Jared Funk Profile

A profile of wheelchair rugby athlete Jared Funk

Reporter: Sean Angus
Shooter/Editor: Kevin Hirschfield

Hiroshima

The August 31, 1946 issue of the New Yorker magazine featured just one article.

It had never happened before in the magazine’s history and it has never happened since. A 31,000 word article written by American writer John Hersey that chronicled the day an atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese city, Hiroshima, as well as a detailed look at the aftermath. The article follows six citizens of the city and takes us through their daily lives, including what they were doing the exact moment the bomb hit, and how all six of them dealt with the after-effects of the bomb. And Hersey’s article made an immediate impact. The issue of the magazine was sold out around newsstands within hours and there were many requests for reprints. Even radio jumped on board, and the ABC radio network pre-empted regular programming to broadcast the text in four 30-minute programs. Other radio stations around the United States soon did the same thing.

A big reason why I think this article was so successful was the way that Hersey relayed the information to the readers. In an objective and non-judgmental way, he just reported the facts. And, frankly, the facts were good enough to make this story jarring and unforgettable. Another effective way that Hersey made this story successful was that he portrayed the Japanese people as just straight up human-beings. You have to remember, in the mid to late ‘40s, the Americans just thought of the Japanese as the enemy. They didn’t care that the Japanese people had families, ran businesses, lived an everyday life. They were an enemy of war, let’s go after them. So imagine an American reader in the 1940’s picking this up and realizing “Wow, they’re actually just like us.”

For once, the American perspective had been missing from a World War II piece of work. And for myself, this wasn’t a bad thing at all. Like many of those American citizens in the 1940s, all I have heard is the American side of things. Watching the documentaries on the American stations like I have, and reading the books published in America like I have, I’ve always heard one side of the story. Reading Hiroshima, I obviously gained another perspective. So to say this book had an effect on me is an understatement. It shocked me. Hearing these frightening stories of the Japanese trying to survive after the devastation of this atomic bomb is pretty eye-opening. And this had to have been Hersey’s goal when writing this article and judging from the popularity of the article, it seemed to have worked.

The obvious thing that journalists can learn from this book is that the more research done, the more effective the piece of work will be. We don’t know the exact amount of time put into this article by Hersey, but no doubt it took him months and months to get all this information. It also points to the fact that journalists must have a strong stomach to do their job. Hersey did countless interviews in Hiroshima and probably had to hear the gory details over and over again. Situations like this pop up in journalism all the time. Not events of the Hiroshima calibre, but events like murders, stabbings, and other tragic stories that sometimes feature detail that can be too much for someone to handle. Journalists have to throw their emotions out the window when it comes to this stuff. You’re there to report what is happening. It may not be easy, but it’s what you’re paid to do. Give a huge amount of credit to Hersey for doing this.

I guess I could compare Hiroshima to many of the 9/11 survivor stories that I’ve read and documentaries that I’ve watched. Just like the Hiroshima survivors, the 9/11 survivors at the World Trade Center went above and beyond to help those in need. It’s basically the many little stories behind the big stories, in this case, the big story of 9/11 and the little stories of all the survivors. A specific example of a documentary I can think of is one about Brian Clark, a survivor from the South Tower, who tells the entire story of his journey from the time the plane hit, to the time the tower collapsed. This documentary is told by Clark in his own words, unlike Hiroshima, but it’s still a “behind the scenes” look at a disaster.

John Hersey set out to create an article that informed the people of the United States, and the Western Hemsiphere, of what actually was going on in Japan. And as a result of great journalistic technique, and other great writing characteristics, Hersey created a masterpiece.

The Heidi Game

On November 17, 1968, one of the most famous professional football games was played in Oakland, California.

The reason it was so famous? Not because of an amazing play or an individual performance.

But because of a memorable decision made by the television station it was on. NBC decided to edit out the ending of the football game so that they could show the movie "Heidi."

Here's the story.

The game between the Oakland Raiders and New York Jets was a pretty big one with both teams battling for playoff position. The game started at 4:00 eastern time, and footbal games usually finish in about 3 hours or so. And here's where it got interesting. NBC had signed a contract with the movie's sponsor, Timex, to start the movie Heidi at 7:00 sharp, whether the game was still going or not.

Sure enough, the clock read 6:59 pm and the score read New York 32, Oakland 29 with 1:05 left in the 4th quarter.

And at 7:00 pm, the game, which was exciting and going down to the wire, had been cut off for Heidi.

People freaked and phoned NBC to complain. And guess what happened? The Raiders scored 2 touchdowns in 1:05 and won the game 43-32. And nobody in America saw it.

Since that day, a close football game has never been cut off before the end.

When the News Went Live

On this day 47 years ago, one of the defining moments in American history took place. The assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas. Not only did it change history forever, but it brought changes to the world of journalism as well.

Credit to PBS.org for this look into how November 22, 1963 brought television journalism into the picture.


http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/oswald/press/

How did Americans learn of the assassination on November 22, 1963?

You have to remember that there were very few TV stations, and people had not yet had the kind of event that would cause them to corral around the TV. This was the very first time that TV brought the public together. The first relays of what had happened went out on radio, by the way.

Television did what was unthinkable back then -- it stopped all broadcasting and all commercials. It stayed with the story for four days. It did everything it could to provide people with ongoing information. From Friday to Monday it provided the American public with an ongoing visual screen of what was going on in the assassination story.

I think that today when crises happen we go immediately to the TV. People don't even think twice. When 9/11 happened people turned on the TV set, even in schools.

In the Sixties that was not the case. TV news was hardly coming of age at that time. We only had 15-minute newscasts. It was very elementary. This was a really new experience.

How did the media cover the assassination?

This was really the event that TV news journalists like to claim brought them to age. In 1963 TV journalists were seen as the fluff journalists. Print journalists were the serious journalists. When the Kennedy assassination occurred, of course, TV cameras were able to roll 24/7, and so what you got was an ongoing attentiveness to the event that print could not provide. We got ongoing continuous coverage of the story.






In a day of journalism firsts, another first took place just two days later. Lee Harvey Oswald, JFK's apparent assassin, was himself shot to death two days later in the first live murder ever witnessed on television.

What's in your bowl?

A few weeks ago in editing class, we touched on how many names of stadiums, roads, buildings are named after prominent figures or sponsors.

An example we mentioned is how many stadiums around North America and the world are named after a company.

Bank of America Stadium in Carolina
Minute Maid Field in Houston
Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia

These are just some of MANY examples of company-named stadiums. In fact, we are probably a few years away from major sporting trophies being named after companies.

The Pepsi Super Bowl
The Tim Hortons Stanley Cup

Can you imagine?

American College Football has already done this in a pretty big way. At the end of each season, there are about 30 games called "bowl games" that teams play in. There's a national championship game and then there are these 30 other bowl games, which, frankly, mean nothing.

But don't tell that to the big companies. They have no problem associating their names with the bowls.

A long time ago, there used to be a few bowl games every year. The Rose, The Cotton, The Sugar, The Orange. That's it.

