The Morning Delivery

Not Even Radio City Music Hall Would Dare to Show Citizen Kane

Orson Welles at the premiere of Citizen Kane

71 years ago, May 1, 1941, Citizen Kane premieres at the RKO Palace on Broadway in New York City.

The film starring and directed by Orson Welles, age 25, (his first feature film) is met with heaps of praise by film critics. The New York Times wrote that ``it came close to being the most sensational film ever made’’; while Newseek’s John O’Hara called Kane ``the finest film’’ he’d ever seen.

Kane was nominated for 9 Academy Awards, but only came away with one statue; for Best Screenplay. 

A Footnote: Since it was no secret that Charles Foster Kane was loosely based on William Randolph Hearst, the powerful business magnate and newspaper publisher refused to allow RKO Pictures to advertise in his newspapers. Hearst, in fact, went to great lengths to suppress the film from being released and labeled Welles a ``Communist.’’ Welles himself found himself under the radar of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. Radio City Music Hall was even afraid to show the film, while RKO struggled mightily to find theaters to show it.

Kane ended up losing more than $150,000;  while Welles career suffered immeasurably by refusing to cave into pressures from Hearst;  film studios were reluctant to hire this gifted wunderkind for future films,  not even to direct.

In 1998 and 2007, Citizen Kane was ranked No.1 on the list of the American Film Institute's 100 greatest films of all time.

 
Bill Lucey
[email protected]
May 1, 2012

Pulitzer Reaction: Has Editorial Writing Become a Lost Art?

Dallas Morning News vice president and editor of the editorial page Keven Ann Willey and her editorial page staff paused to pop some bubbly after learning they won the 2010 Pulitzer for examining the disparities between northern Dallas and the city's southern sector.
***

When the 96th Annual Pulitzer Prizes were announced Monday on a bright spring afternoon at Columbia University, the biggest surprise wasn’t who won journalism’s top prize, but who didn't win.

For the second time in four years, the Pulitzer Board didn’t award a Pulitzer to Editorial Writing, leading many to wonder if the editorial page has lost its strong voice in the daily newspaper.

Another surprise was there was no Pulitzer awarded for Fiction Writing. Prior to Monday’s announcement, 10 times the Pulitzer Board did not award a Pulitzer to Fiction, the last being in 1977.  Monday’s announcement, meanwhile, marked the ninth time a Pulitzer for Editorial Writing hasn’t been awarded (including 2012).

Not awarding a Pulitzer to fiction writing wasn’t that much of a surprise to many in the literary community.  Alfred Bendixen, author of ``A Companion to the American Novel’’ (Blackwell Companions to Literature and Culture) and co-author of the ``Continuum Encyclopedia of American Literature’’ tells me: ``the Pulitzer was always a journalism award awarded by journalists and with a commitment to fiction and poetry that varied over time. ‘’ `` The old National Book Award’’, Bendixen said, `` used to be a better marker of literary quality than the Pulitzer, which liked to reward big best-sellers.’’

Bendixen additionally points out that in 1974, the Pulitzer Board balked at awarding Thomas Pynchon's postmodern novel ``Gravity's Rainbow’’ a Pulitzer, which subsequently was named one of the top 100 novels of all time by Time Magazine, while other critics hail it as one of the greatest American novels ever written.

There were other surprises on Monday.

The New York Times came away with only two Pulitzers (Explanatory Reporting, International Reporting), the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal were shutout altogether, while The Huffington Post, won its first Pulitzer for National Reporting; and Politico, the political online newspaper, also won its first Pulitzer for Editorial Cartooning.

For all those David’s fighting the Goliath’s year after year and coming up empty handed, they must have taken heart in seeing some fresh faces on the winner’s list this year, including: The Tuscaloosa (Ala.) News Staff for Breaking News (reporting on the devastating tornado); while Local Reporting went to Sara Ganim and members of The Patriot-News Staff, (Harrisburg, Penn), for the explosive Penn State sex scandal involving former football coach Jerry Sandusky.

When I asked Arthur Sulzberger Jr., Chairman, CEO and Publisher The New York Times Company if he was surprised the Times only pulled in two Pulitzers, he responded through an email: ``Since when was two Pulitzers anything but fabulous? Yes, there have been years we've won more. And there have been years we won less. We feel very good about this year's results.’’

The only surprise to Jonathan Krim, senior deputy managing editor at the Wall Street Journal was that there was no top prize given to Fiction Writing.

In a recent article published in the Columbia Journalism Review  Pulitzer Administrator Sig Gissler didn’t place much stock into the notion, voiced by many observers, that the craft of editorial writing has been diminished over the years. The article points out that ``no award for editorial writing’’ simply means that a majority of the 18 board members couldn’t agree on a single winner. ``It’s not a statement about the condition of editorial writing today,’’ Gissler was quoted as saying.

But not everyone agrees with  Gissler.

A Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, who did not want to be identified, told me:  ``When did you last read an editorial that changed how you viewed the world?  Editorial writing is a lost art.  It requires extensive research and quality writing. ‘’

Aside from that stinging commentary on the state of editorial writing, only time will tell if 2012 was just an off year for the big boppers (N.Y. Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal) in the other Pulitzer categories-or if we’re in fact witnessing a seismic shift in which the best journalism is moving toward Internet only sites like the Huffington Post and Politico, both of whom won a Pulitzer this year.

-Bill Lucey
[email protected]
April 18, 2012

***
Since the craft of editorial writing has been under sharp scrutiny ever since the Pulitzer announcement, I thought I would ask others if they were surprised there was no top prize for Editorial Writing and whether they feel it has become a lost art.

Here are some responses that came flying back:

``Not at all, anymore than I think fiction is a lost art because no prize was awarded. This is a commentary on the Pulitzers, not on editorial writing or the American novel.''
- Frank Rich,  former New York Times op-ed columnist, currently an essayist and editor-at-large for New York magazine

``I was puzzled by that. I don't think so, but then maybe I'm just hoping it's not.  I don't pretend to know what I'm talking about, but I think a lot of places, smaller places, are afraid of taking a stand, because of pressures from their communities.''
-Rick Bragg, a 1996 Pulitzer recipient for Feature Writing and former New York Times national correspondent, currently a Professor of Writing in the Journalism Department at the University of Alabama.

``I have been disappointed in the editorials, which have lost both any real sense of outrage at bad things, real compelling language, and real compelling logic to shape opinions. But I think all that is transitory.''
-Norman Ornstein, political scientist and resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI)

 ``I was surprised and disappointed that the board chose not to make an award in editorial writing and in fiction. That a majority of the board could not settle on a winner in either of those categories suggests to me that the rules need to be changed. Not picking a winner suggests that nothing was worthy of an award and it demeans the work of the finalists. As to prizes going to new media players, I can't help thinking this is an outsized effort to dispel the belief that the Pulitzers are stuck in the past, which, I guess, is where I am.''
-Doug Clifton, former Executive Editor of the Miami Herald, where he led The Herald to three Pulitzer Prizes, including a gold medal for Public Service, awarded to the paper for coverage of Hurricane Andrew. Mr. Clifton was also editor of The Plain Dealer in Cleveland from 1999 to 2007.

 ``It's possible that there's a feeling that we on the editorial pages aren't innovating fast enough in how we put our opinions out there or to the degree that other parts of the business are doing. (I would take issue with that, by the way. Necessity is the mother of invention, so we're all inventing new ways to be relevant, timely, and accessible.)

In general, I think it's great that the judges are looking beyond traditional big metropolitan dailies for the best journalism out there.  In the end, it must be the work itself, and its impact, its 'degree of difficulty,' if you will, not just how it's delivered to the readers, that should take the prize.''
-Betsy Sullivan, Editorial Page Editor, The Plain Dealer

``It's becoming one [a lost art] Bill, yes indeed.''

-Howard French, former New York Times bureau chief for Central America and the Caribbean, West Africa, Japan and the Koreas, and China in Shanghai, currently an associate professor at the Columbia School of Journalism.

