The Comm and Gender Spot

Interview With the LPGA Commissioner

2008-12-24T14:28:00.004-05:00

My friend and Texas Tech University professor Sam Bradley has recently added an interesting feature to his blog in which he poses five questions to someone of note. This week his interview was with Carolyn Bivens, the commissioner of the LPGA.

Definitely an interesting read, I encourage everyone to click here and read Sam's brief conversation with Ms. Bivens.

Prop 8 - The Musical

2008-12-03T23:20:00.000-05:00

The controversy of Prop 8 in California is still in the forefront of the nation's mind. And there are those out there taking steps to get their message out.

The most recent is this star studded musical picking fun at the ideas behind Prop 8. Take a look and see what you think.

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

I Want A Logical Reason

2008-11-12T09:24:00.000-05:00

Since last week's election I've been struggling with the proposition results that took place in Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, and in particular California. For those that do not know, Arkansas passed into law a ban on gay adoption while the other three states passed bans on gay marriage. How is it that hate can be written into state constitutions?

I am struggling with this because I truly do not understand the reasoning behind it. How is it that a gay couple getting married threatens the union of any straight couple? Is the argument a purely religious on or is it a decision based in hate? Or I guess it could be a decision coming from both.

I've heard the argument that gays and lesbians should not fight for the right to marry but rather settle for civil unions. In those states that have civil unions they do not typically carry the same rights as does a state recognized marriage. Even if civil unions did, then why the separate label? Again, I think it stems from this religious ideal of marriage being between a man and a woman. But not all straight couples marry in a church or is married by a member of clergy. Does the fact that their union is not directly connected to some form of religion make their marriage less valid? Maybe the solution is that those not joined together by clergy, either straight or gay, should be labeled a civil union and only those joined by clergy should be labeled as a marriage? But something tells me that many will not go for that change.

To say that some Americans in our society have a certain right while other Americans do not seems odd to me. With the country's history being as it was, how can we endorse any form of separate but equal?

I simply want a legitimate and logical reason for why I can not marry in the majority of the United States.

Here is a video from Keith Olbermann. Love him or hate him I think this video touches on this subject beautifully, and this should be required watching of everyone that supported Proposition 8 in California and the other anti-gay ballot measures across the country.

First Time Interview

2008-10-10T17:46:00.000-04:00

Even though it came out nearly ten months ago, the University of Delaware has decided to put out a press release about a study I co-authored with Samuel D. Bradley of Texas Tech University and Sungkyoung Lee of Indiana University about negative political advertising. The study was published in the Journal of Advertising with the title Psychophysiological and memory effects of negative political ads: Aversive, arousing and well remembered. I guess this was the right time to do it because I had an interview today with an online blogger/columnist for Newsweek.

This interview, which yielded the article titled Expertinent: The Biology of Negative Advertising, was an interesting experience and one that I hope I get the opportunity to do again.

DirectTV - A Little Creepy?

2008-10-09T15:27:00.001-04:00

I have actually enjoyed the recent advertising campaign put out by DirectTV. Actors from some of the best known recent films are seen as if they are actually in the film but then begin to talk to the screen about how they should have subscribed to DirectTV. I've liked this campaign and thought that it was an interesting concept.

That is until I saw the most recent advertisement.

The most recent one features actor Craig T. Nelson who played the father in the first two Poltergeist films. These are films that I enjoy and find myself watching anytime they are on TV or my TiVo records them. But this advertisement also features child actor Heather O'Rourke who died back in 1988. While DirectTV isn't the first company to featuring a dead celebrity in an advertising campaign, this still smacks (at least to me) of bad taste.

Here's the ad. See what you think.

Halloween Drinking

2008-10-06T11:31:00.001-04:00

Let this picture serve as a reminder to all of you - keep your Jack-O'-Lanterns away from the beer!

Changing Opinions or Hypocrisy? You Decide!

2008-09-05T06:58:00.002-04:00

The current presidential race certainly is heating up, and with the GOP's recent choice of Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin as the vice presidential nominee many people are certainly curious about her ability to assume that role.

Here's a clip from this past week's Daily Show with John Stewart. I think it definitely shows some of the hypocrisy that exists within the opinions expressed in the media by some Republicans. Some of the issues that these individuals use in support of Sarah Palin are the same issues that were discussed when criticizing Democrats. A very interesting, and funny, take.

Magnificent Two Weeks Over

2008-08-25T11:02:00.001-04:00

It’s over. After seventeen days we have seen the completion of the 29^th Olympiad in Beijing, China.

Many people asked me why I didn’t post to my blog during that time. Everyone that reads here knows how much I enjoy the Olympics and know that it’s a big part of my research. And I have a very good reason why I did not post to my blog during that time.

I was actually watching the Olympics.

I had my TiVo working overtime. In addition to the content analyses that I’m working on based on NBC’s prime time coverage I was working toward updating my library of sports clips for future experiments. My goal was to get a little bit of every sport, and if possible getting clips of both male and female athletes competing in each. Some days I had my TiVo recording as much as 31 hours of coverage from the NBC family of networks: MSNBC, CNBC, USA, and Oxygen.

I figure that my TiVo over those 17 days recorded nearly 400 hours of Olympics. And while I watched a good chunk, I also fast forwarded through a lot of it. My goal in finding the sports for my collection were to have competitions that did not feature American athletes. If used in an experiment I wanted participants to feel as neutral as possible about the participants – I don’t want a feeling of patriotism and national pride to overtake any possible effects I would be researching.

Overall, I think I was relatively successful in my task. There were three sports that were not broadcast at all on any of the networks carrying the Olympics: judo, sailing, and taekwondo. Also, the networks did not broadcast men participating in the modern pentathlon – though they did broadcast the women’s competition. And then of what was supposed to be broadcast I did not get footage of women’s archery, women’s pairs in whitewater canoeing/kayaking, and men’s triathlon. I do not believe that, even though they were in the broadcast schedule, that the first two actually made it to air. And when it comes to the triathlon it was a victim of a choice I made – I chose to record the network that was airing men’s trampoline instead.

It was a great Games with many memorable moments. I can’t wait for February 12, 2010 for the upcoming Winter Games in Vancouver and for July 27, 2012 when the Summer Olympics will return in London.

7 Days Until the Opening Ceremony - Let the Coding Begin

2008-08-01T13:05:00.000-04:00

Seven days from today marks the Opening Ceremonies of the 29th Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.

It also marks the start of my biennial Olympic content analysis.

I am actually looking forward to both. I love the grandeur of the Games, and the content analysis forces me to watch every second of the prime time coverage. I can't wait.

Picture It, Hollywood, 2008

2008-07-23T15:05:00.000-04:00

I make so secret my affection for one of the funniest comedies of the 1980s – The Golden Girls. The dynamic between the four women in the cast is unmatched.

Yesterday the youngest Golden Girl, though she played the oldest, died. Estelle Getty, who played Sophia Petrillo, died at age 84 after suffering for the past few years with dementia.

Sophia was known for her stinging comments about her daughter Dorothy, played by actress Bea Arthur, her fear of returning to Shady Pines, a retirement home, and her stories filled with wisdom and advice. Sophia’s stories always started with “Picture it” followed by a place and a year. Some of the funniest moments came from these stories. Getty also received seven Emmy award nominations and one win for her playing of Sophia.

Getty will be sorely missed, and hopefully the Golden Girls will live on forever in syndication. Here’s a YouTube video featuring clips of Getty as Sophia, but is only a small fraction of the great work she did on the series.

Political Humor

2008-07-23T14:46:00.000-04:00

JibJab is at it again. They have put out a very good video about campaigning for the upcoming presidential election. It is very clever and I just felt the need to share it.

Women in Sports This Weekend

2008-07-06T15:23:00.000-04:00

This has been a great weekend for women in sports. I want to touch on two of the biggest stories of the weekend.

First we have Venus Williams defeating her sister Serena to win Wimbledon yesterday. The sisters have been criticized in the past for not playing their hardest when playing each other. That could not be said about yesterday's match. Both women played their hardest, and Venus won in two sets.

Then we have Dara Torres. Torres is a U.S. swimmer who this weekend qualified for the team to compete at this summer's Olympics in Beijing in the 100-meter freestyle event. Torres may also qualify for other events today. This is noteworthy for a few reasons. First, this is Torres' fifth Olympic Games. And she is 41 years old. During the 2000 Games in Sydney she was the oldest member of the U.S. swim team. There's no doubt that she will be again this year. And it should be noted that Torres won her first Olympic medal during the 1984 Games in Los Angeles, which to put into perspective was before current swimming phenom Michael Phelps was even born.

Congratulations to both these athletes!

Reaching Young Voters

2008-06-12T09:49:00.000-04:00

Here is an interesting video recently posted to YouTube and other websites by TruthThroughAction.org.

Definitely a humorous video whose goal is to reach voters from approximately the 18-25 age demographic. The video is appropriately titled Blue Balled. I know I enjoyed it and just had to share it.

Lost & John Stewart

2008-06-07T08:16:00.000-04:00

As a Lost fan I found this video from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart hilarious. I just had to share it.

Strangely Appealing

2008-06-05T12:04:00.000-04:00

The summer months feature many a new program. Due to the relatively low cost to produce, these programs are typically from the reality or game genres. Take a look at the promo below. I must admit that I can't wait to see it. On June 24th I'll be catching the premiere episode of I Survived a Japanese Game Show!

Narrowing Down the Field - 2016 Short List

2008-06-04T12:51:00.003-04:00

One day after writing about how I’d like to see the 2016 Summer Olympic Game s go to a country that has never hosted the Olympic Games before, one of the cities I mentioned has been eliminated from the running.

Today the International Olympic Committee cut the list of bidding cities from seven to four. Not making the short list were Prague in the Czech Republic, Baku in Azerbaijan, and Doha, the capital city of Qatar. Doha’s bid was history making as the first Middle Eastern city to ever make a serious bid.

Still in the running are Chicago, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro, and Tokyo. These cities will now need to prepare more extensive bid books and prepare for site visits by members of the International Olympic Committee.

Now for a bit of prognosticating: which city of these four has the best chance at being granted these games?

Tokyo has hosted the Summer Olympics before – in 1964. Japan also hosted the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano. They have proven that they can successfully host the Games. But the biggest strike against them is Beijing hosting this year. If the Beijing Games in a success it is predicted that China will make a bid for the 2018 Winter Games. This might cause the IOC to not grant the games to Tokyo because they would not want to have three Olympic Games in that area of the word in a relatively short period of time. Also, members of the IOC has gone on record stating that they would like to broaden the range of cities that host the Games – even though London is going to be a repeat host with the 2012 Games it is believe that the IOC will go for a city in 2016 that has never hosted before.

Madrid’s biggest strike against it is that the 2004 Games were held in Athens and the 2012 will be in London. Will the IOC want to go again to Europe so quickly? It does help that Madrid is one of the major European capitals that has never hosted a Games (though Barcelona did host in 1992). It also is a big plus that Madrid placed third in the voting for the 2012 Games.

Chicago stands a better than decent chance in getting the 2016 Summer Games. The United States has not hosted a Summer Games since 1996 in Atlanta or any Olympic Games since the Winter Games in 2002 in Salt Lake City. Another plus for it is that United States corporations play a big part in the financial status of the IOC. With 20 years between Summer Olympic Games in the Western Hemisphere, some would say that this area of the word is due. Biggest strikes against Chicago – The 2010 Winter Games are being held in Vancouver and some doubt Chicago’s ability to host such a huge event.

Finally we have Rio de Janeiro. The Olympics have never been held in South America or Africa. The president of the IOC, Jacques Rogge, has said that he wants to see the Games branch out to these continents. In 2007 Rio successfully staged the Pan American Games, which demonstrated its ability to host such a large sporting event. Not much in the way of negatives when it comes to Rio.

I believe that the final decision will come down to Chicago and Rio de Janeiro, with Rio having a slight advantage due to the desire to bring the Olympics to South America. I think it’s Rio de Janeiro’s to lose, and if they can put together a pretty decent bid book and put on a good show when member of the committee visit then they will have the Games clinched.

New Hosts but Old Prejudices

2008-06-03T09:53:00.000-04:00

We are currently 65 days from the Opening Ceremonies of the 29^th Summer Games emanating from Beijing, China. I for one am excited and can’t wait to see these ceremonies as they are broadcast on NBC on August 8, 2008.

I love when a nation that has never been allowed to hold an Olympic Games before gets the opportunity. I’m curious to see what kind of a spin they put on it, including what they do with the pomp and circumstance of the opening and closing ceremonies. While this hasn’t happened very often in my lifetime, I do remember the games held in Seoul and Barcelona thinking how wonderful it was that these countries and its citizens finally had the opportunity to host the biggest sporting event on the calendar. While I get the similar feelings when a city gets to host that hasn’t hosted before, when a country hosts that has never had the opportunity before it truly seems almost magical.

And when following the bidding process I’m always rooting for that underdog country to break through so that they can host their first Games. While they don’t always have the most feasible bid, I still think that given the opportunity most of these countries could step up to the plate and make a wonderful spectacle of their hosting. In looking at the bids for the 2016 Summer Games, which will be decided on October 2, 2009, While as an American I can’t wait for another Games to occur on U.S. soil so that I may have the opportunity to attend, I can’t help but hope that the Games goes to Rio De Janeiro, Brazil or to Doha, Qatar. Not only would this be the first opportunity for the Games to be held in their country but it would be the first time that any Olympic Games were held in South America or Africa.

With that being said, and acknowledging the excitement that I have for the upcoming Games in Beijing, the first ever in China, I am disheartened by some of the materials that have been put forth for the volunteers that will be working at the Games. More specifically, the language that they use to instruct their volunteers about how to handle encounters with athletes during the Paralympic Games which immediately following the Olympic Games in Beijing.

Here are some translated excerpts from these manuals, as taken from an article on ESPN.com.

First they label the paralympic athletes and disabled fans as a “special group” The manual states that they have “unique personalities and ways of thinking.” This statement alone is enough to make someone realize that their descriptions of these athletes will not be positive.

The manual suggests that though athletes who are blind are “introverted. They have deep and implicit feelings and seldom show strong emotions.”

In discussing physically disabled individuals, the manual states that these individuals “are often mentally healthy. They show no differences in sensation, reaction, memorization, and thinking mechanisms from other people, but they might have unusual personalities because of disfigurement and disability.” These individuals are labeled as being “isolated, unsocial, and introspective. They usually do not volunteer to contact people. They can be stubborn and controlling. They may be sensitive and struggle with trust issues.”

Volunteers are also instructed to not “stare at their disfigurement.”

Then, apart of this manual, the Beijing Organizing Committee set forth some rules of conduct and policies about who will be allowed to attend the Games. Barred are individuals who have contagious diseases and those who have “mental diseases.” The problem with this is that they do not specify what kinds of diseases to which they are referring.

While I am excited about having the Games in China, I only wish that they showed more tolerance and understanding. While I would hope that having such a rich international presence in their country might cause some change to occur, I unfortunately do not believe that it will have any long lasting effects.

