MARKET 117

Where Are They Now - UPDATED

2008-01-27T11:30:00.000-06:00

Hey, it's been years in the making, but I'm finally updating the "Where Are They Now" pages. Please note as it says within some of the posts, these are not exhaustive lists. I don't have the time or patience for that. The lists are of of on-air folks who I worked with or knew from across town, plus those who have come and gone since I started this blog.

WEEK
WMBD
WHOI

As always, please feel free to share an update in the comments section, especially if you were a producer, photographer, director or engineer. I need to figure out a new post for those friends... hopefully before soccer season.

WMBD-TV celebrates 50 years on air

2008-01-06T11:41:00.001-06:00

Congratulations to everyone at WMBD-TV on the station's 50th anniversary. I was part of the team for about two years in the mid-90's and documented my time there when I first started this blog. I have so many wonderful memories of that place and the people have continued to be a part of my life.

It's where I met my wife... Shelli and Rusty introduced the wedding party at our reception.

Whenever I get to Chicago or New York or Orlando, I'm sharing a meal with TOB, Steve, Aimee or Marc.

My buddy/former 31 co-worker Aaron is the one who first made the call that eventually led to me getting into the corporate world, where I work with a number of other former 31ers.

It was a great place to start, and during my time there, a really fun place to work and learn.

Leaving Cheeseland

2007-07-01T09:01:00.000-05:00

Matt Kummer, formerly a reporter at WMBD is leaving his EP job in Green Bay for the same job at WISH in Indianapolis. He starts later this month.

Congrats, Matt!

Three Former Market 117ers Doing Well In Mickey's World

2007-07-01T08:18:00.000-05:00

Got to talk to or exchange e-mail with Steve Gehlbach (formerly of 25), Jessica D'Onofrio (formerly of 19) and Kimberly Houk (formerly of 31). All three are reporting in Orlando with Steve at the Fox station and the other two at the CBS. Got to see live shots/packages from all of them. Steve's got his own blog by the way.

In terms of presentation, all three are strong. Steve has continued with a very creative approach to the on camera as he did the impending iPod release story (which coincidentally, I saw former 19er Brendan Conway do live in Milwaukee on Friday). Jessica was solid in her coverage of a protest story and I think Kimberly is going places. She looks quite a bit different than when she was here (for the good), but I think her voice/delivery were especially strong.

And Baby Makes Three

2007-07-01T08:04:00.000-05:00

On Wednesday, I had dinner with former WMBD photographer and Bradley alum Marc Bujnicki, his wife Lisa and the newest addition to their house, baby Ella who is 10 weeks old and incrdibly cute. Her parents seem to be adjusting well and embracing the change... although Marc looked at me like I'm from another planet when I suggested cloth diapers.

Up until Friday, Marc was a producer with the show iVillage Live, but declined to move from Orlando to Chicago where the show is moving this fall.

Belated congrats to the Bujnicki's on their life changing event.

And Baby Makes Four

2007-07-01T07:45:00.001-05:00

Not us. Congrats to former WMBD anchor/reporter Aimee Nuzzo. Now at WNBC, Aimee gave birth to her second child.... Michael Robert Cantwell... on June 13th.

On Topp Of her Game

2007-07-01T07:40:00.000-05:00

Congrats to former WEEK reporter (and member of the Airwaves) Kathy Topp. As you may know, Kathy has been working as special projects producer at KVBC, the NBC affiliate in Las Vegas. Last month she took home two Pacific Soutwest region Emmys... for specialty reporting: education and best single story or series.

Congrats Dubbs!!!

2007-05-21T23:06:00.000-05:00

A belated congrats to Don Washburn of WEEK-TV on his retirement after 40 years at the station. Shannon and I both worked with "Dubbs" during our stint at 25. He's definitely seen it all many times over and while most people will know him for his "You Gotta Eat" segments (which he'll apparently continue to do), my thoughts of him are for a side of the guy most don't get to see... one who cares so deeply for his grandsons and does his best to give them the world.

Enjoy your retirement, Dubbs. You've earned it!

Thanks To HOI

2007-04-20T22:40:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Jim and Donnie for covering the inaugural Pekin Girls Soccer Lady Dragon Invitational. We won our second game in as many days... an 8-0 victory over Woodruff.

Dueling Pianos To Help Kids With Cancer

2007-04-09T22:51:00.000-05:00

For those of you who don't know, WEEK's Josh Simon does a lot of work with Camp Rainbow, a camp for kids who are living with cancer.

He's helping organize an event, this Saturday April 14th... a dueling pianos show Neumiller Lecture Center which is in Bradley Hall. It won't be in a bar setting so no alcohol (the show will be PG-13). Tickets are $10 for asults and $ 6 for students. There are also $25 VIP seats which include prefered seating and a dessert recption after the show at Hillel. You can purchase tickets at the door.

All the money raised goes to Camp Rainbow. Please come out and help some really great kids.

February Peoria TV Ratings

2007-04-04T17:14:00.000-05:00

I've been a little behind on TV stuff... here's how the February book broke down in Market 116 in terms of overall numbers.

AM
WEEK 8 rating/36 share
WMBD 1/3
WHOI 2/11

5:00
WEEK 13/33
WMBD 6/14
WHOI 2/6

6:00
WEEK 14/29
WMBD 8/17
WHOI 3/5

10:00
WEEK 13/28
WMBD 10/23
WHOI 3/8

Some thoughts... WEEK continues to dominate overall. WHOI is number two in the mornings, but a distant third everywhere else. WMBD is up two points at 10:00 from the November book.

2006 Illinois Associated Press Awards

2007-04-04T17:11:00.000-05:00

Here's a list of the 2006 Illinois Associated Press Awards... congrats to Market 116 winners (in bold).

DOWNSTATE TELEVISION DIVISION

BEST REPORTER: WAND-TV, Decatur, Scot England.

BEST NEWSCAST: WICS-TV, Springfield, "ABC NewsChannel 20 - 6 p.m. News," Rebecca Clark, Amy O'Conner, David Christopher and Gary Darigol.

2nd Place: WEEK-TV, Peoria, "June 29, 2006 - News 25 Nightside," Chris Coplan, Tom McIntyre, Mike Dimmick, Lee Ranson, Lee Hall and News 25 Team.

OUTSTANDING NEWS OPERATION: WICS-TV, Springfield. David Christopher, Gary Darigol, Rebecca Clark and Amy O'Conner.

2nd Place: WEEK-TV, Peoria. "News 25 in 2006," News 25.

BEST NEWSWRITER: KWQC-TV, Davenport, Iowa, Gary Metivier.

BEST INVESTIGATIVE SERIES: WICS-TV, Springfield, "Purse Bacteria," Julie Staley.

2nd Place (tie): WEEK-TV, Peoria, "Sergeant Pelo," Eric Shangraw and Larry
Foulk. WICD-TV, Champaign, "Rawhide," Jennifer Copeland and Jack Larson.

BEST SPOT NEWS: WSIL-TV, Harrisburg, "House Fire," Clint Misselhorn and Drew Hansen.

BEST SPORTS: WSIL-TV, Harrisburg, "Cheerleading Changes," Rickey Thein and Drew Hansen.

2nd Place: WSIL-TV, Harrisburg, "Harness Racing Training," Drew Hansen.

BEST SERIES/DOCUMENTARY: KWQC-TV, Davenport, Iowa, "Meth Moms," Gary Metivier and Drew Jones.

2nd Place: WHOI-TV, Peoria, "Behind the Wheel," Jolie Alois, Jessica Wheeler, Brent Hortsmann, James Kerr and Louis Linder.

BEST LIGHT FEATURE: WAND-TV, Decatur, "Pumpkin Chuckin'," Scot England and Erik Darelius.

2nd Place: WICD-TV, Champaign, "Witch's Séance," Natalie Bomke.

BEST HARD NEWS FEATURE: WHOI-TV, Peoria, "Officer Storm Funeral," Laura Michels and Brent Hortsmann.

2nd Place: WHOI-TV, Peoria, "It's Not A Tumor," Jen Christensen and Jon Reidy.

