Story concepts that need to die

No. But, as a person living in an area with unbearable rush-hour traffic, I tune in to see if I need to adjust my route to work in the morning.

Not that uncommon, I'm sure.

 

re: 20... hasn't rick reilly done this a bunch?

 

The one that drives me nuts: Athlete who used to do [fill in bad thing] has turned his life around and is an inspiration to others now. I'd love, though, to see the follow-up when it turns out the turnaround is short-lived.

 

1. No, the person in the car isn't watching, but if you're about to leave the house, you know an area to avoid. Or, if you're expecting someone, you know they might not arrive for a while.

2. I actually had a couple of battery-powered portable TVs. They were rendered useless by the switch to digital, though. I suspect a new line of them will be coming out, and people will buy them.

 

Here's another one: Parent sends you link to out-of-town newspaper and their coverage of an all-star tournament with the note "would be nice to see stories like this in our paper."

Well, let's see ... did anyone from the league give us a call a week or so before the tournament give me a call or an e-mail letting me know it was coming up? Or did they just "forget" until an hour or two before the opening pitch, then expect us to drop everything and go out? If a team is going out of town, offer to call instead of wondering why we're not going (well, let's see, it's a three-hour drive each way and my travel budget is severely cramped).

 

My favorite is the parent of a horse-rider who talks about all the hard work the girls put in. I suspect they are not the ones sweating at the end.

 

You wouldn't have awards if that story concept died.

 

You mean like ESPN's recent piece on Charles Rogers?

 

Not a TV guy, but if power's out in my region and I am lucky enough to have it, I oughta know what areas *are* out, so I can avoid going there or go check on my relatives. Some folks will still have power. Also, might help me make a decision on trying to get to work, especially if work cannot get ahold of me.

As far as traffic goes, I agree with the previous poster. I know that if I am driving down to Albany, I will check the traffic reports first.

 

Outing alert: Ace is John Doe in Seven!

 

You can take the most tired, overdone story concept and someone who's good (Posnanski? Ratto?) can turn it into something memorable.

You can give a hack a great idea and he'll turn into crap.