KFGO Blog

Just a shameless plug here:

Sports commentator, author, etc., Bob Costas will be my guest on the ‘Mike McFeely Show’ on Monday, June 1. We’ll talk about the Roger Maris Celebrity Golf Tournament, since that’s why Bob (and Billy Crystal) will be in town at the end of the month. Also will hit on other baseball-related topics, too. That’s Monday, between 2-5 p.m. on the ‘Mike McFeely Show’ on the Mighty 790 KFGO.

A Powerball jackpot ticket worth $232 million was sold in the South Dakota town of Winner. It’s located between Sioux Falls and Pierre. The owner has not stepped forward yet, but when he/she/they do, it is going to be a media circus. This is the ninth-largest winning ticket in Powerball history.

Here’s a question for you. Seriously. Is it worth it to win that ungodly sum of money? Everybody who wins a huge jackpot says their lives are changed immediately. Some can handle it. Some can’t. There are tales of ruined lives and lost jackpots littered among the happy Powerball stories.

The most well-known is the case of West Virginian Jack Whittaker. He won $315M, the biggest Powerball jackpot ever, in 2002. His take was $93M after he took a lump sum payment and after taxes were paid. Whittaker was already rich, a successful builder. But the lottery ruined his life … or he ruined his life after winning the jackpot. His granddaughter died of a drug overdose, his wife left him, he was in trouble with the law constantly. The list goes on.

Here is a great story from a couple of years ago about Whittaker, written by an Associated Press reporter. Click here for the link. Worth the read.

So, the question is out there: Would you REALLY want to win the $232 million jackpot somebody won in Winner, S.D.?

I love catching crappies. They’re just fun. And delicious. And for the past several years on my blog, I’ve posted a photo of my hand holding up a nice, spring crappie. So, here is this year’s entrant — caught Sunday afternoon on Lake Lizzie in Minnesota’s Otter Tail County. Caught several dandy crappies up to 13 inches, plus a couple of feisty smallmouth bass and a 3-pound largemouth bass. That’s one of the reasons I love fishing in Minnesota — a good variety and a chance to catch some really nice fish. On the weekly outdoors segment on the “Mike McFeely Show” this Friday, I’m going to debate Doug Leier over which state has the better fishing — Minnesota or North Dakota? I’m going with the Land of 10,000 Lakes. We’d love to hear from you.

A dandy crappie from Lake Lizzie in Minnesota.

10. People don’t line the bottom of their birdcages with radios.

9. Ethics? This is talk-radio. We don’t need no stinkin’ ethics.

8.  So, this is what life above the poverty line feels like.

7. I’m fresh out of words of condolence and comfort for laid-off co-workers.

6. Running low on material? Phone lines are open!

5. No guilt over leveling vast forests to print the latest “news” on Britney Spears.

4. No one has ever referred t0 AM radio as the “liberal mainstream media.”

3. Running low on material? I think President Obama is doing a hell of a job and, oh by the way, I’m pro-choice. Your thoughts?

2. Words never to be heard by these ears again: “We’re short-handed. Could you write a preview story for the state swimming meet?”

And the No. 1 reason why being a radio talk-show host is better than being a newspaper columnist:

Radios will still actually exist in 10 years!

I took a week off after resigning from The Forum. I’ve spent a week kicking around the Radio Fargo-Moorhead offices, bugging everybody. I’m going out of town for Memorial Day weekend.

I’m ready. Let’s get this thing going.

The Mike McFeely Show debuts at 2 p.m. Tuesday on the Mighty 790 KFGO. We go statewide from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on KFYR 550 in Bismarck and KCJB 910 in Minot.

My question is, and I’m serious, will I sleep Monday night?

Let’s go back through the mists of time to about 6 years ago. Mark Johnson, at the time golf pro at The Meadows in Moorhead, was going to be my co-host of all-new, brand-spanking-new Golf Show on WDAY. Neither of us had radio experience. Neither of us slept the night before the big debut show. Which was an hour long, by the way.

This time, I’m confident I will get some shut-eye. I’m now an experienced, but not yet seasoned, veteran of talk-radio.

What will The Mike McFeely Show be, exactly?

It will be what you’ve come to expect from me, if you’ve read me for the last 12 years when I was a columnist at The Forum – I will let you know what I think, and I would expect you’d react. This isn’t about placating the most people. It’s about talking straight, giving an opinion, and engaging in conversation with listeners about that opinion.

Topics? Oh, pretty much everything under the blue skies of North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dakota. Politics, news, local issues, personalities, pop culture, sports, the great outdoors. You name it, we can talk about it. And we’ll have guests.

There will be some set segments on the show. Each Thursday during the Minnesota Twins season we’ll have a Twins player, coach or official on The Mike McFeely Show to talk about the Upper Midwest’s favorite baseball team. Each Monday during the Minnesota Vikings season we’ll have somebody on from the Vikes to recap their latest glorious victory, or their last in a long line of crushing defeats.

Each Friday we’ll spend some time on the outdoors, talking fishing and hunting in the Dakotas and Minnesota. We’ll allow you, our listeners, to call our guests and ask for tips – or maybe the latest hot spots.

We’ll also spend time on the more serious side of things. We’ll kick off the 4 p.m. hour with the 4 O’Clock Four-Pack, a rundown of the four top talkers of the day. KFGO news director Paul Jurgens will join me in-studio for that, hashing over everything from Nancy Pelosi to Roxana Saberi to Sara Gullickson to Daniel Hauser to Brett Favre.

And, of course, we’ll include you, the listener. The phone lines are always open for good discussion. The Mighty’s phone numbers are: 237-5948 or 1-800-880-5346. Or you can e-mail me at the studio at studio@kfgo.com or mike@kfgo.com

I look forward to talking with all of you Tuesday. Until then, it’s a long weekend. Enjoy.