Author Archives: ellenchlumecky

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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.

Fenwick Friar to Northwestern Wildcat

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By Ellen Chlumecky

One of the many things I love about writing for the Maxwell Media Watch is that I get to write about the many athletes that have been my idols for so many years. I also get to write about new and upcoming players who I personally root for and hope for their success. Today, I am writing about both. My article is about a talented athlete that I had the pleasure of going to high school with: Scott Lindsey.

A 6’5’’ shooting guard with an almost 7 foot wing span is currently a freshman at Northwestern University on the men’s basketball team. In high school, Lindsey joined the Fenwick sophomore team as a freshman. Then joined the varsity team as a sophomore. He also was ranked number 42 shooting guard and a three-star recruit by ESPN.com as a junior. His senior year he made captain and helped his team make it to the regional championships. He also received a student athlete award for being one of the top 15 players in the state.

However prior to attending Northwestern, Lindsey missed a large portion of his senior season due to a broken tibia and fibula. These serious injuries took a great deal of time and conditioning to return to what he had. While this may have set him back a great deal as a freshman on a collegiate team, Lindsey has worked immensely hard to be back at 100%.

This year, Northwestern has a very young team with only two seniors and one graduate student. The team is looking for leadership and with a good majority of the team being freshmen; Lindsey is trying his best to put his best foot forward on and off the court.

While head coach Chris Collins has stated that Lindsey has a chance to be a tremendous player but has him currently labeled as a sleeper because of his injury. However, Collins is very excited to have Lindsey on the team because he is a versatile player. Not only is he a great shooter but he’s a very tall player with great defensive skills as well. Collins is also excited because Lindsey helps accomplish Collins’ goal of forcing more turnovers.

In his first game of the season, Lindsey tallied 10 points and knocked down 3 out of 4 field goal attempts. For his first collegiate game, coming off an injury, I believe that Lindsey is trying to show his team and his coaches what type of potential he has.

While this may seem like an average player to someone looking at his stats, he is an immensely talented player with a large amount of potential. The team has only played three games so far but I look forward to watching his career progress not only because he is a former classmate but because he is a tremendous athlete with a bright future ahead of him.

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Hockey Hall of Fame Being Globalized

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By Ellen Chlumecky

On Monday, November 17th, the Class of 2014 was ushered into the Hockey Hall of Fame. These four players from four different countries each played a major role in an important international game which is why they were being honored with this highly esteemed awards. The four former athletes were Peter Forsberg of team Sweden, Mike Modano of team United States, Dominik Hasek of team Czech Republic, and Rob Blake of team Canada.

Peter Forsberg helped team Sweden win gold at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics. Mike Modano helped the United States team win the 1996 World Cup of Hockey. Dominik Hasek helped the Czech Republic team win gold at the 1998 Nagano Olympics while also earning tournament MVP honors. Rob Blake helped team Canada achieve a victory at the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics after receiving losses in the past three tournaments. These four athletes spent their entire careers working towards greatness and on Friday they were acknowledged not only for their individual team effort but for their international team effort as well.

Not only were these athletes recognized, but a special group of broadcast journalists as well. Pat Foley, of the Chicago Blackhawks, received the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for outstanding contributions as a hockey broadcaster. Kevin Allen received the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award for excellence in hockey journalism. Coach Pat Burns and referee Bill McCreary also received awards for their dedication to the sport and were inducted into their career category.

Not only is it a huge honor for the National Hockey League to have these amazing athletes in their organization, it is a huge advancement for hockey in general because of the coverage this special event received. The induction ceremony was broadcasted live not only throughout Canada but also through North America. While it was not broadcasted on every major sports channel in the US, it received an immense amount of coverage by the NHL Network.

This particular Hall of Fame class was immensely showed how the globalization of hockey has increased in the past few years. The athletes inducted were not just from the United States and Canada, but from the Czech Republic and Sweden as well. To have four players from four different countries has shown the importance that hockey is making on the world. This class of 2014 has shown the globalization of hockey is spreading even faster than we had originally thought.

