To those of you who regularly post on my blog, which has been sporadic. I know that, you know that, all God’s children know that.
I like reading what you regulars have to say, but I’m interested in developing more regulars. I know people read this blog. I sometimes don’t know why, but I know they do. So, if you’re reading, go ahead and make a post. It doesn’t need to be on subject. It can be on anything that’s on your mind. I’m interested in what you have to say and maybe that will spark me to have an opinion.
Soon, watch for the return of the very popular Opinion Line caller feature of my blog.
I’m picking on Wichita some lately, but with good reason. Today, I received a call from a county commissioner, I won’t say who, who is worried that some of his fellow commissioners are bent on getting a re-vote on the downtown arena issue.
First, let me say this. A re-vote isn’t going to happen. Pllllllllllll-eeeee-aaaa-ssss–eee.
Stop it, people. Just shut up, all of you downtown arena naysayers. This went to a vote in November, 2004. And while the process has been arduous, it is a process. Land will begin to be cleared in July, I am told. And the actual building of the arena will follow in October.
I recognize a good number of Sedgwick County citizens weren’t on board with this project, but the majority were. And the majority should be commended because the downtown arena will be possibly the best thing to ever happen to this community.
We must not be slowed down by the vast number of people in our county who refuse want us to stay in the shadows. Wichita can be a great city, but progress is essential. Demanding a re-vote on the downtown arena makes us look small and, frankly, pathetic.
This is the biggest hot-button issue there is for me. It bewilders me how so many people can be against this project. Can anyone _ ANYONE!!!! _ explain it to me?
As I sit in the press box at Hammons Field, home of Missouri State and the Double-A Springfield Cardinals, I’m reminded about my sadness that, after this season, professional baseball will be a thing of the past in Wichita.
Here, the Cardinals draw about 7,000 per game in their third season. Their affiliation with the St. Louis Cardinals has worked like a charm; people in these parts are, for the most part, St. Louis fans.
The way it’s working here is the way it was supposed to work in Wichita when the Royals became the major league affiliate. The close logistics between KC and Wichita, where there are supposedly a ton of Royals fans, was going to buoy the Wranglers to unseen attendance heights.
Instead, pro baseball is soon to be gone. While here and in so many other towns, it flourishes.
I worry about Wichita. I worry about losing a major bowling tournament. I worry about the contentious nature of building a downtown arena. I worry about the ferocity with which so many Wichitans fight change and progress. It’s always a battle to get anything productive done. I wish Wichitans _ of which I call myself proudly _ could figure out a way to move forward without all the impediments.
Losing minor league baseball is not a step forward. It is two or three steps back.
I watch quite a bit of television, which is basically an admission that my life is lacking in many areas. Now that you know that, I will grade the season finales I have watched. Remember, I have not seen the final episode of Lost.
24 _ The series really struggled this year, especially from about Episode 8 through about 20. But the final four hours were vintage 24 and the two-hour finale was outstanding. James Cromwell, who played Jack Bauer’s father, was the best or worst character of the season, depending on your point of view. When he was on the show, the show was great. And Kiefer Sutherland _ what can you say? He is Jack Bauer. Finale: A. Season: B-.
Law and Order: SVU _ This is one of my favorites, but the finale was difficult to follow and it tried to deal with too many loose ends for virtually every one of the main characters. I got lost. Finale: C. Season: A-.
The Office _ This is quickly moving up the list as one of my favorite sitcoms. I watch every episode at least twice and usually laugh just as hard the second time around. Every single character is funny and so well-defined by the show’s writers. The finale, at one hour, was a little long. This show is meant to be 30 minutes of non-stop hilarity. Finale: B+. Season: A.
American Idol _ I was just relieved that Jordin Sparks won. It would have been a travesty otherwise. But two hours for the finale? Way, way, way too long. Finale: C-. Season: B.
I promise, I’ll soon stop writing about Jeff. But dang, let me have a week or so to express the excitement I have for what he’s getting to do in Atlanta.
Yesterday, he interviewed Tom Glavine and John Smoltz about their pitching matchup tonight when the Mets meet the Braves. He told me they were very friendly guys, which is nice to hear. So often we are subjected to the real jerks in professional sports and forget that the majority of pro athletes are good people who understand the role of the media. Glavine and Smoltz obviously fall into that category.