72 More Days of Waiting

2008-05-27T10:36:00.000-04:00

We only have 72 more days until the Opening Ceremonies of the Summer Games of the 29th Olympiad in Beijing. I for one simply can not wait.

Obama Girl...And Mike Gravel?

2008-05-07T13:34:00.000-04:00

I've been feeling the time crunch as of late. Unlike many of my friends who have finished their spring semesters I still have 2 weeks and finals. And my daily schedule has been really chock full of things to do.

But I came across this video today. I found it both odd and entertaining.

Presidential Primaries and Professional Wrestling

2008-04-24T12:25:00.000-04:00

Sorry for two professional wrestling related posts in a row, but when stories like these occur I can't help but say something.

This week on WWE Raw the three remaining presidential candidates appeared to speak to the viewers. That would have been fine so to reach out to possible voters, particularly those sometimes hard to reach 18-25 year old males, but their use of wrestling catchprases in their statements seemed more than odd. Is this really the image that all three of the candidates want to put forth.

See their statements below in the first video (they're played back-to-back) and form your own opinion. The last two videos below is the set-up to an actual wrestling match that took place on the show, between wrestlers imitating Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator Barack Obama. Their actual match ended when one of the WWE's wrestlers, Umaga, came in and pummeled both candidates. I watched that wondering what kind of a message the WWE itself is trying to put forth about these two Democratic candidates.

Nothing Better To Do?

2008-04-19T07:46:00.000-04:00

While I freely admit that I don't understand all the inner working of the United States government, I would think that a member of the U.S. House of Representatives would have better uses of her time when she has the floor. North Carolina Representative Sue Myrick recently took just over a minute of the House's speaking time to honor the career of professional wrestler Ric Flair. Is that really what we want our State Representative's to be doing while in Washington?

But I must admit, I think it's funny when she says "Wooo" at the end.

Branding the Candidates

2008-04-10T09:26:00.000-04:00

This morning while surfing the net I saw an interesting story taken from a recent CNN broadcast of Election Center. In it an expert came in to discuss the branding of each presidential nominee and based it on the typeface that each is using in their logo.

Here we have the logo for Hillary Clinton’s campaign. The expert stated that the typeface, which he identified as being a form of Baskerville, was bold, assertive, and in-control. He even went so far as to call it a little relentless. But in an interesting move it is her first name on the logo and not her last. CNN’s expert said that this lends an air of familiarity to her while possibly maintaining an idea of solidarity.

Next we have the logo for the John McCain campaign. The expert identified the typeface as somewhere between serif and sans-serif. Based on that alone the expert stated that he thought McCain and his campaign didn’t put nearly as much time into the choice as those in Clinton’s campaign did. Instead it appeared to be a quick choice, which may translate to voters who see it that they may not actually know who he is or what kind of a president he hopes to be.

Finally we have the current logo for Barack Obama’s campaign. I say recently because as Obama started to pick up steam the logo changed. Originally it was his last name with the O capitalized and the rest in lower case letters. The campaign recently kept the same classic, old-fashioned Roman typeface but changed it to caps and small caps instead of using lower case letters. CNN’s expert thought that this typeface communicated a feeling of elegance and sweetness to the candidate, and thought it was the typeface that could be considered the most presidential.

I must say that listening to this story, and how the campaigns are attempting to brand each of the candidates, was a fascinating one. I truly wonder if the opinions of this “expert” really do hold true to the opinions of the American public.

On The Beach

2008-04-03T08:55:00.000-04:00

Though this isn't a great picture (but it's the best I can get with my camera phone) this is what I have been waking up to every day over Spring Break. Simply beautiful. And it's not too hot for me to go out and enjoy at 8:30am.

NBC 2008-2009 Season

2008-04-02T21:17:00.000-04:00

One thing that I surprising had not written about this year was the writer’s strike that impacted television. And now that it’s over it seems moot to even mention.

However, its impact is still being felt. In the most recent development, NBC today announced its fall season upfronts, a full six weeks before the other major broadcast networks. This definitely gives NBC a jump on its competitors, but I do wonder the real reason behind this move. One big development also happening is that NBC is starting to program series without even seeing a pilot – a big gamble when you consider they are programming based on concepts and the names attached, not on a previously produced episode.

Also, in a change for NBC, they announced new programming in an effort to bring new programming year-round. This allows advertisers to have a more complete picture of what to expect when it comes to the overall landscape of NBC. Fox has done this in the past, but to mixed results. Programs sometimes didn’t make it throughout their scheduled period, and some programs announced never made it to air. It’ll be interesting to see how this schedule works out.

NBC has dumped long running series such as Scrubs and Las Vegas, as well as new series such as the Bionic Woman remake. Some freshman series that did make it to a second season include Chuck, Life, and Lipstick Jungle.

Here’s a night-by-night, based on time of year, look at what the NBC schedule for next season has in store. Included are brief descriptions, partially taken from tvguide.com, eonline.com, and NBC.com. All times listed are Eastern.

Fall 2008

Mondays:

8pm-9pm Chuck

9pm-10pm Heroes

10pm-11pm My Own Worst Enemy

Henry and Edward lead two very different lives. The problem, they live them in the same body. And they must deal with the ramifications when the wall between the two begins to break down. Starring Christian Slater.

Tuesdays:

8pm-9pm The Biggest Loser: Families

9:30pm-10pm Kath and Kim

This comedy looks at the relationship between a mom and a daughter who are very different people once the daughter moves back home. The problem is that the mom will not cater to her daughter’s every whim. Based on the hit Australian comedy of the same name, starring Molly Shannon and Selma Blair.

10pm-11pm Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Wednesdays:

8pm-9pm Knight Rider

Remake of the classic 1980s drama in which mysteries are solved by a man and his talking car.

9pm-10pm Deal or No Deal

10pm-11pm Lipstick Jungle

Thursdays:

8pm-8:30pm My Name is Earl

8:30pm-9pm 30 Rock

9pm-9:30pm The Office

9:30pm-10pm Saturday Night Live Thursday Nights/The Office

10pm-11pm ER

Fridays:

8pm-9pm Crusoe

This series is based on the book by Daniel Defoe. In this series a man ends up shipwrecked on an island for 28 years. He yearns to go home while befriending a man named Friday.

9pm-10pm Deal or No Deal

10pm-11pm Life

Saturdays:

8pm-9pm Dateline NBC

9pm-10pm Encores of Knight Rider

10pm-11pm Encores of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Sundays:

7pm-8:20pm Football Night in America

8:20pm-11pm NBC Sunday Night Football

Winter 2009

Mondays:

8pm-9pm Chuck

9pm-10pm Heroes

10pm-11pm The Philanthropist

In this series a man in love with money and power comes to a realization about his life after the death of his only child. He then becomes a “renegade billionaire” who does everything in his power to help those in need, including negotiating with nefarious individuals and dodging bullets.

Tuesdays:

8pm-9pm The Biggest Loser

9:30pm-10pm Kath and Kim

10pm-11pm Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Wednesdays:

8pm-9pm Knight Rider

9pm-10pm Deal or No Deal

10pm-11pm Law & Order

Thursdays:

8pm-8:30pm My Name is Earl

8:30pm-9pm 30 Rock

9pm-9:30pm The Office

9:30pm-10pm The Office spinoff

10pm-11pm ER/The Celebrity Apprentice

Fridays:

8pm-9pm Deal or No Deal

9pm-10pm Friday Night Lights

10pm-11pm Life

Saturdays:

8pm-9pm Dateline NBC

9pm-10pm Encores of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

10pm-11pm Encores of Law & Order

Sundays:

7pm-8pm Dateline NBC

8pm-9pm Merlin

This is a modern retelling of Camelot, Merlin, and Arthur. In this story Merlin and Arthur are just trying to fulfill their dreams, while making mistakes along the way.

9pm-10pm Medium

10pm-11pm Kings

In this series, a young soldier named David rescues the king’s son from the enemy. By doing so he sets in motion the events that will lead the land to peace. The soldier then finds himself a celebrity, and has earned the attention of the king’s daughter. But as he gains even more power himself David realizes that those in power will do whatever it takes to see him fail.

Spring Break Blogging

2008-04-02T10:47:00.000-04:00

My posts over the past few months have been sparse. My semester has been one in which all I seem to do is work on the three classes that I’m teaching. And when I do find some down time, I’m usually just resting and relaxing. Hence no real time to regularly post.

But now I’m on Spring Break. I’m sitting in a beautiful house on the beaches of the Gulf of Mexico. The weather is gorgeous, though a bit hot for my taste, and the view of the water is awesome.

Yet, until now, I still haven’t posted.

Am I out of the routine? Do I have nothing to say? I truly am wondering why I haven’t blogged at all this week. My guess is that it’s a combination of the two, plus the fact that I’m truly just trying to rest.

But how do I rest and relax? I was working on data entry and some research for the past two days, something that I haven’t had the time to do all semester. It might seem strange to most that the way I relax is to do more work, but it was the fact that I was working on something I enjoy rather than on my coursework that really made it fun.

But next week it’s back to the daily grind of 3 classes and 210 students. And then any and virtually all free time will disappear.

Boycotting Beijing

2008-03-18T10:16:00.000-04:00

This summer the Olympics come to Beijing. And recently the news has picked up on stories about various organizations pushing athletes and nations toward boycotting the games due to China’s policies about Tibet, Darfur, and a variety of other important topics.

My question is, how effective would such a boycott really be?

If a nation were to boycott the Games, who would it really hurt? Or we could ask who would it hurt more, the host nation or the athletes who are deprived the opportunity to show their athletic abilities on a national stage?

Now I do wholeheartedly agree that China should be pressured to change their policies about Tibet and Darfur. These are issues that should be of interest and concern to many nations in the world, but is boycotting the Olympics really the answer?

I keep thinking back to the boycotts of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow and of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. While I’m sure the host cities took a bit of an economic hit due to these boycotts, did it really have an impact? Did the host nations truly change their governmental policies due to such moves?

And it has to be remembered that by boycotting the games athletes truly are the forgotten casualties. For some the have a very small window in which they are at the top of their sport. If these athletes lose the opportunity to test their mettle against the best athletes in the world then that truly is a shame. Hundreds of athletes in 1980 and 1984 had this happen to them, and I’m sure many of them while they understand why the boycotts occurred are truly sorry that they never were seen on such an international stage.

Right now the countries of the world are saying that they will not be boycotting Beijing, but are leaving the door open if any individual athletes want to back down from competing in Beijing. And I hope that these countries maintain this policy through the summer months.

Tragic News - Important Message

2008-02-29T15:53:00.000-05:00

I recently was saddened by a news story in which an eighth grade boy was murdered by a classmate. I wasn't sure if or how I would cover it here, and have been giving it some thought for a couple of days.

But then Ellen DeGeneres mentioned it today and she put it more eloquently and in a better perspective than I ever could.

Here's is what she said, and hopefully you agree with her message as much as I do. Ellen also has more information and links to organizations that can help on her show's website (which I've linked to her name above).

Do It For the Sake of the Program

2008-02-22T13:51:00.000-05:00

My semester began last week and it has been non-stop. Teaching three different courses on three different days, two of which I’ve never taught any version of before, has been a stressful and hectic endeavor. Some days I enjoy it and some days I’m dead tired and wishing it was over. But at the same time I’m hearing from students in all three classes about how much they’re enjoying themselves, so I guess I’m doing something right.

But that’s why I haven’t had the time to comment on the biggest scandal to hit Indiana University athletics in years. I’d say that it even rivals the firing of Bobby Knight because anyone that was living in Bloomington at the time, such as myself, saw it coming a mile away. But now IU men’s basketball is rocked with controversy and possible NCAA sanctions for the first time since 1960.

And it’s all thanks to Coach Kelvin Sampson.

I just had a feeling that it was a mistake when IU hired him two years ago. He had a history of making illegal telephone calls and NCAA infractions from his days as the coach at the University of Oklahoma. But IU took a chance on him. I now wonder if they’re regretting the hiring.

Today Sampson’s fate will be revealed. If he’s kept on a program that has been noted for it’s clean and fair play will now have a sullied reputation. The IU men’s basketball program will be thought of as cheaters, and that is something that will be difficult to shake. Chants of cheater will be heard from the stands at every away game. Is that what the players need to hear?

I don’t want to take away the fact that the Hoosiers are having a great season, but Sampson is going to end up taking them down. He needs to go. Be it by firing (which all signs are seeming to point to) or resignation, Sampson should no longer be leading this team.

Fire him now in order to save IU men’s basketball in the long run.

80th Annual Academy Awards - Predictions

2008-02-11T11:40:00.000-05:00

We are currently just under two weeks from the 80th annual Academy Awards. This year the ceremony will be held on Sunday, February 24 and it is when the best of the best in film are honored for their achievements for the movies released during the 2007 calendar year.

For the last two years I have made predictions about who I thought would win, and last I improved my record over the predictions I made for movies from 2006. Last year I predicted 13 categories correctly out of the 21 categories I predicted; for 2005's films I only predicted 10 correctly. Let’s hope this trend continues and I can do even better this year.

Also as I have done in previous years, I will not be predicting the categories for Best Animated Short Film, Best Live Action Short Film, and Best Documentary Short Subject. These are categories that I know absolutely nothing about and can not even harbor a guess as to which films will win.

Here are the nominees for this year’s Oscars with my predictions seen in red.

Best Picture
Atonement
Juno
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

Best Director
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton
Jason Reitman, Juno
Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Best Actor
George Clooney, Michael Clayton
Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Tommy Lee Jones, In the Valley of Elah
Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises

Best Actress
Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Julie Christie, Away from Her
Marion Cotillard, La Vie En Rose
Laura Linney, The Savages
Ellen Page, Juno

Best Supporting Actor
Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Charlie Wilson’s War
Hal Holbrook, Into the Wild
Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton

Best Supporting Actress
Cate Blanchett, I’m Not There
Ruby Dee, American Gangster
Saoirse Ronan, Atonement
Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone
Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton

Best Adapted Screenplay
Christopher Hampton, Atonement
Sarah Polley, Away from Her
Ronald Harwood, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Ethan Coen & Joel Coen, No Country for Old Men
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood

Best Original Screenplay
Diablo Cody, Juno
Nancy Olive r, Lars and the Real Girl
Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton
Brad Bird, Ratatouille
Tamara Jenkins, The Savages

Best Foreign Language Film
12 (Russia)
Beaufort (Israel)
The Counterfeiters (Austria)
Katyń (Poland)
Mongol (Kazakhstan)

Best Animated Feature
Ratatouille
Persepolis
Surf’s Up

Best Documentary
No End in Sight
Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience
Sicko
Taxi to the Dark Side
War/Dance

Best Art Direction
American Gangster
Atonement
The Golden Compass
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
There Will Be Blood

Best Cinematography
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Atonement
The Driving Bell and the Butterfly
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

Best Film Editing
The Bourne Ultimatum
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Into the Wild
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

Best Costume Design
Across the Universe
Atonement
Elizabeth: The Golden Age
La Vie en Rose
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Best Makeup
La Vie en Rose
Norbit
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End

Best Original Score
Dario Marianelli, Atonement
Alberto Iglesias, The Kite Runner
James Newton Howard, Michael Clayton
Michael Giacchino, Ratatouille
Marco Beltrami, 3:10 to Yuma

Best Original Song
“Falling Slowly” from Once, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
“Happy Working Song” from Enchanted, Alan Menken & Stephen Schwartz
“So Close” from Enchanted, Alan Menken & Stephen Schwartz
“That’s How You Know” from Enchanted, Alan Menken & Stephen Schwartz
“Raise It Up” from August Rush, Jamal Joseph, Charles Mack & Tevin Thomas

Best Sound Editing
The Bourne Ultimatum
No Country for Old Men
Ratatouille
There Will Be Blood
Transformers

Best Sound Mixing
3:10 to Yuma
The Bourne Ultimatum
No Country for Old Men
Ratatouille
Transformers

Best Visual Effects
Transformers
The Golden Compass
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End

Losing More Laughs

2008-02-04T09:54:00.000-05:00

Last March I lamented the loss of some of my favorite comic strips. The Boondocks, Fox Trot, and Big Top had all come to an end. And now I come to find out that another comic strip that I’ve become attached to in order to fill this comic void ran its last strip this past Saturday. Lucky Cow is no more.

