Archive for June, 2009

It took our newspaper three editions before a story about Michael Jackson’s death finally made the front page.
Back in 1977, when I was news editor, I filled our front page with Elvis’ death every day for about a week.
Finally, one morning Rhea Howard – the owner and publisher of the Times Record News – called over to the editorial department and ordered:
“I don’t want to see that hippy on the front page anymore.”
Michael Jackson was a superstar, his music loved by a lot of people.
But I completely missed his greatness.
This old man remembered little Michael singing a love song to a rat named Ben.
I also remember his crotch-grabbing at halftime of Super Bowl XXVII.
But Michael Jackson was another generation’s Elvis.
I realized that as I watched all the TV coverage the past few days.
Still, I am stuck further back in time.
Back in 1970 and 1971, we lost three rock superstars in a span of 288 days.
Jimi Hendrix died on Sept. 18, 1970.
Janis Joplin checked out just 16 days later, on Oct. 4, 1970.
Jim Morrison left us on July 3, 1971.
Strangely, all three were 27 when they died.
Michael Jackson’s death is a sad thing, but at least he lived 50 years.

I wish I wasn’t so late in adding this photo gallery, but here are just a few photographed moments in the man’s life that I wanted to share with everyone that reads my blog. Enjoy and remember the genius.
I always remember how scared I got when I heard Vincent Price’s laugh. That video, “Thriller,” just did something for and to me and hopefully crafted my musical tastes that I have today. My brother and I beat each other up over who was going to listen to the “Bad” album in their walkman.
The man had some of the greatest records ever made and I’m glad I was around to experience it. I still have my Thriller and Off the Wall LPs.

Not long ago, I saw Evander Holyfield on ESPN talking about how he would pay this tithe to the church before he paid his bills.
Selfish souls like me have always admired givers.
But my Bible says God loves cheerful givers.
And there is nothing cheerful about losing your house.
The former heavyweight champion of the world was not content just living in a house.
His home is a 54,000-square-foot mansion in suburban Atlanta.
It has 109 rooms.
17 bathrooms.
Three kitchens.
And a bowling alley.
A bit much, don’t you think?
Sounds more like a Joel Osteen church.
Holyfield, however, could afford to live in such a mansion.
According to the ESPN report, he has given more than $20 million to Creflo Dollar’s World Changers Church in Atlanta.
No doubt about it, Holyfield is a guy who has been punched in the head way too many times, but you only need about half a brain to know you should hang on tight to your billfold anytime any preacher named CREFLO DOLLAR starts asking for money.
The “prosperity gospel” works — but only for Brother Dollar and his buddies.
The champ is just a poor chump.

Real basketball fans are interested in what will happen in the NBA Draft tonight.
The lowly LA Clippers will make OU’s Blake Griffin an instant zillionaire. Then when he gets good, he can go play for the Lakers.
The NBA Draft doesn’t get the same attention that the NFL Draft gets.
But it’s a whole lot better than the “other” basketball draft held this week.
Griffin also went No. 1 in that one, only it wasn’t Blake.
His older brother, Taylor Griffin, was the top draft pick of the Harlem Globetrotters.
I’m the sports guy for this newspaper.
I’m supposed to know everything.
But I didn’t know until this week that the Globetrotters even had a draft.
And I still haven’t figured out why.
A one-team draft?
Where’s Mel Kuiper?
Do they have a war room?
If you wanted to trade down, wouldn’t you also have to trade up?
“The Harlem Globetrotters have traded their first round pick to the Harlem Globetrotters for two third-round selections.”
Aside from Taylor Griffin, the team also drafted a couple of college slam dunk stars, a soccer goalie and somebody else you have never heard of.
So tell me do the Washington Generals also have a draft?
Or do the Globetrotters draft for them?
When I took my grandson to see the Globetrotters this year, the Generals had Ricardo LeCompte from Channel 3 and Mayor Lanham Lyne on their roster.
Heck, they probably would have asked me to play if they could have found a 3X jersey and a designated runner.
I was glancing at the Generals real roster on-line and saw where they have a player who attended FIT of New York.
The Fashion Institute of Technology?
So which do you think is a better bet == the Generals beating the Globetrotters or the New York Fashion Institute of Technology getting to the Final Four?
My money is on FIT.

Today’s “Texas Football” topic is items I disagree with or find shocking in the magazine.

