Monthly Archives: April 2012

April 29, 2012 · 8:57 pm

EVALUATING ESPN’S ON-AIR PERSONALITIES

Balladeer's Blog

Balladeer’s Blog

ESPN may not stand for Exclusively Sports Publicist’s Network but the mammoth outfit certainly acts like it. Their soft, “People magazine for athletes” approach to sports coverage makes them fun to watch and listen to in the same way watching bad movies like Plan 9 From Outer Space is fun. If you want actual sports journalism go to Sports Illustrated (SI.com) or Yahoosports, never ESPN.

It’s no coincidence that those other outfits are the ones who have broken every major sports scandal in recent years. ESPN is too thoroughly in bed with the executives in college and professional sports to want to damage their “product” by doing REAL investigative reporting. Here’s Balladeer’s Blog’s evaluation of the sports publicists who do on-air work at “the worldwide leader in suckup”. 

Not pictured: Colin Cowherd

1. COLIN COWHERD – With the departure of Jim Rome to the cable outfit called CBS College Sports Cowherd gets the top spot by default. Colin towers over all the other on- air staff at ESPN by virtue of the fact that he has a life outside of sports and therefore doesn’t feel that winning games excuses criminal behavior like his colleagues do.

Cowherd also rejects the journalistic pretensions of the other ESPN sports publicists and repeatedly states that he considers his employer to be in the entertainment business, not the news business. Like all Continue reading →

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April 29, 2012 · 7:46 pm

SHINTO DEITY: UZUME

 UZUME – This daughter of the gods Izanagi and Izanami was the goddess of dancing, a skill that served her in good stead in two major Shinto myths. When the sun goddess Amaterasu had hidden herself away in a cave, Uzume danced naked as part of the plot  concocted by the god of wisdom Omoigane to lure Amaterasu back out into the world.

In the other major myth Uzume is part of the retinue of the god Ninigi when Amaterasu sends him down to rule over ancient Japan. Their descent was blocked by Sarutahiko, the god who guards Ukihashi, the floating bridge between Continue reading →

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April 28, 2012 · 7:50 pm

DAY 5 OF NCCAA COLLEGE BASEBALL’S POSTSEASON

 Yesterday the Ohio Christian University Trailblazers (logo at left) won the Mid East Region Championship by defeating the Johnson University Preachers. OCU joins the LBC Chargers and the NCU Rams in clinching berths in the upcoming NCCAA2 World Series. Balladeer’s Blog will have updated scores from the other regional tournaments today as soon as they become available.

SOUTH REGION – The Continue reading →

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April 28, 2012 · 4:41 pm

NAVAJO MYTHS: VISIONS OF THE SPIDER GODDESS

 Part 3 of the encore of my look at the neglected Navajo epic myth about their war god taking on the evil gods called the Anaye. My readership was much smaller back in 2010 when I first ran it, so it will seem like new to most of you –

3. VISIONS OF THE SPIDER GODDESS – On their way west toward their father Tsohanoai’s house, Nayanazgeni and Tobadzistsini passed the Grand Canyon, which in Navajo mythology was the Place Of Emergence through which Continue reading →

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April 27, 2012 · 10:22 pm

DAY 4 OF NCCAA COLLEGE BASEBALL’S POSTSEASON

 The Toccoa Falls College Eagles (logo at left), the defending champions of NCCAA2 baseball, took the field today after a bye in the first round of the South Region Tournament. As dominant as ever, they finished off yesterday’s winners, the Florida Christian College Suns by a score of 7-3.

Meanwhile the Johnson University Preachers play the OCU Trailblazers for the Mid East Region championsip. Balladeer’s Blog will have updated scores from other Continue reading →

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April 27, 2012 · 9:26 pm

PRELUDE TO WORLD WAR III: THE 2ND UNITED STATES CIVIL WAR

   In my fictional role as an archaeologist who retrieves documents from the future (after all, anybody can find documents and relics from the PAST) I’ve discovered quite a few items pertaining to our near future. This is one of those fragmented cyber-documents that I’ve been able to translate into English from the dominant Earthly language of the future. There are a great many lacunae in the documents owing to the strain of temporal travel back here to the year 2012 so the translations will be slow- going.

This first item is from a book that appears to be from roughly 2109 – 2120. I’m changing the author’s name to prevent potentially interfering with the lives of their ancestors who are alive right now. First of Continue reading →

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April 26, 2012 · 10:05 pm

NCCAA COLLEGE BASEBALL POSTSEASON DAY 3

 Yesterday saw 2 tickets punched to the NCCAA2 World Series. The Lancaster College Chargers and the North Central University Rams won the East and Midwest Regional Championships, respectively. In the South Region the Florida Christian College Suns are taking on the Clearwater Cougars in game 1 of Continue reading →

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April 26, 2012 · 8:43 pm

NAVAJO MYTHS: WHEN A GOD DIES …

Here’s an encore of my look at the neglected Navajo epic myth about their war god taking on the evil gods called the Anaye. My readership was much smaller back in 2010 when I first ran it, so it will seem like new to most of you –

PART 2 – WHEN A GOD DIES … In those ancient times Nayanazgeni (“Alien God Killer”)and his brother Tobadzistsini (“Child of the Water”)were living with their mother, the goddess Estsanatlehi, on a plateau near their worshippers, the Navajo people of the time. They were aware of the alien gods called the Anaye who were preying on the world at large.
 
One such Anaye was a club-wielding giant who rode an equally huge cougar. The giant had a double-face, one in front and one in the rear so it could not be snuck up on. This Anaye had begun to Continue reading →

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April 25, 2012 · 9:05 pm

NCCAA COLLEGE BASEBALL POSTSEASON CONTINUES

 After 2 days of rainouts the PHILADELPHIA BIBLICAL UNIVERSITY CRIMSON EAGLES (logo at left) finally got to play their East Regional game with the BAPTIST BIBLE COLLEGE DEFENDERS today at Noon ET. This matchup was worth the wait, as this Instant Classic saw the Crimson Eagles emerge with a very tight 5-4 victory. Send the tape of this game to Cooperstown as a prime example of the intensity of postseason baseball in the NCCAA. 

lancaster bible college chargersMeanwhile, in the 2nd East Region game of the day the top-seeded LANCASTER BIBLE COLLEGE CHARGERS defeated the Continue reading →

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April 25, 2012 · 12:04 am

NAVAJO MYTHS: GOD SLAYER

 A side effect of the overwhelming response to my post on the neglected Chinese epic myth about Yi the Divine Archer has been a huge demand for an encore of my look at the neglected Navajo epic myth about their war god taking on the evil gods called the Anaye. My readership was much smaller back in 2010 when I first ran it, so it will seem like new to most of you –

And by the way, for my look at Yi the Divine Archer click here: https://glitternight.com/2012/03/17/mythology-the-neglected-epic-myth-of-yi-the-divine-archer/

GOD SLAYER –  The story of the Navajo god of war, Nayanazgeni ( “Foreign God Slayer”) and his brother battling the Anaye, meaning “foreign or alien gods” is one of my favorite mythological tales, partly  because of  how Continue reading →

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