Tracy Kornet's Blog

On the CBS11 set with the talented Doug Dunbar When you work in news, March Madness means you might do the late show well after midnight. This year I don't really mind, since it is helping me pass the time until my daughter plays her First Round NCAA game tomorrow against DePaul at 12:30pm. It can't get here fast enough!  Courtesy: University of Oklahoma   This has been a tough year for my #1 Sooner, Nicole Kornet. A learning year. A growing year. She's battled back and is on the other side now. I am so very proud of her. So this text message today TRULY made my day. She sent it to the family after practice at the uber-cool Cameron Indoor Stadium at Duke University in Durham, NC: Please ignore the fact I once again took a screen shot with the edit prompts. (I'm a loser.) Nicole said basketball is FUN! And she loves it! As a musical theater/dance team/sorority girl, I give these college athletes so much credit. On top...

Saved by my daughter's college friends at the Big 12. I'm just going to admit it: I am not good at being alone. Basketball games are enveloping the Kornet clan this spring break. So I'm working odd hours and filling in for vacationing co-workers. Without commotion and conversation in my life, I get into a funk...fast. Today I brought my workout clothes to work, to "encourage myself" to stop at the gym on the way home. Did I go? Heck to the no. It was such a gorgeous day. So at least I did take the dog for a walk. And at least I changed into my fore-mentioned workout clothes before I did so. But then I crashed. I opened up all of the sliding glass doors on the back of the house, plopped on the couch, and crashed. It was no later than 7pm. Folks, that is not normal. Scratch that. As stressed and isolated as we Americans are becoming, perhaps it is becoming normal. But it's certainly not healthy. At least it's not healthy for me. I ev...

I love women! Just when I think I'm the only grown girl out there who still has tomboy tendencies, who still loves doing the splits, who's more than annoyed having to have nice nails (mine are the PITS)-- I meet a whole slew of other girls just like me! Such was the case yesterday when I spoke at the Ladies High Tea at Liberty Christian High School in Argyle, Texas (although they all had fabulous nails...darnit). With Judy Haire, Liberty Christian School Co-Founder (and future back-up singer) There I was seated amongst hundreds of women, around our individually decorated tables ( mine Parisian-themed), and within minutes our common connection emerged. It came in the form we women so readily embrace: Tears. Happy tears. Joyful tears. Tears of empathy. Tears of understanding. Dang, we women are so good at letting it flow. Especially when we're all together. My tears began AS I was being i...

My kids are learning some intense lessons about life these days through this little game called basketball. In particular, when it comes to sports, the highs are SO high, and the lows are REALLY low. On a recent trip to Nashville to watch our son play, Luke revealed how awful it is to be in a shooting slump. So after the game (Vanderbilt lost), I asked if he wanted to shoot with his dad a little while. Like old times. Get some confidence back in his shot. I snapped this picture later that night inside a totally empty Memorial Gym. This, my friends, is something only a dad can do. Only Luke's dad. The difference Frank Kornet has made in his children's lives can never be quantified. And I have no doubt he will continue to heap life-changing love on this family through his actions, convictions, and sheer devotion until his last dying breath.   In her book Lean In  Sheryl Sandberg cites research which consistently found that children wi...

One of my new favorite writers calls this The Big Question. And this week it stopped me in my tracks: "God, what do YOU want me to do?" My morning routine typically starts by sitting on my leather chair, downing several cups of coffee, and reading through a handful of devotionals and books. My latest fav is a gift from my oldest son called Rediscover Catholicism by Matthew Kelly . It's no secret I've been trying to figure out the next chapter in my own book, now that all three kids are in college. I've downsized, moved closer to work, sold most of my crap, and booked a trip to France with a girlfriend. But when I woke up this morning and asked my husband, "Do you feel as bored and unfulfilled as I do?" -- to which he immediately answered "Yes" -- it is clear we are ripe for even more change. Which brings me back to The Big Question. In all of my past moves and job opportunities, I've felt...

 Jay Gruden/courtesy CBS My high school quarterback, Jay Gruden, was named head coach of the Washington Redskins today. There’s something awfully cool seeing a childhood classmate make it big like this. Our Tampa, Florida public high school was massive. Several of our classmates have emerged celebrities: actor Robert Gant , drummer/D.J. Ravi Jakhotia , Florida Representative Karen Castor , celebrity pharmacist Lauren Fallieras among them.  My Alma Mater in Tampa, Florida                                                      (Lauren, you have always been a star!) Yet there’s something about the enormity of and seemingly universal love for sport that makes Jay Gruden’s promotion ext...

Kudos to the college student who just met me here at work to learn about my job. This junior journalism major already has a leg up. She sought me out, scheduled time with me--yes, the day after Christmas--and showed up. Kids, if you want to make it in this business (or most careers for that matter) that kind of initiative speaks volumes.  My son suggested I write a blog detailing how I got into television news. Let  me warn you, it was quite a circuitous route. My road is not for everybody. But I do believe the advice I learned along the way is. So, John, here goes. I like to say my career began in 5 th grade. I sang a song while my dad accompanied me on piano for the school talent show. I tied for first place. The grand prize was a trip to McDonalds. Not only did I finally get my own fries and a chocolate shake, but the experience  planted in my 10-year-old brain ...