Bruce's Trivia: Sunday, August 31st

Answer: A. 33rpm record

Behind The Scenes: Saturday, August 30th

Starr Sightings: Inside Studio A: "Special Edition"

There is a somber mood in Studio A this morning as we bring you a special extended edition of Channel 3 News Today in honor of Stephanie Tubbs Jones. WKYC's Jeff Maynor and Tom Beres are reporting live from the memorial service. Kim Wheeler is in Studio A, also bringing you the latest coverage. Chat online with us and share your thoughts with the community as we all remember Stephanie. Channel 3 is streaming the memorial service live online and on air after the morning show.

Stay Tuned,
Jess Starr

Bruce's Trivia: Saturday, August 30th

Answer: C. David Farragut

UPDATE: Special Coverage Saturday Morning on Channel 3

We'll have expanded coverage of the Congresswoman's memorial service Saturday morning on Channel 3 News Today beginning at 9am and running until 11am. Then we will carry the memorial live starting at 11am and concluding around 1pm.

You can also watch a live stream of the entire memorial service on wkyc.com.

A reminder that a public viewing for Tubbs-Jones is Friday at Bethany Baptist Church on East 105th Street. It goes from 9am until 2pm and then the viewing resumes at 6pm and runs until 8pm.

There will also be a viewing on Saturday morning before her memorial service at Cleveland Public Auditorium from 8am until 10:30am. That will be followed by the service at 11am, which you can see live right here on Channel 3 .

To view the entire memorial service program including a list of speakers... CLICK HERE

Video Feature: Below you can watch this past Sunday's edition of "Between The Lines" where Tom Beres and company discuss the loss of Stephanie Tubbs-Jones.

Oreos Selling Our Blog?

Of the more than 240 posts that we have written here on the Weekend Morning Show Blog, who would've thought that the one that would draw the most attention would be one written by Kim Wheeler on July 12th, 2008 about Oreo cookies. That day on Channel 3 News Today, we had a couple of ladies on who had participated in the DSRL (Double Stuf Racing League) Oreo Lick Race.

Brothers Peyton and Eli Manning were the original faces of the DSRL, but now that Serena and Venus Williams have entered the picture and challenged the Manning brothers, interest in the event has increased. Therefore, I have concluded that interest in the event = more web searches for the event = more people finding Kim's story about the event = more people finding our blog which has absolutely nothing to do with the event. No matter the journey someone travels to find our blog, we'll take it. To view Kim's original post... CLICK HERE.

And hey, while you're here, check out all the cool things we have to offer on WKYC.com!

To check out all you ever wanted to know about the Oreo cookies, including the DSRL... CLICK HERE

What Will They Develop Next?

While reading up on the latest in HDTV I stumbled upon one to file in the "just when you thought you'd seen it all" folder. Researchers in Taiwan have developed a brand new LCD TV that when connected with a miniature camera, tracks the viewer's eyes and adjusts the liquid crystals within the display to produce the clearest possible image no matter what the viewing angle.

To read the full article... CLICK HERE

Sources: www.engadget.com and www.newscientist.com

Bears vs. Browns in HD tonight on WKYC!

Tonight on WKYC, watch the Browns and Bears square off from Cleveland Browns Stadium in the final preseason contest of the season. Catch all the action with Browns Pre-Game Huddle beginning at 7pm followed by Browns vs. Bears at 7:30pm all in stunning high definition. Jim Donovan and Bernie Kosar will have the call. Go Browns!

Notes From The Desk: Programming Questions

Hello Everyone! Hope your weekend is going well and you were able to enjoy the warm weather!

Over the past two weeks we received many calls on the Olympic Games with many people wanting to know specific times for their favorite Olympic event. The news desk over the weekend as well as our Weekend Morning Show Chat had some inquires as to why we broke away from Olympic coverage to air the Browns Game on Saturday night. While it can be hard to answer some specific programming questions on weekends, please know you can always find changes in programming on WKYC.COM.If the changes relate to weekend programming we try our best to post it to our weekend blog ahead of time, as Director Matt did on Friday regarding Saturday night's Browns game.

