Hello, Americans, this is Ian (cosmowanda522). Stand by for a BLOG!

This is cosmowanda522 with Paul Harvey on my mind. If you mention the name "Paul Harvey", pretty much everyone will know what you're talking about. Paul Harvey was not like most other radio personalities. Unlike most newscasters, he told the news and commentary like a story, and had the ability to appeal to listeners of all ages so that everyone could understand his message. And just about as amazing as his ability is his longevity; he was heard on the radio for over 75 years, over thousands of stations and by countless millions of listeners. And now, Page 2.

Paul Harvey would reach us three times a day. Mornings, he would greet us with "Good morning, Americans!" followed by the day's headlines and other interesting bits of info in the news as only he could deliver, sometimes introduced with phrases like "shop talk", "agribusiness", "what's new" and "in the sport light". Around noon, he would return again for 15 minutes for the day's headlines and more stuff, including news of couples celebrating marriages of 50 years or more (later 70 years), headlined by, "In our tournament of roses..."; Harvey himself was married to Lynne "Angel" Cooper Harvey for 68 years. Later in mid-afternoon, he would come back once more to give "the Rest of the Story", where he would describe the story of a certain person, and what would later become of the person; it would always be some famous connection. His son, Paul Harvey Jr., put together the "Rest of the Story" bits. But this day's news of most lasting significance, he may have had only 25 minutes of airtime each day, and 20 on Saturdays, but the impact he made on the radio was like no other radio personality in history. Page 3.

One key part of Paul Harvey News and Comment that made it memorable was the advertising, preceded by "page 2", "page 3", etc. He was able to do ads that were often unrelated to the news as if they were part of the news and comment; every product he endorsed was something that he believed in. Many radio personalities, like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, etc. do their own ads during their shows, but nobody could advertise effectively and efficiently quite like Paul Harvey. And now... Page 4.

And now, for what it's worth, Mr. Harvey recently passed away at the age of 90. I was very grateful to have listened to him on the radio at one point or another, and I believe that he will really be missed, and will never, ever, ever be replaced. He was truly a legend and a gentleman. Godspeed to the entire Aurandt family and all those involved.

Ian (cosmowanda522)... good day!

Good day, this is Ian, cosmowanda522, with the passing of a TV legend on my mind.

"Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sport... The thrill of victory... and the agony of defeat... The human drama of athletic competition... This is ABC's Wide World of Sports."

Those were the famous words of Jim McKay, the legendary host of ABC's Wide World of Sports anthology series who, as of the time of this posting, recently died at the age of 86. Everyone in the wide world of sports is saddened to hear of his passing.

Back in the 1960s, the young ABC network was experimenting with all sorts of different programming, something characteristic of all fledgling TV networks, such as the Fox network. In 1960, ABC started airing a sports show focusing on sporting events in other countries, not just those in the United States. Jim McKay was there and he was able to host WWOS with a little bravery and a lot of class. At a time where satellite television was scarce, and not many other people were able to see the world in person, Jim McKay brought the world to his TV viewers, and showed all of America that there is indeed a "sports world". In four decades and all those miles of traveling, it would be very, very difficult to think of a sport that McKay hadn't covered in this wide world.

But in the wide world of sports, perhaps McKay's greatest triumphs were his work on the Olympic Games. Of the 12 Olympic Games he did, perhaps his most memorable moment was his handling of the massacre of the 1972 Munich games (which had lots of other memorable moments as well) that saw 11 Israeli athletes taken hostage and killed. When he said, "They're all gone." it became one of the most memorable lines in sports broadcasting history.

He was one of the most important figures of American television, let alone sports television. Jim McKay, a true television Olympian, was 86, and he will sorely be missed, not just by yours truly, but by sports fans everywhere, all around the wide world of sports. This is Ian (cosmowanda522) signing off.

Let's go, ready? From the top...

Hello, this is Ian, cosmowanda522, with fan behavior on my mind. Well, it's that time of year again, time for the high school football season to begin, and for the fans of each high school team to get behind their favorite team. Now, one thing that they shouldn't be doing is insulting, gesturing, and cheering against the opposing team. In basketball season, it seems to be more acceptable, especially considering that the opposing fans are closer to each other than at a football stadium. I am from North Ridgeville, Ohio, and the team from my alma mater, the North Ridgeville Rangers, at one time faced dangerous opponents in the "how-did-the-Rangers-get-in-here-in-the-first-place" Pioneer Conference. Several schools were known for their cheering sections with great support for their team, and a nasty attitude toward the opposition. The most dangerous student sections in the league were those of Brunswick High School, and I wouldn't want to mess with them, or those at Medina High School. Outside of Medina County, there are the student sections from Midpark High School, and their neighbors, Berea High. The student section of North Royalton never gave me any issues, and as for Strongsville and Brecksville-Broadview Heights, it kinda depended on their mood.

Now, giving chants of "Sit Down Shut Up", "Watch That Scoreboard", "Why So Quiet", etc. may not be the best behavior at a high school sporting event, it sure seems okay at a basketball game, but at a football game... well, that's where it gets to be too taboo, so to speak. There are several schools' student sections who do that sort of thing during football games, one of them is the student section at Midpark High School. I believe that the "Orange Crush", as they're called, thinks it's always basketball season! But Midpark's certainly not the only school whose student section does that stuff; others do it a lot, and I don't think it's tolerable. In the words of the horse from "Ren & Stimpy", "No, sir. I don't like it." In the words of the guys from Baseball Tonight, "That's nasty!" In the words of Stephanie Tanner, "How rude!" And, of course, in the immortal words of the one and only William Shatner... "I CAN'T GET BEHIND THAT!"

