Beware of flying Hockey Cliches

The Phoenix Coyotes and the National Hockey League are headed to court - that means we can count on lots of "legal face-off" puns, I'm certain.

The crux of the issue is a team that's financially strapped, tired of the Valley of the Fickle Fan (um, I mean, Sun), tired of never having home games because Valley residents from other places root for their old teams, tired of playing in an inconveniently located venue and eager to move to Canada.

Frankly, the franchise belongs in Canada. Remember, it used to be the Winnipeg Jets.

As much as I love hockey, the Coyotes have never captivated me. The Coyotes, like the Jets before then, always seemed like a chintzy, low-ball organization. I'd have rather waited a few more years and gotten an expansion franchise with no baggage and dirt laundry.

Adding to the already formidable burdens, the Coyotes ticket prices were never all that great a value. Of course, I say the same about all major-league pro sports. I wouldn't mind a total collapse of the sports-industrial complex, frankly. Let them charge reasonable ticket prices and pay players reasonable salaries, thanks.

I can slake my hockey thirst by watching the minor-league Phoenix Roadrunners. They just happen to have a convenient downtown venue, and I can take the light rail there. And tickets are affordable! I'll take that, thanks.

Back to the court battle, I suppose it would be Murphy's Luck if the Coyotes pick now to start a winning streak they couldn't manage on the ice ...

Virgin America Gets Absinthe-Minded

I wrote a post for my travel blog about my reactions to Virgin America's announcement that it will start serving absinthe aloft. Check it out!

Fancy firehouses?

Over the last 10 years or so, I've noticed a trend: Firehouses are getting more opulent.

The one on Tatum Boulevard in Paradise Valley looks like a resort. And Phoenix is no stranger to fancy firehouses: Just drive by the fairly new stations on 32nd south of Indian School, and Indian School near 20th Street.

I am definitely in favor of providing good equipment to our firefighters. What I don't like is excessive funds being devoted to make "pretty" fire stations. Really, they should all be standardized as possible to reduce design costs.

It would be really interesting to see the going rate for a fire station these days.

What Happens When Political Parties Die?

Right now, there's plenty of speculation about whether the Republican Party is dying. Arlen Spector's defection is the latest talking point.

Rather than such speculation, I'd rather see a non-partisan analysis of the last time a major American political party ceased to exist, or changed to the point of requiring a new name. This has happened before, and will happen again. But will it be the Republicans any time soon?

I'm honestly not equipped for this task, but someone who is should seriously consider it.

5 Observations on the News

1. Newspapers need to stop using the word "probe" in headlines, unless they're deliberately trying to be funny.

2. Bats are cool. Why would anyone want to shoot dozens of them?

A. John D'Anna used to be pretty high up on the newsroom food chain at The Arizona Republic - and a pretty decent character. Odd to see him doing quicky stories like this.

3. I usually agree with Robrt Pela, and often enjoy his opinions on local architecture. But not this time. SkySong is pretty cool and futuristic, especially at night.

4. Octomom wants to trademark her nickname. Well, she doesn't have right of first use. She didn't coin the phrase. I hope whoever did concoct it snares it out from under her.

5. You wouldn't like him when he's angry. FC Porto attacker Hulk carries on the Brazilan tradition of awesome nicknames. I am hoping for one named Bruce Campbell Suarez de la Sousa.

Hold on to Your Rights

I just happened across a blog by a former Arizona Republic reporter, Carlos Miller, who was arrested for taking photos of a police arrest in a public setting.

What scares me is not so much his arrest, but some of the comments in the "About" section of his blog. It astounds me that people can be so casual to mail in their First Amendment rights - or those of others.

When I covered the cops beat, I did not go with the assumption that police were always the bad guys - or even that they were most of the time. I proceeded under the belief that they're everyday people doing a difficult jobs - that the stress could make them do the wrong thing, as could the possibility that they were the bad seeds that got through the screening process. No matter what, though, peace officers need to be held accountable.

Well-trained, principled and experienced journalists are essential in maintaining that accountability. I believe Carlos Miller falls well into that definition - I've seen his work, and I think he acted properly if his account his accurate.

Some of the comments insist that, though he was right, he should have backed down.

I can't believe the cowardice. Carlos chose the hard road, no doubt. He weighed his actions and decided, having determined what he was willing to lose and endure to do what he felt was right. These are the moments that set precedent, and let government entities know that people will stand up when they go to far.

By the way, a jury found him not guilty of disobeying a police officer and disorderly conduct. He is appealing the conviction of resisting arrest without violence. Notice how none of these had anything to do with being photographed in a public area? I hope that speaks volumes to those who think it's not a person's right to take photos in a public area, regardless of the wishes of those being photographed - especially when they are funded by your tax dollars.

You bet your pointy black hat, Joe

Sheriff Joe Arpaio: Immigration Hearings "a Witch Hunt"

I hope every Wiccan out there resents this.

Ized to Death

You know what I keep noticing in corporate communications?

First, nobody can use the word "comprise" correctly. Not once have I ever seen it used correctly in anything someone has asked me to edit.

Second, nobody can use anything anymore. It's forbidden. We must all "leverage" and "utilize."

