Michela,
Welcome back to the blog!
This reality happens all to often. A funeral was held over the weekend for a vibrant lady who sadly lost her battle 5 years after detection.

Great message! Welcome back Machaela!

J is lucky to have you, too. Great friends make all the difference and a few kind words can go a long way. I'm sure she'll be touched by your blog.... Great to hear from you again!

Glad to see you back online, Michaela. And thanks for writing about a very important subject. I wish your friend, J, all the very best for a speedy and complete recovery.

A week ago I lost a co-worker to breast cancer. I hope your friend stays healthy.

A week ago I lost a co-worker to breast cancer. I hope your friend stays healthy.

A week ago I lost a co-worker to breast cancer. I hope your friend stays healthy.

Dear Michaela,
Thank you for your comments during Monday's 9:00 hour broadcast about the lack of support for the Sparks and broadcast of their games, as well as the lack of fan support in general for the WNBA. I agree with you, these women ARE great athletes and great role models for every young girl who has the dream of playing professional basketball. I'm a big fan of the WNBA and have supported the Sparks over the years. I have a niece who lives back east and is a very talented basketball player. She's in her junior year of high school and has been playing basketball for her schools and local leagues since she was 10. Her dream is to play college ball starting in the fall of 2009, graduate with a degree in Psychology and play for the WNBA. She's never waivered, and for 7 years I have done all I can to help nuture her dream - along with my family. She's an excellent player, a good student and a wonderful young woman. I believe in her dream and I tell her that on a weekly basis. Her birthday was last week and ALL she wants is an autographed Candace Parker jersey! She LOVES CANDACE PARKER. So I've been working on trying to make that dream happen.
But I am so thankful that she has great women athletes - basketball role models- like Candace Parker, Lisa Leslie, Tina Thompson, Sheryl Swopes, Swin Cash,and so many others.
I am so grateful that you reminded viewers of how much talent is in the WNBA and our responsibility to keep the league alive. It's important for my niece and for so many girls like her to see what's possible.

I too have heard those dreaded words "you have breast cancer". That happend to me a year ago April. When one has a mammogram & gets a call from the Diagnositc Center on a Thurday afternoon saying "we've read your mammogram & we have set up an appointment for you at 9 a.m. tomorrow", one knows that can't be good. But after several mammograms, a biospy, 2 CT Scans, an MRI, chest x-rays, blood work, 2 surgeries 35 days apart (they didn't get it all the first time) & 16 radiation treatments which leaves one completely exhausted plus some other medical "stuff" it appears I'm cancer free. It was a wild 6 month roller coaster ride & trust me roller coaster rides are not all that fun. Family & friends surrounded me with love, support & said about a bazilion prayers for me. Am still working on getting my energy back. As I told my family.....the medical profession will do what they can do, I'll do what I can do as far as getting rest, eating properly, keeping myself as serene as possible, etc and the rest is up to God. I feel I was blessed that my diagnosis appears to have been "the lesser of all the evils" when it comes to this dreadful disease. Some days I don't even think about it at all.....another blessing. I so hope your friend "J" will be as fortunate as I have been (so far) & she will have a long & healthy & joyfilled life. Joanne

Hi Michaela, I have been a little on the fence with you lately (love/hate) but I must admit this was a beautiful blog. Two years ago I nursed my cousin through her recovery with breast cancer. The surgery was great but the effects from the chemotherapy was really really bad. Although I was still recovering from having a hysterectomy 6 months earlier I could not imagine having to go through such a difficult recovery. My cousin is doing great she got a divorce ( after 28 years) and she is now living life to the fullest.

May God bless all the Breast Cancer survivors and those who care for them.

Continued success to your friend.

Nice to see you back on the boards. We missed your voice.

Nice to see you back on the boards. We missed your voice.

Posted by: jozielee

I didn't.

And where in the hell is Mark and Frank's blogs?

Classy Tristan... real classy.

Well Rusty, I'm honest about my dislike for Michaela and not missing her blogs.

You got a problem with my comments, don't read them. I don't give a rats ass one way or the other. I'm not mean for nothing.

