Beware! Fake High School Recruiters Selling Fake Scholarships!

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By Diontre Delk

Social media seems to make its way into every aspect of life. After all, it is one of the fastest ways to notify the public of news. This is also another way to recruit without breaking any rules.

There have been many stories in the past about athletes, (young and old), misusing social networks like Twitter and Instagram. But very rarely is there ever a problem with faculty misusing these social networks, until recently.

Recently, there has been a trend in the recruiting industry, and athletes and recruiters need to be aware of what’s going on.

A student athlete named Houshun Gaines was recently deceived by who he thought was a University of Florida recruiter named Brad Lawing. The three-star recruit was encouraged to make a commitment to the University of Florida, leaving behind other great opportunities at North Carolina State, Virginia Tech and the University of Miami.

It’s easy to see why Gaines was so easily persuaded to make his commitment. He has indeed met the real Brad Lawing and the Florida Gators have shown interest, just not as much as Gaines was led to believe.

Who’s to be blamed at this point? The University of Florida? The head coach, Nash Central? The student-athlete himself?

There is a lot of gray area in this situation and it needs to be addressed for future references.

If an athlete were to think that they had an official scholarship from a university and decided to prolong their final choice until a later date, then a kid could be without a locker in the fall if they chose the school that never officially offered.

Perhaps if full time coaches/ recruiters were certified on Twitter, they could be more easily distinguished. Also, I think that recruiters should contact the head coach of the targeted athlete for these reasons before communicating with the athlete.

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The Michigan Debate: Should Dave Brandon be Fired?

By Savannah Malnar

“Go Blue!”

Any college sports fan will recognize that as the signature cheer for the power-house that is University of Michigan. This Big 10 school is known for its strong athletics teams; so when students are suddenly rallying and calling for the athletic director Dave Brandon to be fired, it’s going to make the news.

Brandon is under fire from students and media alike. People are unhappy with the rising costs of tickets to sporting events, especially football. Along with ticket prices, the media and fans have actively been criticizing Brandon’s decision to hire and retain football coach, Brady Hoke. Hoke has been head coach for four years, and is 28-17; a record that may look good, but in reality is disappointing for the winningest college football team in history.

The most recent event that has spurred a media outburst was Hoke’s decision to put quarterback Shane Morris back in the game after sustaining a head injury that was later diagnosed as a “mild concussion.”

Ty Duffy, a senior writer for the sport media site The Big Lead, states that “The school’s response to the crisis has been a farce.” He predicts that Hoke will be fired following this season. But he also recognizes it would cause a lot of turmoil to fire Brandon simultaneously.

Besides Duffy, the media, both local and national, have remained extremely neutral on this debate. Every outlet you will look at has been strictly stating facts and not going any farther on the subject. I think this is the proper way for these media outlets to act, especially the national ones. This allows the fans to form their own opinions for or against both Brandon and Hoke.

One interesting aspect of this incident is both Hoke and Brandon’s resistance towards the media. In fact, Brandon told Detroit radio sports anchor Tom Leyden that he wasn’t publicly answering questions because he has “more important” things to do. This is extremely surprising. You would think that as an AD for a famous college, not a lot could be more important than attempting to explain yourself and your decisions.

The fans, the media, and most importantly, the students are waiting. Brandon is in the spotlight. How will he choose to portray his role as AD in a positive light, despite rising ticket costs and a failing football team?

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The Next New Japanese Pitching Discovery

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By Alex O’Connor

There is a new face emerging in the market for Japanese starting pitchers moving to the MLB. That new face is Kenta Maeda, who has been projected as the next 100-million dollar signee to come over from Japan. Maeda is currently a pitcher for the Hiroshima Carp. As any pitcher who is receiving this much attention in Japan, he has delivered impressive results. This season, the right-hander owns a 2.56 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. However, players who have been less successful in the majors like Kei Igawa and Hideki Okajima have had much better numbers than those of Maeda. Maeda arguably does not have the best ratings among Japanese pitchers, but he may be a beneficiary of past Japanese starting pitching signees.

Some recent Japanese pitcher signees include Daisuke Matsuzaka (6 years/$52 million and a $51 million bid submission), Yu Darvish (6 years/$60 million and a $61 million bid submission) and finally Mashario Tanaka (7 years/$155 million and a $20 million bid submission). These three players each had tremendous amounts of stock put into them by the media and their coaches in Japan. For example, the Dice-K phenomenon that swept through the MLB. “Dice-K” is a name that stuck between fans and the organization alike. It was easy to say and something that the media bought into instantly. The media not only helps the players, but the organizations as well. In the end, they also benefit from MLB’s increased desire in Japanese pitchers.

