Monthly Archives: April 2014

23 NFL PLAYERS TO PARTICIPATE IN NFL BOOT CAMP: SPORTS JOURNALISM & COMMUNICATIONS MAY 12-15

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Four-day program at Bowling Green State University Prepares Players for Transition into Post-NFL Career Twenty-three NFL players will take part in the NFL Sports Journalism & Communications Boot Camp, May 12-15 at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. This is the second year that the boot camp has been offered as one of several programs developed by NFL Player Engagement to prepare current and former players for post-NFL careers.

The four-day program will focus on improving each player’s writing skills for newspapers, radio, and the expanding digital media industry. Industry professionals and Bowling Green faculty will lead players through panel discussions, breakout sessions and writing labs covering everything from press conference prep to ethics in sports journalism.

Participants will attend a Toledo Mud Hens baseball game and put their skills to work by interviewing Mud Hens executives in a press conference setting and writing a follow-up column. Players also will write for their individual blogs, which can be followed at NFLPE.sportsblog.com.

Panelists and facilitators for the boot camp include NFL Legend-turned-journalist BUCKY BROOKS of NFL.com, PETER KING of Sports Illustrated, and NFL Legend and CBS commentator SOLOMON WILCOTS. Industry experts from ESPN, Sirius XM, and Westwood One also will participate in various sessions.

The boot camp is hosted by the BGSU School of Media and Communications and the Sport Management program and was developed with NFL Player Engagement, under the auspices of the Richard A. Maxwell Sport Media Project.

“The feedback from players who participated last year was extremely positive, and we’re thrilled to be hosting the boot camp a second year. We have talented BGSU faculty who will share their expertise in digital media, journalism ethics and writing commentaries for both print and radio,” said DR. TERRY RENTNER, Professor, Department of Journalism & Public Relations.

“Our career development resources aim to prepare players for life after football,” said KIMBERLY FIELDS, Vice President of NFL Player Engagement. “The Sports Journalism & Communications Boot Camp assists players in honing the skills and building the relationships necessary to carry their sports knowledge into a new career.”

Following are the NFL players participating in the NFL Sports Journalism & Communications Boot Camp:

  • RAHEEM BROCK Former (IND, SEA)
  • TONY COVINGTON Former (TB, SEA)
  • CAREY DAVIS Former (IND, ATL, TB, PIT)
  • RASHIED DAVIS Former (CHI, DET)
  • ARTURO FREEMAN Former (MIA, NE)
  • BARRETT GREEN Former (DET, NYG)
  • BOOMER GRIGSBY Former (KC, MIA)
  • DEREK HAGAN Former (MIA, NYG, BUF, OAK)
  • DARCY JOHNSON Former (NYG, STL)
  • COREY MAYS Former (NE, CIN, KC)
  • RANDY MC MICHAEL Former (MIA, STL, SD)
  • LANGSTON MOORE Former (CIN, ARI, DET)
  • MORAN NORRIS Former (NO, HOU, SF, DET)
  • PEERLESS PRICE Former (BUF, ATL, DAL)
  • MARCUS RAY Former (OAK)
  • JAY RICHARDSON Former (OAK, SEA, NO)
  • DUNTA ROBINSON Free Agent (HOU, ATL, KC)
  • SAGE ROSENFELS Former (WAS, MIA, HOU, MIN, NYG)
  • STEVE SANDERS Former (CLE)
  • DONTE’ STALLWORTH Former (NO, PHI, NE, CLE, BAL, WAS)
  • DUANE STARKS Former (BAL, ARI, NE, OAK)
  • MAX STARKS Former (PIT, STL)
  • TANK WILLIAMS Former (TEN, MIN, NE)

About NFL Player Engagement

NFL Player Engagement assists players in reaching their highest potential on and off-the-field with guidance, support, and resources provided before, during, and after their NFL experiences. NFL Player Engagement works with three core audiences: Prep, Life, and Next. NFL Life (current players) and NFL Next (Formers) reach more than 2,000 NFL players and spouses each year through a variety of programs and services focused on career development, financial and continuing education, as well as personal, psychological, and physical wellness. NFL Prep provides high-school and college student-athletes of all sports with tools to help them succeed in life, focused on awareness, prevention, and education. More information can be found at http://www.nflplayerengagement.com.

