The World-Herald introduced their summer interns today. It’s an annual tradition that always gets me a little misty-eyed.

Before you know it, I get hungry for cinnamon chili and spaghetti.

Every so often, I will get an email or a Q and A from a high school or college kid asking about journalism. One of the questions that comes up: What do I have to do to get into this profession?

My answer is usually two-fold. One, get good enough grades to graduate, because employers want a degree. But more important than scoring A’s in Econ 51 is a resume with experience on it, and a hefty file of newspaper clips.

If at all possible, get a summer internship at a newspaper, radio or TV station …

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Omaha.com won’t be hosting any live chats this week, or until closer to the start of the fall sports seasons.

Rest assured, you’ll be able to have “Lunch with Tom” again in the future. When news breaks, The World-Herald will still have you covered. You can always keep up with all of our writers on Twitter and join the discussions on our various Facebook pages (Big Red Today, Bluejays Today, Mavericks Today, CWS, NEPrepZone, Shatel).

In the meantime, we’ll be focusing on the summer’s top events, including the U.S. Senior Open, the College World Series, the Cox Classic and more. It’ll be a good summer, and we’re looking forward to it.

Of course, you can always sign up …

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Creighton and Nebraska baseball are starting the weekend today. So am I.

1. Nebraska’s 2014 football schedule came out today. First impression: yuck. No Ohio State. No Michigan. Not even a Penn State. Where are the prime time games going to come from? Thank goodness for the Miami, Fla. game. Finally get to see those uniforms in Memorial Stadium. It’s on Sept. 20. Can it possibly snow that day?

Meanwhile, Rutgers, Purdue, Illinois and Minnesota at home. Not exactly fan friendly. Then again… I know some of you are saying no Bucks or Wolverines isn’t a bad deal. But NU hardly got off easy. The Big Red travel to Michigan State, Northwestern and Wisconsin. With a new quarterback, those are all difficult games.

Don’t forget …

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1. I’m sitting down to write my Sunday column, off my conversation with Nebraska AD Shawn Eichorst. The interview went an hour. Man, I ask a lot of questions.

I learned several things about the man, most notably that he’s a different kind of AD for Nebraska in many ways, but similar to the last guy in others. He’s not here to turn everything upside down and shake, start hockey or serve beer. That doesn’t mean you won’t wake up one day and see something you hadn’t seen before.

One of the takeaway quotes was “You learn a lot when you keep your mouth shut.” That should be the little sign on his desk. I might make myself one while we’re at it.

2. Another …

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The response to my column on Ak-sar-ben was incredible. I’m not surprised.

Ak was an icon for a generation, or two, of Omahans, Nebraskans, Iowans, and people throughout the region. Those memories still touch people. That old track, I think, will always live in this city’s soul.

But what’s this thing called Google Earth?

Several readers alerted me to the concept of using google to find where Ak-sar-ben race track would be in today’s world. Cliff Todd of the Omaha City Planning department was the first to send me a map, and others followed.

I don’t have the map for this blog. I’m going to try and use it with my First Downs And Second Guesses column next Tuesday in the World-Herald.

But what I can tell you is, it’s an amazing picture, seeing the track superimposed …

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I’ve got a lot of memories up in the cobwebs. I’m not near ready to stop making more. So every now and then, I’m going to clean some out. And this looks like as good a place as any to put them.

Today, I’m thinking about two words.

“Stop writing.”

It was April 25, 1990 when I heard those words. This is not an anniversary I like to think about. But it gets better over time.

Once upon a lifetime, I was 31 years old and stuck in the mud. Burned out. In need of a new city, new job, new life. Or so I thought.

Change can be good. But change for the sake of change can also backfire. A lot of young people find …

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A lot of tough calls: I’m not saying there were too many whistles on Sunday night but I picked up my third foul with 12 minutes left in the game. I don’t like to focus on officiating. But there’s been too much focus in this NCAA tournament. Problems with flagrant fouls, the block/charge interpretations — which continue to torture Iowa State fans. Here, we had a Creighton game called loose on Friday and then tighter than tight on Sunday night. It’s not the reason you win or lose. But it’s most annoying.

Full house in Phill: The Wells Fargo Center was packed on Sunday night. I was a little surprised by that but maybe I shouldn’t have been. For a 9:40 p.m. local start, on …

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A foul rule: Greg McDermott said it best afterwards: the flagrant elbow rule is not doing what the coaches intended it to do, and that’s eliminate the vicious plays from the game. This needs to be a judgment rule, based on whether the officials believe there was intent. In Doug McDermott’s case Friday, there was no intent. He was moving his elbows to make a basketball play. Trying to judge intent is a tough task, yes, but it beats handing out a flagrant for every such collision. That play almost changed the game. That shouldn’t happen.

CU’s Big E: Don’t know what’s gotten into Gregory Echenique but this new E is right on time. He was the difference on Friday. He set a tone against …

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You remember where you were when certain big events happen.

It was late Friday night. I was in a crowded press work room at the United Center, watching Iowa lose its grip on a lead over Michigan State. I called the office to see if my column had arrived. Turns out something else had arrived, too.

Creighton, in the Big East.

Finally. It was almost anticlimactic. This story has been out there for weeks, perhaps as far back as last December. Would they get asked or wouldn’t they? Were they No. 10 or No. 12? This round or next year? On and on it went. Would we find out next week? At tipoff of the Jays’ NCAA opener, perhaps?

Ladies and gentlemen, may I have …

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Last November, I asked you for your favorite Devaney Center memories. Here are some excerpts from your responses.

Feel free to add more in the comments section at the bottom. Let’s make this a Devaney Center memory book:

From GDowding: “I was there in March for the first ever game, a Class A high school tournament game, between Columbus and Burke. … The two things that were tested that day were playing a state tourney game with no bleachers or court seating, and the most ballyhooed sound system in the state. … The first song ever played at the Devaney Center was “Cocaine,” not by Eric Clapton but JJ Cale.”

From Mike Melbye, Lincoln Stars broadcaster: ” I was sitting in the front row of …

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