Sean Merinar's Blog
Sean Merinar is an official Alumni of West Virginia University after graduating in May of 2007 with a degree in Broadcast Journalism. Sean grew up outside of Moundsville, West Virginia. He is proud to be a Mountaineer. He likes to watch movies, play football and basketball, read, and just be chill. Sean wants to be an ESPN football analyst someday.
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Filed under Sports - Football The Bashful Quarterback
Sean Merinar reporting from Miami, Fl (2009-01-03 11:37:49)
I know you want pictures of ladies on the beach....but I'm not going to post any as blogs. Let's just say I am having a fantastic time in ole Miami.
One guy who seems a little bashful about being near the beach is Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford. When I filmed the team arriving, he was being rushed by flight attendants and pilots to get a picture taken with them. He didn't speak with the media because he had done a few things in Oklahoma. When he got to the podium today, he was rained upon with questions about his Heisman, Tim Tebow, playing in the game, everything. He seemed a little nervous, shy, didn't feel like talking about the same thing over and over. I asked him if any of this ever gets old. He said sometimes it does.
What a spotlight to have shining on a kid who be just as happy out on a lake fishing or riding around his hometown. He deals with it well and we will see if he lets his game do the talking.
Check back to Palestra.net for a story on this....
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Merry Christmas, Pilgrim
Sean Merinar reporting from Sand Hill, Wv (2008-12-26 11:36:23)
First of all, Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, Merry Kwanzaa, Happy Winter Solstice, and anything else I may have missed. I hoped you enjoyed.
Being from West Virginia, I am often involved in things of a white trash or redneck-ery nature. Yes, I just made up the word redneck-ery. Christmas day I got to participate in a little slice of old time, Wild West, Christmas fun.
Christmas is a time I always spend with my dad. We usually end up moving something heavy we got for Mom or putting something together for the family. This year, we did something different. For those of you who have seen me on the website, add one inch of height and a mountain man beard. For those of you who haven't, think Grizzly Adams.
My sister and I came home from visiting our cousin and some friends, to find my father and mother sitting downstairs watching westerns. Not just any westerns, it was AMC's Christmas With The Duke Marathon. That's right, 24 hours of John Wayne westerns. Jaimie and I are never one to avoid a situation where we could pick on our parents, so we sat down.
After an hour, my Mom gave up. She just left. She could not take one more moment of John Wayne's fantastic drawl, men punching horses, gun fights, or my Dad guffawing at everything little thing the Duke did. Jaimie and I stayed.
Two movies later my father and I are having philosophical discussions about the history of westerns, while my sister tried to teach her dog to play dead after being shot with a fake pistol.
Christmas really does bring the family together. Happy Holidays.
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Game On: Animal Crossing City Folk
Sean Merinar reporting from Columbus, Oh (2008-12-22 15:47:48)
The game Animal Crossing: City Folk is the third in a series of games dedicated to exploring a location filled with animals. Think of it as The Sims for children and only on Nintendo. The third installment creates a new environment for you to play in and even let's you travel to a city....hence the title.
You are greeting by a cat who tries to show you the ropes of moving to a new town. Once you arrive, you must find a home, learn the names of everyone in town, and get a job. This is the entire game. While the game's rating is for everyone, this game is obviously geared towards children. The simple setup, easy instruction, and simple tasks are too easy for adults, but children will have fun learning the ropes of a new town and performing tasks. Jobs in the game include fishing, delivering items, planting flowers and trees, and picking fruit.
The game itself has no straight-forward story line. You purchase a house, then pay back the money by performing tasks for your boss. Once in a while you may travel to the city and trying to sell fruit and fish. The game's simple setup is meant for mindless entertainment for adults, but is a nice learning experience for children. The controller's set up is made to assist in hand eye coordination and the simple tasks in the game would allow for organization and decision making.
Overall, I would give this game a five out of ten. Its simple nature is too easy for an adult. The graphics aren't impressive, but the colors add a nice touch to the small town area. The music and sounds of the game will be trapped in your brain after you finish the game, even though there are no words actually spoken. Children under the age of twelve will enjoy the game. Everyone over the age of twelve will need to be patient and enjoy performing simple tasks.
The big draw of this game is the Wii Speak capability, which will be reviewed later.
