Blogging the Kitchen Sink

They have really thought of everything but the kitchen sink! Or maybe there is one about a kitchen sink. I do know that wherever you go there will be a blog.

In a recent CNN.com article, the Pennsylvania Department of Tourism has created 6 new blogs about traveling to yes you guessed it Pennsylvania! These blogs, written by “real tourists,” are a diary of their vacations within the state. Of course to compensate them for having to write their experiences all of their expenses are paid. The bloggers travel to Gettysburg, go mountain biking, go to a NASCAR race, go out on the town in Pittsburgh, and even milk cows in Amish country.

Now, I am all for freedom of speech, but do you really want to read about someone milking a cow in Amish country?

Now blogs are overwhelmingly becoming apart of politics. Candidates and elected officials are adding blogs to their websites to speak directly to their constituencies. RecentlBarbarara Boxer used blogsuccessfullyly to raise money in a fight against the confirmation of Secretary of State Rice. The Senator, and her legislative team, have mastered how to reach the voters with blogs. This skill will hopefully help her next campaign in the future.

Well I looked it up and there are 383,000 blogs out there that mention the words kitchen sink, I just hope one is not all about the garbage disposal!

And so the Media Bias Continues...

Last night basketball fans across the country cried, unless you live in the state of Great Lakes. The experts did not predict it, the fans did not expect it, but after an emotionally draining series the Detroit Pistons continue to defend their NBA crown with a new title- this year's Eastern Conference Champions!

To the rest of the country the underdogs did it again. To the Piston fans it is just another example of the immense heart that we knew this team has always had. "They don't know that's what we do!" Mitch Albom quoted Rip Hamilton singing after the game. And it is what they do- backing each other up as one team, not letting their success go to their heads, and showing the world that Detroit is not a force that can be reckoned with.

Of course when something good happens in the Motor City the media critics start screaming. Charles Barkley, once basketball star now an NBA commentator, criticized the Pistons throughout the entire series claiming that the Heat were the better team. Now that the Pistons won, you would think he would just congratulate them and move on, but instead he gave a long list of reasons why the Pistons were lucky to have won an "improbable victory."

Sports reporters from across the country began their coverage of last nights game with leads like this, "The Pistons have been bucking the odds for more than two years now. They have been counted out more than a lousy fighter with a glass chin. No matter whom they face, the opponent is also considered the favorite."

ABC who are airing the NBA finals were also disappointed by the win. In their perfect world the Heat would be moving to the finals because a team of superstars makes better TV- and better ratings.

And so the media bias continues...(see my article from Wednesday, June 1)

It seems that it does not matter how many odds they overcome, how many critics they ignore, or how many superstars they beat (and this is the second year in a row they have stopped Shaq), the Pistons may never get the respect that they deserve.

Congratulations to the Eastern Conference Champions the Detroit Pistons! You have once again made Detroit proud!