Tuesday, March 24, 2009

The Shove, The Incident, The Principal

  • Brent Metcalf was wrong. The clock was at zeroes when he pushed Darrion Caldwell mid-flip. It was bad sportsmanship, and Caldwell could have been seriously injured. But since he wasn't, let's call Caldwell what he was at the end of that match: a hot-dogging knucklehead. It's okay to be excited, jubilant even---it was a stunning upset for a national title---but you don't celebrate like that. Especially in wrestling.
  • I feel for the nice people at KXNO. It's an absolute mess to have a profane fight between two on-air personalities go out over the air, accidental or not. We've all heard the F-word at work, many of us have used it, and it's not the first time it's been heard over a surprisingly hot mike. I'm more disturbed by the anger. I'm not sure I've never heard a verbal beating like the one Marty Tirrell gave Larry Cotlar. There's more we don't know. Why was Marty so mad? Who really misused credentials? How was the mike turned on? Why didn't anyone notice? But the one certainty is this: you cannot argue like that in front of other employees, and you certainly don't do it in a studio full of microphones---even when you have every reason to believe it's not going over the air.
  • "There's no such thing as bad publicity". If you believe this, and many do, Marty is more valuable to KXNO than ever. He's raised his profile times ten, maybe more. (For the record, I don't believe all publicity is good publicity. See Larry Eustachy.)
  • I have a friend who was at a table full of people when one of the women accidentally pocket-dialed a "friend". The woman started trashing her "friend" and part of it was left on voice mail. They no longer speak. Always talk as if just about anyone can hear you, and for the most part, you'll stay out of trouble. No one is perfect at this, but it's a good goal.
  • I enjoyed Will Ferrell as President Bush in "You're Welcome, America", but I thought it would be funnier.
  • I can't believe some of what I hear on HBO's Eastbound and Down.
  • I'm not into Dancing with the Stars except when Shawn's on. She's in it to win it. I'm not surprised how well Shawn's doing. She's a world class athlete with an unmatched work ethic. I guess that works for the balance beam and the Fox Trot.
  • Seeing some of the unfortunate facial hair at boys state reminded me of my ill advised woolly chinstrap in high school. There's something about proving you can grow a beard. Fortunately we didn't have Facebook back then.
  • Frank Deford, will you please stop making me cry when I watch HBO's Real Sports. I'm starting to feel like Dick Vermeil.
  • What was A-Rod thinking this time?
  • I can't ever remember if a Brent is a Brett or vice-versa. To all the Brents I called Brett, and all the Bretts I called Brent, I apologize.
  • I make my Des Moines Playhouse debut this weekend, via videotape, as Principal Kidswatter in Sideways Stories from Wayside School. I'm confident my theatrical career will not progress beyond this month.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I believe that Shawn Johnson has an unfair advantage over the other dancers because of her gymnastic training. I also can'ta believe all the negativity surrounding Metcalf. Come on, the clock had time on it, he is a wrestler, he did not intentionally try to hurt his opponent.

Anonymous said...

Having a profane laced tirade accidently aired over a commercial break could be defended somewhat, but how about threatening to "f-ing clock" Larry? Doesn't matter whether the microphone was hot or not, that's inexcusible. With Marty's checkered past, including a suspension less than a year ago, it is unthinkable that KXNO/Clear Channel would retain him.

Anonymous said...

Cotlar and Conn's show may have been stale, but they didn't deserve to be fired over that incident. They had to be though, in order for Tirrell to be fired. Unfortunate, but Marty brings out the worst in people and drags them through the sewer with him.
I hope he leaves town and becomes another community's problem.

Anonymous said...

Wow, what a week not to have local sports talk radio. Way to go Marty, you f****** bonehead!

Anonymous said...

If you combined Iowa and Iowa State's basketball teams, they'd still compete for the cellar in both the Big 10 or the Big 12, no matter who their coach was. I don't think Kelvin Sampson could recruit quality kids in this state right now.
Let's all be honest for a second. Neither Lickliter or McDermott are going to succeed in their current positions. It's going to be at least another 4-5 years before either of these schools will be back in the NCAA tourney with new coaches. I'd say that both schools need to cut their losses and fire them, but with the state of finances at the schools, neither will risk the public scrutiny by letting them go before their contracts are up.
Somewhere, Ton Davis and Wayne Morgan are smiling.

Anonymous said...

Metcalf= Roid Rage cut back on the juice pal