I have said it before and I will say it again, hockey is an amazing sport that requires physical and mental toughness. It takes a great deal of skill, endurance, and passion to play hockey and these four men who received awards on Friday are just some of the few that we are so immensely proud of in the NHL. It makes me so happy to see the recognition of these athletes and broadcasters and it makes me even happier to see the diverse coverage of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

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Started from the Bottom Now We’re Here

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By Ellen Chlumecky

On Saturday night, Derrick Rose once again sat out against the Indiana Pacers because he was recovering from a strained left hamstring. Rose and Tom Thibodeau, the Bulls coach, are trying to give the injury time to heal and be patient with his recovery.

The Bulls ended up losing on Saturday to the Indiana Pacers 90 to 99. There was a player on the court that night who showed the United Center that the Bulls have a new star filling in for Rose. While the Bulls looked uninhabited on Saturday, this player gave life to the team. That player’s name is Jimmy Butler. While the team didn’t get the W, Butler scored a career high of 32 points.

This career high may be something new to Butler but the consistency of his point scoring has been unstoppable this season. Butler has shown his team that he can be a force to reckon with not only on defense, but recently on offense as well.

Kicked to the curb at the young age of 13, Butler had very little to look forward to in his life. After he was finally adopted by a kind family, Butler spent time playing for Tyler Junior College trying to get a college scout to notice him. He worked hard on the court and off the court academically and eventually received an offer to go to Marquette. Marquette’s coach, Buzz Williams, pushed him hard and saw the immense potential that Butler had. Working day in and day out at Marquette, Butler became the 30th pick overall by the Chicago Bulls. Now at only 25 years old, Butler is making a splash while star player Rose is out right now.

So working hard is nothing new for Jimmy Butler especially with his rough past. With Derrick Rose out, the entire team needs to step up in terms of point scorers and leadership. However, all the Chicago Tribune can talk about right now is how Derrick Rose is currently out.

I understand that Derrick Rose’s recovery is something that all Bulls’ fans are dying for right now, but when a rookie made a career high of 32 points it is something important to celebrate. I personally believe that Derrick Rose leads the Bulls effectively and efficiently but while he is out, players need to step up. And the fact that Butler is trying to, says a lot about his character as a player.

While NBA.com did not think Butler accomplished enough in the game because they didn’t win, just like Rose, it will not bring Butler down. Butler has overcome adversity in so many different ways. Nothing in his life came easy to him. I’m sure that losing a game to the Pacers doesn’t qualify as the worst thing that’s ever happened to him. Congratulations to Jimmy Butler, I look forward to seeing more from you and I cannot wait to see what you and Rose can do when he’s back.

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“You can’t worry about failure” – Bryant Makes All-time NBA Mark for Missed Field Goals

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By Ellen Chlumecky

On Tuesday in Memphis, Kobe Bryant made history by setting the NBA record for missed field goals. The Los Angeles Lakers played the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday and Bryant set the mark with 6:22 left in the fourth quarter of a 107-102 loss. He missed a 14-foot fade away jumper from the left side. This miss gave him his 13, 418 career missed field goal. He made history by becoming the player with the most missed field goals by beating Boston Celtics John Havlicek by one shot. Also, in this same game, Bryant scored a game high of 28 points on 10-of-26 shooting.

After the game, Bryant was asked if he knew about the record. Kobe Bryant let it roll off his shoulders and commented on how he did not follow records or statistics like that. When asked how he managed to make the mark, he laughed and said, “Well, I’m a shooting guard that’s played 19 years – ‘shooting’ guard, 19th year.” Bryant said, “I don’t care about it, to be honest with you. It is what it is. I remember when I was a kid and I watched Michael shoot 49 times in an NBA Finals game. Can you imagine if I did that and lost? Puts thing in perspective.”

Kobe Bryant did not seem to be concerned about the major milestone in his career. He is among the ranks of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson, Elvin Hayes, Karl Malone, and other greats of the NBA. All of these players worked their butts off every game to become greats.

ESPN, The New York Daily News, and NBC Sports all seemed to press on Bryant, asking him if he knew about the record and what he thought and if it bothered him. Even after all these people kept pushing to get some sort of anger or regret from him, Kobe Bryant chose to rise above it. He said, “You’ve got to step up and play, man. You can’t worry about criticism. You can’t worry about failure. You really can’t worry about that stuff.”

“You can’t worry about failure.” While I am not the biggest fan of Kobe Bryant, I have utter respect for him for understanding that this landmark in NBA history isn’t a failure. It is just a moment showing that Kobe Bryant has been working his butt off every game this season and every game of previous seasons as well. While most reporters are looking for a reason to tear him down, Bryant consistently tries to improve himself by working harder every day in every game.

