Something incredible was happening to Peoria on December 4th 2007.  Were we welcoming home our military cargo/transport heroes home from Iraq.. nope.  Were we completing our multi-year revamp of one of the oldest sections of I-74 to enhance the driving experience for our visitors.. nope.  Hold on to your seats now…. Michigan State’s glorious basketball team was coming to play our Bradley Braves.  I know, I know you’re giddy just thinking about it.  So, Michigan State, representing their 46,045 students ,was coming to take on the Bradley Braves with a 2006 enrollment of 6,127.  Truly a David and Goliath moment.  It was so big that ESPN was going to carry it.  We’ve hit the big time now.  The big night came, the lucky ones got tickets to Carver Arena to witness the historic event in person, while others popped their popcorn, poured their drinks and settled into their favorite chairs.  It was a close game, but the Braves fell short of toppling the mighty Spartans 66-61. …. and then things started taking an ugly turn.

The experts at ESPN (yes, the all knowing sports authority) decided to go above and beyond just giving us the score… that little bit extra that warms our hearts and allows us to bask in their brilliance.  The highlight editor apparently decided no one actually knows where Peoria, IL is so they pulled up their electronic map and stuck a big star on the spot to inform everyone … a score and education, what more could we ever ask for….. wait, wait, OMG we’ve shrunk.  Chicago and Cairo IL are nowhere to be found.  I’m about to jump up and check on my friends in these places when it becomes apparent that this is not Illinois, it is our wonderful neighbors to the East, Indiana.  I can understand a mistake and I must admit it was corrected in later segments of the highlights. 

What perked my interest is the response from the ESPN spokesman (Josh Krulewitz) when asked to comment on the mistake.  Rather than just admit the error and go on, he responded with “Clearly while we take accuracy as being of the upmost importance to us, our expertise is in sports and not geography.”  I’ll let that sink in a minute.  I may be wrong, but I am thinking ESPN’s expertise is in facts related to sports – to be more accurate, simply reporting the facts about the athletes who actually participate in sports activities.  The root of the service is still dependent on accuracy of facts or we would not be tuning into that station and instead getting our information from the Globe.  If you are unable to accurately put a star on a map where a game is being played, what level of confidence does a viewer have regarding your “insights” into the game.  He followed up with “People should understand those highlights were not randomly thrown up there by an anchor; they were taken from a local source”  Someone I know was talking to a friend of theirs who said they know a guy who talked to a woman who personally knows the hairdresser of [insert famous person name] and she said he was using Rogaine…should we fact check that statement…. no, we don’t have time and we’ll lose the scoop – print it.  

But that isn’t the main reason I am taking the time to relay this particular event.  What I really took exception to was comments made by the anchors Linda Cohn and Neil Everett.   After displaying a Tom Izzo quote regarding and article he read from a Bradley alum stating “this is the biggest thing that has happened there in 10 years”, (clearly a newsworthy statement, where’s my Globe) Linda took it upon herself to comment on a few other key events in the history of Peoria during the last 10 years:

• A KISS concert in 1997
• Peoria Pirates indoor football championship in 2000
• Getting a second Wal-Mart Supercenter

 Yes, the location of one of the leading trauma hospitals in the country and the world headquarters of Caterpillar Inc. eclipsed by a second Wal-Mart Supercenter.  Now I highly doubt this would even be big news for a much smaller location say….. Pathogue, New York (around 12,000 people in 2000) Yes, Linda we did some research, but Peoria is even little bit bigger than that (around 113,000 people in 2005).  

Not even the 2006 March Madness results was more exciting that the Wal-Mart construction – you know, the one where Bradley went 3 rounds into the tournament and Michigan State LOST in the first round.  Oh well, it’s all about the sports and not the facts, but I can tell you that 15 minutes ago I didn’t know how many students were at each of the colleges or where Linda Cohn used to work…. but a few quick Google searches and now we all know.  Although I must admit, I did not need to research on what shapes the various states are. 

Note to Bradley … you might want to update your website to be a little more current that 2006 enrollment numbers – kind of looks bad for your credibility.