``A seismic shift, [reaction to Pulitzer winners] to be sure.  Curious about editorial writing.  A lost craft?''
-Dennis Ryerson, editor of the Indianapolis Star

***
PULITZER SHUTOUTS

The following are the years when no Pulitzer was awarded in different categories

Drama: 1917, 1919, 1942, 1944, 1947, 1951, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1968, 1972, 1974, 1986, 1997 and 2006.
Fiction: 1917, 1920, 1941, 1946, 1954, 1957, 1964, 1971, 1974, 1977 and 2012.
Music (First awarded in 1943): 1953, 1964, 1965 and 1981.
History: 1919, 1984 and 1994.
Biography: 1962.
Poetry: 1946.
Editorial Writing: 1919, 1921, 1930, 1932, 1935, 1981, 1993, 2008 and 2012.
Public Service: 1917, 1920, 1925 and 1930.
Breaking News Reporting: 2011
Reporting: 1919, 1928; telegraphic reporting, 1943; national reporting, 1951.
International Reporting: 1977.
Feature Writing (First awarded in 1979): 2004
Criticism: 1992.
Cartoons (First awarded in 1922): 1923, 1936, 1960, 1965 and 1973.
Photography (First awarded in 1942): 1946.

Source: Office of Public Affairs, Columbia University

The Three Stooges: Feats, Facts, and Historic Firsts

If you’re victim of ``soicumstances’’ and usually find yourself fending off a battery of verbal attacks, including nitwit, numbskull, lamebrain, ignoramus, while having to endure your fair share of face slaps, a sharp poke in the eye, and an occasional banana cream pie thrown in your face, you might want to check out ``The Three Stooges,’’ the modern adaption depicting the American Vaudeville and comedy trio of the mid-20th Century, who never lost their cult status with millions of Stoogeoligists.

The film was directed and produced by two brothers: Bobby and Peter Farrelly, the same dynamic duo who gave us``Dumb and Dumber,’’ ``Hall Pass" and "Fever Pitch.’’ The film opens in theaters nationwide on April 13th.

The producers reportedly courted mega box office stars Jim Carrey and Sean Penn to star in the film before settling on relative newcomers: Will Sasso (Curly Howard) Chris Diamantopoulos  (Moe Howard) and Sean Hayes (Larry Fine).

In case you might want to brush up on how the Stooges first originated and their rise to instant fame before heading to the theater, I prepared some fast facts and a historic overview of one of the most influential slapstick comedy teams of American culture.

And if you do go to the theater, and ask for a ticket to the ``Three Stooges’’ don’t be surprised if the person behind the window responds: ``Soiteny!’’

Three Stooges Feats, Facts, and Historic Firsts:

• Moe Howard (born Moses Harry Horwitz ) and Shemp Howard (born Samuel Horwitz), brothers from Brooklyn New York, began their comedy careers acting separately in Vaudeville acts. By 1916, they first teamed as a comedy act performing a blackface routine.

• Beginning in 1922, Moe and Shemp team with comedian Ted Healy.

• After the trio discover comedian Larry Fine (born Louis Feinberg) performing in a comedy act, the ``Haney Sisters and Fine’’, they convince him to join their comedy troupe and call themselves ``Ted Healy and his Three Southern Gentleman’’, later ``Ted Healy and the Three Stooges.’’

• Healy, Moe and Shemp Howard along with Larry Fine make their film debut in 20th Century Fox’s ``Soup to Nuts’’ in 1930.

• Shortly after the release of Soup to Nuts, Moe and Shemp Howard and Larry Fine break away from Healy.

• Shemp Howard left the Three Stooges in 1931 to pursue a solo acting career.

• Jerry ``Curly’’ Howard (born Jerome Lester Horowitz), replaced his brother Shemp in 1932 on the condition he shave his head.

• March 19, 1934, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, and Moe Howard sign a contract with Columbia Pictures for a single two reel comedy for $1,000 with an option for an additional 8 two-reelers at a similar salary and officially become known as the Three Stooges.

• The trio of Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard made 97 films between 1934 and 1947.

• Between July 1, 1936 and May 15, 1937, Columbia Pictures paid the trio a total of $21,000.

• The Stooges appeared in 10 original feature length movies, more than 200 short films and more than 3,000 personal appearances on behalf of Columbia Studios.

• In 1934, the Three Stooges received their first and only Academy Award nomination (for Best Short Subject) for ``Men in Black’’ but failed to come away with the Oscar, losing to a cartoon, ``La Cucaracha.’’

• Beginning in 1941, the Stooges add the pie fight to their repertoire, their victims usually members of the upper class.

• Curly Howard suffered his first major stroke in 1945.

• The last film Curly Howard appeared in was ``Half-Wits Holiday’’ which was released on January 9, 1947.

• By 1950, Curly Howard was confined to a wheelchair after suffering a second stroke. In February, 1951, he was placed in a nursing home, suffering another stroke, his third, a month later. In April, 1951, he was admitted to North Hollywood Hospital and Sanitarium and died January 18, 1952 at the age of 48.

• In an effort to replace Curly, hundreds of actors test for the part, but none to the studios liking, prompting Shemp Howard to rejoin the Stooges in 1946.

• A young rising comedian, Buddy Hackett, was considered as a replacement for Curly.

• The first Three Stooges comedy featuring Shemp Howard after rejoining the Stooges was ``Fright Night’’ (1946).

• Shemp suffered a stroke, shortly after filming ``Loose Loot’’ (1953); and on November 22, 1955 suffered a cerebral hemorrhage followed by a massive heart attack, dying almost immediately at the age of 60.

• Joe Besser, a comedian, who appeared as ``Stinky’’ in the Abbot and Costello television show, joined the Stooges, replacing Shemp and first appears in ``Hoofs and Goofs’’ (1957).

• By 1958, Besser tires of the Three Stooges and is replaced by Joe DeRita (born Joseph Wardell), who officially becomes the sixth member of the Stooges and the third Curly. DeRita originally wore his hair long, parting it down the middle.

• In 1959, Larry, Moe, and CurlyJoe take in more than a million in income before taxes; and by the winter of that year were commanding a hefty fee at theaters and nightclubs, mostly standing room only venues.

• CurlyJoe (DeRita) makes his movie debut in ``Have Rocket Will Travel’’ (1959).

• The Stooges had a cameo in Stanley Kramer’s madcap blockbuster, `It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World’’ in 1963.

• The film, ``Kook’s Tour’’ released on February 5, 1970 would be the last Three Stooges film. Before filming was completed, Larry Fine suffered a stroke, paralyzing the left side of his body.  Fine died on January 24, 1975 at the age of 72.

• Moe Howard died on May 4, 1975, age 77, from lung cancer while working on his autobiography, ``I Stooged to Conquer.’’

• On March 1, 1988, Joe Besser, the comedian hired to replace Shemp Howard, died at the age of 80.

• CurlyJoe DeRita, the last surviving member of the Three Stooges, died on July 3, 1993 at the age of 83.

• In all, the Three Stooges made 217 films, including 190 15-minute shorts for Columbia Pictures.

• 23 of the Stooges 190 films contained military themes, eight directly related to World War II.

• December 17, 2002: The National Film Preservation Foundation selected the Three Stooges two-reel comedy ``Punch Drunk’’ (1934) for preservation in the Library of Congress.

-Bill Lucey
[email protected]
April 12, 2012

Source: ``The Three Stooges: The Triumphs and Tragedies of The Most Popular Comedy Team of All Time’’ By Jeff Forrester and Tom Forrester;  ``The Three Stooges: An Illustrated History, from Amalgamated Morons to American Icons: ``by Michael Fleming

 

Bill Veeck, the Maverick Showman, who thought Outside the Box

Eddie Gaedel, weighing 65 pounds, and standing 3-feet-7 inches tall makes his only Major League Baseball apperance in a St Louis Browns uniform during the second game of a double-header at Sportsman's Park in St Louis on August 19, 1951.

Bill Veeck and Indians Player-Manager Lou Boudreau celebrate the 1948 World Championship at the Victory parade driving down Euclid Avenue in downtown Cleveland.

Disco Demolition Night at Comiskey Park in 1979

This summer, when you pass through the turnstiles at any major league baseball stadium around the country, and you’re suddenly handed a free t-shirt, a bobblehead look alike, a beer stein, or a drawstring bag with your team’s logo on it, you owe a special thank you to William Louis Veeck, Jr., known to the baseball world as Bill Veeck or more affectionately ``Sport Shirt Bill.’’

Paul Dickson, author of the ``Baseball Dictionary’’  has knocked another one out of the park with ``Bill Veeck: Baseball’s Greatest Maverick’’, a skillfully written biography, scrupulously researched, brimming with revealing anecdotes and historical detail, while unpacking Veeck’s views of social injustice (inside and outside the park),along with his quest to provide fans with a show even if their team wasn’t on the road to clinching a pennant.