I viewed your stunt yesterday with Mark and the Sparks. So you had an unskilled man in suit, tie and dress shoes against elite athletes in proper attire and shoes to try and prove what point? That anybody with a high level of technical proficiency can embarass any novice with a handicap(in this case lack of athletic clothes and shoes, not a physical handicap)? Why don't you play one on one against Kareem, Magic, or Michael Cooper? Having a competition between acknowledged unskilled men like Mark and Sam versus female professional athletes is like comparing organic Fuji apples and orange Kool-Aid. Who are we kidding, it's going to be no contest and that's what you wanted to show. It is somehow OK for a woman to humiliate a man publicly, yet if a man were to do same to a woman, that's cruel? Humiliation is humiliation, no matter the gender of the people involved, and nobody comes out the winner.

But what if the shoe were on the other foot ladies? What if the women had to go up against someone with advanced specialized skills and have them keep an unfair advantage? What if Michaela goes toe to toe in the kitchen of Providence with Michael Cimarusti? He can use the whole kitchen and she'll only be able to use the oven, a roasting pan and salt and pepper. What if Jessica competes with a tailor in making a new suit, yet Jessica can't use a tape measure or scissors? To use my own area of expertise of product design as an example, why not have Cher try to design a new chair on a 10 year old MAC with no 3D modelling software on it while I use my tricked-out laptop? If you want to take gender out of the whole thing, I have a sister and sister-in -law that both have headed up divisions of Fortune 50 corporations. That's not a typo, it's 50, not 500. Do you ladies think you could try and do their jobs? Then we'll televise the whole thing so anybody locally or on satellite can view your embarassment as you resoundingly lose in these contests.

Obviously, Michaela, you can dish out the punishment, as we have seen, but can you take it as well? I've been a viewer of the KTLA Morning News since the beginning and have watched you since you came to Los Angeles and have some insight on how you handle things onscreen. You are professional, knowledgeable and come prepared, as all broadcast journalists should be, yet when faced with situations where you are not the 'Alpha' or where, after the initial premise, you know you are not going to "win", you stop the segment or we come back from commercial and the equation has changed so you don't look bad, to yourself or the audience. So I guess the answer to my question in this paragraph is no, not even in a good-natured context. Case in point: you haven't blogged in three months since you couldn't handle the barage of criticism regarding the 9AM format change or the contents of your blogs. If you could handle the criticism you wouldn't have told us to "get over it" and you would have continued to blog, regardless.

Sam, Mark and Gayle have had numerous moments of televised embarassment or humiliation forced upon them and they have handled them all with graciousness and a sense of humor. Everybody needs to learn from their example since those clips are also repeatedly shown.

I don't want this to be construed as a personal attack on you, Michaela, but since you took point on this issue, you have become the focus. You have acknowledged that female empowerment is your big issue so there are times when you unnecessarily look at issues or moments through a female empowerment filter, so everything becomes about gender equality or inequality. The danger is using that filter so often that is becomes a crutch that you can't walk without. You could miss out on many great things doing that.

The point that I'm making is that you confused the point you were trying to make in regards to why women's sports, and the WNBA in particular, is not as popular as men's sports, including the NBA. It is not about comparing skill levels or physical prowess between the genders. It is not about female empowerment as Michaela seems to believe and forced upon us with this stunt. There are professional leagues in basketball, golf, tennis and other sports where women can make a living, that's female empowerment. Venus and Serena Williams have endorsement deals for non-sports related products, just like Roger Federer or Peyton Manning, that's female empowerment. The largest percentage of people starting small businesses are women, that's female empowerment.

