Brent's Blog

- UFO theories, A to Z.
- China buying up U.S. companies.
- Felony snowball throwing?
- The risks of privatizing the state’s ABC system.
- Burlington dentist Steven Slott makes it into the News & Observer.
- SI swimsuit cover is out.
- Why Super Bowl 2010 was the most-watched television program ever.
- Amateur Space Shuttle Challenger video surfaces after 24 years.
- The most awe-inspiring natural wonders in America.
- Life magazine’s Brigitte Bardot archives on Google Images.
- The Art of Manliness.

I’m trying to find out this morning about a man named Harold Lee Guthrie from Alamance County.
Mr. Guthrie was killed in Vietnam. He was a helicopter crew chief who was killed in action. Guthrie Stagefield at Fort Rucker in Dothan, Ala. is named for him.
He’s featured in a new book that tells the stories behind the names of various U.S. military installations. The book is called “In Their Honor: The Men Behind the Names of Our Military Installations.” You can read some excerpts here.
None of the elders around here remember him and I can’t find a mention of him in our electronic archives going back to 1991.
If you knew Mr. Guthrie or were related to him, how about dropping me a line?
blancaster@thetimesnews.com or 336-506-3040.

- Best and worst of the Super Bowl ads.
- Will Internet gambling be legalized?
- What the hell’s going on in King?
- Magazine newsstand sales dropping.
- George Will on entitlement reform.
- Six new stimulus ideas.

- Five national stereotypes that are false.
- Should the Enquirer win a Pulitzer?
- Why are flights taking longer?
- China enlists moms to fight online porn.
- Judge holds Edwards aide in contempt.

Sporting events to covet

About 100 million people are expected to watch the Super Bowl on Sunday. I guess I’ll be one of them.

I like the Super Bowl commercials. My wife and I love watching “The Puppy Bowl” on the Animal Planet cable television network. Each Super Bowl Sunday, the channel shows puppies from shelters playing on a football field. Kittens are brought out for the halftime show. It’s great television.

But the Super Bowl feels flat. The crowd is full of VIPs instead of rowdy fans. Conference championship Sunday is much more exciting.

Here is a list of my favorite sporting events, ranked from highest to lowest. The Super Bowl is not at the top. The Lingerie Bowl is not shown at my house, so I’m not able to give an accurate assessment of that.

The World Cup — I have a soft spot for soccer (or football to the rest of the world) because it’s the only organized sport I ever played in a league.

I don’t watch college soccer or the American professional league. Only the best, every four years.

The BCS National Championship game — I don’t like how the two teams are selected, and more often than not it’s not a good game, but it’s college football and college football is the best.

The Masters — When it comes to golf, I only watch the four major tournaments and, really, I only WATCH The Masters.

It’s a harbinger of spring and I got in the habit of watching because it’s always held the weekend closest to my birthday.

The World Series — The only sport that I think Fox does a good job with and, though baseball will never again have the mystique it had for my father’s generation, it’s still special. Watching four or more games is a big-time commitment, though.

The Kentucky Derby — About two minutes of excitement, then you can get on with your life. It’s not something that takes up your entire Saturday.

The Super Bowl — I prefer the college variety, but football of any kind is still one of God’s true gifts.

The Final Four — Of course, the fact that my team likely won’t return to this event until I’m a grandfather plays a big role in this, but the best games are always played the two previous weekends and putting this event in a covered football stadium takes the air out of it.

The Women’s College World Series — Co-eds playing a version of a sport I love. What’s not to like?

The Daytona 500 — I’ve been to a race at Martinsville and liked it. I sort of keep up with who’s in the points lead so I won’t seem ill-informed. That’s about it.

The Olympics — I try. Lord knows I love my country, but I just can’t get interested.

The NHL Finals — My wife watched when the Carolina Hurricanes were in the finals and I guess I caught a little of it. Otherwise, I wouldn’t go next door to see it, as one of my favorite phrases goes.

The NBA Finals — I’ve tried to think of a scenario in which I would watch the NBA Finals. I guess it would take a relative being on one of the teams.

And he would have to start.

The World Series of Poker, UFC, any kind of “X Games” — Only for the geekiest of the sports geeks. If my son ever watches any of these, I will know I have failed.

City editor Brent Lancaster can be reached at blancaster@thetimesnews.com or 506-3040. Read his blog at brentsblog.freedomblogging.com.

- Victim of child porn seeks restitution from downloaders.
- Iran launches a random group of animals into space.
- Consumer Reports takes on coffee.
- We’re tapped out.
- Here’s an idea I can get behind, Q&As between the president and the opposition a la Prime Minister’s Question Time.

- An interview with Bill Watterson.
- China’s Chuck Taylor’s.
- Good list of ways to save money.
- The 50 best catch phrases of the decade.
- Burr’s sitting on campaign cash.
- Here are one guy’s opinion of the 10 best episodes of Lost, plus a recap of what happened at the end of last season.

Two strange things this week regarding contests that are essentially American.
The Academy Award nominations were released today. For the first time ever, there will be 10 best-picture nominees instead of five.
Also, there’s word that we’re getting closer to expanding the 65-team men’s NCAA basketball tournament to 96.
The tournament expansion is mostly a blatant television-revenue grab, but both smack of our participation trophy culture infiltrating things that don’t need to be messed with.
Only one movie wins best picture. Only one team wins the NCAA tournament, and it surely isn’t going to be a middling team that has to win 11 (!) freaking games in a row against quality teams to be crowned national champion.
Making an expanded field gives more Division I coaches cover as they renegotiate contracts and face boosters on the rubber chicken circuit. What does it do for the movie industry? Create more buzz for certain movies and increase revenue?
In both cases, why tinker with what works?

EDIT:
I’m not sure how a 96-team tournament would work, but I imagine it wouldn’t involve a team having to win a 32-team tournament to get into the round of 64, so it probably woudn’t take a winning streak of 11 games.
There would probably be some byes for some of the higher-seeded teams.

- Jobs won’t come back for years.
- Running barefoot protects your feet.
- The 50 worst movies ever.
- Military jets being used to carry Pelosi’s kids.
- State’s probation system still struggling.
- Do older people need less sleep?

I was a little surprised at this comparison by Gov. Perdue’s communication director, Chrissy Pearson, in a story we’re running on the governor’s “Career and college, ready set go” education initiative.
Pearson is talking about the fact that many students who graduate from North Carolina high schools have to take remedial classes when they get to the state’s community colleges and how the program will help solve that problem.

“You want to take the kids’ temperatures and give them a good checkup well before the disease has manifested and you find yourself doing an autopsy later on,” Pearson said.

Kind of morbid.