Coen Vs. Franco

Over Beck Rally.

 



Springfield rates almost right smack in the middle of the 200 largest broadcasting markets in the USA. As a result, whenever someone of real talent appears in our Valley TV media they often quickly disappear to somewhere else, usually the Boston or Hartford area. However one first rate talent who has stuck around is WGGB-TV's Scott Coen. How long? Here's a video that has surfaced of Coen doing a West Springfield armwrestling story he reported on in 1993.

 

This is Coen as he looks today.

Coen in a playful mood.

Over the years Coen has evolved into a real multi-media artist, doing not just his TV gig but also doing sports updates on WHMP and ESPN. He has his own Masslive column My Wide World which is more or less about everything and anything Coen wants it to be about. Sometimes he strays into politics, such as these recent comments on today's conservative rally organized by TV host Glenn Beck.

I wasn't going to weigh in on Glenn Beck's 'Restoring Honor' rally, because for me, it was a no-win situation. But then, I changed my mind. I don't care for Glenn Beck very much. Actually I think he's an idiot, a race baiter, and represents everything that's gone wrong with the Fourth Estate. I feel the same way about the talking heads on both sides of the aisle. I just find Beck to be completely objectionable --- the others only sometimes.

Coen's putdown of Glenn Beck drew the ire of Governor's Council candidate Mike Franco. That's Franco on the right with Springfield City Councilor John Lysak. 

Franco put out a press release blasting Coen for his remarks:

Bizarre... Notice how liberal neophytes who have isolated themselves for years in their insular universe immediately stoop to name calling and nasty rhetoric. There is no time for concerned Americans to wait for them to understand the truth about the course of our government. We will act now, and we will not relent or shirk our duty.

Wow, pretty strong words on both sides! Hey maybe they ought to have a charity arm-wrestling event or something to settle their beef!

Meanwhile, someone in Northampton appears to be disillusioned with our Governor. 

North Valley congressional candidate Michael Engels openly declares himself a "democratic socialist" but at least he has a sense of humor, as evidenced by this anti-Olver graphic on his website.

The other candidate in the three-way race is local tea party hero Bill Gunn.

State Rep. candidate Dan Melick at UMass recently. 

 

Southwick's Congamond Lake where dinosaurs roam. 

I also went down to Bike Nite in Springfield on Thursday to see what's left of the 80's band Skid Row. They definitely appealed to the biker scene.

In Springfield they love hard rock, but Northampton likes to explore the bizarre.