BEST VIDEOGRAPHY: WSIL-TV, Harrisburg, "Harness Racing Training." Drew Hansen.

2nd Place: WSIL-TV, Harrisburg, "Cheerleading Changes," Drew Hansen.

Back To School

2007-03-21T23:12:00.000-05:00

I get it. I get why teachers teach.

I spoke to a broadcast journalism class at Illinois State on Tuesday night. My former co-worker Maria Henneberry is the instructor and she was gracious enough to have me in to speak to her class and I had a blast.

The title of my talk was: "Making a bucket of Avanti's spaghetti last for a week: getting and surviving your first job in television news."

I covered everything thing from building a really strong resume tape, to the 30 second rule regarding those tapes... to networking and road trips to get jobs. I shared the honest truth about hiring in TV... about race and gender and looks... thoughts that may have sounded a bit jaded or not-PC... but things that I wish people had shared with me when I was a senior.

Hopefully I gave them a taste for all the good and bad that they might go through in the next six months. I got some really good feedback from some of them afterwards, but in the end, I think I was the one who got something out of it. On my way home I was flooded with memories of that time in life... and called two of my best friends to reminisce.

Maybe what I said was just blah, blah for some... I got the feeling that most of them took it to heart. I really hope they took something out of it... even just an awareness of how prepared they need to be come May. I may post more detail about this when I'm less exhausted... but you get the idea.

Congrats Fischers

2007-03-21T23:07:00.000-05:00

A belated congratulations to Gina and Bill on the birth of baby number three... Vanessa Claire on March 15th. I'm sure Noah and Kylie are thrilled.

Will YouNewsTV Play In Peoria?

2007-03-04T15:52:00.000-06:00

Hat tip to Bill Dennis for this.

WEEK's parent company, Granite Broadcasting, will be "inviting 'citizen journalists' to produce anything from online news footage to complete reports. The coverage could find its way onto local news broadcasts as well." This according to an article in Broadcasting and Cable.

Specific stations haven't been decided, so we don't know if WEEK will be one of them. I think the value (whether it's here or not) will be mostly for breaking news. Outside of that it feels like something that would be pretty suspect without solid guidelines and enforcement of those guidelines.

The Green Jacket Is Heading South

2007-02-26T18:16:00.000-06:00

Those of you who know Dave Dahl know the green jacket. Kurt Pegler used to ask him about winning The Masters which he always took well.

The green jacket is moving along with Dave as he embarks on a new adventure in Springfield next month. After 11 years, the "hated one" as he liked to be called (inside joke) is leaving 1470.

Dave will be reporting from the State Capitol for the Illinois Radio Network. They provide news (largely from the Capitol) to affiliates around the state... including WBBM in Chicago, KMOX in St Louis, and WDWS in Champaign.

Dave is sharp and fair and a very good reporter. I learned a lot from him during my time at WMBD-TV and I'm really sorry to see him go.

His first day is March 19th. Here's wishing the best to Dave, Corrina, Clifford and Isaac.

Update: Jonathan Ahl posts a tribute to the hated one.

The Unique Twist Online

2007-02-09T17:48:00.000-06:00

Doug Smith, longtime photographer at WEEK-TV, has brought his side business into cyberspace. Doug is the guy you see at many events around the Peoria area, making all sorts of different balloon animals/creations.

Go to the theuniquetwist.com to check it out or book him for your next event.

New Boss At WMBD

2007-02-08T22:56:00.000-06:00

A belated welcome to Jody Davis... the new news director at WMBD.

From Rick Gevers:

JODY DAVIS joins this Nexstar-owned CBS affiliate as News Director. Jody most recently had been the ND/anchor for WENY-TV in Elmira, NY, leaving that post in December. Earlier in his career he worked as an anchor/reporter for CNNfn, as well as KMOV-TV and KSDK-TV in St. Louis. At WMBD, he becomes the third ND in ten months, replacing BRENT LONTEEN who left the station in October, three months after he was promoted to replace CHRIS MANSON. Chris, who had been ND there for six years, is now the VP/News for Nexstar.

Former WMBD Reporter Profiled

2007-02-07T19:37:00.000-06:00

The Business Journal of Milwaukee profiles WISN-TV news director Lori Waldon. Waldon is the city's first black news director and actually got her start as a reporter at WMBD-TV. In October, she replaced Barb Maushard, who also worked in Peoria (WHOI) at one point.

I have a soft spot Waldon's first and latest stations as I got my start at WISN and WMBD was my second stop in TV.

Presidential Visit

2007-01-30T17:37:00.000-06:00

Didn't get a chance to check out any live presidential visit coverage... but how exciting for those MARKET 117 errr... 116ers who did get to take part.

While living in California, I covered the National Ocean Conference that both President Clinton and Vice President Gore attended. My work included airport/Air Force One duty. Seeing what the Secret Service goes through and and all the behind the scenes preparations is fascinating and I know many members of our local media got a taste of that today.

Two And Two At 31

2007-01-27T22:50:00.000-06:00

Trisha Skidmore's bio is missing from the WMBD website and they're advertising for a morning anchor. Curious, although she is just about at the two year point.

Update: Sources tell MARKET 117 err... 116 that Trisha is making the jump to Cleveland powerhouse WEWS. She'll be working as morning reporter.

Congrats, Trisha!

Amy Goes To Print

2007-01-27T18:20:00.000-06:00

Congrats to Amy Gehrt, 5PM producer at WHOI. Amy is leaving television to work for Jupiter Images. She will be the Assistant Editor for two professional design magazines: "Step" and "Dynamic Graphics".

Amy has been at WHOI for seven years (and played with the Airwaves for many of them). She's looking forward to the challenge and being a hometown girl/at the station for that long... will be a big loss for the station.

Best of luck, Amy!

Oh Susanna

2007-01-23T23:09:00.000-06:00

Congratulations to Susanna Song. Susanna will be making a huge market jump when she leaves WEEK for Minneapolis in the near future.

Best of luck, Susanna.

Update: Susanna's last day here in Peoria will be February 2nd. Her new station is KSTP.

Airwaves Win

2007-01-11T22:59:00.000-06:00

Airwaves kicked off the second session of indoor at Morton with a 3-1 win. Nice job by Glenn in the goal... Glenn who only showed up to drop off cloth diapers for Shannon. Thanks for staying!

Goals for us from me, Hugo and Aimee.

This Game Stinks

2007-01-08T22:53:00.000-06:00

Not that I really care who wins the BCS title, but this game, after a great start turned into a real dud. So Florida will be the BCS champ, but here's hoping the majority of AP voters crown Boise State the AP national champs after the best ending to a football game I've ever seen.

Day Off In Chicago

2007-01-08T22:44:00.000-06:00

Had the day off today... spent it in Chicago.

Had the chance get lunch and to catch up with former WMBDers Kristyn Hartman and Tracy O'Brien now both working at WBBM-TV in Chicago. Both are doing well, working at their hometown CBS affiliate.

Stopped by the American Girl store to exchange something for my daughter. At both stops I was able to find metered parking with time remaining. The parking gods were shining on me apparently.

Pretty TV Anchors Fear Hi-Def

2007-01-05T17:14:00.000-06:00

This is the title of a Phil Luciano special...

Phil recently polled a number of local anchors... asking them how they feel about being shot in HD. Any column that refers to Tom McIntyre as a "hottie" is probably worth a read. And to be honest, I don't think Mac even does makeup.

I predict a ratings spike for WMBD... Amy Paul will be cuter in HD ;)

Update: Shannon would like to point out an error in Phil's column. Gina Morss is a main female anchor at 25. This is unless he meant 10:00 anchors.

First, Second and Fifth

2006-12-26T10:38:00.000-06:00

My fantasy football teams had a good run. While I finished tied for fifth in the Market 117 league, the team Josh and I share lost in the Super Bowl by four points. The team I put together in an auction league won by 30. Yes, there's a lot of luck involved, but it's still satisifying to be a winning GM. Can't wait till next year's draft.