Now there's the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl

Advocare V100 Independence Bowl

PapaJohns.com Bowl.

Roady's Humanitarian Bowl.

The St.Petersburg Bowl presented by Beef O'Brady's.

Heck, even the classic bowls have been given brand names. The FedEx Orange Bowl. The Allstate Sugar Bowl.

Why the Roto Rooter Toilet Bowl hasn't been thought of yet is beyond me.

The greatest fictional journalist of all-time is.......

In previous posts on this blog, I've mentioned some of my favourite journalists from the past and the present. But now I think it's time to reveal my favourite "fictional" journalist.

I'm talking about any sort of journalist character in a movie/cartoon/fictional piece of work.

Who's the first name you think of? Well, there are so many noteworthy ones, let's list off a few before I reveal my selection.

Ron Burgundy (Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy)

The anchor of the KVWN Channel 4 News Team in San Diego has won 5 fictional Emmy Awards.

Lois Lane and Clark Kent (Superman)

The two backbones of the fictional "Daily Planet" newspaper.

Carrie Bradshaw (Sex and the City)

The star of "Sex and the City" has positions as a New York newspaper columnist and a Freelance writer at Vogue Magazine.

(Wait a minute, did I just mention "Sex and the City" in my blog??)

Other notable names:

Les Nessman (WKRP in Cincinnati)

April O'Neil (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)

Tricia Takanawa (Family Guy)

But my all-time favourite fictional journalist has to be the Channel 6 Emmy Award-winning anchor in Springfield. He's the host of "Smartline" and "Eye on Springfield" and has a "My Two Cents" segment at the end of every newscast.

Ladies and gentlemen, the greatest fictional journalist of all-time, from "The Simpsons"........

Kent Brockman!

Why do I say this? Well, here are a few examples.

He works hard on getting his pronunciations right.

He asks the tough questions.

He is passionate about the big issues.

And finally, he's hungry for news and he's hungry for the truth.

The King of Defamation

I know I blogged about Don Cherry once before, but considering our editing class is talking about libel and defamation, why not hear from the king of defamation himself?

In fact, if they had a defamation hall of fame, they might have to name it after the hockey analyst.

The CBC television star basically goes on air and says whatever he feels like.

This is a great example of Cherry ripping on a player saying he "blackmailed" the team. But then the coach of the team comes on and accuses Cherry of slander.

My Favourite Writer Goes Missing...

I was 13 when I started really paying attention to the sports section of the newspaper and reading it more and more.

Every morning, I would get up and immediately find that day's Winnipeg Free Press and read what my 3 favourite writers had to say. The 3 T's. Ed Tait, Randy Turner and Scott Taylor.

Tait covered and still covers the Bombers. When I was 13, I cared a lot more about the CFL then I do today, so his articles were must-read for me.

Turner has always given his humorous take on the hottest local sports topics, and I like to try to resemble his style when I'm writing.

Taylor was considered the lead sportswriter. He travelled to Super Bowls, Stanley Cups, and other huge sporting events. When Scott Taylor was writing it, I knew it was big. His articles were the first that I would find to read.

(Side note: My dad played hockey for the University of Winnipeg Wesmen back in 1980, and Taylor covered the university hockey scene back then for the Free Press. So Taylor would interview the players, including my dad, on occasion. Back in 2004, I used to tell my dad how I would read Scott Taylor every morning. My dad would reply with"'Scott Taylor is an idiot". Then again, isn't this how most athletes feel about certain sportswriters?)

And then one day, Scott Taylor was gone.

I was stunned. How could the Free Press let go of this guy? My mornings were ruined.

This is when I discovered the seriousness of plagiarism.

In a November 2004 article about the NFL, Taylor apparently used a quote from a USA Today article and presented it as his work.

Taylor strongly denied the accusations and eventually resigned from the paper.

I know I had heard the term before but I don't think I realized that it could lead to something as serious as termination from a newspaper.

So I asked around(family, teachers) and was given the same answer. They told me plagiarism is something you don't do.

I don't know when everyone else learned about plagiarism, but for me it was in November of 2004.

Fortunately, Taylor has bounced back from the incident and is the sports director for a number of radio stations in Winnipeg as well as the sports editor of Grassroots News and One Magazine.

And I'm glad that my first favourite sportswriter has kept his career moving after an incident that could have completely ended it.


Here are some interesting quotes from a 2004 article I found online:

This is Taylor's take on the incident:

"Whether it's true or not, it's basically a death sentence," said Taylor. "I can't defend myself from it."

Here is a wise journalism instructor's take on the incident:

Duncan McMonagle, a journalism instructor at Red River College and a former editor at the Free Press, said the incident will compromise the integrity of the newspaper and its journalists.

"As a result, readers could easily say, 'Boy, I'm going to have to second-guess everything I read in the Free Press,' said McMonagle.

"Play it again, Sam"

Two major Winnipeg newspapers were thinking the same thing on Wednesday night. They watched as Sam Katz defeated Judy Wasylycia-Leis to retain his mayoral position for four more years. So they decided to grace the front page of their respective newspapers with a very creative and original phrase that would help them sell papers the next morning.

Play it again, Sam.

And sure enough, as the Winnipeg Free Press and Winnipeg Sun were distributed Thursday, there was the exact same headline on the front page of each paper.

Can you imagine the scene at the newsrooms on Thursday morning. Did the WFP writers have to hold Margo Goodhand back from storming down to the Winnipeg Sun offices? Did the Sun have to do the same for their editor?

I have so many questions regarding this occurrence. First of all, has this ever happened in the history of Winnipeg newspapers? I find that hard to believe.

My other big question is: Could this have been prevented? Probably not. I think this whole thing was just a fluky occurrence and we probably won’t see it again. Who knows, maybe Margo will send down spies to the Sun headquarters to make sure this never happens again.

All I know is that the first thought in my mind and probably many other Winnipeggers when seeing the duplicated headline was “Come on, guys.” You’ve got a bunch of creative minds in each newsroom. Couldn’t somebody have come up with a more unique headline?

So let’s help the editors out a bit.

Here are three headlines that popped up in my mind as possible alternatives to "Play it again, Sam"

Winnipeg Sam (A play on Yosemite Sam)
Katz one of the mayoral greats
No more waits, It’s Katz

Ok, I’m going to stop right there before I embarrass myself even more. But I do know there are tons of headlines out there that could have been used.

I’ll open the floor to anybody who wants to take their best stab at a headline.

From a biased perspective...

One of the golden rules of announcing is not to show any sort of bias whatsoever.

I can't tell if this video below shows bias or not.



Ok.



A few weeks ago, I wrote about how wrestling announcers may have the hardest jobs when it comes to sports journalism. The ability to act like they have no idea what is going to happen even though they already do.

But after yesterday, my opinion changed.

Meet Paul Allen.



Now Paul seems very happy in this picture. But currently, Paul is having a rough year. You see, he is the official radio voice of the NFL's Minnesota Vikings on KFAN-AM in Minneapolis.

And for those of you who follow the NFL, you would know that the Minnesota Vikings, who were expected to be a powerhouse in the NFC, sit at 2-5 this year.

