Lindsay's come back to me

Ok, I'll admit it, I had a crush on Lindsay Whalen as I watched her lead the Gophers to the Final Four while I was at KU. It didn't have much to do with her looks. She's cute, but I don't think I'd look twice if I saw her on the street. On the court, though, she's mesmerizing.

Now that Whalen's coming back to Minnesota, consider me one of the thousands who are suddenly taking an interest in the Lynx again. She's everything that's great about women's basketball. I don't care how many times Candace Parker and Brittney Griner dunk, the women are never going to compete with the men when it comes to playing above the rim. But that doesn't mean women's basketball isn't entertaining. In fact, often times the women play with fundamentals and teamwork that are much more what Dr. Naismith had in mind.

Whalen's not super athletic, but she's got the right mix of fundamentals and flair. She can shoot the 3, she can handle with either hand and cross over behind her back or between her legs with ease and her passing and ball fakes make defenders look silly. She's just got that rhythm, that feel for the game that is hard to quantify, but very exciting to watch. The best way to describe it is probably that she knows what's going to happen before it happens.

The Lynx gave a lot to get her — a No. 1 pick and another talented point guard, Renee Montgomery, who's substantially younger. But it's still a no-brainer. Whalen's going to up attendance probably by 50 percent or more. And I might be one of those in the stands some nights.

Thoughts on other sports news:

Gilbert Arenas (and Javaris Crittendon, for that matter): I'm sick of the whole "gangsta gun culture." Guns aren't "cool," and they're not toys. They're tools and very dangerous ones at that. They need to be treated with the utmost respect. He should have his contract torn up, he should never be able to buy another gun as long as he lives and if he has to spend a few months in prison, that wouldn't bother me.

Mark McGwire: He used steroids. Duh. Leave him and the other retired 'roiders out of the Hall of Fame since that's the only punishment we can really mete out at this point.

Vikings vs. Cowboys: Cowboys are arguably the hottest team in the NFL, but the Vikes have had two weeks to get healthy and prepare and are very tough at home. Plus the Vikings haven't gotten people's hopes up enough to totally break their hearts yet. Prediction: Vikings 28, Cowboys 21

2009 Christmas Letter (Part 3 — finale)

Since moving back home it has been nice seeing more of Mom, Dad and Grandma, but I plan to move out and move on this summer. I am applying to grad schools (right now my favorites are Northwestern, Columbia and Maryland) and weighing some other options. If conditions ever improve in the newspaper biz there may be full-time work at the Times and there's also the possibility I could have a book published.

Oh, I didn't mention that? That's right, the book, the infamous "Meningitis Memoir" (not the working title) is in its last throes. It is now about 128 pages in single-spaced, 10-point font and I'm thinking that is about enough. Only two more challenges lie ahead: finding someone who will publish it, and then, if I should be so lucky, finding the emotional strength to release this intensely personal work into the hands of the public.

So, if all goes well, perhaps at this point next year there will be a book out with my name on it, just in time for the holidays ("Makes a great gift!"). If I sell any, another international trip may be in my future. After all, that Swiss girl is still out there somewhere.

God bless us, everyone,
Andy

2009 Christmas Letter (Part 2)

After returning from Europe I sent out applications for the three or four newspaper jobs that were open across the country (OK, that's an exaggeration. But only a slight one). Finding no takers, I decided to take the opportunity to give back to my hometown. I left Kansas and signed up for the Minnesota Reading Corps, an AmeriCorps program that places reading tutors in schools across the state. Since August I have been at Madison Elementary in St. Cloud, tutoring 17 kids in grades K-3, 20 minutes per kid, five days a week. It has been tiring, but rewarding. Seems like every day the kids say things that are alternately touching, hilarious and heartbreaking. I have bonded with many of them and it will be tough to leave when my year of service is up.

Upon returning home I also received a call from the the St. Cloud Times, which was looking for some part-time staff. Since September I have been working three nights a week there. I mostly take calls from high school coaches and write briefs, but I've been able to do a few full sports stories and have also found myself becoming the receptacle for all the news stories no one else wants ("Find a local angle on the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall coming down? Sure, I'll take a stab at it"). In short order I went from working 0 hours a week to about 60. I'm still making less money than I was in Olathe, but I feel very productive.

Because of my limited income, I felt it prudent to move back in with Mom and Dad when I returned to St. Cloud. So far the move has been pretty seamless for all the humans involved. Baxter, however, does not get along with their dog, George. George likes to romp and play, which tends to interfere with Baxter's extensive sleep schedule. He is becoming a grumpy old man.

