Blog bash, Day 1

Today we highlight a few preferred posts of Joel Hammond, a fellow Bowling Green grad who recently started his own blog.
Like yours truly, Joel did just about everything a sportswriter could do at The BG News, the student newspaper of our hallowed alma mater. He was a dutiful foot soldier, a respected sports editor, page designer, columnist and is now making it in the outside world at a paper in Greenville, S.C.
He also gets the title of being the only writer to ever say he "pulled an Erik Cassano" in a column.

Joel's selections:

Harken the masses, February 9
Erik's comment: I am surprised and pleased anyone picked this post, the as-yet-unfinished Shakespearian tragedy of Romeo Crennel. I thought it started out kind of lame, and might leave some readers scratching their heads. Truth be told, I gave up on it because I thought the story would drag on and get pointless. Then the Cavs season heated up and I forgot about it.

An inferiority complex, January 12
Erik's comment: An appropriate selection in the wake of the Browns' 41-0 loss to the Steelers. If you are a Browns fan, really, what football ammo ccan you come at Pittsburgh with?

The Browns-Indians dynamic, December 12
Erik's comment: When you get right down to it, it's the fans threatening to boycott the Indians every year that pisses me off. Don't agree with their moves? Fine. But let's not treat the Indians like Nike using Vietnamese peasants to make $120 shoes. Not unless you are willing to boycott the Browns for the same principles. And we know that won't happen. Asking Clevelanders to give up the Browns is like asking Clevelanders to give up cheap beer.

Five stages of bracket death, March 30
Erik's comment: It was a post that just kind of happened naturally. It was truly how I was feeling at the time. I came into the 2005 NCAAs with all kinds of dynasty sugarplums dancing in my head. I won the 2004 pool at work, and apparently was in need of a dose of humility, which I got, and then some. My Final Four completely folded by the championship round, and if I remember correctly, I barely missed going from first to worst in a year. The only consolation would have been geting my $10 entry fee back, but even that didn't happen