We had some remodeling done on stage. Paul and the band had their area revamped. I like their new digs.

Dave asks if anyone has used audio equipment to please come forward. The pre-show Q&A microphone Dave has been using for years has finally broken down. Dave likes to hammer the mic around when he comes out and it just quit last week. He was given a new one today when he came out. He was thrown and distracted by the change. Dave asks for the old microphone. Pete the audio guy ran in with the microphone, handed it to Dave, and continued to run behind Dave and past the window off stage. Very smooth. Nicely done. It’s how it’s done in the music world. Get on, get off. Going in the same direction was the quickest way for Pete to get off stage. You can learn something new every day.

Dave had some disappointment this weekend. His girlfriend had the sonogram done and Dave was able to see the baby frantically waving, “No, no, please no. I don’t want to come out.”

That feeling will never go away.

And tonight on 53rd Street, we will be blowing up a 1000 pound pumpkin. We go outside to find Pat near the half-ton pumpkin.
- 1,030 pound pumpkin – 350 pounds lighter than the national record.
- Grown by Scott Armstrong of Long Island in his mother’s backyard
- The pumpkin is 57 inches high, 40 inches wide, 55 inches deep, with a circumference of 144 inches.
- We will be blowing it up using 8 ounces of black powder, the equivalent of one stick of dynamite.

This just in: The Fire Department says we cannot blow up the pumpkin on 53rd Street. Something to do with the rain. We got the phone call just as Dave began introducing the pumpkin bit. Lots happening behind the scenes in hopes of making this a “go.”

To prepare for the Survivor, Dave phones Stephanie to have a question ready for the guest. Dave also advises Stephanie to drop the “Check it out” from her vernacular which she added just last week and add, “Funky.” Stephanie doesn’t seem to be the “funky” type but she acquiesces.

Dave asks Stephanie if she saw the 1000 pound pumpkin out on 53rd Street. She says she did. “It looks funky.”

BIFF AT THE WORLD SERIES – Biff spent some time at Pro Player Stadium in Florida during Game 4 and 5. Was Biff surprised the Florida Marlins won the Series? Biff says he didn’t even know the Florida Marlins existed before last week.

This is Biff’s 6th visit to the World Series.

Biff made the rounds, spending quite a bit of time with the not-yet-champion Marlins.

The Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs, and the Marlins were in the league championships and the Marlins end up winning the Series? Since 1997, the Marlins have been the Champs twice; the Yankees three times, and the Red Sox and Cubs not a once.

Congratulations, Florida Marlins. 6 years between championships is a long long time.

SURVIVOR TRISH DUNN:
- 42; married, mother of 10-year-old twins
- from Annapolis, Maryland
- occupation: media sales consultant
- has completed 24 marathons, including 10 Boston Marathons
- her birthday is Wednesday

Why was she voted off? Trish isn’t sure. She worked hard, did what she was supposed to do, and she got voted off. Dave suggested that maybe she should have done nothing.
Dave still doesn’t understand the game. It seems the less you do, the more you are rewarded. (Make your own upper management joke here.)
Rupert has a question: “Was there any hanky panky going on?”
Paul has a question: “Are you ready to run in the New York City Marathon?” YES!
“Are you running in the New York City Marathon?” NO
Stephanie has a question: “Was there any hanky panky going on?”
Stephanie also has a story to tell. She was back home recently cleaning out the barn with her father when a crazed maniacal chicken foaming at the mouth and growling ran up her leg and bit her on the butt. Ooh, I hate when that happens.

KIEFER SUTHERLAND: From FOX’s 24. This is his first time on the show with Dave. The last time he was here was when Tom Dreesen hosted and Dave was getting “work done” . . . I mean, had shingles.
We learn that Kiefer is a rodeo cowboy. It was a hobby he picked up late in life and a hobby that’s cost him more then he expected. First of all, he had to buy a $3 million ranch and 200 G’s on the cattle. He eventually won a rodeo competition (Team roping) and earned himself a belt buckle. The belt buckle ended up costing him nearly $4 million.
Kiefer also was an action hero in Los Angeles recently. While driving, he noticed two thugs throw down an elderly woman and take her purse. Kiefer leapt out of his car and tackled one on the attackers. The elderly woman ran over to break it up. Turns out it was a student film. Oh, those kids!
And we got to see a photograph of Kiefer enjoying himself at a karaoke bar in L.A. (Huh? Is that possible?) He is sitting at a diner-like booth with his pants pulled down to his ankles. Come to think of it, I think that is the only way you CAN enjoy yourself at a karaoke bar. Kiefer said it was one of those things that seemed funny at 1:00 AM but not at 10:00 AM.
Kiefer is starting his third season on 24 and we have a clip from an upcoming show. During the 8:00 AM hour, we see Kiefer eating a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios. I guess every minute can’t be Go Go Go. Man’s gotta eat.

