Friday was a Good Day

And I'm writing about it the following Tuesday because...? I was home all weekend, and I usually have a little slack time on Tuesdays since I'm out of class by 11:30. But not much today since I have a 6-page literature paper that I have to write by Friday.

Event One:
I was hired for the job with Dr. Parker. I've basically already explained everything in a post below, so I'll just say I'm really excited about this opportunity. I'm getting my living situation wrapped up as I speak, so my plans are just about finalized through June.

Event Two:
My high school hosted an ACC Senior Basketball Challenge. Players that participated included: Justin Gray and Eric Williams from Wake Forest; David Noel and Byron Sanders from UNC; Sean Dockery and Lee Melchionni from Duke; Shawan Robinson from Clemson; 2 players from Shaw University; and Cam Bennerman, Ilian Evtimov, and Tony Bethel from NC State. They played against a team of locals, mainly former high school standouts and high school coaches (so their ages ranged from about 18 to 40-something). My friend Andrew Witko, who graduated with me (and blocked one of JJ Redick's shots once), played and got a piece of one of Eric Williams' shots. There was also auctions, raffles, competitions for attendees, and a DJ from K97.5. With semi-celebrities in a small town, crowd control/autograph seekers remained a problem all night long. They kept telling us players would be available as long as needed after the game to sign autographs. But when that time came around, they were whisked away about 5 minutes after they came out. Where I was at in line didn't even move. Not that I needed an autograph, I just felt like I had been cheated. However, my sister eschewed the line and went up to the "ropes" and got some close-up pictures of the players. But the BIG event was Byron Sanders shattering the backboard with one of his dunks, with about 3 minutes left in the game. Overall, a very fun evening... and how many people can say ACC players came to their high school?

The End is Nearing...

It's hard to believe there is only a week and a half left of class. Another semester has flown by. It's been a while, so here's what's been happening:

I bought a Hauppauge WinTV USB from Circuit City. It's OK, but the quality of the output is lower than what I've seen from other people's captures. The video recording software is also very limited, and you have to use other software to compress the file to a reasonable size. For me, that's Windows Movie Maker, which obviously isn't the best choice. Advice welcome.

My Easter break was pretty good. Didn't do a whole lot other than going through all our old tapes looking for classic local TV footage. Wished I had done more reading for lit class, but that's the way it goes. Got semi-butchered on my haircut since I had to go to a barber in town (normally my grandpa cuts it). It's not bad, but my (slightly) receding hairline is better emphasized now.

I got to play tour guide yesterday. I finally met the infamous "vatvwx" from Roanoke after our services at the WSLS phone bank weren't needed in December. I think he enjoyed it, and hopefully we didn't scare his parents too much or convince them he should go to Oklahoma. :)

Big event this Friday night... more on that later. (gosh, I'm turning into former WTVD met Gary McGrady)

Friday Night Boredom

I can't remember what I had in mind to say about Herb Sendek, and now I don't really feel like elaborating on the subject. All I know is that we lost a good (maybe not "great") coach, and that many State fans have misguided expectations. Rick Barnes isn't coming here, and I doubt any other top tier coach will either. This stuff has gotten so old already that I don't care much now. Personally, I had no problem with Herb and wish him the best (saw Atsur at Mission Valley today BTW). This all seems eerily familiar to some Steelers' fans perception of Bill Cowher prior to this year. They complained that he was a mediocre coach who couldn't get the team over the hump to the Super Bowl, even though they were in the playoffs nearly every year. But at least they had coaching errors to back them up. I haven't perused the Herb situation as much, but mostly the only thing I heard was that our offense sucked. Anyways... what's done is done, and fans will always be fans. Wow, can't believe I just wrote that much.

In other news today, there's an intriguing job offer with Dr. Parker the first half of this summer designing a meteorology website to be used by high school students. Good pay, and only lasts until June 23, meaning my annual trips to WV/PA and the beach wouldn't be in jeopardy. I definitely plan on applying.

I plan on heading to Best Buy (or somewhere) tomorrow and finally get a TV tuner capture card thingy for my computer. OK internet, get ready for semi-vintage Roanoke screencaps!

More Old News

I helped out with Service Raleigh Saturday morning. Even though we had to be there by 8:00, it was well worth my time. Our group painted lampposts and porches at the Mordecai historic site downtown. It was pretty easy and I only got a minimal amount of paint on me. According to NCSU's campus newspaper, the Technician, we had registered with the "meteorology club" (versus the AMS)... a microcosm of that paper's quality.

Saturday evening I went to my first Wolfpack baseball game (yeah, it's only been 2 1/2 years). The weather was great and the game turned out to be awesome. We were down by 5 runs to UVA heading into the 8th inning... and scored 4 in the 8th and 2 in the 9th to come away with the win. Apparently this is not uncommon for our baseball team, as they have pulled off several 9th inning comebacks this season. They are the new Cardiac Pack!

I'll save the other happenings of Saturday (i.e. Herb Sendek) for another post.

A Sad Day In Raleigh TV News

Well Friday was...

As with other NewsCentral stations (a hybrid local/national newscast run by Sinclair Broadcasting), Friday was the last night for WLFL's (WB22) 10pm newscast, which I believe had been around since 1992 (Raleigh's first 10pm newscast). The last three minutes of the newscast were dedicated to a tribute. Bob Vernon explained the situation and said his farewell. He will continue producing his "Stories of Faith" (which may have been shown on other Sinclair stations) through a national Methodist organization. It was hinted that some employees will show up at other Raleigh stations. A video montage followed, showing all the employees at the station, even those that were "behind the scenes." It was capped off with footage from the last Pre-NewsCentral broadcast, a night which also featured a tribute and heart-felt goodbyes. Finally, a black screen came up with the words "Night Y'all" (how Bob ended every newscast).

This was a CLASSY news operation, and was very successful on its own before Sinclair stuck its corporate hand in. In the late 90's, I remember hearing meteorologist Steve Swienckowski doing forecasts on G105 and I thought, let me check this Channel 22 out. I was hooked. Steve, Bob, Tracy West, and sports director Rick "Sully" Sullivan presented the newscast professionally yet seemed to have fun doing it. Then people started leaving, formats changed, and things slowly started going down hill around 2000 or 2001. Then the death knell was the change to the "NewsCentral" format in 2003.

For me, it was a shame to watch what, at one time, had been Raleigh's #3 rated news station ruined and driven into the ground. Maybe WRAL's increasing presence on Fox 50, along with popular Fox hits like American Idol, would have done them in eventually anyway (with the affiliation swap from Fox to WB in 1998 being the culprit there). But I believe the ultimate cause was Sinclair. The same thing happened to WPGH in Pittsburgh (whose newscast is now produced by NBC affiliate WPXI).

Well, it's done now, and anything additional would just be speculation or lamentation. I, for one, will have fond memories of WLFL's newscasts, am sad to see them go, and wish everyone there the best.