It’s hard to believe that when Veeck took over as owner of the Cleveland Indians in 1946; baseballs that landed in the stands were considered property of the club and were promptly retrieved by the stadium personnel. 

When Veeck, the son of a sports columnist and former president of the Chicago Cubs, came on board, Cleveland Indian baseball games, believe it or not, weren’t on radio; there wasn’t even a telephone service for fans to reserve tickets. The Chicago native changed all that almost immediately and would embrace a host of other publicity innovations, including, introducing Ladies Day and giving away nylon stockings to the first 20,00 women who entered the stadium, dressing track star and Olympic gold medalist Jesse Owens in an Indians uniform to run a 100-yard dash against Indians’ speedster,  George Case,  socializing with fans in different sections of the stadium; while the unconventional owner frequently would be seen outside the gates at the end of the game thanking fans for attending. 

Imagine, Veeck even answered his own phone if anyone called his office. Even ushers were rebranded under Veeck, requiring a strict dress code of meticulously ironed blue coats and trousers, gold stripes and immaculate white shirts.

Despite a 6th place finish, the Tribe’s total attendance for 1946 was over one million, a milestone never reached in franchise history. Two years later, in 1948, the last year the Indians won a World Series, attendance had soared to over two million, a league record until the Los Angeles Dodgers broke it in 1962.

Years later, when buying 80 percent stake of the St Louis Browns in 1951, the maverick owner worked his magic again: during one game, he told fans the drinks were on the house and personally passed out two buckets of beer in the bleachers. By the time the game was over, 6, 041 soft drinks and 7,596 bottles of beer were passed out.

Veeck was so interested in hearing from the real fans of St Louis that he once went down in a coal mine with 200 other miners in order to listen for ways to improve his moribund team.

But by far, Veeck’s most legendary stunt while with the Browns was in signing a midget from Chicago, Eddie Gaedel, who with such a small strike zone, pitchers would find near impossible to strike out. The idea sprang from the Browns struggles to get their leadoff man on base. The brilliant move was short lived, however; the diminutive Gaedel only saw one at bat-he drew a walk from Detroit Tigers pitcher Bob Cain and was then replaced by pinch runner Jim Delsing. As the 3-foot-7 Gaedel waved his cap to the thunderous crowd at Sportsman's Park outside of the Browns dugout- he quietly faded into the sunset, never be seen in a major league uniform again. The American League president, William Harridge, quickly voided his contract and prohibited midgets from ever playing in the majors.

A Footnote:  Gaedel died of a heart attack on June 18, 1961, age 36, from injuries sustained after being mugged on a Chicago street corner for $11.

One of Veeck’s most distinguishing hallmarks was in knowing which side his bread was buttered on; and that was in keeping the fans happy. With the Chicago White Sox (during his first stint on the South Side, 1959-1961), when the steelworkers went on strike, Veeck saw to it that more than 7,000 steelworkers were given free tickets.  He also held other special nights for the working class of Chicago, including teachers, transit workers and even holding a Good Neighbor Night for residents who lived near Comiskey Park. And in the first game of the 1959 World Series , he sprang for 20,000 red roses for every woman who entered the park.

Today, with pyrotechnics and dazzling firework displays practically a standard feature at most major league facilities, we need to remind ourselves, every now and again, exactly when this tradition first began. And that was with Veeck, again, in Chicago, when in 1960, he unveiled a flashing light scoreboard with exploding fireworks after each home run. The novel scoreboard soon earned it the nickname: ``The Monster.’’

Sewing player’s names on the back of uniforms and players donning shorts were more Veeck innovations while with the Sox.

But his most publicized gimmick, which unfortunately turned out to be his most infamous, came during his second tour of duty with the White Sox on July 12, 1979, when Disco Demolition Night was scheduled. Hoping to feed off the anti-disco frenzy sweeping the country, the event was designed with a simple task in mind: blowup a crate filled with disco records.  But more was destroyed than just disco records, bonfires were seen everywhere, disco records were being flown in the air like Frisbees, more than 60,000 fans (well beyond capacity) flooded Comiskey with the smell of hot dogs and beer being overtaken with the distinct smell of marijuana wafting through the air; fans poured out on the field ripping up the grounds, while police tried to control the pandemonium riding horses through the field. ``Riot at Comiskey’’ was the screaming headline the Chicago Sun-Times published the next day.

Despite all the gimmicks, publicity stunts and pyrotechnics, it would be a mistake and gross misreading of Veeck’s contribution to baseball to think of him strictly as the ``Barnum of Baseball’’ or a publicity ``showboat’’ who cared more about stunts than in the integrity of the game.

Dickson reminds readers over and over of Veeck’s distaste for the discrimination blacks had to endure.  Well before Jackie Robinson made his major league debut on April 15, 1947, Veeck was at the forefront, advocating the inclusion of blacks into the game. He recruited Larry Doby, the first African-American to play in the American League with the Cleveland Indians, signing him to a $15,000 contract on July 5, 1947. Veeck even took his chances signing the well seasoned Satchel Paige at age 42. ``Satch’’, in fact, is in the history books as the first African American to take to the pitcher’s mound in a World Series game (1948), while Doby (also in 1948) became the first African-American to belt a home run in a World Series game.

Veeck’s passionate liberalism that he was never afraid to voice on a number of social issues raging in the country, along with clearing a path for many African Americans to display their talents in the major leagues, earned him the title of being the ``Abe Lincoln of Baseball’’ by the New York Amsterdam News.

In addition to his notable social activism, Veeck also left an enduring stamp on the game inside the lines as well, especially with his creative groundskeeping methods. When with the Indians, he instructed his groundskeeping crew to slant the foul lines to favor the Indians, while making the infield ``soft and slow’’ to give time for his slow infielders time to catch up with the ball. ``A good groundskeeper’’, Veeck liked to say, ``can be as valuable as .300 hitter.’’ Ready for another legendary Veekism? `` The best trades are the ones you don’t make,’’ the sentiments he expressed after deciding not to trade Lou Boudreau, a local fan favorite.

For those who think Veeck cared more about the circus than the game, just remember, despite all the publicity stunts he’s best remembered for, what many often overlook is that from 1946 through 1963, the New York Yankees only lost three pennants and Veeck’s teams (1948 and 1959) won two of them.

In addition to his questionable signings and his flair for spotting talent, Veeck also gave an untested Knoxville Farm club manager, Tony LaRussa, his first managerial job in 1979 at the tender age of 34 with the White Sox.

Given all that stood in his away: with seven amputations, a collapsed lung, deaf in one ear, a hearing aid in the other, is it any wonder that this brash unconventional owner with a predilection for thinking outside the box accomplished all that he did in such a short amount of time?

In one of the most profound ironies of Dickson’s remarkable book is that even though Veeck was born into a life of luxury, the road he went down as an adult was far from luxurious, as he tethered himself to the neglected , the forgotten; and most importantly, lending his ears to the voices of the fans.

As Veeck’s second wife, Mary Frances liked to say, ``Bill was born on the right side of the tracks, and dragged himself to the other side-and then lived comfortably on both.’’

So if you’re planning your summer reading list, I recommend you place  Dickson’s enlightening and highly entertaining biography on one of baseball’s most combative if influential owners at the very top of your list.

-Bill Lucey
[email protected]
April 4, 2012

****
Thinking Outside the Box

As usual, there will be plenty of promotions and giveaways at Major League Baseball stadiums this year, from t-shirts to bobbleheads, but in honor of Bill Veeck, I thought I would single out those teams who came up with the most innovative promotions; promotions in other words, which Mr. Veeck would have tipped his hat if he was here today.

Here’s some which caught my eye:

• The Detroit Tigers will be hosting a Christmas in July" night at Comerica Park which includes Christmas music, decorations and visits from Santa Claus and Santa PAWS!

• The Cleveland Indians will have a Puppypalooza for two games at Progressive Field season in which fans are encouraged to bring their dog to the ballpark.

• The Oakland A's will have a Youth Sports Movie Night in which kids will be able to watch the film ``Sandlot’’ on the field which comes with a snack and an autograph session.

• The Chicago White Sox will be holding a Sports Marketing Career Fair in which participants will have an opportunity to network with representatives from different companies.

• The White Sox will have Grandparent's Day and Seniors Stroll the Bases.

• Kansas City Royals will be having a George Brett Mini Pine Tar Bat Day, in which the first 10,000 fans will be given pine tar.