The timing of these major signings into Major League Baseball have also proved conducive for Maeda. Matsuzaka was signed in 2007, Darvish in 2012 and Tanaka in 2014. As a result over time, the demand for starting pitchers has increased, and so has their contract sizes. Though Matsuzaka has not panned out as well as Darvish, there was as much if not more stock put in by the media of how successful these pitchers would be. In a general sense, the vast majority of Japanese pitchers getting these lucrative deals had plenty of potential going into the majors. However, as the years go on, organizations go through a much deeper risk when competing to sign for their services.

In addition to demand of pitchers, another aspect that has been working in their favor is the increased popularity of baseball in Japan. This has been partially due to the immense success of players like Ichiro and Hideki Matsui. Once both players were achieving success in the majors, their games would be played nationwide by various Japanese TV stations. This allows MLB organizations to take a closer notice on their players and promotes awareness of their respected leagues. Through media awareness and past trends of MLB organizations, Kenta Maeda is in a great spot to be the next pitcher to reap the rewards of a high-hyped Japanese pitching prospect.

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Well Deserved Media Praise Follows Peyton Manning Throwing 500th Career Touchdown Pass

By Matt Rogers

During the Denver Broncos match-up against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, Peyton Manning became one of only two quarterbacks in NFL history to throw at least 500 touchdowns, the other being Brett Favre.

Merely seconds after the play that resulted in Manning’s 500th touchdown, social media exploded with analysis from fans, professional journalists and even the Denver Broncos themselves. In this day and age, social media sites like Twitter and Facebook have become a popular source for getting news, especially when a milestone is reached in the NFL. Twitter is filled not only with fans of the NFL, but is used as a medium to deliver current news by the journalists that cover the league.

In the days leading into the Broncos’ game in Week 5, there were questions being posed on social media. “In what quarter will Manning achieve the milestone?” and “Which receiver will be the recipient of Manning’s 500th touchdown pass?” were two of the most prevalent. These types of posts have become a minute-by-minute occurrence, when Twitter was ushered in as a way to reflect on things that have happened in the sporting world that day or recently.

This could definitely be attributed to the expansion of media, especially as it pertains to how sports are covered. Without these social media sites, fans and followers would have either waited to find out happenings in the newspaper or wait to see the highlights on shows like ESPN’s SportsCenter. This can also be attributed to the rapid increase in the general public’s interest in sports.

Social media sites are not  the only type of media that continues to expand. Coverage of sports, mainly the NFL, has expanded to a point where all important weekend time slots are filled by most of the nationally televised networks, such as CBS, FOX, NBC and ESPN. Now, to find out about things like Peyton Manning’s 500th touchdown pass, a person can choose from so many different types of media that provide updates as frequently as every second.

Peyton Manning has become one of, if not the face, faces, of the NFL and one of the league’s most beloved players because of his personality and demeanor. He appears in various commercial ads for large companies, like Papa John’s Pizza, Nationwide and Buick. Anytime Peyton Manning reaches a milestone or breaks a record, which happens on a weekly basis it seems, the fans of the league are going to find out about it the second after it occurs.

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Two Sports, Two Wins, One Covered

By Ellen Chlumecky

The Bowling Green State University Falcons had an exciting Homecoming weekend with not only one, but two huge wins. The BGSU Football team won 36-35 while the BGSU Hockey team won 7-2. Both teams played exceptionally well through rocky starts and pushed through with a victory. However, the difference between the two is that football was aired by the media, but hockey was not.

The Bowling Green Football game was broadcasted on ESPN 3, and a myriad of the local TV stations such as ABC 13 in Toledo and local Bowling Green news channel. The Bowling Green hockey game was only broadcasted by the local Bowling Green news channel. Both were available on different local radio stations. One can listen to the football games on Eagle 99, WONW, WLQR, The Word 1220, K94, the Fox and the Bowling Green Radio Sports Organization which is available on 88.1 WBGU FM and WFAL Falcon Radio, while the hockey team is only broadcasted on 88.1 WBGU FM and WFAL Falcon Radio.

