Friday, October 28, 2011

It's a Shame

WOW! That was fun.

We got home late from a football game late Thursday night. I scheduled my last vacation day of the year today because I knew we would too late to answer the 2:30 alarm clock bell to get to work. I scheduled it weeks before the Rangers and Cardinals even got into the Major League Baseball playoffs.

I turned on the TV when we got home to see how game six of the World Series was going. I think it was four-to-four. The game was ugly with the fielders making big mis-adventures out of routine pop-ups and ground balls.

But, I'm a baseball fan, so I kept watching and trying to stay awake. I kept watching as it got later, and the Rangers got down to the last out, even the last strike of beating my favorite team....twice.

I'm a Josh Hamilton fan. His story of over-coming drug and alcohol addiction and claiming the spot of one of the best left-handed hitters in the game with his natural talent is inspiring. His homerun would have been a fitting game-winning hit for a memorable World Series.

I'm a Rangers fan. Their first title ever would be a great thing for the team and the game.

I'm also a Cardinals fan...have been for decades. Their refusal to quit was inspiring. There were no called third-strikes for those guys in the last few innings. Swing and see what happens. They did. What happened was exciting.

I'm a David Freese fan. He has his own story of overcoming alcohol and injury problems. His home-run is kind of like what little-leaguers dream about. Usually, your team is down by three, but the bases are loaded when you pop a grand slam to win it. Freese is from St. Louis. That makes it even better for him.

David Freese is a hero today. But, you can't win today's ball-game with yesterday's homerun. That's why I came up with the title of this post. It's a shame that one of these teams will lose tonight. Game six was one probably one of the best World Series games ever. Tonight, we will have game seven. The team that wins tonight is the world champion. The team that loses is just the team that lost. Go Rangers, Go Cards.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Divided Loyalty

My parents are from a small town in the Missouri Ozarks. I remember driving across the country several times from our home in Washington state to visit our grandmothers, aunts, unclues and cousins. The radio was part of the trip. The St. Louis Cardinals have a huge radio network. We listened to a lot of the games on the way. I also remember watching the 1968 World Series between the Cards and the Detroit Tigers. I skipped school to watch game seven on TV. The Tigers won four-one. Curt Flood mis-played a fly ball. Mike Shannon hit a home-run, but that was their only score. Disappointing day, but I've been a St. Louis Cardinals fan since the fourth grade.

Now, the Cards are against The Texas Rangers in the World Series. I never thought we'd see this, but I've been a fan since Dal Maxville and Julian Javier was the double-play combination. I watched the Lou Brock's chase of Maury Wills' stolen base record, the botched call and Juaquin Andujar's meltdown that cost the Cards the 1985 series against the Kansas City Royals and Mark McGuire's chase of Roger Maris' home run record.

I can't stop now even though I would be strongly behind the Rangers against ANY other National League team. I'm for the guy's who wear "The Birds on the Bat." Go Cards!!

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Sometimes I Wonder

We make time available for live interviews for non-profit organizations promoting their events. We're happy to do it, and it's part of the responsibility of a TV station licensed by the Federal Communication Commission. We are obligated to broadcast in the public "interest, convenience and necessity." That means whatever the FCC says it means.

Our guests come in early for the opportunity to publicise their special events. They get here before six. They get about two-minutes of free air-time to tell us and the viewers about their projects. Two minutes on TV is valuable for their organizations.

There is a lot riding on your appearance on TV. It's a matter of respect for the viewers and for the industry. We learned in television 101 that we need to spend a minute making sure that the hair and smile look OK. It's imortant for men. It seems to be even more important for women.

We don't have a dress code for our studio guests. I know it's just a few minutes for them to spread their message, but I'm a little bit surprised at the casual ease that some have for being on TV.