Author Archives: ellenchlumecky

About ellenchlumecky

Currently a junior at Bowling Green State University pursuing a degree in Sport Management. Goal is to work for a public relations team in the NHL.

Thursday’s All Right for Fighting: Royals and White Sox

Leave a reply

By Ellen Chlumecky

April 28, 2015

When you think about fighting in sports, what’s the first sport you think of when you think fights? One would probably think boxing first and foremost. Maybe one might think of hockey, football, lacrosse, or maybe even basketball. Baseball is probably low on the list of sports that people might think of as violent. One would most likely not think of baseball as a sport that involves brawling of any kind. However, this week baseball defied all stereotypes this week with a huge brawl that grabbed an enormous amount of media attention.

On, Thursday, April 23rd, the Kansas City Royals and the Chicago White Sox had a brawl at U.S. Cellular Field. Six players were suspended in the process and a seventh player is now being fined for their roles. The Royals’ pitcher Yordano Ventura received a seven game suspension. Another Royals’ pitcher Edinson Volquez received a five game suspension. Royals’ outfielder Lorenzo Cain received a two game suspension. Lastly from the Royals, pitcher Kelvin Herrera also received a two game suspension. White Sox pitchers Chris Sale and Jeff Samardzija received five game suspensions. White Sox catcher Tyler Flowers was not suspended but was fined with an undisclosed amount. In addition to their suspensions, they were also fined as well.

Tensions had been high for quite some time, since the opening series of the season to be exact. The fight took place in the seventh inning Thursday. It started near the first-base foul line then started to range out toward second base and resuming again near the first-base bag. It ended with the ejection of five players which included both of the starting pitchers: Ventura and Sale.

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=12752895

You can view the whole brawl in the video above. It was a mess of arms, hands, and baseball hats. In addition to those seven players, players from both the dugouts and bullpens ran onto the field. Other players threw punches in the fight that lasted several minutes.

The Royals are starting to earn a fighting reputation after several incidents. The White Sox are just one of two teams they got into a fight with; the other one was with the Oakland A’s. Also, Yordano Ventura got into a heated argument with the Angels’ Mike Trout during a series. Yet Yost insisted that his club has rarely been the instigator in any of these situations. However, he hopes that it’s all behind them and they can move forward.

The MLB did the right thing. A massive amount of younger children look up to these baseball players. The MLB doesn’t want to condone this brawling among its fans. The MLB believes this punishment is fair and I agree fully. While some of the players are trying to appeal, I believe the MLB will do what they think is the right option.

Bruce Jenner Breaks Down America’s Myths about Gender

Leave a reply

By Ellen Chlumecky

April 27, 2015

In this day and age, the world is harsher than ever. Especially with Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr, there is more of a chance for people to berate and insult each other. When people want to stand up and stick up for themselves, the world can’t help but stop and stare. These people shouldn’t be mocked, teased, or felt degraded or insulted. These people should be celebrated and felt important for their differences. When former Olympian, Bruce Jenner, revealed to the world on April 24th that he is a transgender woman, there is was a surprising amount of support not only from his family but also many people working hard for acceptance for the transgender community.

Bruce Jenner won two Amateur Athletic Union decathlons, the Pan-American Games decathlon, a gold medal in Montreal Olympic decathlon, a Sullivan Award, an Associated Press Athlete of the Year. He was also inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame and into the Olympic Hall of Fame. He was a talented athlete and an idol to the United States of America in the 70s and the 80s. Young athletes looked up to him and looked at him as a model of someone who was strong and confident. However, even after several years of no longer being an athlete you can see his confidence and his strength in his interview with Diane Sawyer.

http://money.cnn.com/2015/04/24/media/bruce-jenner-interview-diane-sawyer/

The reason I felt this was so important to write about is the same reason that I believe people who feel they need to be who they are need to be comfortable to do so. Bruce Jenner is one of several athletes who waited till they were done with sports to feel comfortable becoming transgender. Some of these athletes were out of the public eye which is why they felt it was finally acceptable to change genders. Bruce Jenner has a unique situation because of who his family is, the Kardashians.

His marriage to Kris Kardashian brought his whole situation to a larger media scale than it would’ve if he had stayed out of the spotlight. However, I don’t think that he would’ve wanted to change it at all. Bruce Jenner was quoted saying, “We’re going to make a difference in the world with what we’re doing.” Jenner had contemplated suicide because he felt like he was living a lie. As he is coming out to the world, he is showing people how important it is to be who you are because being happy is most important.

