TicketsDays like these still cause my stomach to drop. They elicit an unforgettable sensation of empathy, regret and fear.
In fact, days like these forced me to leave my childhood dream I actively pursued late into my 20s and amend it midstream.
I grew up dreaming of covering sports for the local newspaper. I dreamed that one day my mom and dad would open it up over eggs and bacon to read about their team and see the face and thoughts of their son.
Because of days like these, I abandoned a business I loved because the newspaper truck drove down a road that led directly into a lake.
The day I refer to are the days when decisions like the one Gannett made filter down the organization. A total of about 700 editorial positions in their newspapers across the country were lopped off.
In March, it was disclosed their CEO received a $1.25 million bonus and had his salary doubled.
I spent five-plus years in the newspaper business working my way up the ladder, only to realize someone's standing on the roof pushing off the people who make it to the top. The decimation at papers across the country led me back to Cincinnati and to this blog, which I thoroughly enjoy, so I should probably thank the idiot execs who ruin thousands of lives on a yearly basis to pad their pockets. But it does make me feel for those who suffered at its expense yesterday anyway.
My thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected. Not only those who lost jobs but those left behind to wonder when they will be next, including many friends still doing incredible work amid unstable conditions.
The stories of what happened at each location continue to surface -- Indianapolis here, Des Moines here, including former Cincinnati Post writer Sean Keeler. I haven't heard what the repercussions were/will be at our local representative, The Enquirer, but only hope they are minimal as possible.
Sorry to go on and on about a topic none of you likely care about, but it is hard to start off with anything else on days like these.
Let's eat...
--- Big congratulations to Darnell Wilks, who was selected by the Harlem Globetrotters as part of their 2011 draft class on Tuesday.
Being able to showcase his athleticism will be a great fit not only on the court, but being able to showcase his personality will be a great fit off it (actually, on it, as well, considering the Globetrotters schtick). I enjoyed talking to Darnell immensely the past few years and you could always count on a few laughs when he came into the press conference.
My personal goal all season was to write a story about his bald spot. No, I'm not mean-spirited, but Wilks was self-deprecating in many ways and occasionally joked about people hating on his hair situation. Twice in a public forum he mentioned it, but my rule on something like that was he had to talk about it three times. Unfortunately, the third never came and neither did the story, but as a fellow hair-challenged citizen, appreciated the way he poked fun at himself.
He's a good guy and speaking for myself, and I'm sure everyone at UC, we wish him the best of luck with the Globetrotters.
--- I missed this yesterday, but Scott Springer wrote about UC's addition of former Withrow coach Doc Gamble to the staff.
--- Mick Cronin saw his contract become official. The framework had long been agreed to, but now its in ink and approved by the Board of Trustees.
Cliff Peale at The Enquirer had these details on incentives:
"Mick Cronin could earn $100,000 for a national championship, $25,000 for an outright regular season Big East championship, $10,000 for a team grade-point average exceeding 3.0 and $15,000 if attendance at Fifth Third Arena exceeds 9,000 per game."
As for attendance, UC averaged 7,344 for its 18 home games last season. With another quality season like last year, rising over 9k would seem like a real possibility for the 2012-13 season. I'd imagine attendance will take a jump because of increased interest next year, but it would be hard to foresee a 1,700-fan jump in one season.
--- Yahoo took a look at the college basketball programs who have recently done the best job of churning out productive pros. Their top 10 went UCLA, Duke, UK, UNC, UConn, Arizona, Kansas, Texas, Florida and Georgia Tech.
Only one Big East team in the top 10 is fairly surprising. Although, if you look at the 2010-11 Opening Day rosters, the Big East was tied for third with the Big 12 for number of NBA players per conference school in the NBA (3.4).
The Pac-10 led the way with 4.8 and ACC next with 4.7.
Actually, outside of Syracuse (7) and UConn (11), no school from the conference had more than four players on an NBA roster. UC had three.
--- This allows me an opportunity to apologize for an omission in yesterday's Breakfast where I somehow completely forgot about Lance Stephenson being drafted last year as part of my post about the recent draft "drought." As Forrest Gump would say, "sometimes people do things, just don't make no sense."
I am now officially upping my coffee intake to two cups prior to writing the Breakfast.
UC still is suffering its lowest draft total in recent history of one in the past five years, but judging by the talent on the team and future projections, those numbers are on the verge of a significant upswing.
--- Rutgers signed a football stadium naming rights deal worth $6.5 million dollars over 10 years. They are one of 15 schools in the country with corporate sponsors adorning the name of their home field. Of course, five of those are shared NFL stadiums.
Would it be OK if UC were to sell the naming rights to Nippert Stadium? This is a question strictly out of my head and in know way seriously discussed by UC to my knowledge; but if money went back into the athletics program, would you have a problem if it were, say, Kroger Stadium?
For as much as Nippert Stadium is a part of history and tradition of UC, it would be hard to swallow that type of corporate sellout. I'd be standing with the side against it, but when a university is looking for revenue sources, it becomes more and more difficult to justify turning down.
--- Randomness..
--- Two things about this breakdancing gorilla. 1) Whenever I get married, he's invited. 2) I feel like this is about how everyone views me when I hit the dance floor.
--- Sports Pickle with the best behind-the-scenes moments from past NBA Drafts. (Caution: Delightfully fake)
--- This blog has a conversation with DJ Jazzy Jeff about the lasting power of "Summertime." I can't believe this was released 20 years ago. Suddenly, I feel arthritis kicking up. This will always be one of my favorite songs of all-time and fill the background of every cookout I ever throw.
