Monthly Archives: October 2014

Back in Full Swing: Start of the 2014 NHL Season

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By Ellen Chlumecky

The 2014 NHL Season kicked off this Wednesday with a substantial amount of media attention from a multitude of different media outlets. While the NHL is not the number one popular sport currently in the United States, NHL teams’ public relation and marketing teams have been doing an exceptional job at getting the attention on the NHL.

Hockey is not covered much as sports such as football and basketball, however hockey is still proclaimed one of the four major sports in both North America and the United States. However, NBC Sports Network has world class coverage which includes weeknight games all week and the rivalry night during the week. NBCSN is also starting to show some college hockey games in addition to the NHL games.

In addition to local radio stations and TV stations in each of the respective teams’ areas, the NHL franchise has taken to Twitter to promote the 2014 season. All of the individual NHL teams have also taken to Twitter to promote their games and the start of the season. The NHL also decided to create a Snapchat to promote their stories and game times. They also post daily to their Instagram account, which had a countdown of the amount of days until the season started. The NHL franchise is trying to hit every corner of the media to broadcast the start of the season and to get more and more people to watch. The NHL wants all types of fans and are trying to expand their media horizons even more than ever.

While the NHL is being supported by NBCSN and other major media outlets, one of the biggest sports media outlets that tends to ignore the NHL is ESPN. While NBCSN own all national coverage rights to show NHL games, it shouldn’t stop ESPN from broadcasting stories or highlights of certain games. The reason why ESPN is not a huge supporter of the NHL is unknown, but despite this setback, the NHL seems to be doing fine without their support. It is set to be a great season for the NHL with plenty of fresh faces and a multitude of teams ready to battle for their chance to hoist the Stanley Cup. The NHL franchises should be commended on their hard work with the marketing, promotions and advertising they have been doing to promote the league further. Here’s to another great NHL season!

 

Hockey: The Neglect Continues for the NHL

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By Nicholas Muhl

I was born December 29th, 1992. That year the Pittsburgh Penguins won their first Stanley Cup behind NHL Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux. Growing up as a young kid in the 90’s, I was raised to love the National Hockey League. To this day I can remember collecting NHL hockey cards as a kid, and knowing many of the players that played for each team.

I grew up watching the toughness of defensemen Scott Stevens of the New Jersey Devils. I saw both goaltenders Patrick Roy and Martin Brouder battle for who was the best in the NHL. Both are now probably two of the best hockey players to ever play. And I saw the Dallas Star’s Brett Hull score the infamous “No Goal” in triple overtime to defeat the Buffalo Sabres in the Stanley Cup.

In the 90’s and early 2000’s, the NHL was in it’s prime. The NHL is much different a decade later. It’s experienced two lockouts since 2004 under commissioner Gary Bettman. Events like Todd Bertuzzi’s blind side sucker punch on Steve Moore in 2004, and Patrice Bergeron’s Grade III concussion in 2007 have called into question the brutality of the sport.

Rightfully so, for a time period, the NHL was it’s own worst enemy and received little to no media coverage because of it. There was a point where many NHL games were being shown on little known media networks like OLN. Gone were the big time games on ABC, NBC, ESPN and other major networks.

However, the NHL is building back to what it once was. Superstars Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin have generated national attention to the NHL and have become household names, even for the non-hockey fan. The 2014 Stanley Cup final between the Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers was the second most watched Stanley Cup final since 2006.

Now, days before the 2014 NHL season is set to begin, where is the media coverage of the NHL? After such a highly watched Stanley Cup, why do I find myself, an avid fan of the NHL, barely feeling like the season is set to begin at all? Nightly SportsCenter episodes are spent discussing players like Johnny Manziel and LeBron James. Headlines are all about the major sports like football and basketball.

While the NHL still has a long way to go before it can be once again included with the major leagues of the NFL, NBA and MLB, it is now on the right path. However, the NHL will never make a comeback until major networks like ESPN begin giving the NHL the coverage it deserves. It’s frustrating as a fan, because these major networks make it harder to be a fan of a sport so many love.