Cartoonist Mark Pett has decided to pursue other ideas in other forms instead of continuing with Lucky Cow. The humorous happenings in a Lucky Cow fast food franchise actually got funnier as the strips kept coming in. With Claire trying to avoid work, Leticia the vegetarian working to sell the burgers, and Neil the loveable idiot, there were many characters to enjoy.

Yet another bit of fun taken from our everyday lives. What’s going to be left on our comic pages? The unfortunately unfunny stalwarts such as B.C., Cathy, or Shoe?

The Moment of Truth

2008-01-31T10:18:00.000-05:00

As most of us know, there is a strike going on in Hollywood. The Writer’s Guild of America has been on strike since November 5, 2007. Since that time Hollywood has been allowed to shoot the existing scripts but nothing new has been written. Many of TV’s popular series have run out of new episodes. Awards shows are being canceled or revamped due to no one being around to write the witty banter of the hosts and presenters. And we’re seeing a glut of reality television in prime time television.

I’m not one to complain. I truly enjoy reality television. Anyone that knows me or has read this blog with any regularity over the last 2+ years knows that. I’ve written about how much I enjoy these programs, particularly those that involve a competition. And you know that I have absolutely no success when it comes to predicting a winner. I’ve only ever gotten one prediction correct in all my years of watching this genre of programming.

Right now my TiVo is chock full of season passes for reality programs. And the series run the gamut in program concepts: CBS’ Survivor: Fans vs. Favorites, NBC’s American Gladiators, Biggest Loser: Couples, and Celebrity Apprentice, CW’s Crowned: The Mother of All Pageants, Fox’s American Idol, Bravo’s Project Runway, MTV’s Gauntlet 3, and Oxygen’s the Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency. And soon to be added to my TiVo cues will be Big Brother 9, America’s Next Top Model Cycle 10, and Beauty and the Geek.

And for all of you other there wondering where I have the time to watch all of these programs – that’s the beauty for me about reality TV. I can turn it on, turn my attention to other tasks, and still know what is happening. Unlike an hour long drama that requires all of my attention, reality programs are good for entertainment but also allow for multitasking.

Anyway, the point of this post has to do with a program that I’ve watched the last two week’s on Fox called the Moment of Truth. It has to be the most uncomfortable and destructive hour on TV, and I hate to say it but if this is what networks are now turning to due to the lack of scripted programming then I beg of someone to please settle the writer’s strike.

The Moment of Truth was developed from a hit reality show in Columbia called Nothing But the Truth. In this program the contestants, prior to the show taping, are connected to a polygraph and asked 50 questions on a variety of topics, some of which are more personal than others. Then in front of the studio audience 21 of these questions are again asked to see if the person is truthful, with family and friends looking on.

In order to demonstrate how destructive this program can be, only needs only to look at the Colombian version which was ordered to be taken off of the air. A contestant admitted to hiring a hitman to kill her husband and won the equivalent of $25,000 American dollars for telling the truth. But the questions that have been posed have the potential to destroy marriages, family and working relationships, and to develop a general level of mistrust in the live of the contestants.

Here are some examples:

In the first episode the first contestant was a former college football player who was asked if he ever looked at his teammates in the showers, to which he said yes he had. His wife did not seem pleased by that. In addition he was employed as a personal trainer and was asked if he had ever touched a female client more than he was required to. He said no and the polygraph showed that to be a lie. The contestant lost the money that he had won up to that point, but what ramifications could this have with his job?

The second contestant had some embarrassing admissions, such as a former male model he did admit to stuffing his underwear for a photo shoot. But then the show took a nasty turn and got him to admit that he was a gambling addict, that he had lied to his girlfriend about how much money he had lost, that he had stolen money from a job and let it be blamed on a coworker, and that he believed he could not be trusted with his friends’ money. The only saving grace for this guy was when his son came out and asked if he had ever gambled away his college fun, to which he said no and that was the truth. But again, what kind of an effect is this going to have on this man’s relationships with his family and on his psyche?

I implore the people at Fox to please pull this program. I implore the writers and the producers to come to an agreement so that they can get back to work and programs like this one don’t make it to air.

But that’s not likely to happen. In its first airing The Moment of Truth had 23 million viewers – one of the top premieres of the 2007-2008 TV season. I guess the question now is what does this high audience turnout say about Americans as TV viewers?

NBA Eligibility - Hurting the College Game?

2008-01-23T10:13:00.000-05:00

This past fall semester I taught a course that examined the role of sports in the media. One day I talked a bit about eligibility rules and what someone has to do to become a professional athlete. I found it interesting that the current rules for the NBA

states that in order to be eligible to play you must be 19 years old and one year removed from high school.

But then this got me to thinking if this is good for college basketball. What this means is that players, if they want to keep playing while waiting to be eligible, must play 1 year college basketball but then can leave and declare themselves eligible for the NBA draft. For some reason this didn’t sit to well with me.

Fast forward to today. As many of you know I am a three-peater from Indiana University. I received my B.A., my M.A., and my Ph.D. degrees from that great institution. During my time there I couldn’t help but be a huge basketball fan. I was there during the firing of Bobby Knight, the ups and downs of Mike Davis, from making the NCAA final to not even making the tournament, and the start of the Kelvin Sampson era. Even though I am only five months removed from living in Bloomington I’m still an avid follower of their men’s and women’s basketball teams.

This year the Hoosiers’ men’s team has one of the greatest line-ups in many, many years. Currently they have an overall record of 16-1 and are ranked 7^th on the Associate Press poll and 8^th on the ESPN/USA Today poll. This is thanks in part to the one-two punch of senior D.J. White and freshman Eric Gordon. And it is Gordon that got me thinking again about eligibility requirements for the NBA.

Eric Gordon is currently averaging 22.4 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. He is without a doubt one of the hottest freshmen in the college game today. But will he see a sophomore season?

Eric Gordon is good enough to enter the NBA draft after this college hoops season. I even believe that once he does so it is very likely that he will be snapped up by a pro team. But where does this leave the Hoosiers? After one year of success they are left to rebuild yet again.

Now it is the responsibility of the coaches to recruit the best possible players. (But don’t get me started on Sampson and recruiting due to his violations over the years.) But how can a coach cultivate a championship team if the best players are only putting their time in for one year while waiting to be eligible for the NBA? What does this do to the college game overall?

NBA Commissioner David J. Stern has said that it is best for these players to gain another year of maturity and another year of experience before coming to the NBA. Their only chance to really get this experience is the college game. But does it really benefit the players? The NBA? The college basketball programs? In my opinion the NBA needs to go one of two ways with this rule.

One option is to revert to the old rules what allow players join the league out of high school, in essence bypassing the college game and turning pro. This way college teams will not get invested in these players with the hopes that they will stick around for the long run but end up only get them for the short term. The only caveat is that the player must have completed high school.

The other option I believe that the NBA has is to follow the model of the WNBA. In order for a player to be eligible for the WNBA draft she must be either at least 21 years old or have completed her college eligibility. By waiting until they are 21 most players will have played basketball through their junior year. This allows coaches and teams to build year-to-year and make great runs at the NCAA championship. It isn’t the same as having players stay all four years, but I do believe that it is a better option than having them play only one year and leave.

Any thoughts?

Super Bowl XLII

2008-01-22T10:52:00.000-05:00

It's that time again. We are less than two weeks out from Super Bowl XLII.

Unsurprisingly the New England Patriots have made it to the big game, going undefeated on their road there. But I don't think many people would have predicted that they would be going up against the New York Giants in Phoenix.

I must admit that I'm rooting for the New York Giants, though they are a real long shot. It's not that I have anything against the Patriots, but I don't want to see a completely undefeated season. But I have no reason to believe that this game will go any better than the last time the met during week 17 of the regular season where New England won 38-35.

For Your Amusement

2008-01-18T09:21:00.000-05:00

I feel the need to post something to my blog, but unfortunately I've been quite busy and haven't had the opportunity to sit and write anything substanital. I'm preparing to teach three classes during this coming spring semester and it is sapping up more of my time than I ever realized it would.

So here's another video for your amusement. It's taken from the TV series Showdog Moms and Dads that aired on the Bravo TV network back in 2005. While the situation is not a happy one that is being shown, the woman's description of her dog's actions about 90 seconds into the clip are unreal. Enjoy!

Chocolate Rain

2008-01-14T19:25:00.000-05:00

Over the past few months I've become more and more of a YouTube junkie. I'm finding it a good source for video to use in teaching since so many commercials and clips from various TV programs end up on here. And I'm always looking for something to watch for a good laugh.

I've heard about this one video for months, but I never took the time to watch it. Now I hear that it has been viewed more than 13 million times. So I figured it was time to check it out.

It's the original song "Chocolate Rain" performed by Tay Zonday.

I don't understand it. What's the appeal? How come so many people viewed it? Or are they all like me, watching it and wondering why people like it? And did it really need the sequel, "Cherry Chocolate Rain"?

Blue Hen Mention

2008-01-11T10:00:00.000-05:00

On Wednesday night's the Daily Show with Jon Stewart the University of Delaware got a mention. See the clip below. And then take a look below that to see the huge poster Stewart is talking about. (Photo courtesy of the University of Delware website and was taken by Don Shenkle.)

Athlete of the Year

2007-12-27T13:33:00.000-05:00

Every year the Associated Press names a male and female athlete of the year. And every year the male athlete gets a lot of media coverage but the female athlete barely gets a mention.

This year’s male athlete of the year definitely deserves all the accolades heaped on him. Tom Brady is on track to lead the New England Patriots to an undefeated 16-0 season, a feat unmatched in regular season play. Only the Miami Dolphins have gone undefeated, but their 17-0 season included 14 regular season games, 2 playoff games, and winning the Super Bowl. Tom Brady definitely deserves this honor this year.

But I want to focus on the female player of the year. Lorena Ochoa is the future of professional women’s golf. 2007 marked her most successful year on the tour to date. This year she won her first Major, the British Open, and seven other events. Ochoa replaced Annika Sorenstam as the top rated player in the women’s game. And she was the first female golfer to ever top four million dollars in prize money in a single season. This is the second year in a row that she was named athlete of the year. And she’s only 26 years old.

Lorena Ochoa has endless potential. While Sorenstam is often credited as the best women’s golfer ever, Ochoa could match or even surpass her achievements. She shows all signs that 2008 will be just a successful as, if not better than, her 2007 season.

Merry Christmas

2007-12-25T08:21:00.000-05:00

Hopefully you found everything you wanted under your Christmas tree!

Hilarious Holidays

2007-12-14T17:40:00.000-05:00

My TiVo was predicted last night that I would enjoy watching the Saturday Night Live Christmas Special, so the TiVo recorded it. In watching it today it reminded me of what I believe is one of the funniest sketches they ever featured. I found it on YouTube and thought I'd post it here. Hopefully you'll enjoy it as much as me!

The sketch is called "Schweaty Balls" and is not for all audiences. Viewer discretion is advised.

Another Family Addition

2007-12-08T08:53:00.000-05:00

My sister Lisa gave birth to a healthy, 8 pound 13 ounce boy this week. My newest nephew is Patrick Michael McGuin.

Take a look at the photo of Patrick with his brother and sisters. It's just too cute to see them all together.

Finally!

2007-12-05T20:31:00.000-05:00

As some of my friends know, and as some who come here know, one of my goals with this blog was to get hits from all fifty states and Washington D.C.

For the longest time I just could not get a hit from Mississippi. I have been at 49 states and Washington D.C. since the beginning of September. But today I got that hit. I’ve now had people in all of the U.S. actually read my blog.

And it’s worth noting that since last September I’ve also had hits from all over the world. Since September I’ve had hits from Iran, Kuwait, Myanmar, and El Salvador. I’m very happy to have an international audience!

Hilarious Viral Video

2007-11-30T23:03:00.000-05:00

I was reading tonight and came across a list of hilarious viral videos. One in particular caught my eye and I had to go straight to YouTube to find it. I nearly fell over laughing while I was watching it. Enjoy!

NBC Remake from the Early 1990s

2007-11-28T10:41:00.000-05:00

I'm almost ashamed to admit it, but I'm actually excited about the return of what I consider a classic TV show. NBC has announced that starting January 6, 2007 we will see the return of the American Gladiators.

OK. I admit that the program is very cheesy. Muscle bound men and women in odd events challenging everyday people in an effort to win some money. But the original was quite fun to watch. Some of the events were fun to watch and everyone that watched had their favorite Gladiators.

Personally, I remember that I thoroughly enjoyed SkyTrak and the Pyramid and my favorite Gladiators were Siren and Viper.

The new version will be hosted by Hulk Hogan and Laila Ali. I just hope that I'm not disappointed.

Product Integration

2007-11-28T09:03:00.000-05:00

One of the smartest sitcoms currently on the air is 30 Rock. It is well written, well acted, and is the one sitcom out there that consistently makes me laugh every time I see it. I just hope that more viewers find it and that it can survive the current writer's strike.

30 Rock has over the past season and a half made many jokes about product integration and placement in television programming. They've talked extensively about GE, as it is the parent company of NBC, and in one episode referred many times to Snapple.

But in a recent episode there was a brief exchange between the characters played by Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin about how great a Verizon cell phone is. Then Tina looked straight into the camera and asked for their money. It was hilarious. I thought it was just a gag, but as it turned out Verizon did actually pay for this product mention. Take a look at this brief clip. It's great.

Happy Thanksgiving

2007-11-22T11:28:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving wherever they are!

YouTube's Mesmerizing Tina

2007-11-14T16:13:00.000-05:00

I know. Two posts in one day. I can't remember the last time I did that.

Anyway, today I was sent a link to the video below on YouTube. The person that sent it to me found it on PerezHilton.com.

