December 20, 2004

Hey

    After the 9/11 attacks, President Bush talked about killing all the terrorists. Having not yet mastered
the English language, Bush often sounded like he was saying he wanted to kill all the tourists.
     I thought about that this past weekend, as I was wading through the mass of humanity on 6th Avenue
to get to work. There's nothing to see on 6th per se, (unless you want to get a gander at FOX News
Weekend staff) but you've got Times Square on one side and that stupid tree on the other. So you get
people going one way and then the other, and stopping to see if there's anything worth exploring on 6th
(trust me there isn't)
     Listen, it's the holidays and I know that tourism means big bucks for NY's economy. And it is the
greatest city in the world. Who can blame these poor schmucks for being awestruck at all the tall
buildings and lights, especially when the tallest building in some of these places is the family barn.
     But dammit, I need to get to work and they need to keep it moving. They talk about how rude New
Yorkers are, but how are we supposed to be nice when we're surrounded by out of town zombies.


Scott Peterson

    As you all know, I've looked more at this whole thing more from the aspect of it being a media event
then of the actual horrible crime that took place. And this week will be no different.
    On Monday, Peterson was recommended for the death penalty by the same jury that convicted him of
murdering his wife Laci and their unborn son. The TV cameras that were outside the court house showed
the crowds that had gathered.
    Many of them waved to the cameras. A lot of them were on cell phones, presumably telling friends
and family that they were on TV. When the death penalty recommendation came down, the crowds
cheered. Was this the end of a case in which 2 people were killed and another was about to be
sentenced to death? Or an NFL playoff game?
    Then after the verdict, three of the jurors held a press conference. Talk about Must-See-TV. An
opportunity to see what the thought process is for someone who just recommended a person to die. I
have to be honest, unless it was Osama Bin Laden or someone like Timothy McVeigh, I don't know if I
could have gone on TV after that.
     But then you had juror number 7, Ms.Roelle Nice, who not only appeared at the press conference, she
also talked to the Post's Howard Breuer and CNN's Larry King, and who knows who else. Talk about
someone milking the spotlight.
      As you guys know, I'm not one to pontificate about what's wrong with America. I'll leave that to All-
Liberal Radio. But I have to admit, this whole Peterson murder trial has left me shaking my head. It
became more of a TV show than anything else, a chance for people to get their 15 minutes of fame. It's
too bad I wasn't a more established reporter. I wouldn't have minded spending a few weeks in California.
Oh My gawd, I'm just as bad as everyone else!

One more thing: Will anybody ever again hire Mark Geragos as their attorney? As far as I'm concerned,
he's 0 for 3. He lost with Wynona Ryder, and now with Scott Peterson, and Michael Jackson got rid of
him before his trial started. It was probably the best move Jackson ever made. This guy is the Brain
Kingman* of attorneys. He couldn't win a case against Lionel Hutz.

*Brian Kingman for 23 years was the last pitcher to lose 20 games in a season. His streak ended in 2003,
when Tigers pitcher Mike Maroth lost 20.

Mets get Pedro- Sports Illustrated last year did a vote in all 50 states asking who was the most hated
sports figure in the state. George Steinbrenner took the "Enemy of the State" in at least 10 states. New
York's most hated sports figure?
Pedro Martinez.
     I can't lie, there's no love lost for me when it comes to Pedro. He's a primadonna, a punk, and a
loudmouth. Plus at 33, who knows how much he's got left in the tank?
     Still now he's a Met so I'll have to pull for him. I'd be more excited if the Mets were a pitcher away
from playoff contention. But they're not. They need some more bats and a bullpen.
      I would say that this is an example of putting lipstick on a pig, except that there is another reason
that this was a good signing. Pedro will attract a huge base of Dominican fans to Shea. I worked on a
story for the Post in which I had to go to hair salons up in the Bronx, and ask how they would fix Pedro's
wild hair. To my surprise, many of them said they loved Pedro because he was Dominican. This was in
places that you could practically see Yankee Stadium from.

Ok folks, next week we have Jen Lang's birthday (Happy Birthday Jen)and then we have Crimmis.
Weekly Mail may take next Sunday off so that we can finish up our World Famous End of the Year
Awards. We have our Nerd of the Herd and Woman of the Year and were trying to come up with some
surprises.

Guys, thanks for all your encouragement and feedback. I've been writing this e-mail in some form, for 8
years now. I know that some weeks aren't as good as others. But this is one of my favorite things in the
world to do. And my readers are the best. Thank you again. Without you this would be a colossal waste
of time.

Merry Christmas
Wild Bill