Melvin Gordon’s Record Falls Without Much Notice

By Matt Rogers

Well, that was fast. Melvin Gordon’s FBS single-game rushing yardage record has fallen, after only one week. This time the record was broken by Oklahoma’s true freshman running back, Samaje Perine. Perine’s record-breaking performance is not receiving quite the fanfare and media coverage that Gordon’s did last week, but nonetheless 427 yards in a single game is more than impressive.

As previously mentioned, Samaje Perine is only a true freshman at OU, making his record-breaking performance that much more impressive than Melvin Gordon’s. Gordon already was touted as a top running back in the upcoming NFL draft and a Heisman Trophy frontrunner. Perine’s pedigree is not too shabby in itself. He was regarded as top running back prospect in the 2014 recruiting class by Rivals and Scout.com recruiting services, receiving a 4-star rating out of a possible 5-stars. Perine has also had a great first college season totaling 1,428 yards on 214 carries, while finding the endzone 19 times as well.

Another interesting aspect about Perine’s performance is that he is listed at 243 pounds. You do not usually see a running back that large running away from defenders the way that Perine did against Kansas. The fact that this is not receiving more coverage is confusing. We all know that Melvin Gordon is a household name among college football fans as a result of his outstanding play throughout his college career at Wisconsin. Shouldn’t the media and fans expect a guy with the reputation that Melvin Gordon has to break records?

What Samaje Perine did was done against a porous Kansas Jayhawk defense. Gordon’s damage was done against a Nebraska defense that was regarded as one of the best in the Big Ten coming into the game against Wisconsin, but that does not change the fact that Perine broke a record that was only broken a week prior.  I believe that alone should be worthy of more media coverage. A record that stood for 13 years that was broken, then broken again the very next week by an 18-year-old freshman. That is incredible.

One other thing that is not receiving anywhere near the attention that it should be from the media is that the Oklahoma Sooners offense only totaled 39 yards passing against the Kansas Jayhawks, 19 of which Perine was responsible for. Perine was responsible for all but 20 yards of the entire Oklahoma offense this past weekend because their starting quarterback, Trevor Knight, was out with injury. This was truly a once-in-a-lifetime performance that should have been worthy of more than just a quick mention from the media.

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Athletes’ Families Steal Millions

By Savannah Malnar

Not much is worse than the feeling of being betrayed; an even worse feeling is being betrayed by family. Unfortunately two professional athletes in two different sports have been in the news the past few days for this reason.

On Wednesday, it was announced that Ryan Howard of the Philadelphia Phillies had finally settled the legal battle that was being waged between him and his family members. Howard had entrusted various family members, primarily his twin brother, to manage RJH Enterprises. After deciding to look more into his own finances Howard found that these family members had been taking advantage of his earnings; his mother had authorized payments of roughly $2.8 million to various family members without his knowledge. The suit was settled out of court and no details have been presented.

The day after that settlement was reached, news broke that Jack Johnson of the Columbus Blue Jackets had been forced to declare bankruptcy due to his own parents’ reckless spending of his money. Back in 2011, three years after firing his agent, Johnson signed $30.5 million contract with the Los Angeles Kings and gave power attorney to his mother. Since then, she borrowed roughly $15 million in very high-interest loans in Johnson’s name in order to apparently purchase a beach house and cars and to pay for their travel expenses. Johnson was not aware of these loans, even for the large house; he was told the money for the mortgage came out of the will of a recently deceased relative.These two stories are incredibly sad. The families certainly felt a sense of entitlement to the athlete’s earnings and went to extreme measures to get what they felt they deserved. The sport media has done an excellent job of remaining focused on the primary aspect of both these stories: the players were betrayed. A source close to Johnson said that he is hurt and confused, as we all would be when faced like something like this.

Some leagues, including the NHL, have information sessions for rookie athletes that warn them of working with uncredited agents or financial advisors. But Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo! Sports said it best in his article about Johnson: “But it’s one thing for a League to say “don’t trust predatory lenders.” It’s another thing for a player not to trust his own mother with his finances.”

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Blood is Thicker than Water: Until the money comes along

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By Kaleb Page

For anyone who plays sports the ultimate dream is to end up playing professionally and being successful doing so. If and when the time comes to go pro, not only will it be a prideful moment for the athlete, but it will also be a great moment in the lives of close family and friends. The saying goes that “blood is thicker than water” and those with whom you are related should have your best interest at heart. This week one NHL player would wish that statement was true.

