl Book.”

19. Doug Pederson became the third person to earn a Super Bowl ring as a player and a head coach. Who are the other two?

17. Who is the only Super Bowl MVP from a losing team?

18. Five former Eagles assistant coaches have won Super Bowls as a head coach. Name them.

20. Two South Jersey natives have won the Super Bowl MVP. Who are they?

Answers on page 39

Story Behind the Story: There were several. Start with wide receiver Terrell Owens, who came back from a broken leg, to play in 63 of the 72 snaps and caught nine passes for 122 yards. Did Donovan McNabb get sick on the final drive? Center Hank Fraley said he did. McNabb has said he had the wind knocked out of him on a vicious hit from Pats linebacker Tedy Bruschi.

Finally, Eagles wide receiver Freddie Mitchell didn’t help himself or his teammates when he questioned who the New England defensive backs were leading up to the game.

Super Bowl XXXIX, February 6, 2005

New England 24, Eagles 21 Site: Alltell Stadium, Jacksonville

Post Mortem: That was the Patriots third of what is now six Super Bowl titles and the last to go back-toback. The Eagles fell apart the following year when Owens, in a contract dispute with management, ripped everyone in the organization.

MVP: Deion Branch, WR, New England (11 catches, 133 yards).

How They Got There: The Eagles got out to a 13-1 start to the season and clinched the No. 1 seed in the NFC. After a first-round bye, they beat Minnesota, 2716, and then knocked off Atlanta, 27-10, in the NFC Championship Game.

Key Stat: It’s the only game in Super Bowl history that was tied after the first quarter (0-0), at halftime (7-7) and at the end of the third quarter (14-14).

Plot: After losing three straight times in the NFC Championship Game (twice at home, the Eagles got over the hump and made it to the second Super Bowl in team history. There they faced the defending Super Bowl champion Patriots.

Story: New England played a 3-4 defense all season, but went to a 4-3 for the game and held Eagles run-

The Quotes: Reid

ning back Brian Westbrook to 2.9 yards per carry.

Westbrook gained 44 yards rushing, but half of those came on one run. Turnovers and penalties plagued the Eagles in the first half and questionable clock management hurt them late in the fourth quarter. The Patriots broke from the14-14 tie with 10 fourth-quarter points to make it 24-14 before the Eagles scored with less than two minutes to go on a touchdown pass from Donovan McNabb to Greg Lewis.

“What it really came down to is when we got to the big games in the playoffs we didn’t play well. It was the same way in the Super Bowl. We played well the week before (against Atlanta) then we got to the Super Bowl and didn’t play well. Turnovers killed us. We should have blown them out of the water early.’’ — Eagles tackle Jon Runyan.

Runyan

“I remember looking at McNabb and seeing the seconds tick away and wondering what they were doing.

Why didn’t they have a sense of urgency? Maybe they knew something I didn’t know. But I knew that the fourth quarter was winding down and they didn’t have more points than we had.’’ — New England linebacker Tedy Bruschi.

“Yeah, I probably should have done that (no huddle) a little more. When your quarterback gets hit, it’s hard to get the no huddle thing going.’’ — Eagles head coach Andy Reid.

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Photos courtesy Philadelphia Eagles

Foles

Super Bowl LII, Feb. 4, 2018

Eagles 41, New England 33 Site: U.S. Bank Stadium, Minnesota MVP: Nick Foles, QB, Eagles (28-for-43, 373 yards, 3 TDs, 106.1 QB Rating.) Also caught a TD pass.

How They Got There: The Eagles were once again the top seed in the NFC with a 13-3 record. They struggled, but hung on to beat Atlanta, 15-10, in the divisional round and then crushed Minnesota, 38-7, in the NFC Championship Game.

Key Stat: New England is the only team in Super Bowl history to not punt in the game, and still lose.

Plot: After consecutive 7-9 seasons in 2015 and 2016 the Eagles went 13-3 and clinched the top seed in the NFC. Second-year quarterback Carson Wentz was the catalyst until a torn ACL on December 10th knocked him out for the season. Could the Eagles survive with backup quarterback Nick Foles in charge?

Story: Foles, who had been traded by the Eagles to the Rams before the 2015 season, and subsequently released by both the Rams and Kansas City Chiefs, became the hero and a city icon. He struggled, but survived in the wild-card win over Atlanta and then was brilliant in the destruction of the Vikings and outdueled Tom Brady in the Super Bowl. The Eagles led by 12 points in the first half, thanks to the “Philly Special,’’ a play in which Foles caught a TD pass from backup tight end Trey Burton on 4th-and-goal. They led by 10 at halftime and by 10 late in the third quarter. But Brady brought the Pats back for a 33-32 lead with just over nine minutes to play. Foles answered with an 11-yard touchdown pass to tight end Zach Ertz for a 38-33 lead. And on the Eagles best defensive play of the game, Brandon Graham strip-sacked Brady on the ensuing drive.

Story Behind the Story: When Wentz went down the Eagles became the ultimate underdog with Foles, and

Answers 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Baltimore Ravens 2-0 Los Angeles Coliseum Joe Montana, San Francisco Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh 36 Bill Belichick, 66

cherished every moment. Las Vegas played along, installing both the sixth-seed Falcons and overmatched Vikings as road favorites which is almost unheard of in the postseason. And of course, the Patriots were the favorites in the Super Bowl.

Post Mortem: The Patriots did come back to win their sixth Super Bowl in 2019. The Eagles, again behind Foles, made the playoffs, upset Chicago in the wildcard round and came within a dropped pass of getting back to the NFC Championship Game.

sideline before the play.