The football game and the hockey game were also written about in several different local newspapers like the Toledo Blade and the Sentinel Tribune. However, the Toledo Blade wrote four different stories about the football game in comparison to the one story about the hockey game. While the Sentinel Tribune had equal stories for each game, the top story for their sports page was from the Bowling Green football game.

The football team has a new head coach, solid and dedicated players, and a mass amount of opportunities ahead of them. The hockey team is planning on having an excellent season this year with ten new freshmen players, powerhouse forwards, and new captains in leadership roles. Unfortunately, they have really been shown no recognition for their dedication thus far. While both the football and hockey teams practice immensely hard for wins, their recognition by the media has not been equal. They are both excellent teams, so why aren’t they being shown the same amount of recognition?

Hockey has been pushed to the side in the sports media world for an exceedingly long time. With more and more top notch hockey players entering the college hockey ranks, there should be more attention placed on these hard working athletes. The Bowling Green football and hockey teams both work day in and day out to win and be the best in their respective conferences. Football players should not receive all the media recognition especially when they’re not the only ones succeeding. Bowling Green State University has so much to be proud of with so many winning sports teams and should spread the word out about all of them, not just a select few.

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Media Recognizes a Humble Peyton Manning After Record-Breaking Day

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By Nicholas Muhl

Before the first kickoff of the 2014 NFL season, fans, analysts and even his peers knew that Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning would break the 500-career touchdown mark this year. Barring a serious injury, the NFL veteran now in his 16th season, would become only the second quarterback in league history to throw for over 500 career touchdowns, finally joining Brett Favre in that exclusive club.

This past Sunday, Manning finally completed the highly anticipated moment, throwing for the record-breaking touchdown pass with 4:43 remaining in the first quarter.

Peyton celebrated the touchdown connection to Broncos Tight End Julius Thomas the same way he has always celebrated throughout his career: a couple helmet nods and slaps with his teammates, and a humble walk back to his sideline. Manning was met with cheers from the Denver fans and many handshakes by his teammates when he reached the sideline. For a few moments he accepted praise but then Manning did as he has always done, rushed to meet his offensive coaches and break down the next offensive series.

Manning has always been known for his work ethic and the way he carries himself. Following the record-breaking moment the game’s TV analysts, Joe Buck and NFL Hall of Famer Troy Aikman, took a moment to speak of not just how great a player Peyton Manning is, but congratulate him on such a great achievement as a person. They noted how humble Manning has always remained.

David Dechant, Digital Media Coordinator for the Denver Broncos interviewed Manning following the game. Manning commented on receiving a game ball after the victory, “anything that comes the way, I really accept it on behalf of a number of players.”

Dechant noted to include this is his article on DenverBroncos.com.

Woody Paige, writer for the Denver Post and a ESPN contributor, also made note to comment in his own article on Manning’s character. This time referring to the ball he threw to break the record.

“After the game, Manning was his normal humble self. When asked if he keeps the footballs that set records, Peyton said: “You know what. I’ve never kept a football .”

In recent weeks the NFL has been the topic of many headlines, many highlighting the leagues recent issues with players being in trouble with the law. In an NFL season that so far has been shrouded by negativity in the media, it was a great moment for the analysts and writers to take a moment to highlight a man that has been nothing but a positive influence for the NFL and a celebrated figure in the eyes of fans around the world.

It’s obvious the NFL prefers for the media to highlight players like Manning that portray the league in a positive light. While it’s the job of the media to keep the public informed, I think many fans too, prefer to hear more stories like this one.

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23 NFL PLAYERS TO PARTICIPATE IN NFL BOOT CAMP: SPORTS JOURNALISM & COMMUNICATIONS MAY 12-15

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Four-day program at Bowling Green State University Prepares Players for Transition into Post-NFL Career Twenty-three NFL players will take part in the NFL Sports Journalism & Communications Boot Camp, May 12-15 at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. This is the second year that the boot camp has been offered as one of several programs developed by NFL Player Engagement to prepare current and former players for post-NFL careers.

The four-day program will focus on improving each player’s writing skills for newspapers, radio, and the expanding digital media industry. Industry professionals and Bowling Green faculty will lead players through panel discussions, breakout sessions and writing labs covering everything from press conference prep to ethics in sports journalism.

Participants will attend a Toledo Mud Hens baseball game and put their skills to work by interviewing Mud Hens executives in a press conference setting and writing a follow-up column. Players also will write for their individual blogs, which can be followed at NFLPE.sportsblog.com.

