Hour One
Former MLB Detroit Tigers Pitcher, Denny McLain
Former Detroit Tigers Pitcher Denny McLain graces the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1968, the year he won 30 games. Image Credit: 2guystalkingmetsbaseball.com
Former Detroit Tigers Pitcher, and the last man to win 30 games in a season, Denny McLain starts the show today with Jim to talk about something different: Football. With the recent four-game suspension handed down to Tom Brady and the $1 million fine given to the New England Patriots for deflating footballs during last years AFC Championship game, Denny shares his opinion on the severity of the punishment, and even draws a few comparisons between "Deflate-gate" and MLB's "spitball".
Jazz Musician & Saxophonist Brad Walker
Jazz Musician and Saxophonist Brad Walker will perform with his Quintet Thursday May 14th at the Shaw Center for the Arts as part of the Jazz Listening Room Series. Image Credit: schedule.sxsw.com
Jazz Musician/Saxophonist Brad Walker joins Jim as the second guest today to promote his upcoming performance in the Jazz Listening Room Series on Thursday May 14th, 2015 at 7:30pm. Presented by The Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge, Brad and his Quintet will play in the Hartley/Vey Theatre of the Manship Theatre at the Shaw Center for the Arts in downtown Baton Rouge. Tickets are $10 each, and for more information or to buy tickets visit www.manshiptheatre.org/events.asp or www.bradwalker.me. The concert will also feature special guest vocalists Quiana Lynell and Peter Simon (of Minos the Saint), as well as internationally renowned trumpeter Brian Shaw (LSU). Originally from North Carolina, Brad came to study music at LSU where he earned a Bachelors Degree in Saxophone Performance and a Masters Degree in Jazz Studies. After school Brad moved to New York City and spent three years honing his craft until ultimately deciding to move back to Louisiana to the Big Easy where he now resides. In New Orleans Brad enlisted some of Jazz's heaviest players (Simon Lott, Brian Seeger, James Singleton, and pianists Oscar Rossignoli and Doc Sharp), and together they created, and still create, what the Arts Council calls "a distinct sound that stands out in today’s vibrant New Orleans music scene" by seamlessly blending "the language of modern jazz with electric flavors of rock, funk, and soul."
LSU Chancellor Emeritus James H. Wharton
Chancellor James Wharton speaks to students regarding a tuition hike of $48 per semester in 1989. Image Credit: http://www.lsu.edu/departments/gold/2011/07/alley.shtml#!prettyPhoto
LSU Chancellor Emeritus James H. Wharton talks with Jim about the TOPS program, and addresses his concerns for the future of TOPS amid possible, massive cuts to higher education. Wharton was named chancellor of LSU in 1981, and as Chancellor he established high admission standards for LSU that enhanced the national image of the University, and he was instrumental in restructuring the Alumni Federation to form the LSU Alumni Association. He led the LSU Foundation to be more dynamic in its fundraising efforts, and in 1987 the Carnegie Foundation designated LSU as a "Research University I” the highest advanced-research ranking given by the foundation. The designation put LSU in the top two percent of the nation's 3,300 universities; a group of 45 public and 25 private national institutions. Today he serves as a Member of the Board of Trustees for the Patrick F. Taylor Foundation and remains a highly regarded education expert.
Hour Two
Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist, Tyler Bridges
Author and Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Tyler Bridges joins us over the phone from the halls of the Louisiana State Capitol as the lone guest for Hour Two of today's show. He and Jim discuss the possible outcomes in the upcoming 2015 Louisiana Governor Election; the latest news concerning the Legislative Session from the Capitol; and much, much more.
Author and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Tyler Bridges. Image Credit: www.tylerbridges.com
A graduate of Stanford University, Tyler's career as a journalist spans over 30 years. He's reported for The Daily Journal in Caracas, Venezuela, The Times-Picayune, The Lens, and The Miami Herald where he was a member of two Pulitzer Prize-winning teams. His career includes freelancing stints with such publications as The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. He is the author of The Rise of David Duke (University Press of Mississippi, 1994) and Bad Bet on the Bayou: The Rise of Gambling in Louisiana and the Fall of Governor Edwin Edwards (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2001). In 2011-2012 he spent a year at Harvard University on a Nieman Fellowship studying the coverage of politics and government in digital media. Currently, Tyler is covering the 2015 Louisiana Legislative Session for The Advocate.