“That’s the greatest play in Eagles history. That pass under those circumstances. I know Philly Special gets all the hype. It was a touchdown pass to the quarterback. I get it. But that pass, that’s the greatest play.’’

— Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich, now head coach of the Colts, on Foles TD pass to Ertz. n

The Quotes: “You want to know what was going through my mind?

I’ll either be the biggest genius or the biggest goat.’’

— Eagles head coach Doug Pederson on calling The Philly Special.

“You want Philly Philly?’’ — Foles to Pederson on the

6. Rod Martin, Oakland 7. Steve Young, San Francisco, 6 8. Rich Gannon, Oakland, 5 9. Bart Starr, Green Bay and Terry Bradshaw, Pittsburgh 10. Desmond Howard, Green Bay 11. Trey Burton

12. Mark Seay, San Diego 13. Willie Parker, Pittsburgh 75 yards 14 Jerry Rice, San Francisco 8 15. Peyton Manning, Colts/Broncos 16. Denver Broncos 17. Chuck Howley, Dallas, Super Bowl V 18. Jon Gruden, Tampa Bay; Tom

Coughlin, Giants; Sean Payton, New Orleans; John Harbaugh, Baltimore, Doug Pederson, Eagles.

19. Mike Ditka and Tom Flores 20. Franco Harris, Pittsburgh, Super Bowl IX; Joe Flacco, Baltimore, Super Bowl XLVII 39

CELEBRATING OUR MAN & WOMAN OF THE YEAR HONOREES

O

UR 5TH ANNUAL UNMASKING THE LEGACY celebration took place on November 7th at the beautiful Ballroom at the Ben. We recognized six special members of the community for their professional and philanthropic achievements and celebrated with over 500 of our friends, family and colleagues.Â

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5 T H A N N UA L U N M A S K I N G T H E L E G AC Y

Photos Jeremy Messler Photography LLC

A contest was held amongst our honorees and we, along with Tito’s Handmade Vodka, were able to donate $10,000 to our six honoree charities.

We are proud to recognize Joseph Maressa Jr. supporting The Community Foundation of NJ and Patricia Gohl supporting No Dog Gets Left Behind as this year’s top two finishers.

Thank you to everyone who helped make this event a continued success. We look forward to carrying on the tradition for many years to come.

Opposite page, left to right: Patricia Gohl (No Dog Gets Left Behind), Charles Holmes (Jason Thompson Foundation), Jen Groover (Back On My Feet). Above, left to right: Joseph Maressa, Jr. (Community Foundation of New Jersey), Daria Torres (Giving Cycle), Drew Polin (RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association).

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CELEBRATING OUR MAN & WOMAN OF THE YEAR HONOREES Emcee Ukee Washington

Besk Mask winner Lauren Carroll

Safian & Rudolph’s “Philly Special” necklace

Rich Goldberg, owner of Safian & Rudolph presents the “Philly Special” diamond necklace to winner Debbie Cornelius

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5 T H A N N UA L U N M A S K I N G T H E L E G AC Y

Photos courtesy of Waverly Lane, Nichole MCH Photography and Center City Photo

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CELEBRATING OUR MAN & WOMAN OF THE YEAR HONOREES

To nominate someone for our Man & Woman of the Year Honoree recognition please email Ashley at adunek@jerseymanmagazine.com 44

5 T H A N N UA L U N M A S K I N G T H E L E G AC Y

Photos courtesy of Waverly Lane, Nichole MCH Photography and Center City Photo

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PROMOTION

Business Owners: You Need a Financial Plan

by Albert A. Fox, CFP®, CIMA®

Y

ou don’t need to win the lottery to need a financial plan. But you do need to focus on more than the day-to-day operation of your business.

Sometimes business owners get so wrapped up in running their businesses, they forget to take care of themselves. Planning for retirement can be relegated to the “back burner.” Same with succession planning.

Too often, business owners forget they need to diversify their assets. All the financial “eggs” are in the business basket. And that can present greater risk than necessary. As well, some business owners don’t have a plan in place, so a surviving spouse is financially secure.

These factors and many others are critical for maximizing business potential and creating personal financial security.

The day you start a business is the day to give some thought to the end game. Know and plan for whether you’ll leave the business to a family member, sell to an employee or sell to someone else.

The day-to-day operations can easily obscure the need for structure, personal and business planning and goal setting.

Successful financial planning should take three “buckets” into account.

The first “bucket” holds assets like the family home, other real estate, and short-term liquid assets. The second proverbial bucket holds traditional investments – equities and income-oriented vehicles. The business and other “aspirational assets” are in the third bucket.

Typically, the age of the business owner plays a role in the business plan.

A business owner who is under age 45 usually isn’t thinking of succession planning. This person is too busy running the business. But at this stage, aggressive saving is in order as well as building diverse coffers based on savings goals and risk parameters. At the 45 and under stage, an investment portfolio should focus on a diversified mix of investments that address goals and objectives. Investments should address not only upcoming needs but sets up a solid foundation for long-term objectives.

Are you properly insured for something catastrophic?

If you do all the right things at this stage, at the next stage – age 45 to 65 – you will be on better footing and will have much of the financial acumen needed to understand your options, opportunities, and risks.

You won’t be learning to ride a bike when your knees no longer work, so to speak.

Between 45 and 65, the business owner can get become more intensely focused on funding long term goals, keeping in mind that risk tolerance at this lever will be different. If nothing else, the investor’s time horizon will have changed: no longer will you have the 40-year horizon to save

for retirement.

At this time, you should definitely begin defining your end goal for the business, and consider estate planning. This is a good time, too, to have all your financial experts – tax professionals, attorneys, and all financial and insurance professionals – meet on an annual basis to help make sure your business and overall family and estate planning objectives are on track.

