Kobe and Me

Somewhere in the midst of the morning Sunday, we received a text from my son-in-law that Kobe Bryant had been killed in a helicopter crash near LA. I checked several of the news sites on my tablet … and it was true. As a life long Laker fan, particularly during the Kobe years, I was shocked. I turned on NBA TV, which was not showing. scheduled games, instead featuring the passing of Kobe Bryant, and as it turned out, his 13 year old daughter, Gianna, who was travelling with him. As the tributes from other players and celebrities rolled in, I found myself crying. As a person who prides himself in not getting caught up in celebrity worship, that was a surprise. I’d seen athletes come and go but I’d never mourned one as if I knew him.

Stars and Superheroes

When I used to commute to work … on freeways, not down the hall to my home office … the best sports-talk shows were on the radio during commute times.  Best meant host that were … first … knowledgeable about sports and second, able to talk sports in an entertaining way.   Sports talk has changed.  I would call the most popular format these days the Loudmouth and the Doofus.  A knowledge of sports seems secondary to the ability to generate controversy with baseless opinions, a sophomoric frat-house sense of humor and, of course, world-view to match.  But there are a few good shows still around, mostly exiled to mid-morning or afternoon.  One of those aired locally is Mason and Ireland who feature a daily  bit called Fast Track.   During Fast Track they ask each other five questions, often but not necessarily about sports, to be answered on the spot.   I thought it would be fun for a Top Sites Tuesday #255 post, as long as you’re willing to let my Two Thoughts on Tuesday be Two Questions.  As if you have a choice.  Here we go.

Endorsements

On my way to a doctor’s appointment this morning, I was listening to talk radio, not my usual sports talk but a news show.  Do your remember when we tuned to FM radio because they played fewer commercials?  Of course you don’t … it was eight and a half million years ago.  These days, talk radio has almost as many commercials as talk, unless you count the commercials delivered by the talk show hosts themselves.  I’ve always thought that a journalist loses credibility when he does commercials on his own show but given the state of radio journalism … sports talk or not … is there really any credibility to lose?  Still, whether it’s a sportstalk host hyping male hair removal or a political commentator hyping his own brand of iced tea, I’m inclined to prefer professionally done ads.  Sometimes, they even provide blog-fodder.