(To be continued... again)

2009 Christmas Letter (Part 1)

Dear friends and family,

This second annual Andy Marso Christmas letter finds your protagonist at the end of a year full of changes. As you can see from one of the enclosed photos, I now have a second adorable niece (although the chilly Milwaukee weather ensured that you can't see too much of her). Elizabeth was born in September and she and her older sister Ellie get along wonderfully so far. Ellie is three years old now and is a little chatterbox. Elizabeth is a quiet, serene baby. It's a nice mix.

The other big changes started in March when I was laid off along with most of the rest of the staff of The Olathe News. Not sure exactly what the impetus was. Something about the "worst economic collapse since the Great Depression" coupled with the "demise of the newspaper industry as we know it," or some such thing. Losing my job was not a surprise (it was the third round of lay-offs in a year), but it was disappointing. It was a job that never felt like work and I had grown close to many of my co-workers.

But one thing my battle with meningitis has taught me is that you have to be willing to embrace life's detours and see where they lead. This particular detour took me first to Europe, which was easy to embrace. I used a portion of my severance pay and my suddenly-ample free time to visit friends in Germany, Italy and France, with a solo trip to Switzerland in between. For those of you wondering about my health, I took about a 10K hike through the Alps (see other enclosed photo), so I guess I'm doing alright.

It was my first trip to the Old Country since college and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I had just one regret, and it brings me to a bit of advice for any single, male readers: If while on a train you strike up a conversation with an attractive Swiss girl who says she is on her way home to Zurich, do NOT be honest with her and say you're headed to Lucerne. Instead say, "What a coincidence, I'm going to Zurich too! And I could sure use a tour guide." (These great ideas always come to me well after the fact).

(To be continued)

Questions entertainment news should be answering

The Tiger Woods Saga has proved once again that TMZ and E! have so much more reporting resources at their disposal than their topics of coverage merit. My take on Tiger? Yes, what he did was despicable, but it was not shocking. Rather than telling me who the latest floozy who says she slept with him is, I'd like to have TMZ or E! answer these questions:

1. What ever happened to Lark Voorhies (Lisa Turtle) from Saved by the Bell? Everyone else from the show, even Dustin Diamond, has at least gotten a little TV time since it ended. She just seemed to disappear.

2. Why did they wait until Ralph Macchio was like 35 to make Karate "Kid" III? And, given all that time between sequels, how could they not have come up with a better script?

3. How in the world is there enough material to have an entire TV series called "I didn't know I was pregnant?" Ladies, how has the "I thought I was just constipated until a baby fell in the toilet" scenario played out more than once or twice in human history?

4. On average, how many times a day does Hugh Hefner have a "senior moment" and call one blond house-bimbo by another blond house-bimbo's name?

5. If Steven Seagal makes an arrest on his new reality show, "Lawman," is it actually legally binding?

6. Does Chris Tucker just jet around the globe until he runs out of money and then make another "Rush Hour" movie? And if so, how can I get that gig?

7. Has anyone ever gotten more mileage out of knocking up a high school girl than Levi Johnston?

8. How's Phil Mickelson's wife doing in her cancer fight?

The Thankful blog (a few days late)

In honor of Thanksgiving, a few things I'm thankful for (while trying not to duplicate too many of the things I was thankful in this summer's blog):

1. Adorable nieces: Ellie is about 3 and a half now and she knows all her alphabet, can count to 10 and loves to sing and dance. Elizabeth is only 3 months, but she is an incredibly smiley, happy baby, which is about the most you can ask for at that age.





2. College campuses on Lake Michigan: Northwestern University has a pretty good recruiting tool. I don't know if I can see myself going there for grad school yet, but I sure enjoy imagining this beach full of college girls on a summer day.



3. Minnesota friends: The last five months since I moved have been better than I thought they'd be in terms of social life. It's pretty nice to just fall back in with a group of friends as if you'd never left.

4. Kansas City: Winter break can't come fast enough. I miss so many people down there and can't wait to go to Oklahoma Joe's, watch college basketball (KU and MidAmerica) and enjoy the relatively warm (as in, not below zero) climate. New Year's will be a blast.

5. Walking around a big city: It was amazing just to be able to walk around Chicago, get on and off the El, look at all the different shops and restaurants and just basically enjoy being mobile and independent. Appreciate your health every day. It's such a gift.

Addendum (one more thing I'm thankful for):
The approaching end of the college football season. Gophers + Jayhawks = Yikes. C'mon guys, give me something worth watching next year, please.

