These are blogs.

In my line of work, there are plenty of interesting and famous people I talk to. There was the time I talked with NBA Scouting Director Marty Blake for a story that never ran, or a Saturday morning phone call from former Seattle Mariners General Manager Pat Gillick.
More recently, my athletic interview was Hank Baskett, a Clovis native and Philadelphia Eagles receiver.
I’ll be very direct: Hank is one of the most media-friendly people I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. He calls you back, and he’ll also help you in underrated ways (case in point: He exchanged numerous text messages to help me identify two people he spoke with during the tournament for a photo I snapped). He gives lengthy, well-reasoned answers. Iif he ever reaches the point where he catches 50-75 balls per season, he’ll be a shoo-in for the league’s All-Interview Team.
He’s also good with the press because he doesn’t let you trap him, or make him take a controversial position — no matter how much you make him try, or how trivial the position is.

While he was in town for his charity golf tournament, I got a few minutes with him. We talked about the tournament, the NFL Draft (which was on the same day) and general Philadelphia things.
The stuff about the tournament made the story we printed on Sunday, and the rest is making this blog. All quotes belong to Baskett:

We shortly discussed the draft as it played on a big-screen TV in the background. He said last year’s draft was a life-changing thing, but this year is just about seeing how your team would benefit.
A little bit before we talked, the Eagles traded their No. 26 pick to the Dallas Cowboys for Dallas’ second-, third- and fifth-round selections. He admitted he was a little surprised, but liked the deal.

“That just gives us more artillery for our arsenal. The more, the better. You can’t ever have too much in the NFL. Anybody who’s going to come in, help you win the Super Bowl is a good thing.”

Donté Stallworth left, so the receiver position is a priority for the Eagles. I asked him about the fine line between knowing you need receivers and being concerned about your spot on the depth chart.

“We’re not even worried about that. We picked up Kevin Curtis. We believe we’re all stronger than last year. We’ll go into minicamp, then we’ll know about depth charts.”

And what of the quarterback situation? It’s unfair under most circumstances to force a second-year receiver to comment on a decorated veteran quarterback like Donovan McNabb. I thought it was fair, since:
• McNabb’s missed significant time the last two seasons (2005 sports hernia, 2006 ACL), and
• Backup Jeff Garcia, who led the Eagles to the second round of the playoffs, signed with Tampa Bay.

“Donovan’s been coming back, working harder than ever. It’s unfortunate we lost Jeff, but A.J. (Feeley) showed in the Atlanta game that he can come in.”

(Full disclosure: The Atlanta game had no impact on the Eagles’ playoff position, and Baskett may be a little biased. He caught seven balls for 177 yards, including an 89-yard touchdown in that game.) Just in case, the Eagles picked up quarterback Kevin Kolb from the University of Houston.

At the point we were talking, Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn had gone from a possible top three pick to No. 22 (Cleveland Browns). He really didn’t have much of an opinion.

“Y’all know more about sports than I do. I don’t watch TV. I see how they hype up the draft. I learned what the draft can do to you last year.”

I tried to put him on the fence about a prime Philadelphia issue: Who makes the best cheesesteak?

“I’ve been to Tony Luke’s, I’ve been to Jim’s on South Street, I’ve been to Pat’s (King of Steaks), I’ve been to Geno’s. I spread it around.”

Another safe answer, but he did mention a variation of the popular Philadelphia sandwich.

“The best cheesesteak rolls are at Davio’s. Those things are awesome.”

The following statement is going to put me in a staunch minority, but I need to stand by my convictions.
I actually like V8.
A lot of people turn their heads at the vegetable drink, but not me. I enjoy the spicy hot and normal variety, but can do without the lemon twist variety.
The aluminum can form is the best, because you can feel how cold it is just before you slam it down. That’s how I drink it, all in one motion. Sometimes it’s so cold, it ends with the irony that I got an ice cream headache from vegetables.
However, two things bother me about V8:

1. The aluminum cans are sold in two sizes — 11.5 ounces and 5.5 ounces (as a six-pack). Each 5.5-ounce can claims to have “one full serving of vegetables,” while the 11.5-ounce can claims “two full servings of vegetables.” Since 5.5 times 2 equals 11, and 11 is 0.5 less than 11.5, it makes me wonder what’s that extra 0.5 doing?
2. Why does it say “full servings” on the can? Wouldn’t “serving” be enough, without wasting words? Please don’t point out the irony of dedicating 16 words to the concept of wasting one word, because I know.

I hope you weren’t anticipating an educational blog today. I’ll work harder next time.