If you have a specific question regarding our show you can always e-mail our programming department at programming@wkyc.com or call our main desk at 216-344-3333. We will always do our best to help you! Enjoy the closing ceremonies from Beijing which is set to air at 7 p.m. right here on Channel 3!

Thank you for watching!
Julie
Email: jocepek@wkyc.com

Check Out Our Brand New Blog Media Player

On the right hand side of the blog right below our email addresses you will see the newest feature on the Weekend Morning Show Blog. This is our brand new media player where you can find all sorts of video including segments from the show, Friday Night Fever, Between The Lines, and much more as we move forward with it.

Now you can check out your favorite clips at your convenience right here on your favorite blog!

African American Lifestyle Magazine Featured This Morning

To subscribe to the magazine featured on this morning's show, check out...
http://www.aa-lifestyle.com/

or write them at...
African American Lifestyle Magazine
P.O. Box 221212
Beachwood, OH 44122

This is the first issue of African American Lifestyle Magazine which will be published 6 times a year.

You can watch the entire segment in our new media player located on the right side of the blog.

Bruce's Trivia: Sunday, August 24th

Show Promo: Sunday, August 24th

Producer Caitlin and TD/Director Matt give you an inside look at what is coming up on this morning's show from the Channel 3 control room. Don't forget to join the live webchat with Jeff, Bruce and the crew beginning at 9am! Kim is off this morning.

Your New Home For High School Sports Information

Now you can get all the latest news, scores, video and more from your favorite high school sports teams with the brand new highschoolsports.net brought to you by WKYC. You can even upload your own highlights and photos from your local games!

If your school is not already participating, contact your athletic director and tell them about highschoolsports.net so they can get started today!

Also, if you happen to miss "Friday Night Fever" live on Fridah night, you can check out all the highlights on Channel 3 News Today Saturday mornings beginning at 9am, or at your convenience on demand in our brand new Weekend Morning Show blog video player located on the right side of the blog.

Show Promo Saturday 23rd

Schedule For This Weekend

Due to NBC's coverage of the Olympic Games, Channel 3 News Today will be limited to 1 hour on Saturday morning from 9am - 10am. You will still be able to webchat live with Kim, Jeff, Bruce and the crew, but for 1/2 hour shorter than normal. Also, there will be no noon newscast on Saturday due to the Olympic coverage.

It will be quite a sports day here on Channel 3 with Olympic coverage from 10am - 4pm, then we will break away to bring you live coverage of the Browns vs. Lions preseason battle in Detroit, and then return you right back to all the action from Beijing following the game.

On Sunday, Channel 3 News Today will return to its full time period, 9am - 10:30am. There will however, be no noon newscast once again on Sunday. Hope to catch you in the live webchat this weekend!

Director Matt
Email: mbabb@wkyc.com

Notes From The Desk: Tribe Game

Hello Everyone!

I hope you all had a great weekend! As some of you may know I love to cheer on the Tribe and going to an Indians game is one of my favorite things to do. The last time I went to a game, I ended up on the Jumbo Tron because my section won free pizza from Slider! Director Matt suggested the next time I go to a game I should take the camera along and snap a few pictures. So that's exactly what I did this time around. I had such a great time, even though we lost. Sometimes just being at Progressive Field helps ease the pain of losing because there is always so much going on, it's easy to forget we are down five runs!

I went to the game Thursday night with my Mom and one of my best friends Heather. It was a great girls night out, Tribe style! I got our tickets from Danielle who is the evening Assignment Editor during the week. Her and her family have season tickets and they couldn't make it to the game, so I bought them from her. That was money well spent, her seats are great! We were along the third base line, pretty close to the field. When you are able to sit close to the field, it's definitely a different perspective from watching it on TV! Everyone and everything is so close!

Before the game we headed up to the Terrace Club, which is the Restaurant/Club at Progressive Field, for some drinks and appetizers. I have seen people eating though the tall glass windows many times before but have never gone inside to eat myself. The restaurant is beautiful, the food is good, and the view of the field is magnificent!

After we finished, we went down to the seats to watch the start of the game. Oh, and did I mention we grabbed a hot dog? That is a must eat when you go to a tribe game!

