“The NBA Life with Matt Bonner,” a radio program hosted by Chris Ryan and myself, has grown to the point it can be heard on four buttons on your radio dial. Most importantly, the show was picked up by WGIR 610 AM, which sends a powerful signal throughout the state.
The weekly interview appears in the New Hampshire Sunday News, and the radio show can be heard Mondays at 6 p.m. on WGIR 610 AM, WGIN AM 930, WKXL 1450 AM and 103.9 FM.
From the recent show:
Sunday News: How has your life changed as a dad?
Matt Bonner: Well, there are the domestic duties of changing diapers and feedings and all that stuff, and memorizing every Dr. Seuss book from reading them so many times. But the moment I held her in my arms right after she was born, from that point on I couldn’t imagine life without her. It’s crazy because I had never really held a baby before in my entire life. I was nervous. How am I going to learn how to take care of a baby? Sure, I read the books and took the classes, but this was the real deal. Sure enough, two days later, it was like I’d worked in a nursery my whole life. She’s doing great, and we’re really happy.
SN: How did you decide on the name?
MB: My wife liked Evangeline a lot. Vesper was James Bonds’ first true love. We thought that was a cool name and threw that in there. We call her EV, which I really like.
More on Luke Bonner, to accompany today’s feature story in print editions:
On the unknown of to a new culture in Hungary:
“I flew from Boston to Zurich, and as I was boarding the plane, I started to think, “This is it. I’m heading into a completely unknown situation on my own.’ Luckily, I sat next to another guy who was on his way to play in Spain. That was pretty nice, because I was immediately introduced to the level of camaraderie that exists between American players over here. Then on my flight from Zurich into Budapest, I happened to be sitting next to a girl from Maine who was going to Hungary to teach English. Strangely, these encounters made me more at ease with entering this new situation.
“I have to say that laying in bed that first night provided a feeling that I don’t think I will ever forget. I was just laying there in this new place in a different part of the world reflecting on how everything in my life had led up to that exact moment.”
On the language barrier:
“The language is nearly impossible to learn. I have such difficulty learning the most basic phrases — just as many of my Hungarian teammates cannot pronounce Massachusetts. Luckily, ‘Szia’ means hello and goodbye — pronounced ’see ya!’ — So that is pretty easy to remember. One funny thing here is that people say ‘hello’ as hello and goodbye. So you could have lunch with someone, then when they get up to leave, they will say ‘hello’ and be on their way.”
On other stuff:
“I have also been surprised that Hungarians know where New Hampshire is. I pump up New Hampshire so much when people ask me about it. I think I might end up increasing the amount of tourist dollars New Hampshire receives from Hungarians.
“I was really surprised one day after conditioning. We had just finished practice, and everyone immediately went to the locker room to drink beer, not exactly the most appealing beverage immediately following a workout.”
Funny how things work out. Last season, Trenton lefty Phil Coke was not selected for the Eastern League All-Star Game played in Manchester. He was pretty ticked off about, actually.
We talked inside the Trenton dugout before a game, and I said, “That’s OK. You can pitch at The Stadium later this season.” I knew he had good numbers and a pretty good chance of a September call-up from the Yankees. Sure enough, he got the chance and pitched 14 innings last season. This year, he’s been key part of the NY bullpen, logging 60 innings with 21 holds.
Tonight the rookie is pitching in the ALCS, relieving A.J. Burnett. Coke entered the game and struck out Bobby Abreu for a huge out in the seventh.
I caught up with Coke at Fenway Park this season, and he said the difference between success and failure is having the confidence to perform at any level.
“I had to learn to be true to myself, knowing I can get the job done. That’s what it all comes down to,” said Coke, who got off to a rocky start in ‘08 and fought off mental demons. “The first month of the year I was busy getting kicked around pretty good. It felt like I had a 37.00 ERA. I was like, oh, man, I don’t know if this is going to work out … One day I decided to trust myself, have fun, and here I am today.”
Coke already won an Eastern League title and has his sights on another ring.
“It was pretty fun to win a championship in Double-A. That was a kick in the pants. I can only imagine what it would be like to win a championship here, and I’m telling you right now that I can’t wait,” he said.
Fisher Cats outfielder Nick Gorneault was drafted by the Angels in 2001 and reached the majors in 2007, playing two games for the Halos. His take on the ALCS?
Thoughts on former team:
“I really like the Angels! They have overcome the speed bump that has got in their way for the past five years, — the Red Sox. They play tough, aggressive and disciplined baseball and I think they are poised to get past the Yankees and into the World Series.”
On the Yankees:
“As strong as they’ve been the second half of the year, I think there are three distinct advantages the Angels have over them; (1) starting pitching, (2) defense, and (3) base running/ intangibles. The Yankees have outslugged teams all year but this will not happen against Lackey, Weaver, and Kazmir. Small ball will be factor in this series and that is where the Angels thrive. This is proven in the fact that the Angels are the only team to have a winning record against the Yankees since 96.