(more…)

Goodbye, Ed McMahon.
TV’s No. 1 sidekick left us yesterday.
After living 86 long years, he joined old-timers Paul Harvey (90), Bea Arthur (86) and Ricardo Montalban (88) on the 2009 obit list.
Now who’s next?
Which of TV’s old, old farts will join Ed at the Pearly Gate?
The best bets are:
Phyllis Diller.
This old girl’s original face died 50 years ago, but she has been around for more than 90 years.
They should give here an Oscar for appearing in the most awful movies.
Pink Motel?
Dr. Hackenstein?
The Silence of the Hams?
If she makes it to July 17, she will be 92.
Betty White.
This five-time Emmy winner showed up on my TV screen it seems about the same time we had a TV screen in our living room.
She is best known for her roles in the Mary Tyler Moore Show, Golden Girls, Password and Match Game.
She is 87.
Bob Barker.
It seemed like he was Mr. Price Is Right for all my life, but I remember first seeing him on Truth or Consequences.
He is 85.
Andy Griffith.
Quite possibly the greatest TV show of all-time bore his name.
But after he left Mayberry, Andy went to law school and had a long career as Matlock.
He is 83.
(Gomer is 79, and cousin Goober is 73)
Tom Bosley.
Andy Griffith was Ron Howard’s most famous TV dad.
Tom Bosley was the next most famous.
Mr. C on Happy Days made Bosley famous.
He is 81.
Dick Clark.
The “world’s oldest teen-ager” finally got old.
The host of American Bandstand has never been the same since his stroke five years ago.
He will turn 80 in November.
Honor Blackman.
OK, many of you may not know this actress by her real name.
But in 1964, she had what I consider the greatest name in movie history.
She was Pussy Galore in Goldfinger.
Pussy G. is 83.
Now that makes NIcky G really feel old.

I was shocked last year when I opened up “Texas Football” and saw that Holliday was slotted fifth.
I even wrote a column about it a year ago. It can be read at this link: http://www.timesrecordnews.com/news/2008/jun/23/duncan-bullpen-june-23/

(more…)

Throughout my newspaper career, I have welcomed change.
Technology has made my life much easier.
When I started in the business 37 years ago, I would bang out a story on an old manual typewriter, then dictate it to some minimum wage person back at the office who wouldn’t know a football from a Milk Dud.
E-mail is wonderful.
And instead of going to the public library and doing hours of research, I can now – thanks to the Internet – get all the information I need in a matter of minutes.
And never leave my desk.
But when I came to work on Monday morning, I felt like Joe Brown Jr.
If my pants hadn’t been zipped, I would have sworn I was Good Old Joe B himself.
God bless him – Joe still hasn’t figured out how to transfer a phone call.
The Internet? You can reach him at www.dumbass.com.
I now know how Joe feels.
I was him on Monday.
I was on vacation last week when our world at the newspaper changed drastically.
I was lost.
But I will figure it all out.
By the end of the week, I will be an old pro at this new system.
But what about poor Joe?
He still hasn’t figured out our old system.
I understood how he felt on Monday.
For awhile there, I longed for the day when we all had pica poles and glue pots.

Today’s “Texas Football” topic is going to be my thoughts on the district prediction finishes.
Before I looked at each of our four main districts, I wrote down the order I thought the teams would be in.
And I agreed with much of what was forecast. Only a couple decisions in a couple districts were head-scratching.
Let’s break them down:

(more…)

If you are reading this, you probably don’t read the newspaper.
But if by some chance you are one of those old fogies who still enjoys a paper with your morning coffee, you had to notice a big change in the Times Record News this morning.
It was a historical issue.
For the first time ever, the paper was not designed in Wichita Falls.
Last night, a group of page designers in Corpus Christi put the paper together.
We still have people like me here in Hooterville who write stories and others who take photos, but technology now allows us to e-mail all that off to Corpus and let a Scripps “universal desk” physically put out the paper.
It’s the same with Scripps papers in San Angelo, Corpus and Abilene.
The only big difference is San Angelo no longer has a press to print its paper like the other three. The San Angelo Standard Times is printed in Abilene.
So in San Angelo, the writers and photographers there write stories and take pictures, send them to Corpus where the paper is designed. Then Corpus sends them to Abilene, where they are put on a press and printed. Then Abilene loads them on trucks and sends them to San Angelo where they are delivered.
It has to be a cost-cutter.
That’s the main reason for a lot of corporate decisions these days.
But if you saw our paper today (and if you haven’t, please do), you will see a much better looking product.
The TRN had become really stale.
The new look is refreshing.
Now if we can all just learn to spell.

I finally just flipped through Dave Campbell’s “Texas Football” for the first time since it hit the newsstands, and have several topics I want to mention.
Therefore, I’ll be blogging about these topics each day for the next four days.
Today I’ll mention all of the rankings/superlatives that I saw from looking through it. Other topics later this week will include my thoughts on district finishes and some surprises/disagreements I saw in the magazine.
Now onto the rankings.