About Bowling Green State University School of Media and Communications

The School of Media and Communication is home to approximately 700 students in the Departments of Communication, Journalism and Public Relations and Telecommunications, plus over 50 masters and doctoral students. BGSU is home to the preeminent sport management program in North America. The Sport Management Program and Departments of Communication, Journalism and Public Relations and Telecommunications have partnered in the Richard A. Maxwell Media Project since 2010.

With the first pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, the Houston Texans select…

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By Anthony Cornwell, Jr.

The media has made this upcoming draft and the #1 pick of the draft to be the most hyped and most interesting pick in NFL history. With so many athletes having number one overall talent, the question on everyone’s mind is, “Who will be the #1 pick?”

The names that are definitely being tossed out as candidates are Jadeveon Clowney, Johnny Manziel, Blake Bortles and Teddy Bridgewater (and arguably a couple others).

Tedy Bruschi, ESPN NFL analyst and former New England Patriot, believes that Clowney should be the first pick. “Turn in the card now to the commissioner,” he said. “Just turn it in, because he should be Houston’s.”

Standing 6 feet 6 inches tall and weighing 275 pounds, while running a 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds, it is safe to say that Jadeveon Clowney is a freak of nature. But not every analyst feels the same way that Bruschi does.

Skip Bayless, ESPN analyst, already believes that Manziel is better than some quarterbacks that already have starting jobs in the NFL. Bayless said that Manziel would be the best pick for Houston, but also making a suggestion that the Dallas Cowboys should consider trading away Tony Romo to land the incoming rookie.

As crazy as it sounds, what else could go wrong for Dallas? They have not been to the playoffs in seven years and have not won a playoff game in more than 15 years.

As good as Clowney and Manziel sounds, there are still others that disagree with these choices.
Emory Hunt, CEO/Founder & Analyst at Football Gameplan, believes that Bridgewater should be the number one pick. On Hunt’s Twitter account he mentions the similarity between Bridgewater and Colts’ Quarterback Andrew Luck.

“The funny part is that watching Bridgewater is the same as watching Luck,” Hunt tweeted. “Luck ran more, Bridgewater didn’t..that’s the only difference.“

Andrew Luck was the number one overall pick two years ago and has not yet disappointed.
Bortles, who has the characteristics of what Bill O’Brien looks for, already has the size of an NFL quarterback.

Chris Burke, journalist at Sports Illustrated says, “There is ample doubt that Bortles will be ready for a starting gig out the gate — remember, the key word with him is ‘potential’.”

As good as all the choices are, any of these four could be the pick. The media has hyped it up and there will definitely be plenty of viewers on May 3.

The Friendship of Adreian and Lacey

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BY KATE ROTH

The first time I heard the touching story of Adreian Payne, star basketball player for Michigan State University, and his friendship with Lacey Holsworth, a young girl battling cancer, it was on the Big Ten Network’s show called The Journey.

All I could think of while watching the show was what a great person Adreian Payne must be and how nice it is to see an athlete in the media doing something nice and kind. This is much better than the usual headlines we see about athletes being arrested or making negative comments.

The story of Adreian and young Lacey started spreading through the media quickly and soon everyone in the country seemed to know this incredible story.

The media stayed on this story from start to finish. They followed the friendship in the offseason, regular season, NCAA tournament, and all the way up to Lacey’s unfortunate passing on April 8.

Although this was not the most joyful story to read or hear about because of Lacey’s unfortunate circumstance, it was still nice to see the media give attention to an athlete who is actually trying to do some good in the world.

Too often I turn on Sportscenter or log onto a sports blog and see stories that feature athletes making terrible, selfish decisions. That is why I commend BTN, ESPN, and all of the other sport media outlets that covered this story. They did an amazing job of showing how special some athletes really are.

I hope that other athletes have learned from Adreian and Lacey. I would love to see the media eliminate all of the negative stories and focus on more inspirational stories like this.

R.I.P. Lacey Holsworth

 

Bringing Attention Back To The Frozen Four

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By Kate Roth

While flipping through the channels the past couple of weeks you may have noticed something a little out of the ordinary on the ESPN stations, NCAA hockey.

NCAA hockey is not the most popular of the college sporting events and until recently it has received very little media attention.