Update: Congratulations to Kevin Thomas, formerly of WEEK, winner of the Market 117 FFL.

Surviving Christmas

2006-12-26T10:11:00.000-06:00

Random thoughts about the week...

So we made it through... although we still have yet to celebrate with my parents. They went to san Diego, then Vegas to celebrate. My brother, who lives in Colorado, made it out just in time, but was unable to return in time for work cause of the snow. He worked yesterday, which begs the question "who goes out for sushi on Christmas?" Whatever.

One of my favorites part of the week is singing "Silent Night" while holding candles at church. Of course the kids are focused heavily on Santa. At this point it's so much more fun for me to see how excited they are opening gifts. They're still pretty young, but even now I'm starting to think about ways for them to start understanding the true meaning in the future.

Shannon's big gift was a Roomba, which somem of my friends found to be an odd choice. It was going to be an iPod, but she was actually quite excited by the little robot vaccum. She also got some perfume and a popcorn maker. I think her real gift was not having to shop with me. I left the pain of my running through the mall and not stopping to look at anything to my oldest and my friend Pinky.

Santa brought the kids all they wanted, but we tell them he only brings one or two things which apparently they've taken to heart. At preschool, the teachers helped my daughter and her classmates with lists, which they hang up before they bring home. Most kids apparently had 1,2,3,4 things listed... my daughter's list read:

"Dear Santa, I want a Dora castle. That's what I want and I want it really bad..."

Christmas Shopping errr Buying

2006-12-20T21:52:00.000-06:00

At my house, Shannon takes care of the gifts for everyone... I buy the gifts for her. Not fair I know, but she enjoys shopping... I enjoy buying. I don't look around... I make my list, I make a beeline for the item, and a beeline for the line and a beeline out the door.

I suppose I could go with her, but it would ruin her fun.

Some random thougts from my buying excursion yesterday...

I got rock star parking outside of Sears at Northwoods. The first spot. There's something special about getting that spot, isn't there? It's almost like I could rationalize looking around a little longer (even though it is against my nature) cause I had that spot.

And when I left, I was very excited for the person who was waiting... about to get my spot.

I dig the massage recliners at the mall... but people, if you're not going to put money in... you really shouldn't be sitting in em for ten or fifteen minutes. Just a pet peeve.

Home And Style TV

2006-12-20T21:46:00.000-06:00

Former WMBD weekend anchor Donna Davis is the host and producer of a show out of Georgia called Home and Style. It's a women's magazine show on the America One network.

Thanks to WMBD's Amy Paul for the tip.

Fantasy Super Bowls

2006-12-18T22:48:00.000-06:00

My teams lived to play another week. The team Josh and I share won in convincing fashion. My other team held on to win thanks to a sub par night from the Bengals. Josh and I face the team in our league that has Tomlinson, while my other team goes up against Peyton Manning. But hey... anything can happen this time of year.

Airwaves Win

2006-12-17T22:50:00.000-06:00

Airwaves won 7-5 on Thursday night. I can't shake the injuries, even after sitting out four weeks. Not good.

Fantasy Playoffs

2006-12-17T22:46:00.000-06:00

Oh I'm going to be sick. In one of my leagues, I left several players on the bench and they scored TDs...

I played Trent Green thinking KC would score at least two TDs tonight and with LJ going, I thought that would assure me of both. Turns out they were held to 3 FGs.

I'm up about 32 points facing Rudi Johnson and TJ Housh tomorrow night. Basically I can survive a combination of 200 yards and 2 TDs or 140 yards and 3 TDs from those two. And in a shootout with Indy, it'll be tough. Let's go Ocho Cinco.

In the other league, where I share a team with Josh, we're up by 20 points with Marvin Harrison going against Cincy kicker Shayne Graham. We're basically in the finals, but will face the Tomlinson lead team next week. Guh.

Karen Moves On

2006-12-10T22:58:00.000-06:00

Congrats to WEEK assignment editor Karen Stecher. Karen is leaving the business for a job at Advanced Technology Services.

Fantasy Frustration

2006-12-10T22:54:00.000-06:00

So the bright side to Sunday is it looks like I'll make the playoffs in two of the leauges I'm in.

In the third league, I'm up 17 going into Monday night... my opponent has the Bears defense and Bernard Berrian, so it looks like I'm done there. I would probably have won if Saints coach Sean Payton didn't call three plays inside the five for fullback Mike Karney... three plays that usually would have gone to my running back, Deuce Mcallister... thre plays that went for touchdowns.

The one I thought he had was called back on a false start... and at 23 up, I think I would have had a chance. Now, I can only watch from my reserved seat at BW3 as the Bears tee off on the Rams. Guhhh.

Snow Delays

2006-12-09T10:00:00.000-06:00

The soccer programs I've been running at the Dragons Dome were going really well... till the snow hit. They're supposed to be figuring it out this weekend and we should know by Monday when we'll be back on track.

We're also starting adult leagues come January, so e-mail me if you're interested.

Jury Duty

2006-12-09T09:58:00.000-06:00

I'm in the pool for next week. This is actually my first time having to show up to the courthouse. I'm actually looking forward to it.

Christmas Cards

2006-12-09T09:51:00.000-06:00

So after a two year hiatus, we're actually getting Christmas cards out. Last year our excuse was our trip to the Philippines... two years ago it was the impending arrival of our youngest.

I don't know what it is, but they're something very satisfying about putting stamps on a stack of cards.

Fantasy Football Playoffs

2006-12-09T09:47:00.000-06:00

I'm crazy for trying to run three teams. I admit it. But here I am, week 14 and I'm in the playoffs in one league... and have a chance to make it in the other two.

Unfortunately in the MARKET 117 league, I'm playing a team that has beaten me twice already. Not that any one game in fantasy has anything to do with another... it's all stats. But his team has been scoring well and has the Bears defense which killed me last week. I'm actually going against the Bears D in two of the three leagues. Yikes.

But doing this can get you into some odd sports conflicts. In my second league league, I'm starting Chad Pennington, Maurice Jones-Drew, Anquan Boldin and Lee Evans. And in my third league I'm going against the same four players.

Marc's Having A Baby

2006-12-09T09:43:00.000-06:00

Okay, his wife Lisa is...

And people across the country found out what they're having live on national televison this week. Marc works for ivillagelive which is syndicated in many major markets and on Bravo locally.

They're about six months pregnant and took part in various pregnancy related segments leading up to finding out the sex of their baby at the end of a recent show.

Click the link to find Thursday's episode.

A Rare Occurance

2006-12-09T09:40:00.000-06:00

I never win contests. Never.

So I didn't expect to win when two girls in Bears gear asked me to enter my name in a drawing at Buffalo Wild Wings on Monday night. The contest was for "Best Seat in the House."

But when they drew a name at halftime... it was mine.

$40 in free food and a reserved seat for the Monday Night Bears/Rams game.

Good times.

New Gig For Gee

2006-12-09T09:33:00.000-06:00

Belated congratulations to former WMBD producer and WCIA news director Jim Gee. Jim is now news director Southern Illinois University - Carbondale and WSIU-TV.

"Throughout my career, the part I've always enjoyed most is working with young professionals and students," Gee said. "It's important that students get a good start in journalism because there are so many pressures and changes going on in the industry."

WSIU was recently recognized for the state's top student newscast by the Illinois Broadcasters Association.

Turning 34

2006-12-01T00:05:00.000-06:00

Shannon suggested we get a sitter and go out to dinner and a movie on Saturday. I thought, that would be great, as we so rarely get to have "date nights", but why Saturday?

Saturday is my birthday. I totally forgot. Not that I make a big deal about my birthday. But to actually forget it... that's a new one.

I don't know if that's just how busy and preoccupied I am or if I'm just getting old...

Keeping In Touch

2006-11-30T23:57:00.000-06:00

Heard from three former MARKET 117ers this week. Ben Bailey sent an e-mail this week. He's doing well in Detroit and was reminsicing with Pat Dix about the good old days in Peoria. Ben worked at 25 when I was at 31, but we got to know each other covering many of the same stories.