He is not only standing up for himself but for all trans, gender-nonconforming, and intersex people. These people want to be happy by being themselves, and I believe that what he’s doing is amazing. He deserves more than just settling. I fully support anyone going through this situation and I believe the sports world should stand behind these people as well.

ESPN Writer Berates Towing Firm Worker: Britt McHenry

Leave a reply

By Ellen Chlumecky

April 20, 2015

It seems like recently more people of distinction are making degrading comments on Twitter, posting inappropriate pictures on Facebook, or literally getting caught on camera saying degrading things. In the case of Britt McHenry, it was the latter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkxBTklqIcw

Britt McHenry is a sports reporter who currently works for ESPN. She has served as a correspondent for various shows such as SportsCenter, Outside the Lines, NFL Live, and Baseball Tonight. As one can see from the video, she was clearly irate with the towing firm worker. While I along with many other people could understand her frustration of her car being towed, I don’t know how many people would talk to a worker that way. She stated that she would sue the place, adding a few curse words here and there.

ESPN suspended her for a week. One week. One week for being demeaning, using derogatory comments, commenting on the workers’ weight, teeth, class, and education, and being generally disrespectful to someone who was trying to do their job. While some people say that celebrities shouldn’t feel as much pressure to behave just because they’re celebrities, I believe that they should treat others as decent human beings. McHenry was furthest from treating that woman as a decent human being. Being frustrated is one thing, it’s actually using hateful words to hurt someone emotionally takes it to a truly horrible level.

She did post a Facebook apology. She said, “In an intense and stressful moment, I allowed my emotions to get the best of me and some said insulting and regrettable things. As frustrated as I was, I should always choose to be respectful and take the high road. I am so sorry for my actions and will learn from this mistake.” All of this sounds like an apology right out of a public relations management handbook.

There’s also a bunch of cover ups saying that the video was edited and that the media was quick to judge her. Mediaite.com said that it seemed too odd that the woman being yelled at had no comments to make during the entire video. They are convinced that the video must’ve been edited in which the woman’s insults were unheard as well.

Whichever the case may be, it was inappropriate for anyone whether or not they’re on a national news channel. It makes me upset that we can’t live in a world that can’t treat people with respect. No matter what profession you are or what your class is, you need to treat people with respect and decency.

Aaron Hernandez Sentenced to Life in Prison

Leave a reply

By Ellen Chlumecky

April 20, 2015

In the NFL, sometimes crime and domestic violence isn’t exactly solved with the utmost justice. These victims and their families of the lack of justice feel cheated, upset, and permanently scarred whether a small incident or large. However, this might be one of the exceptions. Former New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez was found guilty on Wednesday, April 15th, of first-degree murder in a late-night shooting and was sentence to life in prison. Hernandez was a player who used to hold a $40 million contract and an aspiring career ahead of him. Now all of that is gone because of his tremendous mistake.

Hernandez was announced guilty in the killing of Odin Lloyd. Odin Lloyd was a 27-year-old landscaper and semipro football player who was dating the sister of Hernandez’s fiancée. Lloyd was shot six times in the middle of the night on June 17, 2013. He was shot in a deserted industrial park near Hernandez’s home in North Attleborough. The police accused Hernandez because they found the key of the car that Hernandez had rented in Lloyd’s pocket. The Patriots cut the player who was considered one of the biggest and best up and coming tight ends currently in the NFL. Prosecutors have suggested that Lloyd was killed because he might have known too much about Hernandez’s alleged involvement in a deadly 2012 drive-by shooting in Boston.

He was convicted with a mandatory sentence of life without parole and it automatically triggered an appeal to Massachusetts’ highest court. He was also found guilty on firearms and ammunition charges. The jury deliberated for 36 hours over seven days before rendering its verdict. About 135 witnesses were called to the stand during the nine-week trial. Hernandez was ordered to serve his life sentence at MCI-Cedar Junction in Walpole, Massachusetts.

The District Attorney Thomas Quinn made a point to mention that the fact that Hernandez was a professional athlete meant nothing at the end of the day. Even though the Patriots removed Hernandez from the Patriots they declined to comment on the verdict of his sentence. Brandon Spikes and David Nelson, former teammates of Hernandez, tweeted about the verdict and were surprised at the decision. Spikes made a comment about the justice system, while Nelson mentioned how that wasn’t the person he knew.

Mayor Ken Cocakyne was one of the main people speaking about the sympathy he felt towards the Lloyd family. He stated that it was unfortunate that this had to be someone who young children looked up to and that he crashed their dreams. He stated that no matter who you are, you still have to live within the law and respect others. While I agree, hopefully this type of action can be taken with all crimes committed in the NFL.