I find this girl's video a little odd, yet it was mesmerizing. I couldn't help but watch it all the way through. I guess I should look up Tina's YouTube channel and see what else she has posted. I find the fact that this young girl, who seems to have some sort of a disability (my guess is possibly some hearing loss based on how she speaks), has the courage to post her videos pretty enlightening. But by putting herself out there like this she has started to get some very negative comments to her posts. And Perez Hilton himself is ridiculing her.

But it leaves me wondering if this really is what YouTube was intended for. Or is this just an unfortunate result of the technology and the web site being available to anyone.

Silly Kitty

2007-11-14T14:06:00.000-05:00

Today I was searching through Google Images for picture of people watching TV to use in my lecture tomorrow. One picture that I came across made me laugh out loud.

And I do think that I could teach my cat to do this. He's already a TV watcher. I guess all I need to teach him is how to get his beer out of the fridge and how to open it.

What's the Fair Decision?

2007-11-12T12:16:00.000-05:00

In my sports and media class I try to bring some current sports news stories in to each class meeting. One of the biggest stories this semester was Marion Jones admitting to doping before the 2000 Summer Olympics and giving back her medals.

But what about her relay teammates who competed cleanly? Is it fair to ask them to return their medals as well?

This has been a topic of discussion in my class. One of my students even wrote a recent paper about it. And I still don’t have an answer. I would say that they should give up their medals because, due to Jones’ cheating, they no longer have the winning time. But can the Olympics and those that govern track and field really take their medal away since it wasn’t them who cheated? It truly is a sticky situation.

See this CNN interview with Passion Richardson, one of Jones’ teammates who does not want to give her medal back.

Gratuitous Violence

2007-11-09T09:42:00.000-05:00

I've been extremely busy as of late. Between teaching my classes, grading, and interviewing for a job this blog has suffered.

Even today I don't have much time to put together an entry. But there is something that I've been thinking about over the last two days, particularly for my class on sports and media.

What is sports violence, especially violence in a predetermined sport such as professional wrestling, teaching the audience that such programming targets?

In preparing for my class yesterday I came across the clip below on YouTube from a WWE broadcast. What do you think? What kind of impressions or affects do you think it leaves with the legions of young male fans that comprise a large portion of the WWE's audience?

I Want My Big Ten Sports

2007-10-29T11:11:00.000-04:00

I recently wrote some of my thoughts about the standoff between Comcast and the Big Ten Network about bringing the network to the largest cable provider in the United States.

As a Comcast subscriber I truly feel like I'm missing out on some of the best games the league has to offer, and as a three-time Indiana University graduate I am truly sorry that I haven't been able to watch IU football on TV this season.

I took the time to contact Comcast about the situation, asking if they will ever pick up the network. Here is their response.

Thank you for sharing your opinion with us. We too are fans of Big Ten schools and college sports.

We want to bring The Big Ten Network to you and other fans of Big Ten schools in a way that is fair to all of our customers. We’ve offered to make the network available on our digital sports tier within Big Ten markets (and as a subscription service for customers outside of the Big Ten eight-state region), so that fans of Big Ten schools can watch the games without burdening all of our customers with the Big Ten’s costly fees – which amount to a $13 “Big Ten Tax.” Unfortunately, the Big Ten is insisting that all consumers subsidize the network – whether they want to watch it, or not – and will not allow us to offer it to the fans who want it most like you. That’s just not fair.

On behalf of all of our customers, we will continue to work to reach a fair agreement that would let us begin carrying the network for you this fall.

First, this is obviously a canned response. But I can't expect a personalized response from a big corporation, can I?

But I hope to get one because as soon as I got this response I had to send them another e-mail.

I first don't like the characterization as it being a tax. That is ridiculous. Is part of what I pay every month a CNN tax or an ESPN tax? No, it obviously is not. This is just language used to inflame some subscribers.

But what I really have a problem with is the idea that we are "subsidizing" the Big Ten Network, including those who would be paying for it but not watching it. Don't all cable and satellite subscribers do this? I'm sorry but I don't watch the Style Network, A&E, or the Disney Channel yet I pay for them in my basic cable service. Am I subsidizing them as well?

I think it's time for Comcast to settle this dispute with the Big Ten Network and finally bring the network to their subscribers that want it. Otherwise all they are doing is punishing us.

Halloween is Coming

2007-10-26T10:28:00.000-04:00

Next week is Halloween. A time for ghost, goblins, and some of the campiest entertainment out there.

If you get a chance, check out a midnight showing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show. It's unlike anything you'll ever do.

He is one of the iconic film's most famous songs - Time Warp.

Classic Calvin & Hobbes

2007-10-25T09:34:00.000-04:00

I've been so busy as of late. My stress level has been pretty high. Teaching and being on the job market can take a lot out of a person. But then I ran across this classic Calvin & Hobbes comic strip today. It made me laugh out loud, and I hope it makes someone else's day a little happier too.

One New Series Officially Over

2007-10-19T09:19:00.000-04:00

We now have our first official cancellation of the 2007-2008 television season.

I recently posted that Fox had pulled the reality drama Nashville, but it was not officially cancelled. Fox is still saying that Nashville will be coming back sometime this season.

So, the honor of first cancellation of the new season goes to the CW’s Online Nation. This program, from it's first week, could barely get one million viewers. That spelled death for it from the beginning.

Maybe it’s me, but if we want to see videos from online sites such as YouTube, won’t we go to YouTube? What’s the extra appeal of seeing them on television?

But some congratulations should go out to some freshman series that have received full season episode orders. These are definitely the shows to look out for since they appear to be succeeding. Shows that will definitely be with us until at least next May are the CW’s Gossip Girl, ABC’s Private Practice, and CBS’ The Big Bang Theory.

Go see NASCAR, Get a Disease?

2007-10-13T14:01:00.000-04:00

I freely admit that I know very little about NASCAR. It may be the sport that currently has the second largest fanbase in the United States, but you can’t count me among them.

But I read a news story this morning that had to deal with NASCAR that I just knew I had to write about.

Democratic Representative Bennie Thompson from the state of Mississippi recently advised staffers that had attended a recent race at the Talladega Superspeedway and were planning on attending a Nextel Cup race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway that they should be vaccinated before going. Vaccinated for what you might ask? To protect them from Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Influenza.

Now I understand that when you get any large group together that there is a possibility of illness being spread. But vaccinations?

What does this government official from the state of Mississippi really think of NASCAR races? He must believe that they are just breeding grounds for viruses that are easily spread by the dirty and sick people that attend them.

What a horrible opinion.

Finally Something Funny

2007-10-08T10:28:00.000-04:00

I have been a long time fan of Saturday Night Live. When the show and its writers are churning out good stuff the show is hilarious. But I must admit that so far this season I've found nearly all of it pretty lame. I sat through the premiere episode with host LeBron James and found virtually nothing funny in the entire episode.

This week's episode was hosted by Seth Rogan. I sat through the first half of the episode and again didn't laugh. It wasn't until Weekend Update hit that this aired.

I think this sums up a lot of what many of us were thinking when it came to Senator Craig's recent exploits in an airport bathroom.

I also have to say that the last sketch of the show was funny too, but very racy and kind of gross. Too bad that's not up on YouTube yet.

A Long Time Coming

2007-10-01T10:26:00.000-04:00

I arrived to Indiana in 1997, but didn't start paying attention to their football team until I became an undergraduate student in 1998. Unfortunately they've never been a very good team during that time, though some years are better than others. And they seem to be on an upswing.

But today is the first time that I remember ever seeing them get a vote in any poll. Granted it's only 1 vote, but the Hoosiers did get a vote in the USA Today poll. Now if they keep winning maybe they'll actually get a Bowl Bid this year or actually get ranked. Now that would be historic!

First Once Bites the Dust

2007-09-26T10:56:00.000-04:00

It didn’t take long. While just a few shows have been on for approximately two weeks, for most series we are only in the first official week of the new television season. Some series aren’t even debuting until October.

And we now have our first casualty.

After to airings to dismal ratings FOX’s Nashville has been pulled. This reality-soap, in the same vein as Laguna Beach and the Hills, just didn’t earn enough of an audience on Friday nights to warrant a longer run.

The network has said that Nashville will return at a later time. But that will be to just burn off old episodes. But that’s the end of it. Once pulled like this it’s 99% sure that Nashville is heading to official cancellation.

Big Ten vs. Comcast

2007-09-14T09:42:00.000-04:00

Last winter I wrote about the Big Ten Network, and how it appeared at the time ESPN was dealing with losing some of the broadcast rights to various events. (To read that post, click here.) But now another controversy has exploded with the Big Ten Network and Comcast, the nation’s largest cable service provider.

The Big Ten Network premiered on August 30th. But it still hasn’t received clearance onto Comcast. The two sides are disagreeing on where to place the channel in Comcast’s cable service. The Big Ten Network would like to see their channel placed on basic or expanded basic cable, so that the largest number of subscribers possible would have access. Comcast would like to place the network onto an upper-tier sports package so that only those cable subscribers that purchase that package can see it. And neither side will budge. Comcast says that the reason for this placement is so that subscribers that don’t want to pay for this network won’t have to.

The fees that cable providers pay to networks are an interesting phenomenon. Your cable service provider pays a fee to each and every cable network to be able to have it on their service. It could be as little as a few cents or as much as a couple of dollars per cable subscriber. The more popular the network the more they are able to charge because there is demand for it. I’m certain that networks such as MTV, ESPN, and CNN charge much higher fees per subscriber than do the American Life Network, Logo, or the National Geographic Channel. However, as the channels gain popularity they can increase how much they charge the service providers.

Though I can not find any precise numbers, my guess is one of the sticking points between the two sides is how much the Big Ten Network is asking for. They believe that they have a guaranteed audience and are probably asking for more per subscriber than the typical upstart cable network. Comcast isn’t willing to pay that amount for every subscriber they have, so they want to place it on an upper-tier channel so that they only have to pay the Big Ten Network for every subscriber that purchases that package of channels.

But it’s gotten ugly. Now that I live in Delaware I have Comcast digital cable. And I’ve started to see advertisements from Comcast about the situation. And they are taking the tone of negative political advertising. Take a look at this commercial that I was able to find on YouTube.

Wow. I couldn’t believe it when I saw it. I’m sure we’ll see similar imagery this winter and spring, after the presidential primaries, when the political advertisements for the candidates running for president start.

But the problem is that Comcast is leaving something out. They may be featuring “thousands of hours” of Big Ten sports, but there are thousands more that will be on the Big Ten Network that we won’t see. When you’re talking football you will see powerhouses such as Ohio State in your programming, but how likely are you to see an Indiana University game? Not likely unless they’re playing a powerhouse. And what about basketball? There are so many games played each season, and a majority of those will not be seen by those who are serviced by the nation’s largest cable provider. Games that used to be broadcast by ESPN Plus and therefore on local stations will not be there this year. Homes in Indiana will not be able to see home IU basketball games on their TVs. And what about some of the sports that the major networks never air, like swimming and softball? Shouldn’t they have a platform too?

I’m not sure what the solution is. If the Big Ten Network drops their fees, then maybe Comcast will place it so that everyone can have access to it. Or if Comcast won’t budge then the Big Ten Network will have to accept the fact that only special subscribers can see their programming.

All I know is that here in Delaware I could have seen IU football’s season opener thanks to this network, but my cable service provider couldn’t come to terms and therefore I missed out. And I’m sure I’m not the only one.

Let the Bidding Begin

2007-09-13T10:18:00.000-04:00

This semester I am teaching a course about Sports and the Media. We will spend a couple of days covering one of my favorite topics, the Olympics.

Very recently the International Olympic Committee announced Sochi, Russia as the host city for the 2014 Winter Games. But now they must turn their attention to the bidding process for the 2016 Summer Games. It is a long process, and a final decision will not be reached until October 2, 2009 at the IOC's meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Right now it appears that there are seven cities that are definitely preparing to submit their bids. (Monterrey, Mexico would have made eight, but the Mexican National Olympic Committee rejected their proposal just yesterday.) Today is the final day for these bids to be submitted.

As it stands right now, the cities definitely vying for the 2016 Olympic Games are:

Baku, Azerbaijan

Chicago, USA

Doha, Qatar

Madrid, Spain

Prague, Czech Republic

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Tokyo, Japan

It will be an interesting race to see which city secures the right to host the games. And it’s hard to make the call at this point. All of these locations have advantages and disadvantages, which will become apparent as the process progresses.

One factor that could influence where the Games will be held is where the Games before it were held. Here’s a list of recent and future host cities.

2004 Summer Games – Athens, Greece

2006 Winter Games – Torino, Italy

2008 Summer Games – Beijing, China

2010 Winter Games – Vancouver, Canada

2012 Summer Games – London, England

2014 Winter Games – Sochi, Russia

I believe having the 2012 games in London will have an impact on Madrid and Prague’s bids. And while the U.S. hasn’t held a Games since the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, I am not certain that Chicago was the best choice for the U.S. bid.

I believe that, just on face value without knowing much about what their bids look like, the cities with the best chances are Baku, Doha, and Rio de Janeiro. All three are in areas of the world that have never hosted an Olympics before, which the IOC may see as a plus. My money at this point is on Doha. I believe that Qatar is building the infrastructure necessary to host major sporting events such as this one and can be an effective host.

One To Go

2007-09-08T08:51:00.000-04:00

Anyone who has come to this site over the past couple of months knows that I've been trying to get blog hits from all 50 states and Washington D.C. And I've nearly succeeded.

Since the last time I posted about this topic I had someone come to my blog from Nevada looking for information about the upcoming season of Law & Order.

That now leaves me with Mississippi. I wonder what I could post that could get someone who lives there to visit this blog. Anyone have a suggestion?

And once I conquer the U.S. it's on to the world. I'm already at 55 countries and counting, thanks to the recent hit from the island nation of Mauritius.

A Walk Down Memory Lane Through Cartoons

2007-09-05T09:15:00.000-04:00

I was searching for some video this weekend on YouTube. Specifically I was looking for propaganda cartoons from World War I or World War II. I found some interesting ones from World War II featuring Daffy Duck and Superman. (Click on the character and you can see what I found.) But I also found a piece of video that made me feel very nostalgic.

I’m 33 years old, soon to be 34, and am very much a child of the 80s. I love 80s music, have a lot of favorite movies from the 80s, and miss a lot of the TV programs that aired during the 80s. I especially miss the cartoons of that era. From widely popular shows G.I. Joe, Pac-Man, Thundercats, and He-Man and the Masters of the Universe to the lesser known cartoons like Danger Mouse, M.A.S.K., Jem, and Captain Planet and the Planeteers, I loved nearly every one that I saw. So imagine my surprise when in my YouTube search I found that someone had placed a variety of video montages featuring back-to-back-to-back opening sequences of 1980s cartoon series. I was in heaven over this find and have watched it more than once. And imagine my surprise when I rediscovered a few shows that I had forgotten about and even a couple that I never have seen before.

I now want to share these videos with you, and hope you find some of the same enjoyment that I did. And I also hope you agree that the just don’t make great cartoons for kids like this anymore.