In fact, every game they play this year is almost comical. There are 2 reasons for this.

1) Brett Favre

2) Paul Allen

With Allen being the voice of the Vikings, he does play-by-play for every single game. Throw in the fact that he does a radio show on the station every day, and one thing is clear...this guy is a Vikings fan.

Here's where it gets interesting. Imagine having to watch your favourite team every week, but having to commentate the game to thousands of people.

Sounds easy and fun right? A dream job.

Sure, it can be great when your team is winning all the time, like Allen's Vikings last year.

But when the team is struggling, it can be a little trickier. Imagine having to commentate from a neutral perspective while your team is stumbling around the field and losing games. The Vikings stink this year. And poor Paul Allen is taking it pretty hard.

Yesterday, as I listened to portions of the radio broadcast, Allen sounded like he was going to drown himself in one of the 10,000 lakes that Minnesota is known for as the Vikings were defeated again. He was clearly depressed. He showed no enthusiasm.

We'll cut Allen some slack here. He is on Minneapolis radio, and NOT National radio, which would be a lot bigger of a deal. The audience tuning in is probably 90%Vikings fans anyways and they are feeling the same way as Allen. They're probably not going to be offended by Allen's biased announcing.

I'm picking on Allen right now, but every team in professional sports has a biased announcer, whether on a local tv station or radio station. And 95% of these announcers are professional enough to stay calm and broadcast the game as if they were just a random announcer calling the game. The other 5% throw professionalism right out the window. Paul Allen is one of them. But I feel for Paul. His job has to be one of the hardest there is when it comes to sports.

I'm a big San Diego Chargers fan and watching these games and trying to stay in control is hard enough. So if I was ever asked to commentate a Chargers game, I would politely decline. I would be a nervous wreck. I would show no professionalism. Basically, I would have to be removed from the broadcast booth halfway through the game.

So the next time you watch your favourite team screw up and you voice your displeasure, just thank the sports gods that your thoughts and opinions are not being recorded live for thousands of people to hear.

Cue Paul Allen.

Editing a Coach

A college football coach.

An individual who leads their team into battle every week. An individual who runs the ship and make sure everything is running smooth and sound. And an individual who likes to compare his team to some of the most hated people of the 20th century.

Well at least this guy did.

Yesterday, University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley decided to compare his struggling team to the Germans in World War 2.

Probably not the best idea, coach.

Either he had just watched a documentary the night before and was fascinated with the WWII topic, or he attempted to be a clown but ended up sounding really weird.





The fact is that Tennessee football is in the news today for all the wrong reasons. Because the coach said what was on his mind.

And this happens far too often in sports. A coach gets fired up after a loss and says whatever comes to his head. It can make that coach look like an idiot, and it can also make that team look really bad as well.

Sure this stuff is gold for journalists around the world, but the reputation of your team should always come before trying to make an intriguing soundbite.

What's Tennessee's reputation now? "Hey, that's the team with that Nazi coach" will probably be a popular thought among many fans for the rest of the year. Sad but true.

I'm not shooting down press conferences at all. A coach getting angry or excited is great theatre. But they have to be extremely cautious of what they say and who they say it to in today's age. Just remember, the reputation of a team can change with a slip of the tongue.

But that won't stop me from following the the University of TenNazi----oops, I mean----Tennessee.

A Fly on the wall

On Friday afternoon, I went over to the Winnipeg Free Press website to take a quick glance at the day’s events, but instead I ended up staying on the website for about 20 minutes. The Free Press website had me hooked.

And ironically, it had nothing to do with a piece of writing.

No, for 20 minutes on Friday, I went on the website of Winnipeg’s most popular newspaper and watched video.

Live video of a roundabout.

A camera was set up at the infamous roundabout located at Grosvenor Avenue and Waverley Street, just days after a collision at the spot sent people into a frenzy.

So the camera sat there, for nearly 10 hours, and people watched.

So where to begin?

Well, to start, this further proves that video is an integral part of the Winnipeg Free Press website as well as other media outlet websites. But we knew that already.

(By the way, my thoughts on roundabouts….I think they’re a great addition to Winnipeg roads. It’s just a matter of figuring them out, which can be a struggle for some people. Somebody has to teach these people how to properly drive through a roundabout. That’s up to you, Sam or Judy…)

Watching the roundabout brought me back in time a bit.

One example it reminded me of was the days of going to my Grandma’s apartment block on Tuxedo Avenue. There was a camera set up at the front of the building where everyone buzzes in. And it turns out, everyone who lived in the building had a channel on their television that showed 24/7 coverage of this camera, basically so they could see their guest coming in. So naturally, when we visited, I immediately turned the television to the “buzz-in” channel. Waiting for people to walk in and then finally watching somebody enter was fascinating to me.

This brings us to Friday where the Winnipeg Free Press website featured all-day video of the River Heights roundabout. And take a guess as to what I did?

I waited for cars to come. And when they came into view, my eyes perked up. Would we see a crash? Would I be watching breaking news unfold right before my eyes?

Trust me, I wasn’t the only one doing this.

And that’s why I think this was a great move by the Free Press. Why did they set up a camera at this roundabout? Why were there journalists live tweeting from the Russell Williams case for The Globe and Mail? Because people are interested. They want to be the fly on the wall.

And with the introduction in the last decade of live streaming video, tweeting, and live blogging, we are finally being able to realize our secret dreams of being a fly on the wall.

We can see them but they can’t see us. This is why we keep waiting for that next car to reach the roundabout, or waiting for that next detail in the Williams case. We just can’t turn away.

When we were asked in Grade 1 what animal or insect we wanted to be, how many people answered a fly?

Because the way media websites are operating nowadays, we’re buzzing around for the goods. And we can’t stop.


Here are the "highlights" from the roundabout coverage on Friday.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid35098648001?bclid=1485806145&bctid=644191056001

Editing a Valedictorian

The aftermath of Erin Larson's valedictorian speech at the University of Winnipeg on Sunday has raised many questions.

Was she wrong in her decision to criticize Vic Toews during her speech?

Is it OK for students to voice their controversial opinions in a speech of such magnitude?

One of the questions that came to my mind is "Who viewed/edited this speech before it was read to the public?"

Did anybody?

Back in June 2009, I was named valedictorian of my 2009 Windsor Park Collegiate graduating class. I was given the task of writing an 8-10 minute speech that concluded the convocation ceremony.

I wrote the speech with help from my english teacher. And as it turned out, he was the only one that ended up viewing/editing it before I spoke in front of the crowd at convocation.

Honestly, at the time I was little surprised. I thought the speech would have to get the approval of many different staff members including teachers and principals.

But that wasn't the case. One teacher read it. And on to the stage I went. I could have talked about anything I wanted. But being the good boy I am, I stuck to the basics of a valedictorian speech.

Now Larson gave a warning prior to the convocation in an interview, saying that she was going to talk about Toews in her speech. But nobody attempted to stop her.

After Sunday's controversy, will valedictorian speeches be more heavily edited in the future? And should they be?