Then comes the mid-60s. Will one of your children take over the business? Will you sell it outright to someone else? If so, what needs to be done to improve the business’s salability?

Succession planning becomes a clear priority – both for the business as well as the entire family estate. Do you know what your business is worth in the marketplace?

This also is a time to think about philanthropic goals. Do you need to create a philanthropic trust?

How much of your pre-retirement, pre-business sale lifestyle has been paid through the business? What will be needed to continue that lifestyle without the business?

While we’re on lifestyle, consider your children’s lifestyle. Which child is better able to handle the business? Will there be rivalry? Are your assets structured and protected? If a child divorces, you may not want a large portion of your assets to end up with someone who’s not in your bloodline. Parents need to be realistic about who is in their lives and what that means. Be honest about who your children are. You may need to open a family dialogue to discuss who is best equipped to handle your business.

These can be tough issues, likely filled with emotion. But emotion should have no place in making sound financial decisions. That’s why it is good to have a team of outsiders helping out: an accountant, attorney, and a financial planner. You may not think clearly because you are so emotionally tied to your business – and your family. Even if you know the right thing to do business-wise, you may not be able to implement it. Outside experts can help keep you accountable. Sometimes you need someone barking at your ankles to keep you on the right track.

Successful business planning doesn’t have to be daunting if you start early and take the right steps. You can retire living the lifestyle you are accustomed to and dreamed about. You don’t need to win the lottery, just sound financial planning.

Albert A. Fox is a Senior Vice President, Financial Advisor and Executive Director in the Mount Laurel, NJ, office of Morgan Stanley. He can be reached at (856) 231-4800

The information contained in article is not a solicitation to purchase or sell investments. Any information presented is general in nature and not intended to provide individually tailored investment advice. The strategies and/or investments referenced may not be suitable for all investors as the appropriateness of a particular investment or strategy will depend on an investor’s individual circumstances and objectives. Investing involves risks and there is always the potential of losing money when you invest. Morgan Stanley and its Financial Advisors do not provide tax or legal advice. Information contained herein has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but we do not guarantee their accuracy or completeness. The views expressed herein are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect the views of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, or its affiliates. Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, LLC, member SIPC. Rebalancing does not protect against a loss in declining financial markets. There may be a potential tax implication with a rebalancing strategy. Investors should consult with their tax advisor before implementing such a strategy.

Photo Sideline Photos LLC

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BILLY LANGE

TRIES THE CAMPUS LIFE

BILLY LANGE

probably saw the news reports that Saint Joseph’s had fired Phil Martelli and would be looking for a new head basketball coach, but it’s unlikely he went too deep into the story.

The Sixers, for whom he was then an assistant coach, had just played Milwaukee. That night, the team was in Charlotte, and a game against Boston loomed the following evening. The NBA schedule is unforgiving, and it doesn’t provide much time to pay attention to other things—no matter how seismic they may be in the Philadelphia basketball community.

Lange, who was in his sixth season with the Sixers and could have been Brett Brown’s lieutenant “forever,” didn’t consider himself a candidate for the Hawks’ job until school athletic director Jill Bodensteiner reached out.

In fact, Lange thought that if he spent a few more years at Brown’s side, he might just be able to land a top job in the NBA. But once Bodensteiner made the call, things about the job started to make sense.

Like how just about his entire family graduated from St. Joe’s. And how his wife worked there for six years. He had developed good relationships with Martelli and assistants Matt Brady and Monte Ross while he was on the staff at Villanova and La Salle.

“I loved the NBA,” Lange says. “It was an amazing experience, and I would have done it for the rest of my life. But the chance to be the steward of Saint Joseph’s basketball and what that would mean for a guy who grew up in New Jersey following Big Five basketball was a great opportunity.”

Rather than continue at the right hand of Brown and launch a move up the NBA coaching ladder, Lange became a candidate for the job, and fewer than two weeks after Martelli’s departure, the Hawks hired him. He faces the challenge of resuscitating a program that has gone 41-55 over the past three seasons and is trying to cultivate a new identity in a crowded Philadelphia basketball scene and within a mid-major landscape that has pro-

BY MICHAEL BRADLEY

vided great opportunity for teams but which has also consigned many to difficult circumstances as they try to escape the morass of the roundball middle.

Lange must rejuvenate the Hawks on and off the court. He must build a roster capable of competing in the Atlantic 10 Conference and beyond while also cultivating alumni, Philly hoops fans and students, most of whom have experienced a waning of their ardor for the program. In many ways, it’s a rebuilding job we have seen many times and often within the Delaware Valley’s confines: New coach comes in with the charge to generate excitement and wins. It’s almost standard issue. But at St. Joe’s, which as an institution is identified heavily with the success of its basketball program and at which new Bodensteiner has been charged with reviving not just one team but a whole department, Lange’s challenge is not just confined to Hagan Arena.

“Number one, I respect the heck out of Coach Martelli,” Lange says. “He is a friend of 49

Photo Sideline Photos LLC

‘‘

Lange took over the Hawks basketball program after long-time coach Phil Martelli was fired following the 2018-19 season.

mine and my family’s, and the job and work he did here is amazing. I never looked at it as replacing him.

“The second thing is what the task at hand is. I am the steward of a program with a great tradition. I need to be the CEO of a program that means a lot to this university.”

WHEN LANGE LOOKS at the ceiling for the Hawk program, he goes back over the past decade and sees two national championships from Villanova, two final game appearances by Butler, one by Gonzaga and Loyola-Chicago’s Final Four run in 2018. That’s a lot of success from smaller, private institutions.

“That should give us elevated hope of being there someday,” he says.

