College Football Committee

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By Kia Tyus

Dan Wetzel wrote an article on whether the College Football Playoff Committee is making fair choices, and if their choices are influenced by outside behavior.

Wetzel made a host of great points throughout the article, one of them being whether or not there is there a point in the Top 25 poll? Wetzel made suggestions that there is no longer a point in the Top 25 polls because of the recently new playoffs. With the new playoffs, the top four teams in the nation make it. Therefore, if I chose to agree with this thought, I would suggest maybe that the NCAA should start doing a top seven-team poll. That way the nation would have an idea of who would be the first four teams in and the next two teams out.

Another suggestion Wetzel had was criticizing how fair it would be if there were three to four Southeastern Conference (SEC) teams to make the playoffs. Wetzel stated that the teams that should make the playoffs should deserve to be there. My question to challenge this would be to think about the other undefeated teams in the nation. Many teams can’t help the conference that they play in.

I feel personally that the committee recycles the top seven or eight teams until they have two or more losses. Which isn’t fair to the few teams that continue to win games week in and week out.

Wetzel suggested that the committee might be influenced by the outrage that pours in each week. I feel like he may have a point because in a scenario of a low-level team matching up with a team with the skill level of Alabama, it wouldn’t be as entertaining for fans to watch. While there is a slight chance that the public influences the committee, it is still a thought to think about.

The final point that Wetzel made was the fact that the ranking system will probably not be changed in the near future. I completely agree with Wetzel with this. In reality, the top 25 ranking system gets college football fans talking every week. More and more people tune in every week to watch college football and every Tuesday to see who is ranked in the top four.

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Unbelievable Finsh to the WGC-HSBC Championship

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By Alex O’Connor

Last Sunday, the World Golf Championship concluded with a spectacular ending. Bubba Watson, winner of this year’s Masters, was down by two strokes going into the last hole. The hole was a Par 5 and Watson went for the green in two shots. He missed the green, went into the bunker and was forced to make his next shot. Watson did just that, and chipped in to force a sudden death playoff. On the first hole of the playoff versus Tim Clark, Watson sunk a 20-foot birdie putt to win the tournament. This tournament being a non-major, it had many golf analysts wondering how big of an impact a finish like this would have on the sport as well as where it rates among other great finishes from the year. Historically, the non-major tournaments receive significantly less media attention on the National and International stage. In addition, the Ryder and President’s Cups have the intense rivalry built up by American media between the U.S. and Europe. Now that we have seen a finish of this magnitude from a high-caliber player, this may be the turning point for large-scale media to give more attention to the non-major tournaments.

Ryan Lavner, writer for GolfChannel.com made the case that this tournament had the best finish to any tournament this year. Lavner created a off-hand check sheet of great viewing qualities of a gold tournament. He listed: jitters, clutch shooting and a sigh of relief at the end. All were answered with a yes. In addition, GolfChannel.com writer Will Gray pointed out the statistical nature that gave him the conclusion as the best finish of 2014. Five players had a shot to win the tournament on the last hole, and Watson was the most unlikely. Though the tournament was held in China, it was brought to national attention minutes after Watson sunk the last putt.

Due to Watson’s remarkable win, there may have been a turning point in the golf industry. The average sports fan who now turns on SportsCenter will see Watson’s victory and may remember the tournament he played in. If that person does, this will enhance the popularity of the game solely based on a players’ performance over the course of two holes. In addition, that fan may become a Watson fan after the performance and follow the sport to a larger degree. This past performance was not only good for Watson, but for the sport itself.

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NHL’s Team’s Tweet Gives Insight Into Growing Social Media Interaction

By McKenzie Whiteman

The world is commonly shaped by the words and opinions that social media platforms post for millions of viewers to comprehend. Whether it’s celebrity drama, natural disasters, or political updates, you can find information on literally anything without having to turn a page of a newspaper or type into a search engine. Because of the influence these sites have, some posts produce certain emotions. The quick response…a combative post. Twitter proved to be a platform for this kind of interaction when ESPN’s post rubbed the Columbus Blue Jackets’ media team the wrong way.

