Farewell, Williams Arena floor

After 81 years, the hardwood at Williams Arena on the University of Minnesota campus is being replaced.

I know it's not a widely-renowned playing surface, a la the grass court at Wimbledon, Amen Corner at Augusta National or even the infamous parquet floor on which the Boston Celtics play, which was even moved from the Boston Garden to the new arena across the street in 1995 (the place changes names so many times, I'm afraid if I use one here, it'll be obsolete by tomorrow); but, here in Minnesota, they're cutting up a piece of history at "The Barn."

It was on that very floor (which sits atop a concrete slab, raising it a couple feet, to improve sightlines) that the 1951 NCAA Basketball Championship was played. It was on that floor that players such as Randy Breuer, Kevin McHale and Mychal Thompson played their years of college hoops.

And above that very floor, hangs championship banners - and even empty spots in which banners were taken down because of NCAA sanctions (namely the banner for the Gophers' 1997 Final Four appearance).

The St. Cloud Times reported that the floor has been sanded and re-painted several times in the floor's history - but it will now be replaced by a floor with more "modern materials and a new paint job." And, the new floor will be raised, just like its predecessor.

So, now, the court sits under a white "dust shield" while the demolition continues. It looks a little bit like they're protecting the floor from a nuclear attack. The pieces will be cut up and sold as part of a fundraiser for the U of M Athletics Department.

Thanks for reading - and have a good holiday weekend.

Farewell, Rick Kupchella

You probably read it in the paper. As of June 7, Rick Kupchella of KARE 11 will move on to bigger and better things. Here's the sticky point: according to the 10PM newscast on 11 last night, they stated that Mr. Kupchella was going to pursue forming his own company. Apparently it will be called LE Network. That, according to this mornings Pioneer Press.

What they weren't so palpable about on last night's newscast, is, as Paul Harvey used to say, "the rest of the story." According to the Pioneer Press article, the big issue was contract negotiations. Of course, it would not have been to Mike Pomeranz' or Julie Nelson's (the 10pm anchors) best interest to lay out the truth on air - Mr. Kupchella was at a contract stalemate with management.

"The two sides could not come to terms on a new contract...including finances that would not make it 'worthwhile' for him to renew," said Amy Gustafson in the Pioneer Press article. And, Kupchella also noted that two full-time jobs would be impossible - and the "new independent thing" would be a full-time job.

Kupchella has been in this market for over 20 years, according to the Twin Cities newspapers. Unfortunately, he's another Twin Cities newsroom standard - right along with anchors such as KSTP's Joe Schmit or former KARE 11 anchor Paul Magers - who no longer will be bringing us the news on a nightly basis.

To read a "farewell letter" from Kupchella - click on http://www.startribune.com/remoteisland . Best of luck to you Rick, we'll miss you.

Thanks for reading.

Can the Kindle "re-kindle" the newspaper industry?

Thanks to my colleague and PRSA mentor Brant Skogrand, he suggested I write about Amazon's Kindle, and whether or not it might resurrect a dying newspaper industry.

I must be the craziest person on earth - as I know what Amazon's Kindle e-reader is. I've never seen one live, just in pictures. I'm not entirely sure how it even works to tell you the truth. Nonetheless, it is an interesting piece of technology.

The Kindle must REALLY be an amazing piece of technology. I read an article in the New Jersey Star-Ledger that claims students at Princeton will be receiving free Kindles, in lieu of textbooks. And a report from News 8 in Austin, TX says this, "Newspaper and magazine publishers are excited at the introduction of Amazon's new Kindle DX, a handheld reading device. Some speculators say the device, which sports a nearly 10-inch display that is more than twice the size of the standard Kindle, could help save the dying world of print media."

But, if the Kindle is really as popular as it seems, what will happen to libraries? What happens to publishing houses? And, will people pay a subscription price to read the newspaper on the Kindle, when they can get it for free on the paper's Web site? And, I don't think I even know anyone who has a Kindle.

There is a website called coverleaf.com, which publishes magazines online. There are the mainstays: Family Circle and Better Homes. There's the on-line specific ones, i.e. Sporting News Today, which I do "subscribe" to. And, I was very pleased to see an industry publication available on coverleaf.com: Advertising Age. They are also subscription-based.

While the electronic edition seems to be the new thing in the world of news, I still think there is much to be said about seeing something in print. Maybe it's the generation I'm from. When I was a kid, there were no such words as "internet" or "e-dition (electronic edition)" or even "online." The Kindle might be able to save a dying print industry; but I still think there's enough to still keep it going. At least for now.

Other than that, I'm stumped.

Thanks for reading.

Little bit of writer's block

Hello everybody.

I just realized today, how long it's been since I wrote. I do apologize for that.

But I also realized, I haven't really come up with any new topics to write about. I'm hoping to find some inspiration for something soon.

If any of my faithful followers have ideas, please comment on this post and give me your thoughts. Sometime this week, I'll plan on writing something. Part of the problem too, was that my computer crashed about two weeks ago, and it took about a week to fix it.

If you have any ideas, please feel free to let me know.