No one can question whether Lange has the local profile to run the Hawks. He played at Rowan, coached under Herb Magee at Philadelphia University, Speedy Morris at La Salle and Jay Wright at Villanova—twice. Although his seven-year stint as head coach at Navy (2004-11) produced an uninspiring 93-114 record, he did lead the Mids to 19 victories in ’08-09. Further, while coaching winning football in Annapolis has proven to be possible, that success hasn’t often translated to 50

I LOVE IT.

I BELIEVE IN

SAINT JOSEPH’S.

I BELIEVE IN HAWK HILL, THE PEOPLE,

THE PLACE AND THE SPIRIT OF

‘THE HAWK WILL NEVER DIE.’”

the hardwood, where it’s harder to win with scheme and precision. Lange would never make excuses for his tenure, but it’s hard to fault him for not winning big at the Academy.

While with the Sixers, Lange survived the lose-at-all-costs “Process” fiasco and developed a reputation as a strong defensive tactician. As the team began to experience more success, Lange became more visible among the NBA community, thus his belief in a potential head coaching job in the future. “I felt very confident that over time there would have been that opportunity,” he says.

When Bodensteiner began collecting candidates for the job, she didn’t just look at basketball. Her charge is more global, and therefore she was in need of someone capable of navigating the modern college athletics landscape.

“We were looking for someone who could think in an innovative manner who understands the current generation and importance of the student-athlete experience,” she says.

“We were looking at someone capable of building a culture and less on X number of games someone had coached.”

For her “culture” is defined by a strong sense of accountability that goes beyond just following rules. Bodensteiner wanted a coach capable of creating a team in which the players “care so much about each other they will

fight to the end.” She describes her first meeting with Lange as “full of energy”. She and others in the room felt a strong connection with Lange because of his family history and his understanding of Saint Joseph’s tradition and basketball’s strong role at the university.

“Billy is into relationship building and not just recruiting and cranking people through a system,” she says. “He cares about the whole person.”

LANGE DIDN’T GET too much time to celebrate his new position.

Within several weeks of Martelli’s ouster, three mainstays of the ’18-19 squad, guards Lamarr “Fresh” Kimble and Jared Bynum and forward Charlie Brown, all bolted town, leaving Lange with some big roster holes and not a lot of time to fill them. The Hawks were bolstered by Ryan Daly’s eligibility. Daly, a high-scoring wing who transferred last year from Delaware, provided instant offensive production. Instead of hitting the junior college market or piling up a bunch of transfers who don’t fit his culture, Lange was prudent. He grabbed Dennis Ashley, a transfer from Maine, and a few freshmen, but he looked long term in his roster management, understanding that coaches who try to make big impressions early on can trap themselves later with personnel who don’t fit their cultures.

“Recruiting has to be backed up by fact and honesty and relationships,” Lange says. “You can’t just be a salesman.”

He will attempt to pull from the Philadelphia area, although the change in high school basketball character from public to private schools has brought more interlopers into the area capable of luring away top talent. So, he’ll have to be creative out of town—Lange uses the word “tactical”—to find players willing to join the program and be part of what he hopes will be a renaissance characterized

by A-10 contention and a return to the NCAA tournament.

This has been an interesting career turn for Lange, who had built an identity within the NBA and now has committed to campus life.

He’ll leverage his ties to and familiarity with St. Joe’s to connect with alumni and fans.

He’ll use his energy and charisma to engage the students. And he will work the recruiting trail to find players willing to join a program that represents more than just winning and losing. It’s a good match and a good spot for a coach who is ready to lead.

“I love it,” Lange says. “I’m at a great university. I believe in Saint Joseph’s. I believe in Hawk Hill, the people, the place and the spirit of ‘the hawk will never die.’” n 52

KERRY FRASER

MAKING THE RIGHT CALLS ON ICE AND IN LIFE

BY BRIAN STARTARE

The walls

inside former National Hockey League referee Kerry Fraser’s Marlton, NJ home are adorned with many keepsakes and photos of his 67 years. They are delightful memories mixed with nostalgia, wonderful reminders of his 30-year career and his devotion to his beloved family. They are juxtaposed in beautiful fashion, each telling its own story.

It’s a wonderful timeline of sorts, captured stills of dreams realized and good times had.

They are now gazed upon with gratitude and smiles, reminders of how truly blessed he has been, both personally and professionally.

On one wall sits a framed family portrait of he and his lovely wife Kathy, who Fraser adores and calls the woman who saved his life, his forever love. Together, they’ve been married 31 years and are proud parents of 7 children and eleven grandchildren, with a twelfth on the way this March.

On another wall sits a framed shadow box with his #2 striped referee jersey, signed on the sleeve by Wayne Gretzky and Fraser himself. Fraser has officiated more games than any other referee in the NHL’s 101-year history, a staggering 2,165, including the Stanley Cup playoffs. He’s widely regarded by many in the game as one of the best referees the NHL has ever seen. It was 30 years of challenges, hard 54

work and sacrifice. And while Fraser may be retired from the game, challenges still remain.

This time, however, Fraser faces the scariest challenge of them all.

Fraser suffers from a rare and incurable blood cancer called essential thrombocythemia, a disorder characterized by the overproduction of platelets in his bone marrow.

Through it all, Fraser has accepted his fate head-on and leans on the support of his family and his everlasting faith in God, a faith that has shaped him into the man he is today.

O

n a perfectly sun-splashed autumn afternoon, Fraser sat down with Kathy by his side in their modest two-story luxury apartment and shared colorful stories of many of yesterdays. Some were very painful memories; some were simply sublime and inspiring. Like the Frasers themselves,

the stories sometimes stood alone but when joined together, they told a delightful tale of love, faith, sacrifice, and redemption, all laced with the hopes that there are still many more to be told.