Belated Anniversary

2007-09-05T08:41:00.000-04:00

I can’t believe I let an anniversary go by. August 28th marked the two year mark for this blog.

Then again, August 28th was also my first day of teaching here at the University of Delaware. So I guess it’s not surprising that I let that slip my mind.

Thanks to everyone who comes here regularly. (I may not know exactly who you are, but I do know where you are.) And I’m sorry to those who are disappointed that I don’t post more.

Simply Hilarious

2007-08-26T14:58:00.000-04:00

My friend Sam Bradley shared the video below with me. It's simply hilarious.

This clip from the Miss Teen USA pageant shows how ill prepared Miss South Carolina is for the question and answer portion of the event. Instead of asking her why she thinks 1/5 of Americans can't find the U.S. on a map maybe they should have asked her why she thinks the South Carolina educational system left her ill prepared to use the English language.

Another State Down

2007-08-17T15:48:00.000-04:00

No too long ago I was begging for blog hits on here. At that time I had received hits to my blog from 46 of the states in the U.S. with only Mississippi, Nevada, Wyoming and Nevada never visiting.

Soon after a kind reader in Wymoing visited a few times.

And now I can report that someone in Alaska came across my blog when searching for the TV CBS program Cold Case and it's upcoming season. (Though I've never written specifically about this show, it did get a mention in my posts about CBS' upcoming season.)

That leaves me with just Mississippi and Nevada. Looks like I may be combing some of their local news sites in a ploy to write about topics of local interest.

Please Stop the Ringing

2007-08-17T15:39:00.000-04:00

I’ve now been in Delaware for just over two weeks. I’m getting settled in and starting to enjoy my time and my job.

But I’ve got to tell you something that I’m sure some of you know: Comcast is the devil. Some may say that this is an overstatement, but listen to my story.

Here in Newark the cable television provider is Comcast. Soon after moving to my apartment I called Comcast asking about pricing for both cable and Internet service. At the time I was not looking for a land line telephone. I recently signed a new contract with Verizon that actually was a better deal overall than getting a telephone in my home.

But when I called Comcast they told me about their Triple Play package, which gets my cable, Internet, and phone for one price. Getting all three services in this package was actually cheaper for me than going for just the cable and Internet. So I figured why not. I’ll only use the phone for emergencies, but keep my cell phone as my primary phone number.

I had everything installed on Saturday, August 4. Everything was great and all the services were working fine.

Then it started on Wednesday, August 8. My phone from Comcast started ringing. It was a phone solicitor for some magazine distributor. I could have written it off as the salesman just having my number on a list, but they also knew my name.

I had only given my number to one friend at that point. I knew that it had to be Comcast that had set up my number and then immediately sold my information off to a variety of companies.

I’ve now gotten solicitation phone calls every day. At all times of the day, from 8am until 7pm. People are trying to get me to refinance my home (though I live in an apartment), subscribe to the Philadelphia Inquirer, have someone come in to test the purity of my water, and I’m sure a multitude of other things that I don’t know about since I no longer answer if the call waiting says that it’s a blocked number. It’s ridiculous.

I know that they don’t have to, but it sure would be nice if Comcast had asked my permission before selling my personal information off to the highest bidders.

My next stop on the Internet-the National Do Not Call Registry.

Funny Phobias

2007-08-10T10:15:00.000-04:00

I've posted some of these before, but I think that they're worth a second look. It's sad that these people have these phobias; these fears seem so strange. And I can't help but laugh a little when I see them, particularly their reactions when they face their fears, but leave it to Maury to show such phobias like these.

The Beginning

2007-08-05T19:41:00.001-04:00

Today is my first full day on my own in my new apartment in Newark, Delaware. While scared about coming here, in many ways I’m excited now that I’m here. I can’t wait to start teaching, and I can’t wait to get back to some research. This really is an excellent opportunity for me.

Now if I can just get over this flu bug that I seemed to pick up today.

That's Doctor to You!

2007-07-28T17:12:00.000-04:00

Has it really been two weeks since I last posted to my blog? It sure doesn’t seem like it. But the last two weeks have been so hectic and busy; it makes sense why I let it get away from me.

On July 17th I successfully defended my dissertation. It was a grueling 2 ½ hours, but it was an experience I’ll never forget. But it didn’t end there.

For the last 10 days I’ve been working on revisions. I had to basically rewrite two entire chapters. But my dissertation benefited from every rewrite. It really is a much better document now.

Yesterday I turned in all the required paperwork to the University Graduate School here at IU. Today I uploaded a pdf version of my dissertation. And now I’m done. It’s now 100% official. I have a Ph.D. and I am now Dr. Angelini.

And none too soon, I might add. After spending the last 10 years here in beautiful Bloomington, Indiana I am off to Newark, Delaware on Tuesday. I start my new job in the Department of Communication at the University of Delaware this fall. It’s a scary yet exciting time. I’m leaving behind so many great people and great memories, and I can only hope that my future in Newark holds much of the same.

One State Down, Three to Go

2007-07-14T13:46:00.000-04:00

Thanks to the reader from Cheyenne, Wyoming for visiting my blog.

That leaves Mississippi, Alaska and Nevada. Come on and visit. You don't want to be the last state!

Begging for Blog Hits

2007-07-06T12:48:00.000-04:00

For those of you that don’t know, I’m tracking your being here. If you notice at the very bottom of this page you’ll see an item that says “Tracked for free by statcounter.com.”

I only started using this because I was getting replies for individuals referring to me as Jimmy. Only my family calls me Jimmy, and I was wondering who it could be.

I’ve been keeping a list of the states within the United States that have visited my blog as well as the various countries. Within the last 24 hours I’ve had hits from as close as Indianapolis and from far away as Russia and Thialand. (Can my reader in Moskva in the Russian Federation tell me why you were so interested in the upcoming ABC fall line-up?)

But now it has become a small obsession of mine.

My obsession is this: I want hits from all 50 states and Washington, DC. I’m so close. I’ve been waiting for the past two months on four hold-outs.

I’m hoping that by mentioning those states here maybe someone will accidentally land on my blog by doing a search for their state.

Hopefully I can get hits from Alaska, Mississippi, Nevada and Wyoming by making this plea. Once I get hits from these four, this quest will be complete.

2014 News

2007-07-04T22:04:00.000-04:00

Did you know that the host cities for the Olympic Games are named seven years in advance?

That’s right. The upcoming 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, China was announced back in 2001.

Why bring this up? Because today the International Olympic Committee announced the host city for the 2014 Winter Games.

The three finalists were PyeongChang, Korea, Salzburg, Austria, and Sochi, Russia. Voting took place today at the IOC’s annual meeting, this year held in Guatemala City.

After the first round of voting no one city had the necessary number of votes, which in this case would be 51. However, PyeongChang received 36 votes, Sochi received 34, and Salzburg received 25. Salzburg was eliminated.

In the second and last round of voting a winning city was crowned. Sochi earned 51 votes while PyeongChang received 47.

With today’s win, here is the schedule for the upcoming Olympic Games:

Summer Olympics, August 8-24, 2008 in Beijing, China
Winter Olympics, February 12-28, 2010 in Vancouver, Canada
Summer Olympics, July 27-August 12, 2012 in London, England
Winter Olympics, 2014 in Sochi, Russia

See you in Beijing in 400 days.

ESPYs

2007-07-03T14:46:00.000-04:00

We are now two weeks away from the ESPY awards. (Wow. There are award shows for everything!)

Seeing as how my research has focused on gender and sports, I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge the female athletes that have been nominated this year. So many male athletes get recognition all year long, yet mentions of female athletes happen much more infrequently. Hence, my mentioning of them here. Good luck to all the nominees.

Best Female Athlete of the Year

Lisa Leslie: Center, Los Angeles Sparks
Leslie became the first player ever to reach 5,000 points in her WNBA career. In addition she is only the second player to be a three time WNBA MVP.

Taryne Mowatt: Pitcher, University of Arizona Softball
Mowatt pitched every inning on Arizona’s road to the NCAA softball championship. She pitched eight complete games during the championships, over six days, consisting of over 1,000 pitches.

Lorena Ochoa: Pro Golfer, LPGA #1 Ranked Player
She was named 1996’s LPGA Player of the Year, with the fourth lowest average score per round ever for the LPGA. She posted six season wins, and earned nearly $2.5 million in prize money.

Candace Parker: Forward-Center-Guard, University of Tennessee Basketball
Parker was named the women’s NCAA player of the year. She led her team to a national championship while earning an NCAA Final Four MVP for herself.

Best Team

University of Tennessee Women’s Basketball
Earned the school’s seventh championship in women’s basketball and went 34-4 on the season.

Best Championship Performance

Serena Williams: Tennis Pro
Williams entered the 2007 Australian Open unseeded and went on to defeat five players ranked in the top 20 to win the championship.

Beat Breakthrough Athlete

Morgan Pressel: Pro Golfer
At 18 years old Pressel became the youngest woman to ever win an LPGA major championship by winning the 2007 Kraft Nabisco.

Best Coach/Manager

Pat Summitt: Coach, University of Tennessee Women’s Basketball
Summitt is the all time winningest coach in all of college basketball (men’s or women’s) and led her team to a seventh NCAA title.

Beat Upset

Rutgers vs. Duke, Women’s NCAA Basketball Tournament
Rutgers, seeded fourth, was a major underdog when facing number one seeded Duke. Rutgers won a hard fought game by a score of 53-52, taking themselves into the tournament’s Elite Eight.

Best International Female Athlete

Justine Henin: Tennis Pro
Henin is the number one ranked women’s tennis player in the world, having won last year’s French Open and appearing in the finals for the three other Grand Slam events.

Lorena Ochoa: Pro Golfer, LPGA #1 Ranked Player

Maria Sharapova: Tenis Pro
Sharapova was ranked number two in the world of women’s tennis, having won the 2006 U.S. Open at age 19.

Annika Sorenstam: Golf Pro
Annika is thought of as the best player ever in women’s golf. She had 16 top ten finishes in 2006 and is the first female golfer to reach 20 million in career earnings.

Best WNBA Player

Tamika Catchings: Forward, Indiana Fever
Catchings was named the 2006 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year.

Lauren Jackson: Forward-Center, Seattle Storm
Jackson finished the 2006 season as 2nd in field goal percentages, 4th in scoring, and 5th in rebounding.

Lisa Leslie: Center, Los Angeles Sparks

Diana Taurasi: Guard, Phoenix Mercury
Taurasi finished 2006 first in scoring, 5th in assists, and 8th in 3-point shooting.

Best Golfer

Lorena Ochoa: LPGA #1 Ranked Player

Best Female Tennis Player

Justine Henin

Jelena Jankovic
Jankovic finished 2006 ranked twelfth in the world, and is currently the world #3. In addition, in 2006 she made the semi-finals of the U.S. Open and the French Open.

Maria Sharapova

Serena Williams

Best Female College Athlete

Monica Abbott: Softball, University of Tennessee
Abbott led her team to the College World Series in 2007. In addition, during that season, she broke the records for career strikeouts, wins, shutouts, and game appearances.

Kerri Hanks: Soccer, Notre Dame
Hanks is only the 11th player to score at least 20 goals and to make at least 20 assists in a single season. In addition, she is the first player since Mia Hamm to lead the NCAA Division I women’s soccer in goals and assists in the same season.

Kara Lynn Joyce: Swimming, University of Georgia
Joyce won the 50 and 100 meter races at the NCAA championships, making her the first to ever win titles in two events for four consecutive years.

Taryne Mowatt: Softball, University of Arizona

Candace Parker: Basketball, University of Tennessee

Best Female Action Sports Athlete

Jamie Anderson: pro snowboarder
Anderson won events at Winter X and the U.S. Open.

Layne Beachley: pro surfer
Beachley won her seventh pro surfing title.

Torah Bright: pro snowboarder
Bright is the World Superpipe Champion and won a gold medal at Winter X.

Sarah Burke: pro skier
Burke won events at Winter X and the U.S. Open.

Elissa Steamer: pro skateboarder
Steamer won gold at X Games 12.

Best Female Athlete with a Disability

Jessica Long: paralympic swimmer
Long has eighteen world record performances in 2006 as well as won nine gold medals at the International Paralympic Committee Swimming World Championships.

Esther Vergeer: wheelchair tennis
Vergeer finished as world champion in 2006 for the 7th consecutive year. She has won 236 straight matches.

Stephani Victor: alpine skier
Victor has fourteen World Cup victories and won gold at the Paralymic Games.

Amy Palmiero-Winters: marathon/triathlon
Palmiero-Winters holds the work record in both the marathon and the triathlon for female amputees.

Best Outdoor Athlete

Samantha Larson: mountaineer
At 18 Larson is believed to be the youngest to have climbed the “seven summits” and did so by climbing Mount Everest in May.

Best Track and Field Athlete

Allyson Felix: 200 meters
Felix set the 2006 World Athletics Final meet record in the women’s 200m.

Sanya Richards: 400 meters
Richards won the 2006 Jesse Owens award and broke the American record for the women’s 400m.

Under Armour Undeniable Award
Best Women’s Collegiate Team

University of Arizona, Softball
Won the NCAA championship after winning through the loser’s bracket. This was their second straight championship.

University of Nebraska, Volleyball
Finished the season 33-1 and won the NCAA championship.

University of North Carolina, Soccer
Finished the season 27-1 and won the NCAA championship.

Northwestern University, Lacrosse
Finished the season 22-1 and won their 3rd consecutive NCAA championship.

University of Tennessee, Basketball

University of Wisconsin, Ice Hockey
Broke or tied six NCAA single-season team records.

Hummer Like Nothing Else Award

Diana Taurasi: Guard, Phoenix Mercury

So You Think You Can Dance-Season 3

2007-06-24T07:41:00.000-04:00

I recently wrote about how I was a fan of Fox’s smash summer reality program So You Think You Can Dance. As it turns out, this season has not disappointed.

The second week of the finals just completed, and I definitely have two favorite couples. They wowed me the first week with original and beautifully choreographed routines. Fortunately the producers of the program have not asked You Tube to remove their dances, so I thought I’d share them in hopes to bring others to the audience of this interesting competition.

First up is Kameron and Lacey. Kameron is a hip/hop contemporary dancer while Lacey has expertise in West Coast Swing, and is the sister of last season’s grand champion Benji. In the first week they danced a sensual contemporary number, which truly showed how quickly they were able to develop chemistry between themselves.

My other favorites are Jesus and Sara. Jesus is a salsa and lyrical dancer while Sara is a b-girl. That’s what made this performance from week one so great. As a breakdancer Sara had never performed with a partner. This dance was categorized as pop jazz, which is a genre I had never heard of. This dance was quirky and a bit strange, but mesmerizing at the same time. This was nearly topped in week two when they danced the Paso Doble; Jesus was awesome and Sara showed how she could adapt to any style, while wearing high heel shoes for the first time.

If you haven’t taken the time to watch this show, I strongly suggest you should. At the very least set your TiVo for it. You won’t be sorry.