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Timing is Key in the Media for the New Ryder Cup Development

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By Alex O’Connor

The 2014 Ryder Cup was one to forget for the United States. The U.S. lost to the Europeans by a score of 16.5-11.5, which is a margin of five more matches won for the Europeans. The man who chose some of these players was Tom Watson. Watson is a legend in the golf industry, having won multiple major championships. However, Watson has only been a Ryder Cup captain once. Coming into the tournament, there was heavy media attention on how much of an underdog the U.S. team was. For example, on September 11th of this year, rydercup.com uploaded a segment giving Europe the overwhelming nod to win.

Once the tournament began, there were several pairing moves made by Watson that were heavily scrutinized. Recently, golfchannel.com reported that Watson changed his mind on the adding of Bill Haas to the roster instead of Webb Simpson. Through the media’s portrayal of the pairing selections and his last-minute roster decision, Watson had an overall unsuccessful tenure as the Ryder Cup coach this year.

The first subject of criticism that was highlighted in the media about Watson’s tenure was his roster placement during the tournament. The main two pairings that were under the most heat were Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed and Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley. On Saturday, Spieth and Reed won their first match, while the latter had lost. Instead of putting Mickelson and Bradley out for their next match, Watson benched them in favor of the two Ryder Cup rookies. Reed and Spieth went on to halve the match. One of NBC Sports lead Golf anchors, Johnny Miller, was not fond of Watson’s original picks, and this decision only added to the negative impression of the U.S. team.

It has been reported that Bill Haas was originally supposed to be the final captain’s pick by Tom Watson. This was based on the word of some U.S. players. However, Webb Simpson sent a text the night before pleading his case to Watson, having already told his players that Haas was the last pick. The bottom line was that their was a clear lack of decisiveness in the situation and false hope among the players. However, the media only knew about Simpson’s text and not of Haas’ “confirmation” at the time. In the case of the media, one crucial fact was left out of this situation and was not properly addressed until yesterday.

This year’s Ryder Cup is one that should soon be forgotten by U.S. fans and players alike. However, this new development will keep a sour taste for a little bit longer. The media presence in this situation was simply not in the right place at the right time. Regardless of the timing, Tom Watson is being painted in a negative light and will ultimately have a difficult time renewing his captain’s seat for future Ryder and President’s Cups.

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Brock Boyer Back in the State Tournament

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By Kia Tyus

Andrew Williams of The Courier recently published an article about Brock Boyer making history in North Baltimore.

This article starts strong by stating multiple facts about Brock Boyer and the history of golf in North Baltimore.

The article did a great job in talking about the 34-year drought since a player from North Baltimore made it to state finals. Meaning, since 1980, no golfer from North Baltimore has made it to the state finals.

Boyer wasn’t even thought about the last time a golfer from North Baltimore made it to the finals, which is why the senior’s impressive 78 at the Division III boys district golf tournament on Thursday at Stone Ridge Golf Club got the community buzzing. Boyer will compete at the golf tournament on October 11 and 12 at North Star Golf Club in Sunbury.

Boyer stated that this accomplishment was a “great feeling”.

After the short Boyer introduction, the article took a turn for the worst by discussing other competitors whose scores happen to be better than Boyer’s.

I feel as though if you are going to highlight such a historical moment the author of the article Andrew Williams needed to focus more on Boyer and his accomplishments in the tournament.

Williams in a way disrespected Boyer by not fully acknowledging him throughout the entire article. Something Williams could have included in his article was writing about Boyer’s early golfing days and the struggle and heartbreak of never making it to the finals.

Maybe Williams could have asked more questions, such as if there was any pressure to break the drought.

To me, if you are going to acknowledge someone especially in the title you owe that person a full article, not half an article. It was wrong for Williams to discuss the competition Boyer would face.

