j. Thanks, Ohio University, for the invitation to talk to a hall full of sports and non-sports journalism hopefuls Friday night. Always great to be back on the campus where I spent four happy and profitable and educational years—and met the woman of my dreams.
k. Walking up one side of Court Street, walking down the other side. Walking on College Green. What a time warp. Other than the Bagel Buggy being gone from the heart of town late on a Friday night, not much has changed in the last 40 years, since winter quarter of my junior year.
l. Coffeenerdness: How I knew I was in a college town early Saturday: I had to leave Athens about 7:15 a.m. for the 65-mile drive to Columbus to catch my plane home, and I wanted to get a coffee before driving 70 miles to the airport. The three coffee shops downtown weren’t open yet. Two of them opened at 8.
m. Beernerdness: Very cool brew pub in uptown Athens that wasn’t there the last time I was: Jackie O’s, right next to my old bar, the Union. Great to see it crowded with townies and students alike Friday afternoon and evening, and great to be able to share a beer with some of the students from The Post, our venerable student paper, and then a drink with some of the organizers of the journalism weekend. It’s been a long time since I saw one of my old buddies from the Cincinnati Enquirer, Justice B. Hill, who’s on the front lines at Ohio U., teaching writing and reporting the way it has to be taught. Really enjoyed the whole scene.
"All my inside sources tell me I have no inside sources." Salvatore "money bucks" Mafiosiano.
Got the chance to attend Peter King's speech and it was awe inspiring. He shared many stories, including a few on how he built a relationship with Bill Parcells and an interview with Tom Brady after last year's Super Bowl comeback.
Also, getting to drink a few Razz Wheats & a Ricky or two with him was something out of a student journalist's dream.
Our APSE President and fellow Ohio Bobcats beat writer Pete Nakos did a helluva job organizing the Bob Moran Symposium for us student journos, including bringing in other students from Ohio schools to network.