I suppose my fascination with basketball, or roundball as it is called in many sports enclaves, began when I saw my first basketball and backboard in a CYO (Catholic Youth Organization) gymnasium. As an undersized grade schooler, it took me several weeks to be able to score a basket. Basketball games were few and far between until I enrolled in high school at St. Anthony’s … [Read more...]
Remembering Reno rancher Hugh M. Richardson
Each Jan. 1 is a great day as we kick off a new year, enjoy college football bowl games, and in our family we remember and pay homage to my father-in-law, Hugh Maxell Richardson, who was born on Jan. 1t, 1907, in Eagleville, Missouri, and migrated to Reno via Los Angeles in 1944. From 1944 to 1968, Richardson managed the Double Diamond Ranch in the southeastern area of the … [Read more...]
Realizing a reporter’s responsibilities
Around the middle of the last century, the University of Nevada’s journalism school was rated among the best in the nation. It was headed up by the late A.L. “Higgy” Higginbotham. It was located in a tiny brick building on the west side of the Quad. When I attended my first class at the j school, I was treated to a lecture by Higgy where he noted that historically only about … [Read more...]
With my apologies to Herb Caen
As promised last week, we are going to pay homage to the nation’s greatest columnist, Herb Caen, by trying our hand at emulating his patented three dot journalism. THE PLANET OF THE MAPES. Herb once identified Charles Mapes as “Tarzan of the Mapes”… When The Mapes Hotel first opened, the ceiling of the Sky Room featured Styrofoam clouds affixed to its structure. When Herb … [Read more...]
The Herb Caen model: three dot journalism
Probably the most iconic American columnist of all time was San Francisco’s Herb Caen. He is widely credited with developing a journalistic style that became known as Three Dot Journalism. In essence, he set the bar for columnists around the country. I was fortunate enough to interface with Herb on many occasions during my time at The Mapes and at Clint Eastwood Celebrity … [Read more...]
Memories of boxing—the sweet science
Although it is called the boxing ring, it is really a rope-enclosed square in which the practitioners of the sweet science compete in fisticuffs. The recent news that the US Olympic Boxing Trials will be held in Reno on Dec. 7-12 means that Northern Nevada will regain some of the luster it once had as a boxing hot spot. I hope to be present at some of the early bouts, … [Read more...]
President Obama’s alternate Universe
Last week our prevaricating president was in full stride as he went on TV and made the easily disputed claim that his administration had improved race relationships. Also he told cheering sycophants that the Republican candidates for president “couldn’t handle CNBC moderators.”It has often been said that the president is not only detached from reality, but that he also may be … [Read more...]
CNBC’s pitiful debate performance
With the presidential election a year and a day away, things are beginning to have a much sharper focus. Case in point was last week’s abysmal attempt at a debate by the inquisitors from CNBC. What was supposed to have been a discussion focused on the economy turned into a verbal free-for-all between the candidates and the supposedly non-partisan panel. What was apparent … [Read more...]