On watching the Angels in the ALDS:
“I went to the game on Sunday and saw how much better of an offensive team they have become this year. With the addition of Abreu, they have become a much more disciplined team. They are relentless. Tough at-bats come from one through nine in the line up. When you take that and add the way they run the bases, you have a team that will put constant pressure on an average Yankees defense.”
When the axe fell on Toronto general manager J.P. Riccardi earlier this month, it sent a ripple throughout the farm system and Manchester.
– Toronto farm director Dick Scott was fired, and NH manager Gary Cathcart will not return for a third season with the Double-A Fisher Cats. I spoke with Cathcart over the weekend. He’ll continue to manage in the Arizona Fall League, which, might sound odd since he’s a lame-duck manager, but at least he’ll be able to start looking for a new job.
– Triple-A manager Mike Basso, Cathcart and Scott all have another year on their contract. Triple-A hitting coach Ken Joyce does not. Cathcart says he’ll forego the final year on the Toronto contract if he can land another field staff job in the minors.
“In this job, it’s not a good idea to stop working for 13 months, then try to get another job,” Cathcart said.
– Ricciardi, who also has a year on his contract, told ESPN reporter Amy Nelson on Twitter, “I’ll be the highest-paid AAU coach.” That’s tough to read if you’re one of the many Blue Jays employees recently laid off.
Lights are shining, adrenaline is pumping, and I have unlimited energy on the Celtics’ parquet. For about 90 seconds.
Then zap. Lungs gasp for air, muscles turn to mush, and it’s a struggle to play defense at TD Garden.
That’s what it felt like to play basketball in the Celtics Media Game, which hopefully becomes an annual event. About 30 members of the media gathered for an afternoon pickup game prior to the C’s preseason tilt with the Knicks on Friday.
“You can’t leave the court now!” says teammate Ken Powtak, an AP freelance writer. Our team was listed as the “Knicks” on the scoreboard, and, officially, the “Celtics” won by at least a dozen points.
Butch Stearns of FOX 25 showed some athletic ability, and Chris Ryan of WKXL in Concord — my partner on the “The NBA Life with Matt Bonner” radio show — proved he’s purely a hockey player. (Though I appreciate your pass attempt on the fastbreak, Chris.)
The public address announcer feigned excitement when shouting our names, and for a nano-second, I wasn’t a reporter while jogging over the leprechaun at midcourt. I was a Celtic.
Naturally, I wore KG’s shirt (No. 5) and restrained myself from yelling, “Anything is possible!” when stepping onto the famed parquet. I posted up Jim Fenton of the Brockton Enterprise, crashed the boards over WEEI’s Jessica Camerato, and was nearly dunked on by the Boston Herald’s Dan Duggan.
While taking a break on the bench, my family sat next to Glen “Big Baby” Davis, who was one of the more interested spectators. My wife, instead of asking him about the upcoming season, told the massive Baby, “You know, my son’s middle name is Davis.”
Our 3-year-old daughter, Ella, had no issues sitting on Davis’ lap for photos. Normally, she’d be terrified by such a huge stranger.
However, Ella absolutely loves babies. And she met the biggest Baby of all!
Davis, eventually, had seen enough media mayhem. “I can’t even look at you guys anymore,” he said.
Thanks to Heather Walker of the Celtics for organizing this event, which included KG-approved Gatorade and “Play on the Parquet” T-shirts. Fortunately, nobody got hurt and Celtics trainer Ed Lacerte could focus on the real players that day. Photos by Kevin Littlefield of Capture the Moment Photography. http://www.ctmphotos.com
FYI, my predictions will blow you away. In 2006, I predicted the Fisher Cats would win 70 games and miss the playoffs. That’s exactly what happened. This year, I randomly predicted the Blue Jays would finish in fourth place and J.P. Ricciardi would chalk up the season to injuries and young players. Was I right?
In January 2007, I predicted the Monarchs would finally win a playoff series. They did. In the same column, it was written the 2007 Red Sox would “snap the Yankees’ string of nine straight division titles as Dice-K outpitches Kei Igawa.”
Enough said.
Now that I have dislocated my right shoulder while patting myself on the back, here are my predictions for the 2009 MLB postseason.
Phillies over the Rox, Cardinals over the Dodgers
Angels over the Red Sox, Yankees over the Twins
NLCS: Cardinals over the Phillies
ALCS: Yanks over the Angels
WS: Yanks over the Cards
QUEEN CITY TRIO: Manchester Central grad Ryan Day, along with Dan Mullen of Trinity and Chip Kelly of Central, can be found on the sidelines of big-time college football programs each Saturday. We’ve thoroughly covered Mullen (Mississippi State) and Kelly (Oregon) since they took head coaching jobs. Tomorrow we’ll have a feature on Day, wide receivers coach at Boston College.
Two years ago, Day had an emergency appendectomy and still managed to coach at Virginia Tech within 24 hours of going under the knife. Boston College QB Matt Ryan ended up winning that game with an amazing last-minute drive in the rain.
Day was on medication that night and doesn’t remember much.
“I just remember waking up after the surgery (in Boston) and seeing promos of the game on ESPN. I don’t remember the flight or getting to the game (in Blacksburg, Va.) or anything like that. I just remember Matt’s touchdown pass.”
