Too emotionally involved to be unbiased

To most of you, it made no difference that the Carolina Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup. You don’t watch hockey, and probably have no interest in attempting to watch it.
But I watched nearly every game of the Stanley Cup playoffs. I even went to a Hurricanes game earlier this year. I paid for the tickets and everything. I never thought I would be doing that when the team came to North Carolina nine years ago.
I remember being at a meeting of North Carolina sports writers sponsored by the state’s AP bureau shortly after the Hurricanes defected from Hartford, Connecticut. Jim Rutherford, the team’s general manager, addressed the group about what he expected with his team’s new neighbors, and spoke of how the whole region would embrace hockey. I thought he was nuts. Why would anyone bring a hockey team to a region that knows nothing about hockey?
Well, I was very wrong. Rutherford and owner Peter Karmanos knew exactly what they were doing, and have carved out a niche of fans for their lovable little sport.
Compared to other sporting avenues, hockey is a relative bargain. When I went, I spent about $15 a seat, sat in the upper section and had a great view of the action. Try to get into a Carolina Panthers game for 15 bucks. Forget getting a peek at a NASCAR race for those prices. And as far as UNC, N.C. State or Duke basketball, well, most of those tickets can’t be had at any price.
The brain trust behind the ‘Canes need to take a well-earned bow for doing what many — even me — thought was impossible.

My appreciation for the ’Canes makes me glad I am not still in the position of having to cover their games for a newspaper. I am too emotionally involved to be unbiased.
That probably stops me from ever being able to take my dream job — San Diego Padres beat writer. I have been a Padres fan since my dad took us to a game in their first season, back in 1969.
That reminds me of another writer who battled conflict between his sporting loyalties and his duty as a journalist. Lewis Grizzard, the esteemed southern humorist, was a columnist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was a lifelong adoring fan of the University of Georgia. On one of his many sports-related assignments, Grizzard attended the annual Georgia-Georgia Tech football game. When it was all said and done, the Yellow Jackets had beaten Grizzard’s beloved ‘Dawgs.
The best I can remember, this is what Grizzard wrote in his column: “Frankly, I don’t want to talk about it.” The rest of the column was blank.
I don’t know if Grizzard ever got in trouble for that. I know his talent often got him out of spots like that. I also know that it was that kind of passion for his subject that made him one of the most readable authors of his generation.

I have discovered a strain of reader reaction that I did not know existed until recently.
We at the News Leader try very hard to be receptive to our readers, and we care very much how they feel about the things we are doing.
I heard a reader who had stopped by the new office talking to one of our employees, and he mentioned that he did not care for our tabloid-look front page.
“I don’t like it much,” he said. “But if everybody else is O.K. with it, I reckon I can stand it.”
That’s an interesting take on the yes-or-no mentality of most queries. Instead of being entrenched in his own ideals, he decided that if the paper is acceptable to most of the readers as it was, he would adjust to it, even if he did not particularly care for it.
His willingness to bend to the majority opinion was refreshing, even if it was on a seemingly insignificant matter (the front page is certainly not insignificant to us, but I am betting that your lives do not turn on which direction our cover shot is pointed).
What a world this could be if we took the same approach to more serious social disagreements.
Imagine if U.S. Senate minority leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, came to the microphone in the Senate and said, “You know, I just hate how the President is handling the problem of poverty in this country. But poverty seems to be getting a little better, and the American people have no real problem with how it’s getting done, so I guess it isn’t the end of the world if he doesn’t do it the way I would like.”
A baseball manager comes out of the dugout after his player is called on a called third strike and tells the umpire, “Hey Augie, I really think you blew that call. But you were standing right back here, and I was way over in the dugout, so I could be wrong. It’s not like we are going to lose on that one call. I’ll go along with it, but just so you know, O.K.?”
A motorist pulls up to the gas station and fills up his SUV at $3.79 a gallon. He goes into the store and says to the clerk, “I am sure that all that high cost of gas is not just to offset the high price of crude oil. In fact, I believe someone at this company is grossly profiting at the expense of the motoring public. But you’re making $6 an hour, so why should I grouse to you? And there are six guys behind me waiting to pay after filling up, as well. I guess we get what we deserve.”
Hey, it could happen.

By the way, Rosewood native and Cincinnati Reds manager Jerry Narron has added to his resume. Already able to call himself a major league player, coach and manager, he can now add All-Star coach.
Houston manager Phil Garner picked Narron as one of two current managers on his all-star coaching roster for the July Classic. It’s quite an accolade for Jerry. His son Connor will also go to the All-Star game with his dad. Jerry will be honored to represent the National League in Pittsburgh.
Jerry has not been getting the press he deserves for the Reds’ improved start this season, although he would be the last one to take credit. A new owner has brought a new aggressiveness to the team, and a new general manager has already made shrewd trades that have improved the club. But it has been Narron who has made the moves on the field and in the dugout, balancing a lot of talent and egos with a deft touch to keep the Reds in contention all season long.
By season’s end, no matter where the Reds end up, the new owner and GM will decide on Jerry’s fate as manager. He’s earned another contract, but Jerry has been around baseball long enough to know nothing is guaranteed. He will go on doing what he does, and face the off-season — and whatever comes with it — when it arrives.
Here’s hoping the Reds hold onto him. But if not, Jerry’s reputation and experience will certainly land him another job. If Bobby Cox decides to give up managing the Braves after Atlanta’s slumping season, perhaps we could see Jerry on TBS in the future.