URGENT: Help get Glenn back on the air in Cincinnati!

Now that Tony Snow has left his radio show, carried by 550 WKRC AM, to become the White House Press Secretary, the station is now asking listeners who they'd like to replace Tony.

At first there were three choices: Neal Boortz, Laura Ingraham, and Dave Ramsey.

Glenn Beck, who used to have the 9-noon time slot, wasn't a choice. Until now, thanks to listeners like myself, who contacted the station, 55KRC, Glenn is now one of four choices.

Now, you have the opportunity to bring exciting talk radio that goes beyond politics, back onto the Cincinnati airwaves! Vote FOR GLENN BECK now on 55KRC.com!

Update: Tony Snow / Glenn Beck

While the official announcement has yet to be made, sources say that Tony Snow, Fox News radio host and Princeton HS grad, has accepted the position of White House Press Secretary. An Announcement should be made tomorrow, Wednesday morning.

This also means that since Tony will be giving up his radio show, aired locally on 550 WKRC AM, 9 am-noon. In January, Tony Snow Show bumped off Glenn Beck, whom 55KRC had been airing since late 2001. However, with Snow's departure, this brings a new opportunity to bring back Glenn Beck (whew!), especially since he has a new TV gig on CNN Headline News, starting May 8, weeknights at 7 pm.

Glenn Beck is one of the most hilarious yet heartwarming people I have ever heard, seen, and met. Please help bring back Beck on Cincinnati airwaves by:

Calling 55KRC at: 513-686-8300
Or emailing: http://www.55krc.com/pages/comments.html

It's official: Cyclones are Back!

I received an e-mail from U.S. Bank Arena a few minutes ago...

Press Release

I don't know if I'll be residing in Cincinnati this fall, but seeing pro hockey back again is certainly good news. In a way, it's surreal!

Tony Snow to White House?

This week, we learned that President Bush's Press Secretary, Scott McClellan has resigned, and that Fox News commenator Tony Snow has been offered the chance to replace McClellan. Snow, a Cincinnati native, and 1973 graduate of Princeton High School (I'm a 2000 PHS grad), is expected to make a decision by tomorrow, Friday. It will obviously be a high-key, public, and extremely challenging position, but I think he'll do well and accept it.

Since Snow hosts a radio program, carried by 550 WKRC-AM, I'm wondering that if Snow leaves for the White House, will Glenn Beck be back in the 9am-noon time slot at 55KRC? Beck, by the way, will start a TV program on May 8th on CNN Headline News.

Cyclones to return to U.S. Bank Arena?

According to 12 WKRC Sports Director Brad Johansen, Cincinnati's pro hockey drought will end this fall - but not at the Cincinnati Gardens, as many had hoped.

Instead, the Cyclones, who played in the ECHL and IHL, will return to U.S. Bank Arena, where they played 1997 until 2004, when they suspended operations.

Johansen said, not quite confirmed, expect more on this Friday morning! Again, I hope the drought is over!

Wow, wow, and WOW! Back from St. Louis...

- 2 games at new Busch: 2 totally different experiences?
- 'Givl' Barry Bonds, how 'bout that young clean sensation that is Albert Pujols?
- Is there a new nickname for 'spilling your drink?'
- Is Chris Welsh a perv?
- Jim Edmonds + Scott Rolen = is Jim Scott a closet Cardinals fan?
- Didn't get to ride any Haughton escalators this weekend
- Ernie Hays should play Glenn Beck's martini music
- The Reds have gotten off to a good start so far, but then again, there is Albert Pujols...

More this week!

St. Louis: Back from Hockey and more

Today's activities began at Six Flags St. Louis theme park, in the suburb of Eureka, MO. The crowds werfe light, and I had a wonderful time. Unfortunately, I left early because of impending storms, but it gave me time to do more things. On the way back, I listened to the Cardinals game on 550 KTRS, and the Redbirds had a considerable lead over the "Tireds." I drove past the stadium, where a Cardinal home run was scored, and I could see fireworks shot out of the scoreboard area. I saw the end in my hotel room, final score 9-3 STL.

I got back out, and walked over to Famous-Barr department store, checked out stuff, and rode the various escalators, including wooden Otis escalators (the steps were steel, though). The store is expected to remain open after F-B and other May Co. nameplates are phased out for Macy's as part of Federated's acquisition of May.