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College Hockey: Skating in the Right Direction

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By Ellen Chlumecky

Hockey has never been the most important or popular sport in the United States. While all leagues of hockey have their large fan bases, but the NHL, college hockey, high school hockey, and youth leagues are still barely making the top of the list for most popular sport in the United States.

While hockey is still barely at the top of the list, they have been making head way in the past couple years. As I previously stated in an earlier article, the 2014 NHL season has started to make a huge splash in different media outlets other than just the NHL Network. While ESPN still rarely shows hockey video clips, NBC Sports Network has been devoted to showing hockey games even more than any other network in the United States.

The most recent addition to the NBC Sports Network family is NCAA college hockey. Last year, NBCSN only showed the NCAA Frozen Four, which is the championship, and a few games here and there. While very important to all college hockey programs to make this huge step, the championships are only just one important part of the season. Which is why it is such a big deal that NBCSN is now showing college hockey regularly now. While so far they have only shown Boston College and Notre Dame, two of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I, but for them to regularly start showing college hockey games is something that was unimaginable a couple of years ago. A couple of years ago, the only way you could go see some college hockey games was to attend the game in person or if you lived locally you might be able to catch the game on a local sports television show. For the college hockey programs across the United States this is a huge step especially when college football and basketball tend to take a lead when it comes to ESPN and other larger sports networks.

I am not saying that the NBCSN has perfected the spread of college hockey yet. NBC Sports Network has still yet to add a college hockey tab to their website. While they do still have college hockey clips to watch on their website, they are far from making it a big deal. The college hockey season is only about ten games in so I believe that NBCSN can blow college hockey up and make hockey a true contender in that list and a game that people are excited to watch.

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Derrick Rose Looking on the Bright Side

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By Ellen Chlumecky

Derrick Rose’s return created a huge excited buzz around Chicago and the NBA in general. Everyone was on the edge of their seats, waiting to see what this phenomenal player was going to bring to the court when he returned. Unfortunately, as soon as he was in, he was back out again.

On Friday, October 31st, the Chicago Bulls played against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The excitement around the game was huge. Everyone wanted to see the big comeback of Rose battling against Lebron James. But luck was not on Rose’s side on Friday. Rose sprained not one, but both of his ankles on Friday’s game. While one of the ankle injuries isn’t labeled as serious, it didn’t seem like an ideal situation. Leaving Bulls’ fans thinking that their beacon of light was once again out.

In true Derrick Rose fashion, when interviewed about the injuries, our fearless leader almost seemed to shrug it off. He stated that he stayed out of the rest of the game because he wanted to stay smart about staying off the ankles as to not cause further problems. Rose made it clear that he was not going to let this stop him but he was not going to run blindly into it and force another serious injury.

While Rose was a scratch on Tuesday for the Magic game, he still remains positive. Coach Tom Thibodeau is also just as confident as Rose that this is just a minor setback. Thibodeau states that coming back from a long injury always takes some time and that’s what Rose needs. The coach wants him to come in every day trying but at the end of the day, it’s about time. NBC Sports even defended Rose’s honor by saying that Rose’s current injury is just a minor fluke and that it’ll just take a little time for him to recover. They stated that this injury could happen to anyone.

While they seem to be confident that Rose will be back in brand spanking new condition, others do not seem to have the same view. After the game, Twitter was blown up about how Rose was made of glass and how he has no hope to return to 100%. Some Bulls fans, some non-believers, think that because of these ankle injuries he will never return to the Derrick Rose he once was. No major news media has stated that Derrick Rose cannot return from this, probably because they don’t want to state anything prematurely.

Non-believers can think what they want, but Derrick Rose is determined as ever to prove himself. I wrote an article about Derrick Rose’s return last week and he ended up with the ankle injury. I hope after writing this one, he doesn’t break an even more important body part. I do not want to be a jinx for my favorite NBA player.

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New Chicago Cubs Manager in Trouble One Day Before He Even Starts

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By Ellen Chlumecky

Joe Maddon had been the manager of the Tampa Bay Rays for almost eight years. On Monday, November 3rd, President of Baseball Operations, Theo Epstein will be announcing that Joe Maddon will be the 54th manager in Chicago Cubs franchise history.

