The world through the eyes of "Texas" Tim Cowlishaw- Point 1

Tim Cowlishaw is starting to have his name thrown around with some of the great sports writers of today some including Peter King, Rick Reilly, and Jim Rome just to name a few. Mr. Cowlishaw’s most incredible feature about his writing is that he doesn’t seem to have one sport that he favors over the others. He seems to be very well balanced in his opinion of what is going on in that certain sport or area and it appears that Tim has not agenda to follow in his sports reporting. In the past Cowlishaw has worked for many different newspapers in including the Tulsa World, the Daily Oklahoman (or the Jokelahoman as I like to call it), and now is working in one of the most promising newspapers in the country the Dallas Morning News. He is a very prominent user of facts and statistics when he writes on a given topic, one quality that the Daily Oklahoman does not look for when they search for a columnist when it comes to writing about sports. As a local boy who grew up in the Dallas metroplex, after being born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Tim enjoys writing about his home town teams without coming across as a “homer.” But, writing columns is not the only thing Tim is comfortable doing. He is a frequent competitor on the weekday show Around the Horn on the world’s biggest sports network ESPN. On this show sports columnists from around the country give their opinion on topics from the world of sports, they gather points from the host for every good or great point they have to say, until one is standing(well really sitting) at the end. He has had quite a reputation on the show for giving very quirky remarks, having a good time, and his patented goatee, all of this has prompted the show’s host Toni Reali to give him the nickname of “Texas Tim,” although it seems not that great of a nickname to you and me, he believes it fits him to a “tee.” Tim’s credentials are outstanding. As a graduate of Richardson High School, a very familiar place for me, and the University of Texas (the largest university in the United States) he has done a very good job in his education and you can see that in his columns, but sometimes a person’s education could take over their own head. As we all know people are entitled to their own opinion, Mr. Cowlishaw sometimes goes a little out there with his. In one of his columns from January 16, 1998, a couple of weeks before the Super Bowl, Tim writes about a formula that has been used in the past to predict the winner of the game. Although very naïve to use a formula to predict winners instead of going with a gut feeling, Cowlishaw uses this information to give his opinion on who he believes the winner will be. His great mind was on overdrive and he might have gone a little overboard with his prediction using calculations instead of what he saw on the field. He predicts that the Green Bay Packers will be victorious and will defeat the Denver Broncos handily “One day, the AFC will win another Super Bowl, and chances are The Formula will be there to project it. It just isn't going to happen this year” (“Super Salute”). We would later come to find out a few weeks later that he would be wrong. The Broncos ended up on top in the big game, and Tim came away from his prediction with a little egg on his face. But not to worry, Tim had another column the very next morning, and it didn’t seem to bring him down one bit, because again we are all entitled to our own opinion.

Cowlishaw, Tim. "No Super Salute." Sporting News 222.426 Jan 1998 16. 04 Mar 2008 .

Point 2

“Ice time” seems pretty important to Mr. Cowlishaw, as hockey is one of his favorite topics to talk about. The heralded columnist from the Dallas Morning News gives his opinion on this “northern” sport as much as he possibly can while still giving the fans what they want in the north Texas area which always seems to be one of the big three sports, football, basketball, or baseball. Although these are the main sports in the metroplex, what people need to know is that the Dallas Stars, the National Hockey League team that calls it’s home in Dallas, have had the most success of any professional sports teams in Dallas. The Stars are the only team to have one a championship in the decade, there first and only was achieved in 1999, and have consistently been contenders in the Western Conference. Something that the Dallas Cowboys and the Texas Rangers have not done in some time, although the Cowboys seem to be closing the gap on the Stars in being Dallas’ true team in my opinion. Tim is the kind of writer that will try and open the reader’s eyes on certain things that they might not know, or maybe they know of the situation but he goes above and beyond to give them new and maybe even controversial information to regain their focus. In his article in April of 1999, Tim gives some information about the goalie situation or controversy as some were calling it. Ed Belfour, the starting goalie of the eventual Stanley Cup champions, was a solid performer during the regular season but didn’t seem to be playing at a championship level, but his backup was looking like a potential Vezina Trophy winner which is given to the top goalie in the league. Like I pointed out in the first point Tim loves to give stats to back up his writing. Belfour the starting goalie had a record of 32-13-9, meaning he won 32 times, lost 13, and tied 9 times, very solid numbers for a 33 year old protector of the crease but these numbers just seem to wither away in the face of Roman Turek’s stats. The 5 year younger Turek had a staggering record of 15-3-3, 15 wins, 3 losses, and 3 ties, a record that would catapult Turek into the league’s elite players. Was their a controversy in Dallas about their hockey team? Who really knows? But for one thing the public was informed about the potential switch going into the playoffs that year. Tim goes inside and grabs the information that the public, or the ones that are hockey fans at least, wanted to know. Tim is known for his great reporting skills and is almost what I call a Ninja, because of his stealth like reporting and skills in interpreting what the information that he gets really means. Ken Hitchcock believes there is no controversy brewing in Dallas but Tim disagrees, “Sorry, Ken. You pick the lines, we'll pick the controversies”(“It Takes Two”). It looks like the “Ninja” has struck again.

