Number of Cuban Defectors in MLB Continues to Grow

By Matt Rogers

Throughout the history of Major League Baseball, Latino players have played a large role in the success and popularity of the league. The number of Latino players has risen greatly in recent years because of the level of talent of the players. Usually, scouts for MLB teams can go into Latino countries, like the  Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico. The one Latino country that American scouts have not had much luck with is the island of Cuba.

Players that come from Cuba to play in Major League Baseball have to illegally defect from their country in order to do so. Ways that some of these players have reportedly defected are to stray away from the team during international team play in foreign countries and by boat to the port of Miami, Florida. If these people are caught by the Cuban Coast Guard, they are usually jailed for large numbers of years. This makes it difficult for these players to come to the United States to play because they are forbidden by the Cuban government to play in the United States, unless they are traveling with the Cuban national team.

Defection has become more prevalent for Cuban players in recent years because of the money that they can make in the Major Leagues as opposed to the amount they are paid to play in Cuba. The players often leave behind their families to come to the United States because they live and play in such poor conditions in Cuba. This was portrayed in a recent ESPN 30 for 30 film, Brothers in Exile, which told the story about brothers Livan and Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez. Both of the brothers played pivotal roles on two championship MLB teams in the late 1990’s.

Some of the more prominent players that have defected from the island of Cuba to play in the Major Leagues are Yasiel Puig, Jose Fernandez (who topped Puig in the 2013 National League Rookie of the Year voting), Jose Abreu, and most recently, Yasmany Tomas. All of these players, with the exception of Fernandez, signed contracts north of $40 million, before ever playing in a Major League or Minor League game.

In the future, given the popularity of baseball on the island of Cuba, the number of Cuban defectors coming to the MLB should continue to rise. The talent of Cuban defectors that sign contracts with Major League team is spectacular. So, too, are the stories of triumph that each of them offers.

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First Umpire Comes Out As Being Gay

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By Alex O’Connor

This Monday, umpire Dale Scott became the first MLB umpire to come out as gay. He is not only the first in his sport to come out while active, but within all four major sports (MLB, NHL, NBA, NFL). Scott has been an umpire at the Major League level for 29 seasons. He has also been with his partner for 28 years. The news was released through a photo of Scott with partner Michael Rausch in Reference magazine. The photo submitted was of the two on a plane attending the opening MLB series in Japan this past year. In addition, this magazine only has roughly 45,000 subscribers and might be a hint that he was letting the outside world know in a very reserved manner that he was gay.

The news was first reported by Outsports, which is a California-based media company that focuses on sport figures who decide to come out as gay. Outsports also tracks the influence of gay sport figures in all sports across the world. With an interview with Outsports regarding his reasons for coming out, Scott noted that “I didn’t want to be making some coming out story, some banner headline, because that’s not how I operate.” What I am taking from this quote is that Scott knew the recent process of athletes coming out as pioneers for the sport (Michael Sam, Jason Collins) and the flurry of media attention that has been focused on them. Most notably with Michael Sam, he had not even played a regular season snap and was getting as much focus within the media as someone like Johnny Manziel. Even though Scott is not a player, the argument can be made that he would receiving as much media attention as the players above due to him being the first of his profession. Scott is the first umpire in all four major sports, Sam was the first NFL player and Collins was the first NBA player.

The significance of Scott coming out is that his actions may be the motivation that other non-athletes in the sport industry need to come out. Though this may not be the case, it is something that the media needs to adjust to. However, Scott gave very little room for sport media exploitation in his circumstance. Due to Scott’s limited media involvement, he has respectfully kept his story from expanding into a larger role in the sport media spectrum.

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No Championship No Job for Bo Pelini

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By Kate Roth

Throughout this college football season we have seen many teams fall short of their expectations in turn putting their coaches on the chopping block. We expected to see coaches like Will Muschamp of Florida and Brady Hoke of Michigan get the boot at the end of the season, but this past Sunday’s headlines held the name of coach that many of did not expect to see, that name being Bo Pelini of the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Pelini and his team were still in celebration mode after wrapping up the regular season on Friday with a 37-34 overtime win over rival Iowa to give the team 9 wins on the season and a chance to make it to a great bowl game. So I think it is safe to say that the announcement on Sunday that he would no longer be the Head Coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers came as a shock to all of Husker Nation.