Underdog Receives First National Title: Providence Friars

Leave a reply

April 14, 2015

By Ellen Chlumecky

The Providence Friars 2014-2015 hockey team was the key definition of “the underdogs.” The Friars were the 15th seed going into the 2015 NCAA men’s hockey national tournament. The Providence Friars squeezed into the NCAA Tournament by the skin of their teeth. The last time the Friars had even made an appearance at the NCAA Frozen Four was in 1985, which was thirty years ago. Now the Providence Friars can finally claim the national title as their own.

While I would never try to rob the Friars of what they earned and the hard work they committed to in each game, they owe a great deal of their fortune to Boston University’s goalie’s unbelievably fluky goal. This is what gave Providence the chance to come back. The game had 8:36 left in regulation when Providence junior defenseman Tom Parisi lofted a high dump in from center ice that headed towards Boston University’s junior goaltender Matt O’Connor. O’Connor followed the puck and it struck the heel of his catching glove. It seemed like he had made a routine save. However, his glove dropped toward the ice and so did the puck, which rolled between his legs. While O’Connor tried to grab it, he knocked the puck into his own net which turned a 3-2 Terriers’ lead into a 3-3 tie.

The Friars scored another goal within a 2:19 span in the third period to tie and eventually secure a 4 to 3 win over Boston University at TD Garden. Providence College’s head coach Nate Leaman said, “I thought it’s kind of a little bit like our season: we started a little bit slow, but we got better and better. And we played a pretty good third period and obviously got a big bounce that I think got our bench alive a little bit.” Providence came in as underdogs and showed everyone they were worthy of the national title by humiliating every team that had held the title years before.

Boston University’s storybook ending was quickly denied in those last few minutes of regulation. This would have been Boston University’s sixth national championship. While I’m sure Providence upset a massive amount of hockey fans’ brackets, they raised the hopes of Providence students and fans. Providence earned their way to the Frozen Four with a wild 7 to 5 win over Miami, a 4 to 1 win over Denver, then massacred Nebraska-Omaha in a 4 to 1 in the semifinal. Providence has become the third-straight first time champion in the NCAA Frozen Four.

 

“No Wusses Play Hockey”

Leave a reply

By Ellen Chlumecky

April 6, 2015

Football, rugby, lacrosse, wrestling, boxing, field hockey, and of course hockey are all very rough, high contact sports. There is always debate on what the roughest sport is and most importantly what sport has the toughest athletes. I’m sure there’s cases for all the above but most recently hockey has proven it’s worthiness for the toughest sport overall. This recent prestigious honor is due to Drew Miller of the Detroit Red Wings.

Drew Miller is the most recent example of the toughness that is demonstrated daily by hockey players. This incident was so fatal that Miller and his teammates feared he’d lose his right eye. On Tuesday, March 31st, the Red Wings played against Ottawa. Miller was standing behind Mark Stone and took a skate to the face, because Miller wears a visor it cut up the majority of his face pretty bad. Miller needed 50 to 60 stitches to close up the gash on his face. While Miller initially thought that he had lost his eye, the doctors cleared him and mentioned that his vision is fine. Miller wanted to go back in for the third period against the Senators but the doctors and his wife advised against the decision because of the fear of ripping the stitches.

Miller is now sporting a deep scar from his right eyebrow across his cheekbone. The whole cut was very deep especially in the cheek area. The eye itself is fine. Doctors have enforced him to wear a protective cage for a while, but he is convinced that he can still perform his duties on the ice.

If that wasn’t enough, Drew Miller suited up to play for the Red Wings in Thursday’s 3-2 loss to Boston at Joe Louis Arena. The day he decided to suit up for the game was only just two days after a skate to his face. While this may seem absurd to most, it would be more painful for most hockey players not to play than to sit out with an injury. That’s how badly they want to play and help their teammates.

Hockey players push the boundaries beyond belief. Their passion to their craft is unmatched by any other sport. While I’m sure other athletes have shown just as much dedication, there is a unique aspect to hockey players’ dedication. Coach of the Red Wings, Mike Babcock, called the incident the definition of team building. While fellow teammate of Miller, Brendan Smith, stated, “I’m not sure how to say this, but no wusses play. It’s a tough sport and I think that’s why it’s ingrained at a young age. If you don’t want to play a tough game, you go play tennis or golf.”

