The Schloss-Blog is going hot today: hot words; phrases; people; trends; and sportswriters and their NFL playoff picks.
But first, a tour of the West Valley...
...which is what I went on during the week. Riding along near State Farm Stadium, looking for Flankers, a restaurant hidden within a casino hidden within a football facility.
Never found it, but did about six laps around the stadium before bailing and going to the nearby Westgate Entertainment Center, a plethora of restaurants and bars (we dined at Yardhouse, pretty cool place).
And then toured - misguided, as my friend Larry put it - trying to find the Wigwam Resort, which is also nowhere. Literally.
Fortunately, my friend Marty's GPS worked better than mine and we got there, but not before doing several more laps around the stadium.
Thanks for nothing, Cortina.
By the way, through all that driving and qualifying for the Phoenix NASCAR race, we discovered there is nothing - NOTHING - in the West Valley, otherwise known as the land beyond Buckeye. It's pretty amazing, considering State Farm Stadium is there, Westgate Entertainment Center is there and the Dodgers/White Sox shared spring-training center is there.
No wonder the Coyotes abandoned the area. Then again, the area had already abandoned the Coyotes.
***
Women's sports continues to get short shrift on ESPN. On Sports Center, even with all the gains in the NWSL and the WNBA and women's successes in X Games, Olympic Games and World Cup Soccer, still, only about 5 percent of coverage at ESPN is dedicated to women's athletics.
Someone call me when the men's national soccer team comes within a whisper of the women's team, which at least gets equal pay now.
Just not equal time on TV.
Not even Mikaela Shiffrin breaking Lindsey Vonn's all-time Alpine skiing wins record commanded lead-story status - anywhere.
I do believe though, that when Lindsey and Tiger broke up, it did command lead status.
***
Bari Weiss, founder and editor of the "buzzy" Free Press, is a talented and celebrated journalist.
Who looks for people without college degrees when she hires.
She said as much on Bill Maher's "Real Time" the other night. She and Maher both trashed the concept of college.
They're right, to a point. Not every profession requires a degree. But no one gets hired at my wife's design firm without a college degree. I don't know anyone in the media business with whom I ever walked a sideline or attended an NBA or MLB press conference who didn't have a college degree.
No, Bari, not everyone needs a college degree nor does every profession require one, not even important positions in economy-driving industries.
But when I did my Master's thesis, a survey of college journalism deans and newspaper editors, they all said a degree was needed to get a job.
Except with the Free Press.
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I know of some sportswriters who have college degrees, so how come their analyses of who would make the playoffs and win the Super Bowl this season was so off?
You see, most beat writers look at last year's results and decide that's good enough.
Except, it's not. At least four teams every year make the playoffs who didn't the year before. This year, it was seven (Giants, Vikings, Seahawks, Dolphins, Jaguars, Chargers and Ravens. They displaced the Cardinals, Rams, Packers, Titans, Steelers, Patriots and Raiders).
So I saved a select few writers' picks and guess who they all had in the NFC playoffs? Cardinals, Packers and Rams. History does not always repeat itself, fellas.
These are very smart, very astute observers of the game. But like coaches who make predictable play selections, pundits fall back on predictable picks.
They all also picked Buffalo to win the Super Bowl.
Next year, right?
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Hot words, according to Day One, or was it Fast Company(?): AI-nxiety; Fratigue; TikTokocene; and Trendflation.
Yeah, right, I've been seeing them everywhere.
Not.
***
Good night, Mrs. Calabash. Here's to you, Mrs. Robinson.
More Sunday night on my Radio Free Phoenix rock 'n' roll show.
Hey, Bob Fox, thanks for the golf.
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