Third -and this just means it's the third I'm going to rant about today, not that these are the only three things driving me nuts- and last is that everybody loves acronyms. Well, except editors. Why oh why oh why?!

Pay no attention to the missile behind the curtain ...

This afternoon, I made a visit to azcentral.com. I immediately knew that underprivileged girls were getting prom dresses.

But I needed a few visits to other news sites to find out that:

-North Korea is threatening war against Japan should Japan have the temerity to shoot down a North Korean missile that enters its air space.
-North Korea is also planning to either send two American journalists to hard prison labor on trumped-up charges, or use them as bargaining leverage against the United States.

Womens Pro Soccer - A Rare Time When "Kickoff" Applies

"Kickoff" is high on my list of overused words. Nearly every single thing is a "kickoff" of some kind - a grand opening, the first day of some marketing campaign, the beginning of a sale on Chevy Novas. What, is "beginning" a dirty word?

But hey, there are times when something really is a kickoff! I give you the impending kickoff of Women's Professional Soccer. This is a great thing, and I'm not the only one who thinks so. In my travel blog, I've outlined the reasons I'm happy that women again have a professional soccer league in the United States.

For now, though, just a few messages. One, two the word warriors out there - stop saying kickoff when you're not talking about sports. And to the Women's Professional Soccer players - best of luck to you all!

Say what you want - as long as I agree

There's something interesting going on at the Facebook Web site: A group called Soldiers Are Not Heroes has sparked quite a backlash. An acquaintance recently sent me invitation to join the group. I did not join, because I join very, very few groups.

Some of the "Soldier Are Not Heroes" group's messages are somewhat extreme, but it claims not to be anti-soldier. It purports to be simply against the hero worship of soldiers. That's fair enough - however, the group's language is filled with mixed messages.

The group's opponents - and there are many - claim not to be anti-free speech. One even writes "Although people are entitled to their opinions, there are ways in which they should be made public and that group is not the right way to do so!" Yet their goal is to pressure Facebook to remove the page, and they don't specify the correct way to air one's opinions.

I can see an interesting legal battle brewing should Facebook cave in.

The opponents' claims that they believe in free speech ring hollow, even more so than the group's claims not be anti-soldier. My call? A line often attributed to Voltaire, though it's not clear he actually wrote it:

"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."

I'm Really Not This Grumpy ... Honestly!

I'm pretty excited about the Arizona Cardinals getting so deep into the playoffs. We're talking two wins from a Super Bowl! And I'm not ever a football fan ... I don't know 99.8 percent of these players. But I am a relentless hometown sports supporter. I want all our teams to do well, whether they play badminton or basketball.

But The Arizona Republic is really overdoing it. Too much Cardinals coverage on A-1. We're a huge city. We have so many problems, so many opportunities, so many characters. I know this from being a news reporter. It's a fact.

But it takes work to dig into those problems, opportunities and characters. And it takes skill to make the readers understand that they are important. Great newspaper leaders give their staff members the time and skill to do so. I'd love to see The Republic take that approach ... I want that paper to be great, because I root for everything in my hometown - not just the sports teams.

You're boring ... take your lumps and like it!

I knew when Forbes came out with its "Boring Cities" list that local cities so "honored" would snivel about it, along with some of the chicken-dinner rah-rah pundits.

And sure enough, my former Tribune colleague Gary Nelson came charging in to rescue those cities from being labeled boring. He did a bang-up job with Mesa, especially:

"Nuh,uh! Mesa's not boring!" Gary fired back. "It has a new $100 million art center! And it has the factory where Apaches are made! And professional athletes live there!"

Well, that sure showed that uppity Forbes writer. I know that when bobsled jousting, being a human cannonball and skydiving from the B2 have become dull for me, Mesa is where I go. Nothing screams heart-pounding excitement like a good art center. The adrenaline rush of seeing a building inside which Apache helicopters being built is simply unparalleled. Oh, and spotting a pro athlete's house? You will feel endorphins surge from your toes to the very tips of your hair follicles.

Well done, old bean.

Props to Coyotes Coverage

Ever since the Coyotes first started playing here in Phoenix, I've always relied on the newspaper for hockey coverage. At first, that was because I was a funds-impaired college student, then a funds-impaired writer.

By the time I was in a position to start spluring for tickets more, they moved to Glendale. Not the brightest move ever, boys.

Anyway, I've watched The Arizona Republic go through several Coyotes beat writers. First was Bob McMananam. That was a dark time for me. Not only did he not ever seem to really understand or even like hockey, but his writing was brimming with that self-importance and bloat that afflicts many sports writers.

Next came David Vest. A genuinely good hockey reporter - he seemed to know the game well, and worked hard to deliver quality reporting. And he was a lot more down-to-earth than a lot of sports reporters.

Just like that, David seemed to disappear and get replaced by Jim Gintonio. I have to say Jim has also done a really solid job with covering the Coyotes. Both his regular print stories and his blogs regularly give a hockey fan some fun and interesting tidbits. Like David, he comes across as a guy who likes his sports, but doesn't act as if analyzing a trade takes on the same importance as a summit on nuclear weapons proliferation.