When you live in a city where the home team Milwaukee Brewers is clinging to first place in August and the commissioner of baseball resides, you are automatically a baseball fan this year.
Count me in that category, even though I'm not a rabid baseball fan. I'm a Cleveland Indians fan!
These comments, however, concern baseball and not my beloved Indians. Growing up in Central Ohio, I had the choice of being a fan of the Indians or the Cincinnati Reds. My team of choice was in Cleveland, but the Reds were preferred by the television stations.
As a result, I joined fans from around the country in appreciating the amazing and sometimes just-plain-stupid ways Pete Rose tried to win every game. He slid headfirst into every base, including first.
There is no doubt now that after the game, or before it, Pete probably placed a bet on another baseball game or a horse race or a frog-jumping contest. Did he ever bet on his own game? No one who ever watched him play or berate an umpire would believe that.
For his betting habit, Rose has been relegated to signing baseballs for a living. His "museum" is in Cincinnati. Nearly all observers, including most of my sportswriter friends,feel he is unlikely to ever be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame, despite the fact that his career-hits record is just about untouchable.
I suppose his record could be eclipsed if some drug company would come up with a substance that shuts down the brain and tells a player to slide head-first into first base. That brings me to Barry Bonds, who all of my sportswriter and baseball-nut fans dislike, but feel belongs in the Hall of Fame.
I'm sure Barry will get into the Hall at Cooperstown. But here's my take. In those many, many games Barry probably played with his artificially enlarged muscles, how many were decided by his drug-aided home runs?
Granted, the verdict isn't in on what or whether he participated in the juicing scandal, but all the talk about asterisks on his home-run total seems to point in that direction. Isn't hitting a home run, aided by a banned substance, similar to betting on that game? Without the juice, the home run could have been a pop fly or a rally-ending ground ball that resulted in a double play.
My message to Commissioner Bud Selig, who lives about two miles from me, is this:
If any of today's juiced boys of summer get into the Hall of Fame, they should be welcomed by Pete Rose.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Monday, May 14, 2007
Tourism leaders should look beyond Illinois
Promotional efforts designed to lure tourists to Milwaukee and Wisconsin need to be expanded to include Europe, where residents now view the US as a bargain destination.
The current relationship of the dollar to the Euro, reported daily in the financial press, should be enough to change the focus of promotional efforts. But a trip to economically booming Ireland really hammers home the point.
Ireland, which has lured corporations from throughout the world with favorable tax laws, has emphasized tourism for years. With the dollar at a record low against the Euro, headlines say the country’s tourism planners are adjusting their targets to regional travelers to offset any decline in visitors from the U.S.
Two points of importance to tourism in Milwaukee and Wisconsin have been evident for some time:
• European countries now have pay scales in line with those in the U.S., giving their residents the funds to travel.
• Paid “holidays” of four to six weeks continue to be the rule in Europe.
Add to that the currency relationship, which shows no sign of changing, and you have a travel market that needs to be approached. During a week in the Emerald Isle, we heard about a young executive’s wife in Dublin who thought nothing of weekending in New York “because shopping was so much cheaper.”
To illustrate what the currency situation means to a traveler, you have to stop talking about 1 Euro and $1. Travelers are more likely to spend 100 Euros at a restaurant or shop and that’s the equivalent of $135 dollars at the current exchange rate.
Evidence of the growing European tourism in the U.S. is seen in the fact that two Great Lakes cruise ships will stop in Milwaukee six times this summer, a significant increase from previous years. Many of those cruise ships are filled entirely by European tourists.
Some institutions in Milwaukee and Wisconsin are well aware of the potential. Savvy leaders of Milwaukee’s Irish Fest annually attract top entertainers from Ireland and a substantial number of Irish citizens. The two-way traffic is so strong that it’s not unusual to see Milwaukee Irish Fest posters for sale in Dublin and smaller Irish communities.
In the past when the monetary environment was far less favorable, the state was a leader in promoting European tourism. The Thompson administration was especially active, working through the State Department of Tourism. Today, not a peep has been heard from Madison or the tourism leadership in Milwaukee. The current target for tourism promotion continues to be 90 miles south of Milwaukee. That’s been the target for so many years that there can't be many residents of Northern Illinois who are unaware of the attractions of Milwaukee and Wisconsin.