Panelists and facilitators for the boot camp include NFL Legend-turned-journalist BUCKY BROOKS of NFL.com, PETER KING of Sports Illustrated, and NFL Legend and CBS commentator SOLOMON WILCOTS. Industry experts from ESPN, Sirius XM, and Westwood One also will participate in various sessions.

The boot camp is hosted by the BGSU School of Media and Communications and the Sport Management program and was developed with NFL Player Engagement, under the auspices of the Richard A. Maxwell Sport Media Project.

“The feedback from players who participated last year was extremely positive, and we’re thrilled to be hosting the boot camp a second year. We have talented BGSU faculty who will share their expertise in digital media, journalism ethics and writing commentaries for both print and radio,” said DR. TERRY RENTNER, Professor, Department of Journalism & Public Relations.

“Our career development resources aim to prepare players for life after football,” said KIMBERLY FIELDS, Vice President of NFL Player Engagement. “The Sports Journalism & Communications Boot Camp assists players in honing the skills and building the relationships necessary to carry their sports knowledge into a new career.”

Following are the NFL players participating in the NFL Sports Journalism & Communications Boot Camp:

  • RAHEEM BROCK Former (IND, SEA)
  • TONY COVINGTON Former (TB, SEA)
  • CAREY DAVIS Former (IND, ATL, TB, PIT)
  • RASHIED DAVIS Former (CHI, DET)
  • ARTURO FREEMAN Former (MIA, NE)
  • BARRETT GREEN Former (DET, NYG)
  • BOOMER GRIGSBY Former (KC, MIA)
  • DEREK HAGAN Former (MIA, NYG, BUF, OAK)
  • DARCY JOHNSON Former (NYG, STL)
  • COREY MAYS Former (NE, CIN, KC)
  • RANDY MC MICHAEL Former (MIA, STL, SD)
  • LANGSTON MOORE Former (CIN, ARI, DET)
  • MORAN NORRIS Former (NO, HOU, SF, DET)
  • PEERLESS PRICE Former (BUF, ATL, DAL)
  • MARCUS RAY Former (OAK)
  • JAY RICHARDSON Former (OAK, SEA, NO)
  • DUNTA ROBINSON Free Agent (HOU, ATL, KC)
  • SAGE ROSENFELS Former (WAS, MIA, HOU, MIN, NYG)
  • STEVE SANDERS Former (CLE)
  • DONTE’ STALLWORTH Former (NO, PHI, NE, CLE, BAL, WAS)
  • DUANE STARKS Former (BAL, ARI, NE, OAK)
  • MAX STARKS Former (PIT, STL)
  • TANK WILLIAMS Former (TEN, MIN, NE)

About NFL Player Engagement

NFL Player Engagement assists players in reaching their highest potential on and off-the-field with guidance, support, and resources provided before, during, and after their NFL experiences. NFL Player Engagement works with three core audiences: Prep, Life, and Next. NFL Life (current players) and NFL Next (Formers) reach more than 2,000 NFL players and spouses each year through a variety of programs and services focused on career development, financial and continuing education, as well as personal, psychological, and physical wellness. NFL Prep provides high-school and college student-athletes of all sports with tools to help them succeed in life, focused on awareness, prevention, and education. More information can be found at http://www.nflplayerengagement.com.

About Bowling Green State University School of Media and Communications

The School of Media and Communication is home to approximately 700 students in the Departments of Communication, Journalism and Public Relations and Telecommunications, plus over 50 masters and doctoral students. BGSU is home to the preeminent sport management program in North America. The Sport Management Program and Departments of Communication, Journalism and Public Relations and Telecommunications have partnered in the Richard A. Maxwell Media Project since 2010.

With the first pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, the Houston Texans select…

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By Anthony Cornwell, Jr.

The media has made this upcoming draft and the #1 pick of the draft to be the most hyped and most interesting pick in NFL history. With so many athletes having number one overall talent, the question on everyone’s mind is, “Who will be the #1 pick?”

The names that are definitely being tossed out as candidates are Jadeveon Clowney, Johnny Manziel, Blake Bortles and Teddy Bridgewater (and arguably a couple others).

Tedy Bruschi, ESPN NFL analyst and former New England Patriot, believes that Clowney should be the first pick. “Turn in the card now to the commissioner,” he said. “Just turn it in, because he should be Houston’s.”