Tim, Cowlishaw. "It Takes Two Baby." Sporting News 223.1619 Apr 1999 57. 04 Mar 2008 .

Point 3

Taking over for a legend, that’s what Tim Cowlishaw did. After Randy Galloway left, a huge void needed to be filled in the heart of the sports section of the Dallas Morning News. The replacement was long time reporter for the Morning News, Tim Cowlishaw. Now it seems like not a big deal and he is another recognizable face in the metroplex, but it needed a jump start from some of the marketing people behind the scenes. Taking over for a legend is almost impossible, you almost want to be the person who took over for the person who took over for the legend. Tim didn’t have that luxury and was thrown into the fire from day 1. Almost like putting in a backup player who has been sitting on the sideline the whole game and hasn’t gotten a chance to warm up. Not putting down Tim’s credentials what so ever, but he was put in a tough situation right of the bat. Not only did he overcome the many fans that disliked him at first because he was the new guy and most had not even heard of him, he carried on and has established a solid foundation for a potential next step into a better position. Already having guest appearances on Around the Horn, Tim just happened to step into another position for the world wide leader in sports, he is one of the lead reporters for Nascar Now, a show completely devoted to the sport of Nascar racing. It seems Mr. Cowlishaw is starting to spread his wings and get himself into new and promising situations that make his future look very bright. Who nows, maybe one day Tim will take over for Jim Rome on his television show on ESPN, because not only is Tim a more respectable person, he is polite and certainly not as annoying. Good luck Tim in any future plans that you might have and maybe you can hook me up with a job one day.

Rob, Lenihan. "Morning News promotes columnist, circulation." Editor & Publisher 131.3819 Sep 1998 35. 04 Mar 2008 .

Privacy, what privacy?

The question of privacy in America involves all citizens and opens many doors to many different situations. Questions including; should privacy be considered property and therefore not be damaged or taken from without having some penalty infringed on the suspect at hand, should the government be able to look into your personal matters to have increased protection for our country, and can someone help Britney get the damn paparazzi away from her, when does the line get crossed when celebrities go out into public eye? These are just some of the issues involving privacy in American society today.

Our government has done a fine job with very complex issues that have come into question in our history, but one that needs to be answered is privacy invasion. I believe that all of us understand that privacy is one of the main concerns we should have as human beings, but where does the line begin and end. Have you ever been at a restaurant and over heard something at another table and thought hey screw my boring conversation with these people lets listen in on them? I’m sure most of us would answer yes, and the others that say no they’re probably lying. Is this an invasion of privacy? I say no, but others could take it the other direction. What if those people you were listening too were Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, and you might have heard that Jolie’s lips had a little alteration, not saying they are just hypothetical, wink wink. Would you tell all your friends and family about the inside information you just received? I know I would, but would I be in serious trouble for disclosing private facts if they happened to find out it was me who told the world? Although I received those facts through shady ways, I wouldn’t have to call up my lawyer, thank the lord. Here’s another scenario for you, using the Bragelinas, not because they’re famous but good humanitarians. What if you were working for the Bragelinas as a maid, or housekeeper as most people call it now a day and you stumbled upon information that led you to believe that Angelina was really a man? Again, would you tell your friends and family this private information? If you did, try and bring Johnny Cochran back from the grave because you are in trouble. In a court of law the disclosure of private facts all depends on how you receive them. If you obtain them while hearing it from them or listening to them, you will be ok, if you got the inside scoop by stooping around private files and being an amateur private eye or detective, you could be liable for a lawsuit if this information has made the victim of this situation lose credibility or they are revealed without legit relation to public concern, i.e. they had already thought she was a man, or maybe she was the father of another person’s baby, hypothetically speaking. Privacy should always be considered a human right but it might be even more difficult to have stricter laws that go after behavior that seems to break there human rights, not because they don’t care but because it happens all the time and in some instances with our popular gossip magazines more than it should.

