Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Baseball Broadcasting

This is Graham McNamee.  Every sports broadcaster should know his name.
This makes Rob happy.

Very.

Happy.

My good friends at PCTV76.org, Tom Prizeman and Shane McGaffey, put the broadcast online of Pleasantville's baseball victory over Hastings.

Tom and I called the action, with Shane doing his usual fabulous job on camera.

It was the first baseball game I had called in almost three years, when I did the Renegades and Brooklyn Cyclones, a day after calling the Gades and Staten Island Yankees.

There was a little rust, but it felt good.

I miss it like you have no idea.  Unless you are a loyal reader of this blog, in which case you probably know I have probably whined about not calling baseball incessantly.

I've got one more game scheduled with Tom for the spring season.

The Mary Higgins Clark Article


My story with the wonderful Mary Higgins Clark has made it to web.

It got edited, very slightly, from the initial version due to space restraints.  I don't think I need to get the unedited version up, since I feel you'll get the point if you are so inclined to read it.

I worked in references to Don Imus and the New York Yankees.

That makes me a happy person.

This, along with Tom Coughlin, has been my favorite story to write (since joining the Bulletin).  Coming on Thursday (in print), I profile a band made up of high school students that got a favorable review from my editor.  So there's that.

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Ready to Travel!


It's no secret that I love me some Waffle House.  In fact, as much as I wish they would open one nearby, it's probably for the best.

Therefore, it sets up the opportunity for a road trip.

At Sean's request.

Tomorrow, after school, we will hit the road for a late birthday present.  Yes, I know, his birthday is in February.  Hear me out.

Sean has been yelling at me to take him back to WH for a while.  Believe me, having lived through the horror of watching Lisa eat at one in Florida with her equally horrified parents (and their mocking of me), I know to choose my Waffle House companions carefully.

The Scranton, PA area has not one, but two (Moosic and Clarks Summit).  But there needed to be more to this trip to make it worth it, right?

Yup.  Trains.  Steamtown National Historic Site.  Plus the Lackawanna County Coal Mine Tour.  Plus the Electric City Trolley Museum.  And Krispy Kreme donuts.  And (rebuilt) PNC Field, home of the Scranton-Wilkes Barre RailRiders.  And pizza in Old Forge.

And, if that wasn't enough, Sean said, and I quote: "Can we go to Wawa?"

I'll find one (actually, I found two, off of Interstate 80)!

All of this is his doing.  His trip.  Not mine.  OK, maybe it's our trip.

Trains. trolleys. Swimming.  A hotel (not sure the last time he stayed in one).  ROADS!  Win! Win!

Sean feels like he's living large!

And we're going alone.  I was told Lisa could go (alas she has to work).  Otherwise, he wanted this to be him and Daddy.

Initially, I thought maybe we'd make it a day trip.  Then I toyed with the idea of grabbing a room via Priceline.

But no.  I've booked us a room at the SpringHill Suites Scranton (in the back yard of PNC Field).  For our wheels, I've rented a car via Enterprise (at a crazy good price).  Again, he had a say in all of this.

For those who know the area, I could have stayed at the Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel but, with the exception of the lobby, it's not obvious that you're staying in an old train station.  If you see the outside of the building and walk around in the lobby, you get the idea.  Plus the price isn't great.  Plus parking.  Plus it honestly didn't blow me away when I stayed there a year ago.  However it was the place where some of the idea of this trip began.

So we'll visit that.

But the calendar worked against us.  We were aiming for mid-March, but discovered the coal mine (which stays pretty cool) didn't open until April 1.  Then I saw that neither the trains or trolleys weren't having riders until late April.  Oh, and I don't see Sean every weekend (though, to his mothers credit, we probably could have worked something out).

So this weekend was truly the first opportunity to go and have the full effect.  Sean has been very patient.

I'm pumped.  Excited.  Thrilled.

I know, some may scoff.  How could we go to Scranton?  Home of "The Office."  Home of...er...not much.  Why not go somewhere else?  Somewhere more glamorous?

It's about the experience.  And hey, I found some cool things to do.  True Americana!

It's reminiscent of a trip I took to Ohio back in 1999.  My brother and two of his kids drove out and met us.  We went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  I went to Pro Football Hall of Fame.  We went to a big basket building!  I drove the Y Bridge of Zanesville!

We drove into Pittsburgh and I visited Three Rivers Stadium and saw the four (at the time) shiny Lombardi Tropies! (In case you need a reminder, they have six now.)