How about shifting some of the effort to travel and tour planners in Europe, who could bring their fellow citizens to Milwaukee for a bargain-basement start of a U.S. holiday? Our Old World heritage, demonstrated by the many ethnic festivals at the lakefront and elsewhere, hold an obvious appeal. And our museums and cultural attractions will be obvious stops.
Thanks to Herbert V. Kohler, Wisconsin's golfing ambassador, our golf courses are known throughout the world. Many of us have friends who have enjoyed golf tours of Scotland and Ireland. Why not do a little more to encourage European golfers to come our way? An associate tells me Europeans are even more enthusiastic about fishing. Why not let tour operators know about the potential for catching trophy fish throughout the state and in Lake Michigan?
Or how about establishing tourism sister city relationships with cities and towns in Europe? The lively fishing and vacation town of Dingle in Ireland proudly proclaims such a relationship with Santa Barbara, California, although the two locations have little in common. Presumably, a few leaders of Dingle have traveled to Santa Barbara, illustrating once again that incomes in Europe are on par with those in the U.S.
These are just a few possible ways to attract Europeans to Milwaukee for one-stop visits, or as a starting point for travel to other parts of the state and nation. It’s an area of economic development that cries out for leadership and action, in terms of getting our message overseas and making sure we welcome our visitors warmly .
The current relationship of the dollar to the Euro, reported daily in the financial press, should be enough to change the focus of promotional efforts. But a trip to economically booming Ireland really hammers home the point.
Ireland, which has lured corporations from throughout the world with favorable tax laws, has emphasized tourism for years. With the dollar at a record low against the Euro, headlines say the country’s tourism planners are adjusting their targets to regional travelers to offset any decline in visitors from the U.S.
Two points of importance to tourism in Milwaukee and Wisconsin have been evident for some time:
• European countries now have pay scales in line with those in the U.S., giving their residents the funds to travel.
• Paid “holidays” of four to six weeks continue to be the rule in Europe.
Add to that the currency relationship, which shows no sign of changing, and you have a travel market that needs to be approached. During a week in the Emerald Isle, we heard about a young executive’s wife in Dublin who thought nothing of weekending in New York “because shopping was so much cheaper.”
To illustrate what the currency situation means to a traveler, you have to stop talking about 1 Euro and $1. Travelers are more likely to spend 100 Euros at a restaurant or shop and that’s the equivalent of $135 dollars at the current exchange rate.
Evidence of the growing European tourism in the U.S. is seen in the fact that two Great Lakes cruise ships will stop in Milwaukee six times this summer, a significant increase from previous years. Many of those cruise ships are filled entirely by European tourists.
Some institutions in Milwaukee and Wisconsin are well aware of the potential. Savvy leaders of Milwaukee’s Irish Fest annually attract top entertainers from Ireland and a substantial number of Irish citizens. The two-way traffic is so strong that it’s not unusual to see Milwaukee Irish Fest posters for sale in Dublin and smaller Irish communities.
In the past when the monetary environment was far less favorable, the state was a leader in promoting European tourism. The Thompson administration was especially active, working through the State Department of Tourism. Today, not a peep has been heard from Madison or the tourism leadership in Milwaukee. The current target for tourism promotion continues to be 90 miles south of Milwaukee. That’s been the target for so many years that there can't be many residents of Northern Illinois who are unaware of the attractions of Milwaukee and Wisconsin.
How about shifting some of the effort to travel and tour planners in Europe, who could bring their fellow citizens to Milwaukee for a bargain-basement start of a U.S. holiday? Our Old World heritage, demonstrated by the many ethnic festivals at the lakefront and elsewhere, hold an obvious appeal. And our museums and cultural attractions will be obvious stops.
Thanks to Herbert V. Kohler, Wisconsin's golfing ambassador, our golf courses are known throughout the world. Many of us have friends who have enjoyed golf tours of Scotland and Ireland. Why not do a little more to encourage European golfers to come our way? An associate tells me Europeans are even more enthusiastic about fishing. Why not let tour operators know about the potential for catching trophy fish throughout the state and in Lake Michigan?