Sometimes you’re thumbing through our newspaper or browsing the site online and you’ll see one quote from a source. It brings up the melodramatic image of the newsroom with phones ringing off the hook, and a reporter with a cigar in his mouth and a fedora calling people and giving them 10 seconds to respond.
I’m glad to say it’s not really that way. That one quote is often the result of asking the expected question, then asking more questions based on the one or two words you didn’t expect to hear.
That’s why I love doing our “In Tribute” series. The obituary for longtime Clovis resident Sue Crow read that she ran Vogue Cleaners after her husband died and that she loved art. It’s the extra question or two with family members that let me tell readers in Friday’s story that Crow loved to can tomatoes, painted a mural in the living room and never accepted Hawaii as a state.
Sometimes tidbits like these don’t get in the paper. It’s not because they’re bad — it’s more likely they didn’t fit with the story.
Case in point, Tuesday’s ribbon-cutting at KICA. Bill Kurtis, best known for his work on A&E’s “Cold Case Files” show, is one of the partners in Tallgrass Broadcasting, which purchased the station and plans to make Clovis its central office.
There were two quotes I used from a 10-minute interview I had with Kurtis:

• “It’s booming economically,” he said about Clovis. “We see a population that is growing and an opportunity for these stations to serve it.”
• “The Internet is a major, tectonic change in media businesses,” he said later, addressing the shift in media and profitability. “By losing newspapers on a national level, losing cable, advertisers are losing platforms for reaching people. They are turning more to local newspaper and radio stations. There is always hope for community connections.”

There was a lot more I discussed with Bill Kurtis, but I left it out of the story for two reasons:

1. It didn’t have much to do with Clovis.
2. It didn’t have much to do with the acquisition of the stations.

I’m somewhat shortchanging my readers if I bog them down with details irrelevant to the real story — why did they buy this station, and how does that affect the place I live?
Conversely, I feel I’m shortchanging readers if I don’t share some of these gems. Here are some of the highlights from Tuesday that didn’t show up in Wednesday’s edition:
• Kurtis felt documentaries were one of the best ways to give people news, because the long story just gave more details and allowed more education on topics people just didn’t discuss every day.
“We covered global warming 15 years ago,” Kurtis said, “and nobody believed it.”
• To see a documentary about global warming, “An Inconvenient Truth,” take Oscar honors, shows what a shift the medium has taken.
We discussed the documentary “Supersize Me.” Kurtis recalled the fierce opposition McDonald’s had to the documentary where Morgan Spurlock nearly killed himself by eating only McDonald’s food for one month.
A good concept, well done in documentary form, won’t go ignored for long, Kurtis believed.
“The documentary form is now (going) to major motion pictures,” he said. “That’s where the major issues are going … they’ve become documentaries.”
• Kurtis has his sights on another project. He wants to be the next Paul Harvey, as he hopes to start a national newscast. His one concern with news radio is it’s become too opinionated, whether it’s Rush Limbaugh on the right or Al Franken on the left.
“There seems to be a need for somebody to go down the middle,” Kurtis said. “I’m an old-fashioned newsman who doesn’t know much other than to tell both sides of the story.”
• Kurtis’ voice gives everything an important tone. I was talking with KICA disc jockey Kevin Gardels, and he said he thought he got a great interview with Kurtis. I joked that Kurtis could talk about Jell-O recipes and make it sound dignified with his voice.
“I remember my wife and I had gone to the supermarket one Sunday eve. Cherry was the flavor we had picked. My wife opted for whipped topping. I felt the choice to be somewhat pretentious, especially since it was a non-dairy topping she selected. We took our items through the express line. We had more than 10 items, but Susan the clerk flashed us a smile that said, ‘Eleven is just fine, sir.’ The dessert and the trip made for an experience I’ll never forget.”
Maybe when he has that news program, he can sell Jell-O like Paul Harvey sells Craftmatic beds.

For those who don’t know, and those who do, my name is Kevin Wilson. This writing may have different elements than the follow-up writings that will appear on this site, but they have one important bond.
These are blogs.
I’m a 1996 graduate of Broadwater High School in Townsend, Mont., and a 2000 graduate of Eastern New Mexico University. I was the 1999 homecoming king and the first resident assistant in Curry Hall history to plan my own birthday party as a social program and pay for it through Housing Department funds.
I have worked at Freedom Newspapers for seven years and enjoy the variety it has provided. I have been editor in Portales and Tucumcari, and have handled various beats from sports to movies to the Ute Water Project.
With this blog, what you can expect is what I like about other blogs — thoughtful discourse, mixed with some pop culture and irreverence.
I think it would be a little heavy if I was going to get right into political issues, or episodes of “24,” but you can expect to read about both on this blog. Also expect to see some stuff about my favorite hockey team, the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres are the top seed in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and they’re close to finishing off the New York Islanders.
Instead, I’m going to steal the first blog of fellow CNJ blogger Courtney Post and change the answers for me. In the music business, they call it “sampling.”

I love to look at the window, realize it’s morning and then steal an extra 20-30 minutes of sleep. I enjoy sleep because I’m good at it.
I absolutely hate mornings, especially if work’s involved. Coffee doesn’t improve my mood, because I hate coffee.
I listen to music all the time. My favorite bands include The Roots, Collective Soul, Slum Village and Boyz II Men. Favorite solo artists include Craig David and Mandy Moore.
The best movies ever made would have to include Citizen Kane, The Usual Suspects, L.A. Confidential, Die Hard and Can’t Hardly Wait.
I love writing, and it’s enjoyable to do it as a journalist because you get to tell somebody else’s story.
My first time being published was an essay contest in high school, as the Helena (Mont.) Independent Record printed my letter on the meaning of Christmas. My first national publication came in SLAM Magazine, Issue 39.
At some point, I’d like to write a movie. It would be something like Spike Lee’s “Bamboozled,” except without the drama of racism.
Thanks for reading, and comment away.