That is starting to change in a big way this year. This year’s NCAA hockey tournament, also known as the Frozen Four, has had every single game televised on at least one station, many of them appearing on the leader of sports ESPN networks.

This success can be accredited to John Buccigross, a sports anchor for ESPN. John has been trying to push the popularity of college hockey for the past few years and is now finally seeing his hard work pay off. He was even granted the privilege to host a NCAA hockey tournament selection show on ESPN just like the one that is held every year for the NCAA basketball tournament.

I truly believe that college hockey is one of the most exciting sports to watch and fortunately for me, attending Bowling Green State University gives me the opportunity to go and watch that excitement, but for many others there are no teams playing around them so they have no opportunity to watch any games, making it hard for them to be interested in the sport at all.

That is why I think this coverage of the tournament is the best thing that could have ever happened to the sport. People who never get the chance to attend or watch the great game of college hockey have the chance to join in on the excitement now and who knows, maybe they’ll even become big fans of the sport.

I applaud ESPN, all of the other networks televising the tournament, and especially John Buccigross for all the hard work they have put into covering this tournament to bring the excitement back to the Frozen Four. They have done a great job of covering the tournament thus far and I’m sure that will continue on through the final rounds.

 

Where are my Spurs?

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BY THYRAN NOWDEN

I dislike how the media isn’t giving the San Antonio Spurs the credit they deserve for having the best record in the NBA.

The San Antonio Spurs are 59-16 this season with 7 games remaining and they are currently on a 19 game winning streak.

The Spurs 19 game winning streak is not only the longest this NBA season, but the longest in San Antonio Spurs’ history.

The media is more focused on how old the Spurs are and how they don’t have enough energy to compete with the other elite teams in the NBA.

The question that is always asked to the media is, can the San Antonio Spurs win the 2014 NBA championship and win a seven game series against teams such as the Thunder, Heat, Pacers, and Clippers?

ESPN analyst Skip Bayless says that the San Antonio Spurs will not win the 2014 NBA championship because they are too old and they can’t compete with the fast tempo teams.

The San Antonio Spurs have the best record in the NBA and the media is still considering them as the underdog to win the NBA championship.

I feel that the San Antonio Spurs are being disrespected because they are consistently one of the best teams in the NBA every season.

If the Heat, Pacers, Thunder, or Clippers had the best record in the NBA, they would be the favorite to win the NBA championship this season since they all have superstars on their teams.

The media should start giving the San Antonio Spurs the credit they deserve because they are playing the best basketball out of every team in the NBA right now and they are going into the playoffs strong.

CBS Broadcaster Makes Inappropriate Racial Remark

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BY LORI RAUDIO

On Thursday’s broadcast of the Sweet Sixteen March Madness games, things quickly turned awkward for studio broadcasters when Doug Gottlieb made an inappropriate comment. While being introduced, Gottlieb said, “I don’t know why you guys asked me, I’m just here to bring diversity to the set here. Give the kind of white man’s perspective on things from the point guard position.”

Gottlieb is the only while male on the program, accompanied by Greg Gumbel, Charles Barkley, Greg Anthony, and Kenny Smith, who are all African-American. There was visible tension in the room, and no one knew what to say. They tried to laugh it off, but it was still an uncomfortable situation for the broadcasters and viewers alike.

CBS released a statement from Gottlieb, who apologized for the comment. When he was asked about it on Twitter, however, he replied, “It’s called a joke.” As a professional and on-air personality, Gottlieb should have had the self-control to refrain from responding to comments on social media. He could have sent a general message saying he was sorry and left it at that.

It is baffling to me why Gottlieb felt the need to bring up race. If he was trying to be funny, it definitely failed and was in bad taste. I also found it unnerving that he pointed out he was only providing insight on the point guard position. He is perpetuating a stereotype only white men play point guard, a position requiring power and knowledge. This is called stacking and is a common issue with race in sport.

It is unknown if Gottlieb will face any punishment for his words. He did issue an apology, but yet defended himself on Twitter. He is an on-air personality and should be able to accept the responsibilities that come with it. There have now been countless incidents of inappropriate remarks by media personnel and with today’s technology, it’s going to make headlines. These broadcasters should know what not to say and be held accountable for their words.