Sports Writer -- The (Grants Pass, Ore.) Daily Courier

Folks, I'm the outgoing writer and would be happy to pass along any information regarding the position.

I've held my position at the Courier for a bit more than 2 1/2 years after bouncing around in Michigan, Oklahoma and Texas. I'd find it hard to believe there's a finer area in the country to live in outside of the Rogue Valley, and whoever said Grants Pass is a "not a real good place to live" is full of it. Maybe it's not for everyone, but I'm voluntarily settling down here for a long haul with my new wife.

The Rogue and Illinois rivers are out of this world. Great rafting and some of the nicest swimming holes imagineable. Pristine. (I grew up near the Detroit River, so I never knew one actually could swim in rivers.)

You won't have the typical PNW climate here. The spring, summer and fall are extraordinary, and the people -- non-meth category -- are wonderful. Grants Pass certainly is no metropolis, but the city has just about everything, and if you need more, Medford is 20-25 minutes away. My wife is from the city (Detroit and Phoenix), so it took her a little time to adjust when she moved, but once you learn the lay of the land, you'll find everything you need.

Southern Oregon is an absolute gem of a location. The beauty of it strikes me every single day, on every drive, and the mountains are a spectacular back drop for games.

As far as the job, there is very little youth sports coverage. Pretty much all varsity with a handful of non-varsity nuggets during the course of a year. We've done a good job "training" the coaches, so they know what we need and when we need it.

I haven't improved so much under one boss since I left my prep stringer post at the Detroit News when I was in college. Lance can and will make you better, even if you already are the best, as I was.

Lance also is a boss who understands a person can't work seven-day shifts. He'll give you time to recharge, and the guy is a fantastic cook. You'll have freedom to pursue YOUR story angles, even if it involves writing about the ridiculousness of calling a football game "The Civil War."

You'll earn a liveable wage, especially considering half the shit/salaries you must put up with at 90 percent of the job listings on this board. Assuming you stay meth-free, you should be able to live in a decent area and SAVE MONEY, all without using Geico. Crimes typically don't get much worse than burglaries and domestic abuse, neither of which is OK, but arguably better than murders and rapes.

I can promise you that you can do a hell of a lot worse than the Daily Courier.

 

It's not city living my any means, but if you like suburbia this is a great spot. Medford will have many of the things you'd expect in a mid-range city...but you are isolated from big-city living if that's your thing.

Weather-wise think California over Oregon...Southern Oregon gets hot, hot, hot in the summer and plenty of dry days in that part of the state.

 

As an Oregon native, just that sentence had me boiling. That said, I bet it was a helluva story (column?).

 

Well, it was a column, Harry. I like to pretend I'm a better writer these days. This was written about a month after I moved to GP in 2008. And since you asked (sort of, anyway ... I'm an attention whore), here it is.


Until recently, I could count the number of concepts, comedians and commodities - racism, Carlos Mencia and mayonnaise - by which I was appalled on three fingers.

Then, I moved to Oregon and discovered the list-topper: The absurdly-titled "Civil War."

So, let me get this straight. Organizers of a football game featuring two institutions of higher education decided it's a good idea to refer to their contest in the same light as a bloody, nation-changing, slavery-ending war?

Really?

Sorry, but no sport should ever metaphorically or symbolically be tied with "war," "battle" or any other reference in which people, you know, actually died.

I cringe when athletes and coaches say things such as, "It was a war out there tonight," or, "It looked like a battlefield."

Uh, no it wasn't. And, really, I swear it didn't.

I could be mistaken, but I've never seen any land mines, rocket launchers, battle axes or strategic air strikes during a football game. (For the record, don't send me an e-mail saying, "Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli's touchdown pass to Ed Dickson sure looked like a strategic air strike to me. LOL." If you do, I'll send your name, e-mail address and a glowing recommendation to that Nigerian prince who continually offers can't-miss financial opportunities.)

Be clear on one thing: It's easier understand Stephen Hawking's black hole theory than it is to offend me. I'm so politically uncorrect, I make up words so I don't have to conform to the more popular "politically incorrect."

University of Oregon and Oregon State University, however, managed to shock a shocker with such a poor choice of words. If the universities in this state are OK with calling a football game the "Civil War," what's next, referring to study halls as concentration camps?

Even Texas and Oklahoma changed the Red River Shootout to the Red River Rivalry. Are you telling me those states - I've lived in both - are more progressive and understanding than Oregon? If so, yikes.

This isn't about whether or not you agree with war, imperialism or freedom. It's about compassion and humanity. Why on earth is it acceptable to trivialize the lives of others for no apparent reason?

I completely understand the importance of rivalries. I grew up with Michigan-Ohio State and then lived 10 minutes from the Red River on both state lines.

I know how college football players act, and I realize how fans love to rally behind their teams.

That's no excuse.

Maybe I'm just bitter because I watched my Detroit Lions blow a first-round draft pick on former Ducks' star Joey Harrington.

Maybe I'm just an oversensitive crybaby.

Either way, I've been called worse, but I'm still certainly abhorred by the example the universities in this state have set and would love to see them show a little compassion and reasonability, starting with renaming their rivalry game.

Anything less would be uncivilized.

o o o

Daily Courier sports writer Larry Cathey can be reached at lcathey@gmail.com.

 

North Monterey County Condors or Hollister Haybalers. Grants Pass is a big wrestling area.

 

I stand by the Tillamook Cheesemakers, followed closely by the Lakeview Honkers.

Those are both schools you might see if you take this job.

Thanks for sharing, Larry. Certainly an outsiders' perspective, one that I suspect riled a ton of feathers, one I had never thought of.

And, flexmaster, calling Grants Pass suburbia is like calling mayonnaise a side dish.

 

You, sir, are Good and Right and True. I salute you.

 

No thread on high school nicknames is complete without a mention of the Yuma, Ariz., High Criminals.

 

Criminals is tough to top, but Live Oak Acorns and Mercy-San Francisco Skippers deserve a mention.

 

Here's one I bet nobody's heard....In Horicon, Wis., where I grew up, the high school nickname was The Marshmen. The logo was a burly man in waiters standing in the marsh with cattails shooting up behind him.

 

The Beaver (UT) Beavers.

 

Camas (WA) Papermakers.