June 22, 2008
Julie's champagne-ship
Donaldson gets another locker-room dousing
One of Rumble legend Julie Donaldson's more memorable on-air moments at SNY was the champagne bath she received in the Mets clubhouse during their playoff-clinching 2006 celebration. Five players surrounded Donaldson (inset) during a live interview, dousing the blonde bombshell with multiple bottles of champagne and cans of beer. The clip was a hit on YouTube. Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning in Beantown, Donaldson, now an anchor for Boston's WHDH, got soaked just as badly in the Celtics' dressing room - marinated in champagne, Gatorade and beer during the Celtics' championship celebration by Kevin Garnett and Co. Donaldson, a former Miss Florida, told The Rumble the Celtics' celebration was even more manic than the Mets'.
"You can tell they waited a long time for this," Donaldson said. "They were spraying the stuff in the locker room for a good 45 minutes straight. And KG was the highlight of the locker room. He was right in the middle, spraying everyone." Donaldson's first assignment for the Boston station was the Super Bowl in Arizona, where she witnessed the ruination of the Patriots' perfect season in their stunning loss to the Giants. At least Julie knows she's no championship jinx any longer. . . . Finals MVP Paul Pierce commemorated the Celtics' crown by giving personalized bottles of Crown Royal XR whiskey to all of his teammates and coaches.
Ken-do attitude
It's been a long road back to the major leagues for new Mets first-base coach Ken Oberkfell. He last appeared in a big-league uniform in 1992 with the California Angels. Since then, he has worked his way up as a minor-league manager and also overcame three surgeries for blood clots in his left knee and left leg. "This is a dream come true for me after all I've been through," Oberkfell said. "What I went through was very serious and I wasn't really concerned with getting back to baseball, but just staying alive." The blood clots first appeared in his left knee in 2002, and in 2006 they spread to his leg. "Everything is under control," said Oberkfell, who was a member of the 1982 world-champion Cardinals and 1989 National League champion Giants. "I'm not hampered from doing anything on the field."
Simms schooling QBs
With apologies to the late Rodney Dangerfield, Morehead [Ky.] State's Phil Simms is going Back to School. The Phil Simms Elite QB Camp will be held at Wagner College next weekend - and Simms will be sleeping overnight on campus. It's the first camp run by the Giants great and he intends to be hands-on. There will be afternoon and evening practices on Friday and Saturday, and classroom video analysis prior to the afternoon practice on the second day. The camp concludes with a family BBQ Sunday afternoon. This wouldn't be the ideal camp for Broadway Joe Namath - lights out is 10 p.m.
Gridiron Goose
