For some reason, I had the sudden urge to share with you the basic tools I use every day to do my job. Unlike a scientist who uses beakers and test tubes, or a carpenter or janitor who uses actual tools, I use some old-fashioned stuff (pens, paper) and some newfangled, high-tech gizmos (laptop computer, cell phone, voice recorder).
By the way, Sunday was my best day ever as far as blog viewership. Ironically, most of it was because of my “worst day ever” post.
The background: Tony Bennett said he is not going to go to Indiana, has many reasons to like Pullman, and has not considered other open coaching positions.
The misrepresentation: Tony Bennett is staying at WSU.
I must be foreword by saying I had absolutely no hand in the Spokesman’s (read: Vince’s) breaking this story. But what concerned me was the Spokesman’s headline on its front page much of the day Sunday that said Bennett is staying at WSU.
I’m fairly certain this came about because of the built-in gap between reporter and copy editor. A reporter writes one thing that is very specific and carefully worded — i.e. Bennett says no to Indiana, says there are many reasons to stay in Pullman, but doesn’t specifically say he’s staying at WSU — and a copy editor posts the story online with a headline that jumps to a conclusion.
I’m glad the Spokesman (and other papers that made this error Sunday evening) had fixed the discrepancy this morning. But if you look closely, both versions of the headline are still on the website, as illustrated below.
Oh, and for those of you who might think this is dangerous to write about because it’s commentary on the company I work for, let me tell you something about the journalism industry: Skepticism is the name of the game. Don’t fret.
Filed under: Random
I ended up not having to work today, so I took a few hours to clean up my apartment. Namely my desk, which looked like a Xerox machine threw up all over it. Now that I think about it, I should have taken a “before” picture, but this “after” picture will have to do.
Filed under: Travel
Thirty-three hours door to door.
Wow. That’s ridiculous.
After my unexpected “layover” at the Holiday Inn Express in Spokane, I drove home to Pullman this morning and just got in. Unfortunately, I have to work more today. I’m going to drop off the face of the planet Sunday and not answer any phone calls on my work cell.
My mother questioned my eating habits Friday as I traveled. Breakfast sandwich from Dunkin’ Donuts, bagel with cream cheese and a cookie in Chicago, a sugary Snapple there as well, take-out Chinese at Sea-Tac … you try to eat well when you’re stuck in airports all day. Even the salads are high in fat.
Now that I’m home, I’ll have to go grocery shopping. I have little food, as I have been putting off a trip to Safeway since I’ve been traveling three weeks straight. Gotta stock up on real food.
Happy Saturday, everyone.
Filed under: Travel
SPOKANE — I suppose I can’t claim the title of Worst Day in History. That might go to the Japanese on Aug. 6, 1945. Or to the Jews on Kristallnacht. Or perhaps to the dinosaurs 65 million years ago, especially those munching leaves on the Yucatan Peninsula.
But if I were to make a list of the top 10 worst days of my life, these past two traveling days (to and from Charlotte, N.C.) would make the cut.
A note: I have made a point of not swearing in my blog, so you can use your imagination.
As you can see by the above dateline, I am in Spokane tonight, not Pullman. What welcomed me back here in the Inland Northwest was just the capstone on a horrendous day of sitting in airport terminals and flying aluminum tubes. (more…)
CHICAGO — That’s right, a Chicago dateline. I’m sitting at O’Hare International waiting for a flight to Seattle.
I’m heading home because the Cougars lost Thursday night. In fact, they got whooped by North Carolina. 68-47? That was WSU’s lowest point total of the year. And I think what has everyone bummed is not that Washington State lost — we expected that — but that it played so poorly.
Nevertheless, the Spokesman-Review crew — we put together quite the report on the loss, as evidenced by the screen shot above I took Thursday night (Friday morning?) before I got to sleep. That’s a picture, however, so you’ll have to follow the following links to find my stuff.
Here’s my quick post-game article, which I had plenty of time to write during the game because it was so obvious the Cougars were tanking. And here, after some worrisome technical difficulties (my computer didn’t originally capture the WSU press conference — you know, the biggest one of the year — so I had to capture it from a beta tape a few hours later), is my post-game interview video.
That technical delay explains why I got to sleep at 2:45 a.m. I woke up three hours later so we could leave the Charlotte Marriott at 6:20 to get to the Greensboro airport. Our flight left at 9:50 a.m., and now I’m here in Chicago.
UPDATED: 7:05 p.m. EDT
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — These have been some of the longest two hours of my life, rivaled only by the homestretch on Highway 26 from Othello to Pullman. In one more hour, the Cougars will take on the Tar Heels in what is probably the biggest game in Washington State basketball history.