TOP TEN: Effects of the Geomagnetic Storm – Over the weekend, a Geomagnetic Storm hit the earth when the sun put forth more energy than usual.
#10. Yankee bats rendered powerless.
#4. Technical glitch causes old jokes to appear in top ten list
#3. Clintern.

ACT 5: It’s the 1000 pound pumpkin on 53rd Street.

EMMYLOU HARRIS: From her new CD, Stumble Into Grace, the Grammy Award-winning singer performed “Here I Am.”

Before saying goodnight, Dave directs our attention to the half-ton pumpkin on 53rd Street. The New York City Fire Department said we couldn’t blow it up, but our technical department said we could. So by the magic of our tech crew, we witness the 1000 pound pumpkin explode. Clean up was much easier this way. And that was our show for Monday October 27, 2003. Wahoo EXTRA!

The Elegant Universe – Tuesday night at 8:00 on PBS.

Praise be, my last word on the World Series.

I’m watching Game 6 of the World Series with my daughter Danielle. A FOX commercial comes on for the World Series, ending with “Watch the World Series!” We then come back to the game. Danielle, 8 years old, laughs at the stupidity. “That’s so stupid! We already ARE watching the World Series!” I laughed because New York Post sports reporter Phil Mushnick wrote a whole column on about that very commercial wondering the same thing. Why have a commercial to watch the World Series when the people you are reaching are already watching the World Series?

And then announcer Joe Buck and Tim McCarver are seen talking to John McEnroe on a cellphone. McEnroe is sitting in the stands. The camera is on the announcers and McEnroe, the game an afterthought. A graphic for Sprint is plastered across the screen. Danielle, 8 years old, says, “I hate this. I want to see the World Series. I don’t care about him.” Danielle is 8 years old.

Did this in-game commercial have an effect on me? Yes. If the time comes and I have a choice to make, I will not buy Sprint.

The Yankees outhit the Marlins 54-47. To state the obvious, it’s now how many, but when.

Hold it. Beckett’s record this year was 9-8?

I thought the Yankees got the break they needed when Marlin manager Jack McKeon decided to start Becket and Pavano in game 6-7 on 3-days rest. Obviously, I was wrong. I have a feeling nothing would have made a difference.

In Game 3 of the World Series in Miami, Yankee pitcher Mike Mussina makes the second out of the inning. Up next is Alfonso Soriano. It is customary for the leadoff hitter to take a long time to step into the batters box so to allow his pitcher a few moments to rest up in the dugout before having to go back out. But here, Alfonso is in the batters box before Mussina has even made it back to the dugout. Did anybody else see this? The announcers didn’t say a word. Nothing in the newspapers. Nothing on the radio. Is it a big deal? No, not really, but it exemplifies the breakdown of the simple basics in baseball today. I know what the leadoff hitter should do in that situation. Why doesn’t the leadoff hitter?

Game 4: 9th inning, two outs, man on first and third, Yankees losing 3-1. Yankees Reuben Sierra hits a ball into the right field corner. Will the man on 1st score to tie the score? It all depends on how the outfielder handles the ball. But we don’t get to see how he handles the ball because we get a shot of the guy on 3rd base walking across home plate. We are shown this shot because the director believes we do not realize a man on third will score on an extra base hit.

Last week I said the only thing I know about guest Katie Holmes is she got in a lot of trouble on Dawson’s Creek for getting a haircut during the off-season. Oops. My bad. It was Keri Russell of “Felicity” who got the haircut. My thanks to the following for pointing out my error:
Phill Carter of Dakota Dunes, South Dakota
Elizabeth Buck of Sparks, Maryland
David de la Cruz of Derwood, Maryland
And of course, Bill Rinehart of Toledo, Ohio.

There was a time that I would receive scores and scores of e-mail correcting an error such as the above. Either you have all become weary of my frequent foibles or you know neither Ms. Holmes nor Ms. Russell.

DAVE4000 – I asked Wahoo readers back in July for their guess as to when Dave would host his 4000th show. As it stands following Monday’s program:
Dave’s morning show: 90 episodes
Late Night: 1810 episodes.
Late Show: 2063, plus 4 primetime specials:
Total: 3,977 programs.

This week’s new losers:
Amy Sherren of Niagara Falls, Ontario: October 22 – WRONG! We were off.
Tim Jimenez of Lansdale, Pennsylvania: October 23 – WRONG! We were off.
Jennifer Chapman: October 24 – WRONG! We were off.
Alex Szczensy, Lancaster, Pennsylvania: October 27 – WRONG! October 27th was the 3,977rd show.
Vince Cracchiolo of Detroit, Michigan: October 27 – WRONG! October 27th was the 3,977rd show.

Sorry, losers! You all lost!