Home, but Active

He's watching me

 

I slept last night.

I mean, it wasn't off the charts but I slept, er, OK.

So I was up and drinking a cup of coffee in the living room.

The living room has boxes and some walking room in it. The cat sits up in his tower. But, mostly, it's becoming a holding area to move.

In fact, preparing for the move was how I thought the day was going to go.

Then the phone rang. Could I jump on a case?

Um, OK. When.

"Now."

My hair was still in several places thanks to bed head but I quickly splashed some water on it and threw on an appropriate shirt.  A faded creamsicle Tampa Bay Bucs jersey isn't the way to appear on Zoom for a court deposition.

I went from that phone call to going on the record in seven minutes. They needed me to be fast and so I hustled.

The truth is I only really need to be seen on camera to start the proceedings. After that, it's my voice and not my face that is needed.

So as they began the deposition, I double-checked everything. The recording was rolling and each other item was correct.

At that point, with a mostly quiet day ahead of me, I was good to go with a case that would take up the day and I figured I could use my home time wisely, and then...it was over.

Quickly. That was all the time they needed.

So I did my paperwork, fixed an issue with uploading the files, and that was it.

From there, I had my day in front of me. 

Oh, there were plenty of things to do. I went up into the attic. I did some paperwork and cleaning/rearranging. I did "Doubleheader."

There is still the clerical side of moving, which is mostly organizing things like switching the electricity and cable/internet accounts, along with changing addresses to several accounts.

We're still waiting patiently to hear when (and if) we can start moving anything over to our new address.

*****

I'm watching the Stanley Cup Finals and lead announcer Sean McDonough is clearly battling through an illness.

His voice clearly isn't right and I feel for him.

McDonough's performance throughout these playoffs has faced heavy scrutiny. Those saying they never speak ill of another broadcaster have waged a nearly nightly war on McDonough, saying how he should be removed by the more excitable Bob Wichusen.

"Bullet Bob," a former WFAN update anchor, is certainly worthy of the praise.

But I feel for McDonough, especially tonight. If you're not familiar with him, it's easy to criticize him because his voice is very flat. He's normally not like this.

I've been in this place, in terms of voice issues during a call. Dealing with a sore throat, along with whatever else, and loss of power in how I make my living isn't what you want.

So McDonough isn't at his best tonight and these are the Stanley Cup Finals. Oh, the information is still sharp but the power and energy are off.

I'd truly love to go to someone else's job and judge how they do. That's what dealing with armchair broadcasters is like.

McDonough has called the World Series, the Cup Finals, and myriad other big events. He's a pro and knows what he's doing.

I always read how fellow broadcasters shouldn't criticize one another.

Read the cesspool of Twitter/X tonight and you'll see the jabs McDonough is taking throw that belief right out the window.

Very petty.

And not very positive.

Oh, and while I'm at it, leave reporter Emily Kaplan alone. Yes, she asks questions that are unique, but she also knows her stuff. Any comments about her appearance are unnecessary. 

Lastly, since I'm on a roll, I'm here to stand up for Portland Sea Dogs broadcaster Emma Tiedemann. Once again, I'm sorry to say backward-thinking Neanderthal men still exist.

According to Jesse Scaglion (Tiedemann's husband), this clown called the front off and announced that he was "NEVER coming back to a Sea Dogs game b/c we have a female broadcaster & men only go to baseball games to 'get away from women & that our broadcaster should go to softball.'"

Not cool.

Speaking of pros, that's Emma.

We don't care about these things and have to have thick skin. Then again, we do care.

Sometimes, all one can say is "Do better."