Michael T. Mondak speaks about Mike Lange

Last night the news broke that Mike Lange, the longtime voice of the Pittsburgh Penguins, passed away at the age of 76.  With that, a part of me had died for the fifth time in my life.

Folks still call me Michael Michael Motorcycle to this day.  That was just one of the catchphrases Mike Lange used after a Penguins goal (called Langeisms by the fans) which I sometimes use during my church softball podcasts, because those phrases were often imitated.

I still plan to watch the movie Sudden Death (where Mike Lange made a cameo and dropped some of his catchphrases) as a tribute to Mike Lange, while I smoke him like a bad cigar, call Arnold Slick from Turtle Crick, eat some holy cheese and crackers, buy Sam a drink and get his dog one too, see how much fried chicken I can eat, scratch my back with a hacksaw, bring Eddie the spaghetti, see a silly seal slide sideways in Sausalito, leave them on the parkway going to the airport, and get in the fast lane with grandma so the bingo game gets ready to roll.  But tonight, I just don't know whether to cry or wind my watch. 😭

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