Brad Matthews, TV Star!

Just a quick reminder for anyone who cares... My oldest son, Brad and his teammates from Sherwood High School will be on It's Academic tomorrow morning, Saturday, November 15th, at 10:30am - on WRC-TV, channel 4. You'll finally be able to find out how they did! Check back at this space next week and perhaps you'll find a youtube recap!


Have a good weekend!

That's My Boy!

I told you weeks ago about the proud news that our son, Brad, had made the TV team at Sherwood High School for It's Academic! Well, yesterday, we made the drive down to the NBC studios on Nebraska Avenue, NW for the taping of Sherwood's first round match against Mt. Vernon and Eleanor Roosevelt High Schools. And while I won't spoil the fun by telling you the outcome (you will note I also blocked out Sherwood's score), I can tell you that a good time was had by all! Brad cleans up pretty well, doesn't he? Of the nine players in the game, Brad was the only sophomore among five seniors and three juniors!



A special thanks to Randy and Evan Bernstein and to Ryan Solomon for coming down to NBC with us to cheer Brad on! You can see Sherwood's match on WRC, Channel 4, on Saturday, November 15th at 10:30am! Go Brad!

Thanks, Sophie!

The creator of "It's Academic", Sophie Altman, has died at the tender age of 95. If you can even manage to live to 95, God bless you, but Sophie continued to produce the high school quiz show at Channel 4 until just three weeks before her death! Thousands of America's brightest scholars got their starts on It's Academic, and the roster has also included an astronaut, two U.S. Senators (find Hillary Clinton in this picture!), scores of doctors and lawyers, and hopefully, next school year, my son, Brad!

"It's Academic" levels the high school playing field for those kids who don't find their niche in sports, but in academics. My son doesn't watch MTV... he watches the History Channel, and "It's Academic" provides him with an outlet to hone his craft - to make him want to excel in education. What a blessing it's been!

In its heyday, "It's Academic" was syndicated to 24 other cities, and it is still aired in eight markets, from Washington to San Diego. The DC version is the original, of course, and it's still hosted by the ageless Mac McGarry, himself a D.C. institution as a broadcaster and the longtime announcer voice of both Channel 4 and many NBC programs. I had a chance to meet Mac at a taping of "It's Academic" earlier this year, and it was a thrill. He is not that far behind Sophie Altman in age, but I think Mac has many more miles in his tank!

You can and should read about Sophie Altman's fascinating life and career in this obit in the Washington Post. She even had Hollywood connections - her daughter-in-law is Wonder Woman Lynda Carter!

Thank you, Sophie, for giving geek squads a fighting chance in this world!