All in all it was a great time and I hope before the summer is over you can make it downtown to a game, maybe we'll see you on the Jumbo Tron!
Have a great week!

Bruce's Trivia: Sunday, August 17th

Metromix Games: The Aftermath

Take a look at some of the action from Saturday's Metromix Games that took place down at Mulberry's on the West Bank of The Flats.

Below you can check out production assistant Brian Crane and Erica Wilke from Metromix as they attempt to list all of the events that took place on Saturday.




Here is a look at some of the video shot by Channel 3 videographer Chris Kunz. We didn't do so well in the hula hoop as you'll see.



It was a good turnout, about 40 teams of 2, and in case your wondering, Team Babb/Crane didn't do so well in the standings. We were far from "Phelps-like". We came in last in hula hoop, last in the 3-legged race (and took a hard fall, bruised my hip, and got a couple of floorburns), took second in Wii bowling with a 189, lost 15-12 in badminton, won 21-13 in corn hole, lost at beer pong, and finished 4th in the water balloon toss. Not a good showing by the Channel 3 team., but it was a lot of fun.

Backstage with Jeff Maynor

Regular viewers of Channel 3's Weekend Morning know one of my passions is early rock and roll music. I am emcee for a series of "oldies" concerts at the Mentor Performing Arts Center, the beautiful 1500-seat hall in Mentor, Ohio.

The most recent show featured The Toys, The Vogues, The Crystals and Frankie Ford.

The Toys were a "one hit wonder" group, "A Lover's Concerto", but they did a very well-received half hour opening set featuring many other girl group hits of the era. Original group member Barbara harris led The Toys.

The Vogues featured three original members of the group including their original lead singer on all their hits, "Five O'Clock World", "You're the One", "Turn Around", "You Are My Special Angel" and others.

Backstage one of the Vogues told me British pop star Petula Clark wrote "You're the One" with her husband Tony Hatch. One of their big thrills when their record was high on the charts was getting a phone call from Petula Clark. She wanted them to know she liked their version of her song better than her own.

The Vogues are from Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania, outside Pittsburgh. They let me know repeatedly it's pronounced Turtle "Crick", not "Creek". They all still live in Turtle Crick.

I love hearing of people who could live anywhere they choose but stay in, or stay connected to, their hometowns.

A related sidebar, I was talking this week to Tony Butala, founder and lead singer of one of my favorite groups, The Lettermen. Tony was born in Sharon, Pennsylvania, near Youngstown but moved to Los Angeles as a youngster and made his way in the music business there. He's been fronting The Lettermen for now approaching 50 years.

Tony has a home in LA and in the Napa Valley in California, but recently bought the home in Sharon that he was born in, and that is now his home again. He told me he came back, in part, to be in the place and with the people that mean the most to him, and also to lead the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in Sharon which he established there.

To Clevelanders that would be "the other music hall of fame", but it's a very worthwhile endeavor. The Vocal Group Hall has its 10th Anniversary Induction coming up at the Chevy Center in Youngstown the first weekend in November. Watch for more on that event coming up on the Weekend Morning News.

Back to the Mentor show--The Crystals featured original singer DeDe Kenibrew. They have an awesome songbook, "He's A Rebel", "Uptown", "Da Doo Ron Ron", "Then He Kissed Me" and others.

I had heard for years that "Da Doo Ron Ron" was not intended as the final title of that song that became a girl group classic. Songwriters sometimes write the lyrics to verses first and, while they may have the tune for the chorus, leave the lyrics, including the song title, to be filled-in later. I've been told they'll put nonsense syllables in temporarily to be replaced by the final lyrics later. I'd heard that's what "Da Doo Ron Ron" was, filler to be replaced by a "real" title, but then the writers couldn't come up with anything they though was an improvement.

I asked DeDe if she knew if this was so and she said "Not true". She said she'd asked the writer, Jeff Barry, and he told her "Da Doo Ron Ron" was always intended to be the title. He heard it as a catchy pairing of "words" and sounds that fit the feel of the record.

Closing the show that night, in every sense of the term, was The Great Frankie Ford.