Josh Klingler, known at WMBD radio as Josh Kelly, is doing sports radio in KC and is the father of two six week old twins. Congrats, man! He's playing soccer again too. Josh played in college and spent one season with the Airwaves.

And thanks to Monica Landeros for keeping me in mind when she knows Packer tickets are up for grabs. She's in Green Bay now.

Movie Night

2006-11-19T11:47:00.000-06:00

We actually spent the whole day on Saturday... all five of us... together. No activities... no commitments nothing. I think the next one will be sometime around 2010.

Took the kids to see "Happy Feet." I was pretty disappointed. It's like the filmmakers couldn't make up their minds... is it about being different or is it about saving the environment?

The best told stories are the simple ones and while it had entertaining moments, it fell short for me. My daughter fell asleep and that about said it all.

Indoor Season In Full Swing

2006-11-18T09:18:00.000-06:00

"Game on."

Only one Airwaves entry to the Morton indoor league. Good start to the season with 12-0 and 4-1 wins. I'm coaching on Thursdays... and still dinged up... so I'm mostly out this session.

Time To Exhale

2006-11-13T18:44:00.000-06:00

Haven't posted for a few days... been busy getting ready for yesterday. Through the Pekin Pride Soccer Club, I've started up developmental leagues for 5 through 10 year olds. We had a slight delay on our first day out, but other than that things went really well.

One Election Thought

2006-11-08T22:36:00.000-06:00

No really exciting races around here. I will say that I enjoyed what looks to be a "no" vote for negative ads. These ads got out of hand this time around and I'm hoping it's not a trend... as I'm sure there were people who didn't want to vote for anyone... cause so many candidates were painted with horrible brushes.

Stay positive people!

You Snooze You Lose

2006-11-08T22:02:00.000-06:00

When I worked at WEEK, I really enjoyed filling in on the morning show. I always thought if I continued in TV, that I'd want to anchor a morning show. Yes, it means working crazy hours, but I'd still be home when the kids were home.

When I filled in, I always had the worst fear I'd oversleep...

This was recently in the New York Daily News (click the link for the full story):

Steve Bartelstein's bumpy run at WABC/Ch. 7 has hit another pothole.
The popular morning news anchor was not on the air yesterday and has been suspended "indefinitely," according to multiple Ch. 7 sources.
Bartelstein, it seems, was suspended after showing up for work 20 minutes after the start of Monday's morning newscast, sources said.

News is one of those jobs where they really notice when you're late...

Sick Baby

2006-11-08T21:48:00.000-06:00

Okay, so he's not a baby, but he's our baby... and he's sick. And of course I'm alone with all three kids as Shannon had a meeting.

He had felt a little warm when I got home... then seemed out of sorts after dinner (hot dogs - daddy's specialty) so I let him lay down on our bed. Then I hear the uhhh... uhhh... and out came dinner... and bits of what we had for dinner the other night.

For those of you who know me personally, you know how bad I am with messes... and with this I'm the worst. I bring him to the toilet, like you would a college kid who had too much to drink... (father of the year, I know) and of course he's crying and doesn't understand what's going on...

Then he starts throwing up again... but instead of into the toilet, it lands on the floor and all over his shirt.

I finally got him settle down... but I think it's going to be a rough night.

Stupid TiVo

2006-11-08T21:42:00.001-06:00

So I'm watching "Heros" on NBC. I loved comic books growing up. But I record it on TiVo cause there is some stuff not suitable for little eyes.

The past two weeks, TiVo has stopped/cut off what I'm guessing is the last 30-45 seconds of the show.

Save the cheerleader, save the world...

Bad Sweeps Promo

2006-11-08T21:40:00.000-06:00

It's sweeps. I get it. But I have a small gripe.

NBC was running a Deal or No Deal promo, where they gave away how far a woman was going to get. Why? A big part of the fun of watching mindless game shows is you don't know what's going to happen. Did some genius figure... well, we'll let people know she'll get this far with 1$1,000,000 still on the board... that'll get more people to watch.

Really?

It took away from my enjoyment of that episode.

A Tough Loss

2006-11-08T21:31:00.000-06:00

I'm a little behind on posting. Congrats to the ICC women on a terrific season. The Lady Cougars lost 1-0 in the district title game on Saturday.

As I've written a little before, being a coach is in many ways like being a parent. And as happy as I was for my girls the past few games, I felt their pain on Saturday. I was tearing up on the way home after seeing two of the toughest girls I've known leave it all on the field and come off in tears.

But they gave Iowa Western its best game of the year and they can be proud that this is the best an ICC women's team has ever done.

Another Big Win

2006-11-04T09:44:00.000-06:00

ICC Women's Soccer won yesterday 2-0. Jenni Schoon scored two solid goals on passes from Brittany Lowell. A nice second half from Amanda LaGrow helped preserve the victory. The ladies move on to the district title game against Western Iowa, today at 2:00.

Thanks to the PJStar, WHOI and WMBD for coming out.

Happy Blogoversary

2006-11-02T23:21:00.000-06:00

This thing is two years old today.

One More Driving Gripe

2006-10-31T23:22:00.000-06:00

So I'm approaching a two way stop and another car is coming to the stop sign from the opposite direction. They've got their signal on for a left turn, but it's pretty apparent that I'm closer to the stop sign, will stop first and have the right of way.

Realzing this, and apparently not wanting to stop or let someone go first... the person taps the breaks a good ten yards before the stop sign, then rolls on through with their left turn. And the funny part is part of me actually gets what they were going for.

Missing Home

2006-10-31T23:19:00.000-06:00

As those of you who are regular readers know, I love sports and I miss being home this time of year. As I previously posted, my high school is in the final eight of the state soccer tournament... and they're in the final eight for football. Hopefully both teams do well.

Update: Soccer lost in the quarterfinals to Neenah, football lost to Riverside.

Halloween In A New Neighborhood

2006-10-31T23:13:00.000-06:00

Halloween was fun, but I expect no less with kids five and under. The baby (he'll be two in January, but he's still the baby) went up to the first house. After the older two got their treats, the lady gave him one... and I yelled "what do you say?" He looked at her and said "more" then started crying when he realized it was limit one. He'll get it next year.

The older two had a great time. At the second house, we were offered a fire, hot dogs and chilli. Not in a bag, mind you... they were having a get together. Great offer, but we had to decline as the kids would have revolted if we had stopped at one house.

We went to several houses before my duaghter gave up and retired to the stroller.

Funny thing that struck me... parents tell kids "never take candy from strangers." Then Halloween comes. And by the way, there's nothing fun about "fun size" candy.

ICC Women Win Regional

2006-10-29T19:40:00.000-06:00

Congrats to the ICC Women on a hard fought regional title game win. The ladies won 2-1 over Southwestern Illinois College.

After going down 1-0 in the second half, two of my former PCHS players led the comeback. Aimee St. Andre scored the equalizer on a beautiful header. Minutes later, her sister Chantal scored the game winner off a beautiful ball from Jenni Schoon.

Thanks to Donnie/WHOI and Rob/WMBD for their coverage of an exciting game.

Catching Up On Movies

2006-10-29T09:17:00.000-06:00

Getting a chance to catch up on movies I missed in the theaters for the first time in a long time. This week I saw (on satellite) Criminal, Click and The Break-Up.

Criminal is a remake of a 2000 Argentine film and is about a very intricate con. John C. Reilly, (who most people probably know from Boogie Nights or Talladega Nights) stars. George Clooney produced and it had an Oceans Eleven feel with out the glitz.

Shannon and I enjoyed Click, probably because we both didn't expect a lot. The message was a good one... and you could pretty easily catch the references to Scrooge and George Bailey. Without going Roger Ebert on you, I think the problem for me was I didn't know what kind of movie I was watching. Was it classic Adam Sandler or something that was supposed to make you think. I'm a big Sandler fan, but there was probably too much dog/stuffed duck humor that took away from the sentiment.

