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Showing posts from March, 2004

Radio News

I've always really liked Al Franken, although as he's gotten more political and argumentative he's lost a bit of his charm. Oh well, I'll probably try to catch his radio show anyway, so long as it's streamed on the net. I have his White House correspondence dinner speeches from 1994 and 1996 and listen to them regularly. Not only are they funny, but they are brilliant examples of what you can do when you know and understand your audience. But if it's serious news you're looking for, it's hard to find a better voice than Bob Edwards of NPR. Unfortunately, he won't be leading Morning Edition anymore. He'll still be around, and I'm sure NPR has chosen his successors wisely, but it just won't be the same. As for what you can and cannot say on the radio (or other mass communication mediums), I'm always interested in what George Carlin has to say . My fondness for George Carlin goes beyond being a simple fan; it's more int

March Madness 2004

For those "basketball fans" out there, I've completed my bracket this year and posted it for all to see . Remember, I won an office pool several years ago, so I'm pretty sure my luck has been used up and I'll never win one again. The NCAA Divsion I wrestling tournament starts tomorrow, and while I don't have brackets filled out for it (330 wrestlers in a double elimination tournament? Get real...), I will predict the finals: 125: #1 Jason Powell (Nebraska) over #2 Luke Eustice (Iowa) 133: #3 Johnny Thompson (Oklahoma St.) over #4 Foley Dowd (Michigan) 141: #6 Dylan Long (Northern Iowa) over #5 Cliff Moore (Iowa) 149: #1 Jesse Jantzen (Harvard) over #2 Zack Esposito (Oklahoma St.) 157: #3 Jake Percival (Ohio University) over #2 Ryan Bertin (Michigan) 165: #2 Troy Lefters (Lehigh) over #1 Tyrone Lewis (Oklahoma St.) 174: #5 Eric Hauan (Northern Iowa) over #2 Tyler Nixt (Iowa) 184: #1 Greg Jones (West Virginia) over #2 Ben Heizer (Northern

The Shield - Season 3

I just caught the season premiere of "The Shield" on FX. As a traditional Nick @ Nite kind of watcher, it takes a little mental and emotional preparation to watch The Shield. It's just plain intense, with a lot of well-written plot twists that keep you hanging from episode to episode. Good stuff, even if it's over the top reality-wise.

The Colorado Football Recruiting Scandal

Although things have quieted down in the past week or so, I don't think we've heard the last of the bad news from Boulder. Today ESPN is running a feature during SportsCenter about the use of sex and alcohol to lure recruits, and I think we can all be sure this type of recruiting isn't restricted to one school. Boys will be boys? Sure, if coaches and administrators choose to turn their heads and pretend things like this don't happen. But as Gary Barnett and others are finding out, when things go this wrong heads are going to roll, guilty or not. Colleges and universities are going to need to find ways to protect themselves. After all, these are very young men and women they recruit, usually only 17 or 18 years old, and during the their visit it is the expectation that the university is responsible for the recruit's well-being. I think the next step is for the university to provide a full-time chaperone for each recruit. This chaperone would accompany the r