When it's OK to lie as a journalist

I've mentioned in the past on this blog how I was once a wrestling aficionado and followed it religiously until it got pretty brutal.

But, secretly, I've always wanted a career in the WWE.

No, not as a wrestler. If that was the case, I would have started pumping the 'roids years ago.

But a career as a wrestling journalist or play-by-play announcer.

Let me start by saying, as hard as it is to believe, professional wrestling is fake. Scripted. Phony. Whatever word you want to use.

But do journalists cover it even though it's fake? As Stone Cold Steve Austin would say, "Hell yeah!!"

So what does being a wrestling journalist consist of? Well, there's writers on the official website and for the official magazine.

Some of the features in the magazine include profiles of different superstars. A profile of Randy Orton and his amazing quest to win the WWE Championship. Well, actually, it was a bunch of scriptwriters that determined that he would win the title.

Writers on the website will cover a match and use quotes like "John Cena knocked down Edge and hurt him badly." Actually, Edge was acting and he's not hurt at all.

I find the whole thing very intriguing. Covering a scripted event but portraying it as a real event.

As a journalist, it's the only time you'll get away with "lying".

Being an announcer has to be another difficult job. The announcers know what's going to happen before they go and do the show that night. Their job is to provide the information to the audience but act like they didn't know it was coming.

And again, the ability is needed to make a scripted event sound real.

(This clip below is a great example)



These are jobs that are probably a lot harder than they actually seem.

Journalists with a tad bit of acting skills.

Editing a Legend

The wrong pronunciation or misspelling of a name is a no-no when it comes to journalism.

It's a mistake that can possibly stay with the journalist for a long time.

For Canadian television personality Don Cherry, these "mistakes" are just a part of his character. Cherry is widely known for his disapproval of European and French hockey players. And one of the ways he shows his "love" towards these players is by absolutely botching their names. Whether it's on purpose, or whether he just can't get the hang of those names, it's rare that Don will go through one episode of his "Coach's Corner" intermission show without getting tongue-tied over a name.

In fact, if our instructor Duncan McMonagle gave us a transcript of a Coach's Corner episode to view for our "Spot the Screw-up" assignment that we occasionally get, the paper would be filled with scribbles and marks from our editing.

Here are some of Don's finest examples:

Roberto Luongo "La-longo played good tonight"

J.S. Giguere (jig-AIR) "Gig-air made some great saves"

Jaroslav Halak "Havlak played poorly tonight"

Alexei Ponikarovsky "Pokahonsky was horrible"

And the suits at CBC really have no idea what Cherry is going to say before he comes in, and they can't really control or edit his opinions.



A famous quote from former Hockey Night in Canada producer Ralph Mellanby goes like this:

"Canada has two official languages (French and English) and Cherry doesn't speak either one of them."

Amazing that a guy can become one of the most iconic television personalities in Canadian history with his english skills.

An example of this language can be found in his book titled "Don Cherry's Hockey Stories and Stuff". All the stories in this book are written in a "Don Cherry conversational manner", as if he was telling you the stories face to face over a beer.

Here's the intro to his book:

"I’d like this book to be just like we’re sittin’ down tellin’ stories in my own language. I know I’ll be criticized because for some reason people are not too thrilled with the way I speak.

In fact, CBC wanted to fire me my first month on Hockey Night in Canada. The brass told my boss, Ralph Mellanby, “This guy is awful. Get him off the air. We owe it to the English-speaking children of Canada.” I stayed because Ralph, who had just won an Emmy or somethin’ for the Olympics, said, “If he goes, I go.” But Ralph stayed and said, “I have to admit, Canada is a land of two official languages and Cherry speaks neither.” It kinda hurt my feelings.

So don’t blame Random House or Al Strachan for the way the book is presented, I wanted the book to be like a couple of guys sittin’ down with a few pops tellin’ hockey stories.

I hope you enjoy it."

(P.S. The "Emmy or Somethin' comment" makes me laugh)

Despite alot of questioning by CBC brass when he first started, Cherry was kept on and now 30 years later, look what has happened. And we all know Cherry is there for one reason. To speak his mind and therefore boost the ratings of Hockey Night in Canada.

The fact of the matter, though, is he has been botching names for the last 20 years and has made no attempt to get better at it.

If any other television personality was doing this, they would be ripped in the media until they were eventually removed. And sure, some of the media love Cherry as much as cats like mice. But he somehow gets away with it every single time without any sort of punishment, other than a 7-second delay he recieved back in 2003.

I guess there's no point in trying to edit a legend.

The reason why I write like this..

For those of you who check out my blog, I try to write it in more of a fun and humorous tone.

And the reason is because of this goofy-looking guy down below.

Bill Simmons of ESPN.COM

His columns are some of the funniest I've ever read.

The big thing with Simmons' style is that he writes from the viewpoint of a passionate sports fan. He writes what we all think.

And he does it by using humour, creating bizarre theories, using pop-culture references, creating a column that is unique from anything out there.

Throw in the fact that this guy records 2-3 podcasts a week and is the executive producer of the highly praised "30 for 30" documentaries. He's a machine.

Here are some of his finest examples:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?id=1193711

http://proxy.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?id=1273732

And if you think my writing is a little bizarre at times, you can blame ol' Bill for that.

The Horrible "Sites" of 2010

After our experiences in EDPOM last week viewing websites (yes, this is the acronym/abbreviation that I use for editing class), I decided to venture further and look at more web pages that just aren't friendly to a reader's eye.

And bingo...

I found a page that narrows down the worst websites of 2010.

Whether it is brutal design, terrible writing, or just plain old boring, this list is gold and really shows just how little thought is put into some sites.

And this aptly-named website (webpagesthatsuck.com) has no problem saying what they really think about these sites.

So here they are, the worst sites of the year.

(Note: My personal favourite is No.3 on the list.)

http://www.webpagesthatsuck.com/worst-websites-of-2010-contenders.html

The teleprompter: An anchor's best friend...or worst nightmare

Last Thursday, journalism and media production majors were given the chance to read off a television anchor's best friend, the teleprompter.

We stared awkwardly into the camera with our furrowed eyebrows as we tried to hammer out the pronunciation of Richer, Recchi and Ricci in order.

But more importantly, we gained the respect of television anchors who have to rely on these things every single weeknight. And when difficulties with the teleprompter occur, the professionalism that these anchors show to keep things flowing well is off the charts impressive.

And as Steve Vogelsang pointed out, we should understand the importance of solid straight forward writing on the teleprompter.

Which brings me to my all-time favourite moment involving a teleprompter...

The great Bill O'Reilly.

Enjoy.

(Warning: BAD LANGUAGE)

Gore..Bush...Gore...Bush....

The night of October 27th will be a hectic one. The night of the Winnipeg civic election. Newsrooms will be flooded with all sorts of information that night, most notably numbers from all the different wards as well as the numbers concerning the mayoral race.

I have 2 words for those newsrooms...

Be careful.

Make sure to second-check, or even triple check the poll numbers so that mistakes aren't made.

Or else this will happen....

Let's take you back in time to the night of November 7,2000.

Bush vs Gore...


