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‘I’m a little bit biased:’ Tiki Barber playing favorites for Super Bowl LV
By Neil A. Carousso and Joe Connolly
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Tiki Barber, who played ten seasons for the New York Football Giants, is playing favorites ahead of the big game.
The three-time Pro Bowl running back opened up to WCBS 880’s Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso after recording a Small Business Spotlight interview about his events company Thuzio, which is set to publish on Wednesday.
“I’m a little bit biased,” Barber admitted, revealing, “Bruce Arians, who is the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was roommates with my father at Virginia Tech and so I’ve known him since I was born, basically.”
The “Tiki and Tierney” co-host on CBS Sports Radio and CBS Sports Network said he grew up with Arians who started as a quarterback for the Hokies and won two Super Bowls as the wide receivers coach and offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2005 and 2008.
“The thing that I look for, that I’m looking for, is how these two teams are coached and how are they prepared to take on these extraordinarily amazing challenges in competition.”
Kansas City Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid coached against Barber’s Giants as the long-time leader of their NFC East rival Philadelphia Eagles. Reid won his first Super Bowl as a head coach last year when the Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers 31-20.
“We have two amazing stories at the head coaching position whether it’s Bruce’s long journey or Andy Reid who is now in the top four, five of all time because of how successful he’s been,” Barber said. “I think that story besides all the great ones with the players that’s the one that I look to and it gives me the most interest mainly because I have a personal connection.”
Barber has another connection to this year’s Super Bowl: His twin brother, Ronde, was the star cornerback for the 2002 Bucs championship team. That was Tampa Bay’s only Super Bowl appearance until this season.
“That was the last time they won a playoff game was back in 2002 as crazy as that sounds,” said Barber.
While the 2002 Buccaneers were known for their impermeable defense, the 2020 Bucs are riding on their high-flying offense orchestrated by their 43 year old quarterback, Tom Brady, who has won six Super Bowl titles in his nine appearances in the big game as a member of the New England Patriots.
Brady’s first of three Super Bowl losses came at the hands of Eli Manning and the Giants – one-year after Barber retired, which he humorously brought up with Connolly and Carousso.
“Tom Brady’s two years younger than me. I’m retired for 14 years; he’s still playing,” Barber said, laughing. “It’s unreal how successful he’s been.”
In fact, this week, when Brady was asked if he’d be up for playing past age 45 he said, “I would definitely consider that.”
Tiki told WCBS 880 he never thought any team was just “one player away,” noting the team sport. “That’s never true until this year.”
Watch Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso’s conversation with Tiki Barber about Super Bowl LV above.
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Week In Sound: 11th Hour School Reversals Spark Parental Outrage
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and the Department of Education changed guidance on reopening schools every day this week causing outrage among parents and teachers.
https://omny.fm/shows/880-weekly-rewind/week-in-sound-11th-hour-school-reversals-spark-par
Neil A. Carousso produced the Week In Sound as heard on WCBS Newsradio 880 for the week ending Friday, September 18, 2020. Hear it on the media player above.
You can listen to The 880 Weekly Rewind with Lynda Lopez Friday nights at 7 PM ET for a deeper dive into the top local, national and international stories of the week, featuring interviews with newsmakers and the Week/Month In Sound audio file.
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Week In Sound: Historic DNC, Voting Rights Fight and Classroom COVID
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Joe Biden (D-DE) accepted the Democratic Party’s nomination for President of the United States this week at a first-ever virtual Democratic National Convention with the coronavirus pandemic front-in-mind for voters and delegates.
https://omny.fm/shows/880-weekly-rewind/week-in-sound-historic-dnc-voting-rights-fight-and
Neil A. Carousso produced the Week In Sound as heard on WCBS Newsradio 880 for the week ending Friday, August 21, 2020, including Joe Biden accepting the Democratic Party’s nomination for president, a battle to fund the Postal Service and deep divides between parents, the teachers’ unions and politicians over reopening schools as outbreaks emerge on college campuses. Hear it on the media player above.
You can listen to The 880 Weekly Rewind with Lynda Lopez Friday nights at 7 PM ET for a deeper dive into the top local, national and international stories of the week, featuring interviews with newsmakers and the Week In Sound as heard on WCBS Newsradio 880.
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Week In Sound: COVID-19 Rages Nationally Despite Vaccine Progress
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Florida is the new COVID-19 hotspot with the highest death rate and California surpasses New York for the most coronavirus cases as the Tri-State Area makes progress on reopening.