Or how about establishing tourism sister city relationships with cities and towns in Europe? The lively fishing and vacation town of Dingle in Ireland proudly proclaims such a relationship with Santa Barbara, California, although the two locations have little in common. Presumably, a few leaders of Dingle have traveled to Santa Barbara, illustrating once again that incomes in Europe are on par with those in the U.S.
These are just a few possible ways to attract Europeans to Milwaukee for one-stop visits, or as a starting point for travel to other parts of the state and nation. It’s an area of economic development that cries out for leadership and action, in terms of getting our message overseas and making sure we welcome our visitors warmly .
Monday, February 5, 2007
Superbowl advertisers really fumble
Viewers of Sunday's Super Bowl saw plenty of fumbles. Most of them were during the commercial breaks.
The game was far more entertaining than most of the $2.6-million spots. The humor and warmth of previous Super Bowl ads disappeared this year as America's corporate big spenders opted for boring, high-tech and frequently trite efforts.
As a long-time follower of this annual extravaganza in advertising, I've never seen such divergent after-game reviews. Anheuser-Busch and Careerbuilder.com scored high with some, very low with others. As you would expect, only advertising agency executives gave this year's ads a passing grade.
My uniform disappointment was shared by a couple of other observers, but at least there were three of us who saw no real winners in the ad sweepstakes. Advertisers who presented memorable spots in past years created bathroom breaks in 2007. Surveys showed a segment of the audience liked Anheuser-Busch's slapping and rock throwing spots, but they seemed like slapstick efforts to compete with Miller Brewing's "man laws." Careerbuilder.com moved from amusing chimps of the past to truly mindless humans. Godaddy.com, which seems to get more attention before its commercials run, couldn't have spent much on Sunday's effort that seemed to use out-takes from the last two years.
As usual, I failed to see the point of my "favorite" commercial. Blockbuster's rabbit and guinea pig, using a real mouse to go online, were appealing to the end when the pair decided to plug in the mouse's tail. Commentators on Monday told me the ad demonstrated that Blockbuster had discovered the Internet, but the message wasn't easy to decipher.
For perhaps the first time in Super Bowl history, spots for the National Football League were more effective than those of the paying sponsors. Brightening the first half was a short spot of Bears-backing Oprah Winfrey and Colts' fan David Letterman enjoying the game together on the couch. In the second half as the commercials moved from bad to worse, the league aired a longer spot describing fan how disappointed fans are to see the season end, culminating with a cameo by Green Bay's Brett Favre.
We all know that Brett will be back next season, pursuing another appearance in the championship game. Let's hope some of the agencies that produced this year's Super Bowl ads will replace their creative teams before they produce commercials for the big game in 2008.
The game was far more entertaining than most of the $2.6-million spots. The humor and warmth of previous Super Bowl ads disappeared this year as America's corporate big spenders opted for boring, high-tech and frequently trite efforts.
As a long-time follower of this annual extravaganza in advertising, I've never seen such divergent after-game reviews. Anheuser-Busch and Careerbuilder.com scored high with some, very low with others. As you would expect, only advertising agency executives gave this year's ads a passing grade.
My uniform disappointment was shared by a couple of other observers, but at least there were three of us who saw no real winners in the ad sweepstakes. Advertisers who presented memorable spots in past years created bathroom breaks in 2007. Surveys showed a segment of the audience liked Anheuser-Busch's slapping and rock throwing spots, but they seemed like slapstick efforts to compete with Miller Brewing's "man laws." Careerbuilder.com moved from amusing chimps of the past to truly mindless humans. Godaddy.com, which seems to get more attention before its commercials run, couldn't have spent much on Sunday's effort that seemed to use out-takes from the last two years.
As usual, I failed to see the point of my "favorite" commercial. Blockbuster's rabbit and guinea pig, using a real mouse to go online, were appealing to the end when the pair decided to plug in the mouse's tail. Commentators on Monday told me the ad demonstrated that Blockbuster had discovered the Internet, but the message wasn't easy to decipher.
