Random Musings From The Woddchuck Hole

Howdy, y'all. I'm back with a bunch of non-connected thoughts.

First off, the woodchuck hole may once again ring with the sounds of fast and shiny indycars as Cleveland has made its pitch to IRL officials for inclusion in the '09 ICS schedule (hopefully the schedule release in early July brings good news).

Second, the Indians are urging fans to "celebrate the 70s" at this weekend's series. No offense, but what was there to celebrate? Watergate? Oil shortages? Leisure suits? Baseball that makes 4 under .500 feel like winning the World Series? Uniforms that made Boog Powell look like a giant tomato? Just asking.

I was conducting an interview with an older hockey fan recently regarding the old Arena here in Cleveland (info on how those of you reading this blog here in Cleveland can hear clips of this and other interviews I have conducted on the topic will be posted later this summer!) and heard a lot about how much simpler games used to be and how people used to get excited about the game. Which begs the question: Do we really need flamethrowing scoreboards and music played at louder than racecar levels to get pumped up for a game?

It has been said that bad things, especially deaths of notable people, happen in threes, the past week has been no exception as the television industry has been hit particularly hard. The losses of sportscaster Charlie Jones and Jim McKay, along with political analyst Tim Russert have made this a difficult week for the broadcast media. I don't particularly remember much about Jones, but to me McKay and Russert represent a largely past age of reporters who did just that: report, fairly and without bombast. A style all too rare in today's world of political screamfests and over-the-top sports announcing. Rest in Peace, Charlie, Jim, and Tim.