Fraser, a JerseyMan who first settled in Voorhees in the late ‘80s, was born in the hockey hotbed of Sarnia, in Ontario, Canada, set 60 miles north of Detroit, Michigan. His father, Hilt Fraser, was a former goon in the International Hockey League and taught Kerry the game. Kerry was a hard-working little player who began skating at the tender age of 15 months. Hockey was in his blood from the day he was born.

And while the young Fraser was certainly a good enough player to be offered a plethora of Division 1 scholarships after playing in the Ontario Hockey League, he knew that it was the end of his playing days. His 5’7 frame, despite his feistiness, just wasn’t built for the NHL. “I played the game as a ‘big’ little player, but I knew that I would never get past the AHL. With my size, I would have surely gotten injured.”

So Fraser, with his expanded knowledge of the game and fantastic skating ability decided to take the advice of a family friend and enter the world of officiating, a thankless fraternity in which its members are seldom praised and often endure more than their fair share of criticism. But one does not become an NHL official overnight. It takes years of seasoning, practicing and studying and it also, most importantly, requires the correct disposition. Fraser, who appeared just a smidge taller on his blades, and his famous bouffant hair, admits he indeed had a case of “little man’s syndrome.”

The disposition needed some tending to.

F

raser, who is dressed casually in a stylish blue V-neck sweater and jeans, sits comfortably at his glass-topped kitchen table clutching his large, black hockey-themed coffee mug. Then, for the next two hours, he strolls down memory lane and tells glorious hockey stories with exquisite detail. There’s a certain calmness to his voice as he deftly recalls a few of the life lessons he learned along the way, explaining with crystal clear detail dripping with reverence. Some were learned 55

in school, many were learned on the ice.

Fraser offers a crooked smile when he recalls his rookie year in 1980. He was referring to an early-season contest between the Edmonton Oilers and Philadelphia Flyers in Alberta, Canada.

Gretzky, playing in his second season, took a dive and challenged the rookie official

to make a penalty call. Fraser, feeling disrespected, didn’t raise his arm and in fact, he wouldn’t the rest of the game. Purely out of spite, he was going to teach Wayne a lesson.

Late in the game, Fraser penalized The Great One for unsportsmanlike conduct after mouthing off. Wayne stormed off the ice in disgust and Fraser had won the battle. Or so he had

thought. Later, after some reflection and soul searching, he decided that he needed to be better.

“I regretted my behavior that night. I asked myself how I could have done things differently. With my stubbornness, I compromised the game, my integrity, and the NHL. I was wrong.”

Fraser, shaking his head and with his arms crossed explained.

“It was at that point I realized that I needed to build relationships and talk to the players in a manner which would garner mutual respect.”

It was a lesson that would make him a respected official and a better human being.

I Photo courtesy Kerry Fraser

t has been a little over two years since Fraser was diagnosed with the disease that if not carefully monitored and treated, could develop into full-blown leukemia. Fraser’s medical routine consists of taking 9 chemo pills per week, staying fit and active and getting his blood work checked every 4 to 6 weeks. He’s learned to deal with his situation

Fraser has many keepsakes from his days as an NHL referee, including this photo signed by Hockey Hall of Famers Eric Lindros and Wayne Gretzky

56

Photo courtesy Kerry Fraser

demanding job had started to take its toll on the family. Kathy, a devout Catholic, had been praying to the Blessed Mother for some intervention, something to change the referee’s heart.

After some family counseling with a very religious therapist, their lives were changed forever.

Mystical experiences started to follow Kerry, ones that could only be explained by living with God as his guide. It was wonderful and welcomed.

“I had the opportunity to skate for the right team, so I decided to do so.”

and is grateful for all that he has and all that is yet to come. He still keeps busy with work endeavors, spends time with his grandchildren and attends regular mass, for it is his faith that has guided him.

Kathy, dressed in a cream-colored sweater, leaning against the half wall, reaches over and fills another glass of tea and smiles at Kerry.

She tells of when Kerry made the best call of his life, not on the ice, nor with a whistle. It was the desperate call he made to the Holy Spirit.

The year was 1995 and the stressors of his

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adly, Kerry is not the only Fraser fighting health issues as his little brother Rick is bravely battling stage 4 abdominal cancer. His prognosis doesn’t guarantee the brothers a lot more time together. “Rick and I are very close. He’s not just my little brother, He’s my best friend.”

Fraser remains grateful for today, as he is relaxed and comfortable. He has been indeed blessed. Together, he and Kathy recite with smiles an old Quaker saying; “We pass through this life but once. Therefore any good that I may do, or any kindness that I may show, let me do it now, for I shall not pass this way again!”

Good call ref. Good call. n

PROFILE

BY KURT SMITH Photo courtesy Ken Toscano

Who’s that with Ken Toscano?

Financial advisor and JerseyMan Legacy Club member Ken Toscano managed and later owned a Lincoln Mercury dealership that became the 19th largest in sales in the country. His reputation for superb customer service was even enough to win over quite a few famous types.

Ken Toscano is on the very short list of people who have beaten Jimmy Connors at tennis.

Granted, it was a charity event, and Connors was long past his incomparable prime.

But a W is a W. So how did this relative unknown take down a court legend?

“He’s three years older than I am,” Toscano reflects. “His hips were in rough shape, and he couldn’t move well. And I still have wheels, so I could get to most things that he hit, and then I could drop shot him.

“We’re playing, and someone comes on the court, ‘you guys have to get cleaned up and go to the dinner.’ It was four games each at the time. The guy gives me the ball. All right, whoever wins next point wins it all.”