Now here's a guy who had one hit record--an iconic, anthemic rock and roll classic, "Sea Cruise", but just one hit. Fifty years later Frankie Ford is still closing shows off that one hit. How can that be? Well, Frankie is a total entertainer, the whole package, in the tradition of Al Jolsen and Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard. They command a stage as if "the audience goes wild" is part of their job description.

Though Frankie Ford closes with his big hit, the other highlight of his set is his version of the Ferlin Husky country crossover "Gone". The audience expects good time New Orleans r&b from Frankie, but they are absolutely destroyed by his vocal talent and incredible range on this song. Backstory--Frankie Ford went to college on a music scholarship.

Backstage he told me one of his best friends in the early days of rock and roll was Jackie Wilson. Jackie, you may know, collapsed on stage during a show in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, fell into a coma and lived for several years in-and-out of consciousness. During those years Frankie was a regular caller and would talk with Jackie on days that he could speak.

The next rock concert at the Mentor Performing Arts Center in November will feature Youngstown's Edsels, Randy and the Rainbows, and two of the best acts from early rock and roll performing today, The Contours ("Do You Love Me") and Lou Christie ("Lightning Strikes", "Rhapsody in the Rain", "The Gypsy Cried").

Information's available at the box office, 440-232-8962.

We hope to have Lou Chrisie on our Weekend show in November.

Behind The Scenes: Jeff and Kim and other stuff

Here are Jeff and Kim having a discussion during one of the breaks during this morning's show.

Jeff Maynor Looking for Help with News Story

From 1905 to 1929 Cleveland's favorite amusement park was Luna Park, on a hilltop bounded by Woodland Avenue, Woodhill Road, East 110th Street and Mt. Carmel.

Dick Francis and his wife Diane have written an absolutely beautiful history of Luna Park which fueled my interest in this long gone Cleveland institution.

From the period pictures in their book, Luna Park was quite different from the Cedar Point of today or even Euclid Beach of the mid-last century. Most of the people at Luna Park were adults dressed up for an outing. Luna Park didn't cultivate family trade, but was built for adults, with a dance hall and beer garden among its most popular attractions.

Luna Park's attractions are what interest me for a possible story.

One in particular--"Incubator Babies."

In the early 1900's the inventor of the infant incubator found hospitals disinterested in his device that could keep premature babies alive while their lungs and other organs developed to full term.

So he turned his incubator into a sideshow attraction, first at Coney Island in New York and then at Luna Park in Cleveland.

Parents of preemies could take their tiny newborns to the park where they would be placed in an incubator in a hospital-like setting alongside other early newborns struggling for survival. Luna Park patrons, for the price of a ticket, would enter the "ward" and watch nurses tending to the tiny newborns in the incubators.

The Incubator Babies exhibit is credited with saving the young lives of thousands of premature babies. Soon hospital maternity wards were all equipped with incubators.

I want to find local residents who began life as part of the Incubator Babies exhibit. I would like to speak with them and see any photos that they may have of this wonderful untold story of show business leading medicine.

If you began your life in an incubator at Luna Park, know someone who did or have pictures or other accounts of the exhibit, please contact me at jeffmaynor@wkyc.com. Thank you.

Bruce's Trivia: Saturday, August 16th

Show Promo: Saturday, August, 16th (Is it cold in here?)

Metromix Summer Games at Noon Today!

Beginning at Noon today at Mulberry's on the West Bank of the Flats, teams of two (including yours truly) will compete in the first ever Cleveland Metromix Summer Games. They are like the Olympics, only Metromix Style. And in case you don't know Metromix by now, that means music, booze and a whole lotta fun. It's sure to be an action-packed, crazy day of competition.

Registration starts at 11 a.m., and the teams will compete in a series of seven events (cornhole, beer pong, badminton, water balloon toss, hula hoop contest, 3-legged race and Wii Bowling).

Gold, silver and bronze medals will be awarded to the top three teams. Cost is $50 per team and includes beer and food all day and a slot in the competition. If you aren’t much of the athletic type, no worries … $15 gets you a front row seat at the festivities, beer and food all day as well.

So suit up and get your game face on, and come on down to Mulberry's today. See you there!

For More Information... CLICK HERE
Check out the Metromix Website at www.metromix.com

"The Photog Phone Incident"

Another "Who Dunnit?" Check it out...

