Author: Ian Casselberry

Thinking about Asheville, what could’ve been, after Hurricane Helene

/ Ian Casselberry / Leave a comment

I did not expect to go nearly two years without writing a new blog post on this site.

There are many reasons for that, which are more appropriate for a separate post. Those include other writing work and searching for new jobs, uncertainty over what I would do next with this blog and another site I’ve been trying to build for years, feeling like I didn’t have anything worth saying, getting busy with new work and, frankly, sheer laziness.

But I’ve been meaning to dust this blog off for quite a while and writing something about the devastation suffered by western North Carolina by Hurricane Helene has provided some motivation.

After living in Asheville for 13 years, we moved to Johnson City, Tennessee in June 2023. The owner of the condo that we rented for four years wanted to sell and we decided not to buy it. We were offered a fair price, but the unit also needed some work and we didn’t want to make that investment.

Needing a new place to live also provided an opportunity to move closer to my sister and her kids. Years earlier, we wouldn’t have wanted to leave Asheville. But COVID changed my lifestyle and outlook, and moving to a place that wasn’t as culturally vibrant didn’t bother me as much as it once would have. Being a bigger part of my nieces’ lives felt far more important.

Also, it just felt like time to move on. Asheville had changed a lot during my 13 years there and I didn’t like what it had become, especially in how the city favored tourists over residents. But maybe that’s better suited for a different post, as well.

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A sad goodbye to Pat Ryan, but happy memories of the fun we shared

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Image via WLOS-TV

Asheville, North Carolina lost a good man and a great friend Thursday with the death of longtime radio personality Pat Ryan. Pat had been struggling with colon cancer for the past four years, going in and out of treatment while enduring the ordeals that often come with that.

To sum up Pat in a sentence, he was a friend to all who met him. Pat would often take the contributors to the WISE Guys radio show out for lunch to show his gratitude. I often joked it was like eating with the mayor. He always had warm greetings for people he knew (or just met) and so many would come over to say hello, whether they were friends or fans. Pat would always make sure to introduce those he was with as well, making sure no one was left out of the conversation.

That was pretty much Pat’s philosophy as a radio host too. No one was left out. Pat hosted a sports talk show and that meant sometimes talking about national stories and topics. But he knew it was a local show. The WISE Guys could offer the audience something that ESPN Radio or Fox Sports Radio syndicated programming couldn’t.

Local high school and college coaches across Western North Carolina were a big part of the show, many of whom became friends. Current and former athletes, along with local sports reporters were featured as well. UNC Asheville, Western Carolina, Owen High School, A.C. Reynolds, Asheville High. And not just football and basketball coaches. Soccer, baseball, swimming, track, lacrosse, boys and girls sports, were also highlighted. When Asheville had a roller derby team, players appeared on the show.

Pat didn’t just feature sports either. Charities and local fundraisers had an opportunity to reach a wider group of potential donors on the air. Listeners got to hear what was going on locally in entertainment, events, and business with writers like Ashvegas‘s Jason Sandford and Alli Marshall of Mountain Xpress. The WISE Guys wasn’t just a sports show; it was a show for Asheville. But out-of-towners tuning in could get a feel for what was happening in town too.

I was lucky to be a (very) small part of Pat’s show — and “merry band of contributors” circle — for the past nine years. Anybody who’s stopped by this site knows that my appearances on WISE Sports Radio are a big part of the content here. Hell, while most of my writing time and energy was devoted to work at Awful Announcing or Barrett Sports Media, those audio clips kept the lights on here. My last appearance — which unfortunately turned out to be my last conversation with Pat — was Monday, Nov. 7.

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‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ successfully pays tribute, moves mythology forward

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Director Ryan Coogler had a thin line to walk for his sequel to Black Panther.

Following up 2018’s mega-hit that was unlike any Marvel superhero we’d seen before, reaching out to audiences and cultures that previously felt underserved by blockbuster entertainment, would have been difficult enough. Coogler had an opportunity to direct a sequel to 2015’s Creed, but passed on it to jump into the Marvel sandbox and bring comic books’ first Black superhero to the big screen.

Topping himself and continuing the story of Wakanda’s King T’Challa was going to be much more difficult — logistically and emotionally — after the death of star Chadwick Boseman two years ago. How could Marvel and Coogler, along with the amazing cast and crew that brought the fictional African nation to vivid life, keep the story going without the Black Panther himself?

Out of respect to Boseman, Marvel decided that T’Challa wouldn’t be recast. That was probably the correct decision, especially so soon after the actor’s death. Asking fans — and those who worked with Boseman — to accept a new face in the role would have been difficult. (Though during the past two years, sentiment — online, anyway — has turned toward recasting and advancing a character that was so iconic, so important to audiences.)

So Coogler and writer Joe Robert Cole (who collaborated on the first film’s screenplay) embraced the real world’s intrusion on Marvel mythology and acknowledged Boseman’s death in the story by giving T’Challa much the same traffic fate. As a result, Wakanda Forever serves as a tribute to the actor, allowing fans and colleagues to mourn and perhaps find closure with the loss.

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WISE Sports Radio baseball: Astros win World Series, Dusty Baker wins our hearts

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After a week off while Pat Ryan was on vacation, during which we missed the 2022 World Series, our weekly WISE Sports Radio chat covers the Houston Astros winning the World Series!

How did the Astros take over the series after the Phillies took a two-games-to-one lead? Could Philadelphia make another run next season? Houston almost certainly will. And maybe they’ll be managed again by Dusty Baker, the oldest manager to win a World Series at 73 years old.

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WISE Sports Radio baseball: Phillies facing Astros in 2022 World Series

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The Philadelphia Phillies have taken their improbable postseason run all the way to the World Series. On WISE Sports Radio, we chat about Bryce Harper’s star turn and how the Phillies are on the verge of a championship.

We also discuss the downfall of the New York Yankees and whether or not that will cost manager Aaron Boone his job. Elsewhere, the Texas Rangers surprised Major League Baseball by hiring veteran manager Bruce Bochy, who’s been retired for the past three years but boasts three World Series titles on his résumé.

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