The gentleman offered encouraging advice to Toscano. “‘Just remember, you’re playing against the best returner of serves of all time.’

“I hit one where I couldn’t have placed it better. Right on the corner, going out wide to come out a little bit off. He hits it back a little short, and I drop shot him and I win.”

The Brash Basher of Belleville handled it the way anyone who remembers his trademark intensity would expect.

“He comes in, he’s got a big smile on his face, and through his smile he goes, ‘Nice drop shot, you son of a bitch!’”

“I still had the second ball in my pocket and we went for a picture. He’s got his arm around me, and I go, Jimmy, I’m really happy to see you, but that’s a ball in my pocket.”

Toscano firmly disavows any connection, but he does amusingly show this writer an article on his phone: a few months after the match, Connors announced he would no longer be competing in public.

Ken Toscano is a real-life “World’s Most Interesting Man”. He has enough ‘brush with celebrity’ tales to last through a lengthy lunch, or two, or several.

He’s supplied cars for a Will Smith charity event, played drums for a Chicago sound60

Tennis legend Jimmy Connors with Ken Toscano

check, and closed an establishment with several cast members of The Sopranos. He’s danced with Olivia Newton-John, attended Jon Bon Jovi’s 50th birthday party, and had lunch with Jerry Seinfeld.

That’s just a few. You could easily fill this article…maybe this entire magazine…with tales of interactions he’s had with some of the planet’s most well-known humans.

Scan through the photos on Ken’s phone and you’ll see dozens of recognizable faces… star Philly athletes like Donovan McNabb, Carlos Ruiz and Chase Utley. Singers like Elton John, Bryan Adams, and Gladys Knight.

Will Smith. Owen Wilson. Terrence Howard.

And plenty of tennis stars past and present, from Venus and Serena Williams to Agassi, Roddick, McEnroe and Lendl.

Here are just a few stories of starstruck celebrities meeting Ken Toscano…condensed to fit in a 1,600-word article: Will Smith: Ken remembers initially not realizing that it was that Will Smith requesting transportation for an event.

“I get a call on my cell, unknown number,

Will Smith

I don’t know who it is. ‘This is Will.’ So not thinking the Will Smith right now, okay, what can I do? “‘Well, I’m doing this charity event in Philly and I know you’ve been running celebrities around, and wonder if you could help because that will reduce our expenses.’ And then I put it together that it’s actually Will Smith. “‘Sure Will, anything for you.’ I did not know it was 65 celebs from all over, flying in with luggage and entourage and pets,” he remembers.

But with some help from other dealerships and off-duty policemen, he got it done. (And it was logistically much more difficult than one sentence could describe.)

Olivia Newton-John

Venus Williams

Chicago: He’s too busy to audition for the job full time, but Toscano possessed enough chops to sit behind a kit for a Chicago soundcheck, despite not having played drums for 25 years.

“We were in Madrid on a Lincoln trip. They hire [the band] Chicago, and I was there at the soundcheck, and they said, well, sit in for a song.

“They wanted to do ‘25 or 6 to 4’. I said, let’s do something slow first.

So, they went into ‘Colour My World’. I did that, and then they broke into ‘25 or 6 to 4’. So, I did a little bit of that, as much as I could remember.

As any Chicago fan knows, you can’t be a slouch on the skins to play Danny Seraphine parts. “He inspired me. He had a little bit of a jazz style. I remember getting that album.”

Venus Williams: Toscano took on the task of transporting Venus to a group of young children to speak to them about their future. “I put it together to bring her to Arthur Ashe’s facility and get on the court with some of the kids and talk to them.

“I deliver her right to the front of the courts, I come around the car, open the door, and there’s a line of kids from the car to the courts and the stands all around them, all screaming her name.

“This was their role model. I got emotional. It was literally the highlight of my summer to be able to do that.”

Steven Van Zandt

Kevin Bacon

While Toscano was still a controller, his dealership supplied cars for the Philadelphia Freedoms World Team Tennis team, which included Billie Jean King. King, as it turned out, was more than just a celebrity Ken happened to meet. King made a world of difference in Toscano’s life, with just some simple advice.

“Billie Jean became beyond a friend even, like a mentor. She’s just an amazing force of nature. Just all different types of philanthropic issues, social issues.”

After having lunch with her, thinking it would likely be the last time they met, he asked the tennis legend to sign his Lincoln hat.

“She writes, ‘To Ken: Dream big and go for it.’

“I put the hat on my seat and as I get to a block of my house, there’s a street light that’s hanging down. I look over and it’s shining on the hat: ‘dream big and go for it.’

“I think I’m really doing good, you know, a nice car and a nice job.

But I started thinking to myself, what if I did dream big and go for it?

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Billy Jean King

“Billie Jean [King] became beyond a friend even, like a mentor. She’s just an amazing force of nature.”

“I started thinking, maybe I can be a general manager of a store.

Maybe I could be the manager that manages a group of stores. Maybe I could own my own car dealership. And I bust out laughing. How the hell’s that ever gonna happen?

“And then, sure enough, that’s what happens. I bought a small percentage of a retiring partner, and then another partner passed away, so it’s 50/50. Later, the remaining partner wanted to retire, so I bought him out.”

Ken didn’t just own the dealership. He turned it into the 19th biggest in Lincoln sales in the country, from a 2.3-acre lot in the same geographical market as Holman and Reedman.

“I tried to break all of the paradigms of why people hate dealerships down. Just being mistreated, whether you’re underdressed, whether you’re a woman, whatever it was, transaction too difficult or too long. I would just try to remove all the obstacles. I made it easy to do business.”