My experience with Mark Mangino

All of a sudden the media consensus seems to be that KU football coach Mark Mangino is a jerk and an asshole. With Mangino allegedly under investigation for poking a player in the chest recently, the Lawrence Journal-World has run what seems like an article a day dredging up all of Mangino's less-than-friendly-deeds. There was the time five years ago when he cussed out a referee at his son's high school football game, the time two years ago when he cussed out a parking attendant who gave him a ticket on campus and the time four years ago when he accused the officials of favoring Texas after a game. And interviews with several former players who say Mangino was too hard on them.

The timing just seems a bit odd. For several years, as Mangino led KU to one bowl game after another, the local media basically did nothing but sing his praises, even as many of these incidents occurred. Now, with KU on a five-game losing streak, the local paper is busy letting everyone know that this finger poke was just the latest in a series of events that suggests Mangino was a jerk all along.

Taken on a case-by-case basis, the evidence is somewhat flimsy:

1. Yes, he was wrong to scream at the officials at his son's game. He's supposed to set a better example and be a better ambassador for KU. But if yelling at the refs at your kid's HS game is the standard for jerkhood, then I have encountered a few thousand jerks in my five years of covering high school sports. It's unfortunate, but it happens all the time. At least Mangino apologized later. Most parents don't.

2. As far as the parking attendant incident, again, he was out of line, but again, he wasn't out of the ordinary. Many students don't make it through four years at KU without getting into at least one yelling match with the parking department. They're commonly called the "parking Nazis," for Pete's sake. Again, the situation was "resolved internally," which to me suggests that Mangino apologized, and possibly gave the attendant some free football gear. Again, if this is the standard for jerkhood, then there are hundreds of jerks walking free on the KU campus right now.

3. Mangino criticized the Big 12 officials for a terrible call after the Texas game, and he actually was relatively calm about it. There was no screaming, there was no swearing. He just said, "You know what that call was about: BCS. That's right, dollar signs." I don't agree with him. I don't think the refs were really trying to make sure that Texas got into a BCS bowl to make more money for the conference. But I do think they were a bit blinded by the burnt orange of the Texas jersey and the tradition that comes with it and gave the Longhorns an incredibly generous call that cost KU the game. And when Mangino said what he did at the post-game press conference I -- and I would guess a lot of other KU fans -- yelled, "Right on!"

4. As for the criticism of former players, I don't think you could find a Div. I coach who was loved by all the players he ever coached. There's over 100 players every year that's he's responsible for on and off the field -- over 100 testosterone-soaked young men who have been taught that hitting people is a virtue. I don't condone verbal or physical abuse, but you have to have a bit of a heavy hand to keep order in that situation. Not everybody is going to appreciate that.

Again, taken one-by-one, these incidents don't seem like much. But lumped together, as they have been in the Journal-World, they paint a picture of an overbearing asshole with a hair-trigger temper and no consideration for other people. My one experience with Mangino was quite different.

Much of the media attention about my battle with meningitis focused on my four-month stay in the hospital. But the months afterward were difficult too. I was confined to a wheelchair, still depending on my parents and brothers to help me with everyday tasks like showering and using the bathroom. I was still coming to terms with being a quadruple amputee and, with my mobility severely limited, fighting extreme boredom.

During this difficult time in my life, Mangino called my parents and invited me to come by his office and chat for awhile. He didn't know me, but he'd read the newspaper reports and knew that I was a sports fan/low-level sports writer. So my younger brother drove me to Lawrence one day and then pushed my chair into the elevator and up to Mangino's office. Once there the coach gave me that year's media guide and a nice polo shirt, just like the ones the coaches wear (actually I think it might have been out of Mangino's personal closet -- it was way too big for me). Those things were nice, but as far as I was concerned, the best thing he gave me was time. Mangino spent nearly an hour talking to me and Dan, chatting about the upcoming season, how the team was still struggling, but he saw signs of things turning around, what he thought of some of the other teams in the Big 12, etc. We also talked some about his family, including his daughter, who was a fellow KU journalism grad.

Mangino was friendly, forthcoming and jovial. I don't remember him using a single curse word. Maybe it was just cause he was talking to a kid in a wheelchair who had just lost most of his fingers and toes. Even so, he wasn't getting anything out of it. There was no press release about our visit and the Journal-World didn't report on it. It was just me, him and my brother, talking football. It was a welcome distraction from the difficulties I was going through in my daily life.

Mangino is a complicated human being, like most human beings are. Does that one hour I spent with him paint a complete picture of the type of person he truly is? Probably not. But neither does putting together every nasty thing he's done in the past five years in one newspaper article.