Pelini started as head coach of the Huskers in 2007 and has recorded at least 9 wins in every season with the team and an overall record of 66-27. He also took to the team to 3 league championship games, but never came away champion. This seemed to be the main argument the University came out with when being questioned on their decision to fire such a successful coach.

The University of Nebraska Football Team has a great tradition of winning big games, not just regular games throughout the season, but championship games. The Athletic Department at the University seems to feel as though they have given Pelini enough time to deliver a championship with the team he has built and see his 9 or more win seasons as unsuccessful when they come without a championship.

As I stated before this news seemed to come as a shock to Husker Nation, including present and past players who took to twitter to voice their opinions on the matter and support Coach Bo and the rest of the coaching staff.

Will Compton, a former Husker now Washington Redskin in the NFL tweeted, “Can’t thank the coaching staff enough for the personal growth in my life. Their character, values, and leadership made a difference in us all. Can’t wait to continue to support them and watch them have success elsewhere.”

Another tweet came from Husker starting cornerback and team captain Josh Mitchell who said, “Have nothing but love for this man, thank you for everything Coach Bo.” Mitchell then attached photo of himself and Coach Pelini in an embrace and later changed it to his profile picture on the social media site.

These are just a couple of the countless tweets that were sent out from the Husker football community after the announcement. The players wanted to make it clear that they believe in Coach Bo and show that he has become more than just a coach to them over their years at the University.

It has been proven time and time again that the Nebraska crowd is not easy to please. They want success and they want it now. Unfortunately for Coach Pelini, 9 wins of more a season just didn’t satisfy the Athletic Department as long as they came with no Championship Trophy.

Although this is a tough time for Bo and the rest of his coaching staff it is clear to see through the success he has had through the years and the support his players have shown for him that he is not only a great coach, but a great leader. I think it’s safe to say it won’t be long before he is hired by a new Athletic Department and we will be hearing his name in the headlines again.

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Cleveland’s Quarterback Dilemma

By Savannah Malnar

Johnny “Money” Manziel may have been the most hyped rookie coming to play in the NFL this season. The college star was drafted by the Cleveland Browns, and immediately there was speculation as to if he would start over last year’s starter Brian Hoyer. Despite the rumors, Manziel only saw the field once (on a trick play to catch a pass from Hoyer) until last Sunday. The Browns were down 20-3 to the Buffalo Bills, and Cleveland coach Mike Pettine had enough of Hoyer and gave Manziel the field with about 12 minutes left in the game. Manziel promptly drove the Browns down the field and ran in a 10-yard, marking the first rushing touchdown for Cleveland in four years.

The Browns still ended up falling to the Bills 26-10, but that didn’t stop the rush of people again calling for Manziel to start for the remainder of the year. Cleveland fans seemed to all be on the same side; the team should no longer be Hoyer’s.

Local and national media humanized the event a little more, highlighting Hoyer’s disappointment in being pulled. Hoyer spoke with reporters post-game, and the most common quote in each media account of the event is, “So I think you guys know from before, I’m never going to just hang my head and feel sorry for myself. We have four games left and whatever coach decides to do, I’ll be here to support this team and obviously I feel like this is my team and this is my job so we’ll see what happens moving forward.” Hoyer still believes the starting position should be his, especially after the strong start the team showcased early in the season.

One Browns beat writer, Mary Kay Cabot, focused on Manziel instead. Her article discussed his gratitude for the chance to play and also his humility and acknowledgement that he couldn’t have performed as well without the veterans on the Browns offense. Manziel felt lucky that his one fumble got overturned as an incomplete pass despite his opinion that his arm had not moved forward yet.

Cabot and most other sports writers seem to be under the same impression: Manziel is going to get his chance to start soon, if not in Week 14.

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Massive Blowout

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By Kia Tyus

Many people believe the whole point of playing a team sport is to not only win but win by as much as possible. Many competitive athletes love to completely dominate a team. In the case of Savannah State vs. Louisville this was exactly the case.

The players and the fans were probably amped up about the blowout win. But, not Louisville head coach Rick Pitino. Instead, Pitino early on in the game decided to come up with ways to not beat Savannah State by so much.