It's Official

2007-06-21T08:57:00.000-04:00

I have set the date for my dissertation defense. It's going to be on Tuesday, July 17th at 1pm.

I know it's official now because it has been announced on IU's Graduate School's web page.

There's no turning back now!

Saved!

2007-06-06T20:15:00.000-04:00

For once the television networks have listened to their viewers.

After a massive fan campaign over the past month, CBS has agreed to renew Jericho for a shortened, seven episode season to begin airing at midseason of the 2007-2008 television season. CBS was inundated with phone calls, letters, and petitions. In addition, fans sent 25 tons of peanuts to CBS headquarters in an effort to show executives that the fans of Jericho weren't going to go away quietly. (The idea of the nuts came from a quote from the main character in the first season finale.)

Now the pressure is back on to the fans. Jericho needs a dependable audience. In order for Jericho to survive past this seven episode order viewers must tune in and be faithful to it.

And take it from me, if you tune in you will not be sorry!

Hillshire Farms

2007-06-02T12:34:00.000-04:00

I've noticed a new ad campaign from Hillshire Farms. They are currently promoting, and very heavily I might add, their line of luncheon and salad meats. Every commercial seems to have an element of cheerleading in it. They're difficult to describe, but make me laugh every time I see one. The original advertisement in the campaign is below. Hopefully others are enjoying these ads as much as I am.

So You Think You Can Dance?

2007-05-24T09:13:00.000-04:00

Yesterday marked the end of May Sweeps, which means today is the start of the summer television season.

Even though I leave today for the annual International Communication Association conference in San Francisco, I definitely have my TiVo set to record the premiere of a summer reality series. Now entering its third season, So You Think You Can Dance starts this evening showing some of its best and worst auditions.

Some may not think it a show worth checking out, but below are, in my opinion, the two best dances from last season. The first dance is contemporary (which is a style that, overall, I don’t quite understand) and the second is hip hop. Watch them and judge for yourself.

CW 2007-2008 Season Schedule

2007-05-17T15:30:00.000-04:00

Today the CW announced its 2nd ever fall slate. After last year’s merging of UPN and the WB, the CW has been working toward finding its own niche in the television marketplace.

After renewing many of the UPN and the WB programs last year, some didn’t make it to a second year on the CW. Reba, All of Us, 7th Heaven, Gilmore Girls, and Veronica Mars have all seen their demise during this television season.

The only first season success the CW has seen during the 2006-2007 season was The Game and Pussycat Dolls Present, which have been renewed.

In addition to the fall schedule CW has announced two new midseason series as well as the returns of One Tree Hill and Pussycat Dolls Present.

Here is the CW’s 2007-2008 fall schedule.

Mondays:

8pm-8:30pm Everybody Hates Chris

8:30pm-9pm Aliens in America

This sitcom follows 16-year-old Justin Tolchuk as he tries to make it through life in high school in Medora, Wisconsin. Adding to the challenge is his family’s taking in an exchange student: Raja Musharaff, a 16-year-old Pakistani Muslim. Justin and Raja become friends while trying to navigate high school together.

9pm-9:30pm Girlfriends

9:30pm-10pm The Game

Tuesdays:

8pm-9pm Beauty and the Geek

9pm-10pm Reaper

Sam has gone through his life wondering why his parents have been so easy on him while pressuring his little brother Keith to succeed. Sam ends up skipping college and becoming a slacker. But when he turns 21 he discovers why his parents went so easy on him: they sold his soul to the devil before he was born. In return, on his 21st birthday, Satan comes and informs Sam that he must now serve the rest of his life as Satan’s bounty hunter. His mission is to remove the souls of evil-doers from this world and sending them on to the next.

Wednesday:

8pm-9pm America’s Next Top Model

9pm-10pm Gossip Girl

Privileged prep school teens learn all of the important news in their lives from the blog of the all knowing Gossip Girl. The problem is that no one actually knows who the Gossip Girl is. Based on the popular series of books by Cecily von Ziegesar.

Thursdays:

8pm-9pm Smallville

9pm-10pm Supernatural

Fridays:

8pm-10pm Friday Night Smackdown

Sundays:

7pm-7:30pm CW Now

This program features informative and entertainment reports on the hottest fashions, coolest music, the must-see movies, and the must-have gadgets and technology for the CW generation.

7:30pm-8pm Online Nation

This program goes through the infinite number of websites, blogs, and user-generated materials on the Internet to find the best, the hottest, the unique, and the bizarre and presents it to the CW audience.

8pm-9pm Life is Wild

This drama follows the blended Clarke family when their veterinarian father moves them out of New York City to the Blue Antelope game reserve in South Africa. Everyone in the family is sure that dad has lost his mind. But the reasons are deeper than anyone in the family realizes; the Blue Antelope is owned by the recently deceased mother’s family.

9pm-10pm America’s Next Top Model encore

Coming Mid-Season:

Crowned: The Mother of All Pageants

In this reality series mother/daughter teams are pitted against each other in a no-holds barred beauty pageant. The team to ultimately be crowned will receive a prize package including $100,000 in cash and a pair of tiaras. Judged by Carson Kressley (Queer Eye for the Straight Guy) and Shanna Moakler (Dancing with the Stars).

Farmer Wants a Wife

In this comedic reality series, 10 women tired of the city life decide that they need a change. They compete for the love of a good looking farm boy. And incidentally, they are currently casting for the young farmer here in Indiana!

Fox 2007-2008 Season Schedule

2007-05-17T14:37:00.000-04:00

Today is the fourth and final day of the broadcast network upfronts. Today both Fox and the CW announced their schedules for the 2007-2008 season. Let’s take a look at Fox first.

Fox had very little success with their new series from the 2006-2007 season. Only the sitcom ‘Til Death and the game show Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? survived to a second season. Every other series that premiered during this season didn’t last very long.

Following the model that Fox has put forth the past couple of seasons, they have announced their schedule that will start this fall as well as their planned schedule for Spring 2008. Here’s a night-by-night look at the CBS schedule for the fall and spring season. Included are brief descriptions, partially taken from tvguide.com. All times listed are Eastern.

Fall 2007:

Mondays:

8pm-9pm Prison Break

9pm-10pm K-Ville

This drama follows the Felony Action Squad of the New Orleans Police Department. The police officers that still remain in a post-Katrina New Orleans was to reclaim and rebuild their city. New partners Marlin Boulet and Trevor Cobb must learn how to work together in order to keep New Orleans safe.

Tuesdays:

8pm-9pm New Amsterdam

This supernatural drama follows an immortal New York homicide detective who was born in 1642. John Amsterdam was a soldier in the colony of New Amsterdam, which later became New York. He stepped in front of a sword to save the life of a Native American girl during the massacre of her tribe, and in turn cast an ancient spell that gave John immortality. John will stay immortal until he finds his one true love. Everyone that John ever grows to love and care about dies and leaves him behind, which forces him into a life of loneliness. Only jazz club owner Omar knows John’s secret.

9pm-10pm House

Wednesdays:

8pm-8:30pm Back to You

This sitcom follows a local Pittsburgh news team. Chuck and Kelly were the most popular news team during the 1990s, but off screen they were like oil and water. When Chuck got the call up to a bigger market, he went happily. But after an on-air tirade Chuck is forced back to Pittsburgh and back to work with Kelly. Starring Kelsey Grammar (Frasier) and Patricia Heaton (Everybody Loves Raymond).

8:30pm-9pm ‘Til Death

9pm-10pm Bones

Thursdays:

8pm-9pm Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?

9pm-10pm Kitchen Nightmares

This reality show follows chef Gordon Ramsey (Hell’s Kitchen) as he goes into a different restaurant each week that is in danger of closing. Gordon has a week to make the restaurant a success, which may mean revamping the menu, changing the décor, or firing members of the staff.

Fridays:

8pm-9pm The Search for the Next Great American Band

From the producers of American Idol, the search begins for the next great undiscovered band. Bands from all musical genres will compete. Judges will whittle the competitors down to ten. Viewers will then have the opportunity to vote for their favorite band as they work toward winning a recording contract.

9pm-10pm Nashville

From the creators of MTV’s Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, this reality soap follows a group of young people as they try to make it big in Nashville’s music scene.

Saturdays:

8pm-8:30pm Cops

8:30pm-9pm Cops

9pm-10pm America’s Most Wanted: America Fights Back

Sundays:

7pm-8pm The OT (NFL post-game)

8pm-8:30pm The Simpsons

8:30pm-9pm King of the Hill

9pm-9:30pm Family Guy

9:30pm-10pm American Dad

Spring 2008:

Mondays:

8pm-9pm K-Ville (January)/Prison Break (Spring)

9pm-10pm 24

Tuesdays:

8pm-9pm American Idol

9pm-10pm House

Wednesdays (January):

8pm-8:30pm Back to You

8:30pm-9pm ‘Til Death

9pm-10pm American Idol

Wednesdays (Spring):

8pm-8:30pm Back to You

8:30pm-9pm The Return of Jezebel James

This sitcom follows two sisters who don’t get along but decide to move in together when one agrees to carry a baby for the other. Starring Parker Posey (For Your Consideration) and Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under).

9pm-9:30pm American Idol

9:30pm-10pm ‘Til Death

Thursdays:

8pm-9pm Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?

9pm-10pm Canterbury’s Law

This drama focuses on the courtroom exploits of a female defense attorney who will do whatever is necessary to protect those that are wrongfully accused. Elizabeth Canterbury puts herself and her career on the line in order to take on the unpopular cases. Elizabeth and her husband Matthew are plagued by the disappearance of their young son and have settled in Providence, Rhode Island in order to distance themselves from that tragedy. Starring Juliana Marguiles (ER).

Fridays:

8pm-9pm Bones

9pm-10pm New Amsterdam

Saturdays:

8pm-8:30pm Cops

8:30pm-9pm Cops

9pm-10pm America’s Most Wanted: America Fights Back

Sundays:

7pm-7:30pm King of the Hill

7:30pm-8pm American Dad

8pm-8:30pm The Simpsons

8:30pm-9pm Family Guy

9pm-10pm The Sarah Connor Chronicles

This drama follows the heroine of Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. This drama follows the end of Terminator 2 as Sarah and her teenage son John deal with the fact that they are fugitives from the law. They are constantly on guard due to the fact that they have enemies from both the present and the future that could strike at any moment.

CBS 2007-2008 Season Schedule

2007-05-16T11:58:00.000-04:00

Day 3 of the networks upfronts brings us CBS’ announcement of their 2007-2008 season schedule.

Being the number one rated network has its advantages. CBS cancelled very few of its programs from this past season. Cancelled was the freshman sitcom The Class, sophomore drama Close to Home, and long running comedy the King of Queens.

And CBS announced yesterday that it has cancelled freshman drama Jericho. This is one that upsets me the most. Jericho was smartly written, well acted, and very unique. CBS made some mistakes with it. It had two long hiatuses during the season. While such a tactic works for programs that have episodes that stand alone, serialized programs need to be treated differently. Particularly those programs that are in their first season need to avoid such a tactic. By taking too much time off a new program will struggle to keep its audience. If the episodes had run nearly sequentially I believe it would have fared much better.

CBS is premiering five new series in the fall, and has announced one drama for midseason. In addition, proven reality show The Amazing Race and sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine will return midseason. Here’s a night-by-night look at what the CBS schedule for next season has in store. Included are brief descriptions, partially taken from tvguide.com. All times listed are Eastern.

Mondays:

8pm-8:30pm How I Met Your Mother

8:30pm-9pm The Big Bang Theory

This sitcom focuses on Leonard and Sheldon, who are genius in quantum physics but are socially inept. They don’t fully understand romantic relationships, until their new neighbor Penny moves in. Leonard, Sheldon, and their group of friends begin to learn more about interpersonal relationships thanks to help from Penny.

9pm-9:30pm Two and a Half Men

9:30pm-10pm Rules of Engagement

10pm-11pm CSI: Miami

Tuesdays:

8pm-9pm NCIS

9pm-10pm The Unit

10pm-11pm Cane

This drama stars Jimmy Smits (NYPD Blue) about a Cuban-American family running a successful rum and sugar business in South Florida. The family patriarch must decide whether to keep the family business as is or if he should sell the sugar business and focus on the rum side. By selling he will please his son; by not selling he will be siding with his adoptive son. Also starring Nestor Carbonell (Lost) and Hector Elizondo (Chicago Hope).

Wednesdays:

8pm-9pm Kid Nation

In this reality program 40 kids between the ages of 8 and 15 will work together, without their parents, to rebuild a ghost town in Bonanza City, New Mexico. Their ultimate goal is to build a town that works. They will have 40 days in which they will cook their own meals, run their own businesses, and run the city government. Four city leaders will set all laws and bedtimes. At the end of every episode all kids will get together in a town hall meeting to discuss and debate the issues facing them. No one is eliminated, but if a child chooses to leave they only need to raise their hand during the town meeting and ask to go.

9pm-10pm Criminal Minds

10pm-11pm CSI: NY

Thursdays:

8pm-9pm Survivor

9pm-10pm CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

10pm-11pm Without a Trace

Fridays:

8pm-9pm Ghost Whisperer

9pm-10pm Moonlight

In this supernatural drama, Mick St. John is a vampire that uses his powers to help the living. Mick was sired 60 years ago by his bride, Coraline. He now feels obligated to help the defenseless from Coraline and other vampires who simply view humans as a source of food and nourishment. In the midst of this of these struggles Mick falls for Beth Turner, a reporter covering the unusual murders caused by the vampires. From the producer of The Matrix.

10pm-11pm Numb3rs

Saturdays:

8pm-9pm Crimetime Saturday

9pm-10pm Crimetime Saturday

10pm-11pm 48 Hours Mystery

Sundays:

7pm-8pm 60 Minutes

8pm-9pm Viva Laughlin

This drama comes from executive producer Hugh Jackman (X-Men) and is based on the BBC hit Blackpool. Ripley Holden’s ultimate goal is to open a casino in Laughlin, Nevada. In this series contemporary songs are used to accentuate the drama and advance the story.

9pm-10pm Cold Case

10pm-11pm Shark

Other series coming mid-season:

Swingtown

This drama is set in the 1970s at the peak of the sexual revolution. Susan and Bruce Miller move to an affluence neighborhood, and meet new friends Tom and Trina Decker. As the Millers get to know the Deckers, they begin to realize that a platonic relationship isn’t all they are looking for. The Miller’s best friends from their previous neighborhood, Janet and Roger Thompson, appear to disapprove of the Miller’s new friends. Janet is appalled, and while Roger supports his wife he is intrigued and tempted by the sexual possibilities that are out there.

ABC 2007-2008 Season Schedule

2007-05-15T13:19:00.000-04:00

Today is Day 2 of the network upfronts. ABC announced their 2007-2008 schedule today.

ABC had both successes and failures during the 2006-2007 season. Brothers & Sisters and Men in Tress were all renewed for a second season. Ugly Betty was ABC’s runaway hit. However, most of the sitcoms that began this season on ABC failed. Neither Help Me Help You, Knights of Prosperity, nor Big Day even aired for a full season.