Jack Johnson of the Columbus Blue Jackets is a 27-year-old defenseman that from early on in his hockey career had a promising future. In high school in Minnesota, Johnson played alongside future NHL superstar Sidney Crosby. Creating a formidable team in high school hockey that eventually won a 2003 state title. Then in just two seasons at the University of Michigan, Johnson played such great hockey, that he was drafted in 2005 with the third overall pick in the first round by the Carolina Hurricanes. Even though he was drafted by the Hurricanes, he played for the Los Angeles Kings (2007-2011) for the majority of his career until being sent to Columbus in 2012. For all his success, from the high draft choice, top defensive scorer, and even a silver medal in the 2010 Olympics; Johnson could not of imagined this day would come.

Prior to the signing of Johnson’s seven-year, $30.5 million contract on Jan. 8, 2011, he gave someone he trusted full control over his money; his mom Tina Johnson. For a lot of professional athletes trusting someone with your money is a hard thing to do and it probably makes them turn to close friends and family for money advise. This is what makes this case of another athlete losing his money so sad. Johnson gave all his trust to his parents (Jack Sr. & Tina Johnson) to handle his money, yet they did him wrong in the worst of ways.

From the time that deal was signed, Johnson’s parents were soaking it in. They began to borrow against their own son’s earnings. The first loan they signed (March 9, 2011) was a $1.56 million loan to buy a home nearby when Johnson was with the LA Kings. This loan had an interest rate at 12 percent that eventually went into default. The next day after that loan was signed the parents went and borrowed another $2 million. The next borrowing statement to me shows the most malice. On April 14, 2011 the parents borrowed $3 million from a firm that “monetizes” contracts. With these large amounts and high interest rates the parents could not pay up, ultimately leading to the parents being sued.

The parents settled out of court with the two loans suing (the $2 million & $3 million), but it was at the expense still of their son. Johnson saw $41,800 taken away from his bimonthly checks over the past two seasons; nearly a fourth of every check. To top it all off the parents spent another $800,000 on renovations to their home, a car and traveling to watch their son play. With a lot of the money being taken out of his check, Johnson started to ask what is going on?

Johnson would ask questions and yet his parents would say “don’t worry, just worry about hockey.” Flash forward to October 7, 2014 and Johnson is in a federal court in Columbus filing for bankruptcy. All of the $18 million he has earned during his nine years in the NHL is basically gone. The real news on where this situation is going broke this Thursday after it has been set that his bankruptcy hearing will be scheduled for Jan. 23 in Los Angeles.

A lot of coverage on ESPN, FOX Sports, Yahoo Sports and The Columbus Dispatch really shed a light on this story. I would like to credit the journalistic work of Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch, for getting a lot of great details and facts that allowed me to share this story. His coverage along with the major outlets has been great and showed just how troubling this story is. For all the great people do in the world of sport, there are always those out there that give it a black eye.

For the parents of Jack Johnson, they have shown that side of the sports world. The side that is sneaky, conniving and (intentionally or not) crumble people’s lives. I can’t fathom what Johnson’s emotions and thoughts are at this point but I know he wishes one phrase was truer than ever: “Blood is thicker than water.” Unfortunately for him their eye was on the prize of money, not on the best interest of their own son.

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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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More Than A Game

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By Kia Tyus

In many sports, the sole purpose is to win by all means necessary. Many athletes have gained a terrible reputation of being very conceded with others and have the mind-set that they are better.

In a sport like hockey, which I consider one of the most physically demanding sports, players are constantly getting slammed into the wall, taunting one another, and receiving multiple penalties throughout the game.

With many student athletes there seems to be a constant struggle to abide by disciplinary rules off the field. Well the media seems to portray this that way.

Greg Wyshynski wrote an emotional article about how Keving Shier, a freshman hockey player at Union College, helped save Timothy Neild.

Usually, when people see others having car trouble on the road, you rarely have people stop to see if it is okay. This isn’t just people being road but some people are in rushes and simply don’t think twice about a broken down car. Now if most people were to see a burning car on the side of the road, they would probably call the police and stay as far away from the car as possible; to refrain themselves from injury.

Well, Shier and his father were driving to Union College for a recruiting visit and noticed a burning car. Instead of panicking and calling the cops and waiting, they alertly went over to the car to see if anybody was in there. Shier and his father ended up pulling Neild out of the car. Shier stated, “We thought he was dead”. Because of this act of kindness, Shier and his father ended up saving Neild’s life.

It turns out that Neild is in fact a Captain in the armed forces. To pay his respect, Neild presented Shier the Medal of Valor one of the top medal to receive at the Union vs Princeton game. And in return, the Union team autographed a signed jersey for Neild and his family.

The way Wyshynski wrote this article allowed people to see that many college athletes both future and present have great hearts and do a lot of wonderful things off the courts that just never get said in the media because the media focuses more on negativity.