WTOV Reunion: Back Where I Started

This past Sunday night, I returned to the town where I started my career in television, Steubenville, Ohio. A couple of friends decided that we should hold a WTOV reunion so that we could catch up with some old friends.

What a turnout we had, and what a fun time we all had. About 40 past and present employees of "the station on the hill" gathered at the Triple Play Cafe for dinner, dancing and drinks, and if not for the somewhat short notice, we could have had a turnout closer to 70-80.

Most of us have gone our separate ways and moved on to "bigger and better" things, but one thing remains the same in all of us, and that is our love for that station and the people that made it work. Folks came in from Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Columbus, Canton, Altoona, Orlando and all points in between. For most of us, it was like no time had passed, and it was just another night out after the 11pm news went off the air. It was just like old times.

What a blast! I'm so glad that I went, and I'm so glad that I had the chance to work with all of the talented folks that you see in the photo above. I can't wait to go again next year!

- Matt Babb, Director
Email: mbabb@wkyc.com

Between The Lines with Tom Beres: On Demand

Beginning today, you can keep up with all the latest in local politics as we will be posting "Between The Lines with Tom Beres" On Demand here on the Weekend Morning Show Blog.

In case you miss it on Sunday mornings, you will be able to watch Tom Beres and crew right here each Monday at your convenience.



Sunday, August 10, 2008
Presumed Presidential nominees Barack Obama and John McCain criss-crossed Ohio this week. Both focused on energy and jobs. Obama was talking up a $1,000 per family fuel supplement. McCain was stressing drilling and nuclear power. Is either man's program connecting with the voters?

The State of Ohio is deeper in the gambling business. Keno debuted at about 700 locations. Will it help pay the way for a positive vote on a casino in Southwest Ohio?

Desperate RTA riders pleaded with the system to not make cuts on routes they depend on. Will the hearings change the outcome?

Forbes magazine put Cleveland and three other Ohio cities on a list of America's 'fastest dying' cities. Is that fair? How big a blow will the region's image take from a slam in a magazine read by decision-makers?

Tom Beres discusses these events and issues with Channel 3 Political Analysts Bill Patmon and Lee Weingart on this segment of Between the Lines.

Rock Fantasy Camp Hits Cleveland

By Jeff Maynor

Anyone who's even picked up an air guitar has had fantasies of being with the band.

This past week a dozen Clevelanders got that chance at Rock n Roll Fantasy Camp.

Fantasy Camp originated in California where rock wannabees pay $10-thousand dollars to attend a five day camp with players in the industry. This summer the promoters decided to do a road tour, taking the Fantasy Camp to fifteen major cities for one-day camps. The day campers pay $2-thousand dollars for a full day of music classes and jams with top rock musicians.

The Cleveland camp was held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in the Arcade. It started at 8 in the morning and went well into the night as the campers and counsellors took to the stage at the House of Blues to open for Extreme.

The lineup of counsellors at the camp included Mark Hudson, formerly of the Hudson Brothers, producer for Aerosmith and Ringo Starr, among others, and bandleader for Joan Rivers' latenight show on the Fox Network. Hudson was joined by band members from AC-DC, Megadeth, The Cars and others.

Campers I interviewed ranged from a 45-year-old guitar player who'd been in bands locally to a 15-year-old from Salem who'd never even been near a band but, after Fantasy Camp, is reevaluating his intended career path that had pointed toward architecture.

After Cleveland the Fantasy Camp moves on to Chicago, Nashville, Atlanta, Los Angeles and other major U.S. cities.

CLICK HERE for dates and locations.

You can learn more about the Fantasy Camps at http://www.rockcamp.com/.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

By Jeff Maynor--Regular viewers will know my wife and I travel to Arizona several times a year to visit our daughter, son-in-law and now, five grand children.

This summer, in what was a dream come true for my wife Patsy and me, our daughter Beth came here, with all five munchkins, Chloe Autumn, 10; Jade Summer, 7; Cooper Blue, 5; Juniper Spring, 23 months and Juliet Winter 9 months.

On the front steps at our house, left to right,Beth holding Juliet, Jade holding Junebug,me holding Lulu, Chloe and Coop.