I walked to the nearest Metrolink station from there, and rode the train over to Union Station. What an amazing complex! The former rail yard was converted into parking, restaurants, a small lake, Hyatt hotel, and shopping mall. The grand main building and grand hall were restored in the great Gothic style. While at Union Station, I ran into a broadcaster who was in town calling the game against the Cardinals. Hint: George W. Bush got his last name wrong!

After a meal and the odd encounter, I went to the SAVVIS Center arena nearby, for the Blues vs. Redwings NHL game. I think it's truly a major-league first class arena, good scoreboard system, and emphasis on escalators for moving fans up and down rather than stairs, ramps, and escalators (see "new Busch Stadium" on how not to do it).

Starting off, I got the chance to hear one of the greatest renditions of the national anthem I've EVER heard live in person, backed up with the organ. Again, the Blues, like a select few other sports teams, has respect for a great traditon known as the organ.

The game was fun, right until the end when the Detroit Red Wings scored, winning 3-2, but it was nice to see some of the best players in the game, just like I came to see the Cardinals in the new Busch Stadium, especially Albert Pujols.

Tomorrow, I'll go to the Arch, and a nearby Mass for Easter, and of course, Cardinals vs. Reds at new Busch Stadium, before a long, hard drive back home. They say St. Louis was the center of the world in 1904. I wouldn't be surprised if that were true today, at least in the sports world. Add 'what if.." an NBA team calling SAVVIS Center home might confirm that claim... Yes, some great structures have vanished, like the St. Louis Arena, Kiel Auditorium, Sportsman's Park, and Busch Memorial Stadium - but the spirit of the Cardinals, Blues, and.. to some extent.. the Rams (who played 4 games in Busch II in '95) will remain.

And not a bad Six Flags park either. The Boss was still great fun, and Bugs Bunny National Park is beautiful!

Tomorrow, I may make a quick post before I head off to Busch for the Sunday game, and after that, its Queen City or Bust! (not before passing through Johh-Effing-Kerry-Ham and In-di-an-ap-ol-is.)

The first Morning After - Cardinals 0 - Reds 1

My first visit to the new Busch Stadium is now history, and I'll say that it was a mixed bag.
- Yes, the Cardinals lost, but I like the Reds too.
- Many of the restrooms were small, but there were many of them!
- The escalators for the "regular people" were not yet ready. Honestly, there should be more.
- Sound system still needs work
- BUT, who can complain about the location, with the proximity to downtown, which is changing to become more of an after-5 pm destination - and the Arch in the background?

Overall, it's a great place, but I don't think it's the best park in baseball, as of now.

I'm about to leave within the next half hour to go to Six Flags St. Louis - it should be great!
And if I don't burn out bad, I'll go to the Blues-Red Wings game at Savvis Center. It can be 80 outside, they'll still play hockey in St. Louis.

In St. Louis, Checking in #1

I'm in my room at the Radisson downtown St. Louis. In just an hour or so, my first game at new Busch Stadium begins! So, this means, gotta go!

I had an interesting day at PKI, got to ride the new Avatar... it's great!

Go Cardinals! 2005 NL Cy Young Chris Carpenter pitches tonight!

Albert Pujols forever, Ken Griffey Jr... he's OK too.

St. Louis, New Busch just hours away!

In less than 11 hours, I will be leaving town for St. Louis, MO, to see the new Busch Stadium and two games there between the Reds and Cardinals. The new stadium is located on the south of the former (second) Busch Stadium, which served the Cardinals, baseball fans, and the city from May 1966 until October last year, prior to its painful but quick demolition.

Is the new Busch Stadium the best park in baseball? I promise a full, in-depth review, full of videos, and photos and such. I'll look at: the scoreboard, playing field, the seats, stadium/grandstand design, architecture, vertical circulation (elevators, escalators, stairs, ramps), food, prices, souvenirs, concourses, lighting, music, sound system, fans, staff, and of course, the teams!

