Author Archives: alexoconnor3

Social Media and the firing of Ted Bishop

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The use of social media in sports is a breeding ground for controversy. Once you hit “send” in social media, someone will screenshot it and record it, for there is no telling how big of an issue it may become. Social media is also dangerous because there are different ways in which potentially controversial statements are worded. In the last two days, Ted Bishop, former President of the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) of America has been ousted because of social media. His comments were both controversial, and were taken in a negative light though he may have not meant it that way.

The issue at hand with Ted Bishop was a tweet that he sent out regarding Ian Poulter, an eccentric golfer from England. The tweet was in response to Poulter’s criticism of Ryder Cup Captains Tom Watson and Nick Faldo. The context of Poulter’s comments were that his Ryder Cup and major performances were superior of Faldo’s. Bishop responded through Twitter with “Yours v. His? Lil girl.” Basically, Bishop was belittling his comments and saying that his accusations were completely wrong. BBC Sport also pointed out there was a Facebook post written by Bishop saying: “Really? Sounds like a little school girl squealing during recess. C’MON MAN!” Bishop is American, and Poulter has been known to show his emotions, especially in Ryder and Presidents Cups. This may have been a result of mounting tensions after the American Ryder Cup loss just a month ago. Ultimately, tensions spilled over for Bishop, and is something that cost him his job.

The Golf Channel had a similar take on the situation as BBC Sport, however they emphasized that Twitter was a large factor in the situation escalating. Bishop was not the first prominent golf executive to misuse social media and cause significant damage to their career. A prominent Australian golfer, Steve Elkington, also had issues with social media. Regarding a helicopter crash in Australia, he joked that “there was no beer spilled on board.” His comments were extremely insensitive. He is now synonymous with this tweet, and there will always be a black eye on his reputation. Finally, they also emphasized the views of Poulter and other prominent golfers. 2010 Cup Captain Corey Pavin told his players to be careful with twitter, as he did not want any additional distractions for the team. There are so many forces that may be tempting to tweet or post something on Facebook, but these instances have made it a nightmare for both the PGA and Ted Bishop.

Joseph Randle’s Quick Decision-Making Proves to be Helpful

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By Alex O’Connor

Last Tuesday, backup running back for the Dallas Cowboys, Joseph Randle, was caught shoplifting underwear and cologne from a local Dallas store. The theft was considered a Class B theft, which is between $50 and $500 worth of items being stolen. Randle was fined a week of his pay, which came out to $29,500. Once the incident occurred, Randle was in serious hot water with the front office and outside media. The Dallas Morning News interviewed Cowboys owner Jerry Jones about the issue. Jones declared that Randle would ”pay a high price” for shoplifting cologne and underwear. However, less than a week later, Randle is trying to build good report by signing an endorsement deal with “MeUndies”, an underwear company. Randle is trying to “right a wrong” within the media, and is wasting no time in doing that.

The day before Randle shoplifted those items, he made the most of his opportunities on the field. Randle carried the ball five times for fifty-two yards, including a thirty-eight yard run. He negated all of the positive momentum he built up on the field by shoplifting just two days later. The Dallas Morning News report painted the issue as a matter that would have serious consequences. However, with help from his agent and “MeUndies”, Randle has swung the favor of the media back to his favor.

“MeUndies” is a Los Angeles based lifestyle brand that is finding a unique way to advertise their products. According to the agreement between Randle and “MeUndies”, he will donate $15,000 of their product back to the local community. Randle will also speak at local schools to negate stealing among youths. In addition, he is required to apologize, take action and take responsibility for these actions. Though this is an easy task, it will continue to repair the damage he has done. An additional benefit for Randle’s situation is that “MeUndies” will instantly have more media buzz associated with them. Numerous national media outlets such as ESPN, Yahoo Sports and NBCSports have acknowledged the goodwill Randle is trying to promote, and they believe he has taken steps to improve his image.

The ultimate lesson in Randle’s scenario is that he made something good about a bad situation. He coincidentally lost and gained back most of the media’s attention within a weeks time. Though Randle is not an extremely well known player, he now is more of a household name due to his actions off of the field. With the help of “MeUndies” and his agent, Randle’s reputation has significantly improved.

