“The Star Tribune, saddled with high debt and a sharp decline in print advertising, filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition Thursday night.
“Minnesota’s largest newspaper will try to use bankruptcy to restructure its debt and lower its labor costs.”
Day: January 15, 2009
Best line of the day, so far
“The White House has promised that in his final address, the president will be joined by a small group of everyday American heroes, which means that the only person on stage with a history of failing to perform well in moments of stress will be the main speaker.”
Everybody’s Talkin’ about the Bird
Salon’s Ask the pilot with a first look at Thursday’s water landing in the Hudson River.
Martin Luther King Jr.
… was born 80 years ago today.
Many may question some of King’s choices and perhaps even some of his motives, but no one can question his unparalleled leadership in a great cause, or his abilities with both the spoken and written word.
There are 10 federal holidays, but only four of them are dedicated to one man: one for Jesus, one for the man given credit for discovering our continent, one for the military and political founder George Washington, and one for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
“I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality.”
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech
December 10, 1964
Library of Congress
Joe Buck Really Ought to Stick to Broadcasting IRS Audits
It was like being at the game with a few friends, not that one is likely to have friends who know so much. Johnston, who played on three Super Bowl teams with Dallas, and Siragusa, who was a key player in the Ravens victory in Super Bowl XXXV in 2001, easily switch from talking about their experiences on the road to the Championship to dealing with the potentially stultifying statistics that Fox supplies visually and aurally for the ADHD among its viewers.
. . .
Sadly, that is it for the Albert team this year. It is back to the mausoleum with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman next week for the Eagles-Cardinals. Back to the grave business of pro football.
Where, exactly, was Joe Buck while his father Jack was urging St Louis Cardinal fans to “go crazy folks” when the Redbirds won a playoff game* or telling a national radio audience that “I don’t believe what I just saw” after Kurt Gibson’s 1988 world Series blast off of the Eck?**
Was he reading a book? He is bloodless! And now it comes out that Buck and Aikman have been improperly escorted to gamers by U.S. Marshals.
Buck lacks that certain something when he broadcasts a sporting event. He can’t quite put the, what’s the word, ah, life into anything. In fact, it feels like he makes his living draining the life of all who are forced to listen to him.
Taxpayers you might want to work a little harder this week because a certain someone has another game to attend on Sunday.
Yes, Philadelphia it’s true, Joe Buck will most likely once again broadcast an Eagles game — this weekend’s NFC Championship showdown against the Arizona Cardinals.
The game is expected to be full of hard-hitting, skull-cracking, bombs-away action — but none of it will come to life in Fox’s broadcasting booth.
Links via Awful Announcing. For myself, my reflex reaction to Buck and Aikman clicks in faster than the remote can change the channel. Aikman is just typical retired athlete, duller than most. Buck is awful, reading his notecards well into the last two minutes of the game. He’s in sports announcing because his dad was, not because he cares about it.