The easy answer for why women's sports is not as popular as men's is money. To use basketball as an example, the NBA and advertisers spent millions trying to market the WNBA in its first years, riding the zeitgeist of the times with Team USA winning championships in both the Women's World Cup and women's Olympic basketball. The WNBA teams have echoing names and the same team colors as their male counterpart teams so you could easily transition into rooting for your female home team. Attendance was higher than expectations the first few years then fell to current levels after the initial novelty wore off. If it had continued growth in popularity and attendance, revenue would increase as well, from ticket sales, ad revenue, commercials, etc, then we might have something going on. But let's ask the question marketing companies and ad agencies ask people, "Who, besides Lisa Leslie, can you identify as a WNBA superstar?" Fans know the players on their rosters(have you heard of a WNBA fantasy league?), but if the general public only knows one face for an entire league, that's throwing money down the drain and there is precious few ad dollars for that to happen in tight economic conditions.

You also need to remember that men have been playing sports semi-or professionally for roughly 100-130 years, so there is that many years of lead time to develop superior skill levels as a gender. I'm not discounting the outstanding female athletes who have shown their prowess over all challengers regardless of gender, but let's not forget there is a reason why men and women don't compete against each other.

Also, the bulk of the attendees and viewing audience, since the advent of television, has been male. Still is. That is a huge cultural legacy that has become part of the fabric of our lives, and kickstarted the billion dollar media and advertising industries that has developed around professional sports. While female sports viewership has risen in all areas and not just women's sports programming, they nowhere match the numbers of men who watch sports. The money follows the ratings numbers.

Mark kinda sorta got part of it right when he said we want to see the best people battle each other. If we can't play it ourselves, we want to watch others who can. It could be Lakers-Celtics, the Euro Championship in soccer, or two Chinese women playing table tennis, if there's a game on we're watching it or watching the news about the game. Sports news is our equivalent of soap operas. It is more than just the information and stats that we thrive on, it's the hirings, firings, the drama between teams, players and coaches, that's what we emotionally connect to as well.

If that's the case, how many channels does ESPN or FSN really need to have, and what about all the advertising revenue that goes with it? It all comes back to money. The bottom line in this case is the bottom line. That's the answer to your original question.

BRAVO Marcoc!
I found it so disturbing to see the JOY that you Michaela were showing on-air as you were trying to humiliate Mark at the Staples Center. But I'm sure you think it's acceptable to humiliate a man publicly, yet if Mark were to do the same to a woman you Michaela, that's cruel? Humiliation is humiliation, no matter the gender of the people involved. There are NO winners. Obviously, Michaela, you can dish it out as I have seen many times, but can you take it as well? I also watched you come to L.A. and I see how you handle things onscreen. When your faced with situations where you are not in control, after the initial premise, you know you are not going to "win", you stop the segment or you come back from a commercial and the equation has changed so you don't look bad, to yourself or us the audience. I've noticed that you haven't blogged in three months since you obviously couldn’t handle the criticism you wouldn't of have told us to "get over it" and you would have continued to blog, regardless. Mark, Gayle and Sam have had numerous moments of embarrassments or humiliations forced upon them and they have handled them all with graciousness and a sense of humor. Everybody needs to learn from their example since those clips are also repeatedly shown. I always record my KTLA morning news just in case there is a story that I might of missed as I'm getting the kids ready for summer camp. So I watched yesterday's show again this morning, and Michaela, you made this into a women hating humiliation for Mark. How wrong and disrespectful of you. It seemed to me that it was NEVER Mark's intention to humiliate the SPARKS just because they are a women basketball team. THAT IS JUST SIMPLY REDICULOUS and NOT Mark's style. He was just giving his opinion on sports across the board and expressed that he wanted to see the best battle each other in professional sports. Then to add insult to injury on the morning show this morning, Michaela you were back peddling on the 9 AM show, which shocked me. I do have to say that I love your new anchor ASHA. She is a class act. She is classy with a great sense of humor and she really compliments the guys and hangs with the entire team. She is so well spoken, beautiful and classy. She is the closest thing to a "Barbara Beck" that I've seen in a long time. She is a KEEPER! Michaela, you just don't seem like you really like your job or the people you work with. I am sorry that I have to be so blunt and I don't mean to hurt your feelings but I'm just being truthful. What was done to Mark yesterday was tacky and I've got to tell you that Mark handled himself like such a professional and what a good sport and attitude he had through this horrible stunt. Because of his great temperament and skills, Mark pulled off a situation that could of been very embarrassing for KTLA and the WNBA. Congratulations MARK! This is why I watch KTLA. You are THE BEST. Love Sam Rubin also. After being a loyal viewer for over 15 years, the perfect KTLA morning team would be:

Mark Kriski (The Best)
Sam Rubin (Best)
Asha (Keeper)
Eric Spillman (Fantastic)
Kurt (Great)
Gayle Anderson (She rocks)
Bill Smith (Love Bill)
Jamie Chambers (Fresh and great)
Jessica (she is growing on me, but she talks a little bit too much nonsense a lot of the time).

Sincerely,
Michelle Boyious & Family
Santa Clarita, CA

Marcoc & Michelle,

Some of the things you touch on in your postings are some of the reasons I dislike Michaela and have from day one. I remember her on the tech show, she wasn't good on that show either. And she hasn't improved any since then. I was hoping that with new management, that we would see less of her. Replaced by a real news person and not a diva with an obvious dislike for men. Especially those who work with her.

Michaela, hope you're having fun at your 30 year High School Reunion!

Thanks Michelle, I got so angry about how she treated Mark I had to respond. Firstly that she got the answer to her own question wrong. Gender politics and male/female proficiencies had nothing to do with it. But Michaela put on her 'female empowerment glasses' and wanted to make that the basis for her argument. She wasn't going to see anything other than that added to the discussion, even the truth. Secondly, continuing to confuse the issue, totally discounting Mark's opinion, and punishing him for speaking it because his opinion did not meet her aproval. In the case of basketball, on the whole, the male pros are better than the female pros. Could Lisa Leslie school the 12th man on the Memphis Grizzlies? Sure she could. Thirdly, the basis for her competitive comparison was totally whack. Any person, regardless of gender, who has an advanced skill set in any area of specialization, has a definitive advantage over a non-skilled person participating in a contest. That was what my comparitive examples proved. So of course Mark was going to lose against the whole team. Pit Mark against a woman with similar skill level, then we'll see what happens. But that still wouldn't answer her original question. She purposely, and wrongly, wanted to disprove his opinion, and rub his face in it. Fourthly, threatening Sam that the same fate would happen to him if he did not fall in line with her opinions. How ridiculous is that? Opinions are like noses, everybody has their own and they're all different. Finally, she can dish out the criticism, and in this case, humiliation, yet can't take the same, and in some instances, cries foul when it happens and stops the process.

I don't dislike Michaela, and this is not an attack on her person. I wanted to point out in this instance how wrong she was. She is a good professional broadcaster. The TweetyBird on the show, I don't like.

MICHEALA-KEEP UP THE WORK ! I HAVE YOU IN MY PRAYERS AS WELL(MURRELVAILES@YAHOO.COM)702-538-4773.

she is an angel..... put here to guide us
to a better understanding of ourselves
and others.... it seems we have so much
to learn from her...

and ... ask Mark ... Can you say Decaf ?

ooooooooooohhhhhh micheala..... i think you oh rashaan an apoligy for telling jessica how much you love his cd, so much that you "will burn her a copy". shame shame shame on you. as an artist myself and a victim of piracy, i'm a little hurt. but i still love you. j

Hi Micheala,

Speaking of terrific folks from outside this area...

perhaps a year ago I met this young, energetic, attractive woman on a flight from Oakland to Burbank. She had so much energy, I was blown-away and left with a touch of awe. We talked a little bit. It came up that she was flying to Burbank for a job interview.

I told her something like.. "You're overflowing with positive energy. I'm sure you'll get it." And I think I even told you how attractive you were that day. (very out of character for me, as I'm quite shy.)

So, how's it going? You look like you're really enjoying it. I knew you'd get the job.

*big smile*,
-mike

Wow...Mean Tristan needs to get a life! I can read the blog comments alot faster since I started skipping past his "ramblings". I guess it is true people can talk out their ass!

Thanks Mark for your honest comments about the financial crisis you made yesterday. "Get your money out!"
I watch the show because of you.