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Feb 16, 2016

A Furry Hall of Fame

During the recent Super Bowl festivities, most sports fans will know that the NFL has announced it's Hall of Fame class for this year. This groups joins the ever expanding exhibits at Canton, OH later this summer. 

As a fan, it's interesting how saying Springfield, MA or Cooperstown, NY or Canton, OH immediately conjures up images of their respective major sports halls. So surely when I say Whiting, IN you immediately think of images of employees of brands like the Phillies, the Phoenix Suns, Auburn, U Wisconsin-Madison, U Delaware, Western Kentucky U, and the Utah Jazz. You don't? Then you clearly don't know about the Mascot Hall of Fame.

Mascot Hall of FameYes, even the dancing, prancing mascot on the sidelines of college or pro sports events has a Hall of Fame that they can aspire to. Originally intended as an on-line HOF under the initiative of David Raymond, the original Phillie Phanatic, the Hall is soon to be the main attraction in Whiting, IN.  The 25,000 square foot, multi-million dollar building will open in 2017 with a wide range of family friendly exhibits to celebrate mascots in all their furry forms.

Now I've got nothing against either mascots or Whiting, IN.  I'm sure the next attraction will delight young kids and entertain parents and grandparents who venture to the south shore of Lake Michigan. But IMHO a Hall of Fame is a means to permanently encase a showcase-able talent or personality, to tap into memories of the viewing public. Visiting Cooperstown is about seeing the ball Mantle hit, or the bat Ruth used, or the uniform of  Lou Gehrig. It's about remembering the amazing Mets of '69, or the Big Red Machine of the 70's, or more recent teams or players or games. Somehow remembering how the Philly Phanatic hazed umpires, or the Auburn mascot doing push-ups after a score doesn't qualify as lasting memories, but a side show at a main event. You don't pay to see the mascot at the event, so why pay to see the mascot in a Hall of Fame?

Maybe someone can enlighten me on this.


Feb 5, 2016

The Rise of the Anti-Hype Radio Host

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If you've not heard it, tune into the Dan Le Batard radio show on ESPN radio. Dan and his crew, including the inimitable Stugotz, are a merry band of talk show anarchists who manage to upset the apple cart where conventional talk radio and sports intersect.  For example, take one of their scrolls during their show, which is also aired on ESPN2 and repeated later in the day on Fusion television:  they scroll instructions for viewers who want to get Dan fired. Dan also has had guests on like the Michigan State basketball coach, but rather than interview him over the upcoming season or talk NCAA basketball instead had him play Christmas tunes on the accordion, while Dan's crew tried to sing along (badly I might add).  This is just the tip of the iceberg where this show is concerned - lots of inside jokes which you'll only understand if you listen regularly, lots of self deprecating remarks, and plenty of insinuation about athletes and celebrities, with the odd insult to their employer, ESPN, thrown in for good measure.

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But along with other sports shows like Garbage Time with Katie Nolan on Fox, Dan's show is at the vanguard of what I see as a new wave in anti-establishment sports radio.  Just like Bernie and Donald are running 'against the Washington establishment' in their respective, and so far successful, campaigns for President, so too do we see in sports radio the rise of the prankster, the smart ass, the wry one.  It's recognizing that sports is such big business, there is room aplenty for different stances and takes on each story.  Where one channel may report the news, the other can jump all over the heroes or heroines of the story with sarcasm or humor.

I applaud this movement!  The need for alternative voices in all walks of life is what leads society to a better place.  Even something as trivial as sports radio needs something more than a debate about who will win the Super Bowl, or is so and so QB washed up.  It needs famous people doing infamous things and reminding us that behind the name is a typically flawed human being, like the rest of us. Viva la revolution!

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After a long nap

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Yes, after an extended period of focusing my efforts elsewhere, I've decided to re-energize this Musings blog with a more regular posting schedule in hopes that it might amuse, stimulate, and/or stir you to debate and discourse.

More to come ... Promise!!