BOO!!

Remember when the scariest thing that could happen on Halloween was someone getting a razor blade in an apple?

Sounds like a million naive years ago, doesn't it? But there really was a time when Halloween wasn't big news. Heck, it wasn't even much of a holiday when I was growing up--not when compared to the big boys of autumn Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Don't get me wrong, we loved the costumes and candy, but you didn't get all worked up. Nobody rented a costume, and the whole thing was really just for kids.

Even when I got started in the news business in the early 1980s, Halloween news was all about parents taking their kids' candy to the hospital for the (useless) Xray, and warnings not to let your children eat fruit or unwrapped candy, et cetera.

Tonight we just ran a story about the government checking on registered sex offenders to make sure they're not giving out candy or otherwise luring youngsters to their front doors.

Halloween is supposed be all about make believe fear, but you gotta wonder whether or not there will come a time when this holiday loses what innocence it has left to some real life fear.

Old Lady Johnson's Revenge

I hadn't heard from or about Old Lady Johnson in quite some time, and that was a good thing.

You see OLJ is the name my buddies and I use to represent an opponent that ought to be easy to beat, but somehow your team can't do it....as in The Redskins couldn't stop Old Lady Johnson. We used to say that kind of thing a lot because the Redskins were making a habit of being horrendous. They could not outrun OLJ. They couldn't tackle her, and they certainly couldn't whip her on the line of scrimmage.

But this year things were different. Quarterback Jason Campbell was looking sharp, or certainly sharper than we expected. The defense was looking tough. The offensive line was falling apart, but I wasn't thinking Old Lady Johnson-type-falling apart. Until today.

The New England Patriots are surely very good, but come on!!! In the old days Coach Joe Gibbs would have found a way to at least make it competitive. Right now the game is still going but its the 4th quarter and I just can't watch anymore. And what's worse, for the first time, I'm thinking maybe Gibbs just can't do it anymore. And I really hate to think that. So instead I'll have to believe that Old Lady Johnson is a lot tougher than I thought.

You Know You Want It

30 years ago.

August 1977.

Elvis Presley dies--

and the producer of the CBS Evening

News with Walter Cronkite decides not to

lead with the story. Ratings go in the toilet.

That may not have been the beginning of the era of celebrity news, but it was certainly a big sign of what was to come. CBS put some (boring!!) Panama Canal story ahead of The King's death, and paid for it.

Fast Forward to February 8, 2007. Anna Nicole Smith dies under bizarre circumstances. I argue it should not be the lead story. What had she ever done but marry some elderly rich dude and sport huge artificial mammary glands?

I was right, but I was dead wrong. After all, she did pose naked in Playboy.

JUST KIDDING.

The fact was people cared about that story--and judging by ratings of the cable newsers who stayed on it for weeks--they cared a lot.

So nowadays when I get these emails from some of you complaining about Britney Spears being in the newscast and aren't there more important things, blah blah blah....we chuckle. 'Cause you don't mean it. Not really. There used to be one entertainment news show, now you can't count them or the websites that feed the insatiable curiousity about J-lo or down-low or whomever. People eat this stuff up.

Face up to it. I know I've had to.

Celebrities may not be the most important people in the world, but what happens to them seems to really matter to folks.

And the fact that the world as a whole

really doesn't miss much about Anna Nicole doesn't make much difference at all.

Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid

The only thing to fear is fear
itself....and of course not having any offensive line. Yeah, that's
kinda scary too.

The Redskins should have lost that game.
Against the sorry Cardinals (I don't care what their record is!) we nearly blew it. And I don't blame the defense, which made a lot of big plays including 3 tunovers. Nope. It was the offense, as in no blocking and very porous pass protection for JC. (Not Hayward, but our qb Jason Campbell, fool!)
It was just weak. And next week the Skins go to New England? Great GoogleyMoogley!!!!
I'm scared. The only good thing is no one will expect the Redskins to win, so if nothing else they can play like guys who have nothing to lose.

Oh Well....

Its hard to get worked up about a 'Skins game when your best players let you down.

LIke so many other times, this was a game the Redskins easily could have won. But they didn't do it. Santana Moss..a guy with blazing speed and the ability to adjust to the ball like no one I've ever seen...dropped 50 million passes today. Clinton Portis.....fumbled and stumbled his way to defeat. It was awful.

But somehow I'm not all that discouraged 'cause I think Jason Campbell is the man. He just kept trying and making plays even if no one else seemed to care. I care, Jason. You da man!!

No News is Bad News Indeed

"Don't taunt the news gods!"

That's what my former Executive Producer used to say back at ABC News on the overnight when someone would lament the lack of big stories on a given early morning. Basically she was saying we've got a quiet morning so don't jinx it!!

I get that. I do. But even on minor-barely-celebrated holidays like this one you can find yourself hoping for some kind of breaking news-- just so there's something to put on the air between 5 pm and 730pm.

Let's see. Right now we've got ....the weather, that poor guy who died in the 10-miler yesterday, the Day Without Immigrants(It doesn't happen until tomorrow but hey...a preview is always nice), some sort of construction accident, the Reskins won big, and heck..it looks like even Britney Spears may have taken the day off!!!!
All I have to do to change all that is to speak the forbidden phrase:

"Hey, there's really nothing much going on today. Suuuuure is quiet."

Tony the Scheduler said that one morning. An hour later there was a private plane flying toward the White House with Air Force jet fighters in hot pursuit. Such is the power of the news gods: such is the risk in pissing them off.

You know what? I think hold off for now. But its still early....

I Love Mike Sellers...Not That There's Anything Wrong With That

"Short yardage."

That's what they say Redskins running back Mike Sellers has been saying to coach Joe Gibbs as he walked by him in practice. Sellers was asking Gibbs to use his 280 pound physique as more than just a mobile blocker.
Well, today Sellers got his chance. Against the Lions of Motown he put up two touchdowns and punished tacklers on several occassions, making Redskins fans jump and scream (or at least I was jumping and screaming in my living room) my team disemboweled those impotent felines.
I actually had the pleasure of meeting Sellers over the summer. He was HUGE! But he also struck me as a very, very nice and approachable human being. So it felt good to see him have a big game.
He was also raving about his good buddy quarterback Jason Campbell and how much he had improved in the off-season. And today, once again Campbell was showing us major hints of NFL maestro he may one day become.
'Skins 34, Lions 3.
All is well.

Battle of the Local Hotties

I came into work today only to find I was at the center of a titanic struggle between foes of primal power and most importantly, unimaginable good looks.

They call it 'Battle of the Media Hotties' and you can vote your choice and decide the winner on DCRTV.com a website specializing in insider gossip that permeates the tv news business, pretty much like everywhere else I would imagine.

They've had six of these 'contests' so far, including Channel 4's Wendy Rieger v. Shawn Yancy of Fox 5, and Channel 7's Alison Starling v. Fox 5's Laura Evans. But now the most unexpected throwdown of all: Me v. Fox Anchorman Brian Bolter.

Here's a look at us both. Bolter is on the lower right.

Okay, so that's not really Bolter, and I'm sure he's a really nice guy and his bio is quite impressive. But so what? Let's be real. This is not about our skills as journalists or communicators. This is all about the superficial. This is bragging rights at the local watering hole. This time---its personal!!

So am I asking for your vote? Heck, yeah!! Strike a blow for bald anchor dudes everywhere!!

But just to be fair, I'll include a real picture of Bolter:

See? No contest. Vote for McGinty. Yay!!