• The Toronto Blue Jays will be featuring ``Tweeting Tuesdays’’ as fans and @bluejays followers will have the opportunity to interact and communicate with the Blue Jays and other Blue Jays fans while watching the game.

• The Seattle Mariners will have a special military night in which military personnel receive $5 off select View Level seats or $10 off select Main Level seats on all Tuesdays and July 4th.

• The Arizona Diamondbacks will be giving away Mother's Day Earrings to the first 5,000 moms.

• The Chicago Cubs will feature a Social Media Night Budweiser Bleacher ticket package, where fans will receive a six card set of Cubs "Social Media Series" baseball cards featuring Cub players that are on Twitter. As an added bonus, there will be randomly inserted cards autographed by Kerry Wood, Ryan Dempster, Paul Maholm, David Dejesus and Ian Stewart.

• Wrigley Field will also be hosting a Law Enforcement Appreciation Night in which fans give thanks for the great courage and bravery of the men and women in Law Enforcement. Budweiser Bleacher Special event ticket holders will receive an exclusive Cubs/Law Enforcement themed shirt.

• The Milwaukee Brewers will be having a Stitch N' Pitch Night when fellow needle artists, speak to shop owners and visit teaching tables when gates open. The first 1,000 needle artists to buy tickets and attend Stitch N' Pitch Night at Miller Park will receive a free special edition Brewers Stitch N' Pitch Bobble Head.

• The New York Mets will give away Texting Gloves to the first 25,000 fans sponsored by Verizon.

• The San Diego Padres will have Play Catch on the Field Day for Kids.

• The San Francisco Giants will be holding a Slumber Party for Kids in which they set up camp on the field, play catch in the outfield and dream of their baseball heroes while sleeping under the stars.

• The St Louis Cardinals will have a Great Clips Charity Haircuts presented by Great Clip in which all fans will be able to get a haircut, with all proceeds going to Cardinals Care.

 -Bill Lucey

Source: Major League Baseball (Individual Team Home Pages)

U.S. Presence in Afghanistan: 10-Year Scorecard

Dexter Filkins, The New Yorker

Lara Logan, CBS News

Since the Koran burning last month, U.S. troops urinating on the bodies of fallen Taliban fighters, and the killing of Afghan civilians in Kandahar by Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, seven Americans and two Britons have been killed by Afghan forces in Afghanistan, only compounding American voters sense of urgency to get out of this troublesome region, the sooner the better.

A New York Times poll  published Monday showed just how disillusioned Americans have become over the war, with 69 percent of the respondents saying we shouldn’t be at war in Afghanistan, a marked increase from 53 percent just four months ago.

The poll also found that 68 percent thought the fighting was going “somewhat badly” or “very badly,” compared with 42 percent who held such a belief in November.

After 10 years of military engagement in Afghanistan, with a majority of U.S. troops scheduled to be withdrawn by the end of the 2014, many are beginning to question what has been accomplished in the region and whether the Afghans will be able to go it alone once the U.S. passes the baton to them less than two years from now.

If you happened to peek in on the Charlie Rose show recently (March 12th) and listened to the harsh assessment of the progress made in Afghanistan as put forward by Dexter Filkins, of the 'New Yorker' magazine, Lara Logan of CBS News, Jere Van Dyk of CBS News, Seth Jones of the RAND Corporation and Zalmay Khalilzad of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, you might have come away not only disappointed by the lack of progress, but also deeply cynical wondering exactly what the U.S. forces have been doing in Afghanistan for the last 10 years?

Filkins told Rose that as of last year, there was one (yes, you heard right, exactly one) Afghan battalion that can operate independently.  ``It’s fiction to believe’’, Filkins told Mr. Rose, ``that the U.S. can leave Afghans to fight and function for themselves….what we’re really talking about is another decade before Afghans can operate independently.’’

And with the Afghan army unable to stand on its own two feet once the U.S. pulls out at the end of 2014, civil war will in all likelihood break out, most of Rose guests agreed.

If the U.S. doesn’t leave some kind of U.S. forces behind after 2014, Zalmay Khalilzad of the Center for Strategic and International Studies is convinced that the U.S. might only have to go back again. ``We have seen this movie before’’, Khalilzad said. ``Extremist groups will come and we (the U.S) would have to bomb Afghanistan from afar.’’

During the interview, Lara Logan of CBS News made the most compelling argument that it doesn’t really matter what has happened or hasn’t happened inside Afghanistan, the biggest problem is that sanctuaries still exist inside Pakistan, and according to Logan, ``the U.S. hasn’t removed the fundamental condition which gave rise to 9/11.’’

Logan additionally argued, persuasively I might add, that even 10 more years in Afghanistan would be counterproductive since it will more than likely only produce more isolated incidents, similar to the Koran burning and shooting of Afghan civilians. Those isolated incidents, Logan argues, albeit the exception rather than the rule, is nonetheless ``defining the U.S. image in the eyes of Afghans.’’ All the wells, schools and other infrastructure projects which have been built by the U.S. doesn’t matter, Logan says, `` because it doesn’t get reported.’’

So to hear Rose’s guests tell it, after 10 years, the U.S. has three huge problems remaining in Afghanistan: a dysfunctional (and corrupt) Afghan government, sanctuaries (extremists) remaining in Pakistan, and the Taliban just ``waiting to run out the clock’’, as Filkins described it, biding time, just waiting for the U.S. to withdraw so they can reclaim power in the region.

It was not a pretty picture as described by Mr. Rose’s guests.

Since the war is a decade old, I thought I would compile a statistical scorecard of the gains made by U.S. forces since the war began on October 7, 2001.

Bill Lucey
[email protected]
March 29, 2012

*****
10 year scorecard: U.S. Presence in Afghanistan

How much money has the U.S. spent on Operation Enduring Freedom?
$413.2 billion from the Department of Defense and $25.1 from USAID (current dollars).  There is also $4.2 billion in Veterans money devoted to Afghanistan to date, bringing the grand total to approximately $442.5 billion current dollars.

According to the Congressional Research Service, through the end of FY2011, the United States has provided over $67 billion in assistance to Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban, of which about $39 billion has been to equip and train Afghan forces.

How many casualties has there been in Afghanistan?
Total Deaths: Afghanistan only-1,794; other locations-109 with 3 DOD civilian casualties, bringing the total to 1,906 as of March 28, 2012.

How many journalists have been killed in Afghanistan?
Since the Committee to Protect Journalists began tracking this, 24 journalists have been killed in Afghanistan.

What’s the total number of foreign forces in Afghanistan?

Approximately, 131.000, including about 90,000 U.S. and 40,500 non-U.S. partner forces. (U.S. total was: 25,000 in 2005; 16,000 in 2003; 5,000 in 2002 (International Security Assistance Force, ISAF); totals were: 12,000 in 2005; and 6,000 in 2003.) U.S. forces are deployed at 88 bases in Afghanistan.

How big is the Afghan National Army (ANA)?

As of January 2012, about 176, 350 with 195,000 planned by November 2012. There are about 2,000 trained per month. 5,300 are commando forces, who are trained by U.S. Special Forces. ANA privates are paid about $200 per month; while generals make about $750 per month.

What is the approximate size of the Afghan National Police (ANP?)

As of January 2012, about 143, 000, with goal of 157,000 by November 2012. 21,000 are Border Police; 3,800+ counter-narcotics police; 14,400 Afghan National Civil Order Police (ANCOP).

How many members of Al Qaeda still remain in Afghanistan?

According to General Petraeus, as of April 2011, there were less than 100 or so with a small number of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.

How many Taliban fighters are there in Afghanistan?

According to both U.S. military and Afghan estimates in mid-2011, up to 25,000, although General John Allen, the top US commander in Afghanistan, has gone on record as saying he believes the numbers are much lower. Other remaining factions include: 3,000-Haqqani and 1,000-Hikmatyar.

Approximately how many military attacks are there every day in Afghanistan?
Based on testimony from Department of Defense officials, there were more than 1,500 per month in 2010; compared to 800 per month in 2007; and 400 in 2005.

What’s the population of Afghanistan?
More than 28 million; the population of Kabul is 3 million, up from 500,000 in the Taliban era.

What is the literacy rate?
28% of population over 15 years of age: 43% of males; 12.6% of female.

What is the unemployment rate?
Unemployment rate is about 40%.

The percentage of Afghans who have access to health care?
65% with basic health services access-compared to 8% during Taliban era

Has the judicial or court system improved in recent years?
Since the fall of the Taliban, there have been 1,000 judges, including 200 women trained.