It was Boyer’s time to shine and embrace the moment of such accomplishment. If Williams wanted to write about Boyer and his competition, that should have been a separate article.

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MLB Playoffs: Lost in the Mix

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By Kate Roth

With all of the excitement surrounding the many college football upsets lat weekend it seems that the Major League Baseball Playoffs have gotten lost in the media.

One would think that a sport known as America’s national pastime would receive a bit more coverage during the playoffs, which are undoubtedly the most intense and exciting part of the MLB season. Yet every sports media show and site you look at is showing the same clips from the big college football games played on Saturday.

This is not to say that there has not been any media coverage of the MLB playoffs at all, but in my opinion the small clips and highlights that are shown on SportsCenter are not nearly enough.

Over the weekend the Kansas City Royals (a team who has not made the playoffs in 20 years) upset the Los Angeles Angels (one of the favorites to win the American League) by completing a three game sweep to advance to the American League Championship Series. To me, an upset like this on the stage that they had to play on should be the main highlight of every sports media page and show. Just watching the highlights from this series alone would get fans more excited to tune into the rest of the MLB playoffs.

Without the media giving the MLB any attention, it seems as though fans have forgotten that the playoffs are even in action. All of their focus has gone towards who will be the top four teams to make the college football playoffs, even though they are only half way through the season.

Fans enjoy knowing about the sports and teams they are going to watch before actually watching them, that way they are familiar with the players during the game and have a little more background to keep them intrigued.  If the media were to spend a little more time showcasing the MLB playoffs I think we would see an increase in fan interest because they would have more information on the teams giving them reason to actually watch the games.

Overall, I am excited to see how the rest of this MLB postseason will play out and I hope to see more attention from the media along with more fan interest in our national pastime.

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Media Rushes to The Panic Button Over New England Patriots

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By Kaleb Page

In week five of the NFL season, the New England Patriots beat the Cincinnati Bengals to the score of 43 to 17. However, if you flash back to the week leading up to the game you would find that the story surrounding the Patriots was not one of triumph but rather one of panic.

In week four the Patriots went into Arrowhead Stadium to face off with the Kansas City Chiefs in a Monday night clash. What ensued was a thorough demolition of the Patriots at the hands of the Chiefs, with the final score being 14 to 41. This demolition came as a big surprise due to how lackluster of a performance was put forth by Tom Brady and the rest of the team.

After the game was over it seemed like all of the sports media outlets from ESPN to FOX had developed the “Chicken Little” mentality that the sky was falling for the Patriots. Immediately after the game Trent Dilfer of ESPN went on to say, “The New England Patriots, let’s face it, they’re not good anymore.” Even Stephen A. Smith on First Take went on to say that “They (Patriots) are in a world of trouble.” For much of the week following the game, speculation loomed all around the team even going as far to ask: Is it time for a quarterback change from Tom Brady to Jimmy Garoppolo?

Step back into the now and it seems like that horrible game in Arrowhead is a thing of the past. Tom Brady went out and handled his business, the Patriots defense showed up stopping an emerging Cincinnati offense, and the sounds of madness surrounding the team seemed to fade away.

I think that this just shows, as anyone should do when looking at any sport early in the season, is to in the words of Aaron Rodgers “R-E-L-A-X.” It is early in the NFL season and to write off the football minds of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick probably is not the smart move to make. Especially when this AFC East division is still there for the taking, and the Patriots have had such success winning division titles (11 of the last 13 divisional titles dating back to 2001).

It also should go to show that from time to time we all just need to step back and give credit where credit is due. The Chiefs played a great game that night and were just the better of two good teams that came out to play. The NFL is always evolving week to week and sometimes a bad game is bound to happen, which in the case of the Patriots came in the prime-time slot Monday night where they were the only game on television.

It is easy to freak out when the consistent franchises like the Patriots do terrible on the big stage. However, you should look to step back and realize that it will take time and things will shift back to where they have been. So before this week comes and a new opportunity presents itself to press the panic button, don’t do it!

