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..