For perhaps the first time in Super Bowl history, spots for the National Football League were more effective than those of the paying sponsors. Brightening the first half was a short spot of Bears-backing Oprah Winfrey and Colts' fan David Letterman enjoying the game together on the couch. In the second half as the commercials moved from bad to worse, the league aired a longer spot describing fan how disappointed fans are to see the season end, culminating with a cameo by Green Bay's Brett Favre.
We all know that Brett will be back next season, pursuing another appearance in the championship game. Let's hope some of the agencies that produced this year's Super Bowl ads will replace their creative teams before they produce commercials for the big game in 2008.
Friday, December 22, 2006
Season's Greetings
Dear friends and relatives (not mutually exclusive),
Nothing like a break of a decade or more to really warm you up for what I fondly call my Christmas card insert. At least this one doesn’t fall out of your newspaper or pop up on your computer screen.
The Staffords are still at home in Wisconsin, half of us still trying to play tennis like someone named Roger and the other half going to Pilates classes on an irregular basis. Although we both qualify for senior citizen discounts (I’m risking my life with that line), we’re still publishing our monthly KEY Milwaukee visitor guides. Neither the magazine nor our website has a retirement program. Also, in our version of universal health coverage, Beth continues to “spin” out news releases about the accomplishments of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Bringing you up to date on the family will take a slew of bullet points. Here are the “children” from the youngest on up:
• Mike Ewing is a junior studying (oh no, not again) journalism at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. In his spare time, he helps us learn about the new media. He showed me how to do this, but accepts no responsibility for the content.
• Rebecca Ewing moved this month from mutual funds to corporate finance. In so doing, she moved from Milwaukee to Chicago and mom is still in mourning. She now makes the big deals you hear about on CNBC. Perhaps one day, over her lunch break, she will find a buyer for KEY Milwaukee and KeyMilwaukee.com.
• Kathy Culbertson and company live in suburban Atlanta. Son-in-law Brandon now works for Turner Broadcasting. Kathy’s e-photos update us on budding athlete Abby and sons Evan, Zach and Bennett. We’re awaiting their arrival for a big post-Christmas celebration here.
• John Stafford and daughter-in-law Tisha live in northwest Milwaukee with grandson John Jr., now four and in preschool. His hearing is just fine, and he loves to demonstrate just that at grandpa’s by “playing” the piano and harmonica.
• Haley Stafford lives in Milwaukee near the UWM campus, works downtown and, I suspect, continues to root for everything Duke except – perhaps – the lacrosse team.
• And finally, the one with whom I have been related for the longest time. Tobey Pfleger and her brood now consist of (not necessarily in the order of importance) son-in-law Eric, teenager Liesel, fun-loving Amelia, meticulous William, comedian Ellis, three dogs, three regular-sized horses, some “barn” cats, a miniature horse and her foal and a bunch of chickens. Did I mention that she still lives just north of us in an area where McMansions are sprouting like mushrooms?
As you can see, we have much for which to be thankful. Beth’s radio pal Garrison says, “the women are strong, the men are good-looking and all the children are above average.” My feeling is that all the women surrounding me are strong AND good-looking and the men are always trying to catch up.
You’ll get no travelogue this year because we didn’t do much traveling. Perhaps because of those frequent Mapquest errors, people traveled this way in 2006. They probably thought they were headed for Vegas or New York.
Even sister Jane and camera-toting brother-in-law Michael came north from southern Ohio. My baby sister is retired, another sobering thought.
The summer highlight had to be the reunion with Beth’s eight brothers and sisters “up north,” as we say in Wisconsin. We stayed in a luxurious “cottage” that brother Bill keeps up for an Illinois heiress. It was my first opportunity to observe real loons in the wild. But, enough about the relatives.
Sisters Barb and Mary and brothers-in-laws Carl and Cliff returned to Milwaukee with us. I’d booked a fishing excursion on Lake Michigan, not realizing that we had to be on the lake at 4 a.m. Seventeen King salmon later (Cliff took the prize with a 26-pounder), we declared the morning highly successful.