I loved it.  Loved. Loved. Loved it.

It doesn't have to be big for me to make me happy.  It's about the adventure.

Next month, Lisa and I are going to Virginia Beach.  We'll be road tripping for that too.

Sean won't be with us (damn school and all) but I still can't wait.  Beach.  Maybe baseball (Norfolk...we'll see).  Beach.  Roads.  Beach.  Food and fun (and I'll sneak out for Waffle House and Krispy Kreme).

(And yes, I'm quite aware that a great place called Richmond has Waffle House - excuse me, Waffle HOUSES - and Krispy Kreme and Wawa.  I want to get there, too!)

Kars4Kids


If you live around New York (or apparently anywhere else in the country), you know the song.

"One-eight-seven-seven Kars for Kids. K-A-R-S Kars for Kids. One-eight-seven-seven Kars for Kids. Donate your car today."

The original song, which serves as a commercial for a firm that receives used cars for donations to Jewish children and their families, is played numerous times throughout the day on radio stations. They also sponsor things such as the Yankees Radio Network (heard in New York on WCBS 880).

In other words, turn on the radio in New York and you hear it. A. Lot.  Like "Jack and Diane" a lot.

Now, I get it.  When I'm not writing, I'm still handling the programming logs for the Business Talk Radio Network and Lifestyle Talk Radio Network. I've been known to schedule certain spots, such as Geico, 55 times a day.

In their case, Geico has a rotation of commercials featuring the Gecko, Maxwell the pig, and others.

In the case of Kars4Kids, there are only two spots that I've heard. The original, and a newer rock version.

They're both, well, they're both, er, something.

If you haven't heard it, a boy sings the first verse, and a man (sounding like he's trying to be Johnny Cash) sings the second verse. After an announcer reads the details, they return and sing together.

In radio parlance, it is a classic "doughnut" commercial with singing surrounding the actual commercial read.  I practiced many of these at Connecticut School of Broadcasting.

At one time, I would sing the song in front of Sean and he would scream at me. I eventually tired of it myself. Where I would once turn it up loudly on the radio just to get a reaction from Sean, it soon became a battle to see who could turn the radio off the fastest.

It's like "Name that Tune," in that I can turn off the Kars4Kids commercial in one note!

So earlier this week, as I drove to pick Sean up from school for our weekly dinner, I heard the commercial during the Mike Francesa show (aka "Mike's On" or whatever he's calling it) on WFAN.

I decided to take to Twitter (when I wasn't driving) to write.




I didn't tag them. Didn't direct it at them. But damned if they didn't search and find it.




The link they included was priceless.

What else could I say?




A fellow Yankees fan, known on Twitter as YankeeMegs, reached out to me to say the song has also caused a similar reaction between her and her son, leading Kars4Kids to send her a pair of earbuds.

I mean, seriously, what else can you say, except bravo for having a sense of humor?

By the way, if you even slightly believe you're a Yankees fan, follow Megs now. Don't think twice.  go to Twitter, set up an account, and follow her. Whether you're a Yankees fan or not. She's cool, and tweets to everyone. And she knows her stuff.

And she has camped in a volcano.

There are reasons she has nearly 5,000 followers (just a mere, oh, LOT more than me).

But back to Kars4Kids. While the commercial will still drive me (there's a bad pun in there) to still change the station (and I'm mostly listening to satellite anyway), I have to say that, with a sense of humor, they've made a fan.

A laugh goes a long way. Especially the ability to laugh at oneself.

Well played indeed.


Stupid Politics: Ridgefield Edition

Sometimes, idiocy astounds me.

This sign is in a bookstore, Books on the Common, in Ridgefield, CT.  It seems they had a simple sign announcing new arrivals outside their door but some overzealous, over-officious individual with an agenda decided to go whine to the Zoning Department.

It reminds me of the kerfuffle in Carmel, NY when a music store had the temerity - THE HORROR - to set up a speaker that played music during the holiday season.  Because of some foolish town law, they were told that would have to pay to play those tunes before rational thought took over.

Now, to be clear, I don't have a dog in the fight. I stepped the shop once - on my first day at The Bulletin.  The lady in there seemed very nice, and I love book stores.  Plus I think supporting local businesses is an important thing to do in this era.

But regardless, I think this is foolish.

Shame on those who complained.  Further shame on Ridgefield for allowing the complaint to stand.