Neil A. Carousso produced the Week In Sound as heard on WCBS Newsradio 880 for the week ending July 24, 2020 that included a surge in COVID-19 cases nationwide, progress on a Pfizer vaccine, protests over racial justice face off against federal agents in Portland, Oregon, the Occupy City Hall encampment was shut down, New Jersey Federal Judge Esther Salas’ son was killed, and baseball returns. Hear it on the media player above.
You can listen to The 880 Weekly Rewind with Lynda Lopez Friday nights at 7 PM ET for a deeper dive into the top local, national and international stories of the week, featuring interviews with newsmakers and the Week In Sound as heard on WCBS Newsradio 880.
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Businesses Near Mets, Yankee Stadiums Take A Hit As Baseball Returns Without Fans
By Neil A. Carousso
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — The boys of summer are back in town, but establishments near Yankee Stadium and Citi Field are fighting an uphill battle in a comeback dampened by a baseball season without fans in attendance.
“So far, since the pandemic, my sales are down $300,000,” said Joe Bastone whose family has owned Yankee Tavern for 93 years.
On the WCBS Small Business Spotlight, sponsored by BNB Bank, Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso examine how the local economy is impacted by empty stadiums as Major League Baseball begins its 2020 season Thursday night with the Yankees in Washington, D.C. The Mets host the Atlanta Braves on Friday in their season opener that can be heard on WCBS 880 at 4:10 PM.
Bastone says 50 percent of his revenue is earned during Yankees home games. Patronizing his bar and restaurant is a game day routine for fans who travel from the region and throughout the country. Yanks legend Babe Ruth was known for buying a round of beer there for fans to celebrate a Bombers victory.
“It’s really devastating,” he lamented.
Yankee Tavern is only making 10 percent of what it typically earns on 161st Street. Bastone added televisions to an extended outdoor dining space with indoor dinning prohibited under state law indefinitely. He hopes people will enjoy a ballgame from his establishment beyond the right field gate.
“I just got a rent bill, which included $85,000 in real estate taxes,” he said, continuing, “I just don’t understand why we’re paying real estate taxes when the municipalities, the State and the City tell us we’re not allowed to operate.”
Bastone told Connolly and Carousso that “half” of businesses in the 161 Street Business Improvement District, which represents many of the merchandise shops and sports bars outside The Stadium, will not survive the pandemic-related shutdowns and the 2020 MLB season absent fans.
Irene DeBenedittis, third generation owner of Leo’s Latticini in Corona, Queens, is looking at the glass half full despite a grim outlook for what is typically their busy season with both the Mets in town and the U.S. Open Tennis Championships that draws millions of people from around the world every summer.
“I had the plexiglass set up for outside and we’re just doing takeout and home orders,” she said. “For now, I think it’s going well like that.”
Her grandparents started the family deli in the 1930s. Irene grew up making fresh mozzarella with her two sisters Carmela and Marie. Their mother Nancy took over the business and was beloved by her customers. But, the millions of Mets fans who came for lunch before an afternoon game at Shea Stadium and the City workers who stopped in on their lunch hour for a homemade hero did not know her as Nancy; they knew her as “Mama” – the endearing nickname that lives on since she passed away in 2009, as the deli is colloquially referred to the name of their Citi Field concession designation “Mama’s of Corona.”
“I’m proud of what we were taught – our ethics, the background,” DiBenedittis said.
It’s that positive outlook on life that is getting her through this crisis.
“You have to appreciate what you have and work for it,” she said.
Irene told Joe and Neil that she is operating her Queens deli out of love – the same unconditional love her grandparents instilled in Mama who raised three daughters in a community that saw them as family.
She said in these unprecedented circumstances, she encourages her workers to treat their customers “like yourself or your family.”
It’s #OpeningDay for the @Mets! Sports sidelined to #COVID19 has had a considerable impact on the economy.
Listen to @JoeConnollybiz & my @WCBS880 podcast as we talk to the owners of 90+ year old businesses Leo’s Latticini/#MamasofCorona & @YankeeTavern: https://t.co/MnZI2bDMO1 pic.twitter.com/r4FgahqcWd
— Neil A. Carousso (@NeilACarousso) July 24, 2020
DiBenedittis says Leo’s Latticini is earning a much smaller profit amid the coronavirus pandemic between the deli and the bakery next door. The concession at Citi Field, where they sell their specialty sandwiches and Italian desserts, will remain closed this season.
“We’re doing the best we can,” she said.
Hear what a baseball season without fans means for the local economy plus stories about legendary players going out to eat on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight Podcast on the RADIO.COM app or on the media player above.
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