We watched The Break-Up last night. I think we had more expectation of this one. I thought many of the scenes just seemed to drag. And I got what they were trying to go for with the photos at the start setting up their relationship, but I think for me it was hard to be invested in their relationship with just that and they "how they met" scene. One of my favorite movies, When Harry Met Sally, does a great job of set up, passage of time... could have been more like that.

MUHS Rolls On

2006-10-27T00:50:00.001-05:00

My high school has made it to the round of 16 in soccer back home in Wisconsin. Marquette Univerisity High School is one of the top soccer programs in the nation, holding the national record for state titles. They've been WIAA champs five out of the last six years.

Currently they're ranked fifth in their region (Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin) and defeated the 12th ranked team tonight.

Go Hilltoppers!!!

Update: The Hilltoppers are going to state after a 5-1 win over Greenfield. They've had another great season that has included wins over Rockford Boylan, Gurnee Warren and Palatine Fremd, with the first two teams still alive in the IHSA tournament.

Napping At Work

2006-10-27T00:40:00.000-05:00

Today Show ran a story on this. I've always found it funny that little kids hate taking naps at school or home. How great would it be if midway through the day, your boss said... okay... "have a snack, then lay on this little cot?"

Home Today

2006-10-25T14:28:00.000-05:00

Shannon got all four wisdom teeth pulled today. She's in no shape to do anything, so I'm home on daddy patrol.

I feel so bad for her... she's freaked out enough about bad things happening to her teeth and she never had anisthetic before, but she made it through and is now resting.

On the way home, had to deal with two boneheads. First, as I'm driving on 74, some woman is on my butt, despite the 45 mph signs and all the construction. You can see she's getting impatient, even though there's no room in front of me. Finally on the bridge she passes me and gives me a dirty look. These are the people you wish would get pulled over. The extra 60 seconds you save are not worth hitting a worker.

We stop at Panera in EP on the way home. I'm in the parking lot and stop to turn into a space. There's a guy who just parked, talking on his cell phone as he slowly walks across my path. He even looks at me, then continues to walk, but now even slower. Now clearly, if I'm not going to blow through construction, I'm not in a hurry, but come on.

And then I pass him as I go in he's loudly swearing about something into the phone. I know they're a necessary evil in society today, but I can't stand cell phones... almost as much as I can't stand the self absorbed.

Little Soccer Champs

2006-10-23T00:58:00.000-05:00

So a couple of weeks ago, my wife gave our oldest a choice. We had a wedding in Milwaukee, but kids weren't invited to the reception, so he could either come up with us and stay with a sitter or as Shannon put it, see his uncles and aunt and all his cousins... or he could stay and play in his soccer championship. Even though I was the coach, taking part in the wedding as an usher and a reader was my priority.

He chose soccer.

So Saturday morning, before getting the tux on and all that comes with prepping for a wedding, we sat at the breakfast table wondering how he was doing. And we called to find out the great news. As we'd see on video later... he scored two goals to lead his team to a 2-0 win and the tournament title.

As a parent who coaches and played, it is so much fun for me to watch. The goals happend like this: on one, the opposing team's goalie made a save then started running towards the left side to get rid of it. In the video you can see my son anticipate and sprint towards where he thought the ball would end up. He controlled it, dribbled into the box, past the defenders and the goalie, then kicked it into an open net.

Later, he took a pass at midfield... dribbled around three defenders, but then it seems the ball was getting too far ahead... and headed out of bounds. The goalie comes out to pick it up, but at the last second, he cuts it back and it goes into the goal.

Clearly, like his father, he isn't able to shoot from more than five feet out, but hey... whatever works, right?

Field Trip

2006-10-23T00:55:00.000-05:00

I took Friday off... had a wedding in Milwaukee this weekend. But before we took off, Shannon and I took part in a field trip for our oldest to one of the Pekin fire stations.

Boy the kids' eyes got big as the crew backed one of its vehicles in. They learned some basic fire safety, until a call came in and cut the tour short.

Up Late

2006-10-17T01:24:00.000-05:00

Trying to catch up on a bunch of work...

Of course I have the TV on to keep me company... sucked into a horrible movie: Shocker.

It's your pretty basic horror/killer flick that takes a horrible turn at the end, but maybe gave birth to the concept for the Adam Sandler movie Click.

Nightmares, Lunches And Waiting For The Bus

2006-10-16T08:05:00.000-05:00

My head is killing me... right at the spot where I took that shot yesterday.

I had a nightmare last night... that my son got off the bus and no one was here to meet him. Probably because that's my job today and it never is.

I was also in charge of lunch. We bought lunch meat and bread last night, but he also had me get some Lunchables. I was going to make him a sandwich, but he opted for that instead. I'm wondering if mom would approve.

He's very into school... he keeps asking me, "how many more minutes till the bus comes?" I was never the greatest student, but I never dreaded going to school like some kids... hope this attitude sticks with him.

Guys Night Out

2006-10-15T21:00:00.000-05:00

Just me and my oldest tonight. After he woke up from a nap, we split a pizza at Mickie's, then went to Walmart for a few things. He was really good today, so I bought him a couple of new books and we spent some time reading when we got home.

Nights like these are so much fun... I know this time will go fast, so I'm trying to savor it.

0-3 In Fantasy

2006-10-15T18:23:00.000-05:00

All three of my teams failed to perform this weekend.

Oh well, at least the Packers didn't lose (bye week).

Gordon Signs With Indiana

2006-10-15T18:18:00.000-05:00

Regular readers of the blog know I'm a big fan of college hoops... specifically Marquette (my alma mater) and Illinois (got to know the Manual kids while covering them at 31, Shannon's alma mater).

From the Chicago Sun Times...

Ignoring the commitment Gordon gave to Weber last November after he was hired at
Indiana in March, new IU coach Kelvin Sampson, who preached integrity when he
was president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches, put a
full-court press on the 6-4 guard, who is listed as the nation's No. 1 prospect
by recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons.
''To lose the nation's No. 1 prospect is
totally devastating to Illinois recruiting,'' Gibbons said. ''They had hoped to
sign Eric Gordon and [Simeon's] Derrick Rose at one time. Now Illinois has lost
them both. The impact is unfortunate because Bruce Weber is a good guy who does
things the right way. All he could do was hope [Gordon] would stick to his word.
So much for ethics.''
Among the tactics that raised eyebrows, Sampson hired
Jeff Meyer, who was the elder Gordon's coach at Liberty University, as an
assistant. Sampson, who was sanctioned for breaking NCAA rules at Oklahoma by
making myriad recruiting phone contacts, also hired Travis Steele, a coach for
the younger Gordon's AAU team, as a video coordinator.

It's disappointing as a fan... and probably hurts the team/coach's reputation more than it has an on the court impact (most expect Gordon to be off to the NBA after one year).

Analog Airwaves Finish Undefeated

2006-10-15T17:37:00.000-05:00

I'll post a Digital score later... they play at 5:30.

Analog finished off the season with a 4-2 win over the Titans. With the win, Analog ends up in first place, going a perfect 8-0 on the year.

The game was tight early. Missing our starting two defenders hurt... having only one sub didn't help. Vito got things going with a shot from the left side that their keeper couldn't handle and the 1-0 lead held till halftime.

Early in the second, I got a good lead pass, cut it back then put one left footed in the left corner. I had another as did Jose before they got on the board twice.

Game was marred by bad sportsmanship. Midway through the second half, I get the ball in the midfield and send it up. The ball is maybe 15-20 yards away, when one of their women, wearing some kind of helmet/head gear just unloads with two arms and the helmet and tries to take my head off.

She tried to apologize, but to me that's kind of hollow. I mean, I don't condone hurting anyone at all, but if you're going to do something like that, at least pretend like you're going for the ball.

I laughed it all off and this apparently honked her off even more. If I understood her crazed rantings, I think she got hurt on my knee brace earlier in the game and she turned that into I tried to hurt her. So this was apparently her chance to get me back. What a psycho.

Funny, usually something like this would push me to play harder, but all I could think was my wife is out of town. If this woman had hit me square in the head with the headgear, and I had gotten knocked out... it would have been pretty scarry for my five year old who was watching on the sidelines. But if I have learned anything... I know that people like that just don't care.