(more…)

I consider Ed Barnett a friend.
In fact, I tell people Ed is the reason I got into the newspaper business.
As a kid, I used to hang around the pool hall downtown, and every day Ed and Marvin Penrod would come in around lunch time and stay all afternoon.
My daddy never had a job where he could shoot pool all day.
So I asked the guy who ran the pool hall where Ed and Marvin worked.
He said “the newspaper.”
Right then and there, I decided I wanted to work at the newspaper. Hell of a job.
I didn’t know at the time that Ed’s granddad owned the paper.
Having said that, I am getting pretty sick and tired of my friend’s letter writing.
Ed is smart and his writing is clever.
But it is all B.S.
Ed is a Fox News robot, programmed to be far right and far wrong.
Today he has a letter to the editor saying how the government has become way too powerful in controlling our lives.
“Isn’t that Marxism? Isn’t that tyranny?” is the way the letter ends.
Everybody has a right to his or her opinion.
I respect that.
But why wasn’t my friend Ed writing letters during the long eight years that King George was in power?
Ed, turn to Page 9A of today’s paper and read about the Iraq veteran who committed suicide after seeing what he saw fighting George’s war.
Ed, we are just six months past the worst president in the history of this country.
This guy sits in his luxurious Highland Park home (that we the taxpayers are still paying for) with blood all over his hands.
Plus, my friend, our economy was in the toilet when Obama took office.
Why didn’t you write a letter about the tyranny of King George?
Could it be because Fox News didn’t program you to do it?
Peace, my friend.
Shuffle up and deal.

I finally have Internet capability out here at Disch–Falk, so here’s a running update of what has and will happen:

(more…)

All I could do was laugh cry at what Jon Stewart put together last night about the past, present and future of print journalism.
Just watch and enjoy.

My buddy Matt Ledesma wrote a column on the 10 most favorite Cowboys of all-time.
Today, I counter with the 10 former Cowboys who have no chance in hell of ever being in the Ring of Honor.
(10.) Curvin Richards. The backup running back lost a couple of fumbles in a meaningless regular season finale against Chicago in 1992 and was immediately cut by Jimmy Johnson and missed out on a Super Bowl ring.
(9.) John Roper: This Aggie was kicked off the team by Jimmy in 1993 for sleeping in a team meeting. Another Super Bowl ring missed.
(8.) Jackie Smith. He is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame for his career with the Cardinals. In Dallas, he is known as the guy who dropped a touchdown pass and lost a Super Bowl.
(7.) Everett McIver. Best known for being cut by barber Michael Irvin during Scissorsgate at training camp in Wichita Falls.
(6.) Quincy Carter; Staring quarterback cut in training camp for drug problems.
(5.) Nicky Sualua. Instead of rushing former Cowboys offensive lineman Mark Tuinei to the hospital, this guy put him in his car to let him sleep off a high. Tuinei died in the car of a heroin overdose.
(4.) Rafael Septien: Nine years of great kicking was wiped out by sexual assault of a 10-year-old girl.
(3.) Sherman Williams: went to prison on three counts of conspiracy to distribute marijuana and passing counterfeit currency.
(2.) Dwayne Goodrich: former second round draft pick serving prison time for hit-and-run accident that killed two people.
(1.) Ryan Leaf: Facing charges of burglary, seven counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and one count of delivery of a simulated controlled substance after allegedly breaking into an injured player’s apartment while he was quarterbacks coach at West Texas A&M.

I really don’t ever want to go back to the days of getting three TV channels.
But I also don’t need 400 of them either.
Right now, I could be really happy with say 10 channels.
But DISH TV doesn’t offer that.
Their cheapest package is $19.99 a month.
For that you get no ESPN and no Fox Sports Southwest.
No Monday night football – which used to be a freebie.
No Texas Rangers baseball.
But they do throw Fox News in on the Family Plan.
I would pay $19.99 a month to never have those right wing brainwashers show up on my TV screen ever again.
I paid $89.24 for Dish last month.
No HBO or Showtime with that deal.
But I did get about a load of shopping channels, plenty of preaching, people who don’t speak English, cartoons and yodeling.
My “Classic Gold 250″ package is advertised at $57.99 a month.
But by the time you get it, another $30 is tacked on.
Don’t ask me how or why.
I don’t need a channel showing 24-hour soaps.
I don’t need to build my abs.
I don’t want to cook or clean or fix up my old house.
I don’t want to watch people hunt and fish.
I don’t want soccer.
I don’t want slick-haired guys telling me I am going to hell.
I don’t want Sponge Bob and his buddies.
I don’t want around-the-clock Law and Order and CSI.
I don’t want “Como esta usted?”
I don’t want to see the Devil Wears Prada every frigging night.
I don’t want any channel with only one letter in its name – like E or N.
I don’t need a weather channel or any 24-hour news.
I have a radio. I don’t need TV for music, please.
Damn it, I want ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, one ESPN, the Golf Network, the NFL, TNT, TV Land, the game show network.
And with it, I would like to get about 60 bucks back every month.
ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX should be free. God gave me the right to these networks.
I will pay $5 for each of the other six ad-ons.
That’s $30 plus tax.
Time Warner or Direct TV, do you want a new customer?
Call and make me an offer.

