Collin Kottke: All-Around Swell Guy

Time For The WNBA To Step Their Game Up and Pay

Minnesota has a WNBA dynasty and we still don’t care. The thing is that Minnesota might be the best WNBA market in the league and the general public still doesn’t give a rip about the Minnesota Lynx or the league. The league was dealt a blow on Tuesday that might change the game.

The league lost one of its best players. Not because she retired or she’s pregnant or she’s injured. Nope, she’s getting paid not to play in the WNBA.

Diana Taurasi is sitting out the next WNBA season via the request of her overseas team UMMC Ekaterinburg. It’s not even exactly a request; they are paying her to sit out the season. Not just a couple thousand, no they are paying her entire WNBA salary and then some to sit out.

Taurasi makes a little under the league maximum of $107,000 in the WNBA. In Russia, during the WNBA offseason, she gets paid $1.5 million a season. The WNBA has been her hobby.

It is for a lot of players in the WNBA. They get paid millions during the offseason while being paid chump change for professional athletes in America.

The sad part is that you can’t even blame Taurasi for doing this. She is playing year-round right now, why not take the time off to finally recover and get paid more for doing it then actually playing. Sure basketball is her passion, but her passion is paying her more away from America.

15 times more.

This is a problem for the WNBA. There’s no reason other players won’t do the same exact thing. One of the biggest names in the game just did it.

Start paying these women the amount they deserve. I know the WNBA isn’t very profitable, probably not even profitable at all, but it’s a shame that the home of basketball is losing out to other countries.

The WNBA should be the dream for every female basketball player. They shouldn’t have to go overseas for what they deserve. Show them the money.

About 15 times the money.

Talking Myself Into Peyton Manning Coming Back For Another Season

I go back and forth. Yes and no. Stop and go.

If we put all the cards on the table, it’s easy to see that Peyton Manning was awful the last month of the NFL season. The awfulness spread into Sunday’s game against his former stable and all hell broke loose after the performance.

It should have. Manning is one of the best quarterbacks of all-time. Manning is, and I hate when sports talkers say this word, elite. But he’s elite with a capitol E. Manning will be forever loved and forever joked about because in a game that sees more commercials than actual action on the field; Peyton is/was on the TV constantly.

I, like many, am conflicted about what Manning is going to do. Will he come back for another season in Denver or will he hang it up and call it a Hall of Fame career. I started off as a no, but then Monday morning happened.

Monday rolled around and the general public learned that Manning was suffering from injuries to both legs. Initial reaction is that the legs shouldn’t be a major injury to a quarterback, especially with an – let’s say immobile – quarterback like Manning, but it all comes from the legs. A lot of power comes through the legs to throw the ball way down field.

An injury like this explains away the suckiness of the last segment of the season for Manning. When we look at that stat sheet we can say ‘he was hurt, he played through it like a champ.’

I was in on Manning being in for another season in Denver.

Monday afternoon rolled around and John Elway had fired head coach John Fox; a guy that got to the playoffs with Tim Tebow, who had more passing yards in his one playoff appearance than Manning did on Sunday, but that is beside the point. Way beside the point. Fox is, at a minimum, a decent coach. It is no shoo-in that the next guy up for Denver will have the same talent as Fox.

I have moved to totally not knowing what Manning is going to do.

Did Manning want Fox out? Is Manning an Elway guy or a Fox guy? Does Manning really give a bleep about who the head coach is? Does Manning care who his offensive coordinator is? Manning basically is his own offensive coordinator out on the field, right?

Broncos Offensive Coordinator Adam Gase is up for multiple head coaching jobs in the league, including the now open Broncos job, but does Gase’s destination really factor into Manning’s decision?

I think not.

One usually reputable source of information asked on Twitter on Monday who would sign Manning if the Broncos released him. The answer is no one. That’s because the Broncos should not and will not move on from Manning unless he retires. Manning is better than anyone available and the injuries give a good excuse for a reason to give it another go for both the player and the team.

Manning will finish his career as a Bronco. I am certain of that. Very certain. We’ve either seen the last game of his career or it’s still coming, but he’s finishing it as a Bronco.

Every participant in any sport wants to finish on top. From high school basketball player at a school in the boondocks who never got off the bench to a Hall of Fame quarterback, everybody wants to finish on top. Manning didn’t finish the season on top, not even close. He didn’t even finish it healthy. Peyton Manning was one hit away from being Brett Favre damn near dead on the frozen turf at TCF Bank Stadium. I don’t want injuries to be my lasting memories of two of my favorite and two of the best quarterbacks of all-time.

I want another Manning season. I want Manning standing tall and leading the Broncos to another first round bye and playing his heart out for another Super Bowl. The least I want is another Tom Brady – Peyton Manning matchup. I want beautiful, beautiful closure with no what could have beens.

I think Peyton Manning wants that too.