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Florida Panthers Struggling to Attract Fans

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By Alex O’Connor

Attendance at Florida Panthers games is once again becoming an issue for their organization. Last night, just 7,311 fans came out to see a 1-0 loss against the Ottawa Senators. The Panthers dropped to 0-2-1 on the season and are now under scrutiny not only for their product on the ice, but the lack of hockey interest in southern Florida. NBCsports.com focused specifically on Florida goalie Roberto Luongo, noting that he has played for packed houses with the Vancouver Canucks on a regular basis. In addition, The Miami Herald interviewed Luongo after the loss and he plainly said, “If we want to get some people in the stands, we need to start winning some games.” However, Luongo added that “He doesn’t pay attention to that stuff”, so it may or may not have a large effect on the team’s performance as a whole. Through the media’s attention on attendance and the team’s’ poor performance, the Panthers could be in for a tumultuous season that may put doubts in the minds of many who believe they will be in Florida for an extended period of time.

Social media also had a profound impact on the reach of this story. Numerous accredited sport commentators, writers and analysts were tweeting pictures of the empty stands from their vantage point. The pictures are stunning, as there are almost hundreds of seats open among each section. The most notable picture came from Bruce Garrioch, an award-winning sport journalist from the Ottawa Sun who tweeted a picture of the crowd at game time. The post has almost four hundred re-tweets and was one of many to point out the low attendance.

Another aspect that is hurting the Panthers organization is their lack of incoming revenue from ticket sales. On September, 17th of this year, an NBCsports.com article was published that pointed out the financial woes that the franchise was in. The title was “Panthers owners say they’re committed even though team has lost ‘tremendous amounts of money.'” These losses are between $20-$30 million annually, and are losses that they have asked Broward County in Florida to cover. This is an expense that will not be easily fixed and could loom over the organization for many more years. However, new owners Vinnie Viola and Doug Cifu wrote a “vote of confidence” letter to Panthers fans in mid-September. In the letter they highlighted the acquisition of star goalie Roberto Luongo and how moves like this one is their commitment to the Panthers producing a Stanley Cup caliber team. Though this is encouraging that the owners are on board, they may need to find another avenue in which fans can once again become excited about their organization.

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The Many Faces of Jonathan Papelbon

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By Alex O’Connor

Jonathan Papelbon is currently the closer for the Philadelphia Phillies. Papelbon is know for his hot-temper and more than eccentric personality. Yesterday, he was one of the featured hosts of ESPN’s College GameDay. College GameDay was held on the campus of Mississippi State University, which is Papelbon’s alma mater. However, less than a month ago on September 17th, Papelbon was pulled from a relief appearance and made a graphic gesture to Phillies fans. As a result of this gesture, he was suspended seven games which was one of the largest non-drug related suspensions of the 2014 MLB season. At the time, Papelbon was heavily scrutinized for his exchange with fans and umpire, Joe West. Though this incident happened so recently, ESPN and many college media outlets have forgotten about his large suspension and instead created positive report through his appearance on College GameDay.

The way Papelbon handled the co-anchors, fans and additional media in Starkville helped his image in a positive way. Throughout the entire day, he was immersed in school pride, whether in his dress or his constant cheering with the fans. In addition, Papelbon lit up a cigar on national television, showing that he was completely relaxed and in control of the situation. He also recited many chants with fans and was interactive with co-hosts Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard and Lee Corso. ESPN allowed this because it creates a large buzz, not only among college football fans, but baseball fans as well. This move only increased their ratings and created more buzz for their program.

Less than a month prior, Papelbon was one of Philadelphia’s least favorite athletes. Though he posted an impressive 2.04 ERA this season, the lack of success of the Phillies and this incident worked against him. He is in the final year of his contract and this may be the last memory that Phillies fans have of him. Philly.com pointed out that the Phillies organization fully supported the MLB’s decision and apologized on behalf of Papelbon. In addition to his large contract, local Philadelphia media were hinting that this might be the final straw for Papelbon and the Phillies.

Jonathan Papelbon’s behavior has gotten him in trouble in the past, and yesterday’s College GameDay appearance helped him immensely. However, the media’s neglect over his seven-game suspension has also worked into his favor. I guarantee that very few people in the crowd thought of his obscene gesture on the diamond, but rather they were focused on the way he was dressed and the many ways he was going to entertain the crowd.

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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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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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