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Blast from the Past - Road to Richmond

It's hard for me to believe that I've never written this story before.   There are a couple of road trips that I've wanted to write about.

(Yes, I said "road trip" which might tempt you to click somewhere else...but I think they're tales worth telling that will be enjoyable)

The year was 2009.  I was trying to stay active and still have fun (mostly with Sean) during our year of living with Laura and her daughters.  That June, Sean and I went to Richmond (ah...R-Va) to hang with Jon, Rebecca, Rose, and Lilah.  There are posts from there on the blog for your review.

Anyway, as the summer of '09 moved along, I decided to go back again that August.  That's where our story begins.

I didn't need to be in Richmond (I thought) until after 5:00, so I had time to either meander along the route. My intention was to hit a few road spots, with a shopping break at the VF Factory outlet in Reading, PA. After Reading, I felt I could roll to Richmond with ease.

Best laid plans and such. Ugh.

I got Sean squared away at his daycare just up the street from the house and climbed into the car.

It was 7:52 AM.

The plan was to get gas (funds were tight but there's a station in Brewster that is reasonable and only a few miles away). The road lineup was set to be I-684 to Saw Mill Parkwy (which becomes the Henry Hudson Parkway) to I-95 to I-80 (with a few stops around the Delaware Water Gap area) to PA 611 and work my way to US 22 to US 222 to Reading. Then it would be US 222 to US 30 to I-81 to I-695 to I-70 to US 29 to I-495 to I-95.

Easy, right? What could possibly go wrong on a hot Friday in summer?

Again. Ugh.

Oh, it started off well enough. To be honest, other than dropping off Sean and getting gas in Brewster, I don't really remember much of the drive until I was on I-80 towards western New Jersey. This, by the way, is remarkably rare for me.
Brewster, NY.  It's 8:16 AM, according to the time stamp on the camera.
All of the pictures are available on my Flickr site here.

After that, the details are quite clear. I reached my first stop – Columbia, NJ. A tiny hamlet that is ringed by I-80, US 46, NJ 94 and the Delaware River, the population is just 229 (per the 2010 Census).
Stay to the left...
My goal here was to see one of the road peeps sites (a Holy Grail, if you will). For a stretch, US 611 crossed the Portland-Columbia Toll Bridge into New Jersey.  A sign hung near the bridge, and still stands there, even though the road was decommissioned in 1972, and exists only in Pennsylvania as PA 611.

This is one of those road stops that I had heard about, but had never pursued it.  Traveling alone, I knew I could.  Finding it isn't too difficult, though some in the "community" don't want to publish the details for fear some "pirate" might go steal the shield (again, the "Holy Grail" comparison.  I sense an Indiana Jones reference).

It took me no time to find it.  Might seem foolish to you, but I was pleased.
US 611 doesn't exist anymore.  It's 10:07 AM.
Seeing the pictures reminds me how cloudy it was that day, although it cleared up at times.  The weather would soon play a role in the day.

I crossed into Pennsylvania via I-80 and stopped at the welcome center for a few maps.  Of particular interest to me (besides the fact that there was a rare line to get into the men's room) was that the welcome center had a rooftop garden on it!  That being said, I didn't take any pictures of interest while I walked around up there.

My next stop was the small town of Portland, PA (population 520).  A foot bridge sits just up the river from the vehicle toll bridge.  It was time to walk back into New Jersey.

Across the river sat Columbia, and I strolled a few blocks of the town, taking a few pictures before crossing back to Pennsylvania.
This is New Jersey.  Pennsylvania is straight ahead.
It was just about 11 when I returned to the car and began to work my way down PA 611.  I didn't plan on any stops between Portland and Reading.  I figured I would get something to eat there, and probably get some gas, but just intended to enjoy the scenery.

In fact, I even backed down on taking pictures for this stretch.

I used a GPS for this trip, for the heck of it.  Do I need a GPS?  No.  Do I enjoy it?  Sure, it's handy at times.  Of course I argue with it, but that's OK.

Planning to take PA 611 straight into Easton, the GPS suggested I turn into Stockertown, which would take me to PA 33, and on my merry way.

Things came to a stop.  Nothing was moving.  I watched a delivery man jump out of his truck and run into Tony's Pizza on Main Street and return empty-handed.

He needed a restroom break.  Whatever was going on probably wasn't good.  I needed to turn around.  My first attempt put me on Buskill Street, which would serve as an alternate to get to PA 33.  Except the bridge that was on Buskill St. was no more.  Fail.

