Organized Chaos

In case you haven’t noticed, we’re going through some online changes at The News Herald.

We rolled out our new Web site design on Wednesday, May 21, and even though there are a few kinks the overall product will be better in the long run. The push toward making our online product the strongest it can be has led to changes within the newsroom.

We created an online team, consisting of six people. I recently joined the team as the Sports Online Director, while still doing my usual sports writer duties.

Basically, the title means I officially oversee all sports-related items in regards to our online product. I’m charged with coming up with new ideas and enhancing our product, while hopefully drawing in new readers.

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A few free moments spent at YouTube led to some golden finds. Allow me to share the wealth.

This is a collection of a few videos, featuring sports and entertainment, but not both together (no wrestling here, as a respite). Take the time to watch and chat about what you saw.

Note: We have encountered some problems with the implementation of YouTube videos on our Wordpress blogs. The video sometimes fails to load and says something along the lines of “sorry, this video is no longer available.” This also has happened on other sites, such as Wasteofspace (Myspace).

If this happens, simply reload the page and click anywhere else but on the play button. You’ll then be taken to YouTube to view the video (I believe as a popup window). Please come back to the blog and participate in comments!

Now to the finds after the jump.

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………… Or a hug when the Michigan women’s basketball coach showed his frustration after a two-point loss to Wisconsin earlier this week. His main beef was offensive rebounds, and to hear him tell it, Michigan had ZERO offensive boards.

Now this rant isn’t nearly as good as the one given by the OK State football coach last season. But what it does show is his frustration for the officiating and I do believe he wants to see his players succeed. He also adds at the end that his team will be mentally ready to go next time, and he said they need to play better.

A sign of any good coach is how they use their time with the media to motivate their players. It’s no surprise that athletes read the papers and scan the Internet and watch TV for the stories. To see their coach this fired up in the locker room is one thing but to see it in public puts it into a whole new perspective.

Video after the jump.

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Something happened to me the other day while helping out an area coach with some information.

I put the coach, David Keith, on hold to search some files on the computer. Before I did so, we had some small talk about the goings on and I mentioned that it had been a rough day because my cat, Musa, was not urinating, eating or drinking water.

When I got back on the line Keith, a religious man who is a coach at Eagle Nest Christian, said he prayed for Musa. He said animals are God’s creatures and all creatures deserve to be given hope. I thanked him and went on with my day.

That was last Wednesday, the day I brought him back to the vet’s office because the problem had persisted for two days (I had just returned from a bladder evacuation for Musa and he still wasn’t using the bathroom).

It was sad to see my little Musa, who isn’t really little at all, in so much pain and not acting like himself. The vet said the problem had been going around, and he either had a bladder infection or kidney stones and it turns out he probably has both.

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Vacation came a perfect time this year for me. I was extremely busy and was ready to kick back and worry about nothing.

I spent the holidays with the in-laws in Hiawassee, Ga. This beautiful mountain town provided the other site of the water dispute between Georgia and Florida. One look at the area’s lakes gives you an idea of how hard the drought is hitting Georgia.

I had a modest take in the gifts department. But, as all of you know, as you grow older you ask for what you need and you usually get it. The new dress pants, belts and shoes will come in handy, as well as the video game and Spider-Man trilogy on Blu-ray.

Now it’s busy time again, which isn’t so bad. I’m recharged at the right time with the Bay and Arnold Christmas tournaments going on through the weekend.

The Barnstorm has some pretty good teams. Go check out a game or two in your spare time. Arnold’s tourney opens Thursday.

The juco basketball seasons are in full swing, but the best time of the year is a month away. Gulf Coast baseball and softball will start practice in a few weeks, with season openers slated for Jan. 25 and Feb. 3.

Hope all of you had a good time this holiday season.

You’re never too old to have a wish or two stored in your hearts and minds. The holidays are coming up and it’s again time to escape the trappings of reality and harbor a little childhood fun.

So, I’m starting The Wish List. You can find The Wish List on the sidebar to the right under where it says “Pages,” or simply click on the link while you’re reading this post.

The Wish List will feature some of my wishes, such as gift ideas or things I’d like to see in the world, as well as add those passed along by friends, family and readers. I’ll update The Wish List periodically, so check back often.

Feel free to be as serious as you want or as whimsical as you’d like. I’m sure world peace and good will toward men will be on there, but we need a bit of the red wagons and My Little Ponies and such.

Let’s see what we can do with The Wish List. You can leave your wishes on this blog entry and I’ll transfer them over. Or, e-mail me at mailchaos@yahoo.com

My old blog posts are now available at this site. You can find them by clicking on the archive pulldown menu or by clicking on one of the many categories.

Most of the posts are not as pretty as they can be, as web links and photos have been removed in the conversion. At least they are there, however, all the way back to my first post in June 2006.

If you click on each one my hits will go through the roof. Not that it matters, mind you, just a thought. I’m in the process of archiving the old posts, so feel free to peruse them if you like. It’s like a time capsule.