Forgot to Build the Ark

Hmmm...while dealing with water emergencies at work, I left DH to deal with our basement. I just wanted to say that spring cleaning should be easy this year - rent dumpster, remove contents of basement due to water damage, toss into dumpster. Not his fault though - he checked repeatedly, but the water level rose faster than our poor little old pump could handle. Overnight it went from a couple inches in the lower part of the basement to water in all of the basement. The tools seem to be okay, and I can't honestly tell you what else was in the basement, so I expect that it's all good.

I was watching ESPN last night and they were apparently interviewing coaches and players at Virginia Tech regarding the shooting yesterday. I have mixed feelings about having a sports channel be one of my sources of information on the shootings (don't worry, the other sources are CNN and CBS), but considering the amount of time I spend listening to scores and insights it's bound to happen. This raises the question - are sports reporters really qualified (and really, what are the qualifications?) to cover this type of story? Is their perspective valuable, or does it make a mockery of a serious incident? I cringed when ESPN News announced that it was believed that all of the football and basketball players were accounted for. I love sports, but doesn't that sound like they're putting more value on the lives of the players than the rest of the college community? The story should not be who wasn't hurt; it should be about the tragedy of lives lost before their full potential could be recognized. On my way to work this morning ESPN was ham-handedly discussing whether or not they should be covering the story at all. Self-evaluation and introspection cne be beautiful tools, but this morning the broadcast seemed self-serving and ignorant. I'm sorry to have reached my desk prior Mike & Mike. I'm reasonably confident that Greenie and Golic could cover the topic without making me want to put my foot through the radio. (Don't worry, DH was driving so this would not have created a hazard for other drivers.) I don't think that all sports reporters lack the ability to cover serious stories - I'll never forget Al Michaels covering the California earthquakes, and how many years have passed?

I have to go back to work now, but I'm likely to stay with this topic for a bit. It hits close to home or, rather, close to work.