So the psycho leaves the field at some point later, starts screaming and talking trash to another one of our players... until the ref blows the whistle, and tells her to knock it off. That was about right.

So all that aside, Analog finished off a great year, giving up only three goals on the season. With two more goals today (twenty on the year), I was able to raise $500 for the Pekin Pride Soccer Club. Thanks to P&W Builders for their support.

Indoor starts soon and while I'll still do the organizing, but injuries have really caught up to me and I'll be out for a while. I probably wouldn't have played the second half of this season if it weren't for the opportunity to raise money for the kids.

Just For Kicks

2006-10-14T20:26:00.000-05:00

Coached my oldest son's Boys and Girls Club team in their first tournament game today.

I've written about them a little bit... and really saw the fruits of my labor in a few moments today. Some of them have really started to embrace the concept of passing and it's amazing how just one or two passes in bumble bee soccer really opens things up.

It is a lot of fun. I make sure the kids get a lot of positive reinforcement, lots of high fives and answer all their questions. I tie shoes in the middle of the field and make sure they're having fun.

My son scored the first two goals. He's been playing really well all year, and even better as of late. He finished up indoor at Mossville with six goals in two games.

So here's where the struggle starts for me. Anyone who knows me knows that I have great passion for the game. And as much as I stress fun... I work hard to make sure I don't even hint at becoming like this guy's father.

But here's the thing. After I got up from a rare nap this afternoon, my son says to me: "daddy, if I clean up the front room, can we practice soccer in there?" He wanted to do more after dinner too... and right before bed.

So what do I do. The season is over next week. I don't want to push him this young. I really don't. But am I failing him if I don't nurture his passion... find him more places to play? I don't know.

Lonteen To Sell Peoria

2006-10-14T20:20:00.000-05:00

A story in the Journal Star today covers how WMBD news director Brent Lonteen has been offered the job of Peoria Area Convention and Visitors Bureau director.

Having worked and lived with Brent, I can tell you that you'd be hard pressed to find someone who loves this area more.

If he accepts it, this will be a great challenge and one I think he'll do well with, although to be fair it is unchartered territory and there will be a tough learning curve coming from television.

Update: heard through the grapevine that the move was announced to 31 staffers.

Fantasy Football

2006-10-13T22:47:00.000-05:00

Having trouble keeping up with three fantasy teams... 4-1 in the MARKET 117 league... 3-2 in another, 2-3 in a third.

Larry Johnson is on all three of my teams, so you can imagine, in addition to being scared for the guys health, that my season looked to be over for a few moments.

Three teams is really a challenge... thankfully I'm only co-owner of the third.

Red Eye

2006-10-13T22:43:00.000-05:00

Caught the movie Red Eye recently. I think if she does more thrillers, I could definitely switch from being an "Ashley Judd in peril movie" guy to a "Rachel McAdams in danger movie" guy.

Just a thought...

Blogger Challenges HOI

2006-10-12T22:58:00.000-05:00

Scott Janz posts about coverage of the recent Dagit/Smith commercial confrontations.

He writes, "C’mon HOI you can do better than that."

Generally speaking, I think all three stations are pretty fair when it comes to political coverage, but Scott seems to feel that WEEK gave him a more balanced take.

Tebben For Mayor

2006-10-12T22:33:00.000-05:00

So my father in law has thrown his hat back into the political ring. As locals read and saw in the news this past week, Dave Tebben announced he's again going to run for the post of Pekin mayor.

Frank Mackaman has done a great job since taking over for Lyn Howard, but isn't planning on running in April. I of course have mixed feelings about this. As I've written in the past, from a truly selfish standpoint, I like having him around with more free time. My father in law is a great guy and I enjoy spending time with him.

On the other hand, this type of service truly suits him. He loves this place and has worked hard to help it grow. As a reporter covering him (before I even knew he had a daughter I'd end up marrying) I was so impressed with his demeanor and attitude... the way he worked with a wide range of people. Agree or disagree with him, but he is truly someone who does his homework, thinks critically about the issues and casts votes he feels are in this town's best interests.

The opportunity for him to run for a state office has been there, but he continues to make Pekin his priority and I will support him in every way I can.

Truth Test

2006-10-12T20:23:00.000-05:00

At my station in California, one of our anchors did an election time feature called Truth Test or something like that... centered around truth in political ads.

I was thinking about this the other day after being bombarded by ads in the governor's race... read Jonathan Ahl's post... said better than I could have.

Who Are The Clowns?

2006-10-08T22:50:00.000-05:00

So Josh, Shannon and I were talking about this over dinner. Who are the clowns at the networks who have started messing with the scheduling of certain shows. Those of you with TiVo know what I mean... scheduling a show from 8:00 to 9:01 so that depending on your DVR system, it screws up or makes it challenging to record the next show you want to record.

Is this how they're trying to compete now? We're going to have Gray's Anatomy run over two minutes and maybe mess up you getting ER, for example. This, as my friend Brett likes to say, is bush league.

This isn't like what TBS used to do, having everything start at five minutes after the hour... that was there thing.

This feels like a cheap way to get people not to watch other shows. Weak. Knock it off.

Just produce good shows... we'll decide what we watch.

New Anchor At WMBD

2006-10-08T22:45:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Catherine Cambra, the new weekend anchor at WMBD. Catherine replaces Meg Johnson who moved to the FOX 43 News at 9.

Catherine is originally from Hawaii, but has reported in the Bangor, Maine market.

Ivan Drago Is Real

2006-10-08T22:34:00.000-05:00

My dad is a big boxing fan and likes that I have satellite so he can watch when he and my mom come to visit as they did this weekend. Usually I'll watch for a few minutes, but I actually watched a whole fight on Saturday.

For those of you haven't seen him, Nikolai Valuev is almost straight out of Rocky IV. He's 7 feet tall and 320 some pounds. He is a mountain of a man who looks a bit like the late Andre the Giant... and it was actually fascinating to watch him fight. He fought a guy named Monte Barrett who was 6'3, 222.

To put this into perspective of more mainstream sports, imagine if Shaq and Dwayne Wade stepped in the ring for a fight. That is essentially the size differential.

To see Valuev throw a punch from what seemed like the other side of the ring was astounding. And Barrett was trying really hard, but it was almost as if he had to jump to land something solid. And Valuev isn't plodding like you'd expect someone that size to be, he has a fair amount of quickness.

Valuev won by TKO when Barrett's manager stepped in to stop the fight, which he should have as his guy was in real trouble. Valuev is now 45-0 and really worth checking out.

Airwaves Win Two

2006-10-08T22:13:00.000-05:00

Congrats to Digital on a 5-0 win over Jupiter Images. Don’t have details on who scored, but Bill let me know they played a great game.

Analog played its toughest game of the season. We entered the game 6-0. Our opponents, the Nomads, also came in 6-0 and our respective teams were tied for first place.

A few thoughts…

Yes, first and foremost this is rec league. My assumption is all of the players on both teams have played in bigger, more meaningful games in their youth… but on a fall Sunday afternoon, at our ages and places in life, this was the big game and the players on both sides approached it that way.

One thing that was pretty clear from the start, our opponents have a couple of players who just won’t stop whining… it started a minute into the game and continued till the end. And one of those players, was just a complete tool the entire game. In honor of former teammate Beth Krug who coined the term… he was what she would call a “wamper” and in fact, let’s refer to him as Wamper for the rest of this post.

I was offsides early on. I knew it and would have been fine if the ref called it. But the he missed it and so, Wamper wamps to the ref and he wamps about me… hanging by the last defender all game, he just won’t let it go even minutes later as the ref points out to their team. Later, he gets called for offisides and continues to wamp at the top of his lungs, even though some of his teammates agreed with the ref.