I retraced my steps and found my way onto PA 33.  I hoped that this would be my only blip on the day.

As I approached US 22 near Allentown, it was 11:53.  I probably lingered too long around the Portland/Columbia area, I thought, but I could make up for it.

But as I roared along US 22, to the merge with Interstate 78 west, traffic...slowed...down.  Temporary signage screamed that the road was closed a few exits ahead.  I jumped off at the first exit and (PA 100), as all traffic went south, I went north.

I worked my way back to US 22 East, jumped on PA 309, merged onto I-78 East and grabbed the exit to US 222. But I knew - with all certainty - that I was going to run into a wall of cars.

I know now that this is the point when I should have abandoned ship.  Reading and their inexpensive Yankees and Steelers merchandise could wait.  I could use any number of other roads to get to I-95 and go onto Richmond.  But...no.  I kept going.

US 222 is mostly a two-lane road between Allentown and Reading, save for a few stretches around Kutztown and just outside of Allentown.  All of that traffic on I-78 needed a place to be dumped.  It went to US 222.

With the GPS, a map, and my brain, I found the first turn to a town called Topton.  The road opened up again.  I'd have to take the long way, but I would get to Reading and out of the 78/222 mess via side roads, PA 662 and PA 12.

And then the skies opened.  Impressively.  Just as I was heading into Reading.

I now realized that I would have to be quick in the VF Outlet.  I made it as the rain let up for a few minutes and did my thing, determined to not let this trip pass.  I had tried to go the VF store in Reading a few weeks earlier, on my way back from a weekend in Aberdeen, MD, but the store was just about to close when I drove up.

A few polo shirts with the beloved interlocking NY on it were purchased (might have cost $8 each) and I was back on the road, along with a quick gas stop.  The next picture I took, back on US 222, was at 2:24 PM, after I had been back in the car for about 20 minutes.

I passed on eating, eager to get some driving done, now concerned about my time.  It was after 2:00, and, in theory, Richmond was approximately four hours away.  But it was also Friday, and raining.  Oh and I still had Baltimore and Washington to contend with.

My father was cringing somewhere.  As travelers, Pop and I had a rule: avoid Washington rush hour at all costs.  Now I was staring the beast in the eye.

I passed a line of traffic going the opposite way outside of Lancaster on 222.  They only had one lane open while construction went on.  My first break of the day, I thought.  I moved through Lancaster around 2:40 and into York, dealing with traffic lights along US 30, at 3:15.  At 3:52, I moved onto I-695, the Baltimore Beltway.

Things were slow on the Beltway, with me reaching the eastern end of I-70 at 4:18. I-70 is known for ending at a park-and-ride due to local opposition.  The road was one of several canceled projects in Baltimore.  Scott Kozel's excellent website, Roads to the Future, details the canceled projects.  AA Roads has plenty more.

I didn't have time to visit the park-and-ride, but I did snap this sign.
Columbus 420...St. Louis 845...Denver 1700...Cove Fort (where I-70 ends) 2200.










Feeling good after getting off the Baltimore Beltway, I knew I still had Washington to deal with.

US 29 started out good, as an expressway, then becomes a collection of traffic lights.  Still it beat being stuck in traffic, which I feared would be the case on I-495, the Capital Beltway.

And I was.

We moved like turtles.  It didn't matter which side of the Beltway I was on.  It was jammed.  Just after 5:10, I cross the Potomac into Virginia.  But the traffic - a Friday, trying to get to the shore, home, wherever - was unrelenting.  I thought maybe the traffic gods were trying to show me a good sign as I approached I-95 near Springfield...
A rainbow, at 5:34.
I-95, my dear friend, would surely be the answer to speeding things up.

No shot.  I tried the Fairfax County Parkway to US 1 to get back to 95.  Not so good, as I had done this once before with a little success.  This time, I sat for lights and slow drivers.  My blood pressure spiked.  I began to go stir crazy.

I stopped taking pictures, since dusk was causing the picture quality to be poor.  And I truly began to understand how people can feel road rage.  It didn't make sense.  Why were we moving so slowly?

Finally, at 7:00, after five hours in the car, with nothing to eat since breakfast, I pulled off in Fredericksburg at a Target.

I needed shaving cream.