After the Blue Jackets’ 4-7 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, ESPN’s Twitter account read “Hey Columbus. Think you’re the best fans in the world? Prove it.” Below it read, “Apply now to the #FanHallofFame” and listed a link. It seems as if ESPN’s simply trying to promote some type of fan promotion. The Blue Jackets, however, didn’t see it as so. They responded by tweeting to ESPN with, “@espn Who is this?”. Some believe this is in reference to the television series, Seinfeld, and it’s popular bit in which its main character, Jerry, replies to phone calls with “Who is this?” in response to ridiculous comments stated by the caller. Whether or not this is true, the Jackets were obviously upset enough to tweet in attempt to show they care very little about what ESPN had to say.

While this may not be the biggest Twitter battle society has seen between major sport organizations, it’s certainly one of the most recent. Media is beginning to mean more than television broadcasts and radio reports. The public is beginning to gain insight on news on a more personal level through the use of social media. Because of the growing popularity of these sites, any post that is related to your particular organization is handled thoroughly or defended aggressively…thus these growing Twitter battles.

No matter if it’s on a large or small scale, teams are beginning to take a particular interest in what their social media accounts say about their organization. If an account posts something negative in regards to your organization and your account doesn’t counteract, your organization is deemed passive. If your respond with an overly aggressive post, your organization is seen as ruthless. How you post gives followers insight on how you conduct business.

This particular example between ESPN and the Blue Jackets gives off the assumption that the Jackets don’t particularly care about what the media has to say about their fans, (whether it was in regards to a promotion or not). It may not be the most aggressive social media battle the world has been exposed to, however it does provide an example of how organizations are interacting through social media. As social media is beginning to become the public’s main source of news and information, it’ll be interesting to see how sport organizations define themselves through their accounts.

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The Curse of the Biebs

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By Kaleb Page

Do you believe in curses? Are you one to be superstitious with how certain things have to be? Well in the world of sport, a lot of people and players could say yes to those questions above. This past Sunday a curse possibility was found and yet it has been around for a while.

The Curse of Justin Bieber is something produced by the fan bases who have fallen to the pop star’s black veil cast upon their respective team(s). No different was it in Week 10 of the NFL season where the Steelers fell to the 1-8 Jets 13 to 20. Prompting many Steelers fans to blame the “Bieber Curse” for the loss to what on paper was an inferior opponent. If you didn’t see it Saturday, then now would be the time to fill you in as to how this loss ties in to the “Bieber Curse.”

On Saturday prior to the game the Steelers had a bible study, and guess who just so happened to come along in time to join. For those of you keeping track at home, it would be the one and only Justin Bieber. At the time a lot of Steelers players were happy to have him there as numerous pictures were taken with smiling players next to Bieber. As I saw the pictures on my timeline I let out a huge “nooooooooo” (as a Steelers fan it left me thinking why?; since I know of the curse). Little did they know the curse was planted for it to play out on Sunday.

As the game ended many outlets from CBS Sports, Sporting News, ESPN, etc. were asking is the new victim in the long line of “Bieber Curse” victims the Steelers? Those who covered this topic were quite thorough in their assessment and quite funny as well. Jason La Canfora called it an “ambush” and would be “hard to shake” on the part of the Steelers for the rest of the season. Sporting News did a nice chronological look at the curse so far this year leading up to this past Sunday, showing Bieber was at the Knicks home opener Oct. 29th (Knicks lost) and then the following night he was at the Cavaliers home opener (Cavs lost). Even though these cases are more recent the curse has a line going even further back.