The team made the decision to fire current manager Rick Renteria earlier Friday, October 31st. While Epstein believed that Renteria deserved to come back for another season with the Cubs. Epstein gave Renteria positive end of the year reviews and even planned on having come back for the 2015 season. Epstein said nothing but positive things to Cubs season ticket holders and the media. Renteria seemed to be continuing his career through the Cubs’ organization, with a two-year contract under his belt.

However, on Thursday October 30, the Chicago Cubs organization learned that Joe Maddon had opted out of his contract. Maddon proclaimed himself under “test free agency” for the first time since he started managing in 1996. Once the Cubs heard about this, they jumped at the opportunity to have a seasoned veteran in their arsenal. Once they had made an offer, they made an announcement planning out a press conference for Monday to introduce Maddon as their new manager.

It all seemed like the perfect recipe for success, it all also seemed to be a little too easy. The Tampa Bay Rays are now considering filing tampering charges against Epstein. The Rays believe that Epstein coaxed Maddon to tap out of his final contract year. The Tampa Bay Times quoted Maddon’s agent “the accusations by the Rays of tampering in the move are really sad and a little bit insulting.”

Joe Maddon’s agent, Alan Nero, was clearly frustrated by the accusations. Nero clearly stated that there was no foul play in the deal. The Chicago Cubs are offering Joe Maddon a salary of $5 million a year, which is along with the top paid managers in the league. Nero states that the Chicago Cubs clearly wanted Maddon more because of the offer made. The Rays had the opportunity to offer more and did not follow through on it, they could have stepped up but didn’t.

For the Rays to make such accusations seems a little far-fetched to make a case. At the end of the day, Maddon made the better business decision with the team that wanted him more. Even the Rays’ own newspaper hinted at the absurdity of the accusation. They laid out all the facts, not claiming anything the Cubs were doing to be foul play. If your own newspaper can’t get on board with your case, you might want to step back and reevaluate.

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Derrick Rose: The Comeback Kid?

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By Ellen Chlumecky

On Wednesday, October 29th, Derrick Rose was finally cleared to play again. The long-awaited return of Chicago Bull Derrick Rose to the United Center has finally been answered. However, Derrick Rose’s return to the court so far has not been met with entirely positive opinions. While there will always be haters of Derrick Rose, some media has doubts about whether or not Derrick Rose can make a comeback.

For the most part, Chicago fans are ecstatic to have their prince of basketball return to center stage. While there are some disbelievers, the city of Chicago cannot wait to see Rose prove himself on the court once again. Chicago Bulls fans are a long-suffering community since the Michael Jordan era. Don’t get me wrong, they have had glimmers of hope since their last 1998 Championship but Derrick Rose was truly their new beacon of light and with his teammates Jimmy Butler, Joakim Noah, and Taj Gibson, they seemed unstoppable. On April 28, 2012 Derrick Rose tore the meniscus in his right knee and all of Chicago’s glimmer of hope was shut down once again. Now that he has once again returned, Chicago is wary of his return just because of the injury and worried how long the prince’s reign will last this time.

His teammates and coaches have shown nothing but positive praise for Rose as he worked in the past few months during the preseason. He is working tirelessly to perform at his best. Rose wants to play at his best level for his teammates and coaches. His teammates and coaches know that his main priority is always to improve the whole of the team. His teammates comment on how he is a team player and have complete faith that he will be at 100% this season. Very few players lead the team with such passion such as Rose. His teammates look up to him and wish for nothing but a successful return.

However, several different media sources like the New York Times, have some doubt about whether or not Derrick Rose still has what it takes to remain a legacy. While they had some high praise to say about Rose, they still have some doubts about his progress and if he can be the same player that he was before his injury. They have been calling Derrick Rose a question mark, not in his talent, but in his health.

It seems that the people who have the most faith in his ability to come back are competitors. LeBron James has stated several times how he believes the Chicago Bulls have a shot at a playoff run this year. He stated, “The Bulls are a team that’s much better than us right now.” He has stated that with Rose back in top health and the team he has behind, there is no doubt it’ll be a successful season for them. Even Iman Shumpert of the New York Knicks had only positive things to say about Rose. He commented, “He’s a franchise player and the reason he needs more time to recover than me is because his main goal for him when he comes back is to be M.V.P. right away.” Players in the NBA know what he’s capable of and seem to have no doubt in their minds that he’ll be back in action this season.