How many Afghans have access to electricity?
15%-20% of the population, with much of it imported from neighboring states.

How many cell phone subscribers?
About 6.5 million, up from negligible amounts during Taliban era.

Sources: CIA, The World Factbook; The Brookings Institution, Congressional Research Service, U.S. government official testimony.

Top 10 non-U.S. Donors to Afghanistan? ($ in millions)
Japan: 3,150
European Union 2,880
Asian Development Bank 2,270
Britain 2,220
World Bank 2,140
Germany 2,130
India 1,515
Canada 1,255
Netherlands 775
Norway 745
Source: Afghanistan Ministry of Finance: Development Cooperation Report, 2010.

Coalition Deaths by Country:
U.K.: 407
Canada: 158
France: 82
Germany: 53
Italy: 46
Denmark: 42
Poland: 35
Spain: 34
Australia: 32
Netherlands: 25
Turkey: 14
Romania: 19
Georgia: 10
NATO: 10
Norway: 10
Estonia: 9
Hungry: 7
Czech: 5
Sweden: 5
New Zealand: 5
Latvia: 3
Jordan: 2
Portugal: 2
Finland: 2
Albania: 1
Belgium: 1
Lithuania: 1
South Korea: 1
Source:  iCasualties.org (updated March 28, 2012)

Key Players in Afghanistan:
The Pashtuns
Ethnic Pashtuns (pronounced POSH-toons, sometimes referred to as Pathans—pah-TAHNS), as the largest single ethnicity, have historically asserted a “right to rule.” Pashtuns are about 42% of the population and, with few exceptions, have governed Afghanistan.
President Hamid  Karzai is a Durrani Pashtun. His cabinet and inner advisory circle has come to be progressively dominated by Pashtuns, both Ghilzai and Durrani, which has largely minimized the advisory input of the other communities.

The Tajiks
Tajiks are the second-most numerous community, composing an estimated 25% of the population, and are the core of the “Northern Alliance” grouping that is opposed to but often works amicably with Karzai.

The Hazaras
Many Pashtuns are said to be increasingly resentful of the Hazara Shiite minority (about 10% of the population) that is advancing economically and politically through education; the Hazaras have historically been looked down upon by the Pashtuns, who have tended to employ Hazaras as domestic workers and other lower and lower middle class occupations. These jealousies could have been a factor in the December 6, 2011, bombings of Hazaras in three cities, killing 60, while they were visiting their mosques to celebrate the Shiite holy day of Ashura. A Pakistan-based militant group, Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, claimed responsibility—possibly in an effort to stir up sectarian conflict in Afghanistan. Afghan Shiite officials said such tactics would not work, as there is no inclination toward sectarian conflict in Afghanistan.

The Uzbeks
Uzbeks, like the Hazaras, are about 10%. The Uzbek community is Sunni Muslim and speaks a language akin to Turkish, as well as Dari. The most well-known Uzbek leader in Afghanistan is Abdul Rashid Dostam, who was allied with Soviet occupation forces but later defected and helped bring down the Communist regime in Afghanistan in April 1992. Because of their alliance with the Soviet Union during the occupation period, many Uzbeks in Afghanistan are leftwing and highly secular.

Source: Congressional Research Service

***
Web Sites to Keep in Mind:

U.S. Casualties (updated daily)

DOD Dictionary of Military Terms

Military Casualty Information by Branch of Service: (Casualty information broken down by type and month)

Military Personnel Statistics

Casualty Timeline (by month) from October 7, 2001 Through March 5, 2012

U.S. and Coalition Casualties in Afghanistan (CNN)

Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission

Afghanistan International Security Assistance Force (ISAF)

Afghanistan Map: National Geographic Society:  

Most Memorable Final Four March Events of All-Time

Now that the 64 teams in the Men’s Division I NCAA Basketball Tournament has been sliced down to a mighty four (congratulations,: OSU, Kentucky, Louisville,  and Kansas); and in keeping with the spirit of ``March Madness’’,  I came up with my Final Four of most memorable events associated with the word``March.’’

They are:

1.) Most Memorable Military Engagement:

  

`Sherman's March to the Sea’’(November 15, 1864 to December 21, 1864) Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman after capturing Atlanta, marched the Union Army  to the sea, capturing the city of Savannah in December, and then marching through South Carolina into North Carolina.

 

2.) Most Memorable Line from a Newspaper Article: ``La verite est en march; rien ne plus l’arreter.’’
``Truth is on the march and nothing can stop it.’’
-Emile Zola, Le Figaro, November 25, 1897.

The article—titled J’Accuse (I Accuse)-addressed to French president Félix Faure was written by famed novelist Emile Zola in which he laid out the gross injustice inflicted on Captain Alfred Dreyfus who had been wrongly convicted in late 1894 of handing military secrets to Germany. Zola persuasively argued that the Jewish officer had been the victim of deep-seated anti-Semitism and circumstantial evidence, and more appalling still was that his conviction was based largely on a forged document.

Zola’s highly publicized article swayed public opinion, resulting in Dreyfus’s conviction being overturned in 1899.

 

3.) Most Memorable Musical March: Felix Mendelssohn's "Wedding March"

 

This famous March was first performed in Potsdam in 1842, as a part of Mendelssohn's incidental music for the Shakespeare play A Midsummer Night's Dream. It then became a wildly popular piece of wedding music soon after princess Victoria Adelaide Mary Louise, the oldest child of Queen Victoria, married Frederick William IV of Prussia on January 25, 1858.

 

4.) Most Memorable Marching Band: 

 

On November 20, 1982 with John Elway's Stanford team clinging to a one point lead with just 4 seconds left in the game-the University of California Golden Bears, using 5 lateral passes managed to matriculate down the field and plow there way through the Stanford Marching Band-to score one of the most controversial and highly disputed game winning touchdowns in college football.

-Bill Lucey
[email protected]
March 25, 2012

Not to be Crude, but Why Are Gas Prices so Darn High?

With U.S. gasoline prices having climbed nearly 30 cents in the past month, pushing the national average to $3.87 a gallon, according to the Energy Information Administration, consumers (and by extension voters) are beginning to voice their concern.

A recent Gallup Poll finds that one in four Americans feel gas prices will shoot up to more than $5 a gallon during 2012

This all bodes ill for President Obama as he prepares to clash with the presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney during the long hot summer. In a fragile economy with unemployment still over 8 percent, a sharp rise in gas prices makes it all the more difficult for Mr. Obama to defend his domestic policies and convince voters to keep him in the White House for another four years.

With excessive gas prices causing many to cancel vacation plans, while seeing their weekly budgets squeezed just to fill up their tank, many Americans not only are mad, but they want answers.

Who's to blame: greedy oil companies, President Obama, a do-nothing Congress, unrest in the Middle East?

After looking into this, here is what I found were the most common reasons cited by industry experts for the high price of gasoline at the pump.

What Determines the Price of Gas at the Pump?

• The biggest factor is the cost of the raw material used to produce the gasoline – crude oil. That price has been between $105 and $120 a barrel, depending on the type of crude oil purchased.

• At these prices, a standard 42-gallon barrel, then, translates to $2.50 to $2.85 a gallon at the pump.

• Excise taxes add another 49 cents a gallon on average nationwide.

• So the price for gasoline is already at $3.00 or more per gallon even before adding the cost of refining, transporting, and selling the gasoline at retail outlets.

• Taken together, crude oil costs and taxes account for more than 85 percent of what people are paying at the pump. That leaves just 12 percent for the refiners, distributers, and retailers.

Why does the price of gasoline vary by state?

• The amount of gasoline taxes collected by states can vary widely, from as low as 26.4 cents per gallon in Alaska, to a high of 67.4 cents per gallon in New York.

• The average nationwide tax collected on each gallon of gasoline sold at the retail station is 48.8 cents; of that, 18.4 cents per gallon goes to the federal government with the remaining ending up in state and local government coffers.

Estimating the costs of gasoline at the pump

• Crude Oil: 76 percent

• Excise Tax: 12 percent

• Refining: 6 percent

• Transportation Retailing: 12 percent.

Source: Energy Information Administration (EIA)

How Do the Oil Industry Profits compare to other industries?

• Based on company filings with the federal government as reported by U.S. Census Bureau and Standard & Poor's Research Insight, the latest data for the third quarter of 2011 shows the oil and natural gas industry earned 6.7 cents for every dollar of sales, compared to 9.2 cents for every dollar of sales for all manufacturing. Other sectors, such as the pharmaceutical, computer and the beverage and tobacco industries, earned three times that and more.