SportsNation sent out a tweet showing a collection of the past victims to the Bieber curse. Like the Chicago Blackhawks who fell victim when Bieber came into their locker room in 2013 to see their Stanley Cup and stood on the teams’ logo taking a picture. Then it could be possible the Heat losing to the Spurs in the 2014 finals had to do with Bieber being court-side at Heat home games wearing Heat gear. Following those pictures, might have been the biggest case of the “Bieber Curse;” Bieber holding a Spain national team jersey. This really had the “Bieber Curse” brewing over this past summer when the previous World Cup champion Spain was destroyed in the 2014 World Cup.

It is interesting to see how people have put this correlation together and make this almost a cult like following to see where the “Bieber Curse” will strike again. For one thing there are those, who after this most recent correlation between the Biebs and the steelers loss, that want to ban the Biebs from their team.

However, undefeated Floyd Mayweather has had Bieber at his past two fights and yet he hasn’t lost. Maybe his time will come too, but for now he is having no effects of the curse.

As to the numerous fans out there nervous to when the “Bieber Curse” will strike their team, don’t look now but he is already visiting your team as we speak.

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WNBA Star Brittney Griner Attacked in China

By Savannah Malnar

Random attacks on athletes are thankfully uncommon, but unfortunately on November 3rd WNBA star Brittney Griner was subject to one. Griner is currently playing for the Beijing Great Wall team who plays within the Women’s Chinese Basketball Association. It is her second season in that league. WNBA players commonly go to play for foreign leagues during the offseason to play to stay conditioned and to earn a higher salary.

Griner and her teammates were leaving practice at a gym located in a city called Shenyang where they had a game scheduled the following day. As they were walking towards the bus, a man who had been walking down the street yelling charged them with a knife. The women rushed to the bus but the man also managed to get into the bus and cornered them into the back. Griner said she did not understand anything he was saying, but later her teammates said he was shouting things about how they had supposedly hit his wife and how he was going to kill them. Without reason, the man eventually left the bus without causing any serious harm to the women and later the police apprehended him and took him to a mental institution.

Due to the lack of information immediately following the event, this created a lot of speculation as to the reason the man went after Griner and her teammates. Some people even suggested he was a fan who was outraged because Griner was taking a spot on the team that perhaps another Chinese-born player could have taken.

Griner soon utilized the sport media to eliminate any speculation about the event. She released a long statement giving the full story from her perspective through ESPNW and that allowed other media outlets to provide the public with a much more detailed account of the incident.

Griner’s team decided to play the game the next day and won. Grimer only suffered a very shallow cut on her elbow and her other teammate was sore due to the man attempting to stab her (the two jackets she was wearing protected her).

Through all of this, Griner remained optimistic and lighthearted. In her statement she even joked about how the man damaged her favorite Nike jacket. She also said “The thing I keep reminding myself is that the incident seemed to be random — we were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

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Ohio State Making a Case to Crash Playoff Party

By Matt Rogers

Over the weekend there were was certainly was no shortage of important games in college football. None of the outcomes to these games may prove to be more important than #14 Ohio State’s 49-37 victory over #8 Michigan State. The victory for the Buckeyes put them in the driver’s seat in the race for the Big Ten’s East Division crown, and in a promising position in terms of this week’s upcoming College Football Playoff Rankings.

Though the College Football Playoff Rankings have not yet been released, Ohio State has gained a substantial amount of respect from numerous members of the media and from the voters in the Associated Press Poll, jumping into the #8 ranking in the latest AP poll.

The one thing that may be the straw that breaks the Buckeyes’ back is their 14-point loss to Virginia Tech in the second game of the season. This loss is considered by most in the media to be a “bad” loss because the Hokies of Virginia Tech have gone on to lose five of their last seven games since that game. The Hokies have also posted a 1-4 record in the ACC, which most in the media consider the weakest of the Power Five conferences (Big Ten, ACC, SEC, Pac-12, and Big 12).

As far as that loss to Va Tech goes, some members of the media claim that Ohio State should be given a mulligan because the team was only a few weeks removed from their star player and Quarterback, Braxton Miller, suffering a season-ending shoulder injury. The team had to turn to a redshirt freshman Quarterback, JT Barrett, who hadn’t played in a game since the fourth game of his senior season of high school football. Not to mention that the team was also breaking in four new starters on the offensive line. The Va Tech game was only Barrett’s second college start, the first being against what most consider to be an inferior opponent in Navy.