The editor edited this story in a way that allowed readers to connect and read about how the incident impacted everyone involved.

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UConn Falling Brings Early Attention to Women’s Basketball

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By Kate Roth

When I turned on SportsCenter this week and saw one of the headlines talking about women’s college basketball I had to check my calendar to make sure it was still November and not March. The only time Women’s basketball seems to get any media attention is during March Madness and particularly the Final Four. That changed this week when the media had no choice but to cover the story of the mighty UConn Huskies falling to the Stanford Cardinal.

The top ranked Huskies were coming off a perfect season from last year and riding a 48 game winning streak and seemed to be in total control to run the table again this season, that is until they stepped on the court and met the tough Stanford team who played as if they were there to prove a point that this year will be different.

The news of this loss came as very shocking to me as I’m sure it did for many others too. I was fully expecting UConn to go into the tournament undefeated, maybe not win the whole thing again, but definitely be one of the final four teams left. In all honesty I think that is what most sports fans, myself included, have come to expect from women’s college basketball. That is why I think the news of this loss came so shocking to us and deserved the media attention it got.

It is great to see the sport of Women’s Basketball finally get some early attention, but I am afraid of the consequences that may come from this early UConn loss.

As I said before, the only time we see women’s basketball in the media is during March Madness. Last year even more so on the just the UConn team as they went about the quest to finish off a perfect season. Women’s college basketball does not seem to be the number one choice for fans to watch unless they have the opportunity to see history be made like they did last season with Huskies.

The Huskies early loss could play a critical role in the media coverage the sport will receive throughout the rest of the season. I would like to see it spark the interest of more reporters and fans so now they can stop putting all their focus on just one team and see the talented players that many of the other teams in the NCAA have. Who knows, this could also be a great opportunity for another team like Stanford or Notre Dame to run the table and make history of their own.

All in all it is great to see this sport finally getting some early attention it deserves and I hope to see the media build off this early attention and continue coverage through the rest of the season and on into the tournament. This is the perfect time for the other teams in the NCAA to step up and show the fans that there is more to women’s college basketball than just the UConn Huskies.

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Sorry to sound like a broken record but…

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By Kaleb Page

Over this past college football weekend, games were tightly contested and full of excitement which we all came to expect with this college football weekend. With that said a lot of games were not only battles between teams, but the elements as well. One game in particular, Ohio State versus Minnesota, was just that case. Playing in blizzard like conditions with temperatures in the teens, made it a game within the game just to even move like you would without having these conditions.

The game ended in a 31-24 win by Ohio State that was deceiving due to the miscues by Ohio State that left opportunities for Minnesota. Now it must be given to Minnesota that they are a very hard team to beat and work hard in all phases of the game. Therefore a tough win by Ohio State in those conditions should have a gotten a better reception.

That same Saturday TCU traveled to Kansas to go collect their win in what seemed on paper a mismatch in favor of TCU. For much of the game that mismatch did not play out as Kansas led 27-17 in the third quarter. A valiant effort was put together by TCU to come out on top in the end with the score of 34-30.

Now when looking in comparison to these two games you could pull out some things just by doing the eye test of the two teams (OSU and TCU) in the running to finish in the playoff. For one thing, the eye test would show you that the respective opponents for OSU and TCU that day were on two different planets. Coming into the game Minnesota was ranked 25th and in contention to make it to the Big Ten title game. While Kansas with only three wins on the season has been a bottom feeder in the Big 12 for the past few years. When watching the OSU-Minnesota game it was easy to see OSU was dominating. If they didn’t have three costly turnovers, who knows how big a winning margin we would be talking about today. TCU on the other hand was on shaky ground the entire game but did show their heart in this game to come away with a win; nevertheless they should have been nowhere near that position.

When it came to coverage at the end of these two contests it was interesting to open my ESPN homepage and read two different headlines that left me thinking “Are you kidding me?” The headline for the TCU and Kansas game read “TCU Passes Test in Lawrence” while the OSU and Minnesota headline read “Ohio State Escapes Minnesota.” So my question is this, did the person who put these headlines up even watch the games?

I mean come on anybody who knows even the slightest bit of football, or even watched both games Saturday would know that Minnesota would dominate Kansas nine times out of ten with the tenth one about to be served up. That is why it frustrates me to no end to see one team squeak by when they should dominate and get a somewhat praising review (TCU), and then another team get a headline almost making their tough road win seem like nothing (OSU). It wouldn’t matter what team it was or sport for this fact to frustrate me. I know it is good to write the headline that grabs attention, but there is a difference between that and just being so far off base.

I don’t understand how you can’t have a similar tone from headline to headline when talking about these two games. This is not the first time I have seen this by ESPN to make a headline about respective college football games, and one will get a good perspective while the other one will not.