(The first 3 minutes explain enough, the rest is Michael Moore conspiracy theory central)

Thanks for the memories Daniel McIntyre..

Today was the official end to the civic election assignment that had haunted....oops,I mean thrilled journalism students for the past 3 weeks. But seriously, walking around a neighbourhood trying to get residents talking about politics?

Yeah, it was hard.

I spent a lot more time in the Daniel McIntyre ward than I wanted to, and I have made the decision that I won't set foot in that ward again for at least 6 months. But all that extra time had me seeing some very interesting things.

Yessir, it was a very interesting journey in the Daniel McIntyre ward and here are my 7 memories from my time roaming around the neighbourhood.

(Why 7? Because it's my blog and I do what I want)


The walk of shame

Decided to take a loooooooooooooong 30 minute walk down Ellice Avenue looking for interviews. It's a popular street right? There's got to be people willing to talk. Nope. The big streets (Sargent, Ellice, St.Matthews) did not come through for me in the least bit.

The guy with the vintage Toronto Blue Jays hat at the bus stop

Me: "Are you a resident of this ward?

Blue Jays: " No, my sister lives here"

Me: "Ok, well see ya later"

Blue Jays:"But I CAN tell you this..."

All I can remember from the next 4 minutes of conversation was something about the Bible.


Obby Khan at the Co-op car wash

Walking down Ellice, there was Bomber OL Obby Khan vacuuming his car, a day after his team had lost a game to the Toronto Argonauts. And yes, I cracked a joke(to myself) about the Bombers sucking.....

The attack of Keith Bellamy's dog

As I walked into candidate Keith Bellamy's headquarters, I was greeted by a dog who jumped at me like I was the incumbent councillor, Harvey Smith. After seeing my life flash before my eyes, the dog wandered off realizing I wasn't Smith and everything got under control.

Signs, Signs, everywhere signs

Daniel McIntyre, by far, has to be the ward with the most candidate signs up. Whether it's public or private property, the names of these candidates have to be grilled into the resident's minds. The funniest scene....a house that had the signs of 3 different candidates on the same lawn. Is it fair to say that one of the candidates did NOT ask this house for permission to put up a sign?

I swear, Lito, I'm only a student

Walking into Lito Taruc's headquarters, him and his campaign staff looked at me like I had a gun and was holding them hostage. Actually I had a pencil, notebook, and voice recorder in my hand.

So after some convincing, Lito took me into this secret back room and made sure I shut the door. (?????!!!!????) After considering turning around and running back down Sargent Avenue, I asked him the questions and he gave me solid answers.

The story of Ray Haddad

This 80-year old man has seen it all during his 55-year stint at McGee Street. He lives across from a couple of sketchy rental houses and sees all the all-stars(drunks, prostitutes, drug addicts) in the community.

What about the time a pack of kids surrounded him in a back lane with 2X4's and threatened to beat him up?

Or the time he threatened to beat a guy down because his wife got called a prostitute?

Ladies and gentlemen, the Daniel McIntyre ward!!!!

Haddad is an ex-boxer and many times, showed me his boxing stance, and how he would have knocked those kids with the 2X4's right on their ass had they touched him.

Frankly, I wouldn't have been surprised had he knocked me on my ass. Some journalism punk bothering him in his own yard.



So to sum it all up, my memories of Daniel McIntyre consist of a long and winding road, a Blue Jay bible thumper, a Blue Bomber sucking, a wild dog, a smattering of signs, a secret back room, and a violent old man.

Thanks for the memories, Daniel McIntyre.

What in the hell is a Kabeer Gbaja-Biamala?

Whoever said that sportswriting was easy?

Sure, if you're a member of the media, you get to sit in the press box with a clear view of the game, while chomping on snacks, chugging down drinks, and watching and writing about the game that you love.

But sports is a worldwide activity, and of course brings athletes from all around the globe to play. You know what this means, right?

Crazy names.

Sportswriters have to stay on their game and make sure that they spell these names right, because some of the names are, in a word, ridiculous.

One of the worst mistakes you can make is to spell the name of a person wrong in an article, I don't care how many middle names he/she has.

So here is Sports Illustrated's ultimate list of the hardest names to spell in sports. And just remember, it ain't always easy writing about sports.

1. Tim Biakabatuka, NFL

2. Boubacar Aw, NCAA BBall

3. Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje, NBA

4. Mark Buehrle, MLB

5. Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, NFL

6. Mark Grudzielanek, MLB

7. Guillaume Latendresse, NHL

8. T.J. Houshmandzadeh, NFL

9. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, MLB

10. Mike Krzyzewski, NCAA BB

11. Doug Mientkiewicz, MLB

Alright, you know what, I am having a whale of a time flipping back and forth from page to page trying to spell these names so I'll let you take a look at the rest of the list at this link.

P.S. You thought the writers job was tough, making sure all these names are spelled correctly? How about the broadcaster's job to pronounce these beasts?

What's in the Manitoba water?

Manitoba's own Dawna Friesen will make her debut as the new Global National anchor tonight. She is just another name in the long list of journalists from Manitoba, who have gone out to greener pastures and made a big name for themselves.

And it begs the question, "What's in the water here in Manitoba?"

Because whatever it is, it produces some fine journalists.

For example….

Ashleigh Banfield












Spent some time at CKY-Winnipeg in the late 1980's before moving south of the border to work with such stations as MSNBC and truTV, where she currently works. She has also received several Emmy awards.


Tyler Brûlé



The Winnipeg-born Brûlé moved to the United Kingdom at just 21 years of age, and trained as a journalist with BBC. There, he wrote for papers such as The Guardian, The Sunday Times, and Vanity Fair. He has also launched magazines including "Wallpaper" and "Monocle". Brûlé currently writes for The Financial Times, where he has a weekly column.


Don Newman




One of Canada's best-known political journalists, Newman worked at CTV and CBC as a Washington correspondent for 7 years before setting up shop in Canada where he hosted CBC television shows This Week in Parliament and Capital Report. Many Canadians associate Newman's face with not only Canadian federal politics but American politics, as he anchored many key political moments for CBC.



Brian Williams

Born in Winnipeg, Williams is a legend when it comes to Canadian sportscasting. He worked 32 years for CBC, before moving to CTV 4 years ago, where he is the lead broadcaster for CTV's Olympic coverage, a position he also held at CBC. Williams also has hosted CFL coverage, Toronto Blue Jays baseball, and World Cup Soccer throughout his illustrious career.

Diana Swain




Born in Thompson, Swain spent 10 years at CBC Winnipeg, where she anchored 24 Hours, the CBC news show. This position won her a Gemini Award in 2000. She took a step up to the national level where, in 2004, she began anchoring the CBC Toronto newscast. She is currently part of the CBC news investigative unit.

Rod Black

Note: The moustache has been removed

Another CreComm grad, Black started at CKY Winnipeg at the ripe old age of 19. Since then, he has worked with CTV and TSN, mainly in the sports department. He has called play-by-play for the Toronto Blue Jays on TSN, and is one of TSN’s current CFL play-by-play announcers.