Now, I'm not trying to take anything away from the schools I mentioned, their support for their team is great, and they can do anything they want to the opposition, but I'm just not crazy about dissing the opposition at football games. This applies to football games only. If things keep up, I have a funny feeling that at least one student section will be cleared from their side of the stadium if things keep getting out of hand. And if there's one thing I really, really, really hate more than fans acting rudely at football games, it's fans being ejected from games. So if you want to stay for the whole game, be sure to be on your best behavior. And if you don't feel comfortable about what's going on, "Sit down, shut up!" And if the other team's fans ask you, "Why so quiet?" you will have good reason to be that way.

Well, I hope you enjoy the football season, and if anyone is offended by my rant, please accept my apologies. This is Ian (cosmowanda522) signing off, ready for football season. And hopefully, you won't have to hear me say...

"I CAN'T GET BEHIND THAT!"

NOTE: Was edited December 29, 2008 for political correctness.

Good day, this is Ian (cosmowanda522) with basketball on my mind.  And it's more than just basketball; it's Cleveland Cavaliers basketball; more than that, it's Eastern Conference Champion Cleveland Cavaliers basketball.  Tonight I attended the baseball game at Jacobs Field between the Detroit Tigers and the Cleveland Indians.  The Tigers won, 9-5, and their fans showed up, and they definitely have great support for their team.  But on my mind, the baseball game was on the backburner; all I could think of was game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Detroit Pistons and the Cleveland Cavaliers next door at Quicken Loans Arena.  There was a lot of energy between the Q and the Jake, and I sure felt it.  I thought for a second that I was going to run into Charles Barkley when going from the walkway (which starts at Tower City and ends at the Q) to the ballpark.  And listening to the legendary Joe Tait calling the Cavaliers-Pistons game really piqued my interest more and more as the C.A.V.S. kept going away from the Pistons and the Pistons were starting to get teed off, especially the acerbic Rasheed Wallace.  I'm so happy for the C.A.V.S. making the NBA finals, I wish I was 15 years younger!  15 years before was their last ECF appearance, where they fell to Jordan and the Bulls.  And 16 years before that, there was the Miracle of Richfield, with a roll of toilet paper being thrown and fans storming the floor, and screaming so loudly that the sounds of the organ were being drowned out.  But now, the C.A.V.S. will face Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan, along with the rest of a truly international team known as the San Antonio Spurs.  The way I see it, it should be an even series, unless someone on one team keeps losing their temper; for if we've learned anything from the 2007 NBA Playoffs, it's that if you lose your temper, chances are, you'll lose the series.  So both the Cavaliers and the Spurs have to keep their cool (and not get distracted by the Pussycat Dolls).  As for DEEEE-troit Basket-ball... I guess it's about one man: Flip Saunders continues to be, like, the basketball equivalent to football's Marty Schottenheimer and baseball's Gene Mauch.  They were all lifetime victims of... THE HUMP.  And why did it always have to happen to them?  Why?  But I digress.

That's it from me, and if you're a Cavaliers fan, RISE UP if you haven't done so yet, and don't forget to tune into the NBA Finals, only on ABC.  This is Ian signing off.  Come on C.A.V.S.... Make it Happen!

Good day. This is Ian (cosmowanda522) with intolerable radio personalities on my mind. We've all heard the story of radio personality Don Imus getting fired from his radio show for insensitive comments he made toward the Rutgers girls' basketball team. And personally, I think he deserved it! The I-man was very obnoxious on his show; how he even got on the radio in the first place, I don't know. I had heard him before, and honestly, I had no idea what he was talking about! He must not have known what he was talking about, either. It was his acerbic style and whatever else he had that made him one of the three least tolerable radio personalities ever. THE least tolerable radio personality ever has to be, without a doubt, Howard Stern. With the way he acts, I just can't see how Howard even got into the biz in the first place! When he moved to satellite radio, some of us, including me, breathed a little easier. We could breathe a lot easier if Stern is canned indefinitely, like Imus was recently. BTW, I never listened to Howard Stern, and I didn't miss a thing. The third least tolerable radio personality is, IMMHO, Delilah. Delilah may be more tolerable than Stern and Imus combined, but not by much. She may not be as hard-core as any so-called "shock jock" like Stern or Imus, but her nightly radio show is the sappiest program on radio, with hours of so many loving stories that bring tears to your eyes, and sappy love songs, perhaps none sappier than "You Are So Beautiful" by Joe Cocker, though "Butterfly Kisses" by Bob Carlisle was just about as sappy. At least nobody got her to play "Hey Ya!" by Outkast when it was overplayed a few years ago, same thing for "Lose My Breath" by Destiny's Child when it was overplayed. One may not realize that those songs are actually LOVE SONGS disguised as dance songs. Oh well. I guess that just because a certain song is all about love elements doesn't mean that Delilah will play it. But like most people, I don't care. I just can't stand to listen to anyone as hard-core as Howard Stern or Don Imus, or as sappy as Delilah. At least Rush Limbaugh, controversial as he's been, is more tolerable than Delilah, Imus and Stern combined.

This is Ian (cosmowanda522) signing off, and remember, if you missed one day of Howard Stern, Don Imus or Delilah, you really didn't miss anything.