They came for two weeks in July. It was the first airplane trip for all but Beth. Don't know how mom managed five young ones on a four-hour flight, but as we met them at the gate at Hopkins several fellow travelers told Gram and Granddad the kids behaved beautifully.

Ever since Beth and her husband Bobby moved to Arizona eight years ago I've dreamed of having my grandchildren here for this special event or that one, and here we had two weeks to enjoy as much as we could of all that northeast Ohio has to offer.

Patsy and I filled a file folder of activities we wanted to consider. We managed to get to about half of the list.

I wanted to show the kids Channel 3 because I think how we do what we do behind-the-scenes is, in its way, more interesting than what we put on the air. Bruce was great letting the kids stand in the chromakey area and point to his weather maps that "exist" only in a computer.

Cedar Point was a full day. Chloe and her mom rode the Magnum, but I think Chloe may have regretted it. But now she can tell everyone in Phoenix that she rode one of the big coasters. Cedar Point really is the outstanding amusement on the planet. Many of Chloe's young friends know about it, would like to visit, and they even know people in Arizona who've planned vacations here to experience Cedar Point.

Cooper and Jade on a ride in Planet Snoopy--the hit of the day with the young kids and "chicken" grownups.

The Museum of Art expansion is so beautiful. "World Class" as they would say. Armor court was the big hit with the youngsters. That afternoon we went to the Natural History Museum, bones were the big hit here.

One evening I took Jade and Cooper to a Lake County Captains game. What a great family experience that is capped off by fireworks after the game.

We were able to catch Kelly Miller Circus, an old fashioned circus under canvas, in Chesterland. Even granddad climbed aboard an elephant for a ride after the very good show. Both performances were sold out.





Ever ride an elephant? We did at the circus, (left to right) Jade, Coop, Bug, Granddad and Johnny.












Kelly Miller Circus Ringmaster John Moss, III, third generation of an outdoor show business family, with l-r, Johnny, a family friend, Cooper and Jade.






We only ate at McDonald's one day, quite a withdrawl for me, and the big dinner out was at Benihana Japanese Steak House. Nice remodeling since we were there last, but too bad they've done away with the big flame at the tableside grille for immolation concerns.




Umbrellas that come with the Shirley Temples at Benihana were, as they were when our kids were young, a big hit. Chloe and Jade.




Our family's grown so we now get our own table at Benihana now. (left to right) our daughter Beth and Juliet, Buggy, Granddad, Coop, our son Justin, Chloe, Jade and Patsy.






We were not able to get to the Lake County Heritage Festival, a boat ride on the Goodtime and an ice cream cone by the falls in Chagrin Falls but, all things considered, we crammed a year's worth of special events into two weeks.

I know the grandparents were tired, but the grandkids may have even been a little more exausted by the end of their visit.

I think we'd all agree it was a summer vacation we'll never forget.

Notes From The Desk: Sunday, August 10th

Hello Everyone!

First of all, let me start out by saying I was not a part of this morning's coffee incident. I usually don't drink the newsroom coffee, I like the flavored coffee we have in our lunchroom. But it all makes sense now because I couldn't figure out why it was taking George our photographer so long to get a cup of coffee. Little did I know he was cleaning up a mini "coffee flood". I do have my suspicions as to who forgot to put the pot back, but I'll take the fifth for now!

Funny stuff like that happens all the time in our newsroom. A common newsroom sighting is when people try to figure out how old the food in the newsroom is. I'm sure this is the case in many workplaces. If yours is like ours then most times you can always find something to eat because people are always bringing in food or ordering in. In the newsroom you can usually always find a cake or goodies when someone has a birthday.

The best however is when the night crew orders pizza for dinner and leaves the leftovers on the table in the middle of the room. Since I'm at the newsdesk and the table is close, I usually get "hey, how long has this been sitting here?" or "who brought this in?". Two things are for sure, everyone has their own, unique definition of what is "safe" to eat and nothing ever goes to waste!
Have a good week everyone! Remember if the food looks green and that wasn't the original color, I'd pass!
-Julie
Email: jocepek@wkyc.com

Dog on the Blog: Sunday, August 10th