The Show is UP: Pete Rose

Alrighty, people. The latest show is up. Actually, it's been up since late Saturday, as iTunes or Zune subscribers knew. Click on the date below to get it to play or right-click on it to download it to listen at your leisure. Enjoy. -sf

Oct. 3: A Sweeter, Thorn-Free Rose
SPECIAL REISSUE: Pete Rose's bitter 2007 appearance

Three years ago, Pete Rose was still pretty bitter when he spoke to Steve about his banishment from baseball and the inequity that he’s still not eligible for the Hall of Fame while the villains of baseball’s steroid era are. But these days Rose has mellowed and, as you hear, is humble and contrite about his past misdeeds as well as patient for the day when he might be reinstated. This interview was recorded in early September before Rose was honored for the 25th anniversary of breaking the all-time hit record, and he is clearly excited about that moment. He continues to sign autographs for pay 15 days a month at the Field of Dreams at the Forum Shops.

In Banter: Vdara death ray mania, F-bleau's fire sale, Rod Stewart, Wicked and EXPOSE!!! are coming, Miles hearts CityCenter, RIP the spunky Tony Curtis and more.

Links to stuff discussed:

Pete Rose’s site and schedule at Field of Dreams
The initial RJ, AOL, Today and ABC stories on the Vdara Death Ray story
The R-J and Sun’s follow-ups on Vdara Death Ray
The Vdara Death Ray in Bluff The Listener on “Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me”
A picture of the Bellagio’s boring Conservatory for the fall
Stiffs & Georges on whether the death ray will sink Bobby Baldwin at MGM
Steve’s Las Vegas Weekly column on how much Miles’ family liked CityCenter
Tony Curtis Central, including links to our old shows and Steve's 2008 LVW column
Steve's AOL News obit about Tony Curtis
Hear the spunky part from Tony Curtis once again [NSFW]
Yelp! On Julian Serrano and Todd English PUB
Rod Stewart is at the Colosseum, years after his Harrah’s lawsuit
Expose is playing the Henderson Pavilion for $10 a person
The R-J’s report on the Wicked preview event, plus a Twitpic that Steve took
The Smith Center For the Performing Arts’ site
VegasTripping.Com on the F’bleau fire sale
Angel Management Group takes over Pure
Soon-to-open Cosmopolitan names its nightclub and is hiring 5,000 people
The VegasQuiz app from the fine folks at RateVegas

The Strip + Petcast are LIVE on Sat!

We are back with The Petcast after a monthlong hiatus following The Great Petcast Roadtrip, so we begin our cycle of guest-hosts with Amy while Emily is away until May. We will be recording two new episodes of The Petcast from noon-1, followed by an episode of The Strip with me and Miles from 1-2 p.m. Pacific at LVRocks.Com.

On The Petcast, we'll speak with Lori Birdsong of LinensForAnimals.Org, and then we'll interview Dr. Nicholas Dodman, author of the new book, "Good Old Dog: Expert Advice for Keeping Your Aging Dog Happy, Healthy, and Comfortable."

Then Miles and I will mull the week's Vegas news plus we'll play my interview with a surprisingly humble and contrite Pete Rose.

As always, you can listen live at via LVRocks.Com and join the chat with fellow listeners. Or wait and grab the podcast version via iTunes, Zune or that nifty "Listen Now" player on TheStripPodcast.Com.

This week's col: Pete Rose's Zen

It seems to be a season of revisiting older stars having new moments. Last week it was Jerry Lewis, this week it's Pete Rose. But their names endure because they don't really ever disappear or give up. So here's the latest on Rose, who seems like a changed man from just three years ago. Enjoy. -sf

The Humble Hustle of Pete Rose
By STEVE FRIESS

If his face weren’t so famous, I’d be sure I was speaking to a different man. The Pete Rose I met three years ago was bitter, irascible, impatient, fidgety. The guy I sat with last week at the Forum Shops, where he signs autographs for a living, seemed possessed by the Dalai Lama.

There were two reasons to chat up Charlie Hustle now. For the first time since he was banned from baseball for betting on games as manager of the Cincinnati Reds, Rose is being honored on the field at the Reds’ ballpark this month on the 25th anniversary of breaking Ty Cobb’s hit record. Also, seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens is being indicted on charges he lied to Congress about whether he used performance-enhancing drugs.

Rose remains an official pariah, ineligible for the Hall of Fame while people who did real long-term and widespread damage to the game—Clemens, Bonds, A-Rod—remain eligible. Not to mention, have you seen the list of all-around assholes enshrined in Cooperstown?

Read the rest at LasVegasWeekly.Com

OJ, Ellen and Wynn

OK. So I'm sure by now you know OJ Part Duh is coming to a courtroom near us late next year. Well, if you care, here's my New York Times coverage of today's events in court. V.S. will be delighted to know I refrained from using the word "disgraced" as it pertains to Pete Rose today and, yes, I did so in part because of her post.

More important, though, is my USA Today piece on Ellen DeGeneres, which appears in Thursday's paper. She's performing at Caesars Palace Thursday night as part of The Comedy Festival in a variety show that will air Monday night on TBS. But Ellen is controversial these days, what with her weepy Iggy caper and her continuing to shoot her talk show during the writers strike. So see what she has to say about all that in my piece. But, also, grab next week's podcast to hear our conversation in its entirety.

Finally, I had an hourlong chat with Steve Wynn today for a piece I'm filing Friday about Wynn's Michelin triumphs and some other topics. There was, as always, loads of news out of that conversation and I'll start piecing it out over the next week. I haven't listened to the discussion again since it ended at 7 p.m. and I'm thoroughly exhausted at the moment from all the week's events.

The Strip is LIVE @ 7 pm PT with PETE ROSE!

Join us at 7:05 pm PT tonight at LVROCKS.COM for another rollicking edition of "The Strip," this time with Pete Rose. Pete discusses his gambling scandal, why he sympathizes with Paris Hilton and why he's spending 15 days a month signing baseballs and jerseys at the Field of Dreams memorabilia shop at Caesars Palace.

Plus, Steve reveals all about his Rose-inspired gambling bender, the week's Vegas news, the trivia question, the poll, your feedback and as always the TOP SECRET TOURIST TIP OF THE WEEK.

Come to the chat room, stay for the when-will-Miles-cuss drinking game! Or be that way and wait till Thursday for the podcast version.

A Pete Rose Afternoon!

I'm very busy this morning finishing Pete Rose' memoir, "My Prison Without Bars" in advance of my 3 pm late-lunch and hangout session with the baseball great for some stories and "The Strip" podcast. If you have questions for Pete, leave it on the blog.

Wish me luck! I hear he's very cantankerous. I promise I won't ask him if he's gay, "strapped for cash" or any of the other stuff that's gotten me into trouble on the show!

Coming Soon: Pete Rose

Just learned I'll be getting an interview with Pete Rose for one of my major clients, so that's pretty exciting. Also, don't forget, I've got a Steve Wynn chat in the can to roll out in the next few weeks. And Neil Sedaka's coming up in September as well.

Today, I'm off right now with my Little Brother (from Big Brothers/Big Sisters) to try out the new Golden Nugget pool with the sharks for a travel piece I'm doing on animal acts and exhibits in Vegas. Will hopefully have some fun pix to share when I get back.

Then it's off to Borders to pick up my held copy of Pete Rose's autobio, then to get a little haircut and then to go to PBS in Vegas at 6ish to appear on "Nevada Week in Review," a weekly local public affairs show. So if you're around your TV at about 7:30 p.m. tonight, watch me BS my way into chatter about some topics I'm smart on and others that I just pretend. Fun!