The stop was like magic.  I got back on 95, maybe 10 minutes later, and it was a new road.  The traffic had mostly let up, and what was on there was moving, albeit fast.  Either I flew with it, or there would be trouble.

It was pure bliss.  In fact, after this long day, I felt the greatest relief.  It was driving as I wanted it to be.  The windows were open.  The roof was open.  The music was blaring.  I roared into Richmond triumphantly (I'll ignore the urge to use a lame Civil War General reference).  I reached my destination and turned off the car.

It was 7:52 PM.  Twelve hours - EXACTLY - after  I left Carmel, NY that morning.

The road home, while interesting, couldn't be nearly as interesting as this.  It wasn't.

I'm a Bad Man

I had just finished covering a story at a nearby elementary school when I was driving through Wilton Center. A busy area with stores and offices, I proceeded carefully, doing maybe 25 or so, watching for people crossing the street, cars, etc.

I drove on, seeing a car that was beginning to pull out into the street when the driver stopped short.

Then she adjusted herself so that she could make sure - absolutely 100% - to ram her horn at me.

Whatthe??

Oh.

A stop sign.

Because I was watching the traffic, the people, and being uber-careful, I missed a poorly placed stop sign.

Damn.

My bad.

I drove away laughing.  At myself.  At her (the image of her making SURE to honk was priceless).

So if she ever reads this, I humbly apologize. 

Back to work.

Mary Higgins Clark

I interviewed the wildly successful author Mary Higgins Clark on Monday for the Wilton Bulletin.  The finished product will be in tomorrow's paper.

I loved doing this one.

Seriously.  Over a thousand words on a remarkable woman.

She laughed with ease over the phone when I mentioned that I had listened to her so many times on "Imus on the Morning." She told me great stories about editing and writing for radio.

She mentioned Beyoncé and Jay-Z.

This was a story that gave me a chance to dig around and relay stories.

I asked on Facebook if anyone would like to submit questions to ask her.  A few people brought some value to the day.

Lisa's sister, Gina, wanted to know if Ms. Clark really once owned part of the New Jersey (now Brooklyn) Nets.  That made it into the story.

I couldn't get everything in from our 25 minute chat, but I like what I did put in.

OK.  Back to work.

Thursday, April 18, 2013

In Less Than One Month

It's coming next month...


AwwwwwwwYEAH.

More From Last Night: Doc Emrick and Jimmy Roberts


For some reason, I can't embed it, but I ask you to visit this link.

Well done, NBC.  I always wanted to work for the peacock - ever since I was a little boy.  This opening reminded me of why.

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Boston Reminds Us They're Going To Be Just Fine

Time isn't on my side these days, so I'll keep this brief.  I haven't had the time to opine on the Boston Marathon, so I'll sum it up quickly.

Sickening.

There.

Tonight, the Hub held its first sporting event post-Marathon as the Bruins hosted the Sabres.  Rene Rancourt, the longtime tuxedoed singing voice of TD Garden, stepped to the ice to sing the National Anthem.  Then a magnificent thing happened.

Watch for yourself (thanks for finding it, Harold).  Good luck choking back those tears.


Unfortunately, the storybook doesn't always play the right way.  The Sabres beat the Bruins 3-2.

But Boston began the road back.  They'll be OK.  They're pretty strong.

Friday, April 12, 2013

Flashback Friday: Yankees/Orioles 1998

Tonight, at the big ball orchard in the South Bronx*, the Yankees made a little history.  The Bombers completed a triple play.

*That term is courtesy of Arthur George Rust, Jr.  Google him.

Michael Kay and Paul O'Neill on the call.

The rarity of this can not be ignored.  The Yankees last turned one in 2010 in Oakland.

Before that?  June, 1968 at Yankee Stadium against the Twins.  With Bobby Cox (yes, that Bobby Cox) playing third and Mickey Charles Mantle of Spavinaw, Oklahoma playing first base.  Mantle is a hall of famer, of course (and within the top 10-15 to ever play the sport) and Cox is among the top managers and will be in the Hall.

I digress.

Anyway, very cool stuff.

I was looking around tonight and found a list on Hardball Talk of the best (and worst) bench clearing brawls of all time.  This, of course, is a hot topic, given last night's Zack Greinke/Carlos Quentin tilt.

(Need I mention that's the great Scully?)

By the way, Quentin got eight games.  Let's look at the facts.  It was a one-run game.  Why would Quentin think that Greinke threw at him on purpose?  But, hey charge the mound and let's play the feud!  To me, eight games might be soft.

