Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Wednesday Scrapple

Here's why I hate basketball:  The NY Post says the last one minute and 45 seconds of a recent game between Cleveland and Chicago took nearly 15 minutes to play.  That's just insane.

Why do the NY Yankees tolerate such amateurish and annoying radio broadcasts?

What's with all the big fires lately?

Less than two weeks to go before the Pennsylvania Primary.  It's going to be a long couple weeks.  The ads, yard signs, and assorted other campaigning have become overwhelming.

I do not wish ill on others, but it was really nice watching Tiger Woods flub a lot of shots last week.

Sorry for all the sports today.

My drug store of choice has now gotten into the loyalty card business.  How I hate those things!  I keep the little tags on a key chain for when I go shopping.  There are now a dozen...  Best Buy, Staples, Wegman's, Price Chopper, CVS, Rite Aid, Weis, ShurSave, Shop Rite, Giant, Turkey Hill, Joe's Kwik Marts...  I'm sure the list will get longer.  I know it's an important marketing tool, and it might even save consumers a few cents, but I still find all those cards mind numbing.

Another recent survey shows newspaper circulation is down.  Surprised?

After the 60 Minutes interview, my mixed feelings on Conan O'Brien remain.  I do feel sorry for him, a little.  It's tough having sympathy for someone who walked away with a $30 million check.  NBC treated him badly.  He didn't deliver ratings, but the show wasn't given a chance to grow.  He allegedly resisted NBC's attempts to soften the show for an earlier audience.  I've never liked Conan O'Brien because he always tried to be funnier than his guests.  However, he did come across well in the CBS interview.

The O'Brien interview is on line.  Watch it.  Steve Kroft knows his stuff, and it all comes down to the simple fact that he let O'Brien talk.  The "it's all about me" broadcasters out there should view that 60 Minutes piece, and learn from it.

Retired Detroit Tigers broadcaster Ernie Harwell died yesterday.  Cancer.  92.  CBS Radio used to have the Major League Baseball contract, and it always hired Harwell to work some of the playoff games.  It was a treat to listen to a true professional.