http://britneyspears.hollywood.com/news/coranto/old/news-archive-10-2005.html

At the same time the gossip and pop culture privacy laws are being broken more is going on right underneath your nose. With the influx of terrorism all over the world, security of our nation is a primary concern. The question is does the government go too far in establishing our security? The Patriot Act is a good and controversial example for this question. In my inexperienced opinion, the Patriot Act is not unethical as some would say because it is an attempt to ward off terrorism and it helps protects our lives. Why would someone worry about having their fourth amendment violated, as some of the activists against the act have said, if they are not doing anything wrong? Most Americans wouldn’t necessarily like the search of some of there belongings but when it comes to NATIONAL SECURITY, I believe they would cooperate because the situation is bigger than just them. What if we had such an Act similar to this before 9/11, or before the Oklahoma City Bombings, could we have stopped it from happening? No one knows for sure, but we probably could have had a better opportunity to do so. With all of the accusations made about what our government is doing, people need to look at the big picture. What would you be more willing to give up your right to privacy on your phone call with your grandma when you have no idea that someone is listening or your life? These “invasions of privacy” could be a big part of our future security plans, and getting rid of these plans could constrain our intelligence agencies ability to act quickly and swiftly to ward of these horrible crimes against our country.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA_PATRIOT_Act

Becoming famous is a dream for most Americans, but not all of these individuals look at the excruciating pain in the butt the national media and paparazzi are becoming to the celebrities. We have all heard about the problems that Miss Britney Spears has come across in the last couple of years, and it all is related to the amount of privacy, or better yet lack of privacy, she receives. She got married to a loser, had children with him, had to fend off the media for pictures of her new born child with threats of a lawsuit, finally divorced the incompetent husband, and now is fighting depression and going in and out of rehabilitation. Can some one give this woman a break? I don’t think anyone would trade their life for hers right now even if you threw in a few million on top of her already ridiculous income. Where is the line drawn in the sand for the paparazzi and all media types? I’m sure most paparazzi would cross it in a heart beat where ever it is, but is there no common decency? Britney Spears is a human being, she maybe be a little crazy at times, and a little toxic for some to handle, but still a human with rights. Who is to blame for the absolute craze that the gossip magazine community has become, the actual media people or the celebrities themselves? I have the answer, it’s neither. This whole craze has started because of the average Joe, you and me, it’s as plain as day. The gossip magazines give us what we want and that is news and notes that quite possibly have been ripped away from the private lives of these famous individuals. We are the ones invading these people private lives, not physically stepping on their property or digging through documents, or even stalking these people, but we essentially write the checks for the people that do these things. Did theses celebs ask for this kind of treatment, I mean fame does come with responsibility doesn’t? I believe it comes with the territory, but that doesn’t make it right. The way we are going as a society we wont have any privacy left in the future, and I see no way to change the status quo, except for simply minding our own business in certain situations.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWSjUe0FyxQ

In conclusion, we all know we have a great country but we have issues that need to be addressed to move forward and grow. Changing the status quo on privacy should be a main concern because without any freedom from invasion what can we live for. In order to obtain the greater good for our nation some of our freedom and privacy can and should be invaded in some situations, including the security of our home land, but only a few. Let’s leave the invasion of Brad, Angelina, and Britney’s privacy for a later time when it is important and find some other way to entertain ourselves or make ourselves feel better. I think we have bigger fish to fry, like the growing national debt, how about the issue of global warming, or better yet which unproven candidate are we going to elect to help transition the country into a better state, throw your name into the mix Mayor Bloomberg, please.

http://www.nolo.com/article.cfm/catId/96A3E6BC-22BC-43EE-BDE2D470B0972A47/objectId/B9998A9F-B6BE-44D3-AAF526978C49BDD9/104/284/220/QNA/

How much privacy do we have in today's society?

1. Should privacy be considered property?
2. Should the government be able to look at information on your computer or tap phone lines to gain valuable info for security?
3. Leave Britney alone. When does the line get crossed when celebrities go out into the public eye, and did they ask for this kind of treatment, fame comes with responsibility.