Country Music Television’s (CMT) Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team is an American reality television show that takes an in-depth look at the audition process for the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleading (DCC) squad. Through following the evaluation of over five-hundred girls down to the elite thirty person team showcases that the process of becoming a professional cheerleader for the National Football League (NFL) is highly physically and emotionally competitive. In true sensationalist “reality” television fashion the women are put through rigorous training including hair and wardrobe makeovers to transform them into individuals who will “properly represent the DCC brand” (CMT, 2015).

As I think about it now, there doesn’t have to be a reason why I listen to the Rugby, England band Spiritualized so much. But, lately I’ve been thinking there is. For some reason, since I was in high school, I’ve felt a personal connection to their music more than any other band or musician, a connection that persists. I don’t listen for distraction, or to get away from, as Neil Young called it, “the day-to-day running around.” It’s more than that for me: it is as if I learn about myself through their words and music.

In that fateful moment when pen slides across paper and rights slip away, whose thoughts have not drifted in the direction of, ‘‘Why am I not getting paid directly for this?’’ And who has not then experienced a modicum of regret upon suddenly feeling so . . . entrepreneurial? (Striphas, 2010, p. 7-8) What dissonance accompanies the act of publishing?

A little less than four months have passed since packing up and moving to Tallahassee. The trip from Baltimore to Florida was long, but has so far proven to be worth it. Since arriving on New Year’s Day, we’ve utilized several of the local parks the city manages. Every Saturday morning, I play in an informal baseball league at one of two public ball fields where I’ve met new friends and glorified my childhood dreams.

This upcoming Major League Baseball season, the Atlanta Braves will incorporate an alternate throwback-style uniform, without any of the mess of the actual history they commemorate. Since the Braves have taken to re-writing history, I have followed their lead and re-written the news report about the jersey’s unveiling.

When Bill O’Brien was introduced as the new head football coach at Penn State University my first reaction was the same as many people – “Who?” However, while I was doing research for a journal article I read the transcript of the introductory press conference and was taken aback by something O’Brien said. The former New England Patriots offensive coordinator said he would be the new leader of the “Penn State football family.”