This is just a small portion of many journalists who have gone on to great success in other parts of Canada, or even other parts of the world.

So when Dawna Friesen hits the airwaves at 5:30 pm tonight, let's all take a sip of water in her honour.

Because when it comes to Manitoba journalism, something good is in that water.

My mom hates mistakes....

When an average newspaper reader finds a mistake in print, it's quite often that they'll blame the writer of the article. And, yes, the writer is definitely at fault, but let's not forget about the editor. They are paid to spot these errors and should be at fault as well.

Take for example my mother.....

It was an article in the Winnipeg Free Press last March (can't remember the writer, but it was one of the WFP young guns), which was talking about the Tim Horton's Brier, Canada's Curling Championship. My mom, being a passionate curling fan, takes it pretty seriously. So when this article featured a couple of glaring mistakes, including wrong team information and wrong player names, she didn't waste no time in making a big stink.

Now these mistakes were indeed huge, but my mom acted like it was the end of the world and lambasted the writer of this article demanding that he be tarred and feathered. Well, she didn't go that far but she definitely wasn't pleased. But no mention of the editor. Let's remember something, Mom....all writers do make mistakes from time to time, but when they do, it is part of the editor's job to fix them up. As I mentioned, these were terrible errors, and it's hard to believe that the editors missed them.

And now everytime my mom sees an article by one of those young guys, she completely doubts everything they say because of the miscues made in the curling article.

So this just goes to show that the editor's job is that much harder. When an average newspaper reader like my Mom sees a mistake, she instantly blames the writer, when in fact, the editor has as much to do with letting this mistake out as the writer. But the name on the story gets the blame.

Essentially, the reputation of the writer can fall into the hands of the editor. And when the editor spots a mistake and saves the writer's ass, nobody outside of the newsroom will ever know.

What a job.

"Don't call me Chris"

What’s the worst thing that could happen to a journalist?

The obvious number one, I think, would be to get caught plagiarizing and immediately lose credibility as a respectable journalist.

But let’s think of other horrible things that could happen on the journalism job. I guess there’s always the possibility of death, depending on what kind of story you are covering and where you are covering it.

There’s the chance if you’re not prepared that the batteries in your tape recorder die or if your pens/pencils break. Yeah, this is pretty minor, but if you have no way to record the interview, then there’s trouble.

Then there’s the possibility of this next occurrence……

What if the person you are interviewing attacked you?

We all love hearing journalists voice their opinions in columns, and on tv/radio shows. And journalists love doing it as well, ripping on everyone from politicians to athletes. But in today’s age, where a little blog you created at home can be seen by millions around the world, you better be careful what you say and who you say it to.

Enter Jim Rome, a sports journalist known for his loudmouth opinions and his fearless observations.


Wow, wouldn't want to mess with this guy..

In the clip below he is talking to former NFL QB Jim Everett…but instead, calling him Chris Evert, a famous women’s tennis player. Apparently, Rome has been calling Everett “Chris” for a while, and it is clear that Jim wants nothing to do with a women’s tennis player. (Hey Jim, she won 18 Grand Slam singles titles, you should be honoured.)

Anyways, we’ll let the video speak for itself and just remember, if your subject doesn't want you to ask/say something, the best thing to do is just listen to them.

Redemption..My 2010 NFL Predictions

It is quickly becoming one of my favourite times on the calendar. The second week/weekend of September is the time when the NFL regular season finally gets underway after a painful 7 month offseason.

It can be painful for the players. They have to sit through memories of lost opportunities or costly mistakes. They have to go through gruelling rehabs after surgeries. They have to participate in training camps usually marred by brutal heat. But when September rolls around, all that pain is set aside and the players are ready and raring to go.

And the offseason can be painful to the fans as well. Maybe your team went through a 4-12 season and everytime you think of the last season, the taste of vomit swarms your taste buds.Or maybe your team had a great season but the playoffs came, and heartbreak ensued. (Vikings, Chargers)

Which brings me to…..well, me.

Not only did my team, San Diego, blow up in the 2nd round after a fabulous 13-3 regular season, but I ended off last year by making some of the worst predictions I ever made during Super Bowl XLIV. In fact, my weekly selections for the entire year were horrific. Week after week of going 8-8, 7-9, etc....

Yep, it’s been a painful offseason. But we can now wipe the slate clean, and fresh predictions can be made. Without further ado, here’s my chance at redemption. It’s time for some of my best predictions heading into the 2010 NFL season.

AFC Playoff teams:

NEW ENGLAND
BALTIMORE
INDIANAPOLIS
SAN DIEGO

Wildcards:

PITTSBURGH
HOUSTON


NFC PLAYOFF TEAMS

DALLAS
GREEN BAY
NEW ORLEANS
SAN FRANCISCO

Wildcards

MINNESOTA
NY GIANTS

AFC Championship: Indianapolis over San Diego
NFC Championship: Green Bay over New Orleans

SUPER BOWL XLIV: INDIANAPOLIS COLTS OVER GREEN BAY PACKERS


The Indianapolis Colts will win the Super Bowl…. Speaking on the topic of painful offseasons, how bad was Peyton Manning’s? He had to wake up every morning thinking to himself, “Wow, I threw one of the worst throws in Super Bowl history to cost our team the game and now there are still people saying that I can’t come through in big games”. He does have that 1 Super Bowl ring (he beat Rex Grossman), but to be the greatest, multiple Super Bowl rings must grace the resume. Manning is still a ring or two away from being mentioned as one of the greats. And he’s running out of time. But not quite yet. Most of his offense is back from last year, and the Colts are locks to win the division. The big question mark is this team’s defense, but as the Saints showed last year, defense doesn’t necessarily win championships. As long as Peyton can outscore the opposition, the Colts should be in fine form. He’s had a long and angry offseason. And an angry Peyton Manning can only mean bad things for the rest of the NFL.

Aaron Rodgers for MVP… The Packers have one of the more lethal offences in the NFL and Aaron Rodgers will have the potential to put up monster numbers in the air. We’re hearing that this offense has 2009 New Orleans Saints written all over them. How did that turn out for the Saints?

The New York Jets will miss the playoffs: People are forgetting that this team was 9-7 last year, and got into the playoffs only because Peyton Manning sat out near the end of the regular season. Now everyone is jumping on the bandwagon, and the Jets are one of the AFC favourites. First of all, a guy that throws 20 INT’s in Mark Sanchez is not leading you to a Super Bowl. Second, when you appear on the HBO preseason show “Hard Knocks” like the Jets did this preseason, you’re not going anywhere.

5 teams have been on the show, 3 have missed the playoffs, 2 teams made the playoffs but never made it past the second round. It’s not quite the Madden Curse, but it’s getting there.


