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Today's word on journalism

May 8, 2009

The Last WORD


The Fat Lady Sings, Off-Key, Drools

At about this time every year, like the swallows to Capistrano or the buzzards to Hinckley, Ohio, the WORD migrates to its summer musing grounds at the sanitarium —St. Mumbles Home for the Terminally Verbose.

The reason is clear, and never moreso than as this season —the WORD's 13th —peters out.

It's been a fraught year of high palaver and eye-popping transition, both good and not-so-much. An interminable presidential campaign saga finally did end, and in extraordinary and historic fashion. Meanwhile, the bottom and everything that's below the bottom fell out of the economy, with families, homes, entire industries and —of particular interest to WORDsters and the civic-minded —dozens of daily newspapers ("I don't so much mind that newspapers are dying--it's watching them commit suicide that pisses me off." --Molly Ivins). . . all evaporating. What replaces them, from the individual to the institutional to the societal? Are we looking at a future of in-depth Tweeting?

As any newsperson or firehorse knows, it's hard to turn your back on day-to-day catastrophe --we just have to look at the car wreck. But even the most deranged and driven need a rest. As philosopher Lilly Tomlin once observed, "No matter how cynical you become, it's never enough to keep up."

So this morning, as a near-frost hovered over northern Utah, the unmarked van pulled into the driveway and the gentle, soft-spoken men in the white coats rolled the WORD out of bed and into a straitjacket for the usual summer trip to St. Mumbles, where the blathering one will be assigned a hammock and fed soothing, healthy foods --like tapioca, dog biscuits and salmon --while recharging the essential muscles of cynicism, outrage, sarcasm, social engagement and high-mindedness, in preparation for the next edition.
Summer well, friends.

Speak up! Comment on the WORD at

http://tedsword.
blogspot.com/

Feedback and suggestions --printable and otherwise --always welcome. "There are no false opinions."

Sports & Recreation : :

Stavon Williams leaving USU basketball team

By Tim Olsen

April 22, 2009 | Recently rumors have been flying around campus that the Aggies' best three-point shooter last season will not be returning for his senior season. After spending some time tracking him down, I sat down with Stavon Williams to get an answer from his own mouth.

TO: So there have been rumors flying around the past couple weeks that you're leaving. Is the rumor true?

SW: Yes, it is.

TO: What led you to make that decision?

SW: Actually, from the beginning of last year before I was even going to come here I was going to leave. The reason I signed was because of James Ware, me and him had a tight relationship … and I knew it was going to be hard for me going so far away from my family. When he left it was a month before the season so I'm already signed and it's already a hassle to decommit and go through that whole process.

TO: Did your success this season and your experiences here affect your decision?

SW: Honestly, it was super hard. I wasn't playing well and I wasn't producing like I thought I was going to and I was just going through all the things I went through at the beginning of the year, the little trouble I got in and what not. I was going to leave at semester, but then another player left and I was like I don't want to do that to the team.

TO: Did the fan support make it harder to leave?

SW: It's super hard to leave because the fans are just amazing, it's the best place I've ever played in my life.

TO: What was it like to play in the Spectrum in front of the USU student section?

SW: I can't even explain how good it felt, it's just like when you get the shivers up your spine. Everyone is cheering for you and it's the best feeling you could ever have. That alone made me want to stay another year, but I've been going through so much this whole year personally ­ nothing to do with the coaches or anything, just personal. It made it so much harder though, the fans are great, they're just amazing. They'll come out every game no matter what, if we're losing they're still up there cheering hard still packed and everything.

TO: What will you remember most when you leave USU?

SW: I'm going to remember how great of teammates I had because they were so supportive. I've never been around a group of guys like that, period, in my life. I've never been on a team with so many positive players and just nice, kind … like a family. I think that's the reason that we won so many games, people were never down on anyone, it was just positive. We always went hard and everyone would lift people up.

TO: What was your favorite part of living in Logan and Cache Valley?

SW: It's so calm and you don't have to worry about robberies or nothing because it's all nice people. It's an environment where you're just safe, you don't have to worry about anything getting stolen ­ I lost my phone and somebody turned it in ­ I'm going to miss that type of stuff. The kind people I'm going to miss too, the people in general were just really, really nice to me.

TO: What are you're plans for the future?

SW: Honestly I don't know. I'm at a point where I'm not going to say that I'm satisfied with playing Division I and I'm cool with it, but I'd rather be somewhere where I'm close to home.

TO: Are you planning on playing Division I basketball wherever you end up?

SW: I definitely want to stay Division I, but if it's anything like not a full ride than I'm going to go Division II.

TO: What would you like to say to the students and fans before you go?

SW: I've got so much to say, I thank them for supporting me everywhere. They were the best fans that you could ever have. I don't want people to look at me like oh he's leaving, because it's not like that at all. It's just personal reasons and I feel like everyone should understand that. It's nothing about Utah State because it's the best school and the best fans I've ever played in front of ­ the best people period. I just hope they still have love for me, because I have love for them still. I'm going to keep in touch with all the players and everyone. Hopefully I still get love from my fellow Utah Aggies on facebook.

I was proud that I got to play on this team man, 30-5 is something I'll never forget.

+++

Williams and his ability to shoot lights out on any given night will definitely be missed next season in the Aggie backcourt. The sharp shooter averaged only six points a game during his lone campaign with USU, but could explode at any time as was shown in the WAC tournament. Williams knocked down 6-of-8 3-pointers on his way to a career-high 22-points in USU's first round game against the Fresno State Bulldogs.

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