When the news broke that Kent State had won its suit against Bradley for recruiting basketball coach Geno Ford, it looked like a black mark for the Hilltop.

A trial was set for October 7 for determining the amount of damages Kent State was to receive. I predicted the case would be settled out of court before October.

And it was. What no one had suggested was how it would be settled. Kent State surprised just about everyone except the legal people for Bradley by dropping its lawsuit. Perhaps for good reason. Bradley has consistently maintained they obtained approval on more than one occasion to interview Ford while still employed by Kent State. Why the Ohio University took such an aggressive position is still a mystery. By dropping the lawsuit with no strings attached Kent State receives nothing, but the proverbial egg on their faces.

I was puzzled by the behavior of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office. When the news first broke, I contacted the office of Mike DeWine, for a radio interview. A staff member arranged a tentative date with DeWine and then a few days before the scheduled interview, called and canceled with no explanation. Maybe they realized, even though the Ohio judge who ruled in favor of Kent State didn’t, that Bradley was not guilty of anything. Some folks in Ohio should be embarrassed.

LAUGHTER AT THE GAME

I attended my first high school football game in decades recently. While it was just a Freshman game, I was excited to see live football. And it was a great game, except for the four men who officiated. I expected better. All four were terribly overweight. They could not run. They couldn’t even trot. I think all four were wearing knee pads of some sort. They had frequent conferences, seemingly confused, at times, on what to call. Some of the calls appeared partisan to the 12-16 visiting fans causing a couple of them to yell “homers” from the stands 20-25 yards from the field. At least one of the officials had “rabbit ears” in addition to knee pads. He threw his yellow “hanky” at the visiting fans yelling, “Fan abuse.”

No penalty was assessed. It just added to the laughs. The home team won.

HONOR FOR PEORIAN

In last month’s column I exclusively reported on the selection of Peorian, Captain Michael O’Brien, to become one of 24 Judge Advocates on behalf of sexual assault victims in the U.S Air Force. The appointment was made by the Secretary of the Air Force and O’Brien has already traveled to several air bases in the country to represent alleged victims.

The son of Bill and Norah O’Brien, Michael discussed his appointment to what is considered a landmark military program while on WOAM’s “Breakfast with Royce and Roger.” While many believe the Air Force has gone too far with the Special Counsel for Sexual Assault Victims, O’Brien is supportive. “That’s one of the reasons I volunteered for the program,” he said. “It’s needed. I think there are even more victims who’re afraid to step forward. I think the program will encourage those who’ve been hesitant to contact us.” O’Brien also provided legal oversight at prisons in Iraq for a year.

ANOTHER EXCLUSIVE

PEORIA HONOR

Another Peorian who’s been under the local media radar screen is Phil Hoffmann. Like O’Brien, Hoffmann graduated from Peoria High. He then attended Augustana and Syracuse universities earning degrees in geography. “There was not a great demand for college geography professors, so I decided to seek employment in foreign service.” After passing a battery of tests, Hoffmann was hired by the State Department and sent to Washington to study the Greek language. Upon completing the language course, Hoffmann was sent to Athens, Greece, as Deputy Press Attache. His job was to deal with the media. “No easy task,” he said. “Radio and TV stations in Greece are owned by the government and each newspaper represented a particular political view.” He spent three and a half years in Athens working in the U.S. Embassy during some difficult times, but he did manage to visit some of the well-known historical sights, one of the benefits of foreign service.

His travels during 28 years as a State Department employee took him to such countries as Indonesia, Malaysia (twice), Nepal, Japan, and Canada. He attended state dinners and receptions greeting and meeting presidents, kings, ambassadors, people of all rank and positions and personalities. He handled press briefings and news conferences and hosted visits from the U.S. of dignitaries from governors to trade missions. Among those was Illinois Governor Jim Edgar. Although officially retired, Hoffmann can be recalled at anytime. He just returned from Mongolia, concluding, “It was cold and polluted.”

While he enjoyed a lot of pomp and ceremony, it was not without risks. “Regardless of the country, the U.S. Embassy was always a potential target of terrorists,” he stated. “There were times when things got rather tense during my 28 years of service.” He said during that period there were 80 attacks on American embassies resulting in 180 deaths. “When you sign up you know it’s part of the deal.”

