Reporting live from Dallas, TX

I am sitting here writing to you from Dallas, TX. Sometimes in all my ventures I feel like some kind of war correspondent, writing to you from a distant land. And let me tell you, this seems like a distant land.

As the plane was landing I noticed a football stadium. I thought to myself, "How nice..." Then about two miles down the road there was another one. "Oh, that is cool." But when it continued, I realized just how serious they are about football here. Stadiums are almost like 7Elevens, one on every corner.

It was a nice flight. I did not have to be squished, so it was even nicer. Traveling is something I enjoy and I get a kind of relaxation out of it. Maybe it is just me, but I enjoy traveling alone. I like not having to be accountable to anyone and being able to do what I want.

For dinner, Lynlee and I scoped out some restaurants. We all ended up at On The Border. It is a Tex-Mex place with decent food. The chips were like half corn tortillas cut in half and then fried. The salsa was excellent.

Helpful hint for the next time you are in Texas: Salmon can be mistaken for Sampler... This is what happened to me, to the degree that I did not get my food until everyone else was done eating. The upside: We did not get charged for it. When the salmon did come though, it was excellent. It is now in a to-go box in our little fridge.

Yesterday I shot the first round of the Women's NCAA Soccer Tournament. It was a fun place to be and I had the opportunity to talk with some photogs. It was a rough game for the Cats because the ref was calling fouls about every other time a player touched the ball. The Cougs rarely were called for fouls.

In the end, the game became quite intense. It ended in a tie, 1-1. The game then went into a regulation 10 minute overtime. No goals were scored. So, it continued into another 10 minute overtime. Still no goals. The next step was a ten point shoot-out. Weber won the shoot-out 4-3.

It was a key win for the Cats. I believe it really helped to boost their confidence. It was the first time the Cats beat the Cougs in 10 years; the Cougs are also nationally ranked at 14 (now 17th due to the loss); AND it is the first time the Cats have ever advanced to the sencond round of the tournament. WOW!

It was emotional for everyone. Rochelle Hoover, 3, secured the win with the final shoot-out kick. Candice, the goalie, also had four key saves in the shoot-out.

Unfortunatly, The Signpost did not see fit to give the team any coverage on the front. Editors were too worried about going home, rather than breaking news and having to re-do the front page. I was quite disappointed. Many other students also made comments to me today regarding the lack of appearance. The Standard-Examiner even saw fit to run a photo and caption on their front page. Hmm...

It is my worry that lazy journalists are coming through the ranks. These young journalists do not know how to find their own information. They expect everything to be handed to them. It is unfortunate they are unwilling to cover controvercial stories because they might offend someone. This alone is a blow to the very thing journalists have fought for for many years: Right to an open government and freedom of the press.

Passion must replace fear. A passion, remembering we are here to inform the public. A journalist does not become a journalist for selfish reasons. A journalist should become a journalist to help keep our government and society accountable for what it does, to inform the public and most importantly, the right to know.

All hail for Sunshine and a FREE press!