thanks…appreciate it.

Dear New Hanover County tax office…

Just wanted to write a quick thank you note for sending me my car tax bill less than a month before Christmas.  Really – that’s great.  Thanks -I appreciate it.

Its not like money is tight right now or anything.  I wasn’t planning on getting anyone anything for Christmas.  A nice dinner on Christmas Eve?  Nah…not my style.  I’d LOVE to spend the X-number of dollars I owe you instead of all that stuff.

Oh and the note saying “overdue if not paid by Dec 31″ – nice touch.  I wouldn’t want to have a couple of extra weeks to pay it after the holidays. 

I’ll just make the check out to “Grinch”.  Be on the lookout.

    kevin

I don’t get the point of the t-shirt, but its about the only picture that made any sense with this post.  If you want to buy it – be my guest.

turkey games…

Did today’s football games blow or what?

A 37-point win by Tennessee, Dallas wins by 25 and heading into the fourth quarter Philadelphia is up 34-13 heading into the fourth quarter against Arizona.  If the tryptophan didn’t put you sleep today, the NFL surely did.

You know what I would be Thankful for today?  How about the League taking the Thanksgiving game away from Detroit and awarding it to a franchise that actually wins a game or two a year.  0-and-12 gets you a nationally televised game?  I hate to admit it, but while putting my show together I opted for “Keeping up with the Kardashians”.  Reggie Bush stopped by in one episode, so I guess that counts for me watching the NFL.

Oh, and forget the college game of the day…Texas is killing Texas A&M so that’s not even an option.

I guess today I’m thankful that Wake Forest played.  It gave me something to put in my show, and the Demon Deacons only beat Cal State Fullerton by six.  If only I watched.  Damn those Kardashians.

Thanksgiving tv dinner…

For Kelli and I Thanksgiving has become a Holiday that we spend at home.

It’s also become a Holiday of memories.

It’s the day we told our parents we were having twins.  It’s now also the Holiday that my wife melted our tv.

No. Really.

Our 42-inch plasma now resembles a Salvador Dali painting.

When we moved into our new home we mounted a television above the mantel of our fireplace.  That mantel is home to two candles which sit underneath the tv.

Do you get where I’m going with this?

In the five months or so that we’ve been in the house the candles have never been lit.  Honestly, I thought of them as decorations, not bunson burners to warm my flatscreen.  But today, being in the Thanksgiving spirit, Kelli put out some finishing touches to the house that we cleaned the day before.  Fresh flowers and the warm glow of candles. 

I didn’t notice the latter of the two until I sat down to enjoy some crackers and mini-hot dogs (do yourself a favor, buy the dogs).

While snacking, I noticed that the bottom of the television didn’t look right.  Now, our television is black with silver trim along the bottom.  That silver piece looked, well, wrong.  That’s when I asked my wife “is the television melting or is it just the reflection of the candle that’s making the tv look strange.”

And the rest is history.

Honestly, the damage isn’t too bad, but if you know me you know I have a touch of OCD, and the damage is enough to freak me out.  I’m sure one day I’ll be able to watch the actual picture on the television and not the ripples of melted plastic below.

In the spirit of the day, I am thankful to have had a television as nice as this one to melt.

Full…

For the first time in what feels like forever, I have a full tank of gas.

With prices out of control I couldn’t let myself put more than $30 in my tank at a time and it never, ever filled it up.

Until tonight.

The price on the big board at my local fillin’ station was $1.95 a gallon.  I think the last time gas prices began with a “1″ I was still in my 30’s.  Who knows, maybe by Christmas I’ll be able to fill up the Jeep with less than $30.  Now that would be a present.

Soccer thoughts…

For the first time since Sunday my life is one that is soccer free.  After two nights of shooting a pair of State Championship soccer games, here’s what I took away from them (other than a soar throat).

First, Topsail is a very good team.  Thanks to a loyal parent we had scores called in from nearly every game this season, and the Pirates are very deserving of what is the schools first ever Title.  The team dictated the pace of play from the onset and never let Albemarle get into any sort of flow. 

Sadly, what I’ll take away from that first game is the behavior of an Albemarle fan.  I’ve been covering HS sports since 1995 and I’ve never heard a parent, or any one else for that matter openly yell “take him out” over and over and over.  It brought to mind “The Karate Kid” and the Cobra Kai Sensei telling Johnny to “sweep the leg.”  I wouldn’t have been shocked  if Elisabeth Shue were to run out in knee socks.  And isn’t that what soccer is lacking?

The woman’s chant went on so long a Topsail parent finally asked her what she meant.  “I mean take the player to the ground so he can’t come back in the game.”

Excuse me…what!?

It’s not surprising that after the game, she was the only fan/parent to remain seated when her team was recieving it’s second-place plaque and medals.  Her team may have lost, but she was clearly the loser at the game.

As for Monday’s matchup between New Hanover and Myers Park (no. 4 in the nation), I’ll be honest, New Hanover played a much better game than I thought they would.  Myers Park was a much more physical team (huge kids) and seemed to play a much more technical game than New Hanover.  By that I mean they seemed to be in control while New Hanover just seemed to be all over the place trying to find a crack in the armor. 