As a Chicago Bulls and a Derrick Rose fan myself, I am more than excited to see what he has up his sleeve this year. He has worked his tail off during the preseason to be stronger, faster, and a better teammate. I have no doubt in my mind that Rose will make the doubters eat their words this season.

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NHL Honors Canadian Soldiers

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By Ellen Chlumecky

October 22nd, 2014 is a date that will now live in infamy in the hearts of all Canadians. At 9:52 a.m. when Michael Zehaf-Bibeau entered the Canadian National War Memorial, everything changed. Zehaf-Bibeau fatally shot Corporal Nathan Cirillo and then attacked the members of the Canadian Parliament. Two days before, a terrorist attack occurred in Quebec which resulted in the killing of another Canadian soldier. This tragic week has hit Canada like a wrecking ball. Citizens of Canada’s lives were put on hold while they tried to absorb what happened. During this time, everyone tried to put activities on hold until people could grasp what had happened, notably they cancelled the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs game.

This Saturday, October 25th the same week of the tragic shootings, Canada held a commemorative night honoring the fallen soldiers at the Ottawa Senators and New Jersey Devils game.  In combined efforts with the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Ottawa Senators and the New Jersey Devils organized the game at Canadian Tire Centre to be a night dedicated to the two Canadian soldiers who had fallen in order to protect others and their country. The ceremony honored not only them, but the Canadian soldiers who were first respondents to both of the shootings.

The Ottawa Senators and the New Jersey Devils stood shoulder to shoulder on the center ice circle for the ceremony. In the middle of center ice were representatives of the Canadian military. The anthem singer sang “O Canada,” which the crowd joined in singing loudly with him. The Senators also showed on the video board the Montreal and Toronto arenas pregame where the crowd sang the Canadian anthem as well.

While the shoulder to shoulder is not something you usually see in these types of ceremonies, it was conveyed a powerful message. That message was the unity of these players symbolized the unity of the players and the unity of America and Canada. This message of the ceremony was to honor the fallen soldiers who gave their lives to protect the lives of other citizens. However, the NHL was also trying to make the statement of unity through hockey.  Hockey holds great importance in Ottawa and Canada as a whole, and for the NHL to come together to show support towards Ottawa says a lot about the power of sports and the compassion that the NHL organization holds for these fallen soldiers, their families, and all that were affected.

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Slava Voynov Suspended Indefinitely: NHL Holds Firm Ground

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By Ellen Chlumecky

On Monday morning, Salva Voynov of the Los Angeles Kings was arrested on a case of domestic violence and has been suspended indefinitely from the Kings. They are waiting on a formal investigation by the NHL. The Police Department that arrested Voynov is expected to meet with the Los Angeles Country District Attorney’s office at some point this week.

While the details are still hazy on the next steps to occur to Voynov, the NHL made the clear decision to suspend him indefinitely. While the NHL has not responded as quickly or as appropriately in the past with certain cases such as  Seymon Varlamov where they continued to let him travel and play with the Colorado Avalanche while his case was being tried through the judicial system. With the course of action currently being taken with Voynov it looks as though the NHL wants to improve their methods of discipline.

Gary Bettman stated that the league had been working with the union on the policy for over a decade to improve their policies. He stated that their main focus for the league is counseling and education.  The NHL has a joint program with the Players Association and they provide counseling and educating on domestic violence for more than a decade. The security department holds annual meetings with each individual team. They not only talk about domestic violence but hold substance abuse programs, behavioral health programs, and programs targeting counseling and educating the players on many other issues.

With the recent problems happening in the NFL recently, the NHL clearly needs to show the sports world they can handle their problems with a firm, steady hand. The NHL has the opportunity to show their fans and other spectators that they will not stand for this kind of behavior in their athletes.

Voynov is currently suspended, but after the trial the NHL needs to seriously look into removing Voynov from the league whether or not he was pronounced guilty. By removing a player who was involved in this situation shows the dedication to removing this kind of behavior from the league. The NFL is receiving all kinds of slack for their lack of action with these behavioral problems and domestic violence instances. The NHL needs to act quickly and show the rest of the sports world that this type of problem should not be welcome on teams. When any future players see problems like this in the media, they shouldn’t aspire to be like these players which is why action to remove players like this is the best plan in the long run.

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