 

A Rod Trying to Fly Under the Radar

Leave a reply

By Ellen Chlumecky

April 3, 2015

The day has come back where Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees returns to the grand stage during spring training to debut what he’s been doing during his suspension. Many Yankees fans and baseball fans recall the trial regarding Alex Rodriguez. For almost two whole years, Alex Rodriguez denied he ever used banned substances from a Coral Gables anti-aging clinic. In 2013, he finally admitted getting testosterone creams, lozenges laced with testosterone and human growth hormone injections from the fake doctor Anthony Bosch. Anthony Bosch not only lied to him about what the drugs would do, but he also gave him tips on how to beat the MLB’s drug testing.

In 2013, Alex Rodriguez was reduced from a 211 game suspension to a 162 game suspension. He received the longest suspension of all the MLB players. Rodriguez’s statement fortified the criminal steroid case against Bosch and indicated his cousin as the middleman. He also admitted that he had used performance-enhancing substances as a member of the Texas Rangers in 2001-03. Recently he wrote a handwritten apology letter to his fans. He’s trying to cover all his basics before coming back this season. I am not sure that he has everyone convinced though.

Media constantly question Yankee manager Joe Girardi about Rodriguez’s return to spring training. Their main question is if Alex Rodriguez has been a distraction during spring training. Girardi is of the opinion that no one is bothered by the media. He said none of the players are bothered or distracted either. Girardi thinks things will be fine and will return back to normal quickly. Sounds plausible, right?

As far as we know, Girardi’s intuition was correct. Rodriguez has settled comfortably back onto the Yankees. While the media has been hounding them, it’s nothing that they’re not accustomed to already. Girardi believes that the media doesn’t believe Rodriguez is high up on their radar right now.

However, it almost seems scripted on how Rodriguez has been responding to the media. He has recited general thankfulness and obedience to the Yankee staff every day he’s been interviewed. He expressed a want to just play baseball and to perform well for the team. He said, “I’ll tell you that I’m a lot more happy, fortunate, and grateful than I was twelve months ago.” He is acting in a professional manner as I’m sure his superiors told him to act.

It’s odd to see his transition. He went from suing the league to sticking the “mistakes were made” defense now to the loyal, devoted player. So far so good for A Rod, but we have the whole season to see what unfolds.

 

The King is Back in his Throne: Henrik Lundqvist

Leave a reply

By Ellen Chlumecky

April 1, 2015

You may remember that the king of goalies, Henrik Lundqvist, has been out since February 2. Lundqvist missed 25 games due to a serious vascular injury. A great loss for the entire New York Rangers organizations and their fans. Not that they are without their star players: Martin St. Louis, Rick Nash, Ryan McDonagh, Dan Girardi, and Derek Stephan. However without a solid goaltender, we know that you’re as good as gone in the NHL. Thankfully for the Rangers, Lundqvist is back in action. On March 28th, Lundqvist was able to make his return back to his kingdom in the net. They played the Bruins at TD Garden and even though the energy was thrilling, the results weren’t exactly what the Rangers were looking for in return.

http://www.blueshirtsunited.com/video/rangers-fall-beantown-highlights-analysis

Lundqvist and the New York Rangers fell to 25-12-3 with a 4-2 loss to the Bruins. Lundqvist finished with 26 saves against the Bruins. He faced 14 shots in the first period and allowed three goals. The first came only 1:41 into the game when Milan Lucic of the Bruins was credited with a goal after the pick was redirected in with his skate to give Boston a 1-0 lead. The play was reviewed but it was confirmed that the goal was allowed because it was determined not to be a distinct kicking motion.

The second goal of the game was at 9:26 of the first. It was also scored by Lucic. The Bruins took a clean breakout and a series of quick and crisp passes through the neutral zone before Lucic finished with his second goal of the night and 17th goal of the season. The third goal of the game by the Bruins was also scored in the first period and was scored by Carl Soderberg. The fourth goal of the game by the Bruins was scored by Reilly Smith early in the second period.

Lundqvist was obviously not happy with his performance but looks at this game as a chance for improvement. It didn’t help that the first period was clearly dominated by the Bruins and was a tough place for the Rangers. Lundqvist thought he did well in the second and third but will obviously learn from what went wrong in the first. First game back in 25 games would be hard for anyone in the game.

The Rangers have eight games left in their regular season. Lundqvist should be receiving a few more starts to try to regain his strength to the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. We wish Henrik Lundqvist in his return back to Madison Square Garden. If anyone deserves a win, it’s him, with hard work and a massive amount of will power he will be as good as new.