Brett Favre’s career will finally end where it originally ended..at Lambeau Field: I’m calling it right now. NFC Divisional Playoffs. Minnesota @ Green Bay. Favre’s fingers freeze and he throws 3 picks. Rodgers dominates his old “friend” that he secretly despises. Packers blow out Vikes… Career done

Surprise team of the year: Kansas City Chiefs: If anybody is going to surprise this year, it will be a team from either the AFC West or the NFC west. Not only do they play the crappy teams (all but San Diego and San Fran) in their respective division 6 times but the AFC West will play every team in the NFC West once. Which is why I think the lowly Chiefs will contend for a playoff spot, but I don’t think they’ll quite make it. I’ll say they go 8-8. Matt Cassel has shown that he can lead a team before, and the running back duo of Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones might be one of the most dangerous in the league. And after 3 straight years of having a top-5 pick in the draft, and having won only 10 games in those 3 years, the rebuilding will finally begin to show.

Just like the beginning of every sporting season, I am extremely confident with my predictions. But, once again, come January 2011, I will either look at this blog post with a "Jack Nicholson as The Joker" smile on my face, or I will shamefully hang my head after another subpar year of predictions. I know which one I'm hoping for.

It all begins tomorrow with Saints/Vikings....and a possible deja vu moment waiting to happen?

Dewey defeats Truman

So when it comes to newspaper screw-ups, the first one that always sticks out to me is this classic from 1948.

“Dewey defeats Truman”

Read the story surrounding it here



Oh no, Chicago Tribune.

Every editor should have this headline hanging on their bedroom wall, so when they wake up in the morning, they think to themselves, “Alright, this is what I’m not going to do.”

"What is journalism?" (and what happens when journalists screw up)

Before I answer the “What is journalism?” question, let me take you back to five years ago, when I was just finishing off the “gruelling” stages of elementary school.

A time when I had a different view on the term “journalism.”

Back then, I believed that journalism was something strictly confined to print. It made sense to me. A journal is something you write in.

(I even had my very own journal in Grade 1 and still have it lying around my house to this day. Embarrassing is not a strong enough word to describe what sits in this journal. Let’s just say nobody will ever see this thing. Ever.)

I thought that television personalities were strictly broadcasters. How can they write in a journal? It took a while before I snapped out of that phase and throughout high school, I began to realize that journalism is a heck of a lot bigger than just the Winnipeg Free Press or the Winnipeg Sun.

RRC journalism instructor Duncan McMonagle always makes sure to tell us that Creative Communications is NOT a print journalism program, like many tend to believe, and there are many different ways that stories can be told, especially in the age that we live in today.

Whether by television screen, computer screen, newspaper, or radio airwaves, a journalist’s goal should be the same.

It is tough for myself to come up with a solid definition of journalism but here are three words that I believe are very important when it comes to defining the term.

Truth- The golden rule of journalism. Make sure the facts are correct and that the work done is YOURS and YOURS ONLY.

Public- The audience. The people who want to hear the stories.

Important- The question burned into every journalism student's brain…Why should we care?

But obviously, the rule of truth is the biggest.

All journalists should follow this rule or else Oklahoma State Football coach Mike Gundy will let you know how he feels..

30 courses in 30 days: Looking Back

After 30 days of chasing a little white ball around large pieces of land, I have finished a trip that involved myself golfing 30 courses in 30 consecutive days around Manitoba. So like I did in my intro piece, I will answer 10 questions about the trip that you may have.

1.You have to be sick of golfing, right?


Uhh..nope. Honestly, the golfing itself was the only thing keeping me determined to finish the trip. The process of getting up at the crack of dawn, and driving all over the place was getting a little hard to take, but I would think about getting onto the course and that would get me rejuvenated again. It’s amazing how addicting golf is when you hit a good shot. I would think of those good shots that I was sure I was going to hit and I was ready to go.

2. How good are you at golf after this trip?


Yeah..about that… I always had hoped in the back of my mind that by the end of this trip, I would be 10 times better than I was when I started. Unfortunately, as of this moment, I’d be lying if I said I was even 2 times better than I was when I started. I do have some theories as to why this is.. but the basic answer to the question "Why didn't I improve" is because that's just how golf works.

3. How was the weather?


I don’t think I could have been any luckier with the weather than I was on this 30 day stretch. I golfed all my rounds in the morning/afternoon, and it only rained 4 times. 3 of the times, it was a light drizzle and could easily be played through, while just once was it pouring so hard that my shoes were filled with water. More on that later. But the craziest span was the week of August 16, where on the Monday I was golfing in a 41 degree humidex and by the 22nd, I was golfing in 9 degree weather and clearly seeing my breath.n

4. How much money did it cost?


Believe it or not, I golfed for free 3 times and was given a half-off discount once. So there’s 100-plus dollars saved right there. Add to the fact that green fees at some small town places (Morris, Elm Creek) were ridiculously cheap and the trip didn’t end up costing as much as I originally thought. The final tally has not been added up yet but I’d estimate that with all the green fees, food, gas, hotel,..we’re looking at around $1500.

5. Best Course?


I know it’s kinda biased because a) I have a cottage out there and b) I’ve played there 5-6 times before but the Granite Hills Golf Course in Lac Du Bonnet was the best course I played on the trip. Every hole is different and with the presence of Lake Lac Du Bonnet plus the walls of granite around some fairways, it makes for a gorgeous setting. Even if you have no golfing experience at all, I suggest you walk or ride this course just for the scenery. Just an all-around fun experience.

6. Any crazy stories?


Well I golfed with a whole bunch of funny and unique people, which I will feature in the book, but the craziest story actually didn’t even happen on a golf course. It happened on Highway 8 and involved myself and a police officer. And to save some time, here is the story in less than 20 words…


Pulled over Speeding, officer writes ticket, officer comes back, dramatically yells “Fuck it” and rips up ticket, walks away.


If you still don’t understand what happened, just ask me. The story is better told in person anyways.

7. Best/Worst round?


My best round was an 82 in Deloraine. Now it was kind of a shorter course than most I played, , but in the words of the police officer from the question above ..“Fuck it”. An 82 is an 82 and I’m pretty proud of it.


Now for my worst rounds. There were 2 times that I didn’t break 100 but I have legitimate excuses as to why I screwed up so hard.


Beaches Golf Course in Grand Beach was not even a golf course. I mean, yeah, there were some tee boxes and some flags waving around, but it was like I was playing in my backyard or at the park right beside my house. The greens were like fairways, the fairways were like the rough, and the rough was like a god damn jungle. But being the honest man that I am, I kept my score and it came out to like a 113. I’d like to see anybody break 100 on that course. There’s a story behind why it’s in such poor shape though, so I hate lambasting them. It will be back to a normal golf course in a few years.


Another weird occurrence. On Day 19 in Morden, I came within 2 inches of a hole-in-one. And right as I tapped in for the birdie, the skies opened up and the next stretch of holes from 12 through 18 was a bloody downpour. Needless to say, my round went down the tube. Again, I challenge anyone to hit good shots in one of these downpours onto greens that were quickly turning into giant puddles. But as stated earlier, honest Kevin kept his score and it turned into a 105.

There’s good rounds, there’s bad rounds and then there’s atrocious rounds, and these 2 were really the only atrocious rounds I had.