I don’t want to be the one crying out that there is a bias or sounding like a broken record in that regard, but it is a suggestion to ESPN to fix this. How about we think before we post and make sure to not be too pointed one way in our judgment of a performance and then pointed in the opposite direction toward another similar performance.

To some of you who have heard this argument before I’m sorry to be the broken record, but someone had to remind us again.

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Phil Kessel Shows No Love to the Media

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By Kate Roth

Phil Kessel of the Toronto Maple Leafs has been a man of few words when it comes to talking with the media. In fact after a 6-2 loss on Saturday against the Buffalo Sabres he became a man of no words.

Kessel refused to talk to the media following the game and even told one of the reporters, “Get away from me.” Kessel has never been one to go out of his way to speak to the media, but usually gives them at least a small response to make them happy.

Being the best player on the team and one of the leading scorers in the league, the media are always after Kessel. This is why his response or lack thereof to the media after the game on Saturday became such big news around the league. Often times it is almost expected for bench players to shrug off the media and ignore them as if they are not there, but for a player like Kessel who is supposed to be the leader of the team his actions came as a shock to many.

Yes we know that getting interviewed after a tough loss is not on the top of the priority list for players, but it is still something they are expected to do. As a professional athlete you are expected to show the media respect and give them a few comments before or after the game, it’s just how the system works.

The comments can be as simple as, “We didn’t get the job done” or “It just wasn’t our day”. No the media will not make headline stories with these comments, but as long as the athlete is there and willing to provide them they are satisfied.

When asked about the situation after the game and why he did not cooperate with the media Kessel responded by saying that his answers are not always great so he is not sure why the media really wants to talk to him in the first. I also did add that he does realize he needs to do a better job of communicating with the media, but does not want to have the media in his face every day.

Kessel may not view his own answers as great, but for those covering the team and getting the players responses the answers may be exactly what they are looking for. The reporters that cover these teams want to get opinions on the game from different guys each night and by getting Kessel’s “not so great” responses they feel they are doing their job.

I am glad that Kessel made it a point to mention that he needs to cooperate with the media more, no maybe not after every game, but more than he has been willing to in the past. We see this issue with players all over in the professional sports leagues so hopefully this is something other athletes can learn from.

Talking with the media after a game is not something that will kill you and the athletes need to realize this. The reporters are not out to hurt anyone, they are just trying to do their job and athletes can make that much easier just by quickly responding to their questions and then be on their way.

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Dirk Nowitzki Records 27,000th Career Point

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By Nick Muhl

Monday Night, in their game versus the Charlotte Hornets, Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki scored his 27,000th career point. Nowitzki achieved a huge career milestone in the Mavericks 107-80 win. He now becomes only the fourth player in NBA history, joining Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan and Karl Malone, to score 27,000 points with one team.

In his 17th NBA season, the 36-year-old forward jumped over Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon on the all time career scoring list. This is significant because until now Olajuwon, from Nigeria, has been revered as the greatest international basketball player to ever play on the NBA. Nowitzki, born and raised in Germany, now has surpassed Olajuwon’s scoring average and presents a valid argument as the best international player to ever play in the NBA.

In his 17 seasons, Nowitzki has quietly become one of the best players to ever play basketball. In an NBA era highlighted by superstars like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and even Tim Duncan, Nowitzki continues to add to his hall of fame resume. The forward has been named to the NBA All Star team 12 times, won one NBA Championship and the second European player to ever win the NBA most valuable player award.

Michael Lee, writer for The Washington Post, highlighted in his Monday night article why it is so significant for an international player to have had such great success in the NBA.

“When Nowitzki entered the league during the lockout-shortened season in 1999, the NBA only had 38 international players and most 7-footers still played with their backs to the basket in an effort to dominate inside. This season, the league has a record 101 international players from 37 countries and territories and big men hovering around the perimeter is now commonplace.”

As Lee points out, Nowitzki has not only become such a great player, but opened the doors for more international basketball players to play in the NBA. The forward, in his moment of triumph and spotlight chose to thank the fans for his accomplishment,

“It was a really special moment to do it at home in front of the fans who have been with me through my 16-17 years here and they gave me a great standing ovation. At the next timeout they showed a video with moments from my career – that was really special and definitely I had some goosebumps. I was just thinking what an amazing ride it has been and how lucky I have been to really come here with an open mind and have people be great to me.”

Hopefully, as his final seasons quickly approach, the Dallas forward will receive more media attention as he continues to break career milestones. His accomplishments have not only opened the door for more international basketball players to join the NBA, but for their accomplishments to be more recognized by sports media.

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