Mo’ne Davis Teaches People How to Rise Above the Haters

Leave a reply

By Ellen Chlumecky

March 30, 2015

As my father once said, “Any idiot can have a Twitter account.” Unfortunately in this day and age, this is all too true. Twitter is at people’s fingertips at any moment during the day. They can tweet any thought, any picture or video, any comment, any idea whenever they feel like it. It’s a great tool, in theory. Unless you put that tool in the hands of someone who feels comfortable bullying, sharing inappropriate comments, or someone who genuinely wants to do some permanent damage. This is the case with Bloomsburg University baseball player, Joey Casselberry.

Joey Casselberry took to Twitter when he found out that Disney was going to be making a movie about Mo’ne Davis’ life. He said, “WHAT A JOKE. That slut got rocked by Nevada.” His tweet without fail went viral. On Saturday, Casselberry tweeted an apology for what he said. He tweeted, “An example that one stupid tweet can ruin someone’s life and I couldn’t be more sorry about my actions last night. I please ask you to forgive me and truly understand that I am in no way shape or form a sexist and I am a huge fan of Mo’ne. She was quite an inspiration.”

While he desperately tried to take back what he said, it seemed to no avail. Casselberry is no longer on the baseball team’s roster. Bloomsburg University has also issued a statement regarding the matter. They stated, “Bloomsburg University is deeply saddened by what was written about Mo’ne Davis by one of our student-athletes. His words do not represent us. We take matter very seriously; addressed the issue with the student-athlete (who has been dismissed from team), coach, and the team.” This seems to be well-deserved justice in most people’s minds. However, Mo’ne Davis did not feel the same way.

Mo’ne Davis wants Joey Casselberry to be reinstated by his school. Davis believes that Casselberry deserves a second chance. She stated, “Everyone makes mistakes and everyone deserves a second chance. I know he didn’t mean it that type of way. I know people get tired of seeing me on TV, but you just gotta think about what you’re doing before you actually do it. I know right now he’s really hurt and I know how hard he worked just to get to where is right now. I was hurt on my part, but he’s hurt even more.”

The team said Casselberry violated the athletic department’s social media policy and the school’s code of conduct. While Bloomsburg says they respect Davis’ opinion and praise her for being incredibly mature about the situation, the school will not reinstate the baseball player. They are standing firm. Cyber bullying has become a major issues over the past few years and I believe that standing firm makes it clear that no matter who it is, a derogatory statement is unacceptable.

While it is very noble and mature of Mo’ne to issue such a statement, Casselberry should be punished regardless. Twitter is no longer a consequence-free world. People think that just because it’s a faceless forum on social media, they have no rules and they can’t get in trouble. There should be consequences for what people say.

 

Mike Richards Returns Home to the LA Kings

Leave a reply

By Ellen Chlumecky

March 24, 2015

On March 22, the Los Angeles Kings made a decision to recall Mike Richards from their AHL affiliate, the Manchester Monarchs. The Kings recently added the veteran back on to its low-scoring lineup before opening a five game road trip against the New Jersey Devils on Monday night with their playoff dreams looming in the near future. After three losses in their past four games, the Kings sit two points behind Calgary for third place in the Pacific Division.

Richards was waived and immediately sent to the minors in January when the Kings lost their patience with several seasons of his poor performance on the offensive production. Once Richards cleared waivers, he accept the minor league assignment. He gained 14 points in 16 games for Manchester. He is currently in the middle of a 12 year contract through 2020 that carries an annual cap hit of $5.75 million. General manager of the Kings, Dean Lombardi, had said that Richards had been sent to the AHL reluctantly because of his efforts. They made a statement saying that they would recall the veteran for the playoff push if his replacements didn’t excel. His replacements didn’t succeed, so here Richards is now.

Mike Richards is no stranger to being a strong player. In fact, he’s gotten in trouble for it several times. He’s a hard-hitting player who a multitude of players have to frequently look out for on the ice. He tends to dominate physically and is more than often called a bully on the ice. Before he was on the Los Angeles Kings, he was previously the captain of the Philadelphia Flyers. he was drafted in the first round of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the Flyers and 24th overall. He has been the member of two Stanley Cup winning teams with the Los Angeles Kings. He has also been on numerous championship teams, including: the Memorial Cup, World Juniors, Calder Cup, and Olympic Gold.

The Kings have been having a rough year. A player who has consistently been a goal producer for the team wasn’t performing so they thought it was the best idea to send Richards back down to the AHL. Maybe they thought that sending Richards down to the AHL would light a fire under him. It’s really crunch time for the Kings right now so calling Richards back up might be a good option for them right now. The Kings really need to light a fire underneath their players right now.