Are oil companies driving up gas prices by not building new refineries?

• Oil companies do not set the price of gasoline. Crude oil is the primary component in gasoline production, the price rises and falls with the cost of crude, which is set by supply and demand on the global commodities market. In addition, industry experts emphasize weather events, inventories, exchange rates, investments, spare capacity, production decisions, and supply growth, all of which factor into the price of crude oil and thus—gasoline prices.

• Another thing to keep in mind: Even though no new refineries have been built in the United States in the last 35 years, major investments in existing refineries during this time have increased their capacity by 13 percent while improving worker safety, efficiency, environmental performance and refineries’ ability to produce high-quality products.

• In addition, The United States has the largest refining capacity in the world—U.S. capacity is 17.7 million barrels per day from 148 refineries, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2011 Refinery Capacity Report. The report estimates U.S. refining capacity accounts for 21 percent of global capacity—almost doubles that of the second-largest refining country, China, which has 9.4 million barrels per day of capacity.

• Contrary to popular belief, the refining industry remains one of America’s largest manufacturing sectors—more than 50 companies own and operate refineries in 32 states.

Which countries are we most dependent on for our supply of oil?

The U.S. produces 51 percent of all the oil and petroleum products we consume. The rest is imported, largely from our neighbors in North America with Canada representing the largest supplier to the U.S., accounting for 25 percent of our imports compared to 12 percent for Saudi Arabia.

Does the value of the dollar affect the price of gas?

According to analysts from the American Petroleum Institute, the value of the U.S. dollar against other countries around the world means that American consumers are more affected by rising crude oil prices than the citizens of other countries that use currencies like the Yen but less than those who use the Euro. As oil prices have gone up all around the world, the price increase has been less for countries who have a strong currency other than the U.S. dollar, but more for those who don’t.

Source: American Petroleum Institute

Fuel Saving Tips:

• Easy on the pedal: the faster you drive, the more gasoline your car uses.

• Your air conditioner reduces fuel economy by as much as 2 miles per gallon; so it's advised you use it sparingly.

• Avoid traveling during rush hour; combine several trips for errands into one; and consider car pooling.

• Make sure your tires are properly inflated; underinflated tires can decrease fuel economy by up to one mile per gallon.

• Avoid abrupt starts, otherwise known as jackrabbit starts; because they require twice as much gasoline as gradual starts.

• Regular tune-ups can improve fuel economy by an average of one mile per gallon.

Bill Lucey
[email protected]
March 22, 2012

Source: American Petroleum Institute

***

Web Sites to Keep in Mind:

Energy Tomorrow (API)

Service Station FAQ’s:

AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge Report

Real Time Retail Fuel Prices: Oil Price Information Services (OPIS)  

Gasoline Taxes by Individual States (API)

My Letter To Peyton Manning

Here is my letter to Peyton Manning. I sure hope he receives it.

***

Dear Peyton,

It was painful to watch your farewell press conference after being released by the Indianapolis Colts; the way your voice cracked, quivered, and nervously tried to stay strong in easily one of the most difficult moments of your professional career.

You were such a natural throwback to Johnny Unitas, it will be strange indeed not seeing you suit up in that historic Colt uniform anymore.

While you were struggling to deliver that moving speech, practically your entire career flashed before my mind: being picked number one in the 1998 NFL draft by the Colts, leading them to seven AFC South division championships, two AFC championships, a Super Bowl championship (2006) in which you were named MVP, a record four league MVP awards and 11 4,000-yard passing seasons.

You didn't have to be a Colt fan to appreciate the profound sense of class you brought to the game, the enjoyment you bestowed on countless passionate football fans watching you drive your team down the field with the precision of  a principal conductor of an orchestra, all while exhibiting the competiveness of a roaring lion out to devour his opponents.

So now you begin what will likely be the final chapter of your celebrated career with the Denver Broncos.  I’m sure the decision wasn’t an easy one: you had several suitors all waiting with open arms, just waiting to hear you say yes. In the end, you settled on the Broncos, where you will come to a meeting of the minds, to be sure, with one of greatest comeback kids and skilled maestros of the two-minute drill the game has ever seen: John Elway, your new Executive Vice President of Football Operations for the Denver Broncos.

Only time will tell what the future holds, but it looks to me you made the right choice; though before deciding,  you probably agonized quite a bit, tossed and turned in bed and at night before deciding to take your talents to the Mile-High City.

All the best to you in the upcoming season.  You can take heart in knowing fans of all stripes and persuasions (even your legion of fans from Indianapolis) will be pulling for you.

In order to help prepare for your new home, I thought I would point out a few facts, figures and historic nuggets about Denver that you might not be aware of.

Facts about Denver

• Denver is the Mile High City, located exactly 5280 feet above sea level.

• In the rarefied air a mile above sea level, footballs travel 10 percent farther.

• Denver was the home to the Unsinkable Molly Brown, heroine of the Titanic; her home is now a historic house museum.

• Sports Authority Field at Mile High and the Pepsi Center are both close to the location where Denver was first founded (in 1858)- the confluence of the South Platte River and Cherry Creek.

• American novelist and beat poet, Jack Kerouac wrote portions of ``On the Road’’ in Denver, which was the home town of his friend Neil Cassidy.

• Colfax Avenue is the longest continuous street in the country, stretching approximately 26 miles.

• Denver has 300 days of annual sunshine, which is known for its mild, dry and sunny climate with more annual hours of sun than San Diego or Miami Beach.

• Denver’s diversity is celebrated at numerous festivals and events, including the nation’s largest Cinco de Mayo celebration and the largest Martin Luther King Jr. march and rally, referred to local residents as a “marade”

• Denver and Philadelphia are the only two U.S. cities to have seven professional sports teams. In Denver, there are the NFL Denver Broncos; NBA Denver Nuggets; NHL Colorado Avalanche; MLB Colorado Rockies; MLS Colorado Rapids; MLL Colorado Outlaws; and NLL Colorado Mammoth.

• The Denver Broncos have sold out every game for more than 20 years.

• Denver’s Great American Beer Festival is the largest in the nation, with more than 1,900 different beers. 

• The 13th step on the west side of the State Capitol Building is exactly 5,280 feet above sea level and oddly enough, exactly one mile high.

• In Denver’s rarified air, golf balls go 10 percent farther.

• The sun feels warmer, because you are closer to it and there is 25 percent less protection from the sun, so remember Peyton, sunscreen is a must.

• Experts tell us the Mile High City is extremely dry, so Peyton it is a good idea to drink more water than usual. With less water vapor in the air at this altitude, the sky really is bluer in Colorado.

• Denver has the 10th largest downtown in the United States. 
 
• Within just a one mile radius, there are three sports stadiums, the country’s second largest performing arts complex, an assortment of art and history museums, a mint producing 10 billion coins a year, a river offering whitewater rafting, the country’s only downtown amusement park, a new world-class aquarium, more than 8,000 hotel rooms and more than 300 restaurants, brewpubs and music clubs.

• Denver has more than 200 parks within the city and 14,000 acres of parks in the nearby mountains, including spectacular Red Rocks Amphitheatre.  The city has its own buffalo herd located in the mountains with a panoramic view.

• There are more than 800 miles of off-street bike paths, 90 golf courses and one of the nation’s largest urban trail systems. 

• Due to the variety of recreational opportunities, a federal study found that Denver has the thinnest residents of any major U.S. city.

• The 1980's smash television hit ``Dynasty’’, starring Joan Collins, Linda Evans, and John Forsythe was set in Denver, Colorado.

-Bill Lucey
[email protected]
March 19, 2012

Source: Historic Denver, Inc; Denver Convention & Visitors Bureau.

March Madness : Let the Games Begin

Let the games begin.

We're just hours from the opening tip off of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

The top seeds consist of the usual suspects: Kentucky, Syracuse, and North Carolina.

Will this be the first year a number 1 seed gets knocked off in the opening round?

Will No. 2 seeds Kansas, Duke, Missouri or Ohio State have the last laugh by the time this thing is all over?

Only time will tell. So fasten your seatbelts, this might be a bumpy ride. The word on the street is that this year's road to the Final Four in New Orleans will be riddled with plenty of mines and traps.

In the meantime, as we prepare for March Madness, here are a few feats, facts, and historic firsts to mull over before the sound of the opening bell.