Since that loss, OSU has rattled off seven straight wins and accumulating a 5-0 record against Big Ten opponents. The media outlets, namely ESPN, that are covering the release tonight’s upcoming College Football Playoff Rankings have speculated that the Buckeyes will not only enter the top ten in the new rankings, but will be squarely in the conversation to be part of the four teams that will ultimately be a part of the brand new College Football Playoff that the NCAA has implemented this season.

There are still a few weeks that remain in the college football season. There is bound to be some chaos, as there always is. Only one thing is certain; nothing that the members of the media and the so-called experts say has any bearing on what the 12-man committee will vote. The CFP rankings for this week will be released at 7:30 ET.

Harbaugh’s Comments Highlight Sports Journalism Issue

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By Nick Muhl

Following his team’s win versus the Tennessee Titans, Baltimore Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh decided in his post-game speech to take a “shot” against their division rival, the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Ravens lost last week to the Steelers in a blowout 43-23, where Steelers Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw six touchdowns.

“That was a tough challenge. We have a team coming off a bye week. You had a team in this room off a very physical Sunday night game. You know what I’m saying? Saw what happened on the other part of that, right? Strike that from the record books, ok? Is that NFL? Are you with us or them? Make sure that doesn‘t get…What I’m about to say doesn‘t get talked about, ok? That team beat us last week, okay? All right? Then they went and got their [a-s] kicked this week. This team was in the same game and went and got the job done this week. That’s who you are. That’s who you are. Congratulations” said Harbaugh shortly before he handed out this week’s game ball.

The video of Harbaugh making the comments has since been deleted from the website it was published and from Youtube, but can still be viewed here: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2262305-john-harbaugh-takes-shot-at-steelers-tells-cbs-not-to-air-comments

Harbaugh’s opinion on the Steelers is no surprise. Without a doubt the Head Coach of a winning football team who beat the Steelers earlier in the year, believes that his Raven’s are the superior team to the Steelers. However, there is a bigger issue at hand with Harbaugh’s comments.

As read in the above quote, and clarified by the Raven’s front office on Monday, Harbaugh’s comments were supposed to remain off the record. As mentioned by Dan Carson, sports writer for Bleacher Report, Harbaugh “made a point of asking the CBS camera crew in the Baltimore locker room not to air the footage.” Clearly though, the coaches request was not met by the CBS crew.

This arises a very popular talked about topic in journalism, especially sports journalism, what is “off the record” and does it really exist?

“Off the Record” is a journalism concept that an interviewee, or any person for that matter, can make a comment or answer a question privately to a journalist. It is common belief that the comment, or quote, cannot be published or in this case aired on TV. From my own personal experiences shadowing Tom Archdeacon, sports writer for the Dayton Daily News, “off the record” is merely a journalists tool to gaining more information.

While shadowing Archdeacon, I observed him use the “off the record” tactic to learn information from one player. He would then take the information he just learned and create a new question for a new player to get him to divulge farther into the topic that was once “off the record.”

Every journalist has their own code of journalism ethics they follow. Archdeacon’s use of the “off the record” followed his own code of journalism ethics. He didn’t necessarily publish what was said “off the record” but he did use the information to his advantage. In Harbaugh’s case however, the journalist filming the post-game speech did not have the same code of ethics as Archdeacon.

The harsh truth to realize, especially for those involved with sports who are interviewed often like Harbaugh, “off the record” does not exist. In today’s society anything you say can and will be used against you, especially in journalism. No matter the time of day or who you are talking to, it is important for those in the sports community to realize that they say can be published by the media. While Harbaugh and the Ravens have every right to be upset that the footage was published, in the age of social media and constant flow of information being posted and read online, the Ravens and the sports community as a whole need to come to realize the “free-for-all” game that is sports journalism.