Returning programs also faced difficulties. Both Desperate Housewives and Lost faced smaller ratings. Desperate Housewives has had difficulties recovering from an uneven second season. Lost has also been uneven, and faced a three month hiatus between November and February. Creatively both shows have been recovering. In addition, next season Lost will follow 24’s broadcast model: not beginning the new season until January and then airing all 16 episodes nearly non-stop.

Long running sitcom The George Lopez Show has also ended after a five year run. The future of ABC’s other long running comedy, According to Jim, has yet to be decided.

Once Dancing with the Stars and The Bachelor reach their fall finales, they will be replaced by returning series October Road, Notes from the Underbelly, and the new series Cashmere Mafia. Also returning mid-season will be reality shows Wife Swap and Supernanny.

Here’s a night-by-night look at the primetime ABC schedule for next season. Included are brief descriptions, partially taken from tvguide.com. All times listed are Eastern.

Mondays:

8pm-9:30pm Dancing with the Stars

9:30pm-10pm Sam I Am

This sitcom follows Samantha “Sam” Newly as she recovers from an eight day coma and dealing with her subsequent amnesia. Sam begins to realize that before her accident she was not well liked and considered a bitch, and words toward doing what’s right while fighting the temptation to not be good. Starring Christina Applegate (Married With Children), Tim Russ (Star Trek Voyager), and Jean Smart (Designing Women, 24).

10pm-11pm The Bachelor

Tuesdays:

8pm-8:30pm Cavemen

This comedy is based on the Caveman in the Geico insurance commercials. Three cavemen are the ultimate outsiders as they try to find their place in the modern world. Nick doesn’t believe that they will ever be accepted, Jamie has accepted their role in the world, and Joel straddles the middle between the two.

8:30pm-9pm Carpoolers

In this comedy, four men from different backgrounds enjoy their daily commute because they are able to commiserate about the trials and tribulations of their daily lives. It is only when carpooling that these men are truly able to be themselves. Starring Faith Ford (Murphy Brown) and Jerry O’Connell (Crossing Jordan, Sliders).

9pm-10pm Dancing with the Stars

10pm-11pm Boston Legal

Wednesdays:

8pm-9pm Pushing Daisies

This drama follows Ned, who can touch dead things and bring them back to life. Ned works with an investigator, bringing back murder victims long enough to name their killers. When Ned comes across a childhood sweetheart he brings her back to name her killer, but then keeps her alive. His revived sweetheart, Chuck, encourages him to use his power to help people and not just solving the murder mysteries. There is one catch though. Ned and Chuck want to live happily ever after, but if Ned ever touches her again she will die for good. Starring Chi McBride (Boston Public), Swoosie Kurtz (Sisters), and Kristen Chenoweth (The West Wing).

9pm-10pm Private Practice

This spin-off from Grey’s Anatomy follows the character of Addison Forbes Montgomery as she leaves for Los Angeles because she realizes she can no longer coexist with her ex-husband. Addison reunites with medical school friends and joins their private medical practice. Starring Kate Walsh (Grey’s Anatomy), Tim Daly (Wings), Taye Diggs (Day Break), and Amy Brenneman (Judging Amy).

10pm-11pm Dirty Sexy Money

Nick George is asked to become the personal lawyer of the Darling family, and extremely wealthy family. Nick is asked to take over once the patriarch of the family dies mysteriously. The money he would earn in the job would allow Nick to be an do-gooder while the job would require him to get into the dubious dealings of this powerful family. Starring Peter Krause (Six Feet Under) and Donald Sutherland (Backdraft, MASH).

Thursdays:

8pm-9pm Ugly Betty

9pm-10pm Grey’s Anatomy

10pm-11pm Big Shots

This drama follows the lives of four CEOs who are best friends. They are in full control of their lives, until their wives enter the picture. These men retreat to their friendship, where they are able to confide in each other, ask advice, and support each other throughout the twists and turns their lives take. Starring Michael Vartan (Alias), Dylan McDermott (The Practice), and Christopher Titus (Titus).

Fridays:

8pm-9pm Men In Trees

9pm-10pm Women’s Murder Club

This drama is based on the novels by James Patterson. A detective, a district attorney, a medical examiner, and a reporter join together to solve murder cases. Each woman is successful in their own field, but all four realize that by pooling their expertise they can successfully investigate and solve tough murder cases.

10pm-11pm 20/20

Saturdays:

8pm-11pm Saturday Night College Football

Sundays:

7pm-8pm America’s Funniest Home Videos

8pm-9pm Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

9pm-10pm Desperate Housewives

10pm-11pm Brothers & Sisters

Other series coming mid-season:

Cashmere Mafia

Four women try to balance their careers as successful executives with their personal lives in New York City. They protect each other, confide in each other, yet try to have it all. All of these women try to break the glass ceiling, but what if one friend does while the others are still struggling? Starring Lucy Liu (Ally McBeal, Kill Bill).

Eli Stone

This drama follows a lawyer who has built a successful career at a law firm in San Francisco. Eli represents only large corporations and has a reputation of walking all over the little guy. Eli experiences a series of strange hallucinations, and afterwards looks for a deeper meaning in his life while trying not to lose his job and while maintaining a romantic relationship with the bosses’ daughter. It turns out the hallucinations are being caused by a brain aneurysm, and Eli wonders if maybe he now has a higher calling to follow. Starring Victor Garber (Alias), Loretta Devine (Boston Public), and Natasha Henstridge (Species).

Miss Guided

In this sitcom, Rebecca finds herself returning as a guidance counselor to the high school that she barely made it through. Rebecca has to ward of the romantic advances of the school’s male nurse while dealing with her own romantic interest in the auto-shop/Spanish teacher. Rebecca also has to deal with her high school nemesis when she joins the faculty as the school’s new English teacher and sets her sights on the auto-shop/Spanish teacher as well.

Oprah’s Big Give

This reality show is Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Productions first foray into primetime. This series will focus on contestants who will give away millions of dollars in order to make a difference in other people’s lives. Each week will bring a big twist that will impact the contestant’s decisions about how to do good work with the money. Each week the stakes will be higher, with one person ultimately being chosen as The Biggest Giver.

NBC 2007-2008 Season Schedule

2007-05-14T11:44:00.000-04:00

We are again at the time of year when the broadcast television networks announce their upfronts. Upfronts are when they first announce their schedules for the following television season to possible advertisers. This is when the networks attempt to sell as much of the advertising space in these programs as possible, even before any episodes air in the fall. For established series with proven track records networks are able to sell the ad space at a higher rate. For new series advertisers can often get in at a premium, only because the program isn’t yet a proven commodity.

This is the week when all broadcast networks will announce their 2007-2008 season schedules. I’ll continue to report on these announcements like I did last May.

Today NBC was the first to announce their programming schedule for next season.

NBC seemed to have a lot of misses during the 2006-2007 season. Failed shows include Kidnapped, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, 20 Good Years, and Andy Barker P.I.. While some few freshman series were picked up despite so-so ratings, such as 30 Rock and Friday Night Lights, the only true success story of the previous season is Heroes.

In addition, many proven programs were on the chopping block. NBC’s biggest franchise has been Law & Order. Only Law & Order Special Victims Unit had been renewed as of this past weekend (they received their pick-up months ago). It was announced just yesterday that Law & Order would return to NBC for an 18th season while Law & Order Criminal Intent has been picked up, but original episodes will air on the USA Network and then be repurposed (rebroadcast) later on NBC.

The only long running NBC show not to be renewed is Crossing Jordan, who has had a five season run.

Here’s a night-by-night look at what the NBC schedule for next season has in store. Included are brief descriptions, partially taken from tvguide.com. All times listed are Eastern.

Mondays:

8pm-9pm Deal or No Deal

9pm-10pm Heroes

10pm-11pm Journeyman

This program is a sci-fi, romantic drama that follows a San Francisco newspaper reporter who begins to travel through time in order to change other people’s lives. However, his travels through time begin to cause a strain at work and at home because he suddenly disappears for periods of time. In his travels he also reunites with a long-lost fiancée, which places a strain on his relationship with his wife and son. This series is from the Emmy Award winning writers, producers, and directors of the West Wing.

Tuesdays:

8pm-9pm The Biggest Loser

9pm-10pm Chuck

This is a spy thriller that follows a computer geek who becomes one of the U.S. government’s most vital secret agents. When Chuck accidentally opens an e-mail filled with encoded government secrets, he ends up downloading the information directly into his brain. Chuck goes from fixing people’s computer problems at the local electronics store to dealing with assassins and international terrorists. He ends up getting partnered with the CIA’s top agent. This is a produced by executive producers behind the O.C. and the Charlie’s Angels movie.

10pm-11pm Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Wednesdays:

8pm-9pm Deal or No Deal

9pm-10pm Bionic Woman

In a remake of the late 70’s series, this program follows Jamie Sommers who has cutting-edge technology implanted into her body following a devastating car accident. If not for the technology Jamie would have faced certain death. But not Jamie has a debt to repay by using her new technologies and abilities for good, which will unfortunately lead to some personal sacrifices. This series is produced by those behind such successful programs as the X-Files and Battlestar Galactica.

10pm-11pm Life

This program follows an offbeat detective who returns to the police force after spending years in prison. He is released from prison thanks to his attorney and friend who proves that he was convicted of a crime he did not actually commit.

Thursdays:

8pm-8:30pm My Name is Earl

8:30pm-9pm 30 Rock

9pm-9:30pm The Office

9:30pm-10pm Scrubs

10pm-11pm ER

Fridays:

8pm-9pm Game Night, including 1 vs. 100 and The Singing Bee

NBC has committed the 8pm hour on Friday nights for game shows. In this slot initially will be the returning Bob Saget hosted game 1 vs. 100. After eight weeks it will be followed for six weeks by the new variety/game show The Singing Bee where contestants are forced to sing popular, recognizable music accurately, even once the music stops playing. In order to win they must get every word of the lyrics correct.

9pm-10pm Las Vegas

10pm-11pm Friday Night Lights

Saturdays:

8pm-9pm Dateline NBC

9pm-11pm Encores of NBC Dramas

Sundays (Fall 2007):

7pm-8pm Football Night in America

8pm-11pm Sunday Night Football

Sundays (January 2008):

7pm-8pm Dateline NBC

8pm-9pm Law & Order

9pm-10pm Medium

10pm-11pm Lipstick Jungle

This series is based on the best-selling novel by Candace Bushnell, who also wrote the novel the hit HBO series Sex & the City was based on. In this series three high-powered friends are followed as they face the ups and downs of their everyday lives in New York City. Starring Kim Raver (24) as the editor-in-chief of a fashion magazine who wants to become CEO, Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan) who must find a way to balance her career and her family, and Lindsay Price (Beverly Hills, 90210) who wants her dreams to come true including find Mr. Right.

Other series coming mid-season:

Baby Borrowers

In this reality series teenage couples experience what it is like to be a parent. These couples are given their own households and their own children, in different age groups, in order to see how they cope.

The IT Crowd

This comedy follows those individuals that come to your office to fix your computer when no one else is around. This series is based on a British comedy of the same name. These geeks are masters of the computer world, but lack any real social skills necessary to make friends.

World Moves

This reality competition, executive produced by American Idol’s Randy Jackson, searches the world for the best dance teams. The world’s best will come to Los Angeles and compete for a global championship and an international touring contract. Teams of five to seven members will compete live in order to demonstrate their creativity and athleticism. Viewers from around the world will vote on the Internet or phone for their favorites in order to eliminate one team each week.

Hilarious Commerical

2007-05-13T17:40:00.000-04:00

I saw this commercial a couple of months back and wanted to post it here, but I was having some problems posting blogger when they updated their system. Now that I've figured it out with help from my friend Sam Bradley I wanted to share this ad.

I laugh every time I see this advertisement for Old Spice, and hope others enjoy it too.

Greatest Performance This Season

2007-05-13T17:26:00.001-04:00

I'm an avid fan of American Idol. I've loved it since Season 2. This season hasn't been the greatest, but there have been some high points.

While I believe that Melinda Doolittle will win with Jordin Sparks coming in second, I believe that the best and most original performance of the year came from the contestant who I believe will come in third: Blake Lewis. His version of "You Give Love a Bad Name" by Bon Jovi was one of the few times this season that I had to go back and listen to it over and over again. Watch it below and hopefully you'll see what I mean.

Save My Shows

2007-05-10T17:37:00.000-04:00

Next week are the upfronts. This is when the television networks reveal their fall schedules to the public. Advertisers are given their first opportunity to check out the new series and decide which ones they’d like to purchase ad time during. Last year I detailed the upfronts for each broadcast network, and this year I plan to do it again.

As I write this, however, network executives are making decisions about which new programs to order episodes of and which current programs they will keep around for another season.

The fates of many series have already been determined. Some of my favorites have already been picked up for another season. Shows such as Lost, Desperate Housewives, 30 Rock, Heroes, and 24 will all be seen during the 2007-2008 television season. Other series that debuted last season, such as Kidnapped, Smith, and The Nine have already been cancelled.

What I’d like to do now is make a plea for a few of the series that the networks are thinking about right now. These are series that I have not heard about their officially being picked up yet for next season. However, I’d like the networks to reconsider and bring these enjoyable programs back. My guess is that at least one of them will be back, but definitely not all of them.

Jericho is number one on my list of programs that I’m championing for next season. Jericho is smartly written and well acted. The program follows the residents of Jericho, Kansas as they deal with the aftermath of a nuclear invasion of the United States. There is nothing like it on TV right now, and hopefully it’ll remain on the air to entertain viewers next.

Scrubs has been on NBC now for six seasons. It is one of only two sitcoms currently airing that I find myself watching and consistently laughing at each and every week (30 Rock is the other). The producers would like one more season. Star Zach Braff has signed one for a seventh season. There is a glimmer of hope, though. If NBC does not renew it there is a very good chance that ABC will pick up the final season.

I’m a sucker for game shows. I’ve been a fan of so many over the years. From The Price is Right and Family Feud to Hot Potato and Tic Tac Dough, I love watching people playing for cash and prizes. The game show has been a genre that has been waning in popularity over the years. This year NBC recognized how inexpensive such programs are to produce, and decided to place a few on the air this season. And I enjoyed them both. 1 vs. 100 and Identity have unique concepts. While they could use some tweaking, I think both deserve a second chance.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is the longest shot on my list. It’s hasn’t received much of an audience the entire season. But it was smart and incredibly well written. As a liberal, even I found some of the stories to be a bit left leaning. But it should be given another chance. NBC stuck with Studio 60 on Mondays at 10pm. Maybe if given another time slot on another night it could generate a larger audience and more viewer interest.

Graduation - The Photos

2007-05-07T20:33:00.000-04:00

Since I was threatened with a beatdown in a comment to the previous post, here are some pictures from this past weekend's graduation. Thanks to my Dad and my little sister Elizabeth who took these pictures. I hope to have more soon.

This is me with my Dad right after the ceremony.

From left to right, I'm with my nephew Brendan, my sister Lisa, and my sister Elizabeth.