The question you should ask yourself is, when competing in a game should you hold back from destroying a team? Personally, I have mixed feelings about what Pitino did in the game. I understand that when your team is blowing out another team, it is important to reserve those players energy. It also lessens the chance of an injury.

But, is it fair to tell the players who rarely see playing time to hold back? No, I agree with the Jeff Eisenberg, the author of an article on the subject. When you put your backup players in the game, I feel as though they should get the same chance to pad their stats. It is their turn to have a feeling of accomplishing something.

Eisenberg also touched on Pitino’s post game press conference that was in fact a risky one. Pitino pitied Savannah State, stating, “I don’t like to see any team struggle like that. I really don’t.” Pitino furthered his comments by saying, “We tried everything” Referring how he was trying to not beat up on Savannah State so much.

Pitino ended his press conference making a statement, “You get nothing out of this, you just feel bad for the other team.” As a former athlete, I feel no matter how bad you get beat, I would never want a team to feel sorry for me. Clearly, Louisville was a better team being ranked in the nation. Savannah State is a struggling Division 1 school playing in a poor conference. No one should have been that surprised by this score.

Eisenberg began to compare Louisville blowout to their in-state rivals Kentucky; who blew out Montana State 86-28. Of course, Pitino refused to comment.

Eisenberg wrote a great article that made you think about what if you were in Pitino’s situation and how you would handle it. I feel as though Eisenberg gave great statics on each team such and the score, record, and even went as far as making a point of how this isn’t even Savannah State’s worst point differential in the shot clock era. In fact, in 2008, Savannah State scored a measly four points in the first half.

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Athletes Give Their Two Cents On Ferguson

By Matt Rogers

As we all know by now, there was a tragic event that occurred in Ferguson, Missouri on August 9 of this year. The event was the shooting death of an unarmed man named Michael Brown by a Ferguson Police officer, Darren Wilson. Since this happened, there have been countless riots and protests against not only the police officer that shot Brown, but the police force as a whole.

On November 25, it was determined that the officer that shot, and killed, Michael Brown will not be indicted on criminal charges for the incident. This has received tons of media coverage because of the implications of what may come as a result of the decision to not indict the officer. Riots have proceeded in Ferguson. Burning of police cars, arson and vandalism of public building, and police standoffs have raged on.

Not only has this tragic event received extensive media coverage, it has caught the eye of many other public figures, including many athletes. Twitter has been blowing up with tweets from athletes about the decision. LeBron James, maybe the most recognizable athlete on the entire planet, tweeted that “it hit home”, but he also noted that “violence is not the answer”. Matt Barnes, a forward for the Los Angeles Clippers, tweeted that it is “okay to kill people…. as long as the person being killed is of color & the person behind the trigger has a badge”.

These opinions expressed by these two NBA athlete definitely imply that they are not happy with the decision handed down not to indict officer Darren Wilson, a white man, that killed Brown, a black man.

In my opinion, although I do agree with some of what the athletes are tweeting and saying, I do not agree with the way that they expressed their thoughts on the subject. I believe that the subject is worthy of much more than a 160 character tweet. I also believe that athletes too often take to social media to express their impulses, but given the way things are in today’s society, social media seems to have become the most popular way for people to express their inner thoughts and beliefs.

The expansion of social media, mainly Facebook and Twitter, has resulted in too many “foot in mouth” moments because people (athletes) often post off impulse rather than thinking through what they are actually saying or posting. I am also a firm believer that athletes should be more aware of what they say on social media because one of their obligations as role models for children is to exhibit composure in adverse situations. What James said did not come off as offensive, but what Barnes posted could have been something that a large number of people could have taken offense to.

I was nowhere near Ferguson, Missouri the day that this shooting occurred. I do not know what lead up to the shooting or why Wilson felt threatened by Brown. I do know that sensationalism is something that is abundant in media coverage, especially today, so certain parts of stories are made from nothing. I suggest that athletes offer little to no public thoughts on situations like this one on social media. If they want justice, like the rest of us, they should let the public hear the word come out of their mouths. It should not be that hard for LeBron James to find a camera to voice his thoughts to, the press is constantly looking for anything new from King James.