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Bill Simmons: Shots Fired

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By Kaleb Page

When it comes to talking sports, whether it is with friends or here in this blog, there comes times when we say things that are shock value type statements. These statements typical are a little on the extreme side and yet we all make them. While for us who aren’t in the spotlight these comments only receive a good “are you serious” or “c’mon man.” For those in the spotlight these comments receive way more.

Bill Simmons is a contributor, analyst and personality on ESPN covering the NBA. His style of analysis is one that catches fire from others in the industry. However for me I think sometimes his personal touch on the topics, which he has a massive knowledge for, is something I look for because it breaks up the cookie cutter mundane reading we get from certain columnists.

On Wednesday of last week, Simmons went on to Colin Cowherd’s radio show. On the show Colin and Bill got on the topic of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and what Bill thought so far. Simmons gave his assessment and further stirred the pot with his comments on LeBron James. Before making his comments Simmons did drop the disclaimer of it is still way too early to make big assumptions. Simmons comments were:

“I don’t know if he’s hurt, I don’t know if the big weight loss has affected his game or whatever. This is not a jump-to-conclusions thing. I have been watching this Cavs team since the preseason games started, and he does not look the same.”

Also Simmons made the comparison of the LeBron move to Cleveland to the Albert Pujols move to the Angles a few years ago. Saying that this could play out to that but he still was holding out on fully committing to that thought.

Now keep in mind that even though Simmons was making these statements that would seem pretty far out there; he did provide solid reasoning and said he was not jumping to this conclusion. Merely he was wondering, with the basketball knowledge he has and what he has seen so far, what is going on with this super-team?

While you keep that in mind, Simmons’s colleagues at ESPN ripped his comments apart and even cut it to not have his disclaimer about not wanting to jump to this conclusion fully. The colleagues in particular are Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg of the Mike and Mike show. The snippet of the segment between Greenberg and Golic can be seen below.

This brings up a key word or phrase that if you watch sports more and more you will pick up on a whole lot. That key word or phrase is “context or taken out of context.” This is a clear showing that when you cut out the important parts said before Simmons’s comments you lose a big piece. Obviously if you frame what Simmons said in the way Mike and Mike did; he will sound like someone who has no idea what he is talking about.

Shots were fired by Mike and Mike but Bill didn’t hesitate to get his in too. Thursday Simmons took to Twitter going on a rant about how he lost respect for the show. He even further went on to say:

“For an ESPN Radio show to pull an interview out of context from another ESPN Radio show, then play the moral authority card, is disgusting.”

There are multiple tweets and things said by Simmons in response to what has happened. Personally, I side with Simmons in that it almost seemed like an attack on his comments. If they really had a problem with his comments, why not have him on to discuss it himself? Instead you just throw it out there to fill air-time and really frame the words said into your favor. Definitely the wrong move by Mike and Mike in my opinion.

It will be interesting to see, since this isn’t the first time Simmons has been at with ESPN or colleagues there, if Simmons will soon leave the organization. It would be tough since he is tied heavily with the organization and it is one of the biggest sports followed networks in the world.

If Bill does leave ESPN, I hope he doesn’t change his ways and he continues on to be the witty, smart and candid sports personality so many of us like to listen to.

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Adrian Peterson’s Nike Contract Termination and Media Involvement

By McKenzie Whiteman

Even people who aren’t avid football followers know of the controversy regarding its supposedly “criminal” players. Many of the NFL’s athletes have found themselves in the middle of legal battles, fighting to keep their contracts and reputations. Few, however, are viewed as receiving fair punishment in the eyes of the general public. NFL players, much like any professional athlete, seem to find themselves receiving a slap on the wrist instead of any harsh punishment. Adrian Peterson, however, found yet another blow to his career.