I had a couple of good chances in the first half, but rushed the shots. Mid way through the half, DJ gets the ball in the middle… I break outside left… he looks my way, then shoots and puts it in the left corner. Wamper starts wamping about how what we just did sucked. Nice. Just a few weeks ago, when they were playing Digital, he was in rare form, screaming to the ref to call an illegal pass back to the goalie… only the goalie didn’t pick up the ball, she kicked it. That’s not illegal when you’re six… or when you’re an adult. So the whole wamping thing is pretty much his standard approach.

The game was intense to say the least. Hard fouls… lots of pushing. But good passing and defense too. The ref at one point says to me that this is the best 7v7 game he’s ever seen. And the tempers and whining really started kicking in... and to be fair… on both sides. At one point, another one of their players was about to send the ball… and I challenged sticking my leg out to block a pass. He kicks my shin, dings up his foot, then starts complaining to the ref… who points out that there was noting illegal about that.

We’re ahead 1-0 at half, but they come out strong in the second and had a couple of good early chances.

Later, there was a great sequence when we get the ball on the left side… and I drop as close to their goalie as I can. Jimmy makes a great throw, and they start screaming for offsides. There is no offsides on a throw in. Not for six year olds, not for adults. But this is par for the day.

Now don’t get me wrong… there were some class acts on their team. After I took a pretty hard foul, a couple of them rushed over to make sure I was okay. But Wamper just kept running his mouth…

So with less than ten minutes to go, they were working so hard to tie it up and had a few solid chances, but at some point, I got a breakaway on the left side… cut it right and blasted the ball home from point blank (another $25 from P&W Builders to Pekin Pride soccer, BTW). And all the emotion built up over the course of the game came out as I screamed with elation. I’ll admit it definitely wasn’t the most sportsmanlike of reactions, but at that point I had heard and had enough. This is something I struggle with though... as a coach I work hard to discourage this attitude, but as a player, there's only so much I can stomach and the competitiveness just takes over. I had taken his garbage the whole game and Wamper was going to know who slammed the door shut.

Of course on my way back to our side of the field, he started mocking me, which was fine. I wrote a few weeks ago about the five year old telling my son how “he’s a loser” and how “he sucks” after he scored a goal. My theory is Wamper is what happens when kids like that grow up and keep playing. Whatever.

So in the end, Analog celebrated a hard fought, 2-0 win. We improve to 7-0 with one game to go.
I’m pretty beat up tonight, but it really does hurt less when you win.

No Deal, No Deal

2006-10-03T00:39:00.000-05:00

My kids have got that phrase down. Even the one year old has a garbled version of it.

Guilty pleasure... Deal or No Deal... I'll admit it. Even I could be on that game show.

What is it about some of these game shows where you get sucked in and just live and die with total strangers getting a chance at money for nothing.

So I was thinking about who I'd take on the show to be my three person support system...

Right now I'm at Shannon, Steve Scheuer (for his "experience") and my sister... the voice of reason in our family.

Unless I could get Shania, Ashley Judd and Reese Witherspoon...

Who would you take?

More From The Kiddie Soccer Fields

2006-10-03T00:12:00.000-05:00

Coached my five year old and his Boys and Girls Club team tonight. Coaching this age has been quite the experience so far. More often than not, the challenge has nothing to do with soccer...

Tonight I tied three shoes in the middle of the field. This was a season low.

Here are some phrases that have actually come out of my mouth the past couple of weeks:

"Guys, no lying down on the field."

"Don't tackle your teammates."

"No sticking your tongue out at other kids."

Still... it's a lot of fun and a good experience. Like tonight, the other team kicked the ball towards one of our players and as she stood in the goal area. It hit her arm and dropped. The ref blew the whistle and called a hand ball.

Before they took the kick, I very calmly explained to him that I wasn't going to argue his call, but I did want to point out why the call is incorrect. If a player handles the ball deliberately, a rule is broken. He explained that they were told to call it anytime it hit a hand and that was good enough for me.

The other team scored on the PK, but I felt really good about being able to help explain the rule. He's a nice guy... voluntering his time... and I hope he found it helpful too. The only way these kids are going to learn the rules is if all the adults are on the same page.

Of course later, when the other team's goalie ran out of the box with the ball, and I pointed it out... the other team's coach was upset because "they haven't been calling that in other games." We did it over, which was fine... but continuing with the theme... I think the adults need to be on the same page.

I wasn't about to say, "we shuld get a free kick." I wanted them to do it over... because if it's true that it hasn't been called, then we need to teach... not just let it go for the sake of one team's advantage. They're five and six... half of them don't know if they won when the final whistle blows.

The teaching and learning that goes on is really the neatest thing about it. Yes, the babysitting aspect of it can be a challenge. Much of it is herding.

But tonight, I saw the beginings of a light bulb go on for one of my players. He's a really good dribbler, but has struggled to pick up the concept of passing... as is the case with the great majority of kids this age. But on a kick off, I encouraged him to pass it as hard as he could to his group of teammates. My son got the ball and scored. Same thing happened later on and we ended up winning 2-1.

But that was the least important aspect of the night. In the end, I really reinforced with the kids that the biggest reason my son scored those goals was because of the passes his friend made... and sharing the ball is very important... and you could start to see the nods and the other little light bulbs. We'll most likely be back to bumble bee soccer come Saturday, but I'm planting seeds.

Airwaves Split Yet Again

2006-10-02T23:14:00.000-05:00

Analog played the early game against Sheridan Nursery and stayed undefeated, winning 14-0. They were missing many of their stronger players and actually only had six show up. In the spirit of fairness, we played with six, but it didn't matter.

I have really mixed feeling about the game. On the one hand, I was disappointed cause they've traditionally been a really strong team... we tied with them for first last year in the B league. I also feel kind of bad that the scoring got out of hand, but to be honest some of the goals were deflected in by their own people. In the end, I had four ($100 more for Pekin Pride soccer - $425 for the season for those of you following along), Vito had three, Crystal had three, Jim, Karen, Jose and DJ each had one.

Really looking forward to next weeks game. We play the other undefeated, first place team... The Nomads with each team led by former Bradley soccer teammates (Vito for us, Steve for them).

Digital played Ag Lab United to a 2-2 tie, but officially lost. Please see this post from "Ahl Things Considered" for a pretty humorous take on what happened in their game.

From Standups to Standup

2006-10-02T23:05:00.000-05:00

When I was a photographer at WISN in Milwaukee, one of my favorite reporters was Murv Seymour. Seeing me and Murv out on stories had to have been visually pretty funny... him at the time being 6'4", 270... me being 5'5", 130. We were a great duo on the basketball court though... speed and power... outside and inside.

Murv was always pretty funny... but after moving on from Milwaukee, he reported at a couple other stations, then followed his heart and is now a full time stand up comedian.

Got to take in his show on Saturday night... really good stuff. Talked to him for a while afterwards... I really admire what he's doing. This is something I always wanted to try... and probably should have when I live in LA...

It takes a lot of guts to get up there and put yourself on the line... he talked about the challenges and the struggles, but to get paid to make people laugh... wow... I would find that incredibly rewarding.

Hoping I can figure out a way to get him booked for a gig around here.

Whirlwind Weekend

2006-10-02T22:58:00.000-05:00

Packed a lot into the two days off...

Coached E's Boys and Girls Club soccer team... game got done at 12:30...

Went home, packed... Shannon drove up to the outlet mall in Kenosha (I got her gift certificates for her birthday) with our girl and met a friend for a day of shopping... while the boys and I stopped earlier on 55 to watch Pekin Pride play in the Best of the Midwest tournament. They beat a team from Chicago on Saturday afteroon.

Drove up to Kenosha... handed off the baby and drove on to Milwaukee...

Dropped my oldest off with my parents, then cruised down to Brady Street to JD's Comedy Cafe... to see a friend of mine perform.

Got home at midnight... hung with mom for a while, then crashed.

Woke up at 6... was going to stop and see the girls third tournament game, but 794 was closed and before I could figure out the alternate route... I was to far west to adjust... so I headed for home.

Dropped my oldest off at home... layed down for ten minutes, then got back in the car...

Went to Peoria, played soccer... went home...

Watched some football before starting to snore on the couch... but only for a little bit as we had friends over for dinner.