8. Any freakouts?

By freakouts, do you mean tossing my club like a javelin into the bush? That was probably my worst one in La Broquerie on Day 25. That freakout was a culmination of golfing for so long and realizing that I wasn’t getting any better. Give me credit though, the freakouts used to be a lot worse 2-3 years ago. I guess I'm finally starting to mature a bit....

9. Would you do it again?

If somebody else wanted to drive me around and then wake me up when we got there then by all means I would do this again. Like I said, all the travelling killed me but the golfing kept me going.

10. What’s next?

For the next 4 months, I will be gathering all the information that I got and will be placing it into a book that will be a documentation of the trip for my Independent Professional Project at Red River College.

Day 28-30: The Final Stretch

The final three videos from the 30 day/30 course trip

Day 28: Steinbach Fly-Inn Golf Club (Right beside the runway)



Day 29: Granite Hills (Lac Du Bonnet) (One of the coolest holes in Manitoba)



And the 30th video from Falcon Lake will not upload, but it was a video of the 11th hole, which has about 5 fairway bunkers lining the right rough, and can be a brutal hole if you're not hitting straight.



Final thoughts from the trip to come within the next day or two...

Day 23-27: The Videos

Better late than never, the last 5 days of golf

Day 23: Miami (The worst video of all-time)




Day 24: Portage La Prairie (A scenic Par 3 and a demonstration of how to play it) (Warning..Swearing involved)




Day 25: La Broquerie ( A Par 6?????)




Day 26: Hecla (One of the nicest Par 3's in the province)

\

Day 27: MacGregor (Drivable Par 4 with log bunker????)

Day 22: Gladstone and other thoughts..

Should Dustin Johnson be on suicide watch? Back in June, he led the US Open by 3 shots heading into the final round, only to shoot an 82 in one of the worst collapses ever. Then yesterday, he heads to the 18th at the PGA Championship, with a 1 shot lead and par to win...and he grounds his club in a bunker, which is against the rules, and therefore costs himself the tournament.

2 blown major championship opportunities in 3 months.

Yes, golf is a cruel game. And I have found that out time and time again as we are 22 days into the 30/30 trip.

I'll tell you right now, by the end of next Tuesday(Day 30), my golf game will not have improved at all.

How can that be?? You just played for 30 days in a row!!

I won't get into all the factors at this time (that's for the book), but the simple fact is that playing for 30 straight days is not the way to improve, as hard as that may seem to believe.

For now, here's another frustrating video of a frustrating hole that just makes no sense and makes me want to take a 5 iron and bash it over someone's head.

The Weekend From Hell: Day 20 and 21 Warren and Winkler

It took 19 days for a drop of rain to fall on my head during the 30/30 trip. And did the streak end with a bang. On Friday at the Minnewasta Golf Club in Morden, the last 7 holes of my round were played in a complete downpour. Then Saturday came and the rain, plus a steady dose of wind, was featured at the South Interlake Golf Club in Warren. Then earlier today, I played in a ridiculous wind at the Winkler Centennial Golf Club.

So, not surprisingly, I produced 3 garbage rounds and have absolutely no confidence in my golf game at the moment.

The videos you see below don't really feature any significant holes on the course, but rather, they show the weather conditions of the past 2 days, plus the reactions of a few players who really couldn't handle the wind and rain.

(P.S. To anyone with connections to the South Interlake Golf Club.. Don't worry, they went and picked the tee box up and fixed all their divots.. )

Day 19: Morden

This is how I looked after today's round...




Yep, for the first time on the golf trip, the rain came down on Kevin at the Minnewasta Golf Club in Morden, Manitoba. And it came hard. From the 12th hole on, it was just a downpour and I don't think I've finished a round faster in my life. Thank christ for the power cart.

Before it poured, I managed to snag a video of the 8th hole, a long 200 yard Par 3 with a massive downhill tee shot.

Day 18: Morris

The greatest golf shot of all-time...


Morris, Manitoba was the stop today. And I can't tell you how many times I have gotten Morris and Morden mixed up in the last few days. The big problem is that they both start with "Mor". The two "Mor"s get me all mixed up.

And dont forget about the other "Mor"s....


The Riverview Golf and Country Club features a brutal Par 3, measuring in at 215 yards. With a bunker to the left, and water to the right, this shot at the 3rd hole has to be straight, which is not easy to do with a hybrid/wood.

Day 17: Altona

This guy stops thinking for a few seconds...



Today I travelled to Altona, Manitoba, the Sunflower Capital of Canada. Despite that honour, they still don't let you take Spitz on the golf course.

The Oakview Golf & Country Club is yet another 9-hole hidden gem that few speak about when it comes to talking about great Manitoba courses.

Here's a look at their finishing hole, the Par 3 154-yard 9th hole, which requires a tee shot over the water and could ruin what had once been a great round.

Day 16: Carman

Am I the only one that gets a sickening feeling of enjoyment watching professionals four-putt in crucial tournaments?



Today, I visited the home of Eddie "The Eagle" Belfour in Carman, Manitoba, to play their 18-hole golf course, which is well-respected around Manitoba golf circles.



Here's footage from the 9th fairway at Carman, probably one of their most picturesque holes, although it's tough to tell from my camera.

Day 15: Elm Creek

We're halfway through the golf trip and I still haven't done this...



There's been close calls but I've controlled my temper on the golf course through 15 days. Although when you're golfing in 32 degree heat, and you're waiting for people in front of you, and there's no drink lady in sight...it's tough to keep cool.

Anyways, Scotswood Links in Elm Creek, Manitoba has their own version of an island green on the 118 yard Par 3 12th hole..Take a peek

Day 14: Treherne

A classic from Mad TV



Here's a quick clip from the "Corner of Death" at Delahunt Golf Club in Treherne, Manitoba. 7,8,9 at Delahunt has got to be the hardest finishing 3 holes I've seen so far on this trip.

7- Par 4 ,352 yards
8- Par 5, 435 yards ---crazy 90 degree dogleg to the right
9- Par 4, 430 yards


This clip is from the 7th green.

Day 13: Brandon

In honour of Tiger Woods turning into a garbage golfer at Akron this weekend..



Yesterday we had "The Wall" in Deloraine, a Pink Floyd classic by the way.

Today we have "The Trees" in Brandon, a Rush classic by the way.



Trees were the main story at Wheat City. Lines of trees at ever hole. Trees in the middle of the fairway. Trees by the green forcing you hit wedges over or bump and run it under, a shot which I cannot do and it makes me sick everytime I have to do it because of those stupid trees and their branches sticking out I just want to take a torch and light the fu-------------------

Sorry, I'm still a little hot under the collar after today's performance which saw me dealing with more trees than David Suzuki.


Let's forget about the "trees" and go on to the "fours". Wow..lame. I'm serious though, the 4th hole at Wheat City Golf Course in Brandon, Manitoba has got to be the shortest Par 3 in Manitoba. And for the record, I DON'T COUNT GARBAGE PAR 3 GOLF COURSES, THEY AREN'T REAL GOLF COURSES, I REPEAT, THEY AREN'T REAL GOLF COURSES.

The hole usually measures in at 369 yards but due to the water that the hole got hammered with this year, they shortened it to a 100-yard Par 3.