Author: weezel32

PoliticsLeave a comment

Sales Tax Potential Is Matched By Concerns

weezel32

*Column originally ran in the Wayne County Press. Anytime a new tax is afoot, a crowd will congregate. And Tuesday’s public hearing in Fairfield on the proposed business tax district was no exception. For most, tax is one of the few three-letter curse words. So that there were speakers against the proposal was no surprise. That the proponents matched them in number may have been. That Fairfield is one of the few towns to not have this tax or a similar one was quickly glossed over. We are the exception in this regard, not the rule. That sort of negates … Continue reading Sales Tax Potential Is Matched By Concerns

ReadsLeave a comment

Book Nook: The Dogs of Venice, by Steven Rowley

weezel32

The Dogs of Venice is a short story about Paul, a recent divorcee who escapes to Europe in search of himself, or something. The book encomposses Paul’s last couple of days on his trip, as he deals with how to move on, and finds a strange mentor…a mut roaming from table to table looking for scraps. At just 1 hour, 21 minutes of an audiobook, this was a freebie on Audible. I’m honestly not even sure how it wound up in my library. I’m guessing it was the “Read by Neil Patrick Harris” on a free book. I’m not sure … Continue reading Book Nook: The Dogs of Venice, by Steven Rowley

FCHS MulesLeave a comment

A Season For The Record Books: The 2021-2022 Mules Wrestling Season

weezel32

*This column originally ran in the Wayne County Press Finding sports records for small town high schools is not always the easiest task. Finding them for what have traditionally been the lesser attending task came be downright daunting at times. So, with that in mind, with the Fairfield Mules having one of their best wrestling seasons in many, many years, it was time to start doing some digging. Some new names have entered the pantheon. Notice the use of “many, many years.” A little reporter’s trick: when you don’t know an exact detail or date, but are fairly sure, you … Continue reading A Season For The Record Books: The 2021-2022 Mules Wrestling Season

SportsLeave a comment

This Is (March) Madness

weezel32

I sit here staring at spreadsheets, brackets, survivor strategies…all of it. I’ve been on a nonstop podcast binge of nothing but college basketball and gambling. All listened to at 2x speed. I’m the guy who can tell you the exact expected win percentages of every team in the NCAA men’s bracket, for every round, based off an algorithm using both advanced analytics and human polling, factoring in travel distance even. I’m the guy who can tell you the point spread, within a point or two, of just about every potential matchup before the spreads are released. I’m the guy who … Continue reading This Is (March) Madness

Sports, Take The PointsLeave a comment

College Basketball Power Ratings: The Field Of 68

weezel32

The field is set. All 68 teams know their matchups. So, here are the IAW power ratings for all of the teams who saw their names called tonight. 1 Gonzaga Zags 100.0 2 Arizona Wildcats 95.9 3 Houston Cougars 94.9 4 Kansas Jayhawks 94.4 5 Tennessee Volunteers 94.4 6 Kentucky Wildcats 94.3 7 Baylor Bears 94.1 8 Iowa Hawkeyes 93.5 9 Auburn Tigers 93.2 10 Texas Tech Red Raiders 93.0 11 Duke Blue Devils 92.9 12 UCLA Bruins 92.9 13 Purdue Boilermakers 92.6 14 Villanova Wildcats 92.2 15 Illinois Illini 90.2 16 Arkansas Razorbacks 89.7 17 Connecticut Huskies 89.4 18 … Continue reading College Basketball Power Ratings: The Field Of 68

ReadsLeave a comment

Book Nook: Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur

weezel32

A couple weeks back, I was watching the Marvel 616 documentary series on Disney+. One of the episodes was on inclusion within comics. They interviewed several women for the show and the female side of Marvel. One of them was Amy Reeder, a writer and artist who was part of Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, a comic series about a time-traveling dinosaur and a pre-teen Inhuman who wants to change the world but is also afraid to change herself. Reeder talked about the reaction she got from little girls at some of the comicons and such. How much their faces … Continue reading Book Nook: Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur

Politics, ReadsLeave a comment

Book Nook: What Unites Us, by Dan Rather

weezel32

I’m 43. I’ve had the conversation with some of the elder generations at the newspaper that I was largely the last generation that grew up wanting to be a “newsman”. Kids younger than me really didn’t grow up seeing newspapers or magazines as a possible future. I was lucky to have a couple of strong newsmen to look up to locally. Nationally, I grew up on Dick Schapp and Peter Gammons in sports. For news, it was Dan Rather. He was the news voice of my childhood. I’m not sure why it was Rather, and not Brokaw or Jennings or … Continue reading Book Nook: What Unites Us, by Dan Rather

Sports, Take The PointsLeave a comment

College Basketball Power Ratings

weezel32

With conference tournament weekends in full swing, I’m finally getting to some power ratings for men’s college basketball. To recap, the are spread equalized. So to figure a spread, subtract one team’s power rating from the another and then adjust for any home court, which won’t be often from this point on. Starting with a top 40 today. I will circle back around next week with an update for the tournament field. 1 Gonzaga Zags 100.0 2 Arizona Wildcats 95.1 3 Kentucky Wildcats 95.1 4 Houston Cougars 94.3 5 Duke Blue Devils 94.1 6 Baylor Bears 94.1 7 Iowa Hawkeyes … Continue reading College Basketball Power Ratings