The interesting thing (since I’m writing this I determine what is “interesting”) is that these folks from Grants Pass, Oregon, not far from the coast, came to Milwaukee to catch salmon whose ancestors came from the Pacific. We flew them home filleted and frozen (not the sisters, the fish).
While we are planning to venture outside the Badger state and perhaps outside the U.S. in 2007, our doors are open to anyone who might be traveling this way. Just get Mapquest directions and turn them upside down. You’re sure to get here and we’ll have a brat and a beer ready for you.
Until then, the Irish say it best:
“May the sun shine gently on your face; may the rain fall soft upon your fields; may the wind be at your back; may the road rise to meet you, and may the Lord hold you in the hollow of his hand until we meet again.”
Roger (and Beth)
Nothing like a break of a decade or more to really warm you up for what I fondly call my Christmas card insert. At least this one doesn’t fall out of your newspaper or pop up on your computer screen.
The Staffords are still at home in Wisconsin, half of us still trying to play tennis like someone named Roger and the other half going to Pilates classes on an irregular basis. Although we both qualify for senior citizen discounts (I’m risking my life with that line), we’re still publishing our monthly KEY Milwaukee visitor guides. Neither the magazine nor our website has a retirement program. Also, in our version of universal health coverage, Beth continues to “spin” out news releases about the accomplishments of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Bringing you up to date on the family will take a slew of bullet points. Here are the “children” from the youngest on up:
• Mike Ewing is a junior studying (oh no, not again) journalism at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. In his spare time, he helps us learn about the new media. He showed me how to do this, but accepts no responsibility for the content.
• Rebecca Ewing moved this month from mutual funds to corporate finance. In so doing, she moved from Milwaukee to Chicago and mom is still in mourning. She now makes the big deals you hear about on CNBC. Perhaps one day, over her lunch break, she will find a buyer for KEY Milwaukee and KeyMilwaukee.com.
• Kathy Culbertson and company live in suburban Atlanta. Son-in-law Brandon now works for Turner Broadcasting. Kathy’s e-photos update us on budding athlete Abby and sons Evan, Zach and Bennett. We’re awaiting their arrival for a big post-Christmas celebration here.
• John Stafford and daughter-in-law Tisha live in northwest Milwaukee with grandson John Jr., now four and in preschool. His hearing is just fine, and he loves to demonstrate just that at grandpa’s by “playing” the piano and harmonica.
• Haley Stafford lives in Milwaukee near the UWM campus, works downtown and, I suspect, continues to root for everything Duke except – perhaps – the lacrosse team.
• And finally, the one with whom I have been related for the longest time. Tobey Pfleger and her brood now consist of (not necessarily in the order of importance) son-in-law Eric, teenager Liesel, fun-loving Amelia, meticulous William, comedian Ellis, three dogs, three regular-sized horses, some “barn” cats, a miniature horse and her foal and a bunch of chickens. Did I mention that she still lives just north of us in an area where McMansions are sprouting like mushrooms?
As you can see, we have much for which to be thankful. Beth’s radio pal Garrison says, “the women are strong, the men are good-looking and all the children are above average.” My feeling is that all the women surrounding me are strong AND good-looking and the men are always trying to catch up.
You’ll get no travelogue this year because we didn’t do much traveling. Perhaps because of those frequent Mapquest errors, people traveled this way in 2006. They probably thought they were headed for Vegas or New York.
Even sister Jane and camera-toting brother-in-law Michael came north from southern Ohio. My baby sister is retired, another sobering thought.
The summer highlight had to be the reunion with Beth’s eight brothers and sisters “up north,” as we say in Wisconsin. We stayed in a luxurious “cottage” that brother Bill keeps up for an Illinois heiress. It was my first opportunity to observe real loons in the wild. But, enough about the relatives.
Sisters Barb and Mary and brothers-in-laws Carl and Cliff returned to Milwaukee with us. I’d booked a fishing excursion on Lake Michigan, not realizing that we had to be on the lake at 4 a.m. Seventeen King salmon later (Cliff took the prize with a 26-pounder), we declared the morning highly successful.