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Beware! Fake High School Recruiters Selling Fake Scholarships!

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By Diontre Delk

Social media seems to make its way into every aspect of life. After all, it is one of the fastest ways to notify the public of news. This is also another way to recruit without breaking any rules.

There have been many stories in the past about athletes, (young and old), misusing social networks like Twitter and Instagram. But very rarely is there ever a problem with faculty misusing these social networks, until recently.

Recently, there has been a trend in the recruiting industry, and athletes and recruiters need to be aware of what’s going on.

A student athlete named Houshun Gaines was recently deceived by who he thought was a University of Florida recruiter named Brad Lawing. The three-star recruit was encouraged to make a commitment to the University of Florida, leaving behind other great opportunities at North Carolina State, Virginia Tech and the University of Miami.

It’s easy to see why Gaines was so easily persuaded to make his commitment. He has indeed met the real Brad Lawing and the Florida Gators have shown interest, just not as much as Gaines was led to believe.

Who’s to be blamed at this point? The University of Florida? The head coach, Nash Central? The student-athlete himself?

There is a lot of gray area in this situation and it needs to be addressed for future references.

If an athlete were to think that they had an official scholarship from a university and decided to prolong their final choice until a later date, then a kid could be without a locker in the fall if they chose the school that never officially offered.

Perhaps if full time coaches/ recruiters were certified on Twitter, they could be more easily distinguished. Also, I think that recruiters should contact the head coach of the targeted athlete for these reasons before communicating with the athlete.

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The Michigan Debate: Should Dave Brandon be Fired?

By Savannah Malnar

“Go Blue!”

Any college sports fan will recognize that as the signature cheer for the power-house that is University of Michigan. This Big 10 school is known for its strong athletics teams; so when students are suddenly rallying and calling for the athletic director Dave Brandon to be fired, it’s going to make the news.

Brandon is under fire from students and media alike. People are unhappy with the rising costs of tickets to sporting events, especially football. Along with ticket prices, the media and fans have actively been criticizing Brandon’s decision to hire and retain football coach, Brady Hoke. Hoke has been head coach for four years, and is 28-17; a record that may look good, but in reality is disappointing for the winningest college football team in history.

The most recent event that has spurred a media outburst was Hoke’s decision to put quarterback Shane Morris back in the game after sustaining a head injury that was later diagnosed as a “mild concussion.”

Ty Duffy, a senior writer for the sport media site The Big Lead, states that “The school’s response to the crisis has been a farce.” He predicts that Hoke will be fired following this season. But he also recognizes it would cause a lot of turmoil to fire Brandon simultaneously.

Besides Duffy, the media, both local and national, have remained extremely neutral on this debate. Every outlet you will look at has been strictly stating facts and not going any farther on the subject. I think this is the proper way for these media outlets to act, especially the national ones. This allows the fans to form their own opinions for or against both Brandon and Hoke.

One interesting aspect of this incident is both Hoke and Brandon’s resistance towards the media. In fact, Brandon told Detroit radio sports anchor Tom Leyden that he wasn’t publicly answering questions because he has “more important” things to do. This is extremely surprising. You would think that as an AD for a famous college, not a lot could be more important than attempting to explain yourself and your decisions.

The fans, the media, and most importantly, the students are waiting. Brandon is in the spotlight. How will he choose to portray his role as AD in a positive light, despite rising ticket costs and a failing football team?

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The Next New Japanese Pitching Discovery

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By Alex O’Connor

There is a new face emerging in the market for Japanese starting pitchers moving to the MLB. That new face is Kenta Maeda, who has been projected as the next 100-million dollar signee to come over from Japan. Maeda is currently a pitcher for the Hiroshima Carp. As any pitcher who is receiving this much attention in Japan, he has delivered impressive results. This season, the right-hander owns a 2.56 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. However, players who have been less successful in the majors like Kei Igawa and Hideki Okajima have had much better numbers than those of Maeda. Maeda arguably does not have the best ratings among Japanese pitchers, but he may be a beneficiary of past Japanese starting pitching signees.