OK, no more about Jeff for a while. He’ll go about his business and I’ll report back about it later in the spring. Or perhaps tomorrow. Just kidding.
Ther’e’s nothing quite like waiting for the rain to stop during a baseball game. It forces people in the press box to interact about things other than baseball.
As I write this, the Wichita State-Southern Illinois baseball game is in a delay and has been for nearly two hours. Fun, fun. So, to pass the time, a bunch of us have been talking about a variety of things, television being one of them.
I’m eager to watch the season finale for Lost, which I have recorded for when I get home from Springfield. Erica, one of the honchos for the Missouri Valley Conference, let it out that there are numerous fatalties on the finale. "Twenty people die but 19 of them don’t matter,” she said.
Rain delays force me to be friendly, so in that way they’re probably a good thing. I need all the evolution I can get and, I have to admit, it feels kind of good to actually have a congenial conversation with people.
The game should start shortly _ Wichita State currently leads 2-1 but the Shockers’ life in this Valley tournament is tenuous, at best. FYI, I’m borrowing Paul Suellentrop’s nifty computer to blog during this rain delay because my computer was one of the first invented, back in about 1977.
Jeff was at the Braves-Mets game last night. If you go to braves.com you can see some of his work, although you’ll have to look pretty hard. He wrote about tonight’s matchup. They’re breaking him in slow but he’ll get to do a little bit of everything during this internship.
As for me, I’m doing much better. I’m just so excited for him and his opportunity that my petty feelings of potential abandonment mean nothing. Actually, I rather like having the house to myself. And I like it even more that my son is going to be learning so much _ on and off the job _ this summer. This is why we raise children, right? So they can go off and build successful lives of their own?
Anyway, I’m taking care of a bunch of stuff related to a lightning strike at my house last week. So far, so good. It hasn’t cost me an arm and a leg. But there’s still work to be done.
I’ll get back to you soon on some of my television viewing and season finales. I’m headed for Springfield this afternoon and the Missouri Valley Conference tournament. I’ll give you my thoughts from there, as well.
Take care.
I have spent this week helping my son, Jeff, get ready for his summer internship in Atlanta. We leave Friday and he starts Tuesday, covering the Braves for MLB.com. The first series he’ll cover is a three-game set between the Braves and the New York Mets, the two teams battling for the top spot in the National League East. Should be so much fun for him.
But what about me?
This kid has been with me for a long, long time. And I am going to miss him. What I’m most anxious about is him being in a big city like Atlanta, on his own. Will he make it?
I need a couple of weeks to pass so that he gets into a routine and I don’t have to fret over it. He’ll be living about 10 miles from Turner Field, but how will the commute be? Will he find everything he needs?
Every parent goes through this stuff when their kid goes off on his/her own, right? And Jeff isn’t even a kid; he’s a young man. OK, deep breath. I know this will be the greatest experience of his life so far.
Lightning struck my house the other night, about three inches from where I was sleeping. At least that’s what it sounded like. Scared the beejesus out of me.
I lost my Internet connection, my satellite TV connection, my garage door opener and my sprinkler system. So, for more than two days I have not been in the loop.
I do need to do better with this blog. We all know that. I’ll try to think of more things to say that I don’t already say on the radio or in my column.
I know Phil Stacey went to high school here, but doesn’t it seem as if he wants absolutely nothing to do with Wichita? I don’t sense a strong "Go Phil" attitude in the city, even though the guy is a pretty good singer and has a chance to stick around until next week.
But two singers are going to be eliminated from the competition tonight and I think there is a very good chance Phil goes. He’s a solid singer but he doesn’t stand out from the rest. In fact, any of the men could be eliminated tonight and it wouldn’t surprise me.
Blake was different and adventurous with his rendition of You Give Love a Bad Name, but I’m not sure everybody _ as in the voters _ were crazy about his beep-bop version. I know I wasn’t, although I admire his talent. Blake is one of the most interesting competitors in the show’s history, but he’s a guy you either love or don’t really like all that much. But I think he’ll survive tonight.
Chris won’t. Chris shouldn’t. Chris is out of his league at this stage of the competition, nowhere near as talented as the other five.
So, my prediction is that Chris and Phil are done as of tonight. The three women are still strong and, with Blake, should provide a dynamic final three weeks.