The interesting thing (since I’m writing this I determine what is “interesting”) is that these folks from Grants Pass, Oregon, not far from the coast, came to Milwaukee to catch salmon whose ancestors came from the Pacific. We flew them home filleted and frozen (not the sisters, the fish).
While we are planning to venture outside the Badger state and perhaps outside the U.S. in 2007, our doors are open to anyone who might be traveling this way. Just get Mapquest directions and turn them upside down. You’re sure to get here and we’ll have a brat and a beer ready for you.
Until then, the Irish say it best:
“May the sun shine gently on your face; may the rain fall soft upon your fields; may the wind be at your back; may the road rise to meet you, and may the Lord hold you in the hollow of his hand until we meet again.”
Roger (and Beth)
Friday, November 24, 2006
What's this all about, Roger?
Thanks to our technical consultant, Michael Ewing, I have entered the world of blogging, perhaps a bridge too far for a former newspaper reporter, financial services "executive" and magazine publisher.
During the past six years, my boss and wife (Beth) and I have been developing KeyMilwaukee.com, the Web extension of our monthly visitor guide, KEY Milwaukee.
Our traffic has risen dramatically during the past year, but we still could use more so be sure to visit the site as many times as possible, bookmark it or use it as your screen saver.
In the spring of 2006, shortly after we discovered podcasts, we launched the first travel podcast in Southeastern Wisconsin, available through KeyMilwaukee.com or from iTunes. The word "we" means more than the two of us. We have a Web guru for the site, a radio broadcaster and another technical consultant for the Podcast and, of course, we have Beth's son, Michael, currently a junior studying journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Michael got this blog started, but he definitely is not responsible for its content. It's called Roger's Daily Rants, but is unlikely to be daily. That just sounds better than Roger's Occasional Rants. Subjects you may find here include:
-Comments on current affairs under the title, "Who moved the middle of the road?"
-Comments journalism under the title, "Where's the news in the newspaper?"
-Comments on the "progress" of an aging tennis player called "Still having a ball."
-Occasional comments (not recommendations)on stocks, mutual funds and the economy under the title, "I'm sure we're not in Kansas anymore."
-Seasonal greetings to old and new friends.
-And, most importantly, updates on children AND grandchildren.
This posting was done in order to 1) tell all potential readers why this blog was created, 2) work off some energy generated by all the turkey and pie consumed Thursday and 3) push the big woodcut down farther on the page. Consultant Mike says that once something is posted, it stays there for eternity. I'll have to remember that!
As my friend Buzz says,
Peace and love,
Roger
During the past six years, my boss and wife (Beth) and I have been developing KeyMilwaukee.com, the Web extension of our monthly visitor guide, KEY Milwaukee.
Our traffic has risen dramatically during the past year, but we still could use more so be sure to visit the site as many times as possible, bookmark it or use it as your screen saver.
In the spring of 2006, shortly after we discovered podcasts, we launched the first travel podcast in Southeastern Wisconsin, available through KeyMilwaukee.com or from iTunes. The word "we" means more than the two of us. We have a Web guru for the site, a radio broadcaster and another technical consultant for the Podcast and, of course, we have Beth's son, Michael, currently a junior studying journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Michael got this blog started, but he definitely is not responsible for its content. It's called Roger's Daily Rants, but is unlikely to be daily. That just sounds better than Roger's Occasional Rants. Subjects you may find here include:
-Comments on current affairs under the title, "Who moved the middle of the road?"
-Comments journalism under the title, "Where's the news in the newspaper?"
-Comments on the "progress" of an aging tennis player called "Still having a ball."
-Occasional comments (not recommendations)on stocks, mutual funds and the economy under the title, "I'm sure we're not in Kansas anymore."
-Seasonal greetings to old and new friends.
-And, most importantly, updates on children AND grandchildren.
This posting was done in order to 1) tell all potential readers why this blog was created, 2) work off some energy generated by all the turkey and pie consumed Thursday and 3) push the big woodcut down farther on the page. Consultant Mike says that once something is posted, it stays there for eternity. I'll have to remember that!
As my friend Buzz says,
Peace and love,
Roger
Thursday, November 23, 2006
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