SCRAPING THE BOTTOM

I’m no prude. Far from it, but, I do have some standards, especially when it comes to humor and comedians. My heroes are Jonathan Winters, Royce Elliott, Bob and Ray, and a host of others who didn’t have to resort to profanity and smut for a laugh. The only thing worse than a guy using the “F” word, profanity, and obscenity, is a female. Kathy Griffin is a good example of the latter. Personally, I find her obnoxious, filthy, and abrasively offensive. When I learned she was coming to Peoria, my first thought was the Peoria Civic Center was scraping the bottom of the entertainment barrel. Come to think of it, it was my second, third and subsequent thoughts. I think she’s about as funny as a root canal, as Royce had said, and I agree. It was troubling to read in the Peoria Journal that Griffin’s audience gave her a standing ovation. Tasteless. That audience should’ve gone home and washed out their mouths and ears. That same audience would’ve applauded Axis Sally and Tokyo Rose. The Journal even ran a large photo of the red-headed clown. I applaud former Peoria Journal writer Jerry Klein who also scolded the newspaper for its coverage pointing out it rarely gives reviews of Peoria Players or Corn Stock, but has space for this filthy comedian. I share his opinion. And, too bad the Civic Center doesn’t have higher community entertainment standards.

MEDIA NOTES

Why is it the national and even the local media have labels for Republicans?

I can excuse the local media as they parrot whatever the Associated Press sends. It would be a miracle if any local TV or radio station news staff would ever think about rewriting a national story, if only to provide some objectivity. Nationally, the left-wing media labeled Senator Ted Cruz, Texas Republican, as a “conservative” and a Tea Party member. Of course, it was repeated by the local media. Now try and remember when a Democrat was labeled a “liberal.” Can’t be done, can it? Even more difficult would be to recall when a Democrat was described as a union member. Hell, the media even forgot to mention when a certain Democrat senator was a member of the Klu Klux Klan.

911 REMEMBRANCES

We’re both proud and sad of how “Breakfast with Royce and Roger” remembers 9-11. We’re proud that we devoted the entire three hour program to that tragic day and yet sad that every other Peoria radio station virtually ignored the events of that memorable day. Once again the highlight of our program was replaying the conversation with Gary Griggs of Louisville, Kentucky. Griggs was on the 61st floor of the South Tower when the first plane struck. With others, he moved to the 46th floor when the second plane hit. He managed to escape with his life. His dramatic and graphic account of fleeing the World Trade Center continues to be one of the most moving interviews I’ve ever conducted in my more than 50 years of broadcast experience.

Dr. George Kottemann, a forensic dentist, was a studio guest who described the gruesome task of trying to identify victims. Kottemann flew to New York as a volunteer and assisted in the daily, challenging, work of examining bodies and parts of bodies to ascertain who they were. It was startling and downright depressing to hear Dr. Kottemann state that of the more than 2,900 victims, positive identification was achieved for only about 1,700 persons. The Peoria dentist said the work was so emotionally demanding that daily counseling sessions were held for everyone for psychiatric support.

Other special guests included former Congressman Bob Michel, Peoria County Sheriff Mike McCoy, and former State Department Deputy Counsel, Phil Hoffmann, who was working in Toronto, Canada, on 9-11. The insights all of the guests provided that morning on WOAM were unique, powerful, and memorable and a fitting remembrance to what happened to this country in 2001.

POOR CUBS

As a long-suffering Cub fan, this season was particularly painful. The Cubs recorded only 31 home wins, a franchise record. Theo Epstein, the guy in charge who moved from Boston, was successful in drastically reducing the payroll to the delight, I’m sure, of the owners. In the process, the team looked more like a Triple A club than one for the Major Leagues. Only two teams in the majors were worse; Miami, who won 2 of 3 from the Cubs in Chicago, and Houston. As the Community Word went to press Dale Sveum was still manager. Rumors were flying he would be fired and replaced by Yankee manager, Joe Girardi. Wouldn’t that be exciting? The Cubs could be better next year. Who knows? They might win 32 home games.

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

“A true friend knows your weaknesses but shows you your strengths; feels your fears but fortifies your faith; sees your anxieties but frees your spirit; recognizes your disabilities but emphasizes your possibilities.” – William Arthur Ward, Educator