But back to Craig Calcaterra's list on HBT.  Let's get past his whiny preening about "can't we all get along?"  Deal with it!  Let pitchers pitch, batters bat, and on we go.  Remember, players are closer now than ever, given free agency and the transient nature of free agency.

I remember several of the brawls on this list, but this is a true flash back in time.  It was just after David Wells threw his perfect game (I was in Las Vegas when it happened).  And, hey, since we had Yankees/Orioles tonight, why not revisit this classic moment?  Let's listen to Jim Kaat and Ken Singleton.

Oh how I loved Armando Benitez.  Paul O'Neill, 2000 World Series, enough said.  I hated when he was a Yankee.

By the way, I'm generally of the belief that you should toss the bat aside and run to first, but oh boy did Armando have it coming to him that night.

Friday, April 05, 2013

Roger Ebert

By now you know the news that Roger Ebert has died of cancer.  To go along with his way as a workaholic, he kept plugging along, right up until his last day.  No matter what the cancer had done to him (including taking away his voice, part of his jaw, and his ability to eat and drink), he fought and worked.

The Chicago Sun-Times story is here.

The pictures - and his determination to be seen as such - were stunning. 
There have been so many wonderful things written over the past several hours about this man - this legend of Chicago.  I can't do any of them justice.  He was an amazingly eloquent writer.  A brilliant film critic.  A legend.

Thanks to Jeff Pearlman, whom tweeted this article, I am simply going to post a link to it and let Mr. Ebert himself talk.

Thursday, April 04, 2013

Some More TV Work (the Lacrosse Edition)

 
I called my first lacrosse game in years last weekend, as Pleasantville visited Nyack. Tom Prizeman were on the call for PCTV (channel 76).

I don't think I can embed it, so go here.

Of special interest for family members, Sean makes an appearance on the postgame show, beginning at 87:16.

Thanks to Tom for giving Sean a mention in the credits.

Prior to that, Tom had me on his Winter Recap show, via telephone. So I've got all of this going for me.

Which is nice.

Wednesday, April 03, 2013

Do You Like Huey Lewis and the News?

Greatest.  Parody.  Ever.


Which, of course, is a parody of this:


Oh 2013 is going to be a hell of a good year to be "hip to be Huey."

Monday, April 01, 2013

Kevin Ware


I feel for those who had to decide how to deal with the Kevin Ware story from yesterday's regional final game between Duke and Louisville.

Ware, a guard for the Cardinals, landed awkwardly after trying to block a shot.  His leg snapped in perhaps the most terrible leg injury many of us have seen.

Yes, Joe Theismann included.

Now, if you haven't seen it, and I didn't see it live, the video can be found.  I'm going with not embedding it here, and then you can decided if you want to see it yourself.  So...WARNING.  If you're strong enough, Deadpsin has it with only live sound, and with the reaction of Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg.  I assure you it is not easy to watch.

Reaction has been swift to how it was handled.  CBS, with Nantz and Kellogg, showed two replays.  After that, it was not shown again.  Nothing at half time.  ESPN was definitive.  They would not show it.  The Worldwide Leader's Scott Van Pelt tweeted that the "injury was gruesome and won't be shown.  It's that simple."

Other outlets showed similar restraint.

I think it simply comes down to perspective, and what one can handle.  I was with my family, in a house where watching basketball is simply not a priority.  Ryan DeMaria alerted me to the injury and I was able to get the game on.  By that point, order had returned to the game, so I wondered if it was real.  Ryan assured me it was, but as I said, CBS chose to not run the replay at halftime.  My nieces, nephew, and I set about finding the footage because we wanted to assess it for ourselves.  I found a YouTube video and we watched with horror on my phone.

My take is that this is a story, and I have no problem with showing the footage, using all of the appropriate warnings.  I tend to lean towards thinking ESPN's aproach was a bit much and that they could have shown it.

I applaud CBS for their approach, but also think a halftime airing of the injury would have been fair.  It would have also allowed the studio analysts to analyze it  That's their job.

Again, it is easy to find the footage online, but that doesn't still mean that ESPN and others have a job to do. 

Ben Koo, at Awful Announcing, takes a measured approach to recapping this, while Clay Travis at Outkick the Coverage is more critical.

It is most likely that I'll be on "The Press Box" tonight via phone, but I'm sure the guys will touch on it, from 7-9 on WGCH.