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Three More Years
Sean Merinar reporting from Columbus, Oh (2008-12-17 11:30:16)
Source: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3774049
I am not a fan of Joe Paterno. I said it and let the comments begin. That said, however, I can respect what he has done for college football. He has coached for more than three decades and has led some of the finest teams on the field in college football history, but I grew up with old Joe Paterno. After 1994 Penn State was never overly impressive. I don't know anything about his old teams of the 1970's and 1980's. I know old, mumbling, coke bottle glasses Joe Paterno. I know "Please excuse me I need to find a port-o-potty" Joe Paterno. I know zombie Joe Paterno.
Now, I know three year contract extension Joe Paterno. The man will turn 82 by January and has just been given three more years to putter around the field. I say again, I completely respect Joe Paterno, the coaching icon, but that's not him anymore. Tell me that you really believe Joe Paterno is coaching kids in the new spread offense and putting points on the board. Joe has surrounded himself with a stellar coaching staff and he simply remains the figurehead. I don't think he has coached a lick in two years. By the way....HE IS 82!
To put that in perspective, I found a few other 82 year old folks that are still out and about working. Do you think they should still be doing the job?
Bobby Bowden is not 82, but when you talk about Paterno, you talk about Bobby. Bobby is 79, but he is talking about giving up the coaching game. He has said himself that he isn't calling all of the plays. He is simply surrounding himself with a great staff to continue winning games and eventually hand over the title.
Hugh Hefner at 82 is still going strong, but what does he do? His daughter is the CEO of his enterprise. He simply looks at photos of naked women and hangs out with plastic dolls in a mansion all day. That sounds like the best retirement ever to me.
Mel Brooks hasn't directed a film since 1995's Dracula: Dead and Loving It. He continues to do voice work for cartoons, but that's not as difficult as coaching a football team.
Bob Barker gave it all up at age 82. He did not want to endorse spaying or neutering your animal on tv anymore, even though it seems that job would be a little simpler than breaking down a 3-4 defense.
Finally, Senator Robert C. Byrd turned 82 this year. He has represented West Virginia in the Senate since 1959. His job is incredibly difficult, much like Joe Paterno's, but people are tired of him. If you ask the fine folks of West Virginia, most of them have no idea what he does other than get elected. They want a change. Sounds eerily similar to Penn State.
Again, I completely understand Paterno being the figurehead of Penn State University. It is hard to imagine the program without him, but it makes no sense to give him a three year contract extension to hang around. Create a position for him, keep him at games, get him out campaigning and flipping off drivers....whatever. Do not keep him at head coach because he is a name. Give him a position where he can keep his public persona, but don't believe that he is coaching every game and calling every play.
Stay tuned....
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So, It's Come To This?
Sean Merinar reporting from Columbus, Oh (2008-12-16 14:47:28)
I'm not usually one to pop up on the old high horse. A) I'm not very sophisticated, so I can't really talk about being classier or holier than thou.....B) I'm big so it's hard to get on horses period, but a story I heard today made me want to jump on the soap box for just a second.
I am a movie freak. Seriously. Ask anyone that knows me and they will tell you all I do is watch, quote, and memorize films. As such, many people ask me questions about what films to see and generally ask me questions about movies.
This morning, my ever so lovely boss ,Dave Maetzold, heard something on the radio that he relayed to me. A woman from Cincinnati was curious about why the upcoming film, The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, was rated PG-13. She did some sleuthing and found out that it was because they smoke in the film. Seriously. I myself did some investigative journalism....and the film does indeed give itself a PG-13 rating because of smoking.
To be fair, it also lists historical war violence, language, and sexual content as three other reasons for the rating. These three make sense. Smoking does not. When as a culture did we become so worried about how everyone views something on the screen as affecting them in real life?
Cigarettes are bad for you. I know this. I have learned about the effects of smoking since I was young. I have asthma. This makes smoking even more dangerous for me to be around. Does that mean that if I see a cigarette on screen I will get the need to smoke it? No. Will it make a ten year old who goes to see the film want to? If so, why would that image be more impressionable than parents or friends that smoke?
Making a film a PG-13 rating because characters smoke is absolutely ridiculous to me. I can't even count the number of movies that would have needed to garner a harsher rating for having people smoke in them. Look at movies from the 40's, 50's, and 60's. They are walking ads for cigarettes. Do we change the rating on them now? Do we make parents go with their 16 year old child to rent Casablanca because Humphrey Bogart lights up when he says goodbye? Let me know your thoughts.