As if the Wildman might say say, "St. Louis Cardinals forever, Cincinnati Reds... they're OK too." The Cardinals suffered their first loss at the new stadium today, 3-4, in 11 innings, to the Brewers. The Reds leave Chicago after taking two of three from the Cubs, and are tied in first with Milwaukee, 6-3. The Cardinals are 5th, 5-4 record in the second week of the young season. This series at Busch will be exciting. I'll be there for the Friday night and Sunday afternoon games, both behind home plate, though at different levels...

Of course, there's more than baseball in St. Louis. I plan on going to Savvis Center to see the Blues play the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night, my second NHL game since Pittsburgh in February.

Before that, I'll be at Six Flags St. Louis in the monring and afternoon, riding the great thrill rides and coasters I love doing.

As Willie, who's trying to recover after the shooting of activist Kabaka Oba across from Cincinnati City Hall, I'll give you a FULL REPORT! And I'll check in Friday, after the game for a brief review.

Trip Report: Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom, 4/1/06

A combination of going almost five months without coaster riding, great weather, and buzz created by new management, especially Six Flags' new CEO, Mark Shapiro, I chose to make the drive down to Louisville to check out Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom (SFKK) on April Fool's Day (Sat. 4/1/06).

I bought my season pass online, and printed the vouchers at home, the night prior towards leaving. I took my friend Brian, who also followed the same procedure, and we left northern Cincinnati at around 9:30 am, arriving at the Kentucky Fair & Expo Center approximately at 11:30. There were a large amount of cars parked in front of the expo halls, as there was a Flea Market going on in the West Hall, but we ended up finding a space with a short walk to the park.

Walking in, security seemed more strict than they were last year, doing a more thorough search, making me empty out all my pockets of electronic items, camera, phone, and iPod nano included. Beyond that, the area was very festive and inviting, with balloons and even the new Six Flags "theme song" playing, and people and signs saying "Have a great 45th Anniversary!" The chain is celebrating its 45th anniversary, since Six Flags over Texas opened in 1961. This, however makes guests think Kentucky Kingdom itself opened in 1961, and not really in 1987 (before closing for 2 seaons after a bad first year). BUT there have been FAR more misleading claims made...

Brian and I soon made our way to the Season Pass processing center, which had a short line outside the door. Upon making our way, more were already in, while there were a LOT of employees working the cameras, so getting our passes was with little effort. Noting a short line, we went to Hellevator, which only had a one to two cycle wait, and only one of the 5 sections were out of order. Since I'm looking out on the vast Expo Center and the city beyond, I hardly notice wer're going to be dropped.

Since I haven't been on a coaster since November, I wanted to start off on a good one, so I chose to go to Greezed Lightnin'. We got in the second to last row, when we noticed that our friends Adam and Darlene were waiting in the back! Not only did we notice that there is a "new" loop, but also a "new" train: they were parts of the former Tidal Wave/Greased Lightning that ran at Marriott's/Paramount's Great America in California. You may recall that after being dismantled, it was bought by Six Flags Marine World as parts, but never rebuilt whole again. I noticed the train looked different, not only by its colors, but also its headrests, and the yellow markings on the lapbars (something frequently seen on lapbars/restraints at Kings Island). The ride, however, was of the same quality as before, with some good airtime sitting in the back.

The four of us went to ride Road Runner Express next, with a decent line. While it is a mouse with a lot of quick stops and lateral G's, it had some negative vertical G's as well. The frequently alternating view between Chang and Freedom Hall was fun, too. Right after our ride, we headed across the "Damn Bridge" to the larger section of the park towards Chang.

Earlier on, we learned that Chang was receiving a badly needed paint job, which would be of yellow track and blue supports. Some school children entered and won the contest to pick the colors. I'm glad they're going back to the original yellow color, the greenish yellow and purple scheme began fading before too long. The past week, we learned that a painter was injured after falling 25 feet from a ladder while repainting Chang. We ended up waiting about half an hour, into the large queue area, as only one train was operating - it's possible one was out of order, or not being used while the paint job is underway. We ended up in the very back row, which, while intense, was still a great ride. After getting off, we noticed 4-5 Army soldiers in full dress uniform, always nice to see. The temperature neared 70, but I guess still comfortable, whether in shorts or in full sleves and pants.