Peterson served as the running back for the Minnesota Vikings since 2007. However, this past year has caused his career to come to a halt. Peterson faced felony charges for child abuse after witnesses say he struck his 4 year-old son with a tree branch. He rejected accusations to a felony charge, but pleaded no contest to reckless assault, a misdemeanor charge, on Tuesday. While the fate of his career is still in debate, Peterson has already lost a major part of his image, and this can partially be attributed to the close eye the media currently has on him.

According to ESPN’s Darren Rovell, Nike has recently resigned its contract it held with Peterson. Peterson had rejoined its contract with Nike in 2013, only to be suspended in September. While there are no final comments as to why, one can assume that the legal battle and limited positive exposure he’s recently had may be to blame. While his actions are completely at fault, the media can cause a story to go viral. I’m sure this is what Nike fears the most, and why they ultimately decided to end their partnership with Peterson.

Because Adrian Peterson is the high-profile athlete that he is, any detail of this story is immediately spread. Any result of a legal battle, any opinion that is stated, and any rumor that stirs, is quickly picked up by the media and made available to the public. Because Nike is so reliant on high-profile athletes to market its brand, any threat to the company’s reputation is quickly and aggressively handled. This is exactly what happened in regards to Peterson’s future with the company. Speculation of child abuse already threatened his future with the organization. But after pleading no contest to reckless assault on Tuesday, I’m sure Nike felt as its high-profile reputation didn’t include his persona any longer.

While it’s becoming more and more often that professional athletes are finding themselves in legal troubles, it’s the media that will hurt them in the end. Whether what they report is true or false it affects how the general public views them as ambassadors to their team and sponsors. Companies involved don’t want to be dragged through the self-inflicted troubles that their athletes are going through. The fate of Peterson’s career will be based on how much the NFL and other involved parties are willing to endure the media hits and persona that come along with his charges. Hopefully other athletes take these incidences into consideration before they find themselves in the same predicament.

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Toronto’s Carter Ashton Suspended for Illegal Substance Use

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By Savannah Malnar

Hockey is not a sport in which performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) have ever been a large problem. In fact, up until Thursday, only two players since 2006 had been suspended for violating the National Hockey League’s PED policy. That number is now three, thanks to Toronto Maple Leafs forward Carter Ashton. And it’s an unusual story why.

Ashton tested positive for the use of the illegal substance Clenbuterol. The substance was originally developed as an asthma treatment, but since has been banned for its overuse by athletes as a fat-burner and muscle-definer. But Ashton claims he was not even aware he was using a banned substance; instead, he puts the blame on a borrowed inhaler.

Ashton states that he experienced an asthma attack while exercising in preparation for the upcoming NHL season and borrowed his training partner’s inhaler to remedy it. He was not aware there was any kind of PED or banned drug in the inhaler. In a statement released through the NHLPA, Ashton admitted to using the borrowed inhaler one more time during training camp while still unaware of the contents. In this statement he also said, “Unfortunately, I incorrectly assumed that there were no problems associated with the use of this inhaler and I used it without checking to see whether its contents were permissible under the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program.”

It truly seems believable that Ashton had no idea he was doing anything wrong. The media sees this and in multiple outlets can be found questioning the automatic 20-game suspension that has been issued under the NHL’s strict drug policy while at the same time admitting he made a mistake in taking an unknown medication (twice).

Hockey fans and writers are swarming to twitter about this topic. Unfortunately, a lot of Toronto fans are joking about this event. Ashton had only played in 3 games for the Maple Leafs this season with no points. The fans and some bloggers have made comments such as “Ashton was on PEDs? He should get his money back.” And, from an esteemed baseball writer with over 26,000 twitter followers, “Carter Ashton also tested positive for cooties after using his friend’s inhaler.” While there is a time and place for everything, making these joke on the day of the questionable suspension is in bad taste.

The lesson to be learned by Ashton and other NHL players is to be careful about the medication they take. Nicklas Backstrom of the Washington Capitals was almost denied his Olympic silver medal due to a similar event with allergy medicine while in Sochi. The lesson learned here by the media and fans alike is to treat something as unlucky as this with more respect than jokes directed at the player’s performance.

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