A Less Than ‘Sunday Morning’ Phone Call

I am not often at a loss for words. I tend to talk a lot and if you get my going I will share strong opinions that you may not agree with. Sometimes when you disagree with me, I will not easily accept your disagreement. I’m not proud of that fact, but it is true.

A phone call this morning got me thinking about how selfish we can all be.

Right now the KDUZ/KARP/KGLB studios are a little torn up. An upgrade to better equipment is resulting in us using a setup that is less than top of the line for a while. On Sunday mornings we play local church services via an antenna and that’s where our story begins.

Last week, the first church service was late due to our switch to a temporary studio. The right wire wasn’t wired right and it was our fault. During this time a handful of people call to state the obvious that the church service wasn’t on which is annoying, but that’s going to happen.

This week the same church service was delayed. This time it was not due to us at the radio station, but the church. The church forgot to push the button that would broadcast their service. The same phone calls come in again which is to be expected. The listeners of AM radio are apparently always four numbers into the phone number waiting for something to go wrong, because it’s an almost instantaneous happening.

The second call I received was beautiful, the first call I received was nothing short of downright rude and bitchy. The following is the transcript of what I recall from the first call:

Me: KDUZ/KARP/KGLB, this is Collin.

Caller: Faith Lutheran Church isn’t on. (This was said with a very condescending voice)

Me: We know. We’re having some technical difficulties; we’re working on it right now. They’ll be on the air as soon as possible.

Caller: Maybe you guys need a better engineer.

Here is where I went speechless for a moment, because really who expects to be attacked by someone calling about the delay of a church service.

Me: Thanks for your opinion. Have a good day.

I hung up the phone.

I’m learning through our remodeling process that there is a whole lot of wires involved in making a radio station go. It’s a lot more complicated than hooking up a computer to a fancy board and having advertisements ready to go. It’s an immensely complex operation.

My point is that I don’t think bitchy caller would know how to hook anything up, possibly not even able to turn on the microphone. Maybe she could surprise me and have years and years of training, but the chances are slim to none.

It’s one thing in this world to be critical of professional athletes who get paid millions of dollars to play a sport, but to criticize someone that you wouldn’t know if they knocked you over in Taco Bell is a little ridiculous.

The world has checks and balances that criticize everyone: bosses, supervisors, voters, ratings, etc. If someone is failing, the message will be heard sooner than later. It doesn’t require Miss Joe Blow to say it.

If you are that caller, I hope you just woke up on the wrong side of the bed. I hope that you do not blame people who aren’t even to blame for other things in your life as well. If you do, the engineering in your brain and soul could really use an overhaul. You could use the radio station’s engineer. He’s pretty good.

To the second caller who called to ask where it was because ‘the church service is my favorite thing to listen to’, thank you for listening. You are the kind of person I want in this world and listening to the radio.

Love one another.

Collin Kottke’s 2014 Blowout End of the Year Year-End Toyotathon Year in Review Event

It’s the most wonderful time of the year… for the postal service. Think about how many more letters you get in the month of December compared to any other month on the calendar. Until Fourth of July cards take off, a thing I’m trying to make happen, it will always be this way.

I am not one to buy stamps. In a moment of honesty I would tell you that I sometimes have to focus when writing on an envelope to make sure I am locating the information in the correct quadrants.

So to stick it to the government and to get to the people who want it and to not annoy the people that don’t , let me go forth with my Collin Kottke’s 2014 Blowout End of the Year Year-End Toyotathon Year in Review Event.

Batting leadoff: Kate.

I have a girlfriend. This is where this letter could end and my year would be filled with so much happiness that it would make Barney the dinosaur blush. Kate is incredible; we started officially dating on September 7, so she’s officially put up with me for a handful of months already and for that she truly deserves a medal and chocolates and a John Hughes movie marathon. I could make jokes in her blurb today and she wouldn’t even get mad because her beloved Denver Broncos won today. Did I mention she’s the best yet?

Speaking of the best: my incredible family and friends.

If you’re reading this, you more than likely fall in this category and I thank you for being a part of my life. My family loves me so much that I’m surprised that I don’t have a huge ego. I’ll fight anyone that says their family is better than mine.

I’d like to thank my boys for playing softball two weekends a year with me and making more memories off the softball diamond than on it. We don’t really want to remember a lot of what happens on the field anyway… Also I’d like to thank them for not judging me for calling them ‘my boys’.

I get sent many pictures of pigs from Jenna which always brighten my day. I still can’t figure out how I never seem to run into Tyler on campus despite the fact that we live across the parking lot from each other.

The roommates I have had in the past calendar year have been more than awesome: Dylan, Logan, Ben and Ed. I’ve had the pleasure of having five roommates in the past 12 months that have been selected randomly by the great institution I attend and all of them have turned into some of my best friends.