Standing 6 feet 6 inches tall and weighing 275 pounds, while running a 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds, it is safe to say that Jadeveon Clowney is a freak of nature. But not every analyst feels the same way that Bruschi does.

Skip Bayless, ESPN analyst, already believes that Manziel is better than some quarterbacks that already have starting jobs in the NFL. Bayless said that Manziel would be the best pick for Houston, but also making a suggestion that the Dallas Cowboys should consider trading away Tony Romo to land the incoming rookie.

As crazy as it sounds, what else could go wrong for Dallas? They have not been to the playoffs in seven years and have not won a playoff game in more than 15 years.

As good as Clowney and Manziel sounds, there are still others that disagree with these choices.
Emory Hunt, CEO/Founder & Analyst at Football Gameplan, believes that Bridgewater should be the number one pick. On Hunt’s Twitter account he mentions the similarity between Bridgewater and Colts’ Quarterback Andrew Luck.

“The funny part is that watching Bridgewater is the same as watching Luck,” Hunt tweeted. “Luck ran more, Bridgewater didn’t..that’s the only difference.“

Andrew Luck was the number one overall pick two years ago and has not yet disappointed.
Bortles, who has the characteristics of what Bill O’Brien looks for, already has the size of an NFL quarterback.

Chris Burke, journalist at Sports Illustrated says, “There is ample doubt that Bortles will be ready for a starting gig out the gate — remember, the key word with him is ‘potential’.”

As good as all the choices are, any of these four could be the pick. The media has hyped it up and there will definitely be plenty of viewers on May 3.

The Friendship of Adreian and Lacey

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BY KATE ROTH

The first time I heard the touching story of Adreian Payne, star basketball player for Michigan State University, and his friendship with Lacey Holsworth, a young girl battling cancer, it was on the Big Ten Network’s show called The Journey.

All I could think of while watching the show was what a great person Adreian Payne must be and how nice it is to see an athlete in the media doing something nice and kind. This is much better than the usual headlines we see about athletes being arrested or making negative comments.

The story of Adreian and young Lacey started spreading through the media quickly and soon everyone in the country seemed to know this incredible story.

The media stayed on this story from start to finish. They followed the friendship in the offseason, regular season, NCAA tournament, and all the way up to Lacey’s unfortunate passing on April 8.

Although this was not the most joyful story to read or hear about because of Lacey’s unfortunate circumstance, it was still nice to see the media give attention to an athlete who is actually trying to do some good in the world.

Too often I turn on Sportscenter or log onto a sports blog and see stories that feature athletes making terrible, selfish decisions. That is why I commend BTN, ESPN, and all of the other sport media outlets that covered this story. They did an amazing job of showing how special some athletes really are.

I hope that other athletes have learned from Adreian and Lacey. I would love to see the media eliminate all of the negative stories and focus on more inspirational stories like this.

R.I.P. Lacey Holsworth

 

Bringing Attention Back To The Frozen Four

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By Kate Roth

While flipping through the channels the past couple of weeks you may have noticed something a little out of the ordinary on the ESPN stations, NCAA hockey.

NCAA hockey is not the most popular of the college sporting events and until recently it has received very little media attention.

That is starting to change in a big way this year. This year’s NCAA hockey tournament, also known as the Frozen Four, has had every single game televised on at least one station, many of them appearing on the leader of sports ESPN networks.

This success can be accredited to John Buccigross, a sports anchor for ESPN. John has been trying to push the popularity of college hockey for the past few years and is now finally seeing his hard work pay off. He was even granted the privilege to host a NCAA hockey tournament selection show on ESPN just like the one that is held every year for the NCAA basketball tournament.

I truly believe that college hockey is one of the most exciting sports to watch and fortunately for me, attending Bowling Green State University gives me the opportunity to go and watch that excitement, but for many others there are no teams playing around them so they have no opportunity to watch any games, making it hard for them to be interested in the sport at all.

That is why I think this coverage of the tournament is the best thing that could have ever happened to the sport. People who never get the chance to attend or watch the great game of college hockey have the chance to join in on the excitement now and who knows, maybe they’ll even become big fans of the sport.

I applaud ESPN, all of the other networks televising the tournament, and especially John Buccigross for all the hard work they have put into covering this tournament to bring the excitement back to the Frozen Four. They have done a great job of covering the tournament thus far and I’m sure that will continue on through the final rounds.