• According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first time the term ``March Madness'' (when referring to the NCAA basketball tournament) shows up in a print publication is in the San Francisco Chronicle on March 20, 1991:   The nation is now in the middle of ‘March madness’, that time of year when the NCAA basketball tournament takes place.
NOTE: The Illinois High School Association has long claimed it coined the term, ``March Madness’’ as early as 1939, well before it became synonymous with the NCAA basketball tournament. The Association also claims to have received trademark status for the phrase in 1989.

• Most appearances in the Elite 8 is held by Kentucky with 29 appearances from 1951 through 2011; followed by North Carolina with 23 appearances from 1957 through 2011.

• North Carolina holds the record for most consecutive Sweet 16 appearances with 13 from 1981 through 1993, followed by Duke with 9 from 1998 through 2006.

• The average attendance for the 1939 NCAA basketball tournament was 3,005, which included 8 teams. Total attendance for the tournament was 15,025.

• In 2011, the average attendance for the Men's Division I tournament was 19,186 over 36 games and involving 68 teams. The total attendance for the 2011 tournament was 690,679.

• The University of Dayton Arena (Dayton, Ohio) has held the most tournament games at 87 from 1970-2001.

• Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, MO has hosted 9 national championships, a NCAA record, from 1940 through 1964.

• The state with the most tournament games is held by North Carolina with 227 from 1951 through 2011; followed by Missouri, 1940 through 2010.

• The 2014 Final Four (April 5 and 7th) will be held at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington Texas.

• Austin Carr of Notre Dame holds the tournament record for most points in a game with 61 on March 7, 1970 against Ohio State in the 1st round; followed by Bill Bradley of Princeton with 58 in the 3rd round against Wichita St. on March 20, 1965.

• Kentucky has the most tournament appearances at 51 from 1942 through 2011.

• North Carolina has had the most consecutive tournament appearances at 27 from 1975 through 2001.

• Kansas holds the record with most current tournament appearances at 22 from 1990 through 2011.

• Kentucky (1942-2011) and North Carolina (1941-2011) are tied with most tournament wins at 105.

• UCLA holds the record with consecutive tournament wins with 38 from 1964 through 1974.

• Duke holds the best winning percentage (minimum of 20 games) at .756 (96-31) from 1955 through 2011.

• Villanova seeded no. 8 in 1985 was the lowest seed to win the NCCA championship.

• # 15 seeds to advance to the second round have included: Coppin St. 1997, Hampton 2001, Richmond 1991, and Santa Clara in 1993.

• # 14 seeds to have advance to the Regional Semifinals were Chattanooga 1997 and Cleveland St. in 1986.

• # 1 seeds to have won the championship have included: Arkansas 1994, Connecticut 1999, Duke 1992, 2001 & 2010, Florida 2007, Georgetown 1984, Indiana 1987, Kansas 2008, Kentucky 1996, Maryland 2002, Michigan St. 2000, UNLV 1990, North Carolina 1982, 1993, 2005 2009, and UCLA 1995.

• Arizona was the only #4 seed to have won the championship in 1997.

• North Carolina has been the no. 1 seed a record 13 times from 1979-2009 followed by Duke with 12 from 1986 through 2011.

• Duke has beaten a no. 1 seed a record 8 times, followed by Arizona (1994-2011) and Kansas (1998-2008) with 7.

• #1 seeds are 104-0 in the first round, 95-13 in the second, 76-18 in the Regional Semifinals, 45-31 in the Regional Finals and 16-9 in the National Championship.

• #2 seeds are 100-4 in the first round; #3 seeds are 88-16 in the first round, #4 seeds are 82-22 in the first round; and #5 seeds are 69-35 in the first round

First Round Stunners

• No. 12 seed Penn knocked off no. 5 seed Washington St. 62-55 in 1980.

• No. 11 seed Middle Tennessee stunned no. 6 seed Kentucky, 50-44 in 1982.

• No. 13 seed Navy cruised past no. 4 seed LSU in 1985.

• No. 14 seed Cleveland State upset Bobby Knight's Indiana Hoosiers, 83-79, in 1986.

• No. 13 seed Princeton slipped past no. 4 seed UCLA 43-41 in 1996.

• No. 15 seed Coppin St. caught no. 2 seed South Carolina napping in a 78-65 first round stunner in 1997.

• No.  15 seed Hampton stunned no. 2 seed Iowa St. 58-57 in 2001.

• No. 14 seed Ohio easily handled no. 3 Georgetown 97-83 in 2010.

• The only independent team to win the NCAA title was Marquette in 1977.

• In 2002, California could boast of 7 teams in the tournament: California, UC Santa Barbara, Pepperdine, San Diego St., Southern California, Stanford, and UCLA. The record was matched by the state of Texas in 2010 who had the following teams in the tournament: Baylor, Houston, North Texas, Sam Houston St., Texas, Texas A&M, UTEP.

• The highest rated televised college basketball game came on March 26, 1979 when a pair of no. 33's squared off: Larry Bird of Indiana St., losing to Magic Johnson and the Spartans of Michigan State, 75-64. NBC recorded a 24.1/38 ratings share, which reached an estimated 17,950,000 homes.

• The most watched telecast (by homes) was on April 6, 1992 when Duke and Michigan locked horns in the championship. The game was televised by CBS, receiving a 22.7/35 rating share, while reaching an estimated 20, 910,000 homes.

Tournament Milestones.

• 1939: In the curtain raiser of the tournament: Villanova defeated Brown, 42-30, on March 17, 1939, in Philadelphia. In the second game of the doubleheader, Ohio State defeated Wake Forest, 64-52.

• 1946: The championship game was televised locally for the first time in New York City by WCBS-TV as Oklahoma State defeated North Carolina, 43-40. The viewing audience was estimated to be 500,000.

• 1951: The field was expanded to 16 teams, with 10 conference champions qualifying automatically for the first time.

• 1952: Tournament games were televised regionally for the first time.

• 1975: The first reference to “Final Four” in an NCAA publication was in the 1975 Official Collegiate Basketball Guide. On page 5 in the National Preview-Review section written by Ed Chay of the Plain Dealer in Cleveland, Chay wrote: “Outspoken Al McGuire of Marquette, whose team was one of the final four in Greensboro, was among several coaches who said it was good for college basketball that UCLA was finally beaten.”

• 1979: The bracket was expanded to 40 teams and all teams were seeded for the first time.

• 1980: The bracket was expanded to 48 teams, which included 24 automatic qualifiers and 24 at-large teams. The top 16 seeds received byes to the second round.

• 1985: The tournament bracket was expanded to include 64 teams, which eliminated all first-round byes.

• 1994: President Bill Clinton became the first sitting president to attend the Final Four, where he watched his home state Arkansas team win the NCAA title.

• 2008: For the first time in tournament history, all four No. 1 seeds advanced to the Final Four.

• 2009: President Barack Obama became the first U.S. president to fill out the NCAA tournament bracket on television. No. 44 correctly picked the eventual champion North Carolina.

• 2011: the tournament field expanded to 68 teams

-Bill Lucey
[email protected]
March 12, 2012

Source: National Collegiate Athletic Association Press Office

 

Crisis and Turmoil at The New York Times: A Book Review

Do you ever wonder if the Murders’ Row of New York Times lions, namely, Arthur Hays Sulzberger, Arthur Ochs ``Punch’’ Sulzberger Sr. , Anne O'Hare McCormick, James ``Scotty’’ Reston, Meyer "Mike" Berger, A.M.`` Abe’’ Rosenthal,  R.W. ``Johnny’’ Apple Jr. , and Red Smith are tossing and turning in their graves right now wondering what has become of their sacred institution?

In this digital age of fewer subscribers to their print edition, plummeting advertising revenue, and editors racing to adapt to readers mad dash to the Internet, has the Times lost its moorings while sinking to the level of Timeslite or Timestrash?

Daniel R. Schwarz, a Fredrick J. Whiton Professor of English Literature and Stephen H. Wise Presidential Fellow at Cornell University tries to answer this in his new book: ``EndTimes’?: Crisis and Turmoil at The New York Times, 1999-2009.’’