Speaking of school, spring semester starts on January 26. Spring semester marks the beginning of my senior year of college. With the college credits I took in high school and just being the badass I am, I am on track to graduate a semester early in December 2015.

I will be graduating with a degree in journalism. I was able to cover sports at River Falls for the radio station, newspaper and the athletics’ website this last semester and I get to do that all again this coming spring. I’m still plugging along as a co-editor on Puckett’s Pond; a Minnesota Twins blog I have been an editor at for a year and change now. Also, I have my own weekly radio show at school while also working part-time at KDUZ/KARP/KGLB in Hutch. 2015 will mark my second year at the radio stations in Hutch.

For the record, I want to be a radio DJ when my schooling is done. My love of music has shown through and greatly attracted me to the world of radio. I’m currently taking requests for whacky characters and your coast-to-coast dedications. Keep reaching for the stars.

Speaking of music, 2014 was a great year in music for yours truly. Garth Brooks came back out of retirement which is enough to make my entire life better nonetheless this specific year. I saw some of my favorites in concert this year: Huey Lewis and the News, Thomas Rhett, Montgomery Gentry, Paul McCartney, Eric Church and Garth Brooks. That’s just how good of a year it was. 2015 already has Billy Joel, Kenny Chesney and Jason Aldean booked and ready to go.

I don’t know how to summarize my year other than how that cheesy Facebook video does: it’s been a great year and thanks for being a part of it. 2014 was great and my challenge to myself is to make 2015 even better for not just me, but for all of you.

Much love,

Collin

Presidential Pull: Marketing Through Late Night

March 19, 2009. It was important for three reasons.

First, it was my 15th birthday. So, happy birthday to me and I hope I enjoyed taking my permit test.

Second, Uncle Garth Brooks was on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Being right in the middle of his long seemingly never-ending retirement, it was nice to see the big man on the TV.

Third, probably most importantly, the other guest on The Tonight Show that night was President Barack Obama. That doesn’t seem shocking now as we are knocking on 2015’s door, but back then it was big, big news. This appearance by President Obama was the first ever late night interview given by a sitting president.

I don’t know if I’d remember the date of the first presidential late night interview if it wasn’t for Garth and my birthday, but I do know that I believe it was a major step in late night television and shows how savvy Barack Obama can be.

Forget the politics of Barack Obama. They seriously do not matter in this conversation. This is all about Obama knowing how to attract an audience.

President Obama knows that it does him little to no good for him to go on FOX News and talk to Bill O’Reilly. The viewers of O’Reilly are hardcore Republicans and know it or are so old that they don’t realize that they watch the channel just so they can hear their views said at them in an authoritative way.

The President also knows that he really doesn’t have to go on MSNBC. The viewers of that channel are more than likely going to vote for him anyway, so why waste the time and effort. Everyone’s time is precious and I assume that’s even more so for the ruler of the free world.

President Obama realized and still realizes that he needs the younger generation. The outstanding young people turnout got Obama into the White House, but he still needs their support and he knows where to find the eyeballs of young people: late night television.

Young people eat up late night television and that will continue to grow. Late night television has never been so popular with Jimmy Fallon taking over The Tonight Show and Stephen Colbert soon to take over the Late Show. These shows and their brethren will be a needed stomping ground for all high-profile politicians.

It used to be that the presidential candidates would filter through the cold open on Saturday Night Live, but that’s not enough anymore. President Obama has blown the late night doors wide open.

The President just doesn’t sit down for interviews. He participates in specific comedy bits. When Jimmy Fallon was the host of Late Night, Fallon and Obama slow-jammed the news. Earlier this week when Obama visited The Colbert Report, the President took over Colbert’s popular ‘The Word’ segment and made it his own. Obama made the said the segment needed to be more presidential and turned it into ‘The Decree’.

This simple act shows that the President ‘gets it’. Performing in these comedy sketches shows that the President can take the joke and is comfortable with being the butt of the joke. It’s amazing the respect young people will give to authority figures if us young people think that the authority ‘gets it’.

As a journalism student, it hurts to say that most young people get their news from Comedy Central. A lot of young people have Jon Stewart and The Daily Show and Colbert’s Colbert Report as the only source of ‘news’ that they get. The part of me that would love to someday write for Colbert or Stewart loves the thought of how much power those positions hold.

President Obama is a marketing master, more specifically a master of marketing to young people. He used social media to greatly help him win an election and he’s using the most popular shows with young people to maintain his popularity with the young. Hell, he even went on an internet show that was painfully awkward with Zach Galifianakis. If that’s not trying to attract to young people, I don’t know what is.

The game has been changed. If you want to be a successful president or high profile politician of any sort in this countru from now on, you need to make friends with Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart. Meet The Press and 60 Minutes no longer are the desired seat. The Tonight Show, The Late Show and The Daily Show: the three branches to political success.