As the owner of a Lincoln dealership, Ken says, “You get to meet a lot of Philadelphia’s elite and sports celebrities. Once you were to sell to one of them, they would bring in the rest of the team.”

Indeed, word got around. After putting then-rookie Eagle Brian Westbrook in a car, to Toscano’s dealership sponsoring Donovan McNabb’s

62

“white party”, he later flew with longtime Phillie Carlos Ruiz to support an event in Ruiz’s home country of Panama.

From there, Ken motions as if he’s making a snowball, to describe how his dealership became a favorite of stars needing cars.

Toscano attributes his success partly to plenty of training in human relations, although it seems to come naturally to him. Whether he’s organizing transportation for your event, selling you a Navigator, or sitting down with you for a magazine interview, you’ll be treated as an important person, no matter what your status in life.

Today Ken Toscano is a financial advisor for New York Life, who sought him out when he helped a few local athletes with their finances.

He joined JerseyMan’s Legacy Club, he says, partly because he’s still thought of as a car guy, and also because he is interested in helping more folks in the Philadelphia area plan for their futures. Most people, Ken points out, wait too long to plan for their retirement.

No doubt, Toscano can offer you some great advice…whether it’s for living comfortably in your golden years, treating your associates properly, or laying down a good drop shot.

Dream big and go for it. It’s just six simple words, Ken says, but so few people follow through. n

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LEGACY CLUB SPOTLIGHT “I joined the Legacy Club just five months ago. In those five short months, everyone here has made me feel like family! I have made a ton of connections and forged several friendships with amazing people. If you wish to take your networking to the next level, expand your business, and meet like-minded people, the Legacy Club can help you achieve all of those goals!”

– Thomas Migliaccio, Vice President, Haddon Property Group, LLC “Since joining the Legacy Club a little over a year ago, I have developed some of my most valuable relationships both professionally and personally through the group. The events are fun and entertaining, but most importantly always filled with great people. My network and business has grown exponentially over the last year because of the connections made through Legacy Club. Looking forward to the calendar of events scheduled over the next few weeks.” – John Milne, Benefits Consultant, Corporate Synergies

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THE CIGAR GUY ______________________________________________________________________________________________

BY SAM KRAFT

Sponsored by The

Smoking Dog

Double Press

La Flor Dominicana • 6x52

T

HE DOUBLE PRESS is a cigar by La Flor Dominicana(LFD) and is released in limited quantities each year. Like the name states, its shape is a box press with defined angles. Some box-pressed cigars suffer from loosely packed tobacco, but this LFD does not have that problem. It feels full and ideally constructed. The Double Press is made with aged Dominican tobacco which is grown on the owner’s, Litto Gomez, personal farm. The blend is the same as one of LFD’s other medium-bodied cigars, the Air Bender. LFD is better known for their strong, full-bodied cigars. However, when the company pursues medium-bodied blends, the results are smooth and satisfying. This cigar is no exception.

The Double Press’s color is a beautiful light brown. The Ecuadorian Habano wrapper is delicate and needs to be handled gently. If the cigar is mindfully lit, the first puff is sure to be sweet. Its initial notes are grass and brown sugar. Its flavors are bright and conjure visions of summertime. Smoking through, this LFD keeps a balanced palate. On any single puff, its flavors shift from floral to earthy and back, like a well-crafted perfume.

Further along, the Double Press becomes more earthy. Tastes of forest pine and cedar box can be identified. The cigar remains sweet, but it ends with spice. It finishes on notes of clove and cinnamon with an

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aftertaste of honeyed oats.

The Double Press is a delicious, expertly crafted cigar. The draw and burn are both perfect. The presentation is also beautiful when purchasing this cigar. Its box has cedar dividers, delicately displaying each naked cigar. It gives the buying process a regal feel, without the high price tag. At around $10, the Double Press is a great addition to any humidor.

Be safe, have fun and enjoy your smoke! n

@PCS_AnthonyM

TECH TIME

_______________________________________________________________________________

BY ANTHONY MONGELUZO

Your Tech Seer Strikes Again

M

irror, mirror on the wall, who’s the techiest of them all? We’ve turned the corner on the old year and welcome the new, which allows me to continue a tradition. What does the Tech World hold for you and me in 2020?

Apple Takes a Bite at a New Design.

OK, these are rumors, and we’ll have to wait to see if they become reality. But I hear that Apple will dub the new 2020 units iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro max. We’ll have new updates and the first design changes since 2017. Display sizes will include 5.4, 6.1 and 6.7 inches. Another rumor suggests that at least one of these phones will have a metal frame (the first since iPhone 4). The 2020 iPhone will also offer 5G support. Stay tuned to my column for more iPhone news.

Self-Driving Cars.

Autonomous cars (self-driving if you don’t want to use fancy terms) will make greater inroads in 2020, which is a solid bet. They won’t be completely autonomous. One sage predicts that we’re five years away for total autonomy, but in rural areas with less variables, the timeline might be sooner.

For example, biometrics access to enter your car will begin to make a splash. We’re talking about fingerprint or eyeballs access.

I’m betting the short money on fingerprints.

Also, expect more powerful override systems.

Even if you’re going full throttle, the sensor system will be able to override your commands and apply the brakes. Stay safe.

The Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) game. We’re getting closer to employing sensor data from what you wear which will enhance the VR and AR experience. It will overtake passive watching and give you control through devices like your

Apple watch. Also, I’ve heard that we’ll begin to see “consumer-friendly” glasses that can switch back and forth from VR to AR. Privacy: The Long, Private Goodbye?

Advertisers are trying to hone in on human emotions to help drive their advertising.

“By 2024, AI identification of emotions will influence more than half of online advertisements,” according to research firm Gartner.