It’s the Sweet 16, and the No. 21 Cougars are playing the No. 1 team in the nation. What’s getting to me? The fact WSU has a chance. At least one better than a snowball’s in hell. The second-best defensive team in the nation against the second-best offensive team in the nation. Like Tony Bennett said Wednesday, it will be quite the “collision” of styles.
Lisa texted me a while ago and asked if I was nervous. I started typing no, then I realized my left leg was bouncing up and down — and had been for 30 minutes. I suppose I am nervous.
Ethical? You be the judge. I’ve overhead other journalists here say they’re nervous. It’s a big game. I can’t imagine how the Cougars themselves are feeling right now, getting dressed in their locker room down the labyrinthian hall 100 feet away from me. Bennett probably has quite the motivational speech planned.
My next post will be after the game, which starts at 7:27 p.m. EDT. By my next post, we’ll know what happened. We’ll know if I’m staying in Charlotte two more days or trying to catch the 7:30 a.m. flight from Charlotte to Denver, then Denver to Spokane. (We’ve been eyeing that already.)
Happy television viewing.
UPDATE: Twenty minutes until game time. I ventured up into the concessions area to buy some event T-shirts, and all the WSU Sweet 16 shirts were sold-out. The other three teams’ shirts were there in abundance.
The Cougars fan section is fairly strong, and I’ve seen a lot of WSU fans walking around the arena. Lots of athletes’ families, and just general fans. Andy Katz, from ESPN, is currently talking with Dick Bennett, Laurel Bennett (Tony’s wife) and Derrick Low’s dad.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Once again, I worked quite a lot on Wednesday. It makes for a long day after a day-long trip and six hours of sleep (4 to 10 a.m.), but it’s 1:20 a.m. now and I’m still not asleep (time change).
So this will be quick and dirty, because I really should get plenty of rest before the No. 4 (or No. 21, depending on your preference: NCAA tourney seeding or national ranking) Washington State Cougars take on the No. 1 (both in seeding and ranking) North Carolina Tar Heels in their Sweet 16 game Thursday evening.
I checked in with my editor this morning and was assigned the A1 story I expected. The final product, about WSU coach Tony Bennett’s return to Charlotte (where he played in the NBA in the early ’90s), can be found here.
I also did the obligatory press conference video at Bobcats Arena, the edited version of which can be found here (now with horrible sound!). Once again, I used my amazing video-capture contraption I bought at the Apple Store in Denver.
The game is at 7:27 p.m. EDT, and the Tar Heels are favored by eight. But who knows? Maybe the Cougars can continue their NCAA dominance over Winthrop and Notre Dame, and make a serious statement. The Cougs are here to play ball.
By the way, Bobcats Arena is nice, though the depths where the media stuff lives is a complete maze. I’ll write more soon, and once again I can’t guarantee a Where I Work video from Charlotte. In Denver, I just didn’t have the time. And it might be just the same here.
Filed under: Travel
The route from hell.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Traveling for the NCAA tournament is not as fun as it seems.
My day Tuesday started in a snowy Pullman, warm and cozy in my bed, not wanting to get up. But I had to; I was traveling that day to Charlotte, N.C., where the Cougars are playing in the Sweet 16. A good reason.
Easy enough, right? It’s 2,650 miles from Pullman and Charlotte. We’re not talking about transatlantic travel on the Titanic, here. That would be a 4 1/2-hour flight direct — you know, if Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport had a long enough runway for a big enough jet.
Naw. I left my Pullman apartment at 8:30 a.m. PDT. I got into my Charlotte hotel room at 3 a.m. EDT. That’s 17 1/2 hours. (more…)
Filed under: Down Time
A day off? Are you kidding me? Never!
Today I’ll be doing a weekly update of WSU football’s spring practice. My editor would like more stories about spring ball, but he’s sending me to basketball stuff. So, c’est la vie.
I’ve already written a brief about how WSU Sweet 16 tickets are sold out. Hard work, I know.
Whenever the Cougars lose, I’m hoping I’ll get at least one day off. If only to catch up on sleep. Recently, I’ve only really been able to sleep in at hotels.
But until then, it’s nose to the grindstone. I work today, fly to the East Coast tomorrow, and work my ass off until the Cougars lose. If they beat North Carolina on Thursday and whoever they’d play Saturday, Wazzu would be headed to the Final Four. And that would add yet another week to my traveling blitz (not to be confused with “traveling bliss”).
The Final Four is in San Antonio, Texas.