Our next activity, T2, brught us one of the biggest surprises of the day: both trains in operation! While it is often a slow moving, low capacity ride, that really changes when another train is added, and we had little to no wait. This, however, should be expected, since new CEO Mark Shapiro had questioned the practice of ride vehicles being out of use, especially when there are long lines. This is possibly the second time I've ever seen T2 running... "T2."

Next to T2, we notice that Chaos was removed. The ride had suffered a lot of downtime, and was replaced with benches and trees, as it is now a designated smoking area. New this year, Six Flags parks have gone "smoke free," with the use of designated areas. While it is hard for a park in Kentucky to kick the habit, they may be doing a better job, with signage, more visible areas, and public address announcements - eventually, more and more guests will get a hold of the policy.

Walking towards the back of the park, to ride Twisted Twins, we noticed that the Penguin's Blizzard River was up and running, to our surprise. In addition, the pathway that goes by the Top Eliminator dragsters has been closed off, and according to the map, removed as an attraction. In the past few years, Top Eliminator was rarely open, as least to me. This then, took us underneath Thunder Run, which we'll come back to later. The other water ride, Mile High Falls, was also in operation. With the moderate temperatures, we chose not to get wet, as both water rides can get you drenched.

Only one side of Twisted Twins was open, Stella - as Lola was said to be undergoing some work. The one side, however, delivered a great, smooth ride. While it is one of the lowest rated CCI coasters, I think it's honestly underrated. Since Darlene and Adam had ridden Thunder Run earlier on, and they needed to process their passes, Brian and I did Thunder Run, which had a line down to the stairs. While Thunder Run is a great fast, and airtime filled woodie, its operation needs to be redone. They need to build a transfer track for a second train, which I think can be done. Its capacity isn't too "swift."

Roller Skater is a neatly designed Vekoma junior coaster, and we did that, mainly because I wanted to add it to my annual count. After that ride, I went in search for a good lunch-snack, which runs me to one of the biggest complaints of the day: food pricing has gone up. Yes, Papa John's (which started in Louisville over 20 years ago), is now the official pizza at Six Flags parks, but $6 is very pricey for a "large slice." Medium drinks cost close to $4. Even though I had a coupon with my Season Pass, it cost $7.50 for fried Oreos (which were good) and a medium drink. This seems to be going against what other parks have done for food and drink - Cedar Fair parks are charging 25¢ for cotton candy - and Holiday World, only 1-1/2 hours away, offers free unlimited soft drinks (and Voyage!). My problem is not with the gate pricing and season passes, but the overpriced parking (SFKK is exempt), food and drinks is a pain.

Some welcome changes, however, were the placement of restroom attendants, ensuring clean facilities. This was one of the bigger complaints about Six Flags parks, and they have thus responded. Also new this year is expanded live entertainemnent. Many of the Looney Tunes characters were present, new shows have been added, and parades are planned for this season, as well. One thing I find emphasized a little too much was the "45th Anniversary" thing. It's nice to celebrate the anniversary of their first park, Six Flags over Texas, but still a little overdone for a park that is less than 20 years old. We also noticed that Thrill Park Theater is now showing "The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera," which the Paramount Parks, include Kings Island, is also showing. Unfortunately, the simulator ride was closed, which means I'll have to wait a couple weeks to see it.

After eating, we an into Adam and Darlene again, as we headed to ride the Giant Wheel for a panoramic view of the park. Then, back over the "Damn Bridge" to the front for another ride on Hellevator, and some flat rides. Himalaya was fun, because they play a good mix of rock and country (plus the Vengaboys song that Six Flags recently made famous with Mr. Six). We also rode Enterprise and the Rainbow, before deciding to go to the back of the park again for another ride on T2 and then Twisted Twin Stella. Darlene and Adam parted ways, and Brian and I got a second ride on Chang. Since I love B&M coasters, a ride on Chang at SFKK is mandatory for me.

Before leaving for the day, Brian and I got two rides in on Greezed Lightnin', including one in the front car (I had the front row). I simply love this Schwarzkopf shuttle looper. This capped off a beautiful and exciting day at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom, which is beginning to turn a new corner for the better - new experiences, and better guest service, even as we were leaving the park gate. I might head back to SFKK in May when I go to Holiday World, possibly for HoliWood Nights on Memorial Day weekend.