I know this is something very little to be bothered about, but as Kevin James said, you need to sweat the small stuff. I shall now depart my soap box and have a candy cigarette.
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Bill Stewart: History Buff?
Sean Merinar reporting from Columbus, Oh (2008-12-11 11:09:39)
Source: http://dailymail.com/Sports/WVUSports/200812110133
After beating South Florida Saturday night, WVU Head Coach Bill Stewart made some statements that confused everyone. His comments about coal, oil, and brains made everyone in the press room freeze with confusion. The link above gives you the back story about what the hell those phrases meant.
I like the fact that he is a history buff, but a little background as he says it would be greatly appreciated. The response from everyone is not one of awe for Stewart being able to quote something, it is sheer disbelief because he sounds flat out crazy.
Let's Go Mountaineers.
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The Weather Outside Is Frightful
Sean Merinar reporting from Morgantown, WV (2008-12-06 16:41:38)
It is senior night at WVU. The school has called for a white out in honor of Pat White. Mother Nature decided she would join the party. The snow has been falling since 1:30, but has just begun to stick. We are expecting one to two inches this evening in Morgantown, but just an hour northwest in my home town, they are expecting one to five inches. There have already been reports of accident on I-79 coming into Morgantown. It is a little scary right now.
Kids got onto the field before the game and walked a number five into the snow as well as put one up in the seats. It will be an emotional night, a great night for a white out.
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My Brain Hurts
Sean Merinar reporting from Columbus, Oh (2008-12-04 16:29:12)
I love ridiculous stories and any kind of stories where you just stare at your screen in disbelief. Here is one such tale. This is an email sent from the Big 12 media relations.
"Dr Pepper Big 12 Football Championship Media:
As we approach the 2008 edition of our football championship, we wanted to remind you of the correct use of the Big 12 Conference name in the written word (newspapers, web sites, TV graphics, etc.). Since there has been significant confusion on the issue, we continue to make a concerted effort to inform everyone of the right way to spell out the league name. A guideline is included below.
Your attention to this matter is greatly appreciated. Thank you. BIG 12 ... AS EASY AS 1 - 2
When referring to the Big 12 Conference, please remember the conference name (which is a registered trademark) should be written as follows:
Big 12
The following should NOT be used in text when referencing the Big 12: Big XII Big Twelve"
Seriously? If you have ever looked at the Big 12 website, ESPN, Palestra.net, anything that has ever run anything having to do with the Big 12 Conference.....you always see Big XII. We have all been a party to disrespecting the Big Twelve. I mean Big 12. I'm a jerk.
Does anyone else find this just ridiculous...hence leading to funny? It is this awkward attention to detail that just makes people shut down. Amazing.
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Just Plain Awesome
Sean Merinar reporting from Columbus, Oh (2008-12-04 10:40:19)
There are certain times when you are so thankful for viral videos. Now is one of those times. I was talking to one of my buddies on facebook and saw a link on his wall. It took me to a very magical video. It is simply a product review from Amazon, but the unintentional comedy is out of this world. Please enjoy.
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Kanye West's Heart Makes Good Music
Sean Merinar reporting from Columbus, Oh (2008-11-24 14:49:27)
I was watching television last night (shocker) and I saw a commercial for Kanye West's new album 808s and Heartbreak. I immediately set my alarm earlier so I could go and pick it up before work. I made a good decision.
Kanye's new album is completely different from all of his others. He always re-invents himself, but this time he took it to the extreme. Gone are the up tempo, pop ready, fun loving lyrics. They are replaced by a completely raw vocal sound, T-Pain voice box, and some of the most heart-wrenching lyrics I've ever heard from any artist. All of his songs have a tribal beat, synthesizer rhythm, and his voice being digitally changed.
In the last year, Kanye has lost his mother and broken up with his longtime girlfriend. These two events are exactly what the album is about. If the song doesn't sound like his heart is broken by his mother being gone, it sounds slightly angry because he and his girlfriend separated.
While this may not be what most Kanye fans want, it is what he delivers. It is his best album in terms of actually rapping and singing about his life in such detail that it makes you feel like you are with him. If you want club beats, him rapping about being better than everyone, or old cocky Kanye.....this is not it. If you want to hear an artist making leaps into a new style and making some of the best music in his career....this is definitely for you.
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