“Artificial emotional intelligence (AEI) is the next area for AI development, especially for companies hoping to detect emotions to influence buying decisions. Twenty-eight percent of marketers ranked AI and machine learning (ML) among the top three technologies that will drive future marketing impact, and 87%

of marketing organizations are currently pursuing some level of personalization.”

Some might welcome this, which could be good for certain businesses. The downside?

More inroads into your personal privacy and even your feelings. This will occupy tech ethicists as they seek answers while offering advice.

A

ll of us, even IT experts, are sometimes unprepared, even stunned by the velocity of change. My personal prediction is that as this pace continues, many will find it uncomfortable, even disturbing. You will have to decide how to cope with it, so that the change doesn’t become too overwhelming. n

Have any tech ideas you want to talk about? Feel free to reach out to me on Twitter (@PCS_AnthonyM) or email me any time at Anthony@helpmepcs.com.

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THE WINE MAN _______________________________________________________________________________

BY ROBERT KENNEDY

How Napa Valley has changed

R

ecently, I had the distinct privilege of revisiting the Napa Valley during this year’s harvest just prior to the devastating fires that ravaged, yet again, this incredibly beautiful countryside of California. My first visit was back in the 1980s, when predominately first-generation winemakers and young entrepreneurs were trying their hand in the business for the first time. It was a very simple period back then; husbands and wives were first learning how to craft something incredibly special given the perfect terroir that rivaled the Old World’s textbook growing conditions.

The ‘80s proved that Napa was growing up and developing its wine sea legs. Wrestling the tiger by the tail proved interesting, particularly coming from that abundance of positive notoriety it received from the Judgment of Paris, having won the highly unexpected gold medals in 1976 for the 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay, and the 1973 Stags Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon. During that time of turbulence, Napa averaged 3 new registered wineries each year, when only 712 producers were making wine. A small cry from the 170 registrants that it has averaged since 2015.

So, what’s changed during the last four decades in addition to the approximately 500 wineries now registered in Napa today? Let’s begin with the sophistication and cost of doing business, of which the wine industry has no issue passing along tasting fees and much higher wine price points today. It’s a big business, with many private equities now heavily invested in the industry. With this sophistication, comes a very high-end marketing strategy that includes an all enhancing tour-tasting experience at every turn.

I clearly recall my first visit to the valley back in 1985. We drove innocently from winery to winery, sipping an ounce, perhaps two, from a tasting room mobbed by others looking to simply taste and choose the best the valley had to offer—for free. Back then, you could be served by the likes of Jack and Delores Cakebread, Miljenko (Mike) Grgich, and 78

Charlie and Lorna Wagner from the infamous Caymus Winery. No reservations were needed, no preplanning was required, and there were no tours to speak of. Describing it better: The complexity of a two-hour tour of the caves, vineyards, winemaking warehouses, and fullblown sit-down wine tastings, inclusive of tasty snacks and 3-4-ounce pours in multiple Riedel stemware hardly existed, if at all. Moreover, the expense of this “happening” was

with three visitations per day during our fourday stay, it became very difficult to discern the best from the better by our last day there, even for the most discriminating palate. (I found out that dump buckets have a real purpose. All things in moderation!)

The reserved tasting tours we took included some of the valley’s most delightful wineries, such as Diamond Creek, Peter Michael, Gargiulo, Cliff Lede, Aonair, Judd’s Hill and Palmaz.

During any 1980’s wine visitation, one merely would drive, park, and taste at a counter on the estate property. No tours. No meeting the winemaker, no frolicking through the vineyard. No tasty snacks as a complement to the wines. nonexistent, too. Typically, wine tastings then were gratis. During any 1980’s wine visitation, one merely would drive, park, and taste at a counter on the estate property. No tours. No meeting the winemaker, no frolicking through the vineyard. No tasty snacks as a complement to the wines.

The stemware was typically a throwaway cup, made of paper or plastic. Glass stemware wasn’t a part of the experience until wineries such as Silver Oak began charging for their tastings—sending home the tasters with a complimentary Silver Oak etched wine glass.

Now, even the wine glasses are no longer complimentary. My, how times have changed!

AST FORWARD TO TODAY: Many wineries require advanced reservations.

A “tasting tour” typically charges $75.00 per person, but could be as much as $125.00 per tasting. At least an hour or two is needed to experience the “full monty”, and the wine tour guide’s true goal is a completed (including credit card info) and submitted order form, which is cleverly and carefully placed close to those generously poured wine glasses. Once an order is placed, some wineries will credit back the tasting fee, but not all.

My recent visit to the Napa Valley in early October proved very much the same; although

F

It truly was a perfect way to experience Napa Valley in the 21st century, and to learn much more than a simple taste-test that was so SOP in 1980. Yes, the cost of gallivanting through the valley has changed dramatically from those early visitations in the ‘80s, but the true art of tasting, dining, and collecting some spectacular wines has morphed into something very distinct in 40 years, the likes that have never been experienced or appreciated in Napa Valley before.

If you and/or friends haven’t visited the wine country in some time, or plan to do so for the first time, expect something explosive. It’s what roughly 4 million tourists are discovering each year during their visit: This playground of wineries, wine tours, and widely respected winemakers offer an experience in Napa’s total history, not just winetasting, but steeped in tradition of winemaking and wine-producing that is incomparable to any other time in Napa’s storied past. It’s a spectacular show in a very special place on earth that is the perfect treat to share with other like-minded wine lovers. It’s a modern-day expression of the wonderment of the best that the Napa Valley has to offer. And, the 1980’s experience pales in comparison.

Cheers to today! n Please feel free to email me with comments or recommendations at rkj@Kennedy-companies.com.

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