Whew, Mangini wasn't whacked

(From Newsday's Neil Best-His Coverage of Sports on the Air

Whew, Mangini wasn't whacked
June 5, 2007

Someone had to do it, so I broke the news early last night to Eric Mangini:

The Emmy Award presentations are Sept. 16 in Los Angeles, the same day his Jets play in Baltimore.

"That's OK," he said. "I don't think they give awards for non-speaking parts."

Mangini was being modest. He nailed his cameo on the penultimate episode of "The Sopranos" on Sunday night, his most compelling acting since a stint last year on another of his favorite shows, "Sesame Street."

In a scene taped Feb. 8 at Silvercup Studios in Long Island City, Mangini and his wife, Julie, dined at Artie Bucco's fictional restaurant, where Artie informed Tony Soprano that "Mangenius" was in the house.

Tony said he should go over to say hello, which he did, in a series of shots seen only from a distance. Mangini was seen clearly in profile, but Julie only from behind.

"The back of her hair looked really good," the coach said sheepishly.

Mangini called himself "a huge fan of the show" but is not entirely sure why he was invited. "They're very secretive about how scripts evolve," he said.

He initially thought it was a joke when he learned he was wanted. It was not, and two days later, he was on the set. Julie, an avid Bruce Springsteen fan, was most excited about meeting Steven Van Zandt, who plays Soprano's consigliere, Silvio.

Left unexplained in the script was why Mangini was dining in New Jersey.

"It could have been after a game," he said. "We didn't explore the motivation very deeply."

And why did Soprano act as if he knew him? Did it have something to do with the bet Tony made on the Jets earlier this season before a fictional 42-10 rout of the Chargers?

"I was pleased with that," Mangini said, meaning the final score, not the betting part.

The coach and his wife kept the cameo a secret from all but a few close friends. Now he can fully bask in the honor of taking part in one of the most honored shows in history, after only one season as a head coach in New York.

"It was fantastic," he said. "I love the show and just have always respected the story lines and think it's incredibly well done ... I'm disappointed it's coming to an end."
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Too Bad They didn't get him in last year! he could have come back this year as a Football coach in over his head with Tony. Yeah Right.............At least it wasn't something to do with gambling.