No problem with these fans, and it was nice to see how many New Hanover folks made the trip on a school night.  I have a feeling it won’t be their last visit.

a good excuse…

I haven’t posted in the last week, but I have a good excuse: its been crazy-busy.  What a great time for Wilmington sports – all this happening since I last wrote a week ago:

• Topsail soccer in the 1A state championship
• New Hanover soccer in the 4A state championship
• First round of the High School Football playoffs
• UNCW soccer hosting the CAA Tournament
• two games for the UNCW mens basketball team
• multiple athletes signing college scholarships

And that’s just in ONE WEEK!!  Not to mention all the regional action – ACC football race heating up, ECU football trying for the CUSA title, college basketball’s first week, the Panthers in first place, Connor Barth’s NFL journey, and NASCAR crowning a new (or same old) champion.

And if you got here from WECT.com – perhaps you’ve seen all this on our website.  Either way – its clear that somebody is watching.  Every week we get a “web trends” email from our web girl (Web Deb) telling us the most watched videos on the entire site - and our Friday Night Football show is usually #1 on the list (even during an Election week filled with captivating local and national races).

So if you’re watching those videos – keep watching.  And if you’re just here for The Orange Couch – take a second and watch some amazing sports action.  Its what makes the job pretty great – and keeps us really busy.  Not that I mind this time of the year…

     kevin

the big switch update…

The Big Switch was obviously a big hit here in Wilmington.  It went off without a hitch, and now we’re in beautiful digital tv.

But – its not exactly off to the best of starts everywhere else. 

You might recognize the guy above – he’s Kevin Martin, the head of the FCC.  He was in Wilmington a lot in the time leading up to the switch, but he’s apparently not as welcome everywhere else.

According to an article on TVpredictions.com, the FCC is spending $350,000 to sponsor David Gilliland’s car in NASCAR.  That earned Martin the “Porker of the Month” award from the Citizens Against Government Waste.  I doubt that plaque will go on his wall.

As for the car the FCC is spending so much money on – its now crashed twice.  Not good.

And why was Martin in Wilmington so much?  Was it for The Big Switch - or were there other motivations?  That same article says Martin plans to run for political office in North Carolina someday.  All the face-time here shouldn’t hurt his campaign.

I’ll be curious to see how “The Switch” turns out in the rest of the country.

    kevin

people love the whale…

I’m not a big fan of those sites that show stuff you can see on 1,000 other sports blogs.  “Hey check out this funny clip I found on deadspin, then was posted at sportscracklepop, then withleather, then was at The Big Lead, and now is on my site!”.  Just assume we read all those, and if someone posts it first – don’t post it again.

BUT – I’m making an exception for this one clip.  I’m not sure what percentage of our readers checkout deadspin, so I’m showing it.

Its hilarious – and the best part is the kid has no idea the affect he’s having on the crowd.

    kevin

dress for the job you want…

While editing some video tonight I came across a reporter for ESPN and caught myself laughing at his wardrobe.

I just don’t get NASCAR reporters wearing a drivers suit.  It’s flat-out ridiculous. 

I don’t wear shoulder pads and a helmet when I’m at a football game, or a cup at baseball (that you know of).  Why the suit?  I mean, it’s not like the reporters are in a situation where they need flame retardent clothing.  Maybe they wear it just for protection when in the middle of the post race insert-sport-drink-here shower.

I also noticed that the team owners are just hanging around in golf shirts, or a long sleeved number with the team logo on it.  If a guy worth millions can wear a cotton shirt then network reporters can do without the outfit.

Tim Russert…he is missed tonight.

Since the polls have been closed for a couple of hours and I won’t look like I’m a biased media guy telling you who to vote for, I can admit this: I didn’t really like either presidential candidate.  And when it came time to vote, I left the president ballot blank.

So because of that, I haven’t really been glued to the coverage on the national news.  I’ve followed the local races very closely (especially the Senate and State Senate contests), but the “Keith Olbermann Show” and “Anderson Cooper 360″ weren’t on my dvr list.  Even “The Daily Show” – which used to be appointment viewing for me – hasn’t been seen in my house in months.

But tonight – as a loyal WECT employee – I’ve been watching NBC’s coverage.  And its amazing how much one guy can make such a huge difference.  I feel lost without Tim Russert.

NBC obviously has a lot of very qualified people to tell viewers what is going on and – more importantly - what it all means.  But its not the same.

Obama wins Ohio – and I’m ready for Tim Russert to come on and tell me, “Go to bed.  Its over.  Barack Obama just won the Presidency.”  He was always the smartest guy in the room – and you knew it immediately while watching.  He explained it.  You understood it.

Here it is one of the most historic nights in American history, and instead of thinking about the moments I’m watching – I’m thinking about who isn’t there.  I guess that’s the ultimate sign that someone is really great at their job.

Tim Russert – clearly the best there ever was.  And clearly missed tonight.

   kevin