Some recent Japanese pitcher signees include Daisuke Matsuzaka (6 years/$52 million and a $51 million bid submission), Yu Darvish (6 years/$60 million and a $61 million bid submission) and finally Mashario Tanaka (7 years/$155 million and a $20 million bid submission). These three players each had tremendous amounts of stock put into them by the media and their coaches in Japan. For example, the Dice-K phenomenon that swept through the MLB. “Dice-K” is a name that stuck between fans and the organization alike. It was easy to say and something that the media bought into instantly. The media not only helps the players, but the organizations as well. In the end, they also benefit from MLB’s increased desire in Japanese pitchers.

The timing of these major signings into Major League Baseball have also proved conducive for Maeda. Matsuzaka was signed in 2007, Darvish in 2012 and Tanaka in 2014. As a result over time, the demand for starting pitchers has increased, and so has their contract sizes. Though Matsuzaka has not panned out as well as Darvish, there was as much if not more stock put in by the media of how successful these pitchers would be. In a general sense, the vast majority of Japanese pitchers getting these lucrative deals had plenty of potential going into the majors. However, as the years go on, organizations go through a much deeper risk when competing to sign for their services.

In addition to demand of pitchers, another aspect that has been working in their favor is the increased popularity of baseball in Japan. This has been partially due to the immense success of players like Ichiro and Hideki Matsui. Once both players were achieving success in the majors, their games would be played nationwide by various Japanese TV stations. This allows MLB organizations to take a closer notice on their players and promotes awareness of their respected leagues. Through media awareness and past trends of MLB organizations, Kenta Maeda is in a great spot to be the next pitcher to reap the rewards of a high-hyped Japanese pitching prospect.

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Well Deserved Media Praise Follows Peyton Manning Throwing 500th Career Touchdown Pass

By Matt Rogers

During the Denver Broncos match-up against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, Peyton Manning became one of only two quarterbacks in NFL history to throw at least 500 touchdowns, the other being Brett Favre.

Merely seconds after the play that resulted in Manning’s 500th touchdown, social media exploded with analysis from fans, professional journalists and even the Denver Broncos themselves. In this day and age, social media sites like Twitter and Facebook have become a popular source for getting news, especially when a milestone is reached in the NFL. Twitter is filled not only with fans of the NFL, but is used as a medium to deliver current news by the journalists that cover the league.

In the days leading into the Broncos’ game in Week 5, there were questions being posed on social media. “In what quarter will Manning achieve the milestone?” and “Which receiver will be the recipient of Manning’s 500th touchdown pass?” were two of the most prevalent. These types of posts have become a minute-by-minute occurrence, when Twitter was ushered in as a way to reflect on things that have happened in the sporting world that day or recently.

This could definitely be attributed to the expansion of media, especially as it pertains to how sports are covered. Without these social media sites, fans and followers would have either waited to find out happenings in the newspaper or wait to see the highlights on shows like ESPN’s SportsCenter. This can also be attributed to the rapid increase in the general public’s interest in sports.

Social media sites are not  the only type of media that continues to expand. Coverage of sports, mainly the NFL, has expanded to a point where all important weekend time slots are filled by most of the nationally televised networks, such as CBS, FOX, NBC and ESPN. Now, to find out about things like Peyton Manning’s 500th touchdown pass, a person can choose from so many different types of media that provide updates as frequently as every second.

Peyton Manning has become one of, if not the face, faces, of the NFL and one of the league’s most beloved players because of his personality and demeanor. He appears in various commercial ads for large companies, like Papa John’s Pizza, Nationwide and Buick. Anytime Peyton Manning reaches a milestone or breaks a record, which happens on a weekly basis it seems, the fans of the league are going to find out about it the second after it occurs.

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