"But you can't speed through. Two miles an hour so everybody sees you."
In fact, days like these forced me to leave my childhood dream I actively pursued late into my 20s and amend it midstream.
I grew up dreaming of covering sports for the local newspaper. I dreamed that one day my mom and dad would open it up over eggs and bacon to read about their team and see the face and thoughts of their son.
Because of days like these, I abandoned a business I loved because the newspaper truck drove down a road that led directly into a lake.
The day I refer to are the days when decisions like the one Gannett made filter down the organization. A total of about 700 editorial positions in their newspapers across the country were lopped off.
In March, it was disclosed their CEO received a $1.25 million bonus and had his salary doubled.
I spent five-plus years in the newspaper business working my way up the ladder, only to realize someone's standing on the roof pushing off the people who make it to the top. The decimation at papers across the country led me back to Cincinnati and to this blog, which I thoroughly enjoy, so I should probably thank the idiot execs who ruin thousands of lives on a yearly basis to pad their pockets. But it does make me feel for those who suffered at its expense yesterday anyway.
My thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected. Not only those who lost jobs but those left behind to wonder when they will be next, including many friends still doing incredible work amid unstable conditions.
The stories of what happened at each location continue to surface -- Indianapolis here, Des Moines here, including former Cincinnati Post writer Sean Keeler. I haven't heard what the repercussions were/will be at our local representative, The Enquirer, but only hope they are minimal as possible.
Sorry to go on and on about a topic none of you likely care about, but it is hard to start off with anything else on days like these.
Let's eat...
--- Big congratulations to Darnell Wilks, who was selected by the Harlem Globetrotters as part of their 2011 draft class on Tuesday.
Being able to showcase his athleticism will be a great fit not only on the court, but being able to showcase his personality will be a great fit off it (actually, on it, as well, considering the Globetrotters schtick). I enjoyed talking to Darnell immensely the past few years and you could always count on a few laughs when he came into the press conference.
My personal goal all season was to write a story about his bald spot. No, I'm not mean-spirited, but Wilks was self-deprecating in many ways and occasionally joked about people hating on his hair situation. Twice in a public forum he mentioned it, but my rule on something like that was he had to talk about it three times. Unfortunately, the third never came and neither did the story, but as a fellow hair-challenged citizen, appreciated the way he poked fun at himself.
He's a good guy and speaking for myself, and I'm sure everyone at UC, we wish him the best of luck with the Globetrotters.
--- I missed this yesterday, but Scott Springer wrote about UC's addition of former Withrow coach Doc Gamble to the staff.
--- Mick Cronin saw his contract become official. The framework had long been agreed to, but now its in ink and approved by the Board of Trustees.
Cliff Peale at The Enquirer had these details on incentives:
"Mick Cronin could earn $100,000 for a national championship, $25,000 for an outright regular season Big East championship, $10,000 for a team grade-point average exceeding 3.0 and $15,000 if attendance at Fifth Third Arena exceeds 9,000 per game."
As for attendance, UC averaged 7,344 for its 18 home games last season. With another quality season like last year, rising over 9k would seem like a real possibility for the 2012-13 season. I'd imagine attendance will take a jump because of increased interest next year, but it would be hard to foresee a 1,700-fan jump in one season.
--- Yahoo took a look at the college basketball programs who have recently done the best job of churning out productive pros. Their top 10 went UCLA, Duke, UK, UNC, UConn, Arizona, Kansas, Texas, Florida and Georgia Tech.
Only one Big East team in the top 10 is fairly surprising. Although, if you look at the 2010-11 Opening Day rosters, the Big East was tied for third with the Big 12 for number of NBA players per conference school in the NBA (3.4).
The Pac-10 led the way with 4.8 and ACC next with 4.7.
Actually, outside of Syracuse (7) and UConn (11), no school from the conference had more than four players on an NBA roster. UC had three.
--- This allows me an opportunity to apologize for an omission in yesterday's Breakfast where I somehow completely forgot about Lance Stephenson being drafted last year as part of my post about the recent draft "drought." As Forrest Gump would say, "sometimes people do things, just don't make no sense."
I am now officially upping my coffee intake to two cups prior to writing the Breakfast.
UC still is suffering its lowest draft total in recent history of one in the past five years, but judging by the talent on the team and future projections, those numbers are on the verge of a significant upswing.
--- Rutgers signed a football stadium naming rights deal worth $6.5 million dollars over 10 years. They are one of 15 schools in the country with corporate sponsors adorning the name of their home field. Of course, five of those are shared NFL stadiums.
Would it be OK if UC were to sell the naming rights to Nippert Stadium? This is a question strictly out of my head and in know way seriously discussed by UC to my knowledge; but if money went back into the athletics program, would you have a problem if it were, say, Kroger Stadium?
For as much as Nippert Stadium is a part of history and tradition of UC, it would be hard to swallow that type of corporate sellout. I'd be standing with the side against it, but when a university is looking for revenue sources, it becomes more and more difficult to justify turning down.
--- Randomness..
--- Two things about this breakdancing gorilla. 1) Whenever I get married, he's invited. 2) I feel like this is about how everyone views me when I hit the dance floor.
--- Sports Pickle with the best behind-the-scenes moments from past NBA Drafts. (Caution: Delightfully fake)
--- This blog has a conversation with DJ Jazzy Jeff about the lasting power of "Summertime." I can't believe this was released 20 years ago. Suddenly, I feel arthritis kicking up. This will always be one of my favorite songs of all-time and fill the background of every cookout I ever throw.
"But you can't speed through. Two miles an hour so everybody sees you."