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Athletes take to social media over Ferguson Verdict

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By Kaleb Page

Voicing our thoughts is something all of us do when it comes to something big happening in our country. No different is this period in time when the Ferguson case coming to a close brought on many reactions from not only people in the United States, but around the world as well. One thing I won’t get into specifics on is the case or the verdict itself, but one thing I will say is that this case and the end result will be around for a long time.

After the verdict was read, not only were everyday people like you and I taking to social media to look at the reactions, discussions and to voice opinions; athletes were doing it too.

Yahoo Sports and Sports Illustrated have screen shots of some athletes tweets in reaction to the verdict and the subsequent actions in the community of Ferguson. Now I know it is good that sports outlets cover the different aspects of news that involve athletes, and this is something to cover since there are prominent athletes speaking on a big social issue at the time in this country. However, I do find a problem in doing this and highlighting certain types of things said.

When a big name athlete with a lot of influence like Kobe Bryant says, “The system enables young black men to be killed behind the mask of law” or Serena Williams says, “Wow. Just wow. Shameful. What will it take???.” What type of role does that play in feeding on to the madness we have seen on social media and in the Ferguson community?

These athletes know they hold a lot of social influence whether it is fair or not. They definitely can and do spark thoughts for people by what they say. That is why for me personally I wish athletes would just stay away from subjects like these when it is still in the heat of the moment. Don’t get into the specifics, don’t try to incite more hostile reaction, if anything just do a simple neutral message. Tweets like the ones above however, just add to the quick actions by people who don’t give time to really think on it.

I know that is human to want to speak your mind on something out there, but like I said I don’t think that it is an athletes place to jump in on this issue especially on social media. I hope that these tweets and other social media outlet outpourings by athletes similar to Kobe’s and Serena’s don’t get publicized more than they already have. Because if there is one thing sport shouldn’t be, it shouldn’t be a dividing factor on top of the many factors dividing us already.

Sport should be something that brings us all together no matter the race. I hope that athletes realize that before they post on this issue.

The video above is from ESPN First Take, and it looks at how athletes speak on social media about major issues. This video is primarily about when Ferguson just began and athlete reaction at that time. I recommend watching it all as it speaks to what I wrote above as far as reaction to the conclusion of this case (or start at 5:12 on the video).

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“Yeah” – Marshawn Lynch

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By Kate Roth

Seattle Seahawks star running back Marshawn Lynch had one of the most interesting interviews you will ever see this past Sunday following the 19-3 win of the Arizona Cardinals. Really I could sum up the interview for you in just one word, “Yeah.”

After continually being criticized and fined for his lack of communication with media, Lynch finally decided he would take questions after the game. I imagine that the reporters at the time of hearing this news had to have been excited to hear that they would finally get some cooperation from Lynch, but that excitement could not have lasted long.

Lynch starts off the interview by responding with, “Yeah”, to the first question and then asking the reporters to hold on for a moment so that he could grab something from the locker. At this point in the interview it seemed as though Lynch was going to sit down for a while and actually give the reporters something to work with, unfortunately for the reporters this was not the case.

As the reporters began to ask Lynch more questions it soon became clear that he was going to continue on with one word answers, the majority of the time falling back on his favorite word of the day.

Marshawn did however take a quick moment to spread a foundation dinner he will take part in holding on December 14th to help fund the construction of a new youth center for inner-city youth. So while the responses to the questions that were being asked may not have been what the reporters or fans were hoping to hear, we all did get to see another side of the star athlete.

Throughout the rest of the interview Lynch continued on with short responses consisting of, “Yeah” “Maybe” and “I don’t know”. The only other times he strayed away from these responses were to mention that his pump up song for the day was No Juice by Lil’ Boosie, and then to correct a reporters pronunciation of Lil’ Boosie.

As the interview went on it was clear to see that Lynch was not trying to make anyone mad, he was just being himself and even started to smile a bit as he gave his one word responses. You can even hear the reporters in the background start to chuckle as well while they were receiving the responses that were not only short, but also made no sense when considering the questions that were asked.