You would think the UIL would want to make as much money as it can on its state sporting events.

(more…)

Here are some random things I heard hanging around the track over the weekend and during interviews that I didn’t print:

(more…)

Texoma’s Best is back.
If you don’t have a ballot, run to the bird cage or the trash cash and get Pages 6 and 7A of last Sunday’s paper.
The rules say you have to fill out 75 percent of the ballot.
So say if you are like me and not really sure where’s the best place to buy a manufactured home, you can skip it.
Is this an advertising driven election?
Well, check out the ballot and decide for yourself.
There are 33 ads on the page.
Most of them are there trying to influence your vote.
I didn’t buy an ad, but I am also trying to influence your vote.
The deadline for voting is 5 p.m. Friday.
This week I am going to give you my endorsements of some of my favorite “bests.”
Best Local Writer: Most of the time, this goes to somebody who pimps for local businesses. The only time Texoma ever got it right was back in 2006 when I was the winner.
Vote for Nick.
Best Beer: Cold Bud Light
Best Imported Beer: Tsingtao (I discovered it in Beijing last summer; Koch’s is the only place I know that sells it here in Hooterville.)
Best Light Beer: (See best beer)
Best catfish: Bill’s in Waurika
Best chips and hot sauce: Casa Manana.
Best hamburger: Pat’s Drive In.
Best French Fries: Pat’s Drive In
Best Onion Rings: Pat’s Drive In (These girls deserve the hat trick)
Best Fried Chicken: Bar-L
Best Pizza: Papa Murphy’s.
Best Sports Bar: Parkway Grill
Best Place to Gamble: Comanche Red River Casino
Best Local Writer: Nick Gholson
Best Auto Salesperson: Hershel Coleman
Best Bartender: Jimmy at On the Border.
Best Boss: Darrell Coleman (I’m not stupid)
Best Chiropractor: Mark Brown
Best Dentist: Trey Williams
Best Doctor: Lesley Serrano
Best Golf Instructor: Scott Anderson
Best Insurance Agent: Donna Adams
Best TV Personality: Joe Brown
Best Local Writer: Nick Gholson
Best Local Writer: Nick Gholson
Best Air Conditioning/Heating Company: James Lane
Best Auto Body Shop: Gilmore’s
Best Bank: Chase
Best Credit Union: Union Square
Best Dry Cleaners: Comet
Best Internet Provider: Clearwire
Best Public School: Wichita Falls High
Best Television Station: KFDX Channel 3
Best Workout Facility: Parkway Grill
Best Local Writer: Nick Gholson
Best Local Writer: Nick Gholson
Best Garden/Nursery Store: Smith’s Gardentown
Best Jewelry Store: Nacol’s
Best Liquor Store: Koch’s
Best Pharmacy: CVS on Jacksboro Highway
Best Place to Buy a New Car: Four Stars
Best Place to Buy a Used Car: Four Stars
Best Service Station: Dearmond’s
Best Television Station: KFDX Channel 3
Best Supermarket: United
Best Tire Store: Discount Tire
Best Local Writer: Nick Gholson

The weather guys up at Channel 7 caught all kinds of hell a few weeks ago when they continually interrupted an NBA game to tell everyone it was raining.
Weather is what this station does best, and on this particular day, they were going to make damn sure all of us knew it.
Obviously they learned their lesson.
On Sunday night, the weather guys up in Lawton did their job well and still let us watch the NBA Finals.
Although they were reporting possible “hurricane force” winds in our area, they did it without making us miss any of the drama of the game.
Now if they could only find a way to have those winds blow away courtside reporter Doris Burke and all of those Kobe lovers from ESPN, that would make it even better.
One final thought – did you ever think what might happen if a big tornado hit Wichita Falls at noon on the first Monday of the month?
With the sirens blaring, people would just shrug it off and say, “Oh, it’s just that time of the month” and get blown away eating lunch.