* We want the Lightning to win the Stanley Cup because they’re our team. And Chicago feels similarly about its Blackhawks. But what has been annoying–beyond ESPN’s greasy Barry Melrose who was fired by the Bolts in 2008–is the NBC analysts’ bias against the Lightning. As if the Bolts were an upstart expansion team challenging iconic franchises that were still rolling out the Gordie Howes, Rocket Richards and Mark Messiers. And, no, Chicago no longer has Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita.
Go, Bolts.
* Anybody else do this? After a big win by the Lightning–or Rays, Bucs or USF, for that matter–going online to out-of-town media to see how the Tampa Bay success is playing in the home market of the vanquished. Is it excuse mongering or respect? Whatever, schadenfreude is more fun than is usually acknowledged.
* For the second consecutive year the Scripps National Spelling Bee has co-champions. This year it’s Vanya Shivashankar and Gokul Venkatachalam. It’s just possible that having had to master surnames like that was probably a pretty good kick-start to spelling proficiency.
* Lots of media shout-outs for Clint Eastwood, the cultural icon of masculinity, on his 85th birthday. All those Academy Awards and Golden Globes. The stint as mayor of Carmel By-The-Sea. And versatility that would include composing film scores and becoming a renown director.
Too bad his late career had that political pit stop in Tampa for that embarrassing “empty chair” gaffe. The episode certainly didn’t make Mitt Romney’s day, when his feel-good, family video was pushed out of prime time viewing.
Some stages even an acclaimed, talented actor-director-composer should stay off of.