The Shove, The Incident, The Principal

• Brent Metcalf was wrong. The clock was at zeroes when he pushed Darrion Caldwell mid-flip. It was bad sportsmanship, and Caldwell could have been seriously injured. But since he wasn't, let's call Caldwell what he was at the end of that match: a hot-dogging knucklehead. It's okay to be excited, jubilant even---it was a stunning upset for a national title---but you don't celebrate like that. Especially in wrestling.
• I feel for the nice people at KXNO. It's an absolute mess to have a profane fight between two on-air personalities go out over the air, accidental or not. We've all heard the F-word at work, many of us have used it, and it's not the first time it's been heard over a surprisingly hot mike. I'm more disturbed by the anger. I'm not sure I've never heard a verbal beating like the one Marty Tirrell gave Larry Cotlar. There's more we don't know. Why was Marty so mad? Who really misused credentials? How was the mike turned on? Why didn't anyone notice? But the one certainty is this: you cannot argue like that in front of other employees, and you certainly don't do it in a studio full of microphones---even when you have every reason to believe it's not going over the air.
  
• "There's no such thing as bad publicity". If you believe this, and many do, Marty is more valuable to KXNO than ever. He's raised his profile times ten, maybe more. (For the record, I don't believe all publicity is good publicity. See Larry Eustachy.)
• I have a friend who was at a table full of people when one of the women accidentally pocket-dialed a "friend". The woman started trashing her "friend" and part of it was left on voice mail. They no longer speak. Always talk as if just about anyone can hear you, and for the most part, you'll stay out of trouble. No one is perfect at this, but it's a good goal.
• I enjoyed Will Ferrell as President Bush in "You're Welcome, America", but I thought it would be funnier.
• I can't believe some of what I hear on HBO's Eastbound and Down.
• I'm not into Dancing with the Stars except when Shawn's on. She's in it to win it. I'm not surprised how well Shawn's doing. She's a world class athlete with an unmatched work ethic. I guess that works for the balance beam and the Fox Trot.
• Seeing some of the unfortunate facial hair at boys state reminded me of my ill advised woolly chinstrap in high school. There's something about proving you can grow a beard. Fortunately we didn't have Facebook back then.
• Frank Deford, will you please stop making me cry when I watch HBO's Real Sports. I'm starting to feel like Dick Vermeil.
• What was A-Rod thinking this time?
• I can't ever remember if a Brent is a Brett or vice-versa. To all the Brents I called Brett, and all the Bretts I called Brent, I apologize.
• I make my Des Moines Playhouse debut this weekend, via videotape, as Principal Kidswatter in Sideways Stories from Wayside School. I'm confident my theatrical career will not progress beyond this month.