Sixty seconds with Marlins outfielder Jeff Conine

March 19, 200521 yr

Staff writer Joe Capozzi spoke with Marlins outfielder Jeff Conine, an Everybody Loves Raymond fan:

More than 11 hours of the steroids hearing on Capital Hill and the only TV you watched was... ?

Everybody Loves Raymond. I couldn't get any laughs out of a steroids hearing.

You would if you'd have watched it.

Only through your eyes.

Why Everybody Loves Raymond?

You're a sportswriter. If you're married or you have kids, you can relate to it. It's on at 11:30 every night. Then I go to bed laughing.

It's that funny?

I love the old man. I wait every night when he says, "Holy crap!" That's just hilarious. I probably got hooked a couple of years ago.

No Nightline, Leno or Letterman?

I've got three kids. They don't watch brain-draining TV. So when you get them to bed, you kind of take care of the day's chores. I don't really watch TV at all. It's almost like a little ritual. I can't go to sleep until I watch Raymond.

Was Raymond always your favorite?

I got into Friends for a while and ER when it first came out. We'd watch those two back to back and literally that was the only time of the week I watched TV.

How does watching Raymond make you a better player?

It frees the mind. Nothing like a little laughter at the end of the day to take your mind off a four-strikeout performance.

How does Raymond compare to the sportswriters you deal with?

Not at all. He's a good guy. He's very likeable. We don't see Raymond at work. We see him at home interacting with his in-laws and family. Maybe I could come home with you sometime and see how you interact at home...

Do you think, from watching that, that maybe there's a misconception that reporters have a family life at home?

I know you guys are all losers and you end up at the bar every night, with your credentials on. How many times have you tried to get in South Beach with that?

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