The fact of the matter is, this is Marshawn Lynch and there is nothing we can do to change that. The NFL can continue to fine him over and over again for not cooperating with the media, but that is not going to make him change. Through this interview Lynch showed that he is a very quiet person that likes to keep to himself and from my point of view there is nothing wrong with that. Would I like to see Marshawn give an interview every once in a while, absolutely, but I think it is clear that the best we are going to get from him quite simply put is, “Yeah”.

So let’s all give a big round of applause to the master of the interview, Mr. Marshawn “Beast Mode” Lynch.

http://www.foxsports.com/buzzer/big-buzz/marshawn-lynch-gives-one-word-answers-in-interview-112414

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The Greatest Catch in NFL History?

By Savannah Malnar

Amazing things happen in sport games every day. Records are set and highlights are made. Perhaps one of the most impressive highlights, well, ever, was made this Sunday during an NFL team.

Odell Beckham of the New York Giants made what seemed like an impossible catch. With three fingers. Watch here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Hn7ur1f30g

This catch made headlines around every media and social media outlet on the internet. Not only did it litter the front pages, but it also drew many comparisons to other impressive NFL plays. Yahoo! Sports writer Frank Schwab released an article that did just that; it compared Beckham’s catch to every other catch that could have been called the greatest in the NFL.

The catch was compared to historical plays such as “The Catch” by Dwight Clark in the ’81-’82 NFC Championship game, Santonio Holmes’ Super Bowl winning catch, and Calvin Johnson’s catch in triple coverage. Despite this impressive list of highlights, the only play that beat out Beckham’s was the “Helmet Catch” by David Tyree who played for the Giants as well.

There is something about the use of comparisons that make articles interesting to read. This technique can be found in many articles pertaining to impressive plays in every sports. It’s a highly effective form to draw in fans attention and not only expose them to the more recent top-10 worthy highlights, but also plays that will go down in history.

Perhaps the reason comparisons in sport media are so effective is because it allows the fan to decide for themselves. The writer in question may take a side, but sport media writers seem to always mention that their picks are open for interpretation and frequently ask for feedback from their readers.

When it comes to Beckham’s catch, I personally think that it cannot be called the greatest catch in NFL history without it holding any sort of playoff, conference championship or Super Bowl impact. While it was certainly impressive (well, practically impossible), the greatest and most well remembered catches always spawn from those pivotal games we as fans enjoy most.

What do you think?

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Record Setting Day in the American Hockey League

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By Alex O’Connor

On Saturday, the Syracuse Crunch played the Utica Comets in the Carrier Dome on the campus of Syracuse University. The game was known as the “Frozen Dome Classic” and was the first of its kind in the American Hockey League. The Carrier Dome is not a hockey facility and was an event that could expand the horizons for the AHL. With the recent successes of outdoor games in the NHL, the AHL tried something just slightly different. The Syracuse Crunch currently play at the Oncenter War Memorial Arena in downtown Syracuse, where the game was originally supposed to be held. This new event created positive media buzz for local and national reporters, and was generally raved as a solid and successful debut event.

As the event reached national attention, NHL.com has taken notice. Reporter Kinsey Janke noted that there have been several games outdoors in non-hockey facilities, but none that would be played indoors at a non-hockey facility. Crunch owner Howard Dolgon noted that “The chance to be the first hockey game in the Dome and strive to break not only the AHL record but the U.S. professional indoor record, that really drove us to move ahead with this.” The Carrier Dome has the capacity to exceed 49,000 occupants and would easily break the previous record of outdoor and non traditional games at a mark of 45,653 set by a game at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, PA. The final attendance mark for this game was 30,715. The implications of this number is that the Crunch-Comets game broke the indoor record for most fans at a professional hockey game. This mark broke the record set by the Tampa Bay Lightning back in 1996. However, this did not break the attendance mark for most fans at the Carrier Dome, which occurred last February when Duke played Syracuse in Men’s Basketball.

The main benefit from the event was to enhance the name of the Syracuse Crunch. Due to the increased media reflection with NHL.com and NBCSports.com, Dolgon has accomplished his mission of pioneering a new venue for an indoor hockey event. In addition, the local community benefited tremendously for having the opportunity to partake in an event that has never once been done before. There has always been a desire to implement new strategies to enhance an already desired commodity, and I believe that Howard Dolgon, the Crunch organization and the University of Syracuse made this possible and ran with that idea.

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