Schwarz spent seven long years talking, emailing, and traveling the country interviewing a galaxy of past and present senior editors at the Times in an attempt to unravel how such a world-class newspaper lost its footing in the wake of the Jayson Blair scandal, including letting its reporting being influenced and badly manipulated by White House operatives during the Iraqi War, most notably with Judith Miller (some say recklessly) giving credence to questionable sources confirming Saddam Hussein had indeed been stockpiling weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

By the time the dust had settled after one of the gloomiest eras of the Gray Lady (2001-2003), Blair, executive editor Howell Raines, managing editor Gerald Boyd, national correspondent Rick Bragg (Judith Miller with one foot out the door, she resigned in 2005) had been jettisoned; and it was up to Bill Keller, a former managing editor (who was once passed over for executive editor) to restore the Times damaged credibility, while reviving the morale of the newsroom, which had sunk to historic lows during the stormy Raines years.

If the Raines regime (known to be bombastic, dictatorial, megalomaniac, misogynistic, promoting favorites over more qualified journalists), was ``Stalinesque’’ as one Times’ staffer described it–Keller ushered in the counter-reformation in which the new executive editor made a ``serious and sometimes effective effort to put Humpty Dumpty back together again. ‘’

It was under Keller that the Times for the first time in its history hired a public editor who would be charged with taking a sharper look at the Times news coverage and questioning editors directly if the paper wasn’t giving a fair and balanced line of attack to a particular story. Daniel Okrent was named to the newly created position in October 2003; and in June, 2010, Arthur S. Brisbane became the fourth public editor appointed by The Times. 

Allan M. Siegel, hired as the new standards editor by Keller to resolve any ethical and conflict of interest issues, was yet another concession to concerned readers that the paper was indeed living up to the highest journalistic standards and restoring  its reputation as the ``newspaper of record.’’

Keller even started a question-and-answer forum (Talk to the Newsroom) in April, 2006, which was followed by a succession of editors taking turns fielding questions from readers during the entire week.

Under Keller, Schwarz writes, more emphasis was placed on listening carefully to different viewpoints, instilling a strong sense of community and working together among its staff, while relying on a diverse network of editors to help him better manage the newsroom.  Despite the sense of ``calm’’ and ``equilibrium’’ Keller undoubtedly brought to the newsroom after the ``Raines of Terror’’, some staffers nonetheless consider Keller a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma, to paraphrase Winston Churchill. 

Two years into his editorship in 2005, metro columnist Clyde Haberman told Schwarz: ``What I haven't figured out about Keller is how much of some of the changes that taken place...is a true vision he'd had all along, and how much he had to be reactive to his immediate processor Raines.''

Whatever the final verdict on Raines successor (Keller experienced his share of hiccups), he undoubtedly brought sweeping changes to the content of the paper, including placing more emphasis on scrupulous analysis and investigative journalism, while working with the online side of the paper, stressing more graphics and digital journalism, such as the 2006 Election Guide in which dazzling maps showing safe and contested Democratic and Republican seats were colorfully displayed.

Still, by the time Keller passed the baton to Jill Abramson in September 2011,  the Times was left in a state of ``perpetual crisis’’, though  in areas completely outside of Keller’s area of control, namely loss of advertising revenue from its print editions and not enough ad revenue from its digital side to make up the difference.  Beginning in March, 2011, the Times placed a pay wall on its website in which it charges online visitors between $15 and $35 a month (after 20 free articles) for access to its content.

Readers hoping to learn more of the back stories, sharp elbows, and power grabs of the mighty and  most powerful editors inside the Times’ newsroom, certainly won’t be disappointed by ``EndTimes.’’ But the reader should bear in mind that the main thrust of the book is the daunting economic challenges the Times is facing as it devotes more and more effort to its website. Schwarz traces the beginning of the Times financial despair back to 2005, when its third-quarter 2005 SEC filing showed a significant loss in operating profit due predominantly to higher wages and benefits, outside printing expenses, and higher newsprint expenses, among other factors.

In his interviews with Arthur Sulzberger Jr., Schwarz believes the publisher of the Times has some ``Pollyanna moments’’; tone deaf to the financial straits of the paper, believing things aren’t as bad as they appear.  In his 2005 interview, Schwarz says Sulzberger boasted of rising ad revenue on the website and the increased number of page views,  while skirting the issue of whether that was enough to compensate for rising costs and lost revenue.  Schwarz describes Sulzberger as ``controversial, proactive, prickly, defensive, and self-confident to the point where a listener wonders if he is a tad delusional.’’

Sulzberger or ``Arthur’’ as he is known around the newsroom, wanted to make a profound impact on the direction of the paper when hiring his first editor back in 2001. He wanted a strong personality, someone akin to Abe Rosenthal who was hired by his father, Arthur Ochs "Punch" Sulzberger, Sr.  It was under Rosenthal, many argue, when the Times cemented its strong liberal voice.

His choice of Raines over Keller was badly flawed even according to some staff members; more damaging still was that Sulzberger seems to have been out of touch with the level of animosity that staffers felt toward Raines, including Judith Miller, well before the train wreck occurred.

Deputy Managing Editor Jonathan Landman told Schwarz: ``With Howell there was no reformation. It was all bullshit. It was all gas; he transformed nothing, through he talked about it a lot.'

Will Sulzberger ever be replaced despite his family controlling Class B voting stock?

Probably not, Schwarz makes clear, since he seems to have the support of the 13 member board of directors.  But if the declining stock prices continue apace, the only possible successor might be his cousin, Michael Golden, vice chairman of The New York Times Company and president and chief operating officer of the Times Regional Media Group. But even Golden would be a long shot since he turned 62 in 2011.

After devoting a good chunk of material to the financial obstacles facing the Times, Schwarz pretty much goes down his personal shopping list of likes and mostly dislikes of different sections of the paper. 

For example:

• Schwarz doesn’t seem to have taken to the lifetime appointments of its op-ed columnists. Tom Friedman, according to the author, is still turning out old material, has a tendency to repeat himself and has run his course (despite his three Pulitzers) as the Times’ Foreign Affairs columnist. 

• Schwarz has reached his tipping point with Maureen Dowd and her half-truths, rhetorical bullying, distortions and name calling.  ``Sometimes I think Dowd should read and think more’’ Schwarz writes, ``and watch fewer movies.’’

• The Arts section has succumbed to TimesTrash by sprinkling its section with more sexually provocative  stories, bordering at times on pornographic subjects, posing as ``cultural criticism.’’ Ditto for the Sunday Magazine, which has resorted to its share of ``tasteless moments.’’

• The  Times Book Review section has resorted to shameless self promotion, such as in 2005 when publishing a list of 100 books, it included six books by Times’ staff writers.

• Throughout the book, Schwarz peppers his criticism with terms like Timeslite (meaning TimesFluff) or TimesTrash –taking the Times to task when it diverts its coverage from important national and international coverage in favor of celebrity gossip, sensational murders or innocuous tales of Manhattan’s superrich.

• Fluff sections, lacking any redeeming literary value such as the Sunday ``T’’ Magazine, Escape, ThursdayStyles, and SundayStyles, (obvious advertising magnets but chasing away core readers) are heavily attacked by the author-whose opinions, by the way, are shared by several retired Times’ editors he interviewed.

• The Times’ Sports section under Keller and carried out by Sports editor Tom Jolly (through 2010) has much improved from its coverage from three and four decades ago, particularly the way it has left the box scores and breaking news stories to the Internet;  while focusing more of its attention on feature stories and in depth analysis on some of the larger issues: such as performance enhancing drugs, recruiting methods by colleges and delicate pop psychology problems affecting professional athletes.

Taken together, Schwarz criticism of the Times shouldn’t be confused with a personal vendetta or waging a war against a institution which is easy to criticize since it is constantly being held up to the glaring light by friend and foe alike. Rather, the reader will quickly come to appreciate Schwarz, like many of us news junkies, is a long time passionate Times reader, who is seeing the newspaper he mostly closely identifies with skimp on its news coverage at times; other times give into advertising pressures and feed its readers a little too much fluff at the expense of quality and hard driven news.

Personally, although presenting an informative financial account of the Times spanning a decade, I get the feeling Mr. Schwarz is having a hard time letting go of the past.

It is clear the Times, and that includes Mr. Sulzberger and Ms. Abramson, the new executive editor, are doing everything within their power to keep the Times relevant, maintaining its long storied tradition of journalistic excellence, while still meeting its financial obligations and preparing for the time in the unforeseeable future when it will segue into a standalone digital operation without a print edition. We all hope that is still very far into the future, but the Times wants to prepared when that day does arrive.

We all long for the old days, but as Abraham Lincoln said in his second annual address: (December 1, 1862): ``As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew.’’

-Bill Lucey
[email protected]
March 7, 2012