The Media In Sports

I am doing this blog in response to Nick and Shaun's presentation on if the media should be allowed to intrude the personal life of an athlete. I have always believed that the media should leave athletes alone and how they are just normal human beings like the rest of us. I wonder how the media would feel if people we following them around with cameras and writing stuff about them. Recently after thought I have changed my stance. I believe that athletes take on a much bigger responsibility in life when they become professional and make the amount of money they do. I believe if you are always in the spotlight and make all that money then you should be subject the media. Athletes are no different then movie stars and rock stars. When you're famous and make all that money the media wants to know what you're doing at all times. The fans and society love gossip and crave to know what athletes are doing in their personal life. It feels like every other day we here about another girlfriend for A-Rod. I believe it does cross the line when the media can affect the game but if you are nice to the media cooperative with them chances are they may return the favor. If you are a rich athlete do your job the best you can, and try to hide things going on in your personal life. No matter what professional athletes think the media will always be watching them, but if you're making all the money then who really cares? My advice to athletes....SUCK IT UP.

Head Man In Charge

The other day in class we were talking about who the best commissioner in sports is. I believe the best commissioner out of the three major sports is NFL commissioner Roger Godell. Since Godell has taken control I believe he has brought a much better sense of professionalism to the game of football. Godell has installed a sense of no tolerance for inappropriate actions on and off the field. If somebody messes up legally or runs into trouble off the field they will hear about it. Roger Godell has made a system which hefty suspensions and fines are given out for violations. A good example of how this has helped players change for the better is Bengals RB Cedric Benson. Benson was involved in a few off field incidents with the Chicago Bears, but has cleaned up his act and become a Pro Bowl caliber player with the Bengals. The NFL has started to clean up its image and the players off the field behaviors are improving. David Stern is also a good commissioner in the NBA and really loves the game and its players. Bud Selig is arguably the worst owner because of how he let steroids ruin baseball, and how he lets the All-Star game decide home field in the World Series unlike any other sport.

Disaster in Cleveland

The other day in class we were talking about how Art Model moved the Cleveland Browns franchise to Baltimore, who are now known as the Baltimore Ravens. This move set the Browns back over a decade, and the Ravens have since won a Super Bowl. Cleveland got its team back in 1999 but now in 2009 resemble a franchise far worse than any expansion team. Since the Browns have been back in the league they have only had one playoff appearance and one 10 win season. This season the Browns have hit a new low. The team is arguably now one of the worst if not worst in NFL history, and the ownership and front office is in disarray. The Browns just recently embarrassed themselves and the city of Cleveland with their 16-0 shutout loss on Monday Night Football when they hosted the Baltimore Ravens. ESPN analysts Trent Dilfer and Steve Young ripped the team and franchise after the game, with Dilfer saying the Browns were the worst offense he has ever seen in football. The Browns problem all starts with the ownership. Randy Lerner inherited this team and has no idea what he is doing. Lerner hired former Jets coach Eric Mangini after he was fired and gave him control of the ship. Mangini hand picked the Browns General Manager who only lasted the first half of the season. The new front office and coaching staff also traded away playmakers Kellen Winslow Jr., and Braylon Edwards, along with draft picks in questionable trades while receiving little back in compensation. The Browns have won a game this season and won't have the worst record of all time, but the Browns are clearly the worst team and franchise in the history of the NFL. The Browns not only can't score a touchdown, they make it look impossible to get first downs and throw the football down the field. With this organization having no direction, no talent, no General Manager, no head coach, a clueless owner, and playing a game of musical chairs at quarterback they will continue to embarrass the city of Cleveland. The people of Cleveland support the Browns through it all and I demand we deserve better. If the Browns don't figure things out and get the right people in control of the organization I wouldn't care if we move again.

Sucker Punch

I would like to give my opinion on the LeGarrette Blount presentation that was given today in class by Dustin. As we all know LeGarrette Blount who is a running back for the Oregon Ducks punched Boise State player Byron Hout in the face following Oregon's tough opening week loss this season. The next day Blount was immediately suspended for the rest of his senior season by new coach Chip Kelly. Going into the season Blount was considered an NFL prospect. I believe his actions were wrong and he negatively represented the University of Oregon. I believe once a decision is made it should stay that way. In this case Oregon recently reinstated Blount and his is eligible to play the remainder of the season. Even though I don't agree about changing the original decision I do believe Blount deserves another chance. Everybody makes mistakes and the last thing Blount deserves is his future ruined. Blount should be able to finish the season so he can salvage whats left of his NFL draft stock. Blount apologized for the incident and deserves a second chance. Ron Artest had a similar incident in the NBA and was suspended the entire season. The difference is Artest got to play again the next season. In this case this was Blount's last year at the University of Oregon. I am happy he can now prove to NFL scouts that he can play in the NFL and hopefully he will get drafted. I just think in the future if a similar incident happens again, the punishment stays in tact the whole season and not changed.

Sportsmanship

One topic that attracted my interest was a presentation done in class a few weeks ago. The topic was sportsmanship. The group who presented posed the question was LeBron James in the wrong when he walked off the court in the Eastern Conference Finals without shaking hands and congratulating the Orlando Magic. I believe he was right and wrong to walk off the court. Being the face of the NBA and the league MVP LeBron should have demonstrated good sportsmanship and congratulated Dwight Howard and the Magic. Instead, LeBron walked off the floor and didn't speak to the media following the game. The thing about sports is that when everything is on the line you become emotionally drained. LeBron is a competitor and like all competitors, he despises losing. LeBron was frustrated and embarrassed following the loss so I understand why he bolted off the court. There have been instances where I have congratulated my opponent and ignored them following a game. The other topic of the presentation was shaking hands before a college football game. I don't like this concept because if anything it makes sense to shake hands following a game. Emotions are high before a game and it doesn't make sense for opponents to communicate and wish each other luck before a game. If anything I believe it is good to show sportsmanship in youth sports to teach young teenagers good values but when it comes to professional sports athletes are mature and old enough to make their own decisions on whether to display good sportsmanship. Most athletes are role models and should represent the game well and display sportsmanship. Sports are very unique because so many emotions are expressed and when caught up in the moment it may be difficult to do the right thing.

Is Baseball Irrelevant?

Despite the dramatic increase in television ratings for the 200 9 World Series, many believe baseball is losing its swagger. Last week in class we discussed how the demographic of males from the ages 18-35 consider baseball irrelevant. I agree with this statement and believe the NFL and NBA are now more popular within my demographic. Much of this can be linked to the steroid problem in baseball. I believe many fans don't care about the sport anymore because so many all-star players have been caught cheating, so who knows who is taking steroids. Another reason for this is the scarcity of parity in baseball. Only a few teams in all of the MLB can afford to spend money on free agents so the same teams are always in the playoffs contending for a championship despite some success stories such as the Florida Marlins and most recently the Tampa Bay Rays. I think the main reason baseball is irrelevant is because of the long 162 game season. Baseball is irrelevant because there are so many irrelevant games being played, considering many teams are out of contention with months to play such as the Cleveland Indians. Being an employee for the Cleveland Indians I witnessed this first hand when fan attendance and support dramatically decreased as the season moved on. Baseball needs to shorten the season so more relevant games are played, but with owners main concern being money that remains doubtful. With so many teams out of contention with months to play in the season, the sports becomes uninteresting and boring with so many useless games being played.