Whew.

Bye Bye To Tradition, Convenience

2006-09-29T22:14:00.000-05:00

Current and former 31ers say goodbye to an old friend. If you've worked there in the past 10+ years you've had many a meal at the Wendy's that's literally a stone's throw from the newsroom door.

It's something people in markets from New York City and Orlando to Chicago have in common.

But with the announcement of all the area Wendy's closing, it looks like more breaks from making a difference will be taking place at Steak and Shake.

Jesse Heading South

2006-09-29T21:31:00.000-05:00

Jesse Chavez is leaving WEEK for warmer climates. He'll be a reporter anchor at KTSM in El Paso.

Changing Directions

2006-09-28T20:57:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Rebecca Somach upon completing flight attendant training for United Airlines. She graduated just last week. It's apparently a pretty intense six week course with an intense focus on safety and emergency situations.

Rebecca was part of a series of layoffs at her station in Sacramento earlier in the year and decided to try something different and I think it's great. She'll be based out of LA for a while.

Ahl Things Considered

2006-09-28T19:58:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the blogosphere to my friend, Jonathan Ahl. For those of you who listen to Jonathan on WCBU or have worked with him... you know he's sharp as a tack and has a really good sense for the world around us. And his blog has catchy title.df

In one of his first posts he digs into the economics of Captain Feathersword... the friendly pirate of "The Wiggles" fame.

Don't worry man... my wife thinks a lot of the things I think about are silly...

Airwaves Split Again

2006-09-25T00:05:00.000-05:00

Analog won its fifth straight game - this one was an 8-0 over Jupiter Images. DJ had two, Trey had two, Vito, Lauren, Karen and Jim each had one. I had four assists, but just couldn't finish today, so no money for Pekin Pride this weekend. Ran into Dave Whitehurst from P&W on my way to the game... teased him on the way back that he jinxed me. I'll have to work a little harder for the girls next week.

Digital lost to Just Kickin Around 6-1. Don't have details yet, but the team was again missing several key players.

So Much For An Off Season

2006-09-23T19:57:00.000-05:00

I started coaching 5 and 6 year olds for the Boys and Girls Club of Pekin. We had our second game today. It is a lot of fun, but I have to say that after coaching kindergarteners, the high school season is going to seem much easier.

I'm also helping out more with Pekin Pride. They're playing in the Morton tournament this weekend. They beat Metamora 5-0 last night and beat Springfield, a team that has beaten them several times in the past, 1-0. Great effort tonight.

Plus, I play tomorrow at 1:45, so even though, unlike the girls season, I don't have something every night of the week, it isn't the laid back time of year for me that Shannon is used to.

Man Time Flies

2006-09-23T19:55:00.000-05:00

Had lunch with Kurt Pegler and Steve Scheuer on Friday. Sometimes it takes a simple lunch to really magnify for me how much time has passed. I worked with those guys ten years ago... now, scarily Steve and I are dads.

Lessons About Life And Parenting From The Soccer Field

2006-09-19T06:38:00.000-05:00

My oldest had a soccer game in Mossville last night. I couldn't have been more proud.

His team was getting killed. But down eight or nine to nothing, there he was... taking the ball from half towards the goal. For those of you who have played with or against me, it looked like a miniature version of his dad... his little legs churning... letting him fly like the wind. He loses the ball for a second, then gets it back, goes around the defenders and pops it into the goal.

It was his first, and I of course was beaming.

But that's not what I was proud of. Minutes later, his friend Eric saves the ball and he runs back to congratulate him... but in the process, a little blonde kid from the other team turns and shoves my son with two hands and says something. For the rest of the game this continues, this kid in his face... my son shaking his head and pushing the kids hand away.

At the end of the game, the kid is still on him and I yell "hey" to get them to stop. In talking to my son after the game and hearing from others... apparently this other kid was going up and down the field telling mine how "he sucks" and how "he's a loser." I asked my son what he said back... and he said, "Daddy, I told him to just play the game and get your head in the game."

I was amazed.

As a coach, I really stress the importance of good sportsmanship and he's picked up on that... although the actual line "get your head in the game" I find out later came from a scene in Disney's High School Musical. As a player, the kind of crap my son was taking would (and still does) get my blood boiling. As a player, pull that on me and I become an even bigger jerk. I won't play dirty... at this point in life, I'm pretty lazy as a player, but I'll work really hard the rest of the game to score or set up as many goals as my broken down body will let me... and my ultimate goal becomes to make the offender feel like they've wasted their afternoon (my brother and sister like to tease me for this, but I've come to accept that at this point in life, its who I am).

As a parent, I went through a whole range of emotions those last few minutes... mostly anger and outrage. And here's my son... who ignored it all and continued to play for the joy of playing.

I wanted to say something to the mean kid's father after the game, but refrained. Maybe it would have turned out okay, but maybe not. If this is the way his kid is at five, how much has he has contributed to that? Would we have gotten into a screaming match... or would he have just hit me? And then what would my son have learned?

As a parent you want to protect your kids, stick up for them when they need it, but in that moment, I realized this is just another one of those moments where you have to let go, let them deal, let them learn. Shannon wasn't there, but I showed her video of the first incident. She can't believe kids this age are like this... but maybe this is just a symptom of where our society is headed.

Still, I have to say my son handled himself with such grace... and on the way home I told him how proud I was... he at first thought it was because he scored, but I made sure he knew that while that was great, I was most proud of how he handled himself with that other boy.

He must get this from his mom ;)

Airwaves Win One, Don't Know About The Other Yet

2006-09-17T23:32:00.000-05:00

Analog Airwaves won its fourth straight game... this one a 4-0 win over Ag Lab United. It could have been a much bigger margin, but their keeper was tremendous... stopping several point blank shots and a penalty kick. Lauren had one, I had three - $75 more dollars for Pekin Pride soccer. Analog is tied with the Nomads for first place at 4-0.

I'll get a Digital score and update this tomorrow.

Thank You To Supporters of Can Do

2006-09-17T10:33:00.000-05:00

Thanks to everyone who made the Can Do Walk/Run a great success.

District 150, Irving principal Mike Illuzi and the Irving teachers, students and volunteers, Methodist Medical Center, CEFCU, 5 Star Water, Apples Bakery,
Jim McComb Chevrolet, Running Central, Illinois Valley Striders, Joseph and Hishon Chiropractic, Indiana University Alumni Association, Village of Peoria Heights and our media sponsors WMBD-TV and 104.9 The Wolf.

And thanks to WEEK, WOAM and WMBD Radio, Peoria Journal Star, Washington Courier, Washington Times Reporter and the Peoria Pundit for their coverage leading up to the event.

A New Car... Or At Least A Newer Car

2006-09-17T09:34:00.000-05:00

I did it. I took the plunge. Starting tomorrow and after much research I'll be driving a Toyota Camry. But I couldn't bear to get rid of the BMW... yet.

We did a lot of looking yesterday. Why is it, when you just want to look, you get bombarded with help... and when you actually want to buy, it's like you're invisible? We looked at a Mazda 6 Wagon... but Shannon just couldn't picture it... I drove a Miata when she met me and thought this might just be the natural evolution. Plus, this wagon would ensure all my soccer crap... errr... gear would stay out of our closet and in my car.

But we kept looking...

I had test driven this Camry before... compared it to others around here via the internet and it was a at a signficantly lower mileage. Thanks to all who shared their two cents in person and via email.

Waking Up Paranoid And Hungry

2006-09-15T06:40:00.000-05:00

Got up early this morning to be a guest on WEEK to help promote Can Do. Set the alarm for 4:30 because when I used to fill in on the morning show, I used to have these horrible dreams that I'd oversleep.

But of course, being so early, I didn't eat breakfast. And when I sat down to wait for the interview, what do I hear? Grumbling stomach. That's the worst. Sitting there... thinking at any minute whatever your saying is going to be interrupted by borborygmi - the technical term defined as rumbling sounds caused by gas moving through the intestines.

Thankfully I made it through without incident... and nobody knew... well except anyone reading now.