Graduation Day 2007

2007-05-05T09:42:00.000-04:00

Today is graduation day here at Indiana University. It marks my five year journey through graduate school. While I'm not quite finished with my dissertation, today symbolically represents a conclusion to my exploits as a student.

And for the first time since I moved to Indiana most of my family is in Bloomington for a visit. Today they will see me graduate and then we will head to a party being held by my adviser, Dr. Julia Fox.

This really has turned into a special time and I'm very glad to be able to share it with so many people that are dear to me.

From Hoosier to Fighting Blue Hen

2007-05-04T10:24:00.000-04:00

I have accepted a temporary Assistant Professor position in the Department of Communications at the University of Delaware starting this fall.

I'm very excited about the prospects ahead of me. This will be an excellent opportunity.

Funny Comics

2007-04-24T11:50:00.000-04:00

Even though I've been unhappy that some of my most favorite comic strips have come to an end, it doesn't mean I haven't turned completely away from the comics page in my local newspaper.

Here is yesterday's Speed Bump, which I found particularly funny.

The Diamond State

2007-04-17T21:28:00.000-04:00

Greetings from Delaware!

More details of my trip and my visit to the University of Delaware very soon.

Any Guesses?

2007-04-04T18:57:00.000-04:00

I was driving through the Indiana University campus today and saw something that struck me as odd.

There was a guy walking down the street holding a whole pineapple in one hand while carrying a bowling ball bag with the other. He also had a large umbrella tucked under his arm.

I couldn't even imagine where he could be going with that odd array of items.

Anyone have a guess?

Kids See Lots of Junk Food

2007-03-29T12:29:00.000-04:00

I spent Tuesday and Wednesday of this week in Washington, DC. However, it wasn’t a vacation of any kind. Instead I got to go to a media event held by the Kaiser Family Foundation during which results from a recent content analysis that I worked with Dr. Walter Gantz and Dr. Nancy Schwartz on.

You actually may have heard about this study already. I’m actually surprised by the amount of media coverage that I’ve seen about this study so far. I’ve heard it on CBS radio, seen it on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, read about it on cnn.com, and have seen links to stories about it in various newspapers.

In our study we found that kids see during a single day many advertisements for candies, snacks, sugar cereals, and soft drinks but no advertisements targeting them for fruits, vegetables, or meats. Also, based on data about children’s viewing habits, we calculated that the average 2-7 year old sees about 4,400 food ads a year, the average 8-12 year old sees about 7,600 food ads a year, and the average 13-17 year old sees about 6,000 food ads a year. Astronomical numbers, I know!

Unfortunately we as the individuals who performed the study are often mentioned in these reports only as “researchers” but it is very cool to see the results that we worked so hard for on a national stage.

I invite you to read the Kasier Family Foundation report, which is linked here.

Or you can see the press event by clicking here.

R.I.P. Eve 1998-March 26, 2007

2007-03-26T21:13:00.000-04:00

Today a difficult decision had to be made. My cat Eve was in the basement and was unable to climb the stairs back up. After carrying her back up she was having difficulties walking, limping severly and often slipping off of her front left paw. Though not in pain, she seemed extremely uncomfortable.

Because her quality of life was rapidly deteriorating and there was no chance for her to get better, today my roommate and I decided that it was necessary to put Eve down.

I've lost a dear and true friend. She will be sorely missed.

Another One Bites the Dust

2007-03-25T13:11:00.000-04:00

Over the past few years I’ve grown attached to three daily comic strips. After today I won’t have new strips from any of these three to make me laugh on a daily basis.

The Boondocks creator, Aaron McGruder, stepped away from the strip in order to work on a television version as well as other products. In February 2006 it was announced that McGruder would be taking a six month hiatus. However, in October 2006 he officially cancelled any future plans to create any new strips. Reruns are still seen in daily papers, but nothing original.

Fox Trot ran on a daily basis until December 31, 2006. At that point the cartoonist, Bill Amend, decided to make Fox Trot a Sunday only strip. This really disappointed me. Daily strips allow for a continuing storyline. Even though they are in color, Sunday strips just don’t hold the same appeal to me. Reruns can still be ready in daily newspapers.

Today in reading my final comic strip pleasure, Big Top, I came to the realization that it too was ending. Cartoonist Rob Harrell has decided to focus on other ventures and just couldn’t continue. With the departure of Huey’s radicalism in the Boondocks and the daily zaniness of the Fox’s in Fox Trot, I came to rely on Dusty’s addiction to ChapStick and Wink’s crush on Katie Couric in Big Top to keep the comics pages funny. Now I don’t even have that.

I’ve added the final original strips to this message. (In the case of Fox Trot, it was its last original daily strip.)

My daily newspaper reading has just become a bit less fun.

Losing a Friend

2007-03-17T18:36:00.000-04:00

Nearly every one of us has had a pet in our lives. Be it a dog, cat, bird, fish or other animal we’ve known what it’s like to have an animal depend on us for everything they need to survive. At the same time we develop a love and affection for these animals, as if they are a member of our family. We do whatever we can to ensure they’re happy and healthy.

I have two cats. I’ve posted their pictures on this space before. They bring a lot of happiness to my life, which is particularly welcome during the stressful times of my life (of which right now is).

Eve is the older of my two cats. She’s been a part of my life since 1998. In May 1998 I started to see Eve around the neighborhood. She was this beautiful long haired Calico kitten with a green collar. As we got into June and July every time I saw Eve she looked dirtier and seemed to be getting thinner. As time went on I realized that she was a stray with no home. May is the end of the academic school year, with many students leaving Bloomington for the summer (or if they graduate, leaving permanently). I’ve read that the number of strays in Bloomington seem to go up in May due to students who adopted a pet not being able to take them home with them to wherever they come from.

Seeing as how she was obviously a stray, my roommate and I took Eve in. We fed her, cleaned her, and she never seemed to want to leave. Though at first she did try to run out of our apartment whenever we opened the door, she soon stopped that. With her finding a way into our home, Eve quickly found her way into our hearts.

Over the years Eve has had her ailments. At one time she had a hyperactive thyroid that was causing her to lose weight. It was becoming a life threatening situation and the vet recommended that we have her dosed with radioactive iodine in order to jump start her thyroid. A trip to Radio Cat and about $1,000 later she was fine.

She’s also had a chronic ear problem. Eve had a tendency for ear infections that we were never able to figure out. The vets had lots of different theories as to what could be the problem, but nothing was ever conclusively decided upon. We became resigned to the fact that every few months Eve would have to go to the vet to get her ears cleaned and checked.

Now you’re probably wondering why I’m writing all of this about Eve. Well a little over a week ago Eve developed a growth the size of a golf ball on her right side. We took her to the vet in order to figure out what it was. In trying to figure out what it was Eve became very lethargic and sickly. However, this was alleviated when we found the right dose and type of antibiotic.

All the fluid around the mass quickly disappeared. The mass did not. On Friday we scheduled to have a biopsy of the mass. Eve had some blood tests done to make sure she was OK for anesthesia. The results that came back told a very grim story. Eve was anemic, which made her going under anesthesia very dangerous. But the biggest problem was her while blood cell count. The normal average in a cat is 15,000. Eve’s reading was hovering around 100,000. After review by a pathologist it is now the vet’s belief that Eve is suffering from leukemia and that the mass on her right side, which appeared in an x-ray to be bigger than is seems, is another form of cancer. At this point there is not much that we can do for her.

I guess that’s the reason for my writing this. A member of my family is dieing. And soon a very important decision is going to have to be made.

As of right now the mass isn’t bothering Eve unless someone touches it. Only then does she seem to be in pain. In addition she is eating, though not a lot, and drinking a lot of water every day. Eve is able to get around our house pretty easily and can still jump up onto my bed, which has become her bed over the past few months. She’s doing very well, but the fact that the mass on her side sprouted so suddenly, and her anemia is so severe, it isn’t likely that she will remain this way very long. As soon as Eve stops eating, or as soon as it becomes apparent that it is painful for her to get around and do her normal daily routine, it is likely that Eve will have to be euthanized.

One of my best friends in the world will likely only be around for another couple of weeks. I’m not sure what I’ll do once she’s gone. Her death will leave a pretty big void. It will definitely be one of the darkest days of my adult life.

Everyone's Free (To Wear Sunscreen) by Baz Luhrmann

2007-03-11T14:24:00.000-04:00

I remember this from back in 1999, but heard it again today and got me thinking. It really is something to give some thought about, and in many ways live by.

Everyone's Free (To Wear Suncreen)
by Baz Luhrmann

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of '99.....Wear Sunscreen

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience...

I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; Oh never mind; you will not understand the power of beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you'll look back at the photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked...

You're not as fat as you imagine.

Don't worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing everyday that scares you.

Sing

Don't be reckless with other people's hearts, don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss

Don't waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind...the race is long, and in the end, it's only with yourself.

Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch

Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life... the most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don't.

Get plenty of calcium

Be kind to your knees, you'll miss them when they're gone.

Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't, maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't, maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary...

Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either- your choices are half chance, so are everybody else's.

Enjoy your body, use it every way you can... don't be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.

Dance... even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.

Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.

Do not read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents, you never know when they'll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard.

Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel

Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you'll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.

Don't mess too much with your hair, or by the time it's 40, it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen...

Oscar Predictions

2007-02-20T14:02:00.000-05:00

This coming Sunday is the 79th annual Academy Awards. It is when the best of the best in film are honored for their achievements during the previous year.

At this time last year I made predictions about who I thought would win for films released in 2005. Out of the 21 categories I predicted last year, I was correct for 10 of them. Let’s hope I can do better this year.

Also like last year, I will not be predicting the categories for Best Animated Short, Best Live Action Short Film, and Best Documentary Short Subject. These are categories that I know nothing about and can not even harbor a guess as to which films will win.

With those notes, here are the nominees with my predictions in red.

Best Picture
Babel
The Departed
Letters from Iwo Jima
Little Miss Sunshine
The Queen

Best Director
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Babel
Martin Scorsese, The Departed
Clint Eastwood, Letters from Iwo Jima
Stephen Frears, The Queen
Paul Greengrass, United 93

Best Actor
Leonardo DiCaprio, Blood Diamond
Ryan Gosling, Half Nelson
Peter O’Toole, Venus
Will Smith, The Pursuit of Happyness
Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland

Best Actress
Penélope Cruz, Volver
Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal
Helen Mirren, The Queen
Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada
Kate Winslet, Little Children

Best Supporting Actor
Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine
Jackie Earle Haley, Little Children
Djimon Hounsou, Blood Diamond
Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls
Mark Wahlberg, The Departed

Best Supporting Actress
Adriana Barraza, Babel
Cate Blanchett, Notes on a Scandal
Abigail Breslin, Little Miss Sunshine
Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
Rinko Kikuchi, Babel

Best Adapted Screenplay
Borat Cultural Learning of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Children of Men
The Departed
Little Children
Notes on a Scandal

Best Original Screenplay
Babel
Letters from Iwo Jima
Little Miss Sunshine
Pan’s Labyrinth
The Queen

Best Foreign Film
After the Wedding (Denmark)
Days of Glory/Indigènes (Algeria)
The Lives of Others (Germany)
Pan’s Labyrinth (Mexico)
Water (Canada)

Best Animated Feature Film
Cars
Happy Feet
Monster House

Best Documentary
Deliver Us from Evil
An Inconvenient Truth
Iraq in Fragments
Jesus Camp
My Country, My Country

Best Art Direction
Dreamgirls
The Good Shepherd
Pan’s Labyrinth
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
The Prestige

Best Cinematography
The Black Dahlia
Children of Men
The Illusionist
Pan’s Labyrinth
The Prestige

Best Film Editing
Babel
Blood Diamond
Children of Men
The Departed
United 93

Best Costume Design
Curse of the Golden Flower
The Devil Wears Prada
Dreamgirls
Marie Antoinette
The Queen

Best Makeup
Apocalypto
Click
Pan’s Labyrinth

Best Original Score
Babel
The Good German
Notes on a Scandal
Pan’s Labyrinth
The Queen

Best Original Song
“I Need to Wake Up” Music and Lyric by Melissa Etheridge from An Inconvenient Truth
“Listen” Music by Henry Krieger and Scott Cutler, Lyric by Anne Preven from Dreamgirls
“Love You I Do” Music by Henry Krieger, Lyric by Siedah Garrett from Dreamgirls
“Our Town” Music and Lyric by Randy Newman from Cars
“Patience” Music by Henry Krieger, Lyric by Willie Reale from Dreamgirls

Best Sound Editing
Apocalypto
Blood Diamond
Flags of our Fathers
Letters from Iwo Jima
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest

Best Sound Mixing
Apocalypto
Blood Diamond
Dreamgirls
Flags of our Fathers
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest

Best Visual Effects
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
Poseidon
Superman Returns

Home vs. Away

2007-02-17T21:36:00.000-05:00

Indiana University is a basketball school. It’s the home of the Hoosiers. It’s where Bobby Knight made a name for himself (both good and bad). It’s a place where a good number of undergraduates enroll only because of the basketball team’s reputation.

I’ve been in Indiana now for nearly 10 years. I was here at the tail end of Bobby Knight’s tenure, at a time when he was losing as much as he was winning. I was also here for all of the Mike Davis years, which had a lot of bad (missing the NCAA men’s tournament, missing any postseason play) and some good (runner up in the NCAA men’s tournament in 2002). This season is the first with new head coach Kelvin Sampson, and they are finding some success.

Currently the men’s team has a record of 17-8, with a record of 7-5 in Big Ten division play. All of the team’s losses this season have been games played away from Bloomington.

That got me wondering. How can a team play so well at home but lose 2/3 of their games played away? And how can you teach your players to play well away?

If anyone has any ideas about how to do this, I’m ready to listen. And I’m sure the Hoosiers would be too.

No New Posts

2007-02-13T11:59:00.000-05:00

OK. I've caught some grief for not updating here in a while. But I've been busy!

I've been working on my dissertation data.

In addition I recently had a great job interview at the University of Alabama.

And now I'm writing a few short pieces for an upcoming edition of Indiana University Professor Emerita Susan Eastman's Media Programming textbook.

I promise to have post more regularly soon. (I know I've promised this before.) It'll be just as soon as I have some free time to do it!

Is the NHL dying?

2007-01-28T15:22:00.000-05:00

The National Hockey League this past week held its first all-star game in 3 years.

No game was held in 2005 due to a labor dispute. No game was held last year due to the number of players taking time to play in the Winter Olympics.

The all-star game in 2004 was aired on ABC. It aired on a Sunday afternoon and had approximately 2 million viewers.

This year the game aired on Versus, the network formerly known as the Outdoor Life Network. It garnered a 0.7 Nielsen rating, which translates to approximately 673,000 viewers.

There was definitely drop off due to the game airing on a cable network that is not carried by all cable service providers. The potential audience was much smaller than when it aired on ABC in 2004.

But did the long labor dispute in 2005 hurt the game? Is overall interest in the league waning